277: The situation at the base is not optimistic.

Wherever the Nanometer Avatar went, zombies were directly devoured and torn into pieces.

These Nanometer Avatars were condensed and created by Tian Ming; their individual attack power was not high, but they excelled in sheer numbers. Hundreds and thousands of Nanometer Avatars attacking a single zombie simultaneously left these ordinary zombies with no room to retaliate.

This was a disguised expansion of Tian Ming's control range, because although the Nanometer Avatars were numerous, the energy consumed to connect them was equivalent to that of a single large avatar before. The range of connection and sensing reached nearly two hundred kilometers.

Moments later, there was not a single living zombie left in the entire residential area. At the same time, Tian Ming recalled all the Nanometer Avatars. These Nanometer Avatars re-solidified into armor, which Tian Ming wore, and Tian Ming also appeared on the rooftop.

These team members, having narrowly escaped death, looked at the scene before them as if they had experienced a dream. They had just been surrounded by zombies, their lives hanging in the balance, yet in the blink of an eye, all the surrounding zombies had been eliminated, leaving only fragments scattered across the ground.

“Are we… saved?” a team member asked with a trembling voice.

“Yes, we are saved.”

Tian Ming walked over, looked at these people, and said, “I am Lu Tianming, the person in charge of the East Sea City Shelter. I was entrusted by Commander Captain Liu Bin to come and support you. Among you, who is the highest-ranking Commander?”

A young man stepped forward and saluted, “Our Commander sacrificed himself. I am the Deputy Commander; my name is Gao Qiangsheng.”

“Captain Liu Bin is already on his way. Contact him using your communication channel.”

Gao Qiangsheng nodded and quickly made the call. Everyone followed Tian Ming downstairs. When they reached the ground floor, the zombies there had already been cleared by Tian Ming. The few remaining sporadic zombies were torn apart by Tian Ming's Nanometer Avatar before they could even get close.

The Nanometer Avatar formed into a humanoid shape and followed beside Tian Ming. As long as a sporadic zombie approached, it would quickly strike.

Numerous Nanometer Avatars aggregated together possessed a collective consciousness, capable of simulating Tian Ming's brainwaves at a microscopic level, maintaining synchronization with Tian Ming's consciousness. This was immeasurably stronger than the previous large avatar.

Before long, the two teams met. Tian Ming was about to take his leave but was called back by Captain Liu Bin.

“Commander Tian Ming, could you come to our Lianzhou Base? The person in charge of our base wants to meet you,” Captain Liu Bin said.

Tian Ming pondered for a moment and said, “I came out alone this time mainly to clear the mainland Corpse King and improve my strength. I don’t want to be delayed midway.”

After all, they were from the same faction, so Tian Ming did not directly refuse Captain Liu Bin's invitation but was subtly declining it.

“But…” Captain Liu Bin paused, he organized his words slightly before speaking, “Our base's General Commander said he wants to discuss the base relocation with you. This matter is also being pushed by the Alliance, and the Alliance said it was proposed by you!”

Tian Ming smiled indifferently. The idea of concentrating personnel in one area to establish a cluster of bases was indeed Tian Ming's idea. However, the Alliance pushing it so quickly was somewhat beyond his expectation.

Since it was related to his own objective, Tian Ming no longer declined and instead said, “Alright then, I’ll go with you.”

Captain Liu Bin nodded and said, “That’s for the best. Our Hualien Branch also needs to go to Lianzhou Base to replenish a batch of ammunition. Let me call and see if they can send a helicopter to pick us up.”

Captain Liu Bin was a bit uneasy. Lianzhou Base's technological capabilities were not strong, and its combat power was at the bottom among all Alliance Bases. This base was composed of two bases, one large and one small. The large one was called Lianzhou Base, and the small one was called Hualien Base. The two underground bases were sixty kilometers apart in a straight line, with Hualien Base serving as the main base's military front.

The group left the city before a helicopter came to pick them up. Flying in the air within the city was extremely dangerous. Although most zombies did not have the ability to fly, some strong zombies could launch metal projectiles or throw rocks and metal at human aircraft, their power comparable to anti-aircraft machine guns.

After boarding the helicopter, Captain Liu Bin began to introduce the situation of Lianzhou Base.

The two bases, one large and one small, had a total population of 620,000 people. The original population was 730,000. Most of the reduced population was due to the elderly and infirm, and the medical conditions within the base could not keep up with the deaths from illness.

The rest were combat casualties, mainly from the army, who sacrificed themselves while collecting essential supplies such as food, medicine, and fuel. Hualien Base, as a military front, originally had many weapons, including a considerable number of heavy tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.

However, in skirmishes with zombies, the battle damage to these weapons was very high. For those alloy-evolved zombies, steel combat vehicles were undoubtedly food delivered to their doorstep.

Many combat vehicles, after running out of ammunition and supplies, were gnawed to the point where they could not be repaired.

The base only had some conventional weapon production factories, but there were no production lines for large combat vehicles or tanks. Lianzhou Base became poorer with each battle, and eventually, it could only rely on infantry and conventional light weapons to sustain itself.

Meanwhile, the zombies within the city grew stronger and stronger, making material collection increasingly difficult. The Corpse Kings in the city also began to target Lianzhou Base, and several times, they brought large numbers of zombies, preparing to attack.

Each time this happened, the Alliance would dispatch a large number of Superpower Users, which allowed Lianzhou Base to escape disaster.

Tian Ming listened and nodded slightly. The internal base standards of the Alliance, except for Beidu Base, were mostly established according to the Shelter standards.

From the perspective of military and defensive capabilities, they were not balanced.

“The situation at your base is not optimistic, is it?” Tian Ming pondered for a moment and slowly spoke.

Li Bin nodded slightly and said, “It is very unoptimistic. The base's internal energy supply, food production, and water circulation system all have problems. Moreover, the situation is worsening. The equipment inside the base is overloaded, and when problems arise, it's difficult to find replacements. These accumulating problems, coupled with public sentiment and frequent crime, are causing the entire base to slide towards the brink of chaos.”

“Hmm, ultimately, it's because the base's production capacity can't keep up?” Tian asked.

Li Bin smiled bitterly, “It's the raw materials and energy that can't keep up. It was fine at first, but then equipment broke down, and there was a lack of professional personnel, leading to insufficient subsequent maintenance and a vicious cycle. Many technical maintenance personnel were not up to standard, and those with strong technical skills worked day and night until they died from exhaustion at their posts.”

Tian Ming was silent and did not speak. At this moment, the helicopter had also docked at the dedicated helipad above the base.

As soon as Tian Ming got off the helicopter, an old man rushed forward to greet him. This person was Qin Xiaoxian, the General Commander of Lianzhou Base. The old man had graying temples and a worried look on his face.

“Instructor Tian Ming, I finally get to meet you!” Qin Xiaoxian extended both hands and tightly clasped Tian Ming's hand.

Tian Ming smiled with a hint of awkwardness, “My instructor position has been revoked. You are an elder, so just call me by my name.”