24: Building an ancient city base

Yongjiang Ancient City was currently shrouded in the scent of gunpowder and death. The three-hundred-meter perimeter around the ancient city looked as if it had been brutally overturned by an invisible giant plow; the earth was scorched black, and the ruins were littered with the fragmented remains of zombies torn apart by artillery fire, emitting a nauseating smell of burning and rot. Two hind attack helicopters circled like vultures over a slaughterhouse, having just completed a thorough "plowing" operation. The roar of their engines gradually faded, leaving behind this silent and terrifying "quarantine zone."

Standing at the highest point of the ancient city—the North Gate Tower—Jiang Xin looked down at the city that was about to become the foundation of his empire, a detailed blueprint already formed in his mind. With a slight thought, the system interface flickered with a faint light.

“Step one: the core of city defense!” he muttered to himself. Funds were instantly deducted, and 96 soldiers wearing standard Conscript uniforms with resolute gazes appeared in the central square of the ancient city, as if condensing out of thin air. Jiang Xin quickly issued orders, his voice transmitting clearly to every soldier's ear via the communicator: “All personnel! Divide into 8 combat squads! Two people per squad, responsible for observation and sentry duty on one section of the wall! Two shifts, 12-hour rotations! Ascend the walls and deploy defenses immediately!” The soldiers saluted silently, their movements as swift as the wind as they split into eight streams, carrying their standard rifles and running toward the four walls. Soon, figures holding rifles on guard appeared at intervals along the eight-meter-high ancient walls, with a total of 48 soldiers forming the first line of defense. Cold gun barrels glinted in the setting sun, vigilantly scanning the death-covered scorched earth outside the walls.

The ancient city followed a roughly rectangular layout, 400 meters wide from east to west and 1,000 meters long from north to south. The eastern side was adjacent to the surging Yongjiang, its wide natural waters providing an excellent barrier; the southern side bordered the open Culture Park, offering a relatively good field of vision; while the northwestern sides were close to a few residential buildings and roads, making them potential threat directions. Sturdy city gates were located on the north and south sides. More impressively, the ancient moat was still functional, with water drawn from the Yongjiang forming a five-meter-wide circular water barrier around the perimeter. At the four corners of the city walls, four fifteen-meter-high towers stood tall like giant lookout posts; on either side of the north and south gates, two equally majestic towers also stood, totaling eight high vantage points.

Jiang Xin's gaze swept over these towers like a chess player examining a board. “sentry guns, range 5,000 meters, wide coverage; Machine Gun Bunkers, 2,500 meters, to block the front of the gates...” He made a quick decision. Controlling the system with his mind, the funds fluctuated again. At the tops of the four towers flanking the city gates, the structures were instantly reinforced and modified. Four menacing Machine Gun Bunkers equipped with multi-barrel rotating heavy machine guns appeared out of thin air, their dark muzzles like the eyes of venomous snakes, coldly pointing in all directions outside the city. Meanwhile, the tops of the four towers at the corners were replaced by even larger, sci-fi-looking sentry guns. Their thick barrels rotated slowly, their ultra-long range sufficient to neutralize any approaching threat kilometers away! Including the previous Conscripts, the total investment in city defense: 17,600.

Next was the division of internal areas. Jiang Xin split the ancient city in two: the East District, adjacent to the relatively safe Yongjiang, was designated as the survivor settlement area, where temporary housing would be built in its relatively open spaces in the future; while the West District, adjacent to the streets and facing potential threats, was designated as the absolute core—the Red Alert building zone!

“Construction, begin!” Jiang Xin did not hesitate. The Barracks, War Factory, Air Command Center, Radar, and Power Plant—five blueprints representing the power of future warfare lit up in his mind, and a total of 8,000 funds were instantly deducted. System prompt: Construction time, 4 hours. An invisible force field began to surge in the West District. Ancient floor tiles and remaining imitation-ancient buildings decomposed and vanished silently as if cast into a furnace, replaced by solid foundations and sci-fi-colored steel outlines that began to “grow” upward.

During the four hours waiting for construction to complete, Jiang Xin did not stay idle. He opened the system interface, looking at the remaining 17,600 funds and calculating the next phase of his armed forces. The vehicle list had been unlocked, flickering with an enticing glow:

chinook armed transport helicopter: 4,000 gold (Large transport capacity, very crucial!)

grizzly tank: 1,200 gold (Land main battle force)

rhino tank: 1,800 gold (Heavy firepower)

“Transport capacity is the weakness!” Jiang Xin immediately judged. The hind had fierce firepower but limited carrying capacity; transferring large numbers of survivors would be too inefficient. “One chinook!” he confirmed decisively. 4,000 funds were deducted.

Ground assault forces were equally important. “Two grizzlies to ensure mobile firepower! One rhino as an armored Iron Fist! Troop transport needs vehicles... six armored personnel carriers, and one ifv!” He selected them quickly. 2 Grizzlies (2,400) + rhino (1,800) + 6 armored personnel carriers (600 * 6 = 3,600) + ifv. Total vehicle consumption: chinook 4,000 + tanks and armored vehicles 8,800 = 12,800 gold.

The unit list also had new options:

Engineer: 500 gold

Functional units (Medical Soldiers, Cooks, Sappers): Squad-based, 10 per squad / 1,500 gold (including supporting vehicles)

“For a battalion-sized force, logistical support must keep up!” Jiang Xin knew this well. He didn't hesitate: “One Engineer! One Medical Squad, one Cooking Squad, and one Sapper Squad!” Engineer 500 + three functional squads (1,500 * 3 = 4,500) = **5,000** gold.

As the commands were issued, lights flashed one after another on the open square. First to appear was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, an Engineer's uniform, and carrying a multi-functional toolkit; he pushed up his glasses, his gaze focused and shrewd. Next were three orderly squads:

Medical Squad: ten soldiers in white Medical Soldiers uniforms (with red cross insignias) appeared, five of whom were valiant-looking female soldiers. The female squad leader was well-proportioned, with a neat ponytail and a pleasant face. She stepped forward and reported crisply: “Medical Squad Leader Jiang Feifei reporting to the Commander!” Her voice was sharp and efficient. (Female soldiers were more meticulous in nursing than male soldiers.)

Cooking Squad: 10 people.

Sapper Squad: ten soldiers wearing sapper uniforms and carrying various engineering equipment.

Beside each squad, accompanied by a halo of light, a corresponding functional vehicle appeared: a battlefield ambulance painted with a red cross, a field kitchen truck equipped with a large stove and storage cabinets, and a sapper vehicle with a mechanical arm and mine-clearing device.

At this point, the virtual fund digits on Jiang Xin's wrist finally jumped to zero: 0.

Four hours later.

“Just in time!” Jiang Xin looked toward the West District as the four-hour countdown ended. Accompanied by a low hum and a slight vibration of the ground, five distinct, future-tech steel buildings rose from the earth, completely replacing the original scenery of the West District, emitting a cold metallic luster and surging energy waves.

Barracks: Occupying a full 30,000 square meters, it was practically a small military town. It had two six-story dormitory buildings with rugged lines, their silver-gray outer walls glinting coldly in the sunset. Through the large windows, one could see neatly planned dorms (ten six-person rooms per floor, spacious and bright). The auxiliary building complex included a 100x100 meter standardized parade ground, a shooting range, various tactical training grounds (obstacle courses, climbing walls, etc.), and a modern cafeteria. The entire Barracks exuded an aura of order and power, with a maximum capacity of 720 people—the size of a full battalion.

Air Command Center: A behemoth covering over 40,000 square meters, consisting of a towering streamlined command tower and a vast tarmac. Clear takeoff and landing markings were painted on the tarmac, and a 400-meter straight runway like a steel sword pierced through the twilight of the ancient city, extending into the distance. The massive landing platform could easily accommodate dozens of helicopters; its scale far exceeded current needs, yet it signaled future ambitions.

War Factory: A massive steel workshop covered by an arched dome, occupying 20,000 square meters. The heavy doors were tightly shut, but the faint roar of machinery operating could be heard from within, like a sleeping steel beast ready to spit out terrifying war machines at any moment.

Radar: Its antenna array was cleverly integrated into the top of the Air Command Center's tower. Invisible detection beams radiated in all directions with the ancient city as the center, covering a radius of up to 300 kilometers. All Red Alert units, including the sentry guns and Machine Gun Bunkers on the walls, had their sensors instantly connected to this massive battlefield perception network.

Power Plant: A relatively low-key but core building with diversified energy sources: wind turbines and biomass conversion furnaces (which could generate electricity by feeding in zombie corpses or crystal cores), providing a steady stream of surging power to the entire base.

Vehicles and soldiers were also finished production simultaneously. The massive chinook transport helicopter sat quietly on the Air Command Center's tarmac, its enormous frame making the nearby hinds look small. The grizzly tanks (two) and rhino tank (one) were like steel beasts, slowly driving out from behind the gates of the War Factory, their tracks grinding against the ground with a heavy roar. Six armored personnel carriers and the ifv followed closely behind, lining up for orders. The newly produced functional units and their vehicles were also neatly arranged.

Jiang Xin did not stop for a moment. He turned his gaze to the Engineer: “Get into the ifv immediately!” The Engineer understood and jogged into the open passenger compartment at the rear of the ifv. A dazzling display of mechanical transformation and modular reorganization occurred on the vehicle's exterior; within a dozen seconds, it changed from a troop transport form into an engineering repair vehicle equipped with a crane, welding torch, maintenance arms, and various precision tools!

“Mission: Build a quarantine wall along the central axis dividing the East and West Districts! Execute immediately!” Jiang Xin's command was decisive. The engineering repair vehicle let out a powerful engine roar and quickly drove to the designated position. The mechanical arms on the vehicle waved flexibly, and special construction modules "grew" out from the rear of the vehicle like 3D printing, quickly assembling into a heavy, sturdy wall about five meters high. This wall completely separated the East and West of the ancient city, tightly protecting the sci-fi-colored Red Alert Base core in the West District, creating a sharp, insurmountable boundary from the living area for future survivors in the East. The secrets of Red Alert had to be kept confidential.