Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 97 Armor
The stronghold of the Apocalypse Church is now a scorched wasteland.

The nuclear group's soldiers wiped out all ground resistance in just two hours.

The battle ended too quickly, like a pre-arranged massacre.

The defensive lines cobbled together by the Apocalypse Cultists were utterly vulnerable to firepower.

Charred corpses and metal debris littered the streets, and the smoke from gunpowder mixed with the stench of blood lingered in the alleyways.

The battle is not entirely over.

The border guard commander stood at the entrance to an underground pipe that had been blown open, his brow furrowed.

The inside of the pipe was pitch black, and the stench of decay and the stench of earth filled the air.

Thermal imaging transmitted by drones shows that remnants of the Apocalypse Cult are using underground pipe networks to escape.

"Sir, this situation down here is too tricky."

The adjutant reported in a low voice, looking troubled.

"There are at least twenty intersections, and in many places only one person can pass at a time. Our heavy equipment simply cannot get down there."

Just then, Raven walked over with several soldiers from the Nuclear Group.

"No need to follow them in."

Crow's expression turned slightly cold: "Headquarters has urgently allocated five poison gas generators, which will arrive soon."

"poison gas?"

The border guard commander's face instantly turned grim, his voice laced with suppressed anger:

"This is a slum, with a vast network of underground pipes. If the toxic gas spreads, how many people will be injured or killed? I disagree!"

The crow found his reaction laughable, with an undisguised hint of contempt:

"Sir, you need to update your tactical knowledge. This poison gas is very dense and will only settle along the pipeline system. Even if it spreads to the ground, it will quickly dilute and will not pose a threat."

He continued, "Moreover, once these people are exposed to the toxic gas, their skin will be left with an indelible green stain that cannot be removed, leaving them nowhere to hide."

Efficiency above all else, regardless of cost, is a principle ingrained in the core of the Nuclear Group.

"I need to report to my superiors!"

The officer straightened his posture, his voice growing increasingly stern, as this touched upon his bottom line as a soldier.

"Please."

The communication was quickly established, and the officer gave a brief report of the situation, only to be met with a cold rejection.

"Fully cooperate with the actions of the nuclear group; this is the highest directive signed by the administrator."

"But sir..."

"Excuting an order!"

Communications were cut off.

The officer's hand slumped down, and he issued new instructions.

"Pass down the order: immediately evacuate all residents within a two-kilometer radius, leave no one alive!"

Soon, five huge poison gas generators were placed at the various pipeline sources, and soldiers poured barrels of chemical raw materials into the machines.

The engine emitted a deep roar, like a giant blower, continuously pumping green toxic gas into the ground.

The effect is immediate.

In less than ten minutes, the manhole covers nearby were pried open one after another.

"Cough cough... Help!"

"what--!"

One by one, remnants of the Apocalypse Cult crawled out, howling and screaming. Their skin was covered with green spots as if it had been splashed with sulfuric acid, which glowed green in the darkness.

“Da da da da—!”

They were met with a dense barrage of fire.

Corpses fell one after another, raising plumes of blood mist, twitching a few times before falling silent.

A crow stood atop the armored vehicle, surveying the scene below.

For him, this was just a routine cleanup operation, no different from dealing with garbage.

However, as the reports on the clearing operations were compiled in front of him, he frowned.

To date, he has not received any reports of Zhang Dafan being killed or his body being found.

Headquarters didn't have much time left for him.

"Sir."

A deputy stood at attention and reported, "There are troops stationed at all the exits from the city, and the strictest biometric screening has been implemented. Reinforcements have also arrived in the city."

"He can't get away."

The crow's voice was icy, "He'll be trapped in this city, his room to maneuver will only shrink."

"Pass on my order: immediately conduct a segmented search of the city, starting from the outer perimeter, turning over every inch of land."

The atmosphere at the administrative official's residence in Linhai City was oppressive.

The administrator, named Fein, walked down the corridor while listening to a report from his administrative secretary.

"...Just now, the Nuclear Corporation submitted the approval for a large-scale search, which requires your immediate signature."

Finn stopped abruptly, turned around, and his pent-up anger erupted.

"Sign? How can I sign! If I sign this document, within a week, the council's complaint box will be overflowing with impeachment petitions from the city's nobles!"

"Would you mind sending an entire investigation team to collect evidence from those incompetent inspectors in Zhongdu, and then having them take the blame?"

"It's not like I asked you to sign it..." the administrative secretary thought to herself, but dared not say a word.

Finn felt like he was on the hot seat of fire, with the Nuclear Corporation on one side and the city's hungry wolves on the other, and he couldn't afford to offend either side.

He waved his hand irritably and continued walking forward, soon arriving at the door of a reception room.

He took a deep breath, and instantly the gloom cleared up, replaced by a gentle smile.

He straightened his collar, made sure his smile was humble enough, and then pushed open the door and entered.

Inside the reception room, a man in a bespoke suit sat on the sofa, leisurely sipping his tea.

He was an envoy of the Wirtgen family.

“Your Excellency, I apologize for keeping you waiting.” Finn bowed slightly.

The envoy did not rise, but slowly raised his eyelids, his gaze lingering on the administrator for a moment.

He put down his teacup with elegant movements, every detail exuding the composure of someone accustomed to a high position.

"Administrator Fein"

The envoy spoke calmly, each word as if measured precisely: "Have you captured that uncouth brute?"

Finn's smile froze for a moment.

"Your Excellency, we are still searching with all our might. We have recently dispatched a large number of troops to the south and have already obtained some clues. We believe we will have results soon."

"soon?"

The messenger picked up his teacup, blew on the floating tea leaves, and fixed his sharp gaze on Finn's face.

“Your Excellency Finn, it has been almost a month, and you are seriously testing Ms. Lolo’s patience and kindness.”

He brought the teacup to his lips but didn't drink, instead savoring the rising steam.

"Letting such a villain go unpunished is a serious provocation to the Wirtgen family. Ms. Lolo's patience, like the steam from this cup of tea, will soon dissipate."

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Finn's forehead.

The former leader named Lei Zheng gained fame in the Southern Wasteland after he roughly slapped Luo Luo, earning him the resounding nickname "Slap Brother".

This is a humiliation that repeatedly rubs the face of the Wirtgen family into the ground.

Just as Fein was about to speak in his defense, the messenger took out a document from his pocket and casually placed it on the coffee table.

The clear stamp of the impeachment order on it made Finn's pupils shrink sharply.

"This is……"

"The parliament has passed Wirtgen's proposal."

The envoy tapped the document lightly with his fingertip. "A new administrator of Linhai City can be appointed at any time."

Without even wiping his sweat, Finn immediately stepped forward, bending even lower:
"Your Excellency, the change of command is a waste of precious time that would otherwise be wasting on the capture of Lei Zheng!"

The messenger did not speak, but simply extended his finger and gently touched his temple.

Fenn felt a chill on the back of his neck.

The other person's prosthetic eye was recording a holographic video, capturing his humble appearance at that moment.

His every word and action will be presented as evidence to the decision-making level in Zhongdu.

"Lord Fan, is there anything else you wish to say?"

Finn gritted his teeth and made the promise in a hoarse voice.

"Your Excellency, please give me another month. If I still cannot capture Lei Zheng, we will all resign and accept all punishment from the Wirtgen family without complaint!"

The envoy looked at him and finally showed a hint of satisfaction; this was exactly the attitude he wanted.

Although the Wirtgen family wielded immense power, their private army was limited and they could not easily leave the inner city of Zhongdu.

Ultimately, capturing people in the distant coastal city will require relying on local military forces.

The deadline is one month. Either capture Lei Zheng and save face for the family, or completely replace him and allow Wirtgen to extend his reach into Linhai City.

"I look forward to hearing good news from you."

The messenger stood up, straightened his non-existent collar wrinkles, and turned to leave.

Finn stood there until the messenger's figure completely disappeared before the smile on his face slowly faded.

He coldly uttered a few words to his secretary beside him: "Summon the nuclear personnel immediately."

The secretary was taken aback for a moment, then quickly nodded.

Soon, the representatives of the nuclear group were invited into the office.

Without a word, the administrator pushed the signed search warrant over.

"I've given you what you wanted, but you also need to help me get through this difficult time."

He tapped his finger heavily on the table. "Find this person for me, within two weeks."

The nuclear representative picked up the search warrant, and after confirming that everything was correct, nodded: "Deal. We'll get the people in South City moving."

Finn's complexion gradually improved.

The nuclear representative then changed the subject: "But please note that if we still cannot find Zhang Dafan, we will conduct a 'friendly' search of the core area and the administrative area, and we hope you can cooperate."

"You are welcome here anytime."

The administrator replied quickly, "As for those old folks in the residential area, you can deal with them yourselves."

……

Zhuang Fan searched the intranet, trying to find more information about the old butler.

However, there was very little information about the old butler, and he was unable to activate Xu Renyi's related memories.

Suddenly, an inconspicuous itinerary caught his attention.

[Itinerary Summary: Xu Lanshan]

Job Title: Finance Officer

Location: Linhai City

[Task: Conduct a financial audit of the Nuclear Group's coastal city branch and surrounding shelters]

[Duration: Seven days]

Xu Lanshan is still a finance officer in the group, but she doesn't have the title of "chief," which means she has been demoted.

Back then, Zhuang Fan and the others wanted to escape through the underground river, but only Xu Lanshan stayed behind and "betrayed" them to keep her position in the group.

As Xu Renyi's granddaughter, Xu Lanshan, though implicated to some extent, escaped severe punishment, which was already the best possible outcome. This time, the group sent her to Linhai City, ostensibly for an audit, but what was their true intention?
Is she trying to hook me?

Zhuang Fan thought it was increasingly likely. He silently noted down Xu Lanshan's contact number and then logged out of the intranet.

He crushed the core of the terminal, ensuring it was completely destroyed and beyond repair.

Then, he condensed a wisp of black mist at his fingertips and injected it into the internal components, causing them to decay more quickly.

At that moment, the communicator on his wrist vibrated; it was an encrypted message from Chu Ningyan.

[A nuclear weapon suddenly entered the city; is it related to you?]

【I'm fine】

Zhuang Fan put away the communicator and quietly left the temporary hideout.

He returned to the vicinity of the underground manhole cover and found that the surrounding security was much tighter.

Squads of nuclear soldiers and robotic dogs patrolled back and forth, their searchlight beams sweeping across the ruins, leaving no corner unchecked.

He was startled and quickly climbed into the pipe.

Although this underground tunnel is far from the Apocalypse Cult's stronghold, there is still a risk of it being discovered.

He arrived at the makeshift cave, took out a piece of plastic explosive from his backpack, skillfully placed it on the load-bearing structure of the passage, and set the delay.

Then, he condensed a thick cloud of black mist and erased all traces.

A few minutes later, a muffled explosion occurred.

The entire rock wall collapsed, burying the tomb robber's hole, and no longer revealing any clues.

After doing all this, his figure quickly disappeared into the night outside the city.

When Zhuang Fan returned to the base, it was much more lively than before he left.

Twenty newly joined cat people removed their masks, revealing their youthful, innocent cat faces.

They sat together with ten members of the "Spark" group, the campfire flickering and illuminating their curious yet reserved faces.

"The boss is back!"

Hua Xin was the first to spot him, her cat ears perked up, and she quickly jumped over.

Zhuang Fan greeted everyone one by one before Hua Xin quietly reported:

"There are far fewer nuclear soldiers outside the city, and none at all nearby; they've all gone into the city!"

"It's a good thing."

The Watson siblings exchanged a glance and, without asking any further questions, knew it must have been the eldest brother's doing.

Hua Sheng held two sizzling skewers of meat in his hand and shoved them into Zhuang Fan's hand without saying a word.

"Boss, come and try some! We just hunted the Blade Fox and Red Devil Rabbit today, they're super fresh!"

Zhuang Fan took the roasted meat and was pulled by the brother and sister to sit down by the campfire.

Faced with the long-awaited liveliness and the unanimous gazes of everyone on him, Zhuang Fan felt somewhat reserved.

Hua Xin, who was standing next to him, spoke up:
"This meat is so delicious. It's a pity that Sister Grey Goose isn't here, otherwise I would definitely let her try it."

Zhuang Fan said softly, "She's probably still busy."

Hua Xin leaned closer and whispered, "Brother Ya, while you were unconscious, Sister Grey Goose came many times and even spent a lot of money to buy a translator to fix the virtual reality pod..."

Zhuang Fan was a little surprised. He asked Hua Sheng in a low voice, "How much does that transcriber cost?"

Watson paused, then looked at Gage, who was taking a big bite of roast meat and mumbled, "Boss, the transcriber costs at least 90,000, that's ridiculously expensive."

"it is good……"

This amount of money was nothing to Zhuang Fan, but it was a huge sum for Huiyan, who received a fixed salary.

He silently remembered this favor, determined to repay it when he found an opportunity.

The new cats, though still a little shy, gradually opened up under the guidance of the older members.

Cole recounted his harrowing encounter with sandworms in the wasteland when he was young, eliciting gasps from the crowd.

The member of the Fireline, who had a full beard, was using a dagger to cut off a piece of charred, yellowed leg meat and handing it to the cat-woman next to him.

Several young catwomen curiously surrounded Gage, who, while eating barbecue, didn't forget to polish the parts in his hands.

The campfire flickered, reflecting on everyone's faces.

The cat-man looked curious, the members of the Torch family were generally good-natured, Gage looked focused, Xiong Er was drowsy, and the Watson siblings were genuinely happy...

Big Bear ate the most, with bones piled up at his feet, and occasionally let out a satisfied growl.

Some cat people who had just come out of the mountains were initially afraid of this big guy, but later they found that Xiong Da was also a simple-minded person and easy to get along with.

Looking at the lively scene before him, Zhuang Fan was momentarily enveloped by a feeling that was both unfamiliar and warm.

He was no longer fighting alone; he had companions to protect and a home to return to.

"Boss, what's wrong?"

"Uh...it's nothing."

Zhuang Fan snapped out of his thoughts, took a bite of the roasted meat, and found the meat firm with a unique spicy aroma.

"tasty."

"Boss, I baked it!"

……

After the bonfire feast, Gage came over.

"Boss, the recycle bin is running out of space."

Do you have any good suggestions?

Gage pointed to the back, "I suggest that the back be expanded further, the basement should be deepened, and the new warehouse next door should be reinforced and enlarged."

Zhuang Fan nodded in agreement:

"You take charge of this matter. Watson will arrange the manpower. By the way, Watson, you can try to recruit some more people."

"Okay, but you also need to oversee things, boss."

"no problem."

Watson already knew that the eldest brother had an amazing ability to detect lies, but he didn't tell anyone else.

A little later, the Maoshanwang convoy arrived as scheduled.

This time, he also brought along ten scavengers who looked even younger.

Zhuang Fan interviewed them one by one and used his lie detector skills to confirm that their loyalty was not an issue.

However, none of these new members, including the newly arrived cat people, were included in the team of the Torchbearer.

They still need to undergo the test of blood and fire.

At this point, the base had begun to take shape.

Twenty cat-people and ten humans are responsible for daily scavenging and base construction.

The ten members of the Torchlight, led by Cole, along with six androids, took on the responsibility of protection.

At the rear of the convoy, heavy trucks slowly drove up and unloaded six huge metal boxes.

The box was opened, and six brand-new power armors lay quietly inside, all with a uniform silver-plated coating, simple and smooth lines, and full of power.

Everyone was drawn to these large toys, and the members of the Spark Foundation began to breathe rapidly.

Mao Shanwang patted one of the powered armored vehicles, as if introducing a treasure.

"This is the best model in the civilian version. The helmet has a tactical HUD, a built-in breathing tube, full-coverage alloy armor, is 2.8 meters tall, waterproof and fireproof, but it does not support deep diving."

Zhuang Fan's gaze fell on the back of the armor, where there was a double-cylinder backpack.

Mao Shanwang patted his chest and assured, "Don't worry, they are all sodium solid-state batteries. They can last for 18 hours in combat, fully charge in half an hour, and can be used 800 times. They are absolutely durable."

"Then let me try."

Zhuang Fan stood behind the armor, and the back panel slid open silently with a slight pressure release sound.

He stepped inside, and the back panel closed automatically.

"Click."

The internal skeletal system is adaptively adjusting to his body shape, with the metal structure fitting snugly against his body and eventually becoming one with him.

The HUD interface inside the helmet lights up, and a series of data streams flash across the screen.

Identity verification...not enabled

[Neural connectivity...synchronization rate 98%]

[Power system... activated]

He tried to raise his hand, and the heavy mechanical arm lifted it up easily, with precise movements and no delay.

He took a step forward, and the ground trembled slightly.

He clenched his fist again, and the hydraulic system emitted a low hum, capable of easily crushing steel bars.

"how do you feel?"

Watson, standing beside him, looked on with a hint of excitement.

"powerful……"

He flexed his metal fingers. "A real man should pilot a mecha."

Zhuang Fan's voice came through the speaker, carrying a hint of metallic quality.

"Boss, try lifting this."

He walked forward and lifted the hundreds-of-kilograms-weight scrapped engine as if it were a small toy.

Then he went to the ruins, and with a light punch, a half-collapsed brick wall shattered.

In terms of both flexibility and strength, it far surpasses the assembled goods of the Apocalypse Church.

After a brief experience, he stepped out of the armor, and everyone immediately surrounded him, their eyes filled with excitement.

"Stop drooling, you guys should try it too."

The crowd cheered and took turns trying it out, but their movements were often clumsy and uncoordinated.

The cat people were filled with envy.

If they could wear powered armor, they would never have to worry about revealing their identities again.

Looking at the high-spirited crowd, Zhuang Fan said slowly:
"For now, let all the members of the Torchlight team put on their gear to ensure the base's defenses are up to par."

“As long as I make money in the future, I will purchase power armor until everyone can wear it. It doesn’t seem like it would be okay for you to wear it to scavenge.”

"Boss is awesome!!"

"Meow!"

Cheers erupted again, and team cohesion reached its peak at that moment.

Zhuang Fan smiled and said to Mao Shanwang, "Old Cat, order four more for me. The payment will be settled next time."

"No problem!" King Maoshan readily agreed.

Zhuang Fan gave Cole some more instructions, telling them to adapt to the balance of the power armor as soon as possible, otherwise they would become iron coffins on the battlefield.

Cole accepted the order, and his method was simpler and more direct: have the crew sleep in power armor.

After everyone had completely dispersed, Zhuang Fan pulled Mao Shanwang aside and began to discuss things privately.

“Old Cat, relying solely on us to scavenge is still too slow. The garbage dumps outside the city are also limited. If we want to make new discoveries, we have to go to farther places. But if we go farther, we need to add more people, and if there are too many people, we can’t keep up with the costs.”

Zhuang Fan looked at him and revealed his plan:

"So I think you should negotiate with the landfill owners in the city, get them to collect the polluting waste, and then transport it all out of the city, which you can then buy back at a low price."

Mao Shanwang's eyes lit up instantly. "I'll transfer these goods to you again, and you can handle the defogging?"

"Yes."

Mao Shanwang slapped his stomach and exclaimed, "Brilliant! Making something out of nothing! This business is amazing!"

(End of this chapter)