Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Hardware Mansion
To be honest, there aren’t many people here with Ye Fan, just over 40 Red Alert Units, but all of them are elite troops.
Even those conscripts driving the trucks, like Wang Hu and Li Biao, are all Three-Star level, with explosive combat power.
The kind of iron-blooded aura they have is something ordinary people can’t possess, and combined with those three steel war vehicles, it’s completely normal for Chen Hao to be dumbfounded.
Originally, he wanted to call him Brother Ye, then thought about calling him Officer, almost calling him Elder Brother.
Ye Fan didn’t mind letting Chen Hao see his war vehicles; they were meant to be showcased.
Chen Hao was already shocked upon looking at Ye Fan: "Leader Ye, are these regular army?"
Ye Fan smiled: "Whether or not they’re regular army, for now, we call ourselves the Dawn Army."
Chen Hao nodded. He was somewhat unsure about Ye Fan’s status, but the fact that the latter did not explicitly claim to be regular army made him slightly disappointed yet relieved.
If they were regular army, he would immediately feel overshadowed by Ye Fan, making interactions difficult mentally.
Afterward, Chen Hao patted his chest in front of Ye Fan: "Brother, since you have such a powerful team, I can rest easy. This time in the transaction meeting, I’ll just follow your lead; let’s see if Xing Hai and Liu Long dare exploit me!"
Ye Fan laughed: "Are the others really that difficult to ally with?"
"Difficult to ally with, the Hot Spring Base has the most survivors in the whole Coal City. They don’t really care about places like Da Wangzhuang, and it’s similar with Qin Yumo’s Airport Base. I heard they even have planes."
"Oh! They have planes? Are they military?"
"No, just civilian airliners, and two civilian helicopters. But that’s quite impressive; being able to fly now is a skill."
Ye Fan nodded slightly, indeed, having planes gives a significant advantage, often making one invincible.
But not so useful against him, Ye Fan. This money he converted into Gold, allowing him to produce Air Defense Infantry anytime; once those portable missiles are out, civilian helicopters are just targets.
As for civilian airliners, they probably don’t have much use now.
"Let’s set off together tomorrow."
"Alright, see you tomorrow."
Chen Hao, with a happy heart, drove back with the supplies he had just traded for.
Ye Fan, equally pleased, returned indoors. Chen Hao’s timely visit brought jewelry that could give him more negotiating power during the trade meeting.
If things go awry, he could always rapidly summon troops and turn the situation around.
Inside, Ye Fan converted the jewelry.
Gold!
Although the jewelry weighed fourteen kilograms, some were made of gem-like materials, thus valued higher.
Such a significant amount of money gave Ye Fan immediate confidence.
Whenever he wished, he could instantly summon a squad.
But he didn’t act immediately, timing wasn’t right, he’d decide based on circumstances then.
That night, Ye Fan and his people stayed in this small village.
He stayed in the east room of an east-west house while Xiao Jing and He Xiaoting insisted on staying in the west room, saying it was their duty. As long as they lived, they had to protect the officer’s safety.
Ye Fan helplessly looked at these two stubborn girls, let them be, a bit of suffering won’t hurt.
Guards stood vigil outside, military dogs patrolled the perimeter, yet he didn’t sleep well that night.
The next morning, Ye Fan woke up with dark circles under his eyes and had breakfast with everyone. After eating, he heard some commotion from Chen Hao’s side.
Boarding the car, they arrived at the village entrance and saw Chen Hao’s convoy.
Unlike Ye Fan’s side, they had four civilian SUVs and three large trucks.
The goods on the trucks weren’t anything extraordinary; some food, household items, and even some appliances were loaded.
But they were mainly fridges, air conditioners, fortunately no TVs, as there were no more TV stations, making TVs obsolete.
Seeing Ye Fan, Chen Hao felt a bit embarrassed: "Our Dazhuang Village doesn’t have many resources; these were gathered from households. We try to exchange for whatever is useful."
He had already obtained some Mutant Beast Meat and a few pistols from Ye Fan, half-achieving his mission, so his mood was exceptionally good now.
Ye Fan chuckled: "Those appliances of yours probably won’t fetch much."
"Oh well, there’s no choice, we’re poor, just thought of giving it a try."
"Let’s go, you guys lead the way."
Ye Fan asked Chen Hao to go first, but Chen Hao refused no matter what, as compared to Ye Fan’s formidable team, his looked like a mere moving company, far too embarrassed to take the lead.
Ye Fan didn’t argue, asked everyone to get on board, and set off toward Sishui County.
As the convoy drove ahead, Ye Fan noticed that the number of zombies nearby was indeed not much, likely because they were approaching a survivor gathering area where zombies had been lured elsewhere.
He thought of the village near Chengguan Town, feeling slightly worried.
Currently, zombies don’t possess much intelligence. Humans can think of many strategies to deal with them. However, signs indicate potential dangers; should they learn collective behavior, it would be a deadly blow to survivors.
Let’s hope the situation in Chengguan Town is an isolated case; otherwise, many survivors might not make it through this winter.
The convoy gradually neared Sishui Town, Ye Fan, half awake half asleep in the car, saw its radar screen detecting Hardware Mansion before they visually spotted it.
"We’re almost there, less than seven kilometers away."
********
On the fourth floor of Hardware Mansion, a few people were conspiring.
There were two groups, each with three people.
One of them, a man in his forties, wore a gray trench coat, with a pockmarked face, appearing fierce.
This person was Xing Hai, the leader from Daqing Mountain Prison, an Evolver.
Behind him were two guards, both carrying submachine guns, standing straight, projecting an air of authority.
Yet compared to the two guards on the opposite side, they appeared somewhat lacking.
Because the two opposing guards were also Evolvers.
Facing Xing Hai sat a thirty-eight-year-old fat man with a buzz cut, large face, and thick neck.
This fat man was Liu Long, the current leader of Hardware Mansion.
Liu Long was also an Evolver and even earned the nickname "Demon King" here at Hardware Mansion.
Under his leadership, the survivors lived hard lives, his motto was "As long as you live, I keep you."
If someone fell ill, they faced only a dead end, because Liu Long would not provide medical care.
Liu Long, glancing at Xing Hai, sneered: "Brother Xing, what’s happened with you? You used to have two Evolvers under you, why are they now replaced with these decorative pillows? Can they really come through at critical moments?"
Speaking of this, Xing Hai got infuriated.
"Don’t even bring it up, they’re all dead, taken down by that damn Ye Fan from Lingshui."
"Oh, how did you get this news?"
"I’m not entirely sure, the day after they left, someone broadcasted a message to me, sounded like Wang Huining but not quite. He informed me Wang Huining and Lao San died at Lingshui Chengguan Town, also warned me of this Ye fellow’s formidable strength, that even with few numbers, they have near-regular army capabilities, urged me to be cautious."
Liu Long’s expression turned slightly grim: "You must take this seriously. Baldy Wang Huining said such, then Ye Fan isn’t to be trifled with. We need more planning."
Xing Hai sneered: "Don’t worry, brother’s not a brainless fool. I’ve already found a strong ally; even if they are regular army, they’ll face annihilation!"
"Oh! What kind of strong ally? Mind sharing?"
Xing Hai hesitated but then decided: "Better not ask; it’s inconvenient to say, it’s my trump card. Just know, these people will do anything for money."
"Money? You’re kidding, right? What’s the point of money now?"
Xing Hai leaned back in his chair: "I’m puzzled too, but there are such fools, and more than one, like Ye Fan, who’s coming today. I’ve laid more than one trap for him; time to settle both new and old scores. Liu Long, we better plan well, best if I don’t have to use our trump card!"