Chapter 41: Chapter 41: News from the Jewelry Store
Before midnight, Xu Haoran and the others finally returned to Chengguan Town.
With faces of guilt, a few people reported the situation to Ye Fan.
This time, as soon as they returned, they saw someone attacking the villa, and they immediately joined the battle, managing to escape with three people.
Although they didn’t suffer losses in the fight, the Fierce Dragon Vehicle was likely taken, and they couldn’t secure the resources Ye Fan collected in the mining vehicle.
Even though they rescued people, Xu Haoran and the others still felt they let Ye Fan down.
Ye Fan, of course, didn’t blame them, as the loss of resources was insignificant as long as everyone was safe.
Daqing Mountain Prison Base, Ye Fan heard this name for the first time.
According to Xu Haoran’s description, those people had significant firepower and a sizable group; it was all thanks to opening the bridge themselves that they could reach Coal City and Prosperous Mountains and Rivers District.
Unexpectedly, that route turned into a liability, something Ye Fan hadn’t considered before.
Almost ten days into the apocalypse, it was surprising that a survivor force could establish such a large scale, something he hadn’t expected.
However, pondering over it does no good now; the event has happened, and it’s fortunate everyone is still alive.
Ye Fan now remembered the name of this base, a meeting with them will surely happen in the future to settle this score.
Two One-star Conscripts and one Three-star Conscript were injured; he took out his Company Commander Level medicine, entrusting it to the medics to treat the injured soldiers quickly.
After the Su Family Sisters arrived, Ye Fan assigned them to manage meals for him and his parents, and to Gao Dongliang, an old classmate and friend adept in operating broadcasts, potentially soon becoming indispensable.
After this incident, Ye Fan felt it was time to speed up his construction efforts.
As he developed, others were also progressing; initially, he hadn’t planned on establishing a base, and now found himself a step behind.
This rescue mission to Lingshui to save his sister would undoubtedly take some time; Ye Fan needed to figure out how to maximize gains in the shortest time possible.
Now, under Ye Fan’s command, the number of Red Alert units had reached thirty-seven, making it thirty-eight including the Fierce Dragon Off-road Vehicle.
He planned to leave ten people behind to guard the Grand Restaurant, with the remaining accompanying him to Lingshui.
Two logistics support team members stayed, along with three Army Soldiers, four Conscripts, and a military dog.
Even so, there were still twenty-seven left, and one vehicle couldn’t hold them all.
He ordered Xu Haoran to find two more vehicles while he contemplated the action plan.
Lingshui First Middle School was located south-central of the urban area, adjacent to Lingshui County Zoo, and entering without going through the urban area meant going through the zoo.
Moreover, the headache was that attacking the school probably wouldn’t yield any resources.
This is because schools have strict regulations against students bringing jewelry.
At most, they might find some scattered jewelry on female teacher zombies; this trip might be fruitless.
"If only I could gain some funds during the attack..."
Ye Fan urgently needed money; building bases, recruiting troops, and constructing virtual tank factories all required significant funds.
So taking down a jewelry store would be best.
However, jewelry stores were all located in downtown areas, making it far from easy; even if Lingshui was a small town, its population was four to five million, and reaching the town center was beyond his current strength.
Additionally, he wasn’t familiar with the layout of jewelry stores, having never paid attention to such things as a guy.
By early next morning, Ye Fan, adopting a "nothing to lose" attitude, called up a few girls, including Lan Lili.
The young women, being fairly young and reasonably attractive, had lived in Chengguan Town their whole lives, making them semi-locals of Lingshui, and Ye Fan believed they’d know about jewelry store locations.
Upon being summoned by Ye Fan, the girls wondered if perhaps the military officer had taken a liking to one of them; they approached with feigned composure.
Ye Fan didn’t pay attention to their affectations, straightforwardly asking, "Does anyone know of any jewelry stores in Lingshui’s south-central area? Don’t mention high-traffic places; the more out-of-the-way, the better."
Exchanging glances, one woman responded coyly, "Brother Ye, the jewelry stores I know are all in malls and main street storefronts. Who would open one in a secluded place? It’d be bound to lose money."
"Right, no jewelry stores are in secluded spots."
"To find jewelry stores, you have to go to the city; I know of a particularly large one..."
Ye Fan waved them off, "Since no one knows, you can return."
The women left reluctantly, lamenting over a missed opportunity to impress the new leader, uncertain when another chance might arise.
At this moment, Lan Lili hesitated, seeming to recall something, "Ye Fan, while no jewelry stores are in secluded places, I have a friend who owns one. Because her husband lost a lot of money overseas and faced death threats from creditors, they planned to use the shop’s jewelry to settle debts. On the very day the apocalypse broke out, she called to say they’d moved most of the jewelry from the shop to their home for retrieval."
"Shortly after our conversation, the mutations began. If my estimation is correct, the jewelry should still be at their house."
Upon hearing this, Ye Fan’s eyes lit up, "Where’s their home?"
If it’s in the town center, it’s useless; he couldn’t reach there now.
Lan Lili promptly replied, "Their home is in the Zijin Garden District, just across from Lingshui First Middle School. It’s a school district house; they didn’t buy in the town center, figuring the area would appreciate in value."
Ye Fan immediately remembered this district, not considered the town center, just near Lingshui First Middle since he was a student there too.
If it’s this district, the matter becomes much simpler; entering wouldn’t be too difficult.
"Do you remember the address of your friend’s home?"
"Building 8, Entrance 1, Room 601."
"Alright, you can leave now. Hmm... From now on, you’ll get an extra two ounces of meat in your daily meals."
Lan Lili expressed profuse gratitude upon hearing that. She shared ordinary survivor provisions that, despite being sustenance, paled compared to before; two extra ounces of meat daily was a significant amount.
The other women cast jealous looks at Lan Lili as they reluctantly left.
With the intel obtained, Ye Fan felt elated.
After a while, Xu Haoran returned.
He brought back two SUVs, both decent in performance.
Though not comparable to the Fierce Dragon, they were serviceable for now.
With two extra vehicles, all combat personnel could board.
Ye Fan assembled the troops, ready to depart for Lingshui.
Wang Hu and Li Biao would serve as his driver and machine gunner, and he, along with Xu Haoran, Engineer Huang Jie, Sniper Chen Chuan, Flamethrower Warrior Wang Aiyu, and others, got into the Fierce Dragon.
The military dog and medic also boarded the Fierce Dragon, while other warriors dispersed among the vehicles, quickly filling the three cars.
"We’ll depart immediately for Lingshui First Middle School, located south-central in the urban area. It’ll be a journey; everyone, stay steady and follow orders, understood?"
"Understood!"
"Move out!"
The Fierce Dragon accelerated, leaving Donghua Grand Restaurant.
The two following cars kept pace, avoiding main roads and opting for back roads to bypass densely packed zombie areas, heading straight toward Lingshui.
Occasionally, zombies spotted them, roaring and giving chase but unable to match the caravan’s speed.
After evading the zombie horde, the vehicles finally exited Chengguan Town.
In front lay a highway leading directly to Lingshui Town, but traffic congestion was relatively severe there.
If he had the mining vehicle, it wouldn’t be a problem; without it, Ye Fan decisively ordered the cars off-road, taking to the fields instead.
The Fierce Dragon roared as it veered off the highway, creating a path through the fields with its tank-like off-road capabilities.
The two rear vehicles followed the tracks left by the Fierce Dragon, passing through smoothly.
In less than thirty kilometers, they traveled approximately an hour.
The city of Lingshui emerged ahead.
Reaching the city’s outskirts, zombies could already be seen roaming.
The highway was blocked, and the vehicles had difficulty proceeding.
"Disembark and prepare for battle!"
Looking at the time, approaching noon, Ye Fan promptly commanded everyone to disembark.
Standing on the edge of Lingshui Town, Ye Fan faced two paths: venture through the main street downtown or traverse through the zoo. Passing through the zoo led directly to Lingshui First Middle.