Invasion of the United States

Under the scorching sun, the men of Farmville Town stepped outside the metal walls, encircling the attacked mobile platoon convoy twice.

The bodies on the ground were dragged out one by one and placed by the roadside. An excavator dug a pit over two meters deep, waiting to bury the bodies.

The gear on the bodies was stripped away, nothing left behind—not even helmets, equipment, or shoes. As for ammunition, firearms, or first aid supplies, those were in high demand and not to be used as grave goods.

Someone stood on tiptoe, seeing several armed personnel of the 'Holy Light' unloading a case of iced cola from an armored vehicle, and couldn't help but let out a low exclamation.

"The Richmond Guard Team sure is extravagant, having cola to drink at a time like this."

"Cola is cheap; the key is that it's chilled. How refreshing it would be to drink a can in this weather."

"Don't you think we're being a bit too indifferent, just standing here watching? The deceased are our own people."

"Our own people? Do you think the 'Richmond Guard Team' considers you their own?"

Listening to the crowd's chattering, Jiang Menglong felt immensely satisfied. He hadn't expected that even a small platoon of enemies would have cola among their logistical supplies.

To enjoy a good drink, the opposing major platoon leader had no qualms about using precious diesel for power generation and cooling—as if they really were the world's number one United States?!

But now with cold cola in hand, it would be a shame not to drink it. Jiang Menglong distributed a can to each of the team members working, and in high spirits, tossed a few more cans outside.

The crowd let out several gasps of surprise, and skirmishes broke out as people vied for the cola, making Old Jiang laugh heartily, feeling as if he were a colonist facing a group of ignorant and impoverished natives.

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Despite this, the equipment of the mobile platoon was indeed impressive; the MK-19 grenade machine gun mounted on the 'Humvee' could be called an 'infantry nightmare.'

This thing delivered range, power, and good accuracy, covering a wide area, making both direct and indirect fire easy—truly excellent.

Besides, there were over a dozen rocket launchers, such as the 'Gustav' M3 and the portable M72, used within a platoon that boasted formidable firepower.

If it weren't for the 'Swarm' being more terrifying, taking on this kind of mobile platoon by force, 'Holy Light' would have lost two or three dozen people.

A 'Warthog' landed amidst a whirlwind, consuming the scavenged weapons and equipment into its cabin before swiftly flying away—these fuel-guzzling military vehicles weren't worth taking, but the weapons and equipment on them wouldn't be left behind.

Nearby, Aik, the mayor of Farmville Town, was having a heated argument with Marco… "We can provide electricity for you, but you must open your supply resources to us.

But the most urgent thing now is to provide our town with a security guarantee, which means a military garrison, understand? You can't just kill and leave; you must take responsibility."

Marco was bewildered by these words; he understood the fear of the town's leaders about the upcoming situation, especially whether the 'Richmond Guard Team' would retaliate.

But what did a military garrison mean?

Were the residents of this little town planning to give up their defense rights?

"I need to consult with my superiors." Marco didn't dare to agree lightly, so he found Zhou Qingfeng to report the matter. The latter was equally astonished.

If this town abandons its military authority, it becomes meat on the chopping board; surely, they aren't so muddle-headed? But on further thought, they might indeed have their difficulties.

In the apocalypse, resource scarcity makes maintaining a standing armed force too costly.

'Holy Light' relies on pre-apocalyptic accumulation and can allocate only ten percent of its population to its armed forces; otherwise, production would be impossible.

The 'Richmond Guard Team,' however, is entirely military-oriented, relying on plundering from all around to sustain themselves. If they can't seize enough resources, they will collapse on their own.

For Farmville Town, last year's scavenging harvests were nearly exhausted, and the potatoes planted this year suffered drought; maintaining a militia was futile against surrounding forces.

Given up their dignity and stubbornness, it'd be better to live as a vassal. This might be a sudden idea from the town leaders, but it indirectly proves they have no alternatives.

Zhou Qingfeng shared his guess, also using the radio to contact Xiao Jinlang and Lin Anquan at the 'Holy Light' camp—the two responsible for military and administrative affairs were also quite shocked.

Because 'Holy Light' currently only has a few thousand people nationwide, with only five to six hundred in Virginia, clearly incapable of taking on the defense tasks of other forces.

"Unless we abandon other small shelters and concentrate our personnel in Virginia," Old Xiao suddenly suggested, "I've been wanting to say, 'Holy Light's' current population is too dispersed.

In the early stages of the viral outbreak, dispersion helped survival by not risking the entire group if one shelter was compromised. But now we're looking to develop, and inevitably, we need to concentrate our population."

"Wait a minute..." Zhou Qingfeng interrupted, "Don't think that far ahead yet. Right now, a town with 800 residents is asking us for protection because they're afraid of being attacked.

This town's 'Xihu' hydropower station can provide us with at least 10,000 kilowatts of electricity daily. Do we agree to their request or not?

Our current power supply is getting tighter and tighter."

"Agree." Lin Anquan, responsible for military affairs, decisively replied, "We can proactively strike the 'Richmond Guard Team,' at least temporarily stripping them of the ability to threaten us."

"I'd like to attack too, but how should we?" Zhou Qingfeng questioned, "Currently, our camp has just over 500 people combined, yet they have over 3,000, more than half of whom are former professional soldiers."