41: Promoted to battalion commander

"Thank you! Thank you, soldiers! You are truly our life-savers!" The middle-aged man who had first grasped Zhang Lei's hand bowed deeply at the hatch, his voice choked with emotion.

"Thank you, Uncle!" A little girl was held in her mother's arms; her small face was still pale, but her eyes were bright as she tried to wave her thin little hand at Zhang Lei.

"You... you must be careful! Stay safe!" Several elderly people were being supported as they turned back tremulously to offer their reminders, their cloudy eyes filled with gratitude and reluctance to part.

Words of thanks rose like a tide, one after another, sincere and passionate, piercing through the roar of the helicopter's engines. Zhang Lei stood in the gale whipped up by the rotors, straightening his back and giving a standard military salute to those inside the cabin. He watched as the massive steel bird rose from the ground, carrying the hope of life, roaring as it flew toward the distant base.

The massive roar from the hangar gradually faded, finally vanishing into the edge of the lead-gray sky. The first-floor platform instantly fell into a strange silence, with only the sound of the wind sweeping across the empty ground. Zhang Lei lowered his saluting hand and slowly turned around. Behind him stood the remaining Red Alert Soldiers, standing as still as a forest of steel. Their gazes focused in unison on their Commander, their eyes reflecting the resolve of waiting for orders and concern for the people who had just evacuated.

Zhang Lei's gaze swept across the young and resolute faces of the soldiers.

He took a deep breath; the air still seemed to be filled with the survivors' scent—a mixture of dust, sweat, and the faint, bloody smell of despair. This scent reminded him that the mission was far from over. This city, this land torn apart by disaster, still had countless corners like this where silent deaths were playing out. He thought of the mutual aid the survivors had described, the pitifully small amounts of food and water they had prioritized for women and children, and the weak but pure light in the little girl's eyes when she waved her hand. This glimmer of humanity, still shining even in a desperate situation, formed an all-too-stark contrast with the bestial darkness he had witnessed in another warehouse in his memory—where laws and morality were trampled for selfish desires. That dark memory had once made him deeply doubt human nature.

However, at this moment, the order and sacrifice spontaneously maintained by those hundred-odd people in the garage acted like a faint but stubborn light, piercing through the haze shrouding his heart. It proved that even in the deepest darkness, the spark of humans protecting their own kind had never been completely extinguished. This spark was worth defending with their lives!

Zhang Lei's gaze became sharp and firm again, like a quenched steel blade. He no longer looked at the empty garage but cast his gaze into the distance, where the broken skyline of the city loomed indistinctly in the dust and smoke, hiding even more unknowns and dangers. His right hand habitually pressed against the grip of the pistol at his waist; the cold metallic touch transmitted through his glove, bringing a familiar, calming strength.

The helicopter soon flew back to the Yongjiang Ancient City base. After quickly arranging for the survivors, Li Yi brought the gold jewelry and handed it over to Jiang Xin. Jiang Xin's funds reached 30,000; on average, each shop had provided over 7,000 in funds. Jiang Xin immediately produced 3 hind attack helicopters and 1 chinook armed transport helicopter, consuming 14,500 funds, and spent another 9,300 gold to fill the remaining troop numbers. After a round of spending, the funds stood at 6,200. Once the helicopters and Conscripts were produced, Jiang Xin immediately ordered all Conscripts to follow the helicopters to support Zhang Lei.

"Congratulations, Commander. Your troop strength has exceeded 500 men, constituting a full-strength battalion. Your military rank has been promoted to Major Battalion Commander. Presenting the Commander with a Major's Gift Pack, containing a Major's military uniform, sidearm, Commander's saber, as well as a Major's Spatial Bracelet (providing 100 cubic meters of storage space), a Commander-exclusive Tier 1 Strengthening Potion, and opening the following buildings:"

"Research Center: 5,000 gold. Can analyze and extract zombie crystal cores to manufacture strengthening potions for Red Alert hero units to absorb. Each Tier 1 crystal core can yield 3 potions; 50 potions can promote a Tier 1 hero to a Tier 2 hero. Additionally, functional unit types such as Medical Soldiers, Engineers, and Cooks require 10 Tier 1 potions to reach 3 stars. The Research Center requires 5 Engineers to be stationed before manufacturing can begin."

"War Factory unlocked units: Kamikaze Military Truck / 400 gold, V3 Rocket Launcher / 800 gold, Professional Minelaying and Minesweeping Vehicle / 1,000 gold."

"Air Command Center unlocked units: Intruder Light Fighter / 3,500 gold, Black Eagle Heavy Fighter / 4,500 gold."

"Barracks unlocked units: Flametrooper / 600 gold, War Bear / 800 gold, Tesla Trooper / 800 gold."

"Defensive Structures unlocked: Patriot Missile Silo / 1,000 gold."

"The Commander now possesses a certain level of strength. System No. 1 is issuing phased tasks: 1. Take in 10,000 survivors. 2. Clear all zombies from a 20-square-kilometer area of the Yongjiang County urban district. 3. Eliminate 70% of the zombies within Yongjiang County (including towns). 4. Announce the liberation of Yongjiang County to the entire country via radio broadcast."

"Rewards for completing tasks:"

"1. One large-scale survivor base (5km x 6km area = 30 square kilometers). The base includes 22 kilometers of 15-meter-high walls, with a defensive structure every 250 meters, alternating between sentry guns and Machine Gun Bunkers. The four city gates (East, West, South, North) will have a total of 8 additional Machine Gun Bunkers. Chrono-technology will be used to provide a 10-meter-wide moat that never runs dry."

"The Military Zone includes 8 Barracks, 2 Power Plants, 2 War Factories, 2 Air Command Centers, an Ammunition Supply Station, 1 Enhanced Radar (800km detection range), 1 Grand Cannon, 10 Patriot Missile Silos, 1 Commander's Mansion, and 1 Field Hospital."

"The Residential Zone includes a small park, an open-air stadium, a water plant, a residential Power Plant, and material warehouses. 1,000 18-story residential buildings, each providing 72 two-bedroom units (4 per floor x 18 floors), totaling 72,000 households. 8 neighborhood offices, 4 material distribution points, a special material exchange center, 10 patrol stations, a residential hospital, a fire station, and other supporting facilities."

"The Production Zone includes chicken farms, duck farms, pig farms, cattle farms, and plantations. The Production Zone buildings utilize Chrono-dimensional space design; the actual area is 10 times the building's footprint."

"2. 50 hero badges."

"3. Air Force Mega Gift Pack (contains 6 hind attack helicopters, 2 chinook armed transport helicopters, 2 Intruder Fighters, and 1 Black Eagle Fighter)."

"4. Tank Mega Gift Pack (10 grizzly tanks, 5 rhino tanks)."

"5. Red Alert Legion related data will be entered into the highest classified archives of the Huaguo State. The Red Alert Legion will obtain official Huaguo status, with Jiang Xin as Commander. Jiang Xin's age will be modified to 28, military service history added, rank unknown."