The Eve of the War

In recent days, the entire Future City seemed possessed by a mania for construction, with ceaseless hammering and hauling taking place everywhere. Even during the day, countless people were transporting all sorts of materials.

Infected by this atmosphere, everyone had also grown somewhat tense.

Since the leaders of several major factions placed such great emphasis on this, there must be a reason behind it.

In Xiao Jun's territory, the portly Lu Dezhi was directing a large workforce of laborers. This area had already been designated a restricted zone by Jiang Yue, prohibiting anyone from entering.

Even during the nightly zombie rain, a hundred female guards led personally by Li Jingyin stood vigilant, preventing the zombies from prematurely damaging the construction site.

In these past few days, Xiao Jun's harem team had remained stable at one thousand members, with no further additions.

Xiao Jun had always pursued an elite path, requiring even his female warriors to exceed triple the capability of ordinary fighters.

Among the four major factions within the city currently, if comparing solely based on team strength, Xiao Jun's harem team could not match any of the others.

Yet when it came to elite combat power, Xiao Jun could confidently declare: "Bring them all on."

Although Xiao Jun was not actively recruiting, his affiliated Gale Gang and Tiger Leopard Gang were not idle.

Operating under Xiao Jun's banner, they were aggressively recruiting, accepting anyone regardless of strength—even first-rank fighters were welcome. They seemed to recruit virtually anyone except the elderly and children, for cannon fodder was also necessary.

The two gangs had now surpassed twenty thousand members each, advancing toward a thirty thousand goal.

With Xiao Jun's elite forces combined with their massive numbers, the nightly battles had become increasingly straightforward.

As their team strength continuously expanded, the two gang leaders harbored no ulterior motives toward Xiao Jun.

Although they had to pay a substantial tribute of mutant crystals daily, their income had multiplied compared to before—all thanks to Xiao Jun.

Moreover, Xiao Jun did not interfere in their gang affairs, allowing them to develop independently.

The three teams outwardly maintained a cooperative relationship, giving the gang leaders due respect.

Where else could they find such a powerful backer? The portly and lean gang leaders were not foolish.

Lu Dezhi was already preparing to take his fifteenth wife. As his power grew, he naturally needed more wives befitting his elevated status.

And Future City was even more astonishing—after several consecutive days of frenzied recruitment, the fighting force had surpassed three hundred thousand, according to the information Guo Yu provided to Xiao Jun.

The Lone Wolf Group was not to be outdone either. Originally comprising the Lone Wolf Group and four smaller merged teams, they were now blatantly absorbing smaller teams, their numbers rapidly approaching one hundred thousand.

After this crisis, it seemed the smaller teams in Future City would disappear entirely, truly leaving only the four major factions in a situation reminiscent of the previous era.

The only difference was that Jiang Yue's Empress Guard had become Xiao Jun's harem.

As for the Bloody Clothes Gang, they maintained a moderate approach, neither indiscriminately recruiting like the Lone Wolf Group nor remaining completely inactive like Xiao Jun's harem team.

The Bloody Clothes Gang's main force had already surpassed ten thousand, mostly consisting of second-rank mutants with an overall strength far superior to the Lone Wolf Group.

Their subordinate teams numbered close to fifty thousand, though their strength was unremarkable.

Yet with unified command, the nightly zombie rain now felt more like a family outing, resolved within just an hour each night.

...

Today was the seventh day of the second round of the zombie rain.

This meant the zombie assault on the city was drawing ever closer.

The traps in Xiao Jun's territory were nearly complete, requiring at most half a day's work to finish.

During the day, Xiao Jun revisited the outskirts of his territory once more. The presence of a fifth-rank zombie still lingered, but he was not concerned. When the zombies assaulted the city, he could simply blow up the bridge, forcing them to enter from elsewhere.

The zombie assault typically occurred one to three days after the zombie rain ended, always at night.

Night combat granted a certain advantage to the zombies, especially the first-rank ones, while weakening humans to some degree.

Therefore, they had at least until tomorrow to prepare.

The seventh day's zombie rain was no different from the previous days. To the major factions in Future City, such a zombie rain was now of little concern.

If not for the impending zombie assault, they would be preparing to strike out and expand their territories further.

On the final day of the zombie rain, before dawn had fully broken, Xiao Jun had already left his territory once more.

At Guo Yu's home.

The two men sat facing each other, puffing away, the entire room enveloped in a thick smoky haze.

Guo Yu's mother had already been sent to Xiao Jun's territory, housed in the residential area behind the traps.

When the zombies assaulted the city, that area would become Xiao Jun's team's final line of defense.

"Brother Jun, I now have five thousand under my command," Guo Yu said.

As Future City's population swelled, Guo Yu's subordinates had continuously expanded, now reaching five thousand.

"Five thousand is no problem. Once the zombie assault begins, don't bother with anything else—just bring them over."

Guo Yu nodded. With his mother there, he would of course bring his men to protect her.

After a brief conversation, Xiao Jun left Guo Yu's home.

Walking along Future City's streets, the final scramble for the airdropped supplies continued.

The streetlamps lining both sides of the road had all been replaced with high-tech lighting fixtures.

These fixtures would automatically adjust their brightness based on ambient light levels, highly practical.

Even at night, they could keep Future City brilliantly illuminated.

The city's trading markets had all been evacuated, including the documentation office, now standing empty.

Only after the zombie assault and subsequent earthquake would Future City be truly established.

By then, Future City would become a "regulated" city.

Of course, these regulations would only apply to ordinary people.

Hmm, he couldn't wait to witness the scene of Chen Gang's arrogant son Baoyang facing his comeuppance.

Xiao Jun thought maliciously.

Returning to his residence, Jiang Yue had already arrived.

"The zombies along the road to the main bridge have all been cleared, and Li Qianwan is in position."

"Additionally, we now have enough second-rank mutant crystals to upgrade three more members."

Xiao Jun nodded, lighting a cigarette.

The three fourth-rank slots would undoubtedly be reserved for the elite.

"Are there any mutants with special ability talents?"

"None," Jiang Yue shook her head, somewhat regrettably.

"Then allocate all three for upgrading fire abilities."

In large-scale combat, the destructive power of fire abilities remained unmatched. Even as formidable as Xiao Jun, he could only cut them down one by one with his blade.

Fourth-rank fire ability mutants could easily slaughter thousands of zombies during their half-hour daily skill usage period.

If the zombies were densely packed, killing a hundred thousand was possible.

Everything was now ready. All that remained was to wait.