Wasteland Commander

Zhang Xiaofei had a leg injury, but Ye Fan's shot was precise and didn't hit the bone. After two male medical soldiers bandaged him tightly, it was not a major issue.

Even if it was serious, he had to endure it.

"Xiaofei, come up and talk!"

Zhang Xiaofei entered the city through the gate and then climbed the city wall to Wang Dashan's side.

"Xiaofei, how did you come from outside?"

"Don't mention it."

Zhang Xiaofei glanced around Wang Dashan and then whispered, "It failed. We went in yesterday and were quickly discovered. All of them encountered tragedy, and only I escaped through the back door. There was basically no chance of success."

Wang Dashan had no doubts about this. Zhang Xiaofei was a bold and meticulous person; otherwise, he wouldn't have been tasked with assassinating Ye Fan.

If he said it couldn't succeed, then there was absolutely no way it could succeed.

"Then you just said we should retreat?"

"It's over! If we don't retreat now, it will be too late. There's now a large horde of zombies less than ten kilometers away from Dawn City!"

"What did you say?"

Wang Dashan was suddenly shocked: "Zombies? How could zombies get over here? Aren't those things supposed to just wander mindlessly where there are no living creatures?"

Having survived the early days of the apocalypse, people's fear of zombies had diminished.

These creatures, though ruthless and inhumane, had a very obvious weakness.

That is, they have no intelligence.

How can a creature without intelligence compete with humans?

So, as long as they avoided heavily infested areas and gradually eliminated them, zombies were nothing more than targets.

Also, Wang Dashan didn't feel that zombies could pose any threat here, as this big city was heavily fortified, and zombies couldn't climb up.

Zhang Xiaofei urgently said, "It's not a small number of zombies, this time there are hundreds of thousands of them. Forget about Dawn City, even if they went to our Wangbei Army, they probably couldn't withstand it. Staying here is just waiting to die!"

Seeing Wang Dashan seemed skeptical, he immediately took out a telescope.

"Look over there, you can already see the shadow of the zombies."

Wang Dashan took the telescope and looked towards the far field.

At a glance, he was so frightened that he almost dropped the telescope off the city wall.

Only to see about ten kilometers away, a black line on the horizon was spreading over.

Zombies!

A countless number of zombies!

The despairing quantity left no room for thoughts of resistance.

"What's going on? Why are so many zombies coming to the Dawn Army?"

Zhang Xiaofei shook his head, "I don't know what's going on, but if we don't run, we'll all die here. Or do you want to have a funeral with the Dawn Army?"

"Of course not, but if we run, we'll have to compensate with gold."

"Dashan, are you out of your mind? If the Dawn Army is wiped out, who do we compensate? Let them get through this crisis first."

Wang Dashan immediately thought it made sense.

Coupled with the worried and fearful uproar from those around him, he immediately agreed with Zhang Xiaofei's suggestion.

"Pack your things, everyone get ready to retreat, we can't stay here!"

Wang Dashan ran down from the city wall, preparing to board the armored vehicle to leave.

At this moment, members of the Dawn Army stopped him.

"Hey! You can't leave, we have a contract."

Wang Dashan didn't want to pay attention to the Dawn Army and attempted to leave forcibly, but suddenly many people from the Dawn Army rushed out, and the heavy machine guns on the watchtower were aimed at them.

The Dawn Army's logistics officer Zhang Kunlin arrived and said directly to Wang Dashan, "If you leave now, you'll be breaking the agreement. You can leave, but you must publicly promise in the broadcast to compensate us with 500 kilograms of gold, and it must be promised by the leaders of all your bases. Then you have to pledge your weapons and vehicles here, or none of you can leave!"

Wang Dashan initially refused to agree, but Zhang Xiaofei said to him, "Just make the announcement on the broadcast, it doesn't matter. Our base always monitors the broadcast; let the leaders make the promise, it's fine. Leaving the weapons doesn't matter, do they have the life to use them? After this crisis, we can take them back."

Thinking Zhang Xiaofei made sense, Wang Dashan followed the Dawn Army personnel to the broadcast station.

He and other leaders from several forces read the following statement according to the script given by the Dawn Army.

"Due to internal reasons of our Survivor Alliance, we must evacuate from the Dawn Army camp. We promise to pay 500 kilograms of gold to the Dawn Army within a month as agreed, and we request our leaders to make a public promise....."

Soon, people from various bases heard the broadcast, including Zhang Zhiguo from the Wangbei Army, and within ten minutes, all leaders responded.

They agreed to leave their weapons and compensate the Dawn Army with gold, as long as the Dawn Army allowed Alliance personnel to evacuate.

Most of the weapons, including armored vehicles, were left behind.

Only a few leading members left with a few pistols, driving away in two jeeps.

The remaining majority had to walk on foot.

Though current public oversight was largely just a formality, they dared not easily go against it, because once they did, dissenting voices would arise internally.

Externally, it goes without saying that those hesitant and on-looking survivors would probably not join the Alliance anymore.

Pledging weapons was tangible; to retrieve the weapons and armored vehicles for these six hundred people, they also had to find a way to secure the gold.

Of course, that was on the condition that the Dawn Army could survive this ordeal.

********

The six hundred people they brought along ran away, and the over a thousand people who had snuck in secretly also followed suit.

However, it was not an easy task for these people to escape.

They had disguised themselves as survivors and did not have any vehicles.

The zombies came menacingly, making it seem like a premeditated action. Such a large-scale escape might even attract the zombies' attention.

Without vehicles, relying solely on legs, it's very difficult for humans to outrun the zombies.

Those without intelligence might be okay, but those with intelligence wouldn't make it.

Humans need rest; expecting someone to run dozens or hundreds of kilometers on sheer willpower is simply unrealistic.

Let alone running, even continuous walking would be impossible.

If the zombies focus on the return route, it's destined to be a bloody path.

Moreover, their escape stirred up some internal chaos among the survivors of the Dawn Army.

Almost everyone knew about the incoming massive zombie tide.

After some people used binoculars to confirm, the Inner City District boiled like a pot of boiling oil.

"It's no good! Run quickly, we can't hold this place anymore."

"Where do we run to? There are walls and troops here, other places might not be as secure as this."

"But there are no zombies in other places. With hundreds of thousands of zombies, they'd pile up and overflow the walls, how can we defend against that?"

"Retreat; if we run out, there might be a slim chance of survival. If worse comes to worst, maybe hiding in the mountains can keep us alive."

"Whoever wants to leave can go, I'm not leaving, the world is the same everywhere."

Currently, the number of survivors here in the Dawn Army exceeds a thousand. Aside from the four hundred brought by Ye Fan, the rest have arrived in the past few days.

People's hearts are not united; some newcomers have not yet developed a sense of belonging to the Dawn Army.

The zombies are just ten kilometers away, reaching Dawn City in just about two hours, and they must make a decision now.

Some are determined to join the escape, even if it's impossible to hold them back.

Those who came with Ye Fan from the start didn't move; they couldn't think of where else to go.

Yet some remain hesitant, at a loss for what to do.

At this moment, Ye Fan stepped forward.

He made his way into the center of the survivors in the Inner City District.

Upon seeing Ye Fan emerge, many survivors crowded around, all eager to ask Ye Fan what should be done now.

Ye Fan scanned the surrounding crowd and slowly began to speak.

"The zombies are coming, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, and their target is clearly our Dawn City."

"I understand that everyone has their own aspirations. Here, I offer everyone a choice."

"Our Dawn Army will stand firm and resist to the end. I warmly welcome those who are willing to stay."

"As for those unwilling to stay, I won't force you. The city gate is open now, you can leave immediately if you wish. But remember, once you step out of this gate, do not return. The Dawn Army will not accept you again!"

"Now I give everyone five minutes to decide. Those wishing to leave should do so quickly. After five minutes, if you're still here, it means you're staying. If you want to leave again, it will be considered a betrayal, and I will execute immediately."

"The countdown starts now."

After speaking, Ye Fan stood silently.

His parents, sister, the Su Family Sisters, Gao Dongliang, Qu Xiaoming, some students from Lingshui School who came from Chengguan Town, and the delivery workers he rescued all unhesitatingly stood behind Ye Fan.

Others looked at each other, and some chose to stay.

However, around three hundred people felt it wasn't safe here and decisively turned to join the escape group.

The number of survivors left totaled about eight hundred.

"Time's up!"

Ye Fan issued the order.

"All survivors are to remain in the Inner City District now, no one is allowed to leave or approach the city wall. From now on, the walls will be under strict lockdown! The entire Dawn City is now under martial law!"

"Zhongjing!"

"Present!"

"Immediately enter combat readiness, we have less than two hours to prepare."

"Understood!"

The main forces rushed out of the core area, starting to ascend the city walls.

A mine-laying vehicle even drove straight out of the city, urgently beginning mine deployment.

Ye Fan then turned back to the core area to check on the weapons factory set up the previous night, which was already starting to produce bullets.

The zombie army was swiftly approaching, while the Dawn Army was busily arranging defenses.

If they win this battle, the Dawn Army will undoubtedly become a significant force in Huacheng, their prestige will soar, and growth will be evident.

If they fail, they will become history.

Tension filled the air, and everyone wore grim expressions.

A storm is coming!