45: Steady progress, promoted to major

Chapter 46: Steady Progress, Promoted to Major

The convoy, laden with spoils from the suburban clearing operation, rolled over the gravel mountain road and entered the mountain stronghold base. The setting sun was painting the continuous mountain valleys in a fierce golden-red. A disciplined formation of 120 Red Alert Soldiers followed closely behind, their polished steel rifles glinting with a cold light in the afterglow. The Engineering Corps and logistics personnel staying behind at the base had long been lined up at the entrance; seeing the returning team fully loaded, the long-suppressed cheers instantly echoed through the valley—no one had expected that a single precise clearing of a newly developed suburban area could yield such abundant energy and resources.

Lin Zhou did not stop for a moment, heading straight into the command center. As soon as he stood before the main control console, the 3D holographic map lit up automatically. The distribution markers of zombies in the cleared suburban area, the dense red clusters of the old county town, and the terrain data surrounding the base were clearly spread out. The jumping numbers on the system panel made his pupils contract slightly: 892,100 energy points and 53,374 resource points. The system had previously updated the corpse energy conversion rules, allowing each ordinary zombie killed to be directly exchanged for 100 energy points. The 3,721 zombies cleared in this operation directly contributed 372,100 energy points. Combined with the base's original reserves, the total soared to nearly nine hundred thousand. More pleasingly, as the kill count and results accumulated, the corpse energy conversion efficiency triggered a buff; subsequent energy gains from each ordinary zombie would increase by 20%, reaching 120 points per zombie.

Looking at the ample resources on the panel, Lin Zhou suppressed the excitement in his heart and abandoned his previous aggressive mindset of trying to achieve everything at once. Having experienced the actual combat of the suburban clearing, he knew deeply that the core of survival in the apocalypse lay in steady progress. Blind expansion would only lead to a dispersion of resources, creating hidden dangers instead. After a moment's thought, his fingertips slid rapidly across the construction interface, prioritizing a list of essential buildings, each precisely corresponding to the base's current defense and development needs:

Intermediate Barracks: Consumes 5,000 energy points and 3,000 resource points. As the core building for troop production and training junior commanders, it is the prerequisite for unlocking the subsequent War Factory and must be prioritized.

- Basic Air Force Command: Consumes 12,000 energy points and 5,000 resource points. It only unlocks 20-kilometer air situation detection permissions and the qualification to assemble one reconnaissance aircraft. This addresses the 'seeing far' reconnaissance need first, paving the way for future scouting of the old town's zombie swarms.

- Simplified anti-aircraft gun positions (4 units): Each unit consumes 5,000 energy points and 2,000 resource points, totaling 20,000 energy and 8,000 resources. They will be deployed at the high points in the east, west, south, and north directions of the base, forming a basic low-altitude defense quad-array to protect the command center, Barracks, future War Factory, and the dark energy core, avoiding the threat of low-altitude raids.

- Primary Dark Energy Absorption Core: Consumes 15,000 energy points and 8,000 resource points. It slowly converts ambient dark energy captured from space, providing a stable output of 120 resource points per minute, completely eliminating reliance on physical ores.

“Engineering Corps, start working in shifts! Prioritize building the Barracks and the four anti-aircraft gun positions, followed immediately by the Air Force Command and the dark energy core!” Lin Zhou's command spread through the base via communicator. There was no earth-shattering clamor, only the orderly roar of machinery rising in response. The alloy walls of the Barracks were the first to rise on the east side of the base, with training pods, equipment depots, and commander quarters built simultaneously to prepare for future expansion. Meanwhile, Engineering Corps teams carrying anti-aircraft gun components rushed to the four high points. In just one hour, four dark anti-aircraft guns were steadily mounted on their positions, their muzzles slowly rotating as they began alert scans of the low-altitude airspace within 20 kilometers of the base. The Radar antenna of the Air Force Command and the conversion device of the dark energy core were also assembled. Once the dark energy core started, only a faint purple glow appeared over the base, but the resource points on the system panel began to tick up steadily, solid and reliable.

While the construction projects progressed steadily, Lin Zhou simultaneously launched a 'small steps, fast run' troop production plan. Based on the combat experience from the suburban clearing, he adjusted the troop composition—reducing the number of Grenadiers and adding Machine Gunners to strengthen medium-to-close range suppression. After all, when facing scattered or small groups of zombies, the continuous firepower of a Machine Gunner was far more practical than the area-of-effect damage of a Grenadier. The system explicitly required a total of 480 combat soldiers and 2 Company Grade Commanders to unlock the construction permissions for the War Factory. He strictly followed the organizational ratio to recruit troops, refusing to expand blindly:

200 Reinforced Riflemen: 500 energy points and 200 resource points per person. As the basic combat force, they are responsible for daily base security and clearing scattered zombies.

- 30 Machine Gunners: 700 energy points and 300 resource points per person. Equipped with general-purpose heavy machine guns to strengthen medium-to-close range suppression, specifically for dealing with small, scattered zombie swarms and filling the firepower gap between Riflemen and Grenadiers.

- 20 Grenadiers: 800 energy points and 350 resource points per person. Forming two elite anti-cluster squads, to be deployed only when encountering large-scale zombie charges to avoid redundant firepower.

- 30 Stealth Scout Soldiers: 1,200 energy points and 500 resource points per person. Reduced organizational size to focus on reconnaissance, specifically responsible for mapping the terrain and zombie swarms on the outskirts of the old town without rashly entering the core areas.

- 20 Engineering Corps: 600 energy points and 300 resource points per person. Sufficient for basic building maintenance, equipment repair, and battlefield resource recovery; numbers will be increased as production capacity expands.

- 2 Company Grade Commanders: 5,000 energy points and 1,500 resource points per person. Temporarily only two are configured, one to lead infantry operations and the other for reconnaissance and infiltration, streamlining the command chain and improving unit coordination efficiency by 20%.

Half a day passed quietly. When the last Machine Gunner walked out of the Barracks training pod carrying a heavy machine gun, the sound of rhythmic footsteps echoed across the base training ground. 480 combat soldiers and 2 Company Grade Commanders in exclusive tactical uniforms formed a precise battalion-level square. Rifles and heavy machine guns were slung over their shoulders, their gazes sharp. Though not an overwhelming force in scale, they excelled in organized structure and clear division of labor. The two Company Grade Commanders, holding encrypted communication terminals, stepped forward quickly to salute Lin Zhou. They could provide real-time feedback on each squad's status, forming a concise and efficient command system. Just then, the system notification sounded in the command center as expected:

【Congratulations, commander! You have been officially promoted to Major Battalion Commander! Unlocking basic permissions and exclusive rewards!】

Major Battalion Commander Basic Rewards

1. Command Authority Upgrade: Troop capacity limit increased to 800. Unlocks the 'Basic Tactical Matrix,' supporting one-key execution of simple coordination commands between infantry and subsequent armored units, eliminating the need for tedious verbal scheduling.

2. Corpse Energy Conversion Enhancement: Additional +20% energy point gain from ordinary zombies (120 points per unit). Unlocks the 'Zombie Crystal Core Extraction' basic function; every 50 ordinary zombies can produce 1 low-level crystal core, exchangeable for 5,000 energy points, further broadening energy sources.

3. War Factory Preliminary Privilege: Unlocks the basic grizzly tank blueprints. Once the War Factory is built, the production cost of the first tank is reduced by 20%, and 2 basic maintenance robots are gifted to improve vehicle maintenance efficiency.

4. Exclusive Equipment Buff: Awarded the 'Red Alert Basic Merit Medal,' which increases troop morale by 5% when worn. Equipped with a simple Tactical Command Terminal, integrating air situation monitoring and unit position synchronization to master battlefield dynamics in real-time.

“Unlock the basic War Factory and start construction immediately!” Lin Zhou clicked the confirmation button without hesitation. The basic War Factory required 20,000 energy points and 10,000 resource points. Now that all prerequisites were met, there was no need to wait. On the open ground on the west side of the base, the Engineering Corps quickly marked the construction site.

Looking at the remaining 838,100 energy points and 24,374 resource points on the system panel, Lin Zhou made an extremely conservative plan: reserve 500,000 energy points and 20,000 resource points as a strategic reserve to deal with abnormal zombie movements in the old town or sudden crises. He only used a small amount of resources to start a trial production plan for 1 grizzly tank and 3 multi-purpose personnel carriers, putting all other resources into the upgrade preparations for the dark energy core and Barracks to leave enough room for future development.

Night fell quietly, and the base lights came on one by one. System notifications sounded successively in the command center, not with dense explosions, but with the sound of steady progress:

【Ding! Barracks, 4 anti-aircraft gun positions, basic Air Force Command, and Primary Dark Energy Absorption Core construction complete! Low-altitude defense quad-array partially activated, resource point growth rate 120/minute!】

【Ding! Basic War Factory completed! Unlocked trial production permissions for grizzly tank and multi-purpose personnel carrier!】

【Ding! 1 reconnaissance aircraft assembly complete! Capable of performing aerial reconnaissance missions within 20 kilometers!】

Lin Zhou quickly climbed the simple observation deck of the War Factory, the night wind bringing the mountain's chill to his face. In the workshop below, the assembly of the first grizzly tank had already begun. The barrel of the 105mm main gun was being heated in the forging area, thick armor plates were neatly stacked to the side, and a robotic arm was slowly welding the tread supports, every step methodical. Not far away, on the multi-purpose personnel carrier production line, the frames of three infantry vehicles had already taken shape, exuding a simple yet reliable metallic texture. From the training ground came the sound of rhythmic slogans as the 2 Company Grade Commanders led the soldiers in basic tactical drills. The Machine Gunner squads set up their heavy machine guns for test firing, the dull gunshots echoing through the valley; their steps were synchronized, their momentum high. Above the base, the reconnaissance aircraft slowly took flight, its wings cutting through the twilight, clearly transmitting aerial footage within 20 kilometers back to the display screens—no abnormalities were found.

The muzzles of the four anti-aircraft guns pointed silently at the night sky, and the faint purple glow of the dark energy core flowed steadily. The entire base lacked an all-sweeping, majestic aura, yet it exuded the confidence of a calculated, step-by-step strategy. Lin Zhou gripped the Tactical Command Terminal in his hand, his voice exceptionally steady in the night wind: “Start the grizzly tank trial production! In three days, the reconnaissance aircraft will fly to the outskirts of the old town to map the distribution of the zombie swarms! We are in no hurry; we'll build the first tank, figure out the old town's secrets, and then advance step by step!”