Watching Ye Fan lead the people into the house, Gao Dongliang grew a bit nervous.
Xu Haoran, Luo Fei, Wang Hu, Li Biao.....
One by one, the soldiers, armed to the teeth and exuding a murderous aura, instinctively made him feel afraid, especially when the large dog Xiaotian came in, he couldn't help but shrink behind Ye Fan.
"Ye Fan, what are you doing... huh? When did you become an officer?"
Seeing the shoulder badge on Ye Fan's shoulder, Gao Dongliang found it quite strange.
Ye Fan had long known that when he returned to his hometown, he would inevitably run into someone he knew. This issue was unavoidable.
The existence of the Red Alert System couldn't be revealed; it was the foundation of Ye Fan's survival in the apocalypse.
If word got out, and if there were still powerful people in this world, they would undoubtedly see him as a thorn in their side. He didn't want to attract attention, risk, and trouble before his strength had grown.
He wasn't the only one who had played Red Alert—there were many. If it got exposed, there might be targeted arrangements against him.
But Ye Fan had already prepared an excuse. Now that Gao Dongliang asked, Ye Fan already had a plan in mind.
"Fatty, it's not that I don't want to be upfront with you, but you should know the military has confidentiality rules. Are you sure you want to know some secrets?"
With such an answer, those closer to him naturally wouldn't ask, and for those who weren't as close, Ye Fan didn't have the obligation to explain.
Gao Dongliang immediately waved his hand, "Ye Fan, if that's the case, I won't ask. We can't let you make a mistake."
Ye Fan smiled and nodded, "That's best. You just need to know that my identity is different now."
"Hehe, alright! Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if you did something world-shocking or heaven-defying... not harmful, just shocking."
Ye Fan chuckled; his old friend was still very clever.
"Ye Fan, did you come back from Ice City?"
"That's right. I came back wanting to find my family and my comrades, but now entering the city is somewhat challenging."
He then asked Gao Dongliang, "What about your family?"
"All gone, now it's just me." Gao Dongliang's mood was somewhat low.
Ye Fan patted Gao Dongliang on the shoulder, also feeling a bit heavy-hearted. This apocalypse had taken away too many things, too many people; everything was different now.
Gao Dongliang's house was large, but since Gao Dongliang was at home, Ye Fan didn't plan to set up camp there.
After all, it involved some secret matters; the fewer people who knew, the better.
But having come, he did have some things he wanted to ask Gao Dongliang.
"Fatty, do you know approximately what the situation is now in our local area?"
"Which aspect do you want to ask about?"
"The surrounding situation."
"There aren't too many zombies in this villa area, but this place is a dead end. Outside the villa area, the roads around are blocked, making it too difficult to get into the city."
"And inside this villa area? Are there still many living people?"
"Very few. I know there are a few villas with some people still hiding, but they dare not come out. Most houses are empty, and some even have zombies inside."
Ye Fan looked out the window; there were still zombies wandering on the roads inside the community. While they weren't too many, they were still enough of a deadly threat to ordinary people.
Since there wasn't a large survivor force here, it was good; Ye Fan could settle down here.
"Tell me which villa around here hasn't been occupied by anyone. I have many more troops coming over later, and might need to commandeer this area."
"Alright, alright, I know. I'll draw it for you."
Gao Dongliang brought a piece of paper, marking the empty houses he knew with circles representing houses.
"Boss, you're a soldier now; are you going to rescue survivors?"
As Gao Dongliang drew, he asked Ye Fan.
Ye Fan froze for a moment: "How would I rescue them? Do you want me to search through zombie hordes?"
"That's not what I mean. I mean, if you want to rescue survivors, I might be able to help a bit."
"Oh, how so?"
Gao Dongliang smiled, "I listen to the radio, you know. Now that the TV and internet are down, only radio stations still work. In the early days, people would use radio to call for help, though it's become rare these days, possibly because those at the radio station have perished. If you can get me to the broadcasting station, I could let the whole city know there are soldiers here."
"You know how to use a radio station?"
"A little, or you could bring the equipment here, and I could broadcast from here."
Ye Fan didn't reply; he hadn't thought about this issue yet.
No one knows what the future holds, but at least at this stage, Ye Fan had no plans to take in survivors.
He hadn't found his family; how could he have the mood to take care of others?
But what Gao Dongliang mentioned was a possibility. If that day truly came, perhaps his former best friend could be of some use.
Ye Fan had a good relationship with Gao Dongliang and would help a little if he could, but if Gao Dongliang didn't show initiative, Ye Fan couldn't care too much. In an apocalypse, everyone must contribute based on their abilities; this era can't tolerate freeloaders.
But how Gao Dongliang would ultimately fare, Ye Fan couldn't judge just yet; everything would have to be seen gradually.
Ye Fan was now anxious to find his parents. After putting away the map Gao Dongliang had drawn for him: "Fatty, I have other things to do now, so first familiarize yourself with the situation here, and clear out the zombies in the community. If you have any issues, or if there's nothing to eat here, come to... Villa No. 58 to find me."
Ye Fan had his eyes on a three-story villa at the back, spacious enough, and there were quite a few vacant houses around it.
Clearing out the zombies in the surroundings, establishing a foothold, so Fatty can live safely here, was considered fulfilling Ye Fan's responsibility as a friend.
"Don't worry, there's nothing going on here, and there's still some food at home. I can hold out for now. With all this fat, I can outlast others, hehe."
As he spoke, he patted his belly, the fat jiggling a little, causing Ye Fan and the Su Family Sisters to burst into laughter.
Gao Dongliang knew well that with Ye Fan bringing a bunch of soldiers, living at his place wouldn't be convenient, so he immediately showed his understanding.
Ye Fan didn't mention the gold pony matter either; there were many empty villas around that he could use to collect gold. He didn't need to take what Gao Dongliang's parents left him.
He left Gao Dongliang's house with the others and went with Xu Haoran, Wang Hu, and the Su Family Sisters to Villa No. 58. As for the others, Ye Fan had them spread out.
There were some zombies wandering on the road, which Ye Fan didn't even need to shoot to handle; his men, wielding bayonets, easily took care of them.
But he could also sense the situation outside the villa area. The roads were completely blocked. Even if he could settle at the villa area temporarily, he wasn't familiar with the surrounding situation, and he couldn't even leave.
Xu Haoran was the first to open the door to Villa No. 58, from which a nanny zombie sprang out.
Next to it, Wang Hu skillfully dispatched the zombie and dragged it out.
The luxurious living room, with lavish and ornate decorations, showed that some businessmen, although wealthy, lacked taste and believed the more ostentatious the decor, the more it displayed their wealth.
The first floor was the living room, a giant chandelier connecting to the second floor, with bedrooms, studies, and more on the upper floors.
The villa had balconies at both the front and back, offering views of the surrounding area.
Ye Fan sat on the sofa and checked the money he had on hand.
4510 gold, enough to build a decent-sized force.
However, with dozens of soldiers, if they were unfamiliar with the situation, they could still face total annihilation in the zombie swarm.
"I have to put out a radar, or else I won't know anything about the surroundings."
The Su Family Sisters went to prepare a meal while Ye Fan was lost in thought.
The villa complex was quite different from residential areas; shortly after, they brought back jewelry worth a total of 1700 gold for Ye Fan.
Yet, there were hardly any properties left unsearched among those marked by Gao Dongliang, because, after all, gathering this much was not easy.
With this new sum of money, Ye Fan's total came to 6200 gold.
He could build a not-so-small force if he militarized it.
But with so many soldiers, if they're not familiar with the area, they could still face total disaster.
"I must build a radar; otherwise, I'm completely in the dark about the surroundings."
The Su Family Sisters went to cook, while Ye Fan sat pondering.
This villa area was quite different from the civilian area. In no time, they brought back a total of 1700 gold worth of jewelry for Ye Fan.
Gathering this much money was already quite challenging since villas were not gold shops.
Having obtained this sum, Ye Fan's total funds reached 6200 gold.
Ye Fan looked at the screen. He navigated to the radar section on the main construction screen.
"Commander, are you sure you want to build the radar?"
"Confirm!"
"Radar construction confirmed. Cost: 500 gold. Please wait for fifty minutes patiently, Commander."
Having come here, Ye Fan was at ease, and waiting a little longer didn't matter.
The Su Family Sisters were busy cooking. Once the radar's build time was almost up, Ye Fan went to the master bedroom on the third floor.
Wang Hu and the others were stationed at key points, making the place seem impregnable.
The tiger moved into the garage, and one car took up two parking spaces.
Originally, there was a red sports car in the garage, which Ye Fan secretly regretted.
The former chick magnet was now a useless object, not even as good as his motorcycle as a squad leader back in the day.
As the radar construction time was almost up, Ye Fan headed to the master bedroom on the third floor.
Xu Haoran was roaming nearby with Xiaotian, watching the surroundings vigilantly.
"Beep beep~~~! Congratulations, Commander, the radar construction is complete. Please check!"