A Post-Apocalyptic Journey to Another World

After returning home, Zhang Xi fused all the crystals from the two large bags, obtaining one level-six crystal, one level-five crystal, and three level-four crystals. This was the complete fusion of the two bags of crystals. Level-six crystals only drop from killing Gold-tier 1 monsters, and currently, no Gold-tier monsters have appeared in the entire world.

Time flies, and it's already Lunar New Year's Eve. Zhang Xi didn't go out today and spent the whole day at home with his family.

Zhao Yu had completely adapted to life in Zhang Xi's family. Perhaps due to losing her mother at a young age, or her long-term solitary life, she displayed a rare virtuous quality in a young girl. Her favorite thing to do was hand-wash clothes. She would hand-wash all the family's clothes, as long as they weren't too thick. Han Caiping tried to stop her many times without success, so she had no choice but to let her be.

The elderly couple had already adapted to their new bodies, but they didn't show it at all in their daily lives. They were both low-key intellectuals, and this low-key personality was passed on to Zhang Xi.

Zhao Yu noticed the family's strange behavior, but she didn't react excessively. She seemed more concerned about whether Zhang Xi's family could accept her. Han Caiping had mentioned privately several times that the little girl didn't actually like guns, but her relentless training was simply a way to gain acceptance from those around her. Zhang Xi could only understand this as perhaps more important to some girls who lacked family love from a young age than gaining power or recognition.

In the late afternoon, the family sat together, lit candles, and ate dumplings, enjoying a rare moment of warmth and happiness. This family, young and old, was incredibly wealthy; five out of the six members were highly successful individuals in the entire Pingyuan City.

Today, most families are destined to have sleepless nights, and family members who are away from home are destined to be unable to reunite.

But a group of people, stubbornly almost fanatical, risked their lives to return home, much like zealots of Western religions. Some of them perished on their journey home. This was the last festival on Earth, Zhang Xi thought bitterly as he enjoyed the warmth of his family dinner.

……

The next morning, a military vehicle pulled up in front of Zhang Xi's building, just as Zhang Xi was leaving. A soldier jumped out of the vehicle, and Zhang Xi recognized him as Long Wenzhang. As soon as Long Wenzhang got out, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Haha, Zhang Xi, you've got some nerve, haven't you? Enjoying a life of leisure at home, I'm so envious!"

Zhang Xi could tell that Long Wenzhang was genuinely envious. He didn't want to discuss it further because he didn't know Long Wenzhang's family situation and was afraid of upsetting him. After all, life was hard on the eve of the apocalypse, and many families had lost members.

Long Wenzhang seemed to see through Zhang Xi's thoughts, chuckled, and said, "I'm here to bring you good news, something good has happened! Come on, go back to the division headquarters, the division commander wants to see you!" Zhang Xi understood why Division Commander Huo wanted to see him; it was related to the record magic stone he had sent to the division headquarters more than a month ago. Was it finally about to begin? Zhang Xi clenched his fists. He couldn't avoid the trouble; bring it on.

After bidding farewell to his family, Zhang Xi left the last bottle of purple Strength Potion to his parents and took Amber and Tanuki with him. Of course, Tanuki was currently stored in the small thatched hut in Zhang Xi's sea of ​​consciousness. He ultimately decided to leave the bottle of Strength Potion to Wang Ruilong. This was a gift that Zhang Xi had long promised to give him. Although he hadn't explicitly stated what it was, Zhang Xi had already made a promise to himself in his heart.

Zhang Xi had just returned to the division headquarters when he discovered the surprise Long Wenzhang had mentioned: all the senior commanders were waiting for him there. It turned out that Commander Huo had attached great importance to the Recording Magic Stone that Zhang Xi had returned. He immediately collected the battle report on the fallen Liaocheng and sent it, along with the Recording Magic Stone, to Tianjing City.

This discovery is of great significance because it is the first time that a planned siege has been carried out, which changes the nature of the monster invasion! No matter how powerful the monster is, as long as it lacks intelligence and organization, humans have the confidence to fight it. However, an organized and planned invasion is completely different. This means that this is no longer a simple monster invasion, but may very well be a war between different civilizations.

Everything that has happened in the past six months is not a random occurrence caused by a spatial rift leading to the arrival of monsters, but is very likely an invasion war deliberately launched by a highly advanced alien civilization!

Based on this intelligence, Tianjing City immediately sprang into action, dispatching scouts who, disregarding casualties, gathered intelligence far and wide. Within a month, they thwarted two invasions targeting small towns surrounding Tianjing. The news was reported nationwide and even to the United Nations. Other cities also used this intelligence to prepare in advance, avoiding significant losses. Other countries around the world also avoided substantial losses as a result, sending letters of gratitude to Tianjing and China through the United Nations.

For this, the Tianjing authorities issued a special commendation order and decided to award Zhang Xi, who provided this intelligence, the title of reconnaissance hero and the National Flag Medal.

The Order of the National Flag has only been awarded nine times since the founding of the nation. The other eight were awarded decades ago during the war years. This is the only one awarded in the last seventy years. This is a tremendous honor for the First Division, where Zhang Xi serves, so all the senior officers of the division are here today to witness this moment.

Among the group of officers, Zhang Xi spotted Xue Gang, who was beaming with pride, and Li Xianda, who had just made a fortune. Li Xianda's gloomy gaze swept back and forth between Xue Gang and Zhang Xi, so gloomy that Zhang Xi worried that black tears might well up in his dark circles at any moment.

This small commendation gathering, demonstrating the military's disciplined and efficient style, ended quickly. Commanders below the regimental level all returned to their units.

Commander Huo then led Zhang Xi and the others to the operations command room. Zhang Xi immediately saw a recording magic stone, and his heart sank; this wasn't the one he had sent. Wu Sheng gestured to a staff officer to activate the recording magic stone with a Yuan Energy Crystal, revealing a map that looked like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle.

This was the outskirts of a large city. The map only showed a small part of the outer perimeter, but even so, a native of Pingyuan like Zhang Xi could recognize it at a glance as the outskirts of Pingyuan City. Was it finally coming? The timing matched his previous life; Pingyuan City was about to face an even more terrifying test. Wu Sheng waved to the side and said, "This is intelligence gathered by Staff Officer Li."

Li Xianda immediately stepped forward and said, "This is my duty!"

Commander Huo nodded and said, "I will record your merit and report it to the military headquarters. Well done!"

His words brought a smile to Li Xianda's face. He thought to himself, "So much money wasn't wasted, and so many lives weren't lost in vain. At least we've gained something." However, compared to Zhang Xi's military achievements, this was like a firefly comparing its brightness to the moon—utterly insignificant.

After all, Zhang Xi's intelligence had garnered international praise, while the intelligence he had gathered at great expense of manpower and resources would only result in a commendation from the military. Thinking of this, he glanced at Zhang Xi again; it seemed necessary to cause some trouble for Xue Gang and his subordinates.