The late autumn sunlight carried a hint of chill as it pierced through the thin clouds, casting its glow upon the isolated island of the University Town, enclosed by steel and high walls. The campus, once filled with laughter and the sound of reading, now seemed to have devolved into a grim military fortress.
On the second floor of the teaching building, the once spacious and bright classrooms were now divided by sheet metal into cramped living units. These were the quarters Lin Xuan had allocated to the survivors, and they were now packed with people of various expressions. The air was a mix of sweat, the smell of moldy bedding, and a faint scent of disinfectant.
"Mom, there are so many soldier uncles and so many cars!"
A little girl wearing a slightly oversized pink sweater with worn cuffs was standing on her tiptoes, leaning against the windowsill. Her clear, large eyes reflected the shocking scene on the playground, her youthful voice filled with pure curiosity and excitement. To her, this might just be a grand parade; she couldn't possibly understand what kind of slaughter and destruction those steel beasts represented.
"Huahua, don't look! Come down here, now!"
The young mother, who was tidying the bedding, turned pale instantly. Seeing her daughter pointing at the army, she rushed over in a panic, yanked the little girl down from the windowsill, and roughly covered her eyes. She gripped so hard that the little girl almost cried out.
"Shh! Don't say a word! Do you want to get us killed?" the mother whispered, her voice trembling with a sob. She looked back at the door in terror, only breathing a slight sigh of relief after confirming that no patrolling soldiers had noticed the commotion. The mother and daughter were lucky; they had been hiding at home a few days ago and were brought out when a squad of the Marine Corps was clearing the buildings.
In this mother's understanding, within this base, the military was heaven and the law; any disrespect or prying toward the army could lead to unpredictable consequences.
She held her daughter tightly, huddling in the corner of the classroom, her heart pounding violently. Every roar of the engines from outside felt like it was stepping directly on her heartstrings.
At the other end of the corridor, several male survivors who had just finished their morning labor and were covered in mud were gathered together. Through the window at the end of the hall, they watched the assembly below with a mixture of greed and awe.
"Good grief, this formation... I reckon they're going to war, aren't they?" A middle-aged man with a face full of stubble swallowed hard, his eyes showing both fear and envy.
"Indeed, looks like there's no doubt about it." A man beside him, formerly a physical education teacher, wiped the sweat from his forehead and analyzed in a low voice, "Look at those tanks; their barrels are polished bright. And those armored vehicles, the ammunition belts are already hanging outside. They're going out to purge the zombies; maybe they're even going to reclaim the city center."
"Reclaiming the city would be good..." another person murmured to himself. "As long as we follow that 'Commander,' at least we don't have to worry about zombies munching on our brains in the middle of the night. The work is hard, but in these times, being alive is a blessing."
On the playground, the atmosphere was solemn to the extreme.
Five hundred fully armed Marine Corps soldiers formed five neat phalanxes, their deep blue digital camouflage looking exceptionally cold and hard under the sun. Each of them held an assault rifle, their tactical vests loaded with magazines and grenades, and their faces were covered by gas masks issued by the system.
On the flanks of the phalanxes, twenty-two wheeled infantry fighting vehicles were lined up. The muzzles of their 25mm chain guns pointed diagonally toward the sky, emitting the characteristic cold glint of metal. Behind them were ten heavy transport trucks covered in canvas, their engines growling lowly and emitting faint black smoke. Further away, two transport helicopters had already started their rotors, the immense wind pressure swirling fallen leaves and dust off the ground with a deafening roar.
Most eye-catching of all were the six main battle tanks at the front of the column. They were like six sleeping steel beasts, their heavy armor providing an unshakable sense of security—the majesty of the Kings of Land Warfare.
Just then, the noisy playground fell silent in an instant, leaving only the idling of engines and the whirring of propellers.
As the supreme Commander, Lin Xuan, now dressed in a crisp Black Watch combat uniform and with a face as cold as iron, slowly walked up the steps.
Five hundred pairs of eyes below stared in unison, their gaze a mixture of fanaticism, worship, and obedience that converged into an invisible torrent. Behind the windows of the teaching building further away, countless survivors were secretly watching.
Swish!
The moment he stopped at the microphone, five hundred soldiers raised their right hands simultaneously, creating a crisp sound of fabric rubbing. Even the drivers sitting in the tanks and armored vehicles leaned out to offer their most solemn military salute.
Lin Xuan tilted his chin up slightly, feeling the touch of the cold wind against his cheek. He did not speak immediately but remained silent for a moment, letting the oppressive and fanatical atmosphere ferment to its peak.
"Soldiers."
His voice spread to every corner of the campus base through the loudspeakers—low, powerful, and carrying an unquestionable authority.
"Look at this damn world." He reached out and pointed toward the deathly silent ruins outside the walls. "Order has collapsed, humanity is lost, and the walking dead roam everywhere. The civilization of the past has turned into a cesspool. Humans can only pray for charity in fear or become food for monsters."
Lin Xuan paused, his gaze becoming as sharp as a blade. "But here, in this base, we have order! We have laws! What I want you to do is simple—clear out all that blocking rotten meat and every trace of the virus!"
"We are going to Qingyun Town. It's not for a picnic, nor is it for a drill. We are going to occupy it, to take back what once belonged to humanity!"
His voice suddenly rose: "What are we for?!"
"For humanity!"
Five hundred soldiers roared in unison, the sound like thunder, making the windows of the teaching building buzz. That soaring killing intent seemed to even scatter the dark clouds in the sky.
Lin Xuan nodded in satisfaction, then gave a grand wave of his hand and turned to walk down the steps.
Rumble—
"All infantry units, get in the vehicles! Move, move, move!"
As the soldiers followed the orders of Commander Viper, the massive war machine began to grind into motion. The tank treads crushed the road surface, and hundreds of fully armed soldiers boarded the armored vehicles and transport trucks one after another. The armed helicopters rose from the ground. With a momentum that could crush anything, this force set off toward the gates in a grand procession, rolling toward Qingyun Town.