Chapter 80: Creepers and Gold

Zhuge Yunxue, a scout armed with a grenade, swiftly retrieved the explosive from his hand as danger loomed.

Hand opening the handle, he hurled it directly into the second-floor window!

The grenade erupted, and a red figure leaped out from the second-floor window.

A sense of danger surged.

"Fire!" ordered Ye Fan.

The light machine guns of the Army soldiers in the guard platoon next to them roared to life. Over a dozen machine guns formed a network of firepower, hitting the red figure immediately.

Amidst the rising blood mist, the red monster screamed, its eerie squeaks agitating the zombies across the river.

Despite the intense gunfire, the monster remained alive.

Beside Ye Fan, military dogs, including Xiaotian, barked impatiently, sensing the danger the monster posed.

"Cease fire, release the dogs!" Ye Fan decided to let the military dogs handle the situation to conserve bullets.

The soldiers stopped shooting, and under Ye Fan's command, military dogs, including Xiaotian and two other three-star dogs, pounced. The monster, now identified as a crawler, was more than three meters long, covered in red, with a huge tail, a flat head, and a long tongue.

Bullet marks covered its body, but it remained alive, grotesque and terrifying.

"Crawler!" exclaimed Ye Fan, recognizing it from Resident Evil.

Observing its agility, he speculated it might have evolved from an agile zombie. However, he wondered why there was only one of its kind.

As the four three-star military dogs attacked, the injured crawler struggled to defend itself. Despite its agile nature, the coordinated attack proved too much. Xiaotian, led by Zhentian, firmly held its tail.

Sniper shots rang out, immobilizing the crawler, which eventually succumbed.

"Open its brain!" commanded Ye Fan.

An engineer from the team cut open the crawler's brain, revealing a light blue crystal. Ye Fan confirmed his suspicions—crystals only appeared in the brains of powerful zombies or mutant beasts.

Ye Fan, however, decided to keep the crystal for later study in the combat laboratory.

Curious about the crawler's gender, Ye Fan noticed a key pendant in its pocket, suggesting it might have been a Hummer driver.

"Is this crawler a Hummer driver?" pondered Ye Fan. "Its mutation should be recent, maybe around five days. How did it evolve so rapidly?"

The fighting continued, but Ye Fan's attention shifted to the jewelry store.

"Let's go into the store, the harvest time is coming!" Ye Fan urged.

Inside, young women, presumably shopkeepers, became targets for Zhuge Yunxue, Xiao Jing, and He Xiaoting, who shot them without hesitation. Ye Fan wondered about their motives.

After clearing the store, the team discovered a considerable amount of gold, platinum, silver, diamond rings, and more. Ye Fan's elation soared when Nana announced, "Congratulations, sir, for winning 295,708 gold!"

With his total money reaching 410,000, Ye Fan envisioned using it for base construction and troop enhancement.

"Seeing that the team has grown, it's time to attack the county!" he declared.

As the team departed, Ye Fan marveled at the destroyed bridge, pondering who could have the capability to blow it up. Though curious about the strong survivor team in Flower City, he opted to return to the base, as the building materials should be arriving soon.

Back at the base, the material recycling station showed signs of activity. Ye Fan glimpsed the potential for a significant transformation, foreseeing a different future for the once-poor location.

Observing heavy trucks unloading goods, he knew that the base was on the verge of a remarkable change. In a single day, he could orchestrate a considerable improvement.

"Give me one day, and I'll make a huge change here!" Ye Fan thought, filled with optimism about the future of his growing team and evolving base.