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墨書 Inktalez
Before the battle preparations, there were three in total. Almost everyone gathered in the mountain village was ready to fight, including women, with only a few children not participating.
The oldest among them was a man nearing sixty. Of course, those older than him had mostly perished, and the few survivors remained in the Han Sui City Gathering Place, too afraid to take such risks.
Once they donned military cotton jackets and helmets, even wearing stab-proof vests underneath their clothes, they looked at the forces of Hope Mall with newfound respect.
Such treatment was something no one in the Han Sui City Gathering Place could enjoy.
"Those standing here today will become members of the Hope Gathering Place in the future. I hope everyone can survive; the future will belong to us, to humanity. Anyone who wishes to use the lives of others as stepping stones will be destroyed. Today, we fight not for ourselves but for the three hundred thousand survivors of Han Sui City Gathering Place, for the hope of continuing to survive. And for yourselves."
"From now on, I will fight alongside you until the last moment. Justice will be invincible; three hundred thousand survivors stand with us."
"Now! Let the army advance! The target is Han Sui City Gathering Place!" Zheng Yifan waved his hand, leading the way as excitement surged among the crowd behind him. They were not motivated by Zheng Yifan's rhetoric or for other survivors.
They fought for themselves, to survive, for their loved ones. There was no choice but to move forward; stagnation meant death. The survival rules of this post-apocalyptic world left them no options.
Naturally, all the young people were filled with fervor; they fought for a brighter future and for rewards that could be exchanged with Military Merit.
In Han Sui City Gathering Place, there were post-apocalyptic beauties whom they could barely even touch. As long as their Military Merit was outstanding, they might gain favor. Even in the Military Merit exchange section appeared Essence Fruits, all high-quality items, with the highest-grade Essence Fruit boasting a 100% activation success rate. This thrilled them; it represented power and a beautiful future.
For these things, what wouldn’t they sacrifice? After all, this terrible world was unbearable; dying might even be a form of relief. If they survived, a prosperous future awaited them.
Even minimal gains could free them from poverty and elevate them above others.
In that moment, they knew they had made the right bet. Although uncertain about life and death, as long as they survived and their Military Merit was sufficient, everything would come to them.
Moreover, their Military Merit was guaranteed. Each person received a small camera, no bigger than a fingertip. This item was common in the post-apocalypse; as long as they eliminated enemies and took photos of their corpses while cutting off their left ears as proof, they could claim their Military Merit.
That morning, they enjoyed a delicious meal, even though it was just a communal pot of rice. There was plenty of beef and lamb, unlimited rice, and even a variety of desserts.
If they were at the Han Sui City Gathering Place, they wouldn't have had such good food, not even a meager meal.
During this feast, everyone's hearts were left at Hope Mall. In their minds, a seed was planted: only under the banner of Hope Mall could they truly live well.
The atmosphere was filled with a chilling intent to kill. They had only covered half the distance, yet it took them nearly three hours to reach this point.
However, the situation at Han Sui City Gathering Place was far from stable. As they approached, they saw tents everywhere. The people inside the Gathering Place were clearly terrified, and few dared to stay there any longer.
Shouts of killing echoed around them, and they could even see members of the First Division and the Ice King Mercenary Corps chasing each other several kilometers away.
This battle resembled a clash between two gangs. Although the First Division came from a military background, they struggled to adapt once firearms could not be used on a large scale. With the emergence of Superpowered Individuals, they increasingly neglected their ordinary subordinates.
Now, fighting had erupted everywhere; it had hardly stopped since it began.
However, the main Superpowered Individuals from the First Division, along with the Ice King and Night Demon, had yet to make their move. The fighting was primarily between ordinary soldiers and mercenaries.
In fact, most of those involved were members of other mercenary groups taking advantage of the chaos in the Gathering Place. Han Sui City Gathering Place had descended into utter disorder. Those who owned houses or vehicles had fled; even those without began to tear down their own homes to build new living spaces outside the Gathering Place.
Only a few still held onto hope.
In just a short time, the death toll exceeded fifty thousand, most of whom were killed in panic—trampled or slaughtered by the two major forces without a second thought.
They cared little for these casualties; the Ice King Mercenary Corps had always implemented a policy of elite troops, while the First Division had its noble cause that allowed it to continuously absorb refugees.
Both sides had their own strengths, but the most pitiful were the ordinary people. Lacking powerful abilities, they found themselves oppressed and unable to resist.
There was almost no hope left for survival.
Many began to envy those who had fled with the Hope Chamber, as they never imagined that both sides would disregard the lives of the Survivors in the Gathering Place.
Of course, they were unaware that those who had fled from Hope Mall had returned.
When Zheng Yifan rode past them on his imposing Future Pioneer, four Hummer Dragon military off-road vehicles followed closely behind him. The roar of the engines and the Submachine Guns mounted on top signified their identity.
The presence of these four vehicles was already enough to create a shockwave. Zheng Yifan had spent an entire night racing back to the Gathering Place to bring them, much to Han Rui's annoyance, as she and nearly all the Formation Masters in the Gathering Place had worked tirelessly to secure these four large Fellows.
They had even prepared four heavy Machine Guns that were already fully equipped in the Gathering Place.
These weapons were acquired by members of the Explorer Alliance from outside; in this apocalypse, they had become scrap metal and were sold off at a bargain.
Along with them came nearly a million rounds of ammunition. However, there were so many bullets that most of them were stored in Zheng Yifan's Storage Space.
Zheng Yifan guessed that when Han Rui complained about him, it was mostly due to the faint scent of women's perfume lingering on him and her unique sensitivity.
He could clearly see the Formation Masters stifling their laughter behind their hands.
At least for now, he felt quite impressive at the front of the team. Those four Machine Guns had been pre-installed with dozens of Second-Stage Soul Crystals and had all been activated by Han Rui, ensuring a level of endurance far beyond what most could imagine.
First-Level Esper had no way to escape in front of such bullets, unless they possessed a special Superpower. Only Second-Stage Esper could foresee the impact point of the bullets and evade in advance.
This was an absolutely deterrent weapon, capable of taking lives at any moment.
There were certainly such things in the Han Sui City Gathering Place, and in considerable numbers.
However, Zheng Yifan was not worried. Each Machine Gun could only use one Zombie Crystal. If there were more, the unactivated Zombie Crystal s would lead to unstable energy distribution.
Secondly, and most importantly, Hope Mall had absorbed a significant portion of the Zombie Crystal s in the Han Sui City Gathering Place, causing the price of Zombie Crystal s there to rise. The first division had very few Zombie Crystal s, and they still needed to operate other weapons to deal with ordinary people. Using expensive firearms against civilians was clearly not suitable.
It was like bombing ordinary citizens with missiles worth millions; it was obviously a losing business.
The flashy drive attracted many glances. But what surprised them even more was the long line of thousands following behind, each person clad in thick military coats, cotton gloves, and warm hats.
Even their faces were covered with thick masks. Almost all that was visible were their eyes, fully equipped for warmth, with various items on them—at least one Military Water Bottle per person and heavy backpacks.
Inside those backpacks were precious military rations, which were their benefits. However, what made others envious were their weapons—long Machetes.
What they didn’t know was that Zheng Yifan had equipped each of them with a set of Crossbows, though they remained in his Storage Space for now.
They absolutely could not be distributed until combat began to prevent anyone from fleeing with a weapon.
Ordinary items were inconsequential, but Crossbows were expensive military gear that was nearly impossible to acquire at present.
As they moved forward, the crowd grew larger, and more people followed behind. Many makeshift houses and vehicles trailed closely behind them.
Those who hoped to witness the battle were not afraid of collateral damage; they simply wanted to know the outcome and quickly form their ranks.
They feared that this newly emerged force was also vying for control of the Gathering Place, rather than caring for their lives. They were scared!
They were afraid of being abandoned, as that would leave them with no way to survive. If the First Division won, it meant nothing to them; they only feared being ruthlessly exploited. If the Ice King Mercenary Corps triumphed, their only path would lead to annihilation.
Their future seemed to have become a deadlock, a dead end with no hope. After being exploited by the First Division, how could they survive through this cold winter? It was a simple question, with absolutely no hope for survival.
The First Division did not want to carry so many burdens into winter; they would recruit new members after the season passed. They would draw in those who had endured the winter—the Survivors.
There would always be someone willing to join their ranks. This was the lingering prestige of the Post-Apocalypse government, perhaps also a result of humanity's gregarious nature.
However, the force before them was entirely different from others; they might still have a chance to survive.
Almost every distance they traveled, someone would loudly shout inquiries. They dared not approach too closely, always hiding in safe spots while calling out questions.
Zheng Yifan grew weary of this and ultimately chose about ten articulate individuals from the newly recruited group to step away from the team and take a loudspeaker outside for promotional work.
These individuals were promising finds among the new recruits, and it would be beneficial for them to gain some experience. (To be continued)
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