The two stumbled and crawled up to the balcony, feeling the ever-intensifying tremors beneath their feet.

They yanked open the window, and a muffled rumbling sound from afar broke in. Three kilometers away, on the railway tracks, a massive steel behemoth charged straight toward them, crushing all the debris in its path with its pointed front like a spearhead.

Dispersed zombies chased madly on both sides but had no means to confront the steel giant.

They could only leave futile, bloody marks on its thick armor.

The two exchanged a glance, their hearts filled with awe.

They never expected their murmured wish to come true so quickly.

"Brother Fei, what do we do?"

Wang Fei turned to walk back inside the house, "You quickly go notify, I'll tidy up a bit."

Before the man could react to what needed tidying, a gunshot rang out from the living room.

Startled, he flinched, then ran out to see Wang Fei standing there unharmed, letting out a sigh of relief as he noticed the woman lying lifelessly on the ground, showing a look of regret.

'She served quite well these past few days, why shoot her...'

Seeing his expression, Wang Fei knew what he was thinking and cursed, "Pathetic coward, when we make it big, there will be plenty of women! Go report quickly, or we'll miss out on credits."

...

Jinzong City, Changli County, Future New City.

The largest department store in the county center had long been converted into a military building, with sandbags and abandoned vehicles forming makeshift fortifications all around. The entrance was blocked by armored vehicles, their fronts facing outwards, ensuring they could charge out immediately if something went wrong.

The vehicle fronts were also used to construct a new gate.

In the first-floor lobby, various clothing and sundries were piled in the corners, and the middle was transformed into a temporary military camp.

Servant Soldiers armed with guns patrolled the area, with various light and heavy machine guns mounted at the windows' highest points, creating a firepower network capable of easily securing the entire store.

From a few hundred meters away down the commercial street came the sporadic flash of explosions, the roar of helicopter gunfire echoing.

An armored off-road vehicle came rushing from the front lines, like an enraged beast.

"Screech—"

The tires screeched sharply against the ground.

Before the vehicle could come to a complete stop, a tall figure leapt out, landing with a slight knee bend to absorb all the momentum, shifting into a slow walking pace.

The off-road vehicle skidded to a sideways halt in front of the department store, the abrupt transition from movement to stillness showcasing the driver's exceptional control over the vehicle.

"Bang!"

The soldier slammed the car door shut and quickly followed the tall figure.

Without exchanging any commands, the two entered the store, and everyone — whether Servant Soldiers or regular soldiers — stood and saluted this captain of the Steel Council's A-rank battle team upon passing.

In the Steel Council, which commanded a force of a hundred armed personnel, only two others were of the same rank as Zhong Cheng.

And the Steel Council's S-rank battle team had only one squad, consisting of three hundred Evolver soldiers.

However, the S-level was just a nominal rank with no actual commander.

They reported directly to the board.

Since the founding of the new city and the deep-seated post-apocalyptic mindset, the Steel Council gradually reformed, allowing military ranks to coexist with the retainer system.

When team levels were no longer linked to the number of personnel, a real S-rank squad was formed.

That squad consisted of just one person, Lin Jin, and his two followers.

They didn't even have Servant Army staff to handle miscellaneous tasks.

Zhong Cheng passed through several defensive lines to stand before a young man with glasses, whose eyes were bloodshot, his refined suit nowhere to be seen, shirt sleeves rolled up, surrounded by piles of documents.

This young man was sent by the board to monitor the battlefield.

He was the executive director Li Wangchuan's nephew, Li Tao.

Before Zhong Cheng could get closer, Li Tao, without looking up, said, "If you're still suggesting blowing up the entire shopping plaza and its surrounding neighborhoods, you might as well save it. None of the board members, myself included, would agree to your tactic."

Zhong Cheng declared firmly, "But I still insist on my strategy. At least tens of thousands of zombies, including over five hundred Tier One Zombies, are concentrated across the shopping plaza and neighboring areas. Even with our firepower advantage, clearing them would come at a huge cost."

"Cost?"

Li Tao lifted his head from the pile of documents, adjusted his glasses, and calmly asked, "Do you know why we chose the county instead of expanding from the current headquarters?"

Zhong Cheng frowned, "That's not my concern. I'm a soldier; I focus on the outcomes of war!"

Li Tao retorted unyieldingly, "That's why we decide how to fight it!"

"We chose Changli County because the city's existing infrastructure saves us a tremendous amount of manpower and resources. And you're not just thinking of bombing a building, but the entire bustling county center!"

"It's the apocalypse now; we can't just rebuild a city."

The two locked eyes, neither willing to give in, until Li Tao eventually broke from the stalemate.

"How many days left to completely clear Changli?"

"At least five more days."

"That's too long."

"The board set our deadline at fifteen days; we're already three days ahead."

Li Tao drummed his fingers on the papers in his hand, and suddenly the landline phone on the desk rang.

Both faces turned serious.

Li Tao quickly answered the phone, his expression changing drastically after hearing a couple of sentences.

"Have any of our planted mines gone off?"

"Immediately detonate all the buried explosives from Dongping City to Changli, blow up every railway track, leave none intact!"

"Send someone to negotiate immediately; no matter what methods you use, stall them!"

"Smack!"

The phone was hung up, and thoughts of the superficially smiling yet ruthlessly scheming Su Huan sparked a mix of rage and fear within Li Tao's heart.

Detecting this fear only fueled his anger more.

Because he couldn't comprehend what was on Su Huan's mind!

The secretive faction behind Su Huan was a thorn in his side, keeping him awake for nights on end.

If the new city plan were to fail, the company's development would come to a halt, and the entire Li Family, who had gambled everything, would vanish in the all-consuming acid rain!

Foresight of this future, Li Tao's face twisted in rage, as he slammed a fist onto his desk, sending documents flying.

Witnessing Li Tao's unprecedented breakdown, Zhong Cheng realized the gravity of the situation.

"What's happening?"

With bloodshot eyes, Li Tao turned to him, "The armed train is interfering with the New City plan!"

Zhong Cheng's pupils immediately contracted, "The force that took out He Jie's team?"

"Yes, I'll lead twenty people and five hundred Servant Soldiers to block them. I don't care what methods you use, capture Changli County within a day!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.