Zombie Apocalypse: Creation-Chapter 801: Reshuffling The Military

After the first two weeks of October had passed, the investigation into the 5th Army Corps reached a conclusion.

Over 10000 people were detained, with 5367 charged with a crime, and over a thousand people were put on a red notice.

Five of them were even sentenced to death row in absentia after their crime was truly disgusting on a level never seen before.

Some may ask, why was it in absentia? It certainly wasn’t due to Xiaoyun purposely giving soldiers a head-up and letting them run away.

Rather, the ones who committed the most heinous crime knew their guilt and never chose to sign the military contract.

They had chosen to live a ’civilian life’, with traces of evidence showing them heading out of Guangdong province after the news broke out.

At this point, the chances of putting them into chains were near impossible. Still, the police force posted them on the most wanted list.

Both Yuqi and Yueyue received media praise for their effort in the investigation, with flowers and thank-you letters sent to their offices.

Outside of the public media praises, a concern rose when Xiaoyun permitted Yueyue to expand the investigation beyond the 5th Army Corps.

A problem within the military appeared. One that shook both Xiaoyun and Yiming to the core when they learned more of it.

More specifically, the abuse of power by mid-level ranking officers. They weren’t directly towards civilians who were outside of the system.

Instead, it was directed towards the low-ranking soldiers. Those who are too scared to report out loud because they feel trapped within the army.

Yueyue’s anonymous report found tons of evidence of them being coerced into ’doing’ things that were strictly prohibited in military conduct.

Even when Xiaoyun and Yiming knew something was up long ago, they didn’t expect it to be systematic and undercounted by this much.

In other words, it became clear that something needed to be done. Something drastic before it rots the spirit of the army.

---

"Command, are you sure we should do this? It’s going to cause so much chaos when we already did this once in the past."

As Houqin raised her concern, both Xiaoyun and Yiming sat across from her desk, looking back at her with a firm look.

"I already showed you the report from Yueyue yesterday. Do you really think we’re going to stand idly by?"

"But General Yezi’s troop and General Han Bang’s troop are both still on a mission. Can’t we at least wait until they are done?"

"I have to go in November. I don’t want to do this right before I leave... Tell them that their new replacement will take over their previous duty."

In the end, Houqin nodded in agreement, as she couldn’t really reject Xiaoyun’s order to reshuffle entire units drastically.

"So, General Yezi will be leading Colonel Mingxu, Colonel Tan Pi, Colonel Bai Bing, and Colonel Lin Tiao from Wuli’s 4th Army Corps?"

"Yes. Colonel Ningjing will be swapping with Lin Tiao. Then, with General Han Bang, Li Qing will be swapping out with Colonel Jing Ken."

"Okay..."

With the order out of the way, Xiaoyun became much more at ease as one thing less to worry about before going on his trip to the capital.

"Commander... I don’t know how to say this. But I don’t think creating an all-female Army Corps is going to eliminate the power dynamic."

Both Xiaoyun and Yiming looked to each other for a second before looking back at her with a confused look.

"How so?"

"Xiaoyue’s report shows it’s not just male superior or female superior at the middle level forcing the lower level soldier for sexual favors.

There are smaller things beyond that as well, like reducing a particular soldier’s ration or targeting a particular unit’s ammo supply.

I don’t see how gender will play a role, especially when both the superior and the soldier are the same gender in some of these cases."

"We know that. But we’re just trying to minimize the potential for more severe cases." Yiming answered.

"It’s not a permanent solution. But it’s better than nothing." Xiaoyun added, knowing what Houqin was trying to imply.

"Okay."

Houqin didn’t try to dig any deeper as she started typing the letter on her computer, directing the troops to their intended destination.

"Houqin, how’s setting up the academy going?" Xiaoyun suddenly asked.

"It’s being renovated and expanded upon. It should be completed by the end of this month."

"That’s good... Yiming, are you ready to be an academy teacher?"

"I already got all the material ready. Just waiting for the building to open." Yiming murmured.

---

As the day went by, the military shuffle went relatively smoothly. No officers spoke up about it as reshuffling troops was nothing new.

The only thing that did raise some eyebrow was the fact both of the division was moving were fully composed of female soldiers.

Still, it wasn’t too much out of the ordinary as the public reasoning given was give newer recruits more combat expereinces.

Both Colonel Li Qing and Colonel Ningjing arrived at the command center the next day, with a wide smile on their faces.

Xiaoyun could see the exhuastion hidden in their smile. They were clearly tired from fighting nonstop in the front line.

When he revealed to the two of them that they’ll be working under General Wuli, they were both shocked by it.

In their mind, the last time they met, Wuli was still a Lieutenant Colonel. An officer with close tie to Xiaoyun who had temporarily step down due to pregnancy.

After he told them what Wuli pulled off to get the promotion in the first place, they didn’t ask any questions anymore and accepted their new superior.

With a day of break given to them to do anything they wanted, Xiaoyun dismissed the two of them from duty.

But Ningjing quickly pulled Xiaoyun aside as soon as they stepped out of the commander center, wanting to talk to him in private.

"Is there something wrong?" Xiaoyun curiously asked.

"Xiaoyun, why did you move me out of General Yezi’s army?" Ningjing questioned, her voice sounding a little irritated.

"You want a more active duty role?"

"No. But but... Is it because I’m too close to Mingxu? Is that why you separated the two of us from the same Army Corps?"

Ningjing’s guess soon made Xiaoyun realize why she wanted to talk in private. He quickly shook his head as he spoke up again.

"Of course not. That wasn’t even in my consideration... I move you and Li Qing. Not just you."

Xiaoyun paused for a second as he could see Ningjing looked a little relieved after hearing his answer.

"I moved the two of you because I want to make a separate Army Corps... The old plan of a mixed-gender Army Corps was a bad idea."

"Bad idea? How so? Me and all the other Colonel had worked so well together for the past few months."

"It’s not about you. You and all the other Colonels, I have full faith in. But the troops below you have different ideas."

"What?"

Ningjing looked back at Xiaoyun in confusion, almost as if he had just said words that were foreign languages.

"Here’s an investigation done with five thousand soldiers from the 1st and 2nd Army Corps. You tell me what’s wrong with it."

"Um..."

As Ningjing started reading the paper that Xiaoyun had handed over, her eyes soon began to widen more and more with every line.

It was almost an endless list of misconduct by mid-ranking officers, ranging from majors all the way to corporal rank.

From sexual harassment, to forced retirement from a mysterious pregnancy, to smaller, minor misconduct like taking food that seems pale in comparison.

"Are all these people fired yet?" Ningjing asked coldly.

"Still collecting more evidence. But after everything is collected, there will be a whole crackdown on it.

For now, I’m trying to minimize the possibility of continued harm to either side. It should end the more severe cases for now."

Seeing Ningjing standing there in complete silence, Xiaoyun started to get a little nervous as he could vaguely see a bit of tears on her face.

"Um... Ningjing, you aren’t a potential victim to this kind of stuff, right?"

"I’m not. I just feel ashamed... How could I not see any of these abuses towards my fellow comrades?

I’m so sorry, Commander. I fucked up. This should not have been happening underneath my watch."

"It’s okay, you can’t always see everything, and you aren’t the only one... It’s hard to oversee it when the army is so decentralized at times."

A thought suddenly popped up into Xiaoyun’s mind, but he didn’t think too much into it as he continued the conversation with her.

"Can you keep this a secret until Yueyue can finish her investigation?"

"Yes, sir!"

Ningjing quickly wiped off her tears with her hand before giving the paper back to Xiaoyun.

"Enjoy your break."

Xiaoyun turned around and left with the paper in his pocket, leaving her all alone as she continued to salute him the whole time.