20: Yongjiang Ancient City

Inside a relatively intact office on the second floor, the faint scent of dust and moldy paper hung in the air. Jiang Xin led Zhang Lei and Zhang Long inside, closing the heavy wooden door behind them to shut out the muffled sobs and whispers from the lobby. He pulled out three chairs and gestured, "Brother Lei, take a seat. Zhang Long, you sit too." The three men sat down quickly, the atmosphere instantly shifting from the chaos outside to a pre-battle solemnity.

Jiang Xin clasped his hands on the heavily worn desk, his gaze sharp as a torch as he looked over his two most trusted partners. He got straight to the point, his voice steady and powerful: "Brother Lei, Zhang Long, the scale of our troops is quite considerable now. Continuing to run around like before is not only inefficient but also makes it easy to fall into a passive position. I think we need a solid pivot point." He paused, his fingertips tapping lightly on the desk with a rhythmic thud. "The primary objective is those jewelry stores and banks on New Street. Taking them will give us a substantial amount of startup capital. Then," his voice carried an unquestionable determination, "we will take root in Yongjiang County! We'll establish a temporary base as our headquarters, using it as a foothold to gradually sweep and control the entire County, integrate resources, and grow our strength. Once we have fully digested Yongjiang and secured our footing, that will be the time to point our swords at Lujiang Urban Area!"

He looked up, his sharp gaze turning to Zhang Lei and Zhang Long with an inquiring look. "Brother Lei, Zhang Long, what are your thoughts on this? Speak freely."

Zhang Lei leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on his knees, his fingers habitually rubbing the stubble on his chin, a thoughtful light gleaming in his eyes. "Brother Jiang, the plan is very clear. Taking the jewelry stores is the first step, and establishing the base is the foundation. I imagine you already have a location in mind for the temporary base?" He knew Jiang Xin; the man never fought an unprepared battle.

The corner of Jiang Xin's mouth curled into a confident smile, and he nodded, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Exactly!" He quickly picked up a pre-prepared military tablet from the side, his fingers sliding and clicking across the screen to pull up a satellite map of Yongjiang County. The map zoomed in precisely, focusing on an area nestled against mountains and water with a distinct outline—the Yongjiang Ancient City scenic area.

"Right here, Yongjiang Ancient City!" Jiang Xin tapped heavily on the area enclosed by ancient city walls on the screen. "Look, ready-made walls—this is a natural defensive barrier! Although some parts are dilapidated, the main structure is still solid. The entire scenic area covers a full 400,000 square meters, providing enough space for us to build a fully functional base. Never mind stationing troops; it's more than enough to house several thousand survivors!"

He continued to slide the map, showing the terrain surrounding the ancient city. "Look at this position; it's backed by the Yongjiang River, forming a natural barrier. Not far away is this 100,000-square-meter Civic Park, which can be expanded into a buffer zone or training ground if necessary. The area around the ancient city consists mainly of commercial streets, with very low residential density." He looked up at the two of them, analyzing the key advantages. "More importantly, the day the zombie outbreak happened was a weekday afternoon. There were few tourists in the ancient city, so the number of zombies inside is bound to be low. With our current military strength, taking it will be as easy as flipping a hand! And," he emphasized, his fingertip tracing the outline of the walls, "relying on these existing wall defenses, we won't need to commit too many troops to guard duty to form a strong defensive depth!"

He further refined the defensive concept, sketching with his finger on the tablet. "The ancient city has only one main gate, making it easy to defend and hard to attack. There are sturdy towers at the four corners of the walls and on both sides of the gate. My plan is to deploy systematic sentry guns and Machine Gun Bunkers at these high points to form a crossfire network! Combined with a company of troops guarding the walls and key roads inside the city, I am confident that, relying on this defense system, we can withstand a siege of tens of thousands or even more zombies!" His words were powerful, painting a blueprint of an impregnable fortress.

"Before the main force enters the ancient city," Jiang Xin shifted the conversation, pointing to the location of the New Street commercial area on the map, "I will first dispatch an elite squad in two hinds to strike the jewelry stores and banks on New Street! Last night's artillery fire cleared over seventy percent of the zombie obstacles there; the rest are nothing to worry about. This operation must be fast, precise, and ruthless to firmly grasp the startup capital in our hands! I estimate we can recover around twenty thousand in funds. Plus the funds we've gathered over the last two days from clearing stray zombies in the Government Building and collecting... uh, lost supplies," he glossed over the details, "it will be more than enough to build a temporary base of a decent scale!"

Jiang Xin spoke incessantly about his grand blueprint, his finger constantly pointing at the map, his eyes sharp and full of confidence, carrying an air of a Commander surveying and directing his domain.

Zhang Lei listened carefully, a look of understanding and approval appearing on his face. He nodded heavily. "Brother Jiang, the plan is thorough and the location is excellent. I have no objections! Let's go with your plan."

Beside him, Zhang Long also immediately straightened his back and responded in a booming voice, "The Commander is brilliant! I, Zhang Long, fully support this! Building the base in the ancient city allows us to attack or defend as needed. It's a great spot!"

"Good!" Jiang Xin slapped the table and gave a decisive order. "No time to lose! Zhang Long, immediately select the most elite soldiers to form a Rapid Assault Team. Target: New Street jewelry stores and banks! The two hinds are on standby to depart at any time! Make sure to bring the funds back to me with the greatest speed and the lowest cost!"

"Yes, Commander!" Zhang Long stood up abruptly, gave a standard military salute, and turned to stride out of the office, his footsteps quickly fading down the hallway.

Downstairs, the cleanup of the first-floor lobby of the Government Building was also proceeding slowly but steadily. Gunshots were sometimes sporadic and sometimes dense, signaling that another corner had been cleared... It was the afternoon of the fifth day after the zombie outbreak, in the lobby of the Government Building.

After more than a day of non-stop clearing, searching, and rescuing, the entire government compound area was finally completely cleared. All the survivors, whether they had been huddled in some dark corner of an archive room or trapped in a locked office, were now gathered in the relatively safe lobby. They sat or leaned against each other, packed tightly together, their number finally settling at 425 people.