"What protest?" Commander Li asked, his voice turning dangerous.
The soldier opened his mouth, but Zhenlan cut him off before the answer could drag all of them into whatever disaster had eaten the front gate, the ration line, and the last fragile pieces of the commander's patience.
"Commander Li," he said, keeping his voice calm, "point us toward the people we need, and we will get out of your hair so you can deal with this."
Commander Li turned toward him slowly.
Zhenlan did not blink. "Rouxi's ceiling is still cracked."
For a moment, no one said anything. Then Lingyun made a soft, pleased sound, as if Zhenlan had just offered the most reasonable argument anyone had ever made. Chenghai, who still had one eye on the ration line, gave a short nod.
Even Tan Wei looked like he wanted to laugh but had enough self-preservation not to do it in front of Commander Li while the man was standing in the middle of his own collapsing base.
