Wasteland Commander

Ye Fan needs to prepare for winter storage.

As for winter storage, besides hoarding the materials they can collect, he plans to store a large amount of gold as the golden reserve for the Dawn Army.

In the absence of significant external threats, Ye Fan doesn't plan to expand the army on a large scale.

Right now, Dawn City's city defenses are definitely sufficient, and increasing troops would just consume food supplies.

By storing the gold, they can increase a large number of combat units whenever needed.

Leaving some soldiers to guard the city, Ye Fan personally led more than a thousand men back to Qinghe.

Traveling in such cold weather is not a pleasant task, as the wind and snow can cause many less resolute people to retreat.

But Ye Fan must take down Qinghe Town within this timeframe.

The sudden disappearance of zombies from Pinggang Town gave Ye Fan a heavy sense of crisis.

The emergence of a wild commanding zombie might prove even stronger than Wang Huining.

Wang Huining turning into a commanding zombie was actually an unexpected scenario.

After getting infected by the zombie virus and then cutting off his arm, he was still an evolver. The amount of the virus infection precisely reached a point where it caused a mutation but was not complete.

Ye Fan already understood that evolvers actually belong to Level 1 mutation; Wang Huining got infected again, which should bring him to Level 2 mutation.

But in reality, he did not reach that level.

At most, he is at Level 1.5, equivalent to an Evolution Value of 1.5.

After the birth of the wild commanding zombie, it would absolutely be a Level 2 mutation.

The same level as King Kong Zombie.

Thus, the abilities of a wild commanding type definitely surpass those of Wang Huining.

It's undeniable that there is a Corpse King in Pinggang Town, but Ye Fan did not scout it. He was also puzzled as to how the Corpse King avoided the radar scan.

If he had discovered it at the time, he would have undoubtedly eliminated it without hesitation, but now it's too late.

Ye Fan can even imagine where the Corpse King went; it must have gone to Huacheng City.

Because Pinggang Town is only thirty kilometers from Huacheng, and the zombies' departure direction detected by the scouts was towards Huacheng.

To be clear, Huacheng is a huge city with a population of eighty million. Once the Zombie King gets there, it won't take long before it becomes a true Corpse King.

At that time, the entire Huacheng Region, along with all the survivor bases, will face a huge survival challenge.

Initially, Ye Fan planned to take over the bank vaults in Huacheng City, but seeing the zombies migrating there, he immediately abandoned this unrealistic idea.

Moreover, according to the War Hawk's reconnaissance report, the evolution of zombies is still ongoing.

The apocalypse's initiating meteor shower provided the zombies with energy for evolution, allowing them to evolve at a speed faster than humans.

Ye Fan did not know the full extent of the Zombie King's abilities, but he must store as much gold as possible quickly.

To take out all the unconstructed buildings at hand, ideally advancing technology even further.

And among all the small towns nearby, Qinghe definitely has the fewest zombies; after several strikes by the Dawn Army, the number of zombies here has dwindled to just over a million.

Once Qinghe is cleared, the road network between Ye Fan and other northern survivor bases will be cleared, making transportation and material flow more convenient.

Leading the troops back to Qinghe once again, he calculated the time to arrive right at ten in the morning.

This time Ye Fan's side was indeed strong and well-equipped, having brought all ten tanks with him.

Along with ten armored vehicles, they set up a solid defense line in an open area, coordinated with the tanks.

The warriors, using various vehicles as supports, formed layers of firepower nets, ensuring zombies can't break through the defense line.

Because zombies are becoming increasingly harder to combat.

Some zombies have started developing a keratin layer on their heads; though they appear to be ordinary zombies, they've become nearly as difficult to kill as the Armored Zombies.

Some of the giant claw zombies have become highly destructive, and if not for the freezing weather, they might have attempted to dig tunnels to attack the Dawn Army.

The fat zombies with corrosive liquid in their stomachs have evolved an instinct to follow behind other zombies, denying advantageous shooting angles.

Allowing such creatures to get close would spell disaster, so Ye Fan instructs to prioritize killing fat zombies.

The sound of gunfire roars incessantly, with zombies spreading across the ice-covered river like a tide.

The Dawn Army's soldiers have grown highly proficient in killing zombies; when one runs low on ammunition, they retreat, and the reserve soldiers immediately take their place.

The strikes from the Flamethrower Warrior are focused on the rear of the zombies. Whenever large numbers of zombies gather, multiple fire dragons appear, seizing the opportunity while they can't surge forward at once to burn them to charcoal.

This way, the supporting zombies at the rear can't catch up, and the ones in front get quickly wiped out.

Proficient tactical coordination and the most efficient strike methods ensure that, even with zombies having grown significantly stronger, the Dawn Army's killing efficiency remains commendable.

During the two hours before reloading ammunition, the frenzy of killing was at its peak. In that period, over fifty thousand zombies fell under the guns of the Dawn Army.

After reloading, the battle continued. This time it wasn't about reckless output but focused on killing efficiency. By afternoon, with about a third of the ammo left, over forty thousand zombies had fallen.

About a hundred thousand zombies were killed in one day; this combat efficiency is truly astonishing.

"Collect the supplies!"

Ye Fan led the team to gather supplies; the day's harvest was over seventy thousand gold!

After completing the killing, they returned immediately.

With little ammo left and enduring the freezing weather, it was better to head back. By noon tomorrow, they'll reload the bullets, and return the day after.

At this rate, Ye Fan estimates that Qinghe will be secured in just over twenty days.

*********

The Little Corpse King clutched an iron barrel, riding on the back of a King Kong, and had already entered Huacheng City.

This King Kong Zombie was obtained at the school; among the survivors who ran in, there was an Evolver.

The Evolver got infected and became a King Kong Zombie.

The Little One did not devour the King Kong Zombie; such a powerful zombie is very rare, so he made it his personal bodyguard.

Upon entering Huacheng, he witnessed a grand scene.

There were simply too many zombies in this city.

They were everywhere in the streets and alleys; the apocalypse had started for almost three months, and no one had the ability to attack such a big city.

So, the zombies here had been left to develop freely.

The mutated species Ye Fan encountered in Qinghe were abundant here.

The Little One felt like he had arrived in paradise and began rapidly accumulating the number of his subordinates.

Controlling zombies is not about sending a thought and all zombies around immediately surrender; it also requires a process, and it takes time.

Wang Huining took a month to accumulate thirty thousand zombie minions; being able to accumulate ten thousand zombies in a day was the limit of Wang Huining's ability.

The Little One's ability was stronger than Wang Huining's; on the first day in Huacheng, his zombie minions grew to eighteen thousand.

Some of the Iron Armor and agility types were taken as food.

He could feel that devouring these zombies could further enhance his abilities.

Of course, his small body couldn't eat much, and many were used to feed his subordinates.

The King Kong Zombie also began to grow gradually.

On the second day, his zombie numbers reached thirty-five thousand.

He was no longer satisfied staying on the city's outskirts; he attempted to move deeper into the city, trying to recruit stronger minions.

On the third day, the Little One encountered an enemy.

It wasn't other commanding zombies nor humans, but a swarm of rats emerging from the sewers!

The Little One proudly led the large army through the city, which had no survivors left; after three months, even if anyone survived, they would be exceptionally rare as most died or fled to the wilderness.

Even if humans existed, they would serve merely as food additions.

Compared to devouring Iron Armor zombies, fresh human flesh provided a greater boost; it was the most delicious food.

He led the large troops in marching, then sensed a special area.

It was a meteorite crater.

Pinggang Town had a meteorite crater too, but it struck near the town hall; unable to reach it from the elementary school.

There lay the power he needed; just approaching it made him feel comfortable.

Leading the zombie horde hurriedly forward, he encountered that swarm of rats.

They weren't just one or two rats, but tens of thousands!

The rats were larger than before, rivalling small dogs.

Their tiny eyes glowed with crimson, mouths filled with dense fangs, proving their extreme ferocity.

The rats lay near the meteorite crater, motionless; there wasn't even a zombie around.

Yet, many shattered bones proved it seemed to have seen combat over control.

Mutant Beasts and zombies originally coexisted peacefully, but a conflict of interest surely led to battles.

The meteorite crater wasn't that large, and the rats occupied it.

The Little One felt angry that his favorite place was taken by rats, so he wanted to drive them away.

However, these rats weren't easy to provoke; seeing the Little One approaching, they bared their teeth and screeched, threatening the nearing zombies.

The Little One commanded the zombies to expel the rats, igniting a fierce battle.

An ordinary zombie couldn't even match a single Mutant Rat.

Their sharp claws and fangs easily inflicted damage on ordinary zombies; even Armored Zombies surrounded by rats quickly turned into skeletons.

Despite having tens of thousands of zombies, the Little One couldn't gain the upper hand!

Growing furious, he roared at a leading large rat!

The rat, larger than a dog, was blood-soaked in battle, but upon hearing the Little One's roar, instinctively retreated two steps.

Then turned and fled!

In an instant, over ten thousand rats disappeared without a trace.

The Little One seized control of the meteorite crater.

He made another discovery.

If he grew a little stronger, he could control that large rat, and control the entire group of rats.

This idea formed in his undeveloped mind.

After staying at the meteorite crater for a few days, he planned to find those humans!

As long as he avoided the group that stirred some fear previously, he could quickly become stronger.

He intended not only to lead zombies but also to command the rats!