Chapter 418: Leaving Now Is the Most Dignified Choice
That punch not only broke Dang Weiran’s nose but also shattered his pride, leaving his mind completely blank.
Since the apocalypse began, he had taken on critical responsibilities during a crisis. Within just a few years, he accumulated numerous military achievements, rising to the rank of Major General at rocket speed. Later, in several major battles where he defended countless human settlements, the President personally awarded him the rank of Lieutenant General in recognition of his immense contributions to humanity and the Federation.
Since then, his life had been filled with honor and reverence.
The more glorious his past twenty years had been, the greater the blow this punch dealt him.
Had he fallen so far that he could now be humiliated by a teenage girl?
Dazed and in disbelief, he didn’t even know when his nose was treated or when he was brought to a meeting room.
Opposite him sat… Zhou Yushan?
The moment Dang Weiran recognized the man sitting in the wheelchair, he snapped back to reality.
He immediately stood up, his face full of wariness and hostility.
“Why are you here?”
Beneath his hostility lay a hint of panic—even he didn’t realize it.
Zhou Yushan met his gaze steadily.
“I’ve been in Taoyang all along. I originally thought you would leave sooner or later, so it didn’t matter whether I saw you. I didn’t want to revisit the past. But given what’s happened lately, I fear you’re about to repeat your mistakes.”
Dang Weiran gripped the table’s edge tightly, his knuckles turning white.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about,” he said coldly. “But now I see—no wonder that little girl Su Tao managed to push me to this point. So, it’s you backing her up.”
Zhou Yushan’s face darkened, and he said bluntly:
“Dang Weiran, have you forgotten how your younger brother died fifteen years ago? That battalion—6,385 soldiers—I will never forget that number! Changjing valued you so highly that they gave you an elite reinforced battalion. But on the eve of the great battle, you pushed them to train in the freezing snow for twenty hours straight. Without any rest, they were thrown into battle against tens of thousands of zombies!”
“Remember this well—6,385 soldiers were completely annihilated in that battle!”
“They didn’t have to die! But because of your selfishness and ambition, you killed every last one of them! And afterward, you covered it all up—lying that the intelligence was wrong and advanced zombies appeared!”
As he spoke, Zhou Yushan’s emotions surged, and he began coughing violently.
His words were like a scalpel, slicing through Dang Weiran’s carefully buried guilt. The bloody truth of the past came pouring out, leaving him weak and slumping back into his chair.
Why tear open old wounds?
He had suffered too. His own brother had died that day. He wasn’t a heartless butcher—he never wanted such a tragedy to happen. He simply didn’t expect the battle to erupt so suddenly, leaving them unprepared…
And without that incident, he would still be the flawless Lieutenant General.
Fifteen years had passed—why bring it up again?
Zhou Yushan had already lost his military rank, been exiled from Changjing, and was confined to a wheelchair. Why wouldn’t he just let it go?
Dang Weiran murmured, “You’re too obsessed. Don’t push me… I never meant for that to happen… Besides, can’t a man make mistakes? I’ve devoted my entire life to the Federation—can’t I be allowed one mistake?”
Zhou Yushan closed his eyes briefly before speaking again:
“That one mistake cost 6,000 lives—and you still refuse to admit your fault. Not only did you conceal the truth, but here in Taoyang, you’re about to repeat the same mistake. I won’t waste words with you. Submit your resignation to Changjing immediately and leave. Otherwise, I’ll seek justice for those 6,385 lives before I die. And when I do, whether you keep your military rank will no longer be up to you.”
He added in a chilling tone, “I have nothing left to lose. If you refuse to leave, I will personally deliver a letter of accusation and die at Changjing’s city gates.”
Dang Weiran’s hands trembled. “You… You…”
Zhou Yushan’s voice grew colder:
“I know you won’t return to Changjing without achieving something in Taoyang—but that’s impossible now. You will resign, whether you want to or not. I will not allow you to cause harm to Taoyang.”
Enraged, Dang Weiran lunged forward and grabbed Zhou Yushan by the collar.
At that moment, Meng Xiaobo, who had been eavesdropping at the door, burst in like a cannonball. Without hesitation, he delivered a punch that sent Dang Weiran staggering back.
Zhou Yushan raised a hand to calm the furious Meng Xiaobo. He turned his gaze back to Dang Weiran and spoke one last time:
“Leave now while you still have your dignity. If you wait for Su Tao to expel you, you won’t even have a shred of it left.”
With that, Zhou Yushan signaled for Meng Xiaobo to wheel him out of the room, leaving Dang Weiran behind—alone and seething.
He gasped for breath and looked out the window at the soldiers still celebrating.
Was he really being selfish? Was he truly wrong?
*
Zhou Yushan’s confrontation had an immediate effect. The next day, Zhuang Wan informed Su Tao that Dang Weiran had returned the three crystalline energy guns—and he had not shown his face for two days.
When he finally reappeared, Su Tao received an email from him requesting to resign. He claimed he was getting old and wanted to return to Changjing to reunite with his family. Changjing had already approved his request and would send a new commander to replace him.
However, the handover process would take a month, so he wouldn’t be leaving immediately.
Su Tao raised an eyebrow and asked Zhou Yushan, “What did you say to him? His attitude flipped so quickly—I’m not used to it.”
After all, just days ago, he had arrogantly declared he would never back down to her.
Zhou Yushan merely replied, “I told him that leaving now is the most dignified choice. Otherwise, when you kick him out, that will be the real humiliation.”
Su Tao chuckled and didn’t press further.
Clearly, it wasn’t just one sentence that made Dang Weiran resign. Zhou Yushan must have hit him where it hurt, forcing his hand.
As for what that was, Su Tao didn’t care. As long as the problem was solved, it didn’t matter.
The ones most thrilled by Dang Weiran’s impending departure were the soldiers and lower-ranking officers of the Taoyang Independent Regiment.
That night, they shamelessly requested a late-night feast from Su Tao.
With a wave of her hand, she approved it.
The soldiers turned the military base’s outdoor stage into a “farewell party”—
Though the guest of honor never showed up.
