Upon hearing Shuang'Er's words, Ye Fan let out a long breath.

The past few days had not been in vain.

Finally, this little girl was starting to see the good in him; it was a very good start.

But Ye Fan didn't think her understanding was rock solid yet, so he needed to fan the flames a bit more.

He put on a stern face: "Shuang'Er, don't be blinded by these superficial appearances. Although Ye Fan treats survivors well, he has also done quite a few bad things, beating this one and that one. Every place he goes to, he fights with everyone there. Is that what a good person would do?"

"But... but the news said those people had issues."

"You can't fully trust what the news says. They only want ordinary people to see what they want them to see. We need to observe more and think more about many things."

Shuang'Er didn't reply and lowered her head to think for a while: "Should we postpone our actions and observe for a few days?"

"Okay, let's observe for half a month."

"Chen Bufan, I feel that the hotels here are a bit expensive. Since we'll be observing for so long, should we rent a place instead? That way, we can also save some money."

Shuang'Er was getting more aware that money was not easy to come by, especially since she couldn't take on tasks outside the city, so she was considering saving a bit.

Ye Fan gently shook his head: "Currently, there are no house rental services available in the city, but we can buy a house. I know of a pretty good place."

"Wouldn't that be too wasteful?"

"Not wasteful. Houses here are in high demand. Even if we stop living here, selling it would be easy, and we might even make a small profit."

Shuang'Er didn't object anymore, and the next day, Ye Fan took her to find a house.

It was located at the Seven-Star Riverfront in the Outer City District, part of a newly developed upscale residential area.

Many villas had been built along the river, and without connections, even money couldn't buy you one.

However, Ye Fan could choose whichever he wanted. He selected a small villa with a yard.

It wasn't very large nor the most expensive, but it was close to the river with a tranquil environment.

The yard was about two hundred square meters, and the two-story house was also about two hundred square meters.

The total cost was three hundred thousand Light Yuan, and Ye Fan paid without hesitation.

When it came time to handle the property deed, Ye Fan asked Shuang'Er: "Shuang'Er, what's your full name?"

"Ah! My name is Hua Wushuang. Why are you asking?"

"Come, let's take a photo."

Ye Fan ushered Shuang'Er to the photo area, and soon a staff member took her picture.

"How old are you this year?"

"I'm turning seventeen soon."

"What month is your birthday?"

"August 15th."

In about ten minutes, the staff handed Ye Fan a property deed and an ID card.

The ID card was for Hua Wushuang, complete with an ID number.

The property deed was also in her name, stamped with the emblem of the Dawn Army, indicating it was a legitimate property of hers in Dawn City.

Holding the ID card and property deed, Shuang'Er was astonished.

"You... you gave me this house?"

Ye Fan nodded: "Yes, to be honest, I have several warrants here, so I can't use my ID. While you also have a warrant, it's under the name of Jiangnan Female Classmate. Your real name is usable, so we can only buy the property in your name."

Shuang'Er was a bit overwhelmed: "But this is too valuable, and... I still owe you so much money?"

"This is just a temporary measure. You hold onto it for now. We'll discuss it after our task is completed."

"Alright, that seems to be the only option."

Shuang'Er sat on a nearby chair, holding her ID card and property deed, looking at them for quite a while.

At that moment, Ye Fan didn't know what she was thinking, but the joy and happiness in her eyes were palpable to him.

Ye Fan couldn't help but reflect; after all, she was still a child.

Had it been another adventurer with such strength, they would have been flaunting their power by now, possibly even ruling a large base.

But her? Despite her immense power, she remained as simple and innocent as a child.

Hopefully, this ID and the house will make her accept and like Dawn City.

With the property deed in hand, Ye Fan accompanied Shuang'Er to see the house.

Perhaps because it was her own property, Shuang'Er really liked it here.

The house was well decorated, though it lacked furniture. She adored every detail here.

The front and back lawns, the spiral staircase inside, the high-ceilinged living room, the sun-drenched bedroom, and the open balcony with its unbroken view of the Seven-Star River.

"Chen Bufan! Before the apocalypse, my family actually had a house like this, even much bigger, but I feel it's not as good as here!"

"Look at this yard, I want to plant a tree here, then hang a swing on its trunk. I could swing and eat here, and even throw some crumbs directly into the Seven-Star River to feed the fish. But will the tree grow too slowly?"

Ye Fan smiled, "That's not a problem, you can hire adventurers to directly dig up a tree from the wild and transplant it here. You just need to pay; for a thousand Light Yuan, you can find any kind of tree."

"Really? That would be wonderful! I'll place a task at the Adventurer's Guild today."

"Alright, I'll have someone bring you a radio and some living expenses, so during this time, you can buy whatever you want."

"Great! When I can leave the city to do tasks, I'll definitely pay you back all this money. I'm really good at this; I'll earn money quickly once I can leave the city."

Ye Fan took out another twenty thousand Light Yuan for Shuang'Er. She accepted the money and asked in confusion, "Are you leaving?"

"Yes, I have other things to do, and I might be gone for a few days. But it's alright, at most ten days, and I'll be back to see you. In the meantime, don't forget to observe this place and look for Ye Fan's flaws. When I return, we'll act immediately and move into the core area to take him out."

Shuang'Er made no sound, silently taking the money. Ye Fan could see the conflict and struggle in her heart, but he said nothing further.

Some things, she has to figure out for herself.

After giving Shuang'Er the money, Ye Fan left the villa.

He had been accompanying the little girl for five or six days, and he had lots of things to handle on his end, so he had to leave.

He got into his car and drove straight back to the core district, into his official residence.

Upon reaching his residence, many officers from the Dawn Army were already waiting in the small conference room.

Seeing Ye Fan return, everyone stood up and saluted.

"Everyone, take a seat. John, you're back."

Ye Fan's gaze fell on one foreign soldier among them.

John, a former squad leader of the Dawn Army.

Now, he wasn't a squad leader anymore but a battalion commander, because long ago, Ye Fan had equipped his unit up to a battalion.

Back then, Ye Fan tasked him with venturing south, and John left with his unit; they lost contact until now. It was unexpected that he returned after so long.

"Sir! John reporting back!"

"Good, tell us, what did you discover in the south? Did you find a suitable place for our troops to settle?"

John nodded, "Sir, I found it. Once in the south, my main task was this; as per your request, this place not only has a Great River but is also very close to the ocean."

"Oh! Such a good place exists? Where is it?"

"The estuary of the Celestial River, Wanguo Island."

"Wanguo Island?"

"Yes, it's now called Wanguo Island. Before the apocalypse, it was called Ming Island. It was a prosperous place, a hub for international trade and tourism, with a large number of foreigners living there. After the apocalypse, even more foreigners proactively went there. Now, foreigners make up 90% of the population, with people from all countries, hence the name Wanguo Island."

John, while introducing, pulled out a new map.

Ye Fan and the officers carefully examined this map.

This was a map of the Celestial River estuary area, one of the economically most developed regions of the Qin Han Empire before the apocalypse.

Wanguo Island covers an area of about three thousand square kilometers and is located at the mouth of the Celestial River.

South, north, and west are surrounded by the Great River.

While eastward leads into the ocean, surrounded by water on all sides.

"Sir, this is Wanguo Island. After the apocalypse, foreigners from nearby cities, concerned about not receiving aid due to racial issues in Qin Han, desperately headed to Wanguo Island."

"Therefore, the population of Wanguo Island hasn't decreased much. With more people, zombies couldn't be held back, and because it's surrounded by water, external zombies couldn't enter. They quickly established their footing and gradually eradicated all zombies, even demolishing the bridges connecting outside, relying entirely on shipping."

"Now, Wanguo Island is prosperous. Some nationals are constantly attempting to contact their countries, with some even succeeding."

"The entire island has seventy or eighty factions distributed by national groups. Native Qin Han people don't hold much advantage there."

"The total population there is approximately over ten million. Many pre-apocalypse infrastructures weren't too damaged, with water and power systems all functional, allowing basic self-sufficiency in life."

"However, it's currently very chaotic there, with too many factions, and only a Multi-Nation Federation has been set up for management, completely out of Qin Han's control. Each country has its troops, and their weaponry is quite advanced."

"All the ports there are controlled by foreigners; entry and exit can only be through a specific port."

"And those foreigners are quite resistant to Qin Han people, fearing that Qin Han might reclaim the island. So, they constantly suppress Qin Han's forces, which is our biggest challenge to landing on the island."

As John was introducing, Ye Fan was deep in thought.

In fact, these factions didn't count for much in Ye Fan's eyes. As long as a base could be established there, a wave of mass soldiers could easily take it down.

However, establishing a base is also a significant challenge. Establishing a base requires a base vehicle.

A base vehicle, such a massive thing, moves slowly. To land on the island, you need a bridge or large ships.

And as John mentioned, all the bridges have been demolished, and the only way to land is by shipping.

Those foreigners obviously won't let Ye Fan transport a base vehicle onto the island, so figuring out how to land is the biggest issue.

Ye Fan thought, he should first make a trip there himself. Once they establish a foothold on the island, then they can consider transporting the base vehicle over.

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