Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 123 I knew from the beginning that you were no ordinary person.
An unprecedented battle requires a considerable amount of time to prepare. By the time the artillery fire started in the direction of Haiqu, Han Zhong had already led nearly thirty men away from the Taimeng base.

With a large number of people, excellent equipment, and the help of various shelters along the way, they traveled much faster than Han Zhong and Chi Xiaoyun had come. By evening, before it was even dark, they had already entered Langya territory.

"Platoon leader, do you think we're on the right track?"

"There shouldn't be any problems." Han Zhong sat in the passenger seat, holding a map in his hand.

Without navigation, finding your way in an unfamiliar place these days is quite difficult. Fortunately, Han Zhong had been here before and still remembered many things in the vicinity.

After putting down the map, Han Zhongcai came to his senses: "Didn't I tell you not to call him platoon leader anymore?"

The young man driving smiled and said, "Hey, same here. We're both veterans, aren't we? I thought about it, and we can just call each other by our usual way of addressing each other. It suits our status quite well."

Shaking his head, Han Zhong said helplessly, "Whatever."

The group he brought from the base this time were specially selected. They were of different ages and included both men and women, but they had one thing in common—they were all second-tier superhumans in the military.

Moreover, they are quite quick-witted and tactful in their dealings.

As he gazed at the scenery rushing past the car window, Han Zhong recalled the words Su Xun had spoken to him at the base.

"Comrade Han Zhong, we have complete faith in your faith and ability to deliver intelligence over such a long distance."

"Now, the organization has a glorious but arduous task that needs to be entrusted to you. Are you willing to accept it?"

To be honest, after everything that happened in Haizhou, Han Zhong didn't really want to do anything else. He just wanted to stay by Chi Xiaoyun's side and take care of the child until she grew up.

He felt some resistance deep down when faced with this question.

However, he only hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

Chi Xiaoyun is injured and unconscious, and can receive good care inside the base. However, outside the base, there are thousands upon thousands of Chi Xiaoyuns who are facing life-threatening dangers.

In this day and age, he should put his skills to greater use, and he may not encounter such an opportunity again in his lifetime.

More importantly, this matter can also be directly involved in the battle against the zombie king.

Han Zhong was originally from Haizhou, and his original home was near Shelter No. 32. For him, the Zombie King was a true blood feud.

The mission itself is not complicated. Su Xun's plan is for him to bring some people and gather a team under the guise of civilian superhumans to actively participate in the upcoming war against Haizhou, either by taking on logistical support or assisting in the battle.

Of course, he couldn't rely on his own small team to handle the logistics of the entire war. There were many other measures and arrangements for this operation. Han Zhong knew that he was just one link in many plans—at most, a link that the commander-in-chief valued highly.

His main goal, besides taking the lead in this operation, is to establish a relatively standardized and large-scale organization in the private sector with the support of official resources.

Perhaps in the future, the leadership of this organization will be taken over by more professional people, but at least for now, with his familiarity with the environment along the way and his experience in dealing with many survivor organizations, he will play an important role in the early stages of the organization's establishment.

Han Zhong actually had many questions about this.

"Commander-in-Chief, if the goal is to leverage the power of these civilian organizations or to absorb these people, why use such an indirect method instead of direct forced conscription?"

Su Xun answered his questions in great detail.

“We will eventually have to integrate these civilian forces, but not now. The primary mission of the pioneering corps is to fight against more dangerous enemies. There will always be people who need to do things that we don’t have time to attend to.”

“Civil society organizations are an ecological niche. You recruit some people, but new people will emerge. You occupy a place, but they will emerge in more distant places.”

"These organizations will always exist. Our only option is to wait until a truly powerful organization unites many forces, and then have that organization cooperate with us."

"But we live in an era of unbridled growth. Rather than passively waiting for outsiders who may be out of control to complete the integration, it's better to let our own people do it... We can be more flexible in our approach. Within the bounds of principle, you can do a lot of work that is difficult for us to do."

"..."

The conversation replayed itself in Han Zhong's mind. He carefully pondered every word Su Xun said. After what seemed like an eternity, the voice of his comrade beside him suddenly pulled him back to reality.

"Platoon leader, is that over there?"

Han Zhong nodded when he saw a somewhat familiar town in the distance.

This was a place where he and Chi Xiaoyun had once stayed, and it was also the stronghold of a group of survivors. If I'm not mistaken, they should still be here now.

Sure enough, as the vehicles approached the depths of the town, he saw figures moving on some buildings, and soon, a signal flare rose from a rooftop.

"Wow, you've really got the hang of it."

The driver surveyed the scene, glancing at several hidden sentries before grinning.

Han Zhong nodded: "The leader here is ambitious and capable."

How long has it been since he passed through here? The weather here has changed significantly. As the vehicle moves forward, there are noticeably more people around than before, and there are almost no zombies wandering around the town anymore.

As darkness fell, lights even came on in the supermarket in the town center in the distance. How did they solve the power supply problem?
Someone came out to greet them. The leader was a tall man, none other than Zhao Laoda, whom Han Zhong had met before.

Several cars ignored the sentries standing by the roadside and drove aggressively all the way to the supermarket entrance before the group got out with Han Zhong. Boss Zhao frowned as he watched the approaching group of people, their demeanor causing him to shudder.

He looked at the leader and carefully asked, "Brother, what's going on here...?"

"What, Brother Zhao, don't you recognize me?"

"You are... Brother Han?" Boss Zhao's heart skipped a beat. He looked Han Zhong up and down. The last time this man came, he was dressed in rags, his hair was unkempt, and his expression revealed tension and fear. He only wanted to stay in a corner with a little girl and rarely communicated with others.

Although such a person is highly regarded for his skills, Zhao Laoda did not believe that he was capable of achieving great things.

But now this person has completely changed his appearance, his spirit and energy have changed, and he is a completely different person. At first glance, Zhao Laoda really didn't recognize him.

What he didn't know was that Han Zhong had been traveling in Mexicali, across the ocean, for many years at a young age. He had seen many vicious people and bandits in the civilized era. If it weren't for the fact that the zombie king in Haizhou had such strange abilities that made him too sensitive, how could he have become like that?

Seeing Zhao Laoda's tense expression, Han Zhong smiled and said, "Brother Zhao, don't you welcome us?"

"Welcome, of course you're welcome!"

"I wonder what Brother Han is doing here with his men this time? These guys don't seem like ordinary people, do they? You mentioned going to the Taimon base, I wonder if they've arrived yet?"

Thinking of the recent news that several camps that had acted excessively had been wiped out by the army, Zhao Laoda's eyes changed slightly: "Brother Han, our little place is a legally registered organization in Langya, and we usually do legitimate business."

"Brother Zhao, what are you thinking?" Han Zhong laughed. "I've naturally been to the Taimeng base. These brothers are all retired soldiers, and I have a good relationship with them. I was thinking of bringing them here to earn a living."

Retired from the military? These days, they'll let you retire? I don't believe a second thought.

Old Zhao stared wide-eyed, thinking to himself, "Do you want to listen to what you're saying?"

Han Zhong didn't take it to heart. In his mind, it was only right that someone like Zhao Laoda, who could be won over as an elder, knew more about the situation.

He gestured to the side: "Brother Zhao, would you like to speak to me privately?"

On his own turf, Boss Zhao wasn't intimidated and walked straight past him.

The two hadn't actually gone far. Several survivors who had reached the extraordinary level and were following Zhao Laoda wanted to hear their voices, but found that they couldn't hear anything except the sound of the wind.

Looking up, they saw a short-haired girl in the opposing group with her arms crossed, coldly staring at them with a faint bluish glint in her eyes.

It's obvious that this is a second-tier transcendent being with considerable strength. How many second-tier individuals are there in their own base? Boss Zhao is one, and the rest are few and far between.

The survivors looked on with deep apprehension and dared not make any further moves.

On the other side, with no one to disturb him, Han Zhong didn't hide anything and explained what he could tell Zhao Laoda in front of him.

After learning Han Zhong's true purpose, Boss Zhao became extremely excited.

Why establish small groups outside the safe zone?
It's nothing more than hoping for an opportunity to rise in social class.

While the safe zone is stable, the more stable a place is, the more difficult it is to ascend.

There's an old saying that murder and arson can lead to being granted amnesty, but of course, that's something that can't really be done nowadays.

Otherwise, what they might face is not amnesty, but rather a purge.

But Zhao Laoda has the audacity to operate outside the rules, gradually developing himself into a significant grassroots force, thereby enhancing his united front value.

Now the opportunity has arrived, even though it came a little earlier than expected, which might put him in a more passive position. But opportunity knocks but once, and Boss Zhao is determined not to miss it.

He grabbed Han Zhong's hand and said, "Brother, I knew you were no ordinary person from the beginning, and I was right!"

His expression was almost obsequious as he said to Han Zhong, "Brother, you must put in a good word for me with the commander-in-chief. Don't you know what kind of person I am? From now on, brother, if you tell me to go east, I will never go west."

Han Zhong's lips twitched, and he nodded.

In fact, what he really wanted to find was Pei Che and his group whom he had met in Xinfu. Those young people were all extraordinary individuals with considerable strength, but after leaving the base, he couldn't find any trace of them.

Their whereabouts were uncertain, and no one knew where they were. When they parted ways, they did not reveal where they were going, only saying that they would go wherever they ended up.

However, since he couldn't find one, Han Zhong didn't force it. Now, by using Zhao Laoda's team as a shell, they could indeed start developing.

"Then go for it. You know the surrounding area better than I do. Make a list of which teams in the vicinity can be recruited, and we'll make contact with them tomorrow."

"Once the framework is up, we won't head east, but... south."

Zhao Laoda happily led his men to make preparations, while Han Zhong gazed southward with a serious expression.

If you continue south from this place, you'll soon reach Haizhou, but it's still quite a distance from the city center.

When the zombie king deliberately let him go, did he ever imagine that he would be back so soon?

(End of this chapter)