96: Hongshan University's appeal for help

Lujiang Base, residential area park.

The afternoon sunlight filtered through sparse leaves, casting mottled shadows on the pebble-paved path. The surroundings were lush with greenery, and the carefully tended flowerbeds bloomed with a vitality rare in the apocalypse; one could even hear the gurgling of an artificial stream.

Two tall men walked side by side through it. One had a handsome face and eyes as deep as an abyss, carrying an invisible majesty in his every move; he was the supreme Commander of Lujiang Base, Jiang Xin. The other was tall and burly, with knotted muscles and a sharp edge hidden between his brows; he was the top expert of the Red Alert Legion, Zhang Lei.

"Brother Jiang," Zhang Lei spoke, his voice deep and powerful, breaking the silence of the park, "It's only been a month since the apocalypse broke out. Who would have thought that you and I would actually become Commanders 'above ten thousand people'? Life is truly unpredictable, damn it." He looked at the children playing on the lawn in the distance, his eyes complex, filled with emotion and a trace of imperceptible heaviness.

Hearing this, Jiang Xin paused slightly and turned his gaze toward the towering walls of the distant base and the busy factory area. There, chimneys were emitting faint white smoke, representing industrial recovery. Today's Lujiang Base has already taken in eighty thousand people, and the affiliated County also has thirty thousand. More importantly, with the complete supporting facilities and restored production lines of a large base, even if the army no longer goes out to scavenge, it can still meet the basic survival needs of three hundred thousand people. This achievement is enough to look down on the vast majority of survivor outposts.

"Yeah," Jiang Xin sighed softly, his tone carrying the same sentiment, "Before the apocalypse, we were just ordinary high school graduates with an uncertain future. Perhaps we would have gotten into a decent university, found a stable job, gotten married, had kids, and then... lived out a plain and simple life." He spoke calmly, hands in his pockets.

Zhang Lei grinned, revealing snow-white teeth, and bumped Jiang Xin with his shoulder: "Hey, Brother Jiang, give it a rest! Before the apocalypse, your face would turn red just talking to a pretty girl, but look at you now—smoothly navigating between them, playing the game quite well! The female secretary Jiang Feifei and that Miss Tanya, tsk tsk..." He winked mischievously.

"Get lost!" Jiang Xin cursed with a smile and unceremoniously returned a punch to Zhang Lei's solid arm, making a dull thud. The two looked at each other and laughed loudly, as if they had returned to their youth, though their laughter now held a bit more of the weariness that comes from experiencing life and death.

After laughing, Zhang Lei set aside his joking expression and looked at Jiang Xin seriously: "Seriously, Brother Jiang, you don't really want... both of them, do you?" He pointed toward the base's command center, his meaning clear.

The smile on Jiang Xin's face faded, replaced by a near-cold calmness. He stopped and stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the vibrant base park. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable power: "Natural selection, survival of the fittest. This is a law etched into our bones. Strong individuals should naturally leave behind more superior genes to keep the spark of humanity alive. I... have no psychological burden." He paused, a confident curve appearing at the corner of his mouth. "With my current status and the position I am destined to reach in the future, let alone two women, even if there were more, who would dare to criticize? History has always been written by the strong, and there will always be 'Great Scholars' to argue the scriptures for us."

Zhang Lei looked at the world-defying light of confidence in Jiang Xin's eyes, stunned for a moment before bursting into a loud laugh that startled several birds resting in the treetops: "Hahaha! Good! What a 'the strong have Great Scholars to argue the scriptures'! Brother Jiang, you should have this kind of spirit! This is how an apocalyptic overlord should be!" As a top-tier Second-Tier Evolver in the base, Zhang Lei's mindset had long since surpassed that of ordinary people. Strength was the only passport in this era. However, regarding matters of love, he always felt they were far less important than increasing his strength. He had already absorbed dozens of Second-Tier crystal cores, yet he still felt the threshold of the Third-Tier was unreachable. According to the experience of Red Alert units (which requires 200 Tier-2 Evolution Potions), if he wanted to break through to the Third-Tier, he would likely need an unimaginable amount of accumulation... Base Combat Command Room.

On the massive holographic sand table, the green spots representing the Red Alert Legion were like a prairie fire, already extending outward for nearly ten kilometers. A large blank area had been cleared of the dense red dots representing zombies. According to statistics, the base's forces have cleared over a million zombies in the past month! However, on the sand table, the areas representing the prosperous parts of the Old City District and the core of the New City District were still covered in a piercing deep red.

On the Radar scan, the 'large red dots' symbolizing powerful individuals were becoming more frequent, flashing like dangerous signal lights in the dark night. These were the marks of First-Tier and even Second-Tier Zombies.

Jiang Feifei held a stack of documents and reported:

"Commander, the troops have discovered several types of high-tier zombies. There is the Second-Tier 'Diamond Zombie'; its size is close to a normal human, but its strength and defense are comparable to a large Fatty Zombie, and its speed is on par with an Agile. It can be called a perfect evolutionary form. We've tested it, and 30mm autocannons have difficulty breaking its defense, and anti-tank missiles cause extremely limited damage to it."

"The 'Winged Zombie' is suspected to be a larval Corpse King of the type seen in Luocheng. Currently, it hasn't been observed to have the ability to command zombie hordes, but its threat level is extremely high."

"There is also the Second-Tier 'Acid Throat', which can spray highly corrosive venom with a range of several hundred meters. Even the composite armor of grizzly tanks will be corroded."

Jiang Xin stood before the sand table, his brow furrowed, his fingers unconsciously tapping the edge of the console. He stared at the deep red area representing the New City District, a strong premonition haunting his mind—a true Third-Tier Corpse King had likely already been born there! The main urban areas of the eight counties under Lujiang have been cleared, bringing him 180,000 in precious funds. Time waits for no one! Every day of delay means more danger for the fellow citizens who might still be surviving in the city. He must gather his strength and launch a lightning strike to completely level the Lujiang Urban Area!

Just then, Adjutant Zhang Long walked quickly into the command room and placed a report on the table in front of Jiang Xin with a solemn expression: "Commander, emergency. Hongshan University has sent an SOS signal via radio."

Jiang Xin immediately picked up the report and scanned it quickly. Zhang Long added from the side: "Hongshan University is located in the heart of the Old City District. According to them, they are currently sheltering over five thousand survivors, but they are deeply surrounded by zombie hordes and are completely unable to break out to obtain supplies. The situation is critical."

Jiang Xin's gaze quickly shifted to the location of Hongshan University on the sand table, which was about six kilometers away from the current forward outpost of the troops. The university was surrounded by dense red dots representing high-density Zombie Tides.

"The three chinook armed transport helicopters currently at the base are not enough," Jiang Xin quickly made a judgment. "Funds are sufficient; produce three more chinooks immediately to ensure transport capacity." He pointed his finger at the frontline positions of the troops on the sand table, "Have Brother Lei lead his Special Operations Battalion, plus two full combat companies, bring food and supplies, and take the transport helicopters to paradrop into Hongshan University! Establish a bridgehead and defensive positions!" (Two are in County)

"Yes!" Zhang Long stood at attention and took the order.

"At the same time," Jiang Xin continued to deploy, his eyes sharp, "send out four hind attack helicopters for escort and fire support. Order the main ground forces not to save ammunition and to speed up their advance toward Hongshan University! Open up this route!"

"Understood!" Zhang Long quickly recorded the orders and turned to relay them.

"Wait," Jiang Xin called him back, his gaze once again falling on the isolated island representing Hongshan University on the sand table, "Tell Brother Lei to stabilize the situation at all costs and hold out for reinforcements. Hongshan University must not be lost!"

...Hongshan University, the only top-tier institution in Lujiang City, with a vast campus covering over three thousand mu, was now like an isolated island in a vast ocean. The once vibrant teaching buildings, libraries, and gymnasiums were now deathly silent. Only the dining area in the center of the campus (which concentrated several cafeterias, convenience stores, and a large campus supermarket) still stubbornly flickered with dim lights, becoming the final refuge for over five thousand surviving teachers and students.

At the beginning of the apocalypse, thanks to the effective organization led by Principal Li and the college leaders, teachers, and student backbones, a large number of faculty and students were able to retreat to this area where supplies were relatively concentrated, and they constructed a simple defensive line based on the building complex. For over a month, they relied on the limited stored grain and water on campus, as well as the desperate protection of a few awakened Evolvers (mostly strength and speed types), to arduously gather the remaining teachers and students on campus, forming this massive survivor group.

However, the fatal dilemma lay in its geographical location. Hongshan University was deep in the heart of the Lujiang City Old City District, surrounded by dense commercial streets and old residential neighborhoods. Looking out, beyond the campus walls was an endless, shoulder-to-shoulder ocean of Zombie Tides. They were like sardines trapped in a can, completely losing the ability to obtain external resources. The stock in the campus supermarket had long been exhausted, and the rice, flour, and oil in the cafeterias were nearly gone. Hunger, injury, and despair, like maggots on the bone, gnawed at everyone's body and mind.

This was a microcosm of the vast majority of civilian survivor bases across the country. Except for a few settlements located in towns or sparsely populated areas, survivors in the cities were almost all trapped to death on their respective "isolated islands." Limited resources in supermarkets and convenience stores were rapidly depleted, and facing a tsunami-like Zombie Tide, breaking out was no different from suicide.

In contrast, those provincial military district bases relying on strong military power became the sparks of order. They had the ability to break through the Zombie Tide blockades, obtain resources, and establish large shelters within relatively safe military bases, initially restoring some production.

Nationwide, the Tibet Holy City Base, relying on the advantages of the border army and its vast, sparsely populated land, has gathered 130,000 soldiers and civilians and has begun to attempt agricultural production. There is also the Anxi Base Tianshan Base, which has gathered 70,000 to 80,000 people and has a stable situation, but the other Five Major Military Regions are under unimaginable pressure from Zombie Tides.

Hundreds of millions of zombies gathered in the core urban circles like the Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. The use of weapons of mass destruction (especially nuclear weapons) was strictly limited—using nukes to eliminate zombies was no different from drinking poison to quench thirst; while eliminating the zombies, it would also completely cut off the survival path for survivors in the area, potentially leading to a landslide collapse of the already precarious population base, and the spark of human civilization might be extinguished. Therefore, the Five Major Military Regions could only adopt the most difficult and time-consuming strategy: fighting for every inch of ground, advancing slowly, while arduously gathering survivors and pouring resources into training powerful Evolvers, hoping that at some point in the future, they could gather enough strength to shake the core of the Zombie Tide. As for large-scale restoration of agricultural production, it remained an unattainable goal for them, deeply surrounded as they were.