章 73: Chapter 73、Where the Army Goes, the Bandits Flee: The Power of Righteousness in Hand!
Faced with numerous requests from survivors to join the army, Lin Yue didn't agree right away. She had her concerns. If too many non-essential soldiers were added to the ranks, how could the loyalty and discipline of the army be guaranteed? This wasn't something that could be left to people's voluntary efforts alone. Even if they wanted to enlist, they needed to undergo training and ideological conditioning, growing over time in order to be effective.
Training soldiers for a thousand days was what prepared them for battle in a moment of need. Lin Yue couldn't afford to make a hasty decision. She could only send someone to calm the people's emotions and promise that later there would be opportunities to join the army.
For now, the priority was gathering supplies, accepting survivors, and understanding the situation in these districts.
Fortunately, although the number of survivors was gradually rising—survivors who came searching for the army numbered in the thousands—they didn't form a burden. They were self-aware, with the adult men grouping together quietly, looking after the elderly and children, staying out of the sun, and not demanding food or drink unless absolutely necessary.
In this moment, the innate patience of the Chinese people had been pushed to its limits. The army had discipline, and the people had awareness. In these exceptional times, everyone knew to act with self-restraint and not trouble the military.
In the next half-hour, Lin Yue led the convoy straight to the entrance of the food street. According to Wang Daniu's intelligence, the two large supermarkets in the area had already been looted of food and water, leaving behind only daily supplies and electronics. The exact location of remaining food wasn't clear, except for a few small refrigerated storage units.
One of those units was located in a chain restaurant on the food street. With the pressure to gather supplies, Lin Yue prioritized food collection. According to Wang Daniu, some of the looters had abilities related to power generation, which they used to keep the refrigeration running when the apocalypse first broke out. This wasn't a secret, and it had spread among the nearby survivors.
The person with the power generation ability had only managed to keep one cold storage unit running, while others relied on his efforts and had to pay him periodically to maintain power.
"Captain Lin, Wang Daniu just said that there might be a group of people nearby, occupying the cold storage," one of the officers reported.
"Send scouts ahead first," Lin Yue ordered coldly. "The assault team will move forward in urban warfare formations."
She couldn't afford to give up on collecting supplies just because there were looters in the area. Yi Bai had already told her that Jiang Xiaoci had mobilized the trucks, some heading to the police station to take control of the supplies, and others were en route to catch up with the army's convoy.
Lin Yue couldn't afford to return empty-handed. It would be irresponsible to the survivors in the gathering area.
"Wang Daniu!" The Chief of Staff called, lowering the radio, and shouted for the man, who had been chatting with survivors.
"Here!" Wang Daniu called back enthusiastically.
"Lead your group to the food street!" the Chief of Staff ordered. "If you want to redeem yourself, now's your chance! The snipers and follow-up troops will support you at any time. If you encounter the enemy, you have the authority to decide whether to shoot them!"
"Remember, you're one of my men now—act decisively! If anything happens to you, it's my reputation on the line!"
"Understood!" Wang Daniu responded excitedly, turning to rally his companions. His heart raced with anticipation. He was eager to confront the enemy, thinking to himself that killing a few bandits would help prove his loyalty and value.
The once bustling food street now lay in ruins. The area was littered with broken tables and oil stains, and a foul stench permeated the air, with flies buzzing everywhere. It had long been neglected, becoming a place of decay. As Wang Daniu moved, he even saw scattered corpses along the streets—some had died of hunger while searching for supplies, others had clearly fallen in fights.
The food street no longer resembled its vibrant past. Under the red sun, it exuded a sense of gloom and dread. Wang Daniu led the charge, unafraid of any potential ambush, relying on his enhanced physical abilities. Behind him, the soldiers advanced quickly, working in pairs, combing through the complex terrain and checking the buildings and shops along the street.
Strangely, though over a hundred soldiers entered the area, they found no signs of human activity—no enemies, no survivors. It wasn't until Wang Daniu reached the chain restaurant housing the cold storage that he reported back.
"Report! There's no sign of life here, it seems like everyone's gone."
"According to prior intel, there should have been a group stationed here to guard the cold storage. But now, both the building and the area outside are empty."
"I've checked thoroughly—no one's around. However, I did find some recently opened cans of food on the table. Looks like these people just ran off."
Wang Daniu asked, "Should we pursue them?"
"No." Lin Yue shook her head and gave her orders calmly. "Continue to check the area around the cold storage. Stay alert for ambushes or surprise attacks. Team One, Team Two—go inside and open the cold storage."
"Everyone else, spread out around the street. Get into defensive positions."
"Snipers, keep an eye on the surroundings."
Lin Yue was cautious. She wasn't about to let any special ability users get the better of her. Since the looters had fled rather than facing the military head-on, there was no need to chase them. The priority was getting the supplies.
A short while later, Lin Yue heard from her sniper team.
"Sniper position 3, we've spotted a group of about 20 people, possibly looters, around 800 meters away from the convoy. They're armed with handguns, machetes, and are retreating quickly from the food street."
Lin Yue smiled faintly, leaning on her radio. It seemed that the army's presence not only earned the trust of the survivors but also served as a deterrent to the looters. These bandits were too scared to face her army directly. As soon as they saw the army's target was the cold storage, they abandoned it and fled.
To be honest, this saved Lin Yue a lot of trouble.
In military operations, there was always a primary target. Killing wasn't the goal—capturing critical supplies was. Taking the objective with minimal bloodshed was the ideal scenario, and that's exactly what happened.
Over the next two hours, Lin Yue sent soldiers in shifts to move the supplies from the cold storage. She didn't send everyone in at once. The food street's narrow layout was risky, and with potential threats from special ability users, the loss could be too great. She left at least half of the troops on standby in the open areas to guard and care for the survivors, ready to support the forward team if needed.
The work continued into the evening, and as night fell, the trucks carrying supplies began to arrive. The soldiers also managed to pick up more survivors along the way.
The cold storage contained more supplies than Lin Yue had anticipated. Besides the usual refrigerated meats and frozen foods, there was a large quantity of water and canned food, all stored carefully. There were even some basic medical supplies. The cold storage was packed to the brim.
Rough estimates showed that if rationed carefully, the supplies could sustain at least a hundred people for a week.
"They ran off, and it worked out in our favor," the Chief of Staff said with a satisfied smile as he watched the soldiers continue to move supplies. "To win without a fight and secure so much… this is a good day."
"Wang Daniu, your performance was impressive. I'll credit you with this accomplishment."
"Yes, sir!" Wang Daniu grinned, calling his cousins to help carry the supplies.
By the time the supplies were loaded and the work finished, it was already 10 PM.
Lin Yue glanced at her watch and decided to continue collecting supplies in the area. The army had night-vision equipment, but the looters likely didn't.
Night operations gave the army a clear advantage. As for the survivors gathered along the way, Lin Yue arranged for them to board the trucks with a small escort, heading back to the gathering area.
When the survivors arrived at the neighborhood, Li Jie and others had already set up registration tables, blowing fans and cooling the area with air conditioners, waiting under the night sky.
As the trucks rolled in, more and more survivors stepped down from the vehicles. The moment they set foot in the area, they were greeted by fellow survivors who had already arrived. Without hesitation, they started unloading supplies, chatting and working together, sorting the items into categories, as they were directed by the staff.
"Non-perishable items go in the building with electricity!" someone shouted.
"Long-lasting goods go over here! Hey, don't eat the snacks, put them down!" another called out.
"Hey! Whose kid is this? Always sneaking food, haven't you had enough for dinner?"
"Sorry, sorry... Come here, son! Stop causing trouble!"
The lively chatter filled the air. The entrance to the neighborhood was brightly lit, and the sounds of people working and talking made it feel almost like peace had returned. After the apocalypse, this was the first time the survivors had seen so many people together.
One young man politely approached one of the workers, asking, "So, what does the government plan to do with us?"
"The government?" The worker looked at the supplies list nonchalantly, then shrugged. "I'm new here too. This doesn't look like a government aid center. Seems more like a temporary military zone, with soldiers in charge."
"If you're asking about arrangements, you should talk to them." She pointed to a group of girls holding makeshift wooden signs, cheerfully shouting, "Welcome new refugees! Welcome to your new home!"
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