71: Military rank promotion opens up new frontiers; Red Alert's cutting-edge technology breaks through the encirclement.

Chapter 73: Military Promotion Opens New Domains, red alert Black Tech Breaks the Siege

The bugle calls of the Five Great Army Groups' expedition still echoed over Dawn City.

On the top floor of the command center, Lin Zhou was lost in thought while facing a strategic map of the country. Reports from the Eastern Army Group on coastal reconnaissance, news of the Mutant tide encountered by the Western Army Group in Western Sichuan, and signals of Skeleton Serpent infiltration detected by the Southern Defense Line covered the tabletop in a dense sprawl. He rubbed his aching temples, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the Dawn City Badge on his chest—this badge was a keepsake he had worn since the early days of the apocalypse, witnessing Dawn City's growth from a small outpost to a power possessing three main cities and tens of thousands of survivors.

Right then, the notification sound of the red alert system suddenly rang in his mind, carrying a long-absent mechanical texture:

[Detected that the host's faction has surpassed a population of one million, reclaimed land area exceeds 100,000 square kilometers, and the armed forces under your command have expanded to 50,000 men. Achievement "Regional Hegemon" attained.]

[Host's military rank promoted: Colonel -> Major General.]

[Unlocked Major General exclusive permissions: 1. red alert base mobile vehicle secondary modification rights; 2. Unlocked new equipment: magnetic storm infantry armor, phantom tank; 3. Unlocked Major General exclusive ability: Battlefield Command Amplification (Range: 50km; Allied attack and defense increased by 20%).]

Lin Zhou was momentarily stunned, and then an unbelievable light burst from his eyes.

The promotion mechanism of the red alert system had always been linked to the development of his faction. Moving from Colonel to Major General was not just an increase in rank, but a symbol of a qualitative leap in Dawn City's strength. He impatiently pulled up the system panel, his heart pounding uncontrollably as he looked at the three newly unlocked permissions.

The secondary modification of the base mobile vehicle meant that the production capacity and technological research speed of the Red Alert Base would double. The magnetic storm infantry armor, as the name suggested, was individual combat equipment centered on electrical energy; its effect against a Mutant's scales was far more direct than sonic weapons. The phantom tank was a classic piece of equipment from the red alert series—it could achieve optical stealth, and its main gun was powerful enough to blast through the defenses of a Level 4 Mutant!

As for that Battlefield Command Amplification ability, it could be called a strategic-level trump card. An attack and defense boost within a fifty-kilometer range was enough to reverse the tide of a large-scale battle!

“Excellent!” Lin Zhou slammed a fist onto the table, the fatigue he had suppressed for days instantly swept away by wild joy.

He immediately ordered: “Notify the Research Team and the Red Alert Base engineers to gather at the command center immediately! Also, tell Wang Hu and Chen Hao that no matter how busy they are, they must return to Dawn City within two hours!”

As the news spread, the entire command center was abuzz with excitement.

Two hours later, Wang Hu and Chen Hao rushed back covered in dust, still carrying the scent of gunpowder. The Research Team Leader and the red alert engineers were already waiting in the meeting room, their eyes fixed intently on Lin Zhou.

Lin Zhou didn't keep them in suspense and directly went public with the newly unlocked system content.

“What? magnetic storm infantry armor? phantom tanks?” Wang Hu stood up abruptly, his voice trembling. “Colonel... no, Major General! Can these things really be built?”

“The technology of the red alert system has never disappointed us.” Lin Zhou nodded with a smile, projecting a virtual blueprint onto the screen.

On the screen, a 3D model of the magnetic storm infantry armor rotated slowly—it was silver-blue all over, with a small magnetic storm coil mounted on the chest and a cannon port on each arm capable of firing electromagnetic pulses. The power modules in the legs could increase a soldier's running speed threefold. The phantom tank model was even more shocking—a streamlined hull equipped with a large-caliber main gun, its surface covered in an optical stealth coating. Once stealth mode was activated, it could almost blend in perfectly with its surroundings.

“The core of the magnetic storm armor is the miniaturized magnetic storm coil, which can release high-voltage current to deal devastating blows to a Mutant's biological tissue,” the red alert engineer explained excitedly, pointing at the blueprint. “The phantom tank's stealth coating can evade radar and visual detection, making it suitable for raids and reconnaissance. Furthermore, after the base mobile vehicle's secondary modification, our production lines can mass-produce both types of equipment simultaneously!”

The Research Team Leader was also flushed with excitement: “The Battlefield Command Amplification ability! A 20% boost to attack and defense within fifty kilometers! Major General, with this ability, we no longer have to defend passively against the Skeleton Serpent's massive Mutant tides!”

In the meeting room, cheers from the crowd rose and fell.

Lin Zhou raised his hand to quiet everyone's excitement and said in a heavy voice: “Now, I am issuing orders! First, the Red Alert Base is to immediately begin secondary modification and prioritize mass production of the magnetic storm infantry armor and phantom tanks. The first batch of armor will be equipped to the elite units of the Central Army Group, and the first batch of phantom tanks will be assigned to the Eastern Army Group to counter the Skeleton Serpent's sea base! Second, the Research Team will work with the red alert engineers to optimize the magnetic storm armor's energy endurance, aiming to increase combat time on a single charge to eight hours! Third, Wang Hu, return to the Western Army Group and lead your troops to rely on the new equipment to quickly clear out the Mutant nests in Western Sichuan and open up the grain transport route! Chen Hao, take the phantom tanks back to the eastern coast and scout out the defense deployment of the Skeleton Serpent's Sea Platforms!”

“Yes!” everyone responded in unison, their voices resonant and powerful.

On the third day after the orders were issued, the modification project for the Red Alert Base was declared complete.

In Dawn City's munitions factory, the production lines for the magnetic storm infantry armor were running at full capacity. On the day the first fifty sets of armor came off the line, Lin Zhou personally held an armor-bestowal ceremony for the elite soldiers of the Central Army Group.

The soldiers donned the silver-and-blue magnetic storm armor and activated the power modules, instantly bursting with incredible speed and strength. The magnetic storm coils on their chests lit up with a pale blue glow, and the pulse cannons on their arms aimed at Mutant remains on the shooting range. A bolt of blue current shot out—the remains were instantly scorched to charcoal!

On the viewing platform, everyone watched with mouths agape.

Meanwhile, on the eastern coast, Chen Hao led five phantom tanks to quietly infiltrate the outskirts of the Skeleton Serpent's Sea Platforms. The phantom tanks, with stealth mode active, moved across the sea surface like ghosts; the radars on the platforms detected absolutely nothing. Through a periscope, Chen Hao watched the dense clusters of incubation pods and patrolling mechanical guards on the platform, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

He took out his Walkie-Talkie and said in a low voice: “Major General, we have reached the target area. The platform's defensive deployments have been fully scouted.”

Lin Zhou's voice, carrying the energy fluctuations of the Battlefield Command Amplification, reached his ears clearly: “Very good. Stand by. Once the Western Army Group clears the grain route, we will launch the general offensive!”

On the mobile platform in the far sea, the Man in the Suit suddenly frowned. He looked at the blank radar screen, feeling that something was not quite right.

“Strange... why do I feel like there's a pair of eyes staring at us?”

Just as he finished speaking, the red dots in the direction of Western Sichuan on the screen suddenly disappeared in large numbers—that was the Western Army Group, empowered by the magnetic storm armor, clearing out Mutant nests with the force of a hot knife through butter!

The man's face instantly turned deathly pale.

He finally realized that he had underestimated Lin Zhou and the growth speed of Dawn City.

At this moment, Lin Zhou was standing on the walls of Dawn City, having activated his Battlefield Command Amplification ability. Pale blue energy fluctuations rippled outward from him, spreading fifty kilometers away.

He looked toward the distant horizon, his gaze as steady as iron.

“Skeleton Serpent, it's our turn to hold the initiative in this game.”

The wind whipped his Major General shoulder straps, making them snap loudly.

A counter-offensive that would sweep the entire nation was about to begin.