The last leader of the world starts with an elite infantry squad!

Chapter 1419 Living for Yourself

"Wenjin is right!"

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone was stunned, simply because the speaker was someone they had never expected.

It's Political Director Huang Guoqing!

That political director who was furious yesterday, slamming his fist on the table and cursing, pointing his finger at Li Guangzhong and telling him to get out and kneel down!

That political director who had been an instructor in the 2nd Division since before the end of the world, and who had "loyalty" engraved in his bones for his entire life!

At that moment, he slowly stood up.

On that pale face, there was no anger, no excitement, only an eerie calm.

After a belief completely collapses, one becomes strangely clear-headed and calm.

"Director Huang, you..."

Deputy Division Commander Chen Mingde looked up at Huang Guoqing, his expression shifting from anger to shock, and then from shock to disbelief.

You are...you are the political director!

He was the most loyal person in the entire 2nd Division, the one who always emphasized "resolute obedience to the central government's instructions" at every meeting, and the only one who had never complained about Hanoi in the two years since the end of the dynasty.

But at that moment, he stood up and said, "Wenjin is right."

These five words, spoken by Huang Guoqing, were even more chilling than Ruan Wenjin's "They've gone too far!"

At this moment, Huang Guoqing's eyes shone with an eerie light:

Do you know what I was thinking just now?

No one answered.

"I'm thinking, what am I trying to achieve in this life?"

His voice was still very soft, but his light words seemed to carry a tremendous weight.

“I joined the army at eighteen, joined the Party at twenty-three, became an instructor at thirty, and a political director at forty-three. In my life, I have never done anything that has let down the Party, the country, or the people.”

"This will be true before the end times, and it will be true after the end times."

“The troops were scattered, and I followed the division commander to gather the remnants. When there wasn’t enough food, I shared my share with the soldiers. For two years, Hanoi didn’t give us a single bullet or a single grain of rice, but I never complained.”

He paused, a slight smile playing on his lips.

That curve wasn't a smile, nor a cry, but something... indescribable.

"Because I believe that they are struggling to hold on over there. I believe that once they recover, they will remember us. I believe that as long as we are loyal and as long as we persevere, one day they will see us."

"I believed it for two years."

"I believed it for two whole years."

His voice finally showed a slight fluctuation.

It wasn't anger, nor sorrow, but something deeper, more profound, as if seeping from the very marrow of one's bones.

"And then? Haha—"

He looked at the telegram and laughed. The laugh was soft and dry, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat, carrying an indescribable despair.

"No further action will be taken."

"Did you hear that? We will not pursue this matter further."

"It's a mistake to report enemy activity! It's a mistake to request verification! It's a mistake to want to live!"

"How lowly we are, like a pack of stray dogs that can't even be brought to the table. Those high and mighty big shots wouldn't even give us a second glance before condemning us!"

At this point, his voice suddenly rose, and the veins on his neck bulged with excitement, each one clearly visible.

"What exactly did we do wrong?!"

Political Director Huang Guoqing's voice echoed in the cramped cave, making everyone's ears ring.

No one answered, because no one could answer.

"What exactly did we do wrong?" Huang Guoqing asked again, this time in a lower voice.

"Our mistake was being too loyal!"

"So loyal that they believed loyalty would always bring rewards."

"So loyal that we thought the thing we were loyal to would really care about us."

He looked at Nguyen Van Hung.

"Commander, you know what? I was just thinking, if we didn't survive the apocalypse, wouldn't it be better?"

These words were so harsh that everyone was stunned.

“If we all died, we wouldn’t have to suffer these past two years. We wouldn’t have to go hungry, freeze, or watch our soldiers die of illness. We wouldn’t have to… we wouldn’t have to wait until today, to be abandoned like a pawn by the very people we served.”

He took a deep breath.

"But we survived."

“We survived, so we have to keep going. We have to carry the burden of these 3,000 people, the people who followed us, and this responsibility that nobody cares about.”

"So Wenjin is right."

"They don't want us anymore."

"Then why do we still need them?"

These words were spoken softly, but they struck everyone like a thunderclap.

Why do we still need them?

yeah why?

They viewed the 2nd Division as an outsider, a pawn to be discarded, a defensive line that could be abandoned at any time.

Why did the 2nd Division still recognize them?

.....................

silence.

After a long silence, Huang Guoqing suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse, but his meaning was crystal clear.

"Commander, let's find our own way out!"

"In Pingxiang, they want to reorganize us. Before, I felt this was humiliating, a surrender, a betrayal. But now I understand—so what if we're reorganized? Isn't reorganization a way out?"

“They have food, clothing, ammunition, and medicine. They have such strong equipment and such great strength. The fact that they are willing to take us means that we are still useful.”

“If we are useful, we can survive. If we survive, the more than three thousand brothers below can survive, and the people who follow us can survive.”

As Huang Guoqing uttered those words that completely exposed the truth, the way everyone looked at him changed.

In those eyes, there was shock, complexity, and something else churning within.

Deputy Division Commander Chen Mingde opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't say anything. Chief of Staff Wu Wenshan lowered his head, staring at the table, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Regimental Commander Nguyen Van Tien stood there, blood still flowing from his fists, but his eyes shone with an unprecedented light—the light of hope that suddenly appeared after despair.

Only Division Commander Nguyen Van Hung remained seated at the head of the table, motionless, his face still expressionless.

But in those tired eyes, there was now a hint of... indescribable complexity.

He stared at Huang Guoqing for a long time, and Huang Guoqing met his gaze without looking away.

The two men stared at each other, neither speaking. The meeting room was deathly silent.

In that deathly silence, so many things were churning.

Two years of grievances, two years of patience, two years of loyalty, two years of despair, and now, something that is sprouting and hard to define.

After a long silence, Division Commander Nguyen Van Hung spoke.

His voice was soft and tired, but there was something indescribable about that tiredness.

"Guoqing, do you know what you're saying?"

Huang Guoqing looked at him and nodded.

"I know."

“I’m saying, we should live for ourselves.”

Ruan Wenxiong fell silent again.

He looked at Huang Guoqing, at this old comrade-in-arms who had followed him since before the end of the world, at this man who had "loyalty" engraved in his bones all his life.

At that moment, this person stood before him, his eyes shining with a light he had never seen before.

That light reminded him of something.

He recalled that on the day of the apocalypse, when he led his remaining troops out of the encirclement, he remembered that his own eyes had also shone with that same light.

That was... the light of survival.

“Live for yourself…” Nguyen Van Hung murmured, repeating these words.

Then he smiled, a smile of sudden, liberating relief...

"Okay, then let's live for ourselves from now on!"