Chapter 113: Searching for People

The greatest challenge that has plagued New City since its inception is the issue of population. With a total of only 4,700 people, the base occupies nearly 200 square kilometers of vacant land within a military exclusion zone. Furthermore, the single most significant factor in the development of any base is its population. A larger population leads to more robust development, creating a virtuous cycle. Regarding New City’s development plan, once the soldiers and a small number of staff serving the base are subtracted, there are fewer than 3,000 civilians remaining.

In the apocalypse, population is tied directly to food. The more people there are, the greater the food consumption. Conversely, a larger population also creates more food. As time passes, I believe many bases and survival points will realize the danger and short-sightedness of relying solely on raiding. Not to mention the constant expenditure of ammunition and the loss of personnel, the food itself will eventually spoil and become inedible over time.

Back at Wangtian Base, the hunting fleets often brought back useless, spoiled food. This phenomenon was simply masked by the larger quantity of useful provisions. But if one thinks long-term, the severity of the problem becomes clear: the food within Wangtian City is rapidly rotting and spoiling. In a year or two, they will face a true crisis of starvation.

Bases and survival points that have realized this are beginning to change their mindset. After three and a half years of infighting, the leadership of every base has emerged as the ultimate victor. As for the losers, they were either expelled or liquidated.

The unification of various base regimes signals the true arrival of the "Base Era." Every leader, provided they are not an idiot, will do everything in their power to strengthen their base. Self-reliance is something every base must undertake. Reclaiming wasteland, diverting water, and farming—while it may seem ridiculous, it is the most fundamental and essential way to secure one's home and livelihood.

Generally, bases are established in close proximity to cities. As long as humanoid R3 zombies do not appear, the security of a base remains quite high. Once each base has had a period of recuperation and secured enough food to sustain itself, that may be when humanity begins its major counterattack against the zombies. And once humanity truly defeats the zombies, that is when the real struggle will likely begin. After all, Xie Han understands human nature's darker impulses all too well.

A leader does not need immense talent, but they absolutely cannot lack long-term vision. A leader's foresight often determines how far a base can develop and how powerful it can become. Xie Han does not consider himself a talented leader, but he does possess a modicum of foresight.

Population is the cornerstone of a base. Based on this alone, Xie Han must do his best to increase the base's population.

The small radio transmitter in the base had long since been recovered by Wu Donglin and his team. This transmitter, capable of broadcasting signals over nearly a thousand kilometers, was a modified piece of salvaged equipment found at a test site. Because it was a makeshift conversion, the transmission quality was poor, intermittent, and sometimes severely distorted.

In theory, such a small transmitter is a valuable asset; through it, one could broadcast information. Any base with a receiver within its range could easily pick up New City's signals. It is possible that many small bases and survival points might come to seek refuge.

However, Xie Han dared not take the risk. New City’s strength was simply too weak. A base of merely a few thousand people is no match for bases with tens or even over a hundred thousand people. If they exposed their location, a single force sent by a larger base could easily destroy them.

It was for these reasons that Xie Han abandoned many plans and turned his attention to the nearby Wangtian Base.

The zombie tide had destroyed Wangtian Base, which had housed over a hundred thousand people. Although only thirty or forty thousand managed to escape, it is unclear how many survived. Perhaps during this time, they have already sought refuge elsewhere, or perhaps they have nowhere left to go and remain near the ruins of Wangtian.

What Xie Han needs to do now is to search for those who are still lingering in the vicinity of Wangtian Base.

The base was currently undergoing foundational development, and everyone had their own tasks and responsibilities. It could be said that the most leisurely person in the entire base is often the highest leader, because all they need to do is keep a firm grasp on the general direction of development. Because of this, when the population search plan was proposed and approved, Xie Han naturally became the best candidate to lead the mission.

Venturing outside is not as safe as staying within the base. Therefore, at the insistence of Qi Feiwu and others, the search party was somewhat large by current standards: a heavy-duty field base command vehicle, five armored vehicles, and five weapons transport trucks.

In reality, the base's defensive capabilities were already formidable. The intelligent beam towers ringing the perimeter of the military exclusion zone were the base's best defense. Unless faced with a massive zombie horde, it would be difficult to breach these towers. Naturally, they would be even more effective at defending against humans.

After the convoy exited the military exclusion zone, it soon hit the highway. Looking at the road leading to Wangtian City, Xie Han felt a sense of helplessness. Everyone knew that Wangtian City was a massive treasure trove, containing items that every base lacked. But Xie Han dared not take the risk—not because he worried about the safety of his hunting fleet, but because he feared that their presence might attract the attention of humanoid R-type zombies. He did not want to become the next Wangtian Base.

"Until I have sufficient strength, I must endure..." This was a helpless thought, but it was all Xie Han could do.

The direction Xie Han chose to search was the path he had taken when he escaped, as many people would have seen the direction they headed. With a group of over three thousand, their target was still quite large.

***

The convoy soon reached the junction where they had descended from the mountain path. Armored vehicles could barely pass, but a behemoth like the field base command vehicle could not, despite being semi-hovering.

Amu was the only member of the management team who came out with Xie Han. After nearly half a month, traces of the path they had taken were long gone, save for a few barely recognizable Hummer tire tracks. Amu said with some concern, "Captain Xie, after half a month, the likelihood of anyone still remaining is very slim, isn't it?"

Xie Han laughed and shook his head. "Half a month is a long time, but do you think our harvest will be small? I can guess what you're thinking. Wangtian Base is swarming with zombies; who would dare stay nearby to survive? Haha, I can only say that you don't understand human nature. Do you know the saying, 'A broken pot is not afraid of being smashed'? That best reflects their inner world."

Amu was confused by Xie Han's strange theory, but after a few moments of thought, he understood. "Captain Xie, you mean that after experiencing the destruction of Wangtian Base by zombies, many people have developed a sense of despair, as if they have given up on themselves. They are essentially walking corpses, with no expectation of survival. Because of this mentality, they don't fear the zombies; they just stay nearby mechanically, living day by day?"

Amu was quite intelligent. For such a burly man, he grasped the meaning behind the words quickly—that was indeed rare. "Yes, your understanding is correct. So, we won't come back empty-handed; it’s just a matter of how much we find."

Since the command vehicle could not pass, it was left on the highway. With its high-end military intelligent system, there was no need to worry about theft. After setting it to intelligent mode, Xie Han boarded an armored vehicle to continue along the mountain path.

Passing through this mountain road again, Xie Han’s mood was different from his escape. Looking at the rolling hills, he felt a flicker of excitement.

"Activate thermal scanning." As they traveled halfway up the mountain path, the thermal scanner on the armored vehicle was activated. Searching for humans would become much easier. The drawback of the thermal scanner was its inability to detect zombies, which were cold, inanimate objects. Xie Han even wondered if they could develop a scanner specifically for zombies.

In addition to thermal scanning, Xie Han used the armored vehicle's long-range system to perform remote searches of the mountains where people might be hiding, compensating for the scanner’s limited range.

Just as Xie Han suspected, after only a few minutes of searching, he spotted a fleeting silhouette on a mountain peak composed of rocky cliffs. This discovery excited everyone.

"Amu, you stay with the armored vehicles and transport trucks. I’ll take a team to check it out!" There was no road to that peak, so they had to abandon the vehicles and proceed on foot.

Before leaving, Amu had been instructed by Xu Qiang and the others to ensure Xie Han’s safety. Seeing Xie Han about to go himself, he became anxious. "Captain Xie, it would be more appropriate for me to go. You should stay with the convoy."

Xie Han laughed. "Did Xu Qiang and the others tell you to say that? You know my capabilities; it’s not easy to hurt me. And I don’t believe the people here can harm me." Seeing Amu about to argue, Xie Han waved his hand. "It is precisely because there is danger that I should go. Amu, say no more. As your captain, I order you to stay here. If necessary, I will call for support."

Seeing Xie Han invoke his authority, Amu could only open his mouth and eventually reply, "Yes, Captain Xie..."

Although Amu could not go, he assigned over forty people to accompany Xie Han—a significant force. The team was equipped with five beam snipers, twenty light machine gunners, two heavy machine guns manned by six people, and the rest were armed with submachine guns. The team's firepower was terrifying.

The peak where Xie Han spotted the silhouette was about three or four miles from the road. The path was overgrown with wild grass and bushes, making every step difficult. Xie Han assigned four men to clear the path with large military machetes to speed up the team's progress.

At a distance of three or four miles, the naked eye could not see the green-camouflaged armored vehicles, so Xie Han did not worry about the people on the mountain discovering them. Mutual distrust might lead them to open fire indiscriminately.

The mountain was composed mainly of rocky cliffs with patches of soil and wild grass. Occasionally, in deeper crevices, a few trees grew. The low shrubs and weeds made the place feel desolate.

Xie Han’s group stopped halfway up the mountain. The grass patches were covered in signs of excavation: pits of varying ages and chewed grass stems were scattered everywhere. On the trees, branches were stripped of leaves. Soft soil showed footprints of different sizes. All of this indicated human presence.

"It looks like they are having a very hard time!"

Xie Han felt as if he had stated the obvious. From the summit to the mountainside, the grass roots and leaves were almost entirely dug up and eaten. If one were not starving, one would never eat such things. Given the scale of the consumption, there must be a significant number of people hiding on the summit.

Learning this, Xie Han was ecstatic. He needed as many people as he could get.

"Maintain vigilance, advance in stages. Once the target is found, stay concealed; do not open fire first." The closer they got to the summit, the more cautious Xie Han became. With so many people gathered here, there would certainly be a leadership structure, and they would surely have scouts to watch for zombies. While their green uniforms were effective in the brush, they stood out against the rocky terrain.

The team did not have portable thermal scanners. The mountainside was riddled with caves, making it easy to find a hiding spot.

When Xie Han’s team reached the summit, they didn't see anyone. He was not worried; the signs of activity were like breadcrumbs leading directly to their caves.

The cave entrance was a rhombus, about two meters wide and high.

Initially, Xie Han could hear faint human voices from below, but upon reaching the summit, he heard nothing. With his keen hearing, as he approached the cave, he could hear heavy breathing and the occasional sound of terrified sobbing.

To Xie Han, these people should have been rejoicing at meeting his team, so why were they hiding? Had they truly lost the courage to live? But if they didn't value their lives, why were they desperately hiding, and why were they so terrified?

"There is definitely something strange going on here." Xie Han concluded.

Through the dark entrance, Xie Han could see a few people guarding the cave, armed with submachine guns and pistols. Xie Han chuckled, signaled the beam snipers to take positions on the high ground, and set up the heavy machine guns. Then, he gathered the rest of the team in the open area in front of the cave and had his men bring out food and light a fire. His intent was clear: use food to lure them out. After half a month of eating grass roots and leaves, they would not be able to resist the aroma of roasted canned meat.

They had harvested a massive amount of canned meat from the Yong'an warehouse. It was not a luxury in the base, but outside, it was more precious than gold.

The cold canned meat was placed over the fire. After a few minutes, the rich, savory scent of meat began to drift into the cave.

As the deadly aroma entered the cave, the previously quiet interior suddenly erupted into chaos.

"Everyone, be quiet!" A loud, angry roar suppressed the noise. Unfortunately, the roar only stopped the commotion for a second before the clamor returned. The shout seemed out of place in the tense situation.

Like a pot of boiling water, driven by the aroma, the people in the cave ignored the warnings and rushed out.

"Don't go out! They are devils! They will kill you! That smell is the scent of human meat..." Despite the horrifying warning, nothing could stop the starving crowd. They surged out, desperate for food.

To them, what did it matter if it was human meat? In the face of starvation, everything else was secondary!