As he got closer to his hometown, Ye Fan felt increasingly anxious.
He was worried his parents might have left him; after raising him, he hadn't had the chance to repay them.
He desperately wished to rush home and see how things were.
However, when he reached the outskirts of the city, he realized things were not that simple.
The country of Qin Han had a population of 15 billion people and over a billion square kilometers of land; every city had one common feature, and that was its size.
A city spanning several dozen kilometers in length and width was considered small; one stretching several hundred kilometers was quite normal.
Ye Fan's hometown, Mei City, was considered a smaller city, yet it spanned over a hundred kilometers.
The urban population was tens of millions, not including the surrounding towns.
To enter Mei City, one had to cross a river called Star River.
There was a bridge over the river that was an essential point of entry into the city, and Ye Fan's vehicle drove up to the bridge, only to find himself in a predicament.
This bridge was usually congested, and with the apocalypse erupting now, it was completely blocked.
The entire bridge surface showed not a single gap, and what was more troublesome was on the other side, countless vehicles blocked Ye Fan's view to the horizon.
Even if Ye Fan's mining vehicle could cross Star Bridge, it would be tough to move forward on the other side.
At least in the short term, clearing the road here seemed out of the question.
To reach Ye Fan's village, he would have to pass through the city center, which was not an easy task with zombies running rampant.
Despite his urgency, Ye Fan was at a loss in the face of this situation.
Standing on this side of Star Bridge, he could see that there weren't too many zombies near the riverbank.
The mighty river flowed, and zombies seemed to fear the water currents, staying away from watery areas.
"Sir, what should we do?"
Standing beside Ye Fan, Xu Haoran faced this situation, unsure how to handle it. As combat units, they did not excel in strategizing in other areas.
Ye Fan knew he couldn't rely on the Red Alert Soldier for this matter; he had to come up with an idea himself.
"How much time would it take to clear this bridge?"
Xu Haoran looked at the bridge: "This bridge is blocked with nearly a thousand vehicles, including some heavy trucks. We could use the mining vehicle to push these vehicles into the river, which shouldn't be difficult. Estimating around three hours, the hard part is getting into the city once across the bridge; with no rivers on either side to utilize, the roads are jam-packed with vehicles making progress difficult."
At this point, Ye Fan had no other choice but to attempt to clear the bridge first.
"There's no time to lose; let's get started. The river stretches for thousands of miles; going around it is not an option, so we have to clear the bridge and figure out a way."
Xu Haoran received the order and took Luo Fei onto the mining vehicle.
Initially, the plan was for Wang Hu to operate the machine gun, as he was already a Three-star Conscript and would not upgrade further. Ye Fan intended to reserve upgrade opportunities for others.
However, Wang Hu's report made him change his mind.
"Sir, Three-star Soldiers will not be infected by the biochemical virus, so I can handle the security."
This report left Ye Fan momentarily stunned, followed by overwhelming joy.
"You say you won't get infected anymore?"
"Exactly!"
At this moment, Nana provided Ye Fan with an explanation.
"Sir, the Three-star Units in the game have the ability to automatically regenerate health. In the real world, this has been adjusted; the health regeneration ability is used to resist biochemical viruses, and all soldier units have this trait."
Ye Fan remembered in the game, a Three-star Soldier, if not killed quickly, would have his health regenerate promptly, returning to full strength.
Of course, translating that directly into the real world was unreasonable; they were all flesh and blood, injuries required healing, and there's no automatic health regeneration.
When Wang Hu upgraded to Three-star, Ye Fan didn't pay much attention, not expecting there to be such a surprise.
Three-star Soldiers could be killed, but not infected, which eased a major concern for Ye Fan.
With more zombie battles on the horizon, his antiviral serum was evidently insufficient, and the thought of soldier casualties pained him.
As long as they weren't infected, it was manageable; owing to the zombies' claws and fangs, killing fully-equipped soldiers wasn't easy.
This trait alone would allow him to preserve a substantial amount of his forces in the future.
Happily, he sent Wang Hu to stand guard; Wang Hu led four Conscripts behind the vehicle, shooting zombies crawling out of abandoned cars, and he delved into the cars to continue collecting gold and silver jewelry for Ye Fan.
There weren't many zombies on the bridge, possibly because of the surrounding water; zombies seemed to dislike lingering here and mostly went to the opposite bank, with only a few trapped in cars and unable to get out.
The soldiers began their actions, while Ye Fan deliberated future strategies.
Despite his eagerness to return home, it clearly wasn't feasible to force his way through. Once the bridge was cleared, he had to find a nearby place to settle.
The choice of a landing point wasn't random; it needed to be spacious, open, and with fewer zombies.
Preferably, it would also be a wealthy area.
Without the capability to attack banks or jewelry stores yet, Ye Fan wanted to find a more upscale residential area, at least to collect more gold and silver.
After surveying the area, Ye Fan pinpointed a location.
Shengshi Jiangshan District.
This district was part of Mei City's upscale villa residential area, home to some influential and powerful individuals.
The district was located along Star River, with many river-view homes.
Ye Fan attended high school in Mei City, where he had a high school friend, Gao Dongliang, who lived in Prosperous Mountains and Rivers.
Gao Dongliang was a plump guy, his father a coal tycoon in Mei City, making the family extremely wealthy.
On his first day of school, the plump kid fought with Ye Fan and ended up with a bruised face.
Since then, Gao Dongliang was defiant, repeatedly challenging Ye Fan, whether in playing games or playing soccer, but proved no match in anything.
Finally, Gao Dongliang showcased his specialty: eating, and he was determined to compete with Ye Fan.
Since then, Gao Dongliang revered Ye Fan as a godly figure and willingly became his sidekick.
Ye Fan had been to his house several times before, but after going to college, the two parted ways, with Gao Dongliang staying home to help his father manage the coal mine.
Since college, the two hadn't seen each other. With the apocalypse upon them, it's unknown if Gao Dongliang is still alive. The chances of survival seem slim.
Standing in Ye Fan's current spot, he could even directly see the gate of Shengshi Jiangshan District.
"Hmm, there are indeed fewer abandoned vehicles there since that district only has a few hundred households."
He was holding a pair of binoculars, which were Xu Haoran's scout binoculars, temporarily being borrowed.
Looking towards the gate of Shengshi Jiangshan, he could even see a security zombie trapped in the booth at the entrance, unable to get out.
"There shouldn't be any major changes there. Once Xu Haoran clears the bridge, we'll head in that direction. There's less traffic there, so we'll have a foothold and then figure out how to enter the city."
Two and a half hours passed, and Xu Haoran finally finished earlier than expected.
With the last car easily pushed into the river, a path was cleared on the bridge.
"Sir, what should we do next?"
"Wait for everyone here to get in the car, then drive the mining vehicle straight towards Shengshi Jiangshan, luring some zombies away, so my Mengtiger can enter the district. We'll regroup inside, deal with the zombies, and take over the place."
"Understood!"
Wang Hu and his soldiers retreated as well. While there weren't too many zombies here, it's estimated that hundreds would be drawn to the district.
Fortunately, all soldiers' bullets were refreshed, making it not too difficult to deal with these zombies.
"Sir, here are the supplies."
Wang Hu handed over a small bag of jewelry, not too much, but enough to convert into more than three hundred money.
Ye Fan's money count had reached four thousand and five, just shy of activating the radar.
After accepting the money, he used the binoculars for a while longer, ensuring there were no Armored Zombies or similar variants, and then Ye Fan gave the order to move forward.
The mining vehicle led the charge, pushing aside the few cars on the left of the road, heading straight for Shengshi Jiangshan District!
Some zombies, attracted by the mechanical noise, slowly crawled out from the nearby traffic jam, but their speed was hampered by the cars.
"Follow up!"
Wang Hu stepped on the accelerator, following closely behind the mining vehicle towards the district.
The car bounced and swayed but didn't flip over.
Reaching the district's gate, the metal barrier was smashed open by Mengtiger, and the car surged straight into the courtyard.
The ten-square-kilometer district seemed vast and sparse, with few zombies around, much to Ye Fan's delight.
The mining vehicle trailed behind, eliminating the pursuing zombies, making things relatively safe on this side.
"Turn to Villa 66."
Villa 66 was Gao Dongliang's home. If Gao Dongliang and his family were gone, Ye Fan knew there was a gold ornament in the house.
A gold horse, given as a coming-of-age gift by Gao Dongliang's father.
Once obtained, they could activate the radar.
The car stopped in front of Villa 66, Ye Fan instructed the soldiers to be on guard, and he went over to knock on the door.
There was no response, and his heart sank.
Perhaps his good friend was no longer there.
However, the villa's security door was difficult to open, with iron bars installed on the first and second floors, the fire axe was on the mining vehicle, leaving him to wait for Xu Haoran to arrive to open the door.
The Su Family Sisters also got out of the car, following behind Ye Fan.
In no time, the mining vehicle rumbled in, apparently having shaken off the zombies.
"Xu Haoran, come open the door."
Xu Haoran immediately got out and ran over, but he didn't use the fire axe, as lock-picking was one of his scouting skills.
Taking out lock-picking tools, Ye Fan was quite interested and eager to learn from Xu Haoran.
Handing the tools over to Ye Fan, Xu Haoran taught him step by step.
Just then, a voice suddenly spoke from inside.
"Who?"
Ye Fan was stunned; it was clearly Gao Dongliang's voice.
He was still alive!
Ye Fan was instantly overjoyed: "Gao Dongliang, it's me, Ye Fan!"
The door swung open with a bang.
A chubby man stood there, wearing a rice cooker on his head, clad in a thick military coat, holding a sword that Ye Fan remembered was hung on the wall by his dad as a house guard, and it seemed to be an antique.
Seeing Ye Fan, Gao Dongliang couldn't help but rub his eyes: "Am I dreaming?"
Ye Fan couldn't help but laugh at his outfit, then gave him a hug: "If you're dreaming, it's time to wake up, fatty."
Gao Dongliang hugged Ye Fan excitedly too, accidentally knocking the rice cooker into Ye Fan's nose.
Seeing a friend in this apocalypse indeed was an uplifting experience.
After glancing up and down in surprise at Ye Fan, Gao Dongliang's gaze landed on the lock-picking tools in Ye Fan's hand.
"Ye Fan, you truly are a remarkable person, even skilled at door-busting and lock-picking!"
Ye Fan's mouth twitched slightly: "Not too bad."