186: Red Alert 1st Mixed Brigade

While Jiang Xin was commanding the Qianzhou troops to steadily advance into the surrounding towns and villages, clearing out the remaining zombies, the battle in Lingchuan City to the north was also nearing its end.

The main force led by Officer Zhang Lei adopted a strategy of steady progress. Due to the high population density in Lingchuan City, to avoid large-scale destruction and accidental injury to potential survivors, he did not use heavy artillery and bombers for carpet bombing. Instead, he dispatched helicopter formations to circle above the city every day, broadcasting repeatedly with loudspeakers. Survivors were rescued promptly upon discovery, while ground forces on the periphery, organized into company and battalion units, slowly cleared out and compressed the zombies' activity space street by street and alley by alley.

The battle in Lingchuan City was not without its challenges. Besides the Thunder-Winged Corpse King already dealt with by the combined efforts of Tang Qi, The Dashing Brother, and Jiang Xin, another Third-Tier Corpse King was hidden within the city—the Earth Diamond! This was a Diamond Zombie with a rare earth Superpower, possessing shockingly abnormal defense. It could manipulate rocks to cover its entire body, forming armor several meters thick, and even trigger small-scale earthquakes. Officer Zhang Lei personally engaged it in a fierce battle for a long time, using various powerful spells before finally breaking through its defense and completely annihilating it.

With the Corpse King eliminated, the threat in Lingchuan City was largely resolved. Officer Zhang Lei's military base and the original Lingchuan University Base collectively housed 140,000 surviving civilians. Meanwhile, Chen Hao's regiment, operating in Chonggang County to the south of Lingchuan as ordered, also successfully rescued 80,000 civilians and established a stable base.

The Lingchuan University Base has now become the headquarters of the Red Alert Legion's Mixed Brigade One. After the Red Alert Legion's comprehensive reorganization, a large number of eligible young men who survived at the original Lingchuan University Base almost all enthusiastically enlisted, totaling over four thousand, forming the main framework of this Mixed Brigade.

These new recruits enjoyed the same treatment as Red Alert Legion regular soldiers: each was equipped with a QBZ Assault Rifle, 2-3 high-explosive grenades, a set of stab-resistant training uniform, a Kevlar Bulletproof Helmet, tactical gloves, and a multi-functional bayonet that could be attached to the rifle. Each squad received a squad machine gun and a military radio transceiver, ensuring basic communication capabilities, along with rocket launchers and mortars distributed to companies and platoons to enhance firepower.

The senior command of Mixed Brigade One was structured with Brigade Commander Tang Qi as the Brigade Commander, Li Mu and Yan Shi as the Deputy Brigade Commander and Chief of Staff respectively, and Logistics Officer Shui Lingyu responsible for the heavy logistics support work. To quickly temper this student-led force into a qualified fighting unit, Officer Zhang Lei specially transferred 200 experienced three-star elite Conscripts from his own elite troops, dispersing them to serve as military officers or instructors at the regimental, battalion, company, platoon, and squad levels within the Mixed Brigade. This served two purposes: first, to firmly control this army, and second, to quickly enable this new army to form combat capabilities through the guidance of veterans.

Inside the Brigade Headquarters' operations room, documents piled up like mountains. Brigade Commander Tang Qi was buried in various reports, operational plans, supply request forms, and personnel deployment documents, his brow furrowed, feeling overwhelmed. Dealing with these tedious military affairs was more exhausting than fighting zombies for three hundred rounds.

"Knock, knock, knock—" A crisp knocking sound echoed. "Come in," Brigade Commander Tang Qi said without lifting his head.

Logistics Officer Shui Lingyu walked in, carrying a tray on which a brand-new lieutenant colonel's uniform was neatly folded, its epaulets gleaming under the light. "Senior, Officer Zhang Lei's side sent this set of formal Lieutenant Colonel's Service Uniform and corresponding epaulets, saying it was custom-made according to your rank."

"Just put it aside for now, Lingyu. I still have a mountain of things to deal with," Brigade Commander Tang Qi rubbed his throbbing temples, his voice tinged with fatigue and vexation.

Logistics Officer Shui Lingyu carefully placed the clothes on a nearby sofa, then walked behind Brigade Commander Tang Qi and naturally reached out, gently massaging his tense shoulders, her eyes full of concern: "Senior, don't push yourself too hard; things always have to be done one by one."

"Sigh," Brigade Commander Tang Qi sighed, leaning back in his chair, enjoying a moment of relaxation. "Sometimes I truly feel that power, behind it, is a heavy responsibility, which is truly vexing. It's far less enjoyable than leading the brothers in guerrilla warfare like before."

Logistics Officer Shui Lingyu softly comforted him: "Senior, don't say that. If it weren't for your leadership, how could our Mixed Brigade One have been reorganized into an army so quickly and formed combat capabilities? Officer Zhang Lei's side is very satisfied with our several clearing and rescue operations; he has praised us multiple times!"

"If it weren't for these brothers who have followed me through thick and thin, I really would want to be like The Dashing Brother, drop everything and go off on my own, living a carefree life," Brigade Commander Tang Qi smiled helplessly. He now deeply understood why The Dashing Brother chose to go solo; being unrestrained was indeed enviable.

"Oh, right, Senior," Logistics Officer Shui Lingyu remembered another matter, "Officer Zhang Lei's side just sent an order to gather and reorganize all the Evolvers from the original Lingchuan University Base into an Evolver Brigade, which will be directly under the jurisdiction of our Mixed Brigade One, and you will concurrently serve as the Brigade Leader."

(Organization: 10 people to a small team, 100 people to a large brigade. The Mixed Brigade, like the main regiment, is equipped with 100 Evolvers.)

"Great, I haven't even sorted out this mess, and now there's a new task," Brigade Commander Tang Qi rubbed his forehead speechlessly. It had been many days since he personally went to the battlefield and experienced the thrill of killing enemies.

He shook off his annoyance and asked, "How are things with Yan Shi and Li Mu? If there are no urgent tasks tonight, call all our old core brothers to gather at my place. We've been scattered leading teams out to clear areas, and it's been a while since we had a good meal together."

"They should all be back today; the zombies in the main urban areas have been mostly cleared," Logistics Officer Shui Lingyu nodded.

"Alright, then tonight will be at my place. Tell the kitchen to prepare some good dishes, pick a few good mutated beasts that were recently hunted and stew them, to give everyone a good treat!" A smile finally appeared on Brigade Commander Tang Qi's face.

Evening

Inside a private room of the original Lingchuan University cafeteria, the lights were bright and voices buzzed. More than fifty core cadres and stronger Evolvers from the original Lingchuan University gathered here, occupying three large tables.

The tables were laden with an array of dishes, exuding fragrance, filled with mutated beast meat prepared in various ways: braised Mutated Goat Meat, clear-stewed Mutated Beef Bone Soup, golden and crispy fried Mutated Chicken Legs, and several exquisite dishes made from First-Tier mutated beasts, rich in energy. All kinds of ingredients, all kinds of cooking methods—boiled, fried, braised, stewed... it was truly comprehensive.

"Boss Tang! Oh no, Brigade Commander Tang! You look so handsome in this new uniform! It's like you're a different person!" A cheerful young man stood up with a wine glass, loudly toasting Brigade Commander Tang Qi at the main table, a mischievous smile on his face.

"What Brigade Commander, Brigade Commander? You little rascal, cut it out with that! It sounds awkward!" Brigade Commander Tang Qi laughed heartily.

Another young man next to him immediately chimed in, causing a burst of laughter from everyone.

Most of these core members now served as grassroots military officers like squad leaders and platoon leaders in the Mixed Brigade, and some were selected into the Evolver Corps. It could be said that each of them was highly valued, with a bright future ahead.

"Alright, alright, you guys, stop being so poor! Everyone, stand up, let's have one together first!" Brigade Commander Tang Qi smiled, stood up, and raised his wine glass, signaling everyone to join him.

"Come on, come on! Brothers! Let's toast our Four Heavenly Kings! Brigade Commander Tang, Deputy Brigade Commander Li, Chief of Staff Yan, and Logistics Officer Lingyu!" A loud-voiced young man shouted, immediately drawing a chorus of agreement.

"To the Commanders!" Everyone chuckled and rose, raising their glasses, and enthusiastically drained their drinks, whether it was liquor, beer, or juice, all representing the relief of surviving the catastrophe and the joy of the moment.

"Alright, alright, we're all brothers, no need for formalities, hurry up and eat! This mutated beef is stewed so tenderly, it's delicious!" Yan Shi laughed heartily, pointing his chopsticks at the large stew pot in the middle.

Li Mu, who was usually quiet, looked at the lively scene before him, a genuine smile appearing on his face as he sighed, "Are all the brothers doing well recently? It truly feels like a dream; a few months ago, we were just ordinary college students, and now we're officers in the regular army." These words resonated with many.

"Doing great! Thanks to our bosses, we've all got some official positions, the official benefits are good, and we haven't been shorted on Evolver crystal cores, it's a comfortable life!" A young man wiped the oil from his mouth and replied cheerfully.

After three rounds of drinks and five courses of dishes, the conversation gradually opened up. A young man leaned in and asked, "Boss, I heard that the higher-ups are going to gather all our Evolver brothers scattered in various places and form a large brigade, still under your command? Is that true?"

"Yes, the order has come down," Brigade Commander Tang Qi nodded. "From now on, it will be called the Mixed Brigade One Evolver Brigade, and I will concurrently serve as the Brigade Leader. In future operations, you will be the vanguard and the fist of our brigade."

"That's great!" the young man said happily. "The officials are really generous! Not only do they let our bosses continue to lead us, but they also send instructors and issue good guns and cannons, making us feel bad if we don't work hard!" His words elicited a round of approving laughter.

However, after the laughter, a young man who was clearly a military enthusiast pushed up his glasses and spoke with a hint of envy and dissatisfaction: "It's good, but... but the heavy firepower configuration is too shabby. Our brigade's establishment only has 20 Grizzly Light Tanks, 50 armored personnel carriers, and 40 military trucks. Look at the Red Alert main regiment, those apocalypse tanks, tesla tanks, and even mechs and armed helicopters... Sigh, it makes my mouth water with envy! The gap between us is just too big!"

This topic immediately struck a chord with many. A tall, thin young man immediately interjected, his tone somewhat sour: "Who says it isn't true! We feel like stepchildren, not direct descendants of the main force. All the good stuff goes to their main regiment. When we encounter tough nuts to crack, we still have to rely on rocket launchers and mortars to supplement firepower. If we had a few of those heavy tanks, how much easier would it be? Casualties would also be much smaller!"

"Exactly! Too stingy! We've fought plenty of battles and rescued plenty of people, so why can't we also be equipped with some real heavy equipment?" Someone immediately chimed in, and complaints began to increase.

"Everyone shut up!" Li Mu slammed his chopsticks on the table, his face darkened, and he reprimanded, "Are you all getting too big for your britches? The officials give you guns and cannons, food and clothes, make you regular soldiers, grant you military ranks, and you're still not satisfied? You still want heavy tanks? Armed helicopters? Why don't you just fly to the sky? Even if they gave them to you, could you operate them? Who would repair them if they broke down? Who would resupply ammunition when it ran out? You only see others using good equipment? Don't you see they're also fighting the toughest battles!"

Brigade Commander Tang Qi also put down his wine glass, his expression serious as he scanned the few people who had just complained, and said, "Li Mu is right! You have to eat one bite at a time, and walk one step at a time! Our most important task now is to build up our internal strength, lead the team well, and fight well! If we show our prowess and earn merits, the Commanders will naturally see it, and none of the deserved rewards and equipment will be missing! What's the rush? Being so impetuous, what kind of behavior is that!" He knew well that these student soldiers were outspoken, and while these words were acceptable here, if they reached the ears of the higher-ups, they could easily be misunderstood as dissatisfaction, so he had to reprimand them promptly.

Seeing this, Yan Shi immediately burst out laughing, stood up to smooth things over, and raised his full wine glass: "Alright, alright! Why talk about useless things! Today, brothers are happy, gathering together is for drinking and eating meat! Everyone raise your glasses! If anyone isn't drunk, they're not giving old Yan face! No one leaves!"

"Right, right, drink, drink! How fragrant is today's meat, it's getting cold!" Logistics Officer Shui Lingyu also quickly smiled and greeted everyone.

Seeing that the Commanders had spoken, everyone immediately reined in their emotions and stopped discussing equipment. The conversation quickly shifted back to amusing anecdotes from university, embarrassing moments from the early days of the apocalypse, and aspirations for future life, and the private room once again filled with laughter and joy, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

(Work is quite busy, so for now, one update per day. Thank you for your support, old friends.)

Additional Notes—

Due to setting reasons, some light and heavy weapons distributed to squads and platoons have not been detailed. Here's a supplement: all Red Alert unit weapons can be exchanged at ammunition supply stations, including assault rifles, pistols, grenades, squad machine guns, rocket launchers, sniper rifles, and mortars.

Vehicle-mounted artillery and towed howitzers will not be written about; with that money, building apocalypse tanks is more cost-effective.

As for special vehicles that haven't been considered, such as command vehicles, anti-aircraft vehicles, etc., they will all be replaced by ifv, and the configuration will be adjusted later.

All Red Alert Legion light and heavy weapon configurations refer to our country's combined arms brigades: one squad gets one squad machine gun and one rocket launcher; 60mm mortars are assigned to company level, two per company; 120mm mortars are assigned to regiment level, 24 per regiment.

All individually manufactured weapons can refresh durability and ammunition in the hands of Red Alert units overnight, but they do not have the characteristics of refreshing ammunition and strengthening caliber after star-up (i.e., they cannot star-up).

Creating soldiers is still more cost-effective than creating weapons. Firstly, Red Alert Soldiers are set to veteran level in individual quality, and after star-up, their weapons can have strengthened calibers, and their physical fitness will also increase by 50%. This means that even a three-star Red Alert Soldier who is not a hero unit has 2.5 times the physical fitness of an ordinary adult male, and Heavy Infantrys also have exoskeletons.