The flag of NAC had flown over the Pan-Asia Cooperation building for more than a week. The change of regime did not cause any chaos and the survivors continued with their lives; more or less becoming accustomed to the change.
Thanks to the battle, zombies appeared on the surface more often as they flooded out from underground, which made the entire Shangjing area more dangerous.
Now, the area within the Third Ring Road was no longer as safe as before. The merchant fleets must bring more mercenaries and add more weapons to the trucks to ensure their safety. And those small settlements outside of the wall all increased their weapon reserve.
For these reasons, the factories in Pingan Street were running at capacity and were once again revived from the brink of death.
As time went by, more good news arrived.
First, it was from the Russians. Yegor’s death devastated the morale of the Uelen Border Guards and gave opportunities to ambitious individuals. There was an attempt at coup which resulted in a few deaths. Then, the remaining Russians were divided into two factions. Some of them decided to stay, while others were led by a man named Sedov on a journey back to their hometown of Moscow.
Moscow was a very distant and hard to imagine place. Therefore, it was difficult to see them being able to return.
However, if they continued to maintain their nomad lifestyle, slaughtering and robbing everything along their path, they could perhaps return to their homeland and ravage through Europe.
Of course, the premise would be that they don’t encounter powerful forces like the NAC, or extreme mutants unconquerable by human force…
On the other hand, the third line of defense was rising by the day, and finally tall enough to deter the zombies.
Zombies would not be able to get on the wall by stepping on the corpses, and the situation of using a bayonet would never occur again…
Behind the third line of defense, the foundation for the collapsed wall was rebuilt. Engineering vehicles and construction robots worked continuously among reinforced concrete structures as they began the difficult and lengthy reconstruction work.
Besides, resources shipped up from Line 0 provided the materials needed for the reconstruction of the wall. The special cement from Line 0 especially helped alleviate the urgent needs of Pingan Street.
Other than the power armors, Jiang Chen did not plan to transport any resources back to Wanghai. He decided to store those in the warehouses of Pingan Street and open sales to local factories.
Disregarding the fact that he served as a living “resource transfer station”, the resource recovery technology in Sixth Street was becoming more and more advanced. Many materials that were previously difficult to recycle could now be converted into useful resources at a low cost.
As resources and food gradually became self-sufficient, it had been a while since Jiang Chen transported any supplies back from the modern world. Instead, he often moved power armors produced here to arm his power armor brigade in the modern world.
The last good news was that the NAC General who was ready to return home.
Now that Shangjing was a part of NAC, Line 0 was emptied, and Russians were no longer a threat, the triumphant return was getting closer and closer.
However, the survivors were still on the fence about whether or not this could be considered good news. But when they considered that the giant steel shadow would disappear from above their heads, people all breathed a sigh of relief.
No one liked the idea of an electromagnetic pulse cannon over their heads.
Just like no one liked the idea of being pointed by a gun.
“It’s snowing.”
On the tall wall, Jiang Chen looked at the distant skyline.
Through the flickering snow, the distant high-rises and the dawning glimmers of the morning merged into a line. If it weren’t for the damaged buildings and streets, he really had an illusion of being in the center of the prosperous world.
Next to Jiang Chen, Lu Fan was already in a new military uniform. As he blew out a cloud of white mist, he exclaimed.
“Yes.”
“The matter of the Fourth Division will be handed over to you. If there is any difficulty, remember to let me know.”
“Will do,” Lu Fan said solemnly.
Jiang Chen nodded and patted Lu Fan’s shoulder. Instead of the usual farewell words, his eyes carried the message. Then he walked to the elevator on the edge of the giant wall.
Zheng Shanhe followed Jiang Chen. When he passed Lu Fan, he stopped and held his right fist against his chest. He performed a NAC military salute to his former commander; it was meant to congratulate him for his promotion and also send him a silent farewell.
After Lu Fan returned the military salute, he gently punched the chest of his former comrade with a grin.
“The brothers will be yours to look after.”
Zheng Shanhe stood straight and solemnly promised.
“Yes sir!”
…
“Prepare, depart!”
With the ring of Li Wang’s coarse voice, the loaded AS Order blew its melodious horn.
The vortex engines gradually ignited and slowly pushed the steel behemoth forward.
In the sight of the Shangjing survivors, more than a dozen airships, under the leadership of the giant steel airship, gradually drifted toward the south and eventually turned into a series of black dots on the horizon…
In the cabin of AS Order, the electric heat slowly radiated a drowsy warmth.
Yao Yao was lying on her belly in front of the round window, hymning a cute tune. She was blowing on the glass window while writing and drawing abstract things.
At the same time, Jiang Chen sat on a comfortable recliner and looked at the ice crystals condensing outside the window. While he enjoyed the drowsy warmth, he let his thoughts drift off and killed off some of the boring traveling time
“We’ll be in Wanghai tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll have to go back to the modern world shortly after.”
“I don’t know how Ayesha, Xia Shiyu, and Natasha have been. Are they getting along?”
“After returning to the modern world, a lot of things must be resolved.”
In his head, there were random thoughts that constantly appeared. Just as Jiang Chen was about to fall asleep, a pair of clear and bright eyes moved from the window to beside his arms gazed at him earnestly.
“You want to nap?”
The soft voice rang in his ear.
To be honest, Jiang Chen couldn’t sleep after being gazed at like this.
“Mhmm,” he reached out and squeezed the adorable face and smiled softly. “I’m going to nap for a bit, is there anything you need?”
“Hmm…” Yao Yao blushed while holding onto the corner of her skirt. “Can we sleep like last time?”
“Uhh… of course,” Jiang Chen raised his eyelids. “Help me turn the heat down.”
He didn’t want to move at all.
“Mhmm!” Yao Yao nodded happily and immediately ran to the heater to turn down the power. Then she returned to the recliner chair, took off her slippers, and climbed onto Jiang Chen with the same blushing face.
The soft white stocking inadvertently brushed against him, making his thoughts go wild.
But soon, this lingering feeling gradually calmed down with the sound of rhythmic breathing.
Perhaps because it was too warm, the little girl quickly fell asleep on top of his chest.
Looking at Yao Yao, full of joy between his arms, Jiang Chen smiled gently and buried his face in her fluffy hair.
With the fresh scent of jasmine, he soon dozed off too.