When Xiao Fan finished building all the watchtowers and machine gun bunkers, he leaned on the parapet of the southern city wall, gazing out at the vast wilderness and the flowing Haoyuan River, his heart filled with boundless emotion.
The most beautiful thing in the world, he realized, was not how much money one had, but how powerful one's strength was.
This grand city would become his base from now on. He was the sole master here, which made his heart swell with pride.
Within these two defensive works, there were 126 personnel, nearly a full infantry company.
Xiao Fan decided to add 14 more people and form a city defense company.
He appointed one of his snipers, Lu Ping, as the company commander.
This company would have no platoons or squads, all under the direct command of Lu Ping.
Under Lu Ping's command, Xiao Fan assigned thirteen additional snipers.
Including Lu Ping, all the snipers were divided into seven teams, patrolling the city walls day and night, forming a city wall patrol squad.
Strangely enough, before the first and second companies were fully staffed, the city defense company had already reached full strength.
Since there were no hostilities at the moment, the soldiers in the watchtowers and machine gun bunkers had all come out to join the base construction.
Leaving one sniper in each watchtower for guard duty was enough.
As the number of people increased, although they consumed more food, the efficiency of their work also increased.
The installation of drainage pipes was complete, and the basic electrical grid facilities were nearly done.
Now the main tasks were leveling the streets and completing the underground tunnels.
Once those were finished, the basic construction within the city would be more or less complete.
Outside the south gate was also a major construction site, with tunnels still being dug and streets being leveled in preparation for laying foundations.
However, Xiao Fan instructed them not to pave concrete roads, as they would be difficult to repair in case of war.
So the roads outside the city were all asphalt, though still in the initial stage.
With the completion of the city walls, Xiao Fan's main task was over.
Lying in the SUV, listening to the hubbub of construction outside, Xiao Fan felt rather idle.
Fiddling with the massive blue sapphire in his hand, a system notification suddenly popped up just as he was bored.
"Commander-in-Chief, a supply crate has appeared on the Haoyuan River outside the south gate sluice, and is drifting away downstream!"
Hearing this, Xiao Fan sprang up as if his ass had a spring under it.
"A water supply crate!"
His mind raced back to recall from the game.
Supply crates frequently appeared, and some did indeed appear on water.
But water supply crates usually meant the appearance of naval units, or at least units that could swim.
Although he had a river here, he had no shipyard, and he was certain he couldn't build one anytime soon, meaning he wouldn't have any ships either.
Would this supply crate give him a ship?
Xiao Fan didn't have time to ponder further. Opening the radar, he found the supply crate had already drifted out of range.
He immediately ordered Xue Ninger to go with him to chase after the crate.
Xue Ninger acted quickly, bringing over a motorcycle. Xiao Fan hopped on, not bothering to bring anyone else, and the two sped out of the city gate on the motorcycle.
Xue Ninger drove the motorcycle at top speed, following the Haoyuan River to the southeast.
Since it was drifting with the river current, following the river was the right move.
The Haoyuan River's waters were rapid and turbulent. After chasing for five or six kilometers, the supply crate finally appeared on Xiao Fan's radar range.
"It's ahead, another five hundred meters."
The river curved and twisted, making the motorcycle ride rather bumpy. Another three or four kilometers later, they finally approached the location of the supply crate.
Seeing the raging river waters, Xue Ninger asked Xiao Fan, "Commander-in-Chief, which one of us is going to enter the river later?"
If it had been a male soldier asking, Xiao Fan would have scolded him immediately.
But since Xue Ninger was a gorgeous woman, her question was reasonable.
Xiao Fan pondered for a moment, "You should know that as the Commander-in-Chief, I studied at a naval academy."
"Yes."
"It was a coastal region, and my favorite thing was going into the sea to battle the wind and waves, enjoying that boundless and dangerous feeling. So I'm a strong swimmer. Although I developed a cramp when in water for too long back then, this small river shouldn't be an issue."
Hearing this, Xue Ninger hurriedly waved her hands. "Then never mind, your health is the priority. I'll go into the river instead."
Xiao Fan nodded, it seemed it had to be that way.
At that moment, the supply crate got caught on some river weeds at a bend and stopped drifting.
Xiao Fan and Xue Ninger immediately got off the motorcycle and approached the riverbank.
Xue Ninger stretched her arms. "Commander-in-Chief, I need to take off my clothes to enter the river. Can you hold them for me so they don't get dirty?"
"Sure."
Such a simple favor, Xiao Fan was happy to oblige.
And he was quite the gentleman, turning away to show he wouldn't peek while Xue Ninger undressed.
What was there to look at a woman undressing?
In the time it took, Xiao Fan would rather study the rearview mirrors on the motorcycle.
Facing the mirrors with his back to Xue Ninger, Xiao Fan was the very picture of propriety.
Behind him came the sound of rustling as Xue Ninger undressed.
Suddenly, her movements stopped.
"Commander-in-Chief, it seems someone is coming this way."
Xiao Fan immediately looked ahead, his hand already on his assault pistol.
This was ten kilometers away from the base, not a safe area.
However, Xiao Fan wasn't too worried. Xue Ninger was now a two-star scout with formidable abilities. Though his own abilities were lacking, his bulletproof vest and gun could easily deal with three or five people.
The two approached the motorcycle and looked downstream along the river.
Gradually, two people appeared on the opposite bank, walking along the river.
One held a fishing spear, the other a fishing net, moving at a leisurely pace.
Their tattered clothes and thin, sickly appearances were the hallmarks of post-apocalyptic survivors.
Spotting Xiao Fan and Xue Ninger, the two survivors were startled.
Their first reaction was to flee, but Xue Ninger immediately drew her pistol. "If you try to run, you'll stay here forever."
The two survivors quickly turned back, dropping their gear and raising their hands. "Officer... officer, we were just out fishing for food. We haven't done anything wrong. Whatever tax you want, we're already collecting it. Give us a few more days, and we'll have it ready. Please don't kill us."
Before Xue Ninger understood, Xiao Fan had already realized.
These two survivors had mistaken them for members of the Survivor Alliance.

e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.

grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”