Upon hearing Zheng Jinnan's words, many of those present could not sit still.

"Duke, it's not wise!"

"Yes, Duke, consider the resources we spent on nurturing Miss Shuang'Er and the enormous losses we endured. Not to mention whether nurturing another Three-Star Mutant will succeed or not, even if it does, the cost is too high!"

"Indeed, Duke, give Miss Shuang'Er another chance. After all, she still has her uses."

"That's right. Didn't we detect unusual movements from zombies in a southern small county the other day? If another zombie siege occurs, Miss Shuang'Er could play a decisive role."

Everyone tried to dissuade him, explaining the consequences from every angle, finally causing Zheng Jinnan to waver.

He glared at Shuang'Er with a sullen look: "I'll give you one more chance this time, but don't forget it was I who rescued you from the survivors; it was I who gave you everything. Your life belongs to me; you're so kind, you won't forget how you got here, will you?"

Shuang'Er calmly replied, "I remember, and if necessary, my life can be given."

"As long as you understand, guards, confine her in prison and give her only one meal a day. When there's a task next time, I'll send you out again, hoping you won't disappoint me."

Shuang'Er followed the guards silently without any resistance.

After sitting down, Zheng Jinnan remained prickly, but he knew without the support from Divine Dragon Province, his plan to advance north had to be altered.

It seems heading north is currently not feasible; this year's strategic goal will have to be first to the east, first taking control of the Celestial River, although he'll have to face Wanguo Island, which he didn't want to confront.

Fortunately, recently Jiangzhou's naval forces have developed rapidly; he believes it won't be long before he gains more control over this route.

Hopefully, he can find a good way to cooperate with those foreigners.

In the end, it's the trouble caused by that soft-hearted little girl; this made Zheng Jinnan very angry.

Yet his subordinates are right; no matter what mistakes Shuang'Er makes, he must endure them because if another zombie siege occurs, he still depends on her assistance.

After Shuang'Er was taken away, Zheng Jinnan interrogated several of Shuang'Er's teammates.

These girls didn't know much, but Zheng Jinnan heard a shocking piece of news.

Ye Fan has left Dawn City and headed south! The exact location is unknown.

Ye Fan's departure south couldn't be concealed; the destination wasn't published, yet everyone knows he left Dawn City.

Zheng Jinnan immediately became alert, fearing Ye Fan might seek revenge on him; he promptly gathered everyone for another meeting.

Surrounding provinces, Zheng Jinnan understood better than anyone; he quickly compiled a message.

Ye Fan once stayed in Golden City, where the current leader is Giant Stone Lawson, considered Ye Fan's underling.

Based on this information, Ye Fan will definitely go to Golden City.

"Inform people in Golden City, keep a close eye on him. If Ye Fan reaches Golden City, report to me immediately; I want to know his next move!"

"If he dares to continue south, he'll enter my territory; then I'll have ways to deal with him!"

.....

Ye Fan sat on the armored train, watching the landscape flying by.

This journey south wasn't very smooth; a tunnel collapsed on the railway, and a bridge was blown up by some adventurer, causing a three-day delay and taking over a week to leave the north and enter Luqi Province.

The journey was generally unobstructed; the fastest way for such a long journey is air transport, but the safest way is railway transit.

The further south he traveled, the higher the temperature became; upon entering Luqi Province, it had risen to twenty-five degrees Celsius.

"Commander, we are about an hour away from entering Golden City; not far from the Heavy Truck Corps base."

Ye Fan nodded, "First, don't enter the Heavy Truck Corps; find a place nearest to the seaside to stop."

The train continued forward until it reached Penglai East Station.

There were still zombies here, but not many, probably due to frequent adventurer squads clearing out a portion of them.

The train stopped; Ye Fan got off the train and immediately sensed a salty smell in the air—the smell of the sea.

"It's about five kilometers to the sea; this distance is already nothing to Xiaoba."

Ye Fan disembarked the train, came to Xiaoba's carriage.

"Xiaoba! Off the train now!"

Having been confined for several days, Xiaoba quickly crawled out of the carriage.

It lay down in front of Ye Fan; Ye Fan patted its slick big head.

"You're going to disembark here and head straight to the shore. Once you reach the ocean, follow the coast and continue south."

"Travel for about three or four days until you reach a place where a Great River meets the sea; stop there and wait for my message, understand?"

Glug glug~~!

Xiaoba responded, indicating it understood.

Don't doubt an octopus's intelligence; this Two-Star giant octopus's IQ is akin to a teenager's.

Receiving Ye Fan's command, Xiaoba eagerly headed toward the sea.

Its eight legs strode with magical steps, covering over a hundred meters in just two steps; a few kilometers is nothing to it.

On the way, encountering zombie disturbance, it directly rolled them up and put them in its mouth. Anyway, it had many tentacles, and attacking zombies with three or four of them wouldn't delay the journey.

"Be careful, if you see particularly large fish in the ocean, don't fight hard, avoid them onshore!"

"Gulu gulu!"

Xiaoba responded briefly and soon disappeared without a trace.

Ye Fan could see Xiaoba entering the ocean through his portable radar, then disappearing from the radar range.

Without spy satellites here, he could only use the portable radar with a five-kilometer detection range, which Ye Fan wasn't quite accustomed to yet.

Watching Xiaoba finally enter the ocean, Ye Fan breathed a long sigh of relief.

This deep-sea octopus finally left the small pond of Dawn City, returning to where it should go.

"Let's go, let's visit Golden City, it's been a while since I returned."

Back on the train, the train changed tracks several times at the East Station in Penglai, once again heading toward Golden City.

About an hour later, the train entered the Heavy Truck Corps' territory.

Returning after six months, nothing much had changed here; Ye Fan didn't station his army here initially but left everything to Giant Stone Lawson to manage.

The only things he left here were two mines, still operating, providing Ye Fan with five thousand gold a day.

Seeing Lawson again, he appeared very excited.

"Boss Ye, you finally came back!"

Ye Fan chuckled and patted Lawson's shoulder, "How's life here? Pretty carefree, huh?"

"Ha! It's thanks to you, boss. Everyone here was impressed by your last visit; nobody dares to cause trouble now."

"That's good, prepare the meals and quarters, we'll eat and rest, still need to hit the road tomorrow."

"Still traveling, boss? Where are you headed?"

"South, do you know Wanguo Island?"

Lawson nodded, "Heard about it from a foreign adventurer squad, but it's a bit far from here, have to cross Loose Province to get there."

"Are you familiar with things over there?"

"Know a bit, boss. Going to Wanguo Island, if you're not a foreigner, someone needs to introduce you. Do you have an introducer there?"

"Oh! Introduction is required?"

"That's right, Wanguo Island is now dominated by the Multi-Nation Federation, they've deemed it an independent kingdom and are quite resistant to Qin Han people going over; without someone from the island introducing, they won't let you board the ship."

Upon hearing this, Ye Fan realized the problem: John and his group hadn't set foot on Wanguo Island; they didn't stay long there, just gathered some information and hurried back to report. Plus, the expenses there are high; they didn't settle there, indeed needing others' introduction.

"Do you know anyone on Wanguo Island?"

"Know one. Last time, a foreign adventurer squad came over and encountered mutant beast attacks, nearly annihilated, but I rescued them. One of them from the Zijing Empire got along well with me, gave me their squad's radio frequency when they left. When you get there, contact him and say I sent you, he should help you board the island, but he can only bring one person."

"Only one person? Why?"

"Ordinary people can't bring others, mutants can; however, Level 1 Mutants can only bring one. Only Level 2 Mutants truly hold status there. Foreigners, Level 2 Mutants, obtaining island identity; meeting these conditions can bring a maximum of fifty people."

Upon hearing this, Ye Fan sensed a bit of trouble.

Level 1 Mutants aren't rare; even John's camp's Three-star Soldiers count as Level 1 Mutation.

But Level 2 foreign mutants are absent; including John, he's also Level 1 Mutation, not in Dawn City, without Heroic Training Camp, they can only reach Level 1 Mutation pinnacle.

Even if Ye Fan cultivates now, it won't work. Leaving Dawn City, he can't promote soldiers to Heroic Unit level.

"Really a bit troublesome, just have to see if we can find a Level 2 Mutant there willing to vouch for us."

"Alright, I'll give you this Zijing person's radio frequency first."

Lawson handed Ye Fan a card with the radio frequency recorded.

"Boss, another thing, heading to Wanguo Island requires passing through Loose Province, there are several large survivor bases there established by small nobles from the Empire. Try not to clash with them; Empire nobles typically despise ordinary survivors."

Ye Fan nodded; he didn't want conflicts for now, avoiding them is best.

"Boss, also they spend New Coins there, do you have money? If not, I have some here for emergencies."

Ye Fan waved it off; he wasn't short on money. Though Light Yuan isn't spendable here, he had plenty of New Coins, many concentrated in his hands after Guo Zhun's issuance. For this southern expedition, Ye Fan brought ten billion, all packed in the Commander's luggage.

"No need, I have money."

"Alright, meals are prepared here, boss, let's eat."

In the Heavy Truck Corps, Ye Fan's group had a hearty meal and rested overnight.

Early morning the next day before leaving, Ye Fan instructed Lawson to focus on attacking the airport here. Once captured and repaired, Dawn Army's air force could land here, greatly shortening the journey, though still distant from Wanguo Island.

Soon, Ye Fan's train departed.

And just as he left, news quickly transmitted from Golden City, connected through several radios, quickly reaching Zheng Jinnan's ears.

Ye Fan has left Golden City, heading south, target: Wanguo Island!

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