Wasteland Commander

Outside the Daqing Mountain Prison Base, Hu Yuan and Zhang Zhijian met.

Hu Yuan is a young man, looking about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, tall.

While Zhang Zhijian is in his thirties, very thin, but with bright eyes and solid muscles, clearly more energetic than ordinary people.

Both of them are evolvers, and there is some sense among evolvers to gauge each other's strength.

Zhang Zhijian's level of evolution is high throughout the Survivor Alliance.

In evolutionary research, there is an evolution value as a reference, but ordinary people don't know it. If a Level 1 Evolver's evolution value is 1, then Zhang Zhijian's is 1.2.

But as soon as he saw Hu Yuan, his face suddenly changed.

Because Hu Yuan gave him the feeling of an evolution value as high as 1.9!

Just one step further, this guy might surpass the current level and become a Level 2 Evolver.

Rikov, whom he met in Rakshasa, was also a powerful evolver, but the feel of his evolution value was about between 1.6 to 1.7, not as high as Hu Yuan's.

An evolution value reaching 1 means strength enough to crush a former world boxing champion.

A 1.9 evolution value, it can be said this is the most powerful person Zhang Zhijian has encountered.

Zhang Zhijian's face changed, then quickly returned to normal: "Meeting Brother Hu, I finally understand what it means to be young and promising. Your strength truly leaves me in awe."

Hu Yuan chuckled: "There's always someone better. I just have some skill in this little corner of the world. Across the whole province, there are at least a few more with my level of strength."

Zhang Zhijian was secretly alarmed. As an evolver, he knew what a 1.9 evolution value represented.

A person like this can be described as a superman, able to leap several meters high, run a hundred meters in mere seconds, and those with great strength can even overturn trucks.

Some people even exhibit special mutations; for instance, he has seen Rikov's palm glow gold, with his body showing a metallic tendency.

Hu Yuan mentioned that within the province there are many powerful evolvers, which gave Zhang Zhijian a sense of crisis.

After dealing with the Dawn Army, he was determined to improve his own strength no matter what.

"Brother Zhang, coming to my territory from afar, aren't you afraid I might take you out?" After sitting down, Hu Yuan's first words were full of dominance.

Zhang Zhijian smiled: "It's not that I hadn't considered it, but I believe Brother Hu is a smart man. We have a common goal and shared interests. Before this matter is completed, Brother Hu has no reason to act against me."

"Haha! Well said. Since we've spoken this far, I don't want to waste words. Brother Zhang, be frank."

Zhang Zhijian lightly tapped the table twice with his finger: "I'm not sure how much Brother Hu knows about our Huacheng affairs?"

"I know a little, at least your skirmish with the Dawn Army isn't hidden from me."

Zhang Zhijian continued: "I've come here for this very matter. Speaking of which, the Dawn Army did originate from Coal City, right?"

Hu Yuan nodded: "Correct, back when the Dawn Army was causing chaos at the Coal City Survivor Trading Conference, I was just a small fry. However, I have to thank Ye Fan. If he hadn't taken out Xing Hai, Liu Long, and their gang of bosses, I wouldn't have had the chance to rise."

"That also speaks to Brother Hu's capability. But I heard, Brother Hu seemed to have suffered at Ye Fan's hands?"

"Indeed, I had just conquered the Airport Base and acquired three helicopters, but when I went to Huacheng, not a single one returned; they were all taken by the Dawn Army."

"Does Brother Hu wish to seek revenge?"

"Depends on how this revenge is sought."

Reaching this point, they arrived at the crucial moment of negotiation.

Zhang Zhijian held nothing back and laid out his plan.

"Recently, we've been cooperating with the Rakshasa, preparing to decisively clash with the Dawn Army. We are determined to win this battle. It's good if our alliance can win; if we can't hold them off, we'd rather invite the Rakshasa to join in...."

Hu Yuan remained silent; he realized Zhang Zhijian and his group had no sense of national honor or moral integrity, inviting foreigners to join the fight; it's like inviting a wolf into the house.

But he couldn't care too much. The apocalypse had arrived, human nature was indifferent, a common phenomenon.

"Thus, we dare to say that this time we will surely win, but I still hope Brother Hu can join."

"There are two time points when you join, one is the start....."

After Zhang Zhijian finished his plan, he finally said: "After it's done, I won't say more; four tanks, that's my reward to Brother Hu. What do you think?"

Hu Yuan hadn't taken much previous talk seriously, but those four tanks truly moved him.

Coal City isn't close to the border and doesn't have channels like Huacheng to obtain tanks. Even after unifying Coal City, he had his eyes on those damaged military district weapons, but it wasn't easy to manage.

Reviving industrial production is a difficult task, and Coal City lacks such talents.

Without someone supplying him, tanks would take him three to five months, maybe a year and a half to come by.

"Four tanks sound good, but how can I ensure Brother Zhang fulfills his promise?"

"Do you see the two military armored vehicles behind me? They are driven here from Huacheng. If you agree, they are my deposit for you. If you don't, I'll turn and leave."

Seeing two additional armored vehicles, Hu Yuan nodded with satisfaction.

"I have one more demand. Besides the four tanks and two armored vehicles, if the Dawn Army has planes, I must take one; otherwise, it's too inconvenient to travel."

"Agreed! But I also have a request, and that is at crucial moments in the battle, Brother Hu may need to personally undertake some special tasks."

Zhang Zhijian isn't just a fool; he valued Hu Yuan's remarkable abilities.

Hu Yuan was also brimming with confidence in his own strength.

With an evolution value of 1.9, he was practically invincible.

"Sure, let's have Brother Zhang witness my prowess then, hahaha!"

The two hit it off immediately and signed a simple agreement. They clearly outlined what needed attention, when to deploy troops, to what extent the fight would go, and how to divide the spoils after the battle.

This agreement was successfully signed.

"Alright, Brother Hu, await our news. We'll contact you via radio then."

After the apocalypse, these factions were collecting high-power radios, and the technology had indeed improved a lot. Communication within hundreds of kilometers was no longer an issue.

The two bid each other farewell with smiles.

Zhang Zhijian left behind two armored vehicles and received Hu Yuan's commitment to deploy troops.

This time he had ample reason to believe he wouldn't fail.

Combining the tens of thousands from the Survivor Alliance, along with the nearly ten thousand armed personnel from Hu Yuan's side, can they not defeat the Dawn Army?

Ridiculous!

They don't even need the Rakshasa to step in to win.

********

Ye Fan's buildings were finally completed.

After placing the fourth barracks, Ye Fan's troop deployment speed was exceedingly rapid.

It only took fifteen seconds to produce a conscript and thirty seconds for an army soldier.

By the time the Army Heroic Battalion was built, his number of troops was nearing two thousand.

Three mechanized infantry units were fully staffed, along with guards, engineers, mortar units, paratroops, and tank units, and so on.

Inside the barracks, squads of system soldiers were training by running, their momentum strong as a rainbow.

The troops were strong and the tanks roared!

Whether new or veteran soldiers, none exhibited low morale or fear.

The combat ability of such a force could be easily imagined.

The Survivor Alliance may have tens of thousands of people, but Ye Fan truly didn't think much of them. Those troops might be able to fight well in favorable conditions, but when the battle becomes a stalemate and bayonets are drawn, those people are nothing more than paper tigers.

Especially when all ten tanks appeared, rumbling down the streets of the core area, Ye Fan felt even more proud.

To truly test the combat prowess of his troops, let them try against the Survivor Alliance.

If they were to engage in combat now, it might be somewhat manageable; if given more time, Ye Fan might even be able to upgrade all his troops.

After so many days of fighting in Qinghe, most of the troops had already reached Three-Star, only the tanks and combat helicopters remained unpromoted due to cost issues.

However, Zhou Tao's tanks had reached Two-Star, with daily ammunition capacity reaching 40 shells and increasing armor thickness.

If they could reach Three-Star, even the light tanks could be used as medium tanks.

At that time, Rakshasa tanks sold to the Survivor Alliance might meet their match.

These troops were the main force and conventional combat strength, the foundation of the Dawn Army's standing.

But what Ye Fan anticipated most was the Heroic Battalion.

With the completion of the Heroic Battalion, Ye Fan placed it near his residence.

Originally he thought it would be a huge building, but it turned out to be a connected house.

The building had a very technological look, with lots of instruments and tubes visible inside, even some metal, machinery, and lathes, like a laboratory in a sci-fi movie, or more like a mechanical workshop.

Each laboratory had a door, with a total of six doors.

"Nana, it seems like the style of this Heroic Battalion isn't very fixed?"

"Yes, Commander, those instruments and tubes and nutritional fluid are all for the life forms, to help them break through potential and advance to become heroic units."

"And those metal machines are prepared for your vehicle units. I've told you, it's not just soldiers that can upgrade, any Three-Star Red Alert units can upgrade."

Ye Fan paused for a moment: "So tanks are considered army units, can I upgrade a tank?"

"Yes, as long as you pay enough gold, any Three-Star army unit can."

Ye Fan suddenly realized tanks weren't possible yet because his tanks weren't Three-Star.

Unable to upgrade tanks to heroic units for now, Ye Fan started pondering.

What should he upgrade to a hero?

Should it be a nostalgic choice, picking the first soldier Wang Hu?

Or prioritize rescue by choosing the medic Xiao Jing?

Or prioritize technology and choose Engineer Luo Jiaxin?

Or pick Zhuge Yunxue from the guards?

Or if truly no one else, choose Shen Ruihui?

Too many choices, each with its own merits, so Ye Fan decided to bring all units in and try them out.