Linhai County is located southwest of Huacheng City, 70 kilometers from the urban area.

The Dawn Army's first battalion arrived at the Linhai building materials market to collect supplies.

After crossing the highway and clearing some zombies along the way, the troops finally reached the building materials market.

This building materials market had basically not been touched by anyone.

There were piles of building materials everywhere.

Rebar, cement, hollow bricks, lumber, tiles, paint, coatings...

Covering an area of 100,000 square meters!

If they could empty out this building materials market, the Dawn Army would have enough for their outer city construction.

Zhongjing was very pleased upon arriving here with the team.

"Let's get to work; there's enough here to keep us busy for a while."

The soldiers of the Dawn Army began loading the trucks.

Just after loading a few trucks, the sound of vehicles came from outside again.

A convoy of dozens of vehicles drove up from the opposite direction.

At the front were off-road jeeps, followed by heavy trucks, seemingly also coming to transport building materials.

The foremost vehicle was also an armored car, somewhat similar to the one that the Dawn Army forcibly seized earlier, marked with a flame insignia; the arrivals were from the Burning Corps.

The Dawn Army's first battalion's third company was responsible for the perimeter, and Company Commander Jiang Hao immediately led people to intercept.

The third company's armored car blocked the road, and Jiang Hao shouted through the car's loudspeaker: "This is the Dawn Army's operation; stop right there! Move forward, and I'll open fire!"

Upon seeing the armored car, the people opposite appeared very tense. Apart from the armored car, the others quickly jumped from their vehicles, each finding cover and confronting Jiang Hao's people with guns.

Jiang Hao's side had only a squad on alert, but the opposing side dared not advance, knowing the armored car's deterrence was substantial.

There was also someone shouting from the Burning Corps' armored car.

"This is Wang Dashan from the Burning Corps; get Ye Fan out here to talk."

"The Commander-in-Chief is not here."

"Then get your leader out; I don't want to waste words with a grunt."

Jiang Hao replied unwaveringly: "Neither do I want to waste words with you, as long as you don't play with fire!"

Wang Dashan was a bit annoyed, "Are you Dawn Army people unreasonable? Is this your territory? Does the market have your name on it?"

Jiang Hao had only one response: "Our Commander-in-Chief wants it; it's ours."

This retort left Wang Dashan speechless for a moment; such unreasonable behavior was new to him.

Facing soldiers with logic is a futile endeavor.

Previously, Wang Dashan often left others feeling this way; now he was experiencing it himself.

The Dawn Army's armored car's anti-aircraft machine gun began to level, with the turret shields raised, aimed at the people from the Burning Corps.

This was their first encounter with the Dawn Army's armored battle vehicles.

In any aspect, this vehicle was a formidable armored car, not on the same level as the Burning Corps' cars.

Wang Dashan looked at his vehicle and his team, feeling they might still stand a chance in a fight.

Recently, the Survivor Alliance was expanding its military; their daily radio disparagements of the Dawn Army were not without reason.

A confrontation between the two sides seemed unavoidable, with open provocations and hidden military preparations.

The Wangbei Army had supplied them with many powerful weapons.

Such as this armored car, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, and grenades.

These weapons equipped the Burning Army, forming their confidence.

Wang Dashan inquired a person with a grenade launcher behind him: "Can you take out that armored car?"

"Deputy Leader, I can't guarantee destroying it with one blow, as their armored car seems very heavily plated; a grenade launcher might not disable it. Best if a sniper assists me."

"Okay, be ready at any moment. If a fight breaks out, the sniper should focus on taking out the enemy driver."

The sniper and grenade launcher targeted the Dawn Army's armored car, and the battle was about to erupt.

If it were a new armored car, they might have succeeded, but the Dawn Army's Three-Star armored car was no easy target.

After its Star Promotion, its ammunition capacity and armor thickness were enhanced; if a battle ensued, the Burning Corps would pay a heavy price to deal with this vehicle.

Seeing the atmosphere becoming unmanageable, Chief of Staff Zhongjing arrived.

The battalion's armored car came over, forming a pincer with the third company's armored car, confronting the other side.

A flurry of commotion erupted on the Burning Army's side.

There was actually a second vehicle, and if a fight broke out, it would be challenging to handle.

Wang Dashan hurriedly told his men not to act rashly, and he took the initiative to shout: "Who are you?"

"I'm Zhongjing, Chief of Staff of the Dawn Army."

"I'm Wang Dashan of the Burning Corps; we've met before."

Wang Dashan coughed, "Isn't the Dawn Army going too far? This isn't your territory; why are you stopping us here?"

"Indeed, it's not our territory, but it's not the Burning Corps' territory either. We're here transporting building materials; if you want to pass, you can take the road around there."

"How ridiculous! This is Huacheng City, where all resources should be allocated by the Survivor Alliance. Let's put it this way: you can take what's on your vehicles, but the rest must be left for us."

Zhongjing gestured dismissively from inside the vehicle, "What you're saying is old news; now that the Dawn Army is here, these things are ours."

Wang Dashan could barely contain his anger, "On what grounds are you claiming this?"

"Because our Commander-in-Chief wants it; it's ours."

Hearing this response again, Wang Dashan felt his anger flare.

He truly couldn't comprehend the mindset of the Dawn Army people.

Is Ye Fan God? Whatever he says goes? Whatever he fancies is his?

When the previous Company Commander gave this answer, he thought there was something wrong with his mind. But now that the Chief of Staff gives the same answer, it means everyone's mind has an issue.

Laughing out of anger: "Ye Fan sure is impressive. Whatever he fancies is his. Did you ask him if he's interested in female zombies or something?"

Zhongjing said calmly, "If you find female zombies, no matter how many, our Commander-in-Chief will take them all.

Wang Dashan was stunned for a moment, thinking Zhongjing was intentionally picking a fight.

Building materials can be used for road construction, bridge building, and housing. What can female zombies do?

Can they be eaten or used?

Not very useful, right?

Of course, he couldn't think of the possibility that female zombies might have jewelry on them.

He had already determined the stance of the Dawn Army.

They want to monopolize these building materials and not share a drop with them.

Not wanting to waste words with the Dawn Army, who he thought had something wrong in their heads, Wang Dashan waved his hand, ready to act.

Clank clank~~~!

The sound of metal tracks grinding against the ground rose, stopping Wang Dashan's raised hand in mid-air.

A tank!

A huge body, thick armor, a black turret, and a mounted machine gun—all indicating that this thing is a war-designed killing machine.

He dared to fight against the Dawn Army's armored vehicles because they had weapons that could threaten armored vehicles.

But not a tank.

His sniper rifle and grenade launcher or grenades were useless against a tank.

This armored vehicle could be destroyed with just one shot in an open fight.

The eyes of everyone from the Burning Corps turned to Wang Dashan, waiting for his decision.

Fighting head-on would lead to losses, but going back in defeat would be a disgrace.

With a grim expression, Wang Dashan knew he faced a tough choice.

After thinking for about three minutes, Wang Dashan ordered his troops to retreat.

The main force boarded the vehicles, retreating along the road they came.

Their armored vehicle brought up the rear, with several elite soldiers on board, such as the Sniper and those with grenade launchers.

Every face in the Burning Corps bore expressions of frustration, knowing if this incident spread, they couldn't hold their heads high anymore.

After retreating about a few hundred meters, the main force was far away, leaving only the armored vehicle and two jeeps.

Wang Dashan suddenly stopped.

"Open fire~~~!"

At the command, the Burning Army fired upon the Dawn Army.

Being quite far, their attack lacked impact.

The grenade struck the tank, resulting in only a burst of flames without actual damage.

The sniper bullet struck the glass of the armored vehicle, leaving only a white mark.

The Three-Star armored vehicle's defense capabilities exceeded their imagination.

Suddenly under attack, the Dawn Army immediately retaliated.

Anti-aircraft machine guns on two armored vehicles fired instantly, shattering the opponent's armored vehicle glass!

The main cannon of the T5 tank fired a powerful shot, turning that armored vehicle into a fireball!

Wang Dashan and his men jumped from the backdoor of the armored vehicle the instant the Dawn Army retaliated.

They intended to flee using the jeeps.

But the sudden explosion of the armored vehicle caught them off guard. Several members of the Burning Corps were engulfed, not even having time to scream before perishing.

Only Wang Dashan managed to leap into a jeep, shouting to speed off.

The jeep roared along the road at full throttle.

Only one jeep managed to escape.

The following one was also hit by an armored vehicle's anti-aircraft gun, showering sparks, killing everyone inside, sending the jeep tumbling off the road into a deep ditch.

Yet another fireball rose as that jeep exploded.

But Wang Dashan and others managed to escape.

Zhongjing didn't pursue, as here the main task was collecting materials, ensuring their safe transport back to Dawn City.

He reported the situation here to Ye Fan.

Ye Fan listened to Zhongjing's report, then hung up the radio.

An encounter with the Burning Corps, winning was expected.

But why did Wang Dashan dare to open fire knowing their defeat?

Ye Fan noticed Wang Dashan's intention.

It was an assertion of stance.

He used this stance to establish the Survivor Alliance and Dawn Army's hostility.

Lately, the Survivor Alliance had been creating momentum, lacking only a straightforward excuse to declare war on the Dawn Army.

Wang Dashan's actions undoubtedly handed the Alliance a knife, allowing them to cut decisively.

How many were lost in this battle was unimportant, as they aimed to seize this opportunity to openly tear with the Dawn Army.

Soon, there would likely be strong words from the Alliance on the broadcasts.

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