11: The fortress is newly built, but undercurrents are surging.

Chapter Eleven: The Fortress Takes Shape, Undercurrents Surge

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed half the sky red, gilding the steel walls of the base with a warm golden edge. The battlefield after the zombie tide was a mess, with charred remains of zombies emitting a pungent odor in the evening breeze. Lin Zhou leaned on his Fire Axe, which was stained with black blood, standing in front of the base gate, watching the busy crowd; his tense nerves finally relaxed.

Su Mei walked over and handed him a clean cloth: "Wipe yourself. Looking like this, you could scare the new survivors to tears."

Lin Zhou took the cloth and wiped the foul blood from his face, revealing a tired but resolute face. He looked toward the Main Base; the side building of the Level 2 Main Base had begun to take shape. Low groans of the wounded came from the medical room, the shouting of Scarface and his men echoed from the training ground, and the sprouts of mutated crops in the farm swayed gently in the evening breeze—a scene full of vitality.

"Radar shows that the zombies within a three-kilometer radius have been mostly cleared." Lin Zhou looked at the system panel, his voice slightly raspy. "4185.5 metal points and 80 power, enough to upgrade the War Factory and Barracks to Level 2."

Su Mei nodded, her gaze falling on the ruins outside the walls. "Although this zombie tide was dangerous, we gained a lot. The walls reinforced by Old Zhou and the others are three times stronger than before, and the power of the anti-aircraft gun has been proven."

Lin Zhou smiled and turned toward the War Factory. "Let's go upgrade the equipment. A Level 2 War Factory should unlock grizzly tanks, which are more flexible than rhino tanks and suitable for patrols and clearing operations."

The two entered the War Factory, where the control console screen flickered with a faint blue light. Lin Zhou reached out and pressed the upgrade button, and the system prompt sounded immediately.

[Consume 800 metal and 40 power to upgrade the War Factory to Level 2?]

"Upgrade!"

A faint blue light enveloped the entire War Factory, the roar of the machines became deeper, the workshop area doubled in size, and a new production line slowly unfolded. A few minutes later, the light dissipated, and the Level 2 War Factory icon lit up prominently.

[War Factory upgrade complete! New units unlocked: grizzly tank (80 metal, 30 power, training time 3 minutes/unit), armored personnel carrier (50 metal, 20 power, training time 2 minutes/unit)]

"armored personnel carrier!" Su Mei's eyes lit up. "With this thing, we can safely transport survivors and supplies."

Lin Zhou nodded and walked toward the Barracks. The upgrade for the Barracks was just as smooth. After consuming 500 metal and 30 power, the Level 2 Barracks unlocked Rocket Troopers and Police Dogs. The former excelled at long-range strikes, while the latter could keenly detect hidden zombies, perfectly filling the gaps in the base's defense.

After the upgrades, Lin Zhou stood atop the Main Base, overlooking the entire base. Outside the walls, several survivor teams were walking toward the base, drawn by its reputation, their faces filled with anxiety and hope. Scarface led men at the gate, carefully verifying identities to ensure no zombies slipped in.

"Boss, another thirty-plus survivors!" Scarface's voice came through the walkie-talkie, sounding excited. "There are even two doctors and a Mechanic among them!"

"Great!" Lin Zhou was delighted. "Take the doctors to the medical room, send the Mechanic to the War Factory, and arrange for the others to go to the living quarters to distribute food and water."

Just then, several strange red dots suddenly appeared on the Radar screen. They were moving very fast, not wandering aimlessly like zombies, but heading straight toward the base. Moreover, their energy fluctuations were very weak, clearly human signals.

"Something's happening." Lin Zhou's gaze instantly became sharp. "Su Mei, take two Rocket Troopers and one Machine Gunner, and come with me to check it out."

Su Mei immediately took the order and soon arrived with three soldiers. Lin Zhou climbed into a newly trained grizzly tank, Su Mei sat in the passenger seat, and the Rocket Troopers and Machine Gunner boarded an armored personnel carrier, following behind the tank.

The tank slowly drove out of the base toward the red dots. Ten minutes later, Lin Zhou stopped in front of an abandoned shopping mall. The Radar showed the red dots were on the second floor of the mall.

Lin Zhou opened the hatch, jumped down, and held his Fire Axe, alertly scanning the surroundings. The mall's doors were tightly closed, the glass covered in cracks, and it was pitch black inside. Su Mei followed behind him with the soldiers, the Rocket Troopers aiming their rocket launchers at the mall entrance.

"Is anyone there?" Lin Zhou shouted, his voice echoing in the empty mall.

A moment later, a head poked out from a window on the second floor. It was a man in his twenties wearing a black leather jacket, holding a pistol, warily staring at Lin Zhou and his group.

"Who are you? Are you from the base?"

"I am Lin Zhou, the commander of the base." Lin Zhou said deeply, "Are you survivors too? Why didn't you go directly to the base?"

The man hesitated for a moment, opened the window, and threw something down to Lin Zhou. Lin Zhou reached out and caught it; it was a walkie-talkie.

"We are from the 'Wild Wolf Mercenary Group'." The man's voice came through the walkie-talkie with a hint of arrogance. "We heard your base has food and water. We want to make a deal with you."

Lin Zhou frowned: "What deal?"

"We'll trade weapons and intelligence for your food and medicine." The man paused and added, "Don't think about double-crossing us. Our people are nearby, and we know you've just been through a zombie tide; your defenses must be weak."

Su Mei's eyes instantly turned cold, her hand quietly reaching for the dagger at her waist. Lin Zhou raised his hand to stop her and said calmly into the walkie-talkie, "We can trade. But on one condition: you must lay down your weapons and send two people over to negotiate, otherwise, no deal."

The man was silent for a moment, seemingly weighing the pros and cons. After a while, his voice came again: "Fine! We'll send two people over. I hope you keep your word."

A few minutes later, the mall doors opened, and two men walked out. Leading them was the man in the leather jacket named Wild Wolf, the leader of the mercenary group; the other was a thin man carrying a case, likely the weapons for the trade.

The two walked up to Lin Zhou. Wild Wolf sized him up, then looked at the tank and soldiers behind him, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.

"Commander Lin, truly young and promising." Wild Wolf said with a fake smile, "This is our sincerity."

The thin man opened the case, which contained several rifles, a few magazines, and a map. Wild Wolf pointed at the map: "This is a distribution map of zombies in the West City. There's an armory there with heavy weapons. We can take you there, but you must give us enough food and medicine for fifty people for a month."

Lin Zhou picked up the map and examined it carefully. The markings were detailed, with zombie distributions and resource points clearly noted; it didn't look fake.

"Alright." Lin Zhou nodded. "But I need to inspect the goods first."

Wild Wolf waved his hand, and the thin man immediately handed over a rifle. Lin Zhou took it and checked the chamber and magazine; it was indeed a brand-new weapon.

"Very well." Lin Zhou said solemnly, "The deal is on. But I have one more condition: your people must join the base and follow my command."

Wild Wolf's face instantly darkened: "Commander Lin, you're taking advantage of us!"

"It's not taking advantage; it's for your own good." Lin Zhou's voice turned cold. "In the apocalypse, you won't get far on your own. Joining the base means food, water, and a safe place to live; it's better than hiding out here."

Wild Wolf's eyes flickered. He looked at the tank and soldiers behind Lin Zhou, then at the walkie-talkie in his hand, clearly struggling.

Just then, a scream suddenly came from inside the mall, followed by intense gunfire and the roars of zombies. Wild Wolf's expression changed, and he shouted into the walkie-talkie: "What's going on?!"

A panicked voice came from the walkie-talkie: "Boss! It's bad! We're surrounded by zombies! It's the Crawling Type, so many Crawling Types!"

Wild Wolf turned pale and was about to rush into the mall. Lin Zhou grabbed him: "If you want to save your people, agree to my condition!"

Wild Wolf looked at Lin Zhou's determined eyes and heard the increasingly dense gunfire from the mall. He finally bit his teeth and said, "Fine! I agree! Just save my people!"

Lin Zhou immediately ordered: "Su Mei, take the Rocket Troopers and Machine Gunner, and follow me to save them! grizzly tank, provide cover!"

"Yes!"

The roar of the tank sounded, and shells whistled toward the mall entrance, blowing the zombies blocking the door into fragments. Lin Zhou gripped his Fire Axe and rushed into the mall with Su Mei and the soldiers.

The mall was in chaos. Crawling Type zombies were crawling on the ceiling like ghosts, constantly pouncing on the panicked mercenary members. Lin Zhou's Fire Axe had an armor-piercing effect; every swing split open the skull of a Crawling Type. Su Mei's daggers were precise and ruthless, specifically targeting the zombies' eyes. The Rocket Troopers' rocket launchers were even more powerful, shattering a whole area of zombies with a single shot.

In less than ten minutes, the Crawling Types in the mall were cleared out. The mercenary members slumped on the ground, gasping for breath, their eyes filled with awe as they looked at Lin Zhou and his group.

Wild Wolf walked up to Lin Zhou and bowed deeply: "Thank you, Commander Lin, for saving our lives! I, Wild Wolf, swear to follow the base's command from now on, with no second thoughts!"

Lin Zhou patted his shoulder: "Welcome to the base. From today on, we are family."

He turned to look out the mall window. The sun had set, and night was slowly falling. Lights flickered in the direction of the base, like stars in the darkness.

Lin Zhou knew that with the addition of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group, the base's strength had grown once more. But he also vaguely felt that the dangers in the apocalypse were never just zombies.

In the distant darkness, a pair of eyes was staring at the mall, a sinister light flashing within them.

Undercurrents had already begun to surge.