**Chapter 51: The Commander of Sky Root**
The sky was a burning orange, smeared with clouds that glowed like molten ash. Below it, the valley shimmered with movement. Tents sprawled across the terrain, some temporary, others reinforced with scavenged steel. Children ran between water tanks and solar panels. Ex-soldiers drilled in formation. Civilians harvested lab-grown crops, while engineers worked on solar-forge panels still hot from the midday sun.
Qi Yue stood on a rusted catwalk inside what used to be a shopping complex—now transformed into Sky Root Command. The entire place pulsed with life. Organized. Efficient. Her doing.
"You need rest," Shen Jin said, standing beside her. His voice was low and steady, like always, but Qi Yue caught the brief flicker of concern in his eyes.
"No time." She folded her arms, watching a group of teens finish installing wind-powered fans. "The generators in Sector D are unstable. If we can't regulate airflow, the hydro farm might start collapsing again."
Shen Jin sighed, stepping closer. "They'll follow you, Yue. Even to the edge of the world. But if you burn out... what then?"
She didn’t answer right away. Her fingers brushed the pendant AURA had materialized weeks ago—a small cube of polished obsidian, now warm to the touch.
> \[User Vital Signs: Elevated Cortisol. Suggestion: Minimum 3-hour rest cycle.]
> \[Commander Yue, your presence increases productivity by 14.6% across critical sectors. Recommendation: Public Address Protocol?]
Qi Yue gave a faint smile. "Tell everyone to gather at the courtyard. It's time."
---
The entire valley gathered under twilight. Torches flickered along walkways, casting moving shadows across the makeshift community.
Qi Yue stood on the scaffolding, the wind teasing the edges of her long black coat. Her gaze swept the crowd—exiles, survivors, fighters, children, scientists. Her people.
"We have survived the worst," she began, her voice carried through a hastily rigged sound system. "And yet, we still stand. Because we chose to fight. To build. To hope."
A silence stretched, reverent.
"This is no longer just a shelter. It is our territory. Our foundation. Our Sky Root."
The crowd roared.
Her chest rose with something warm and fierce.
"From this day forward," she said, eyes bright with resolve, "we will protect this place with everything we have. Not as strangers. Not as refugees. But as a people. A family."
"Commander Yue!" a voice shouted from the front. Then another. And another.
Soon the entire valley was chanting.
"Commander Yue! Commander Yue! Commander Yue!"
Shen Jin, standing just behind her, didn't smile—but his eyes did.
> \[Designation Confirmed: Qi Yue — Role: Sky Root Commander. Emotional Synchronization: +12%.]
> \[Partner, we are becoming legends.]
Qi Yue lowered her head slightly, blinking back tears she hadn’t expected.
"No," she whispered to AURA, her voice soft but firm.
"We already are."
**Chapter 52: The Seeds of Betrayal**
The wind howled through the outer fields of Outpost Delta, carrying with it the scent of life and rot. Crops swayed in engineered harmony, their roots soaking up the carefully balanced nutrient solution developed by Qi Yue herself. This outpost was among her proudest achievements—once barren wasteland, now a thriving satellite farm.
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Before the Fall: Rebirth of the Cannon Fodder
ActionShe was never meant to survive the story. Qi Yue was just a forgotten name in a tragic novel-a fake daughter, cannon fodder, a girl who died early in a zombie apocalypse no one remembered. But when Lin Yue, a terminally ill girl from the real world...
