Ye Fan stood at the window of the city hall, listening to the sound of fireworks and firecrackers echoing throughout the island.

After the Dawn Army eliminated the Corpse King this afternoon, the island had erupted into a frenzy.

Especially the Qin Han people, regardless of whether they previously recognized the Dawn Army, now all felt a sense of pride and relief.

Look, this is our Qin Han's army, native born and bred.

Previously on the island, many still supported Cao Zhenxu, and even after his arrest and imprisonment, he still had considerable support, with people believing he was more suited to lead here.

But now, almost everyone had forgotten about Cao Zhenxu, as if discarding garbage.

At this moment, the only one able to represent the Qin Han people was Ye Fan, not even Zheng Jinnan from Jiangzhou could.

No one knew who started the firecrackers first, but soon, all the Qin Han people on the island followed suit.

Everyone was excitedly celebrating, as they saw in Ye Fan the hope of ending this apocalypse.

This made the survivors, living in darkness for over a year, all overwhelmingly joyful.

Knowing that firecrackers were a means of celebration for the Qin Han people, many foreigners gradually joined in.

Although they didn't understand exactly what the firecrackers symbolized, they were also very excited, as eliminating zombies was a shared wish for everyone.

......

"Sir, this is the list compiled by the General Staff; please have a look."

Zhuge Yunxue handed a list to Ye Fan, but he didn't look at it immediately and instead asked, "Has anyone contacted the General Staff yet?"

"More than twenty countries have contacted us, agreeing to our proposed ransom release policy for prisoners. The circled names on the list still need your decision on whether to release them."

Ye Fan asked again, "Which countries have not contacted us yet?"

"Mainly the White Eagle Country, Rakshasa Country, Maple Leaf Country, Zijing Country, Bai Yulan, Curry Country, and the Foot Basin Chicken; these major countries seem to be quite dissatisfied."

Ye Fan chuckled, "Not satisfied? They're likely plotting something else. Did the Military Intelligence Bureau's interrogation reveal anything?"

"Indeed, there are some issues. In Jiangzhou, many people are circling around Senluo Prison, seemingly having some ideas about it."

Ye Fan picked up the paper in front of him, looking at the names listed on it.

"Chip expert, this person should be held in custody as a priority."

"Artificial intelligence engineer, this person should also be held in custody as a priority."

"Main leader of the gang, should also be held in custody."

"The brother-in-law of the King of Zijing Country, this one cannot be released."

Ye Fan quickly identified some key prisoners, people who could be of great use in the future.

He marked individuals from all major countries; as for those from small countries, he simply waved his hand, and as long as they paid enough, they were released immediately.

"Tell the Military Intelligence Bureau that capture operations must be pursued consistently, and civilian liaisons must be deepened. Now the Qin Han people have a very high regard for us, we can reach out more to those close to us. With a solid foundation among the people, our enemies will have nowhere to hide, and these are all assets to be fully utilized while they still hold value."

"Understood, sir, I will ensure your instructions are conveyed."

"Oh, by the way, if those foreigners attempt to bribe me by offering other things, just collect on my behalf... well, forget it, you may go."

Ye Fan stopped himself midway through the sentence.

Zhuge Yunxue left, puzzled, not knowing what the commander meant.

After Zhuge Yunxue left, Ye Fan watched her slender, swaying figure, feeling a bit warm inside.

Somehow, after the apocalypse, apart from having a vague relationship with Hua Wushuang, he, the commander-in-chief of the Dawn Army and future unifier of the world, had not attracted a single woman throwing herself at him.

In his twenties, at the peak of a man's vigor, he wondered if he could maintain control when faced with female seduction.

Hua Wushuang he certainly couldn't resist, but Ye Fan wanted to challenge his own vulnerability.

It was uncertain whether those foreigners would be tactful; Ye Fan thought about saying something but reconsidered.

Let destiny decide; he was a man of fate.

......

In Jiangzhou, a large group of national representatives were preparing to head to Dawn Island.

Currently, this group of countries had split into two factions, one advocating for war and the other for peace.

The pro-war countries were the powerful nations before the apocalypse. Although they had witnessed the mighty military prowess of the Dawn Army, they didn't believe their countries would fear the Dawn Army.

So they didn't plan to bow down, instead agreeing with Zheng Jinnan's second proposed plan, which was a prison break.

However, a prison break is not simple; there are many preparations that need to be made, and it can't just happen immediately.

They're waiting for reinforcements from their own countries to arrive because many countries are quite far away, like the White Eagle Country, which needs to circle half the planet to get here, and that takes time.

So these countries didn't take action, but some small and medium countries couldn't wait anymore. They were afraid, worrying that if they continued to hold on, the Dawn Army's aircraft carriers might arrive at their doorsteps, which would be devastating.

After all, many countries now don't have a lot of strategic depth, with the wilderness being overrun by zombies. Some countries even only have one or two base cities left, and truly can't afford to fight.

Among these countries, Shanshen Country took the lead, preparing to head to Dawn Island.

"Mr. Cui, are our preparations complete?"

A country representative came over to ask Shanshen Country's temporary leader Cui Minghao, who was entrusted with the significant task not only to redeem the captives but also to bring back former congressman Jin Zhixian.

The person questioning him was from the Babylon Empire, a country that was already in turmoil before the apocalypse and had always been relatively poor. The gold, silver, and jewels brought this time weren't many, rendering them feeling somewhat unconfident.

Cui Minghao glanced at Eunice from Babylon. "Ye Fan only wants gold and silver; what else do you want to bring?"

Eunice hesitated for a moment. "We brought some national treasure-level beauties this time, who used to compete in the Miss World pageant. Ye Fan is young and vigorous, so I just thought...".

"Don't even think about it!"

Cui Minghao immediately dismissed Eunice's idea with a wave of his hand, then asked the representative from Peacock Country beside him, "Do you think Ye Fan needs women?"

The Peacock Country representative burst into laughter. "Eunice, you really don't understand the surrounding situation. As a brilliant diplomat, you must thoroughly research the target's strategy. For others, your beauty approach might work, but it's useless against Ye Fan. Even though we're far away in Peacock Country, we've heard that Ye Fan is someone who completely abstains from women; how could you not know that?"

Eunice was dumbfounded instantly. "Huh? Abstains from women? No way!"

"Why not? There are always some people in this world with certain quirks. Ye Fan's abstaining from women is widely known. If you go to Dawn City and randomly stop a passerby, they all know this, so you've miscalculated."

Eunice suddenly felt dishearted; he had prepared the women for nothing.

Others had similar ideas, like those from Ethiopia on the tropical continent, who also brought their famed "black pearl" beauties, but now had to reluctantly abandon the idea.

So, a group of people boarded the plane, and after contacting the Dawn Army, headed straight to the Dawn Island airport.

......

Multi-national representatives arrived at Dawn Island, and the negotiations between both sides went very smoothly.

It took less than two days to reach an agreement on the release of captives.

The Dawn Army released a standard captive for each country which required a payment of one kilogram of gold.

Releasing an advanced captive required a payment of ten kilograms of gold.

Releasing an important captive required a payment of one hundred kilograms of gold.

If there wasn't enough gold, it could be exchanged for jewelry worth twice the value.

It didn't really count as much for these countries to bring out some gold, silver, and jewelry, considering almost all women had jewelry in the past, and human population has now decreased by at least 95% compared to the past, leaving too many ownerless jewels in the hands of a few people.

Thus, most countries happily brought out the jewelry, with only people like Babylon's Eunice not having enough as they were relatively poor in the past.

For such countries, Ye Fan made an exception, allowing them to take away their desired congressman.

The Babylon congressman burst into tears of joy after being released from prison.

Life in prison was so miserable. The prison guards didn't treat these big figures with any respect at all, subjecting them to endless labor every day. Defiance or laziness resulted in beatings, with no regard for international law or humanitarian spirit.

Fortunately, he met a young fellow from his country in prison, who helped him a lot in there, making his life not as hard as it could have been.

In prison, the congressman painted many beautiful pictures for the young fellow.

He promised if he ever left prison, he would repay the young fellow, advancing him to do various things.

Luckily, his country was supportive, quickly redeeming him out, and he promptly fulfilled his promise, demanding the young fellow be taken out too.

When he left prison with the young fellow, he immediately boarded the plane back home.

He wanted to return to his own country and didn't want to stay here another minute.

Returning to his country, he could immediately enter the power hierarchy and become one of the elites.

Though his country didn't have the glitter and charm of Dawn Island, it was relatively safe.

As the congressman looked at the gradually receding Dawn Island after boarding the plane, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ye Fan! Don't think that releasing me will make me grateful. Although our Babylon Empire's troops aren't as strong as your Dawn Army, we still have our own advantages."

"Unmanned suicide truck, if you ever encounter it, it will definitely turn you to dust!"

Even though he knew their suicide truck wouldn't easily reach Ye Fan, he still held onto a glimmer of hope, hoping to retaliate one day.

As he muttered to himself, the young fellow beside him wore a faint smile on his face.

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