Deep in the night, Shen Feng and his two thousand men were stationed on a small hill west of Rongcheng. They made fires and cooked, finally managing to eat dinner. Although it was already past supper time, they hadn't had a chance to eat since fighting the mutated plants at noon. They had even fought the zombie horde on empty stomachs. Now that they had shaken off the more than one hundred thousand zombies chasing them, they finally had time to eat.
The meal was simple: a large bowl of rice and a packet of preserved vegetables. Some even had the energy to find wild vegetables to make soup, but most people just ate plain rice with the preserved vegetables. It was definitely not nutritious, but there was no time to improve nutrition now.
Shen Feng sat by the campfire, contemplating how to defeat three million zombies. If the battle continued at the pace of the day, it would take a month to finish, and it was uncertain whether the defense line could hold.
If Shen Feng wanted to enter Rongcheng, he could do so directly with his abilities, taking only half an hour to get into the city. However, entering the city would not help solve the crisis outside. Therefore, Shen Feng continued to lead his men stationed outside the city, thinking of ways to kill zombies.
Rongcheng was surrounded by plains, with no defensible terrain. Historically, whenever Rongcheng was besieged, surrender was the only option because the surrounding area was flat. Once the outer defense line was breached, the plains could no longer be defended. Thus, Rongcheng could only focus on defensive battles. If the city could not be defended, the outcome of the battle would be predetermined.
Shen Feng's combat experience was not great. After all, before this, he was just an ordinary college student, not even capable of theoretical warfare. Now, leading troops to break a siege of three million zombies was completely beyond his capabilities.
"Troublesome, so troublesome!" Shen Feng muttered to himself.
Chu Chaoyan walked over, holding a large bowl and shoveling rice into her mouth. She asked, "What's so troublesome?"
Shen Feng came back to his senses and saw that Chu Chaoyan was still eating. He frowned and said, "You've already eaten four bowls of rice, and you're still not full? With your appetite, you'll never find anyone to marry. Anyone would be eaten into poverty."
"Get lost! I'm an evolutionist now. The energy provided by one bowl of rice is not enough for my consumption. If I don't eat more, how can I fight? Besides, if I can't find someone to marry in the future, I'll stay in the army and make sure to eat you into poverty!" Chu Chaoyan said indignantly.
Shen Feng reached out and poked the campfire in front of him, his mood low. "Now that the crisis in Rongcheng cannot be resolved, I cannot reunite with my family, nor can I return to Luzhou to find my senior. Although the encirclement in Luzhou has been lifted, I heard that someone below is preparing to rebel, and my senior is still in danger."
Chu Chaoyan continued to eat and said, "Why don't you cultivate more evolutionists! Those evolution jellies found during the day can make people evolve. Guo Pinming has woken up. He said he is already a third-tier evolutionist and his body has recovered!"
Shen Feng looked at the many soldiers around him. They were lying on the ground in twos and threes. Some had already fallen asleep, while others still had the energy to chat. Even the sentries were leaning against trees, yawning from time to time. Shen Feng couldn't help but shake his head. These men didn't look like soldiers at all; from a distance, they looked like a bunch of street loafers.
So, Shen Feng said helplessly, "These men are not qualified. If they become evolutionists, I'm afraid they'll become arrogant and oppress others. I've seen many posts on underground websites where some evolutionists and evolutionaries capture many ordinary people as slaves and act with impunity."
"But can't you restrain these people?" Chu Chaoyan continued to ask. "These people are your subordinates anyway. Even if they are not presentable, they can only fight with you. It's better to enhance their combat effectiveness to prevent them from dying in battle. If you restrain them more, the oppression of civilians will also be reduced."
Shen Feng thought about it carefully, and it was indeed true! If he were to cultivate his confidantes honestly, it would take a lot of time, and he was most short of time right now. It would be better to enhance the combat effectiveness of these loafers, and they might play a surprisingly effective role in the upcoming battles.
Thinking of this, Shen Feng looked at Chu Chaoyan with a little more respect and said, "I didn't expect you to be useful at a critical moment."
Chu Chaoyan couldn't help but say, "I've always been useful, it's just that you think humanities are useless. So, you pragmatic engineers only realize the importance of humanities when they are needed."
Shen Feng shrugged and then found Yang Chang, who was bragging to a group of people. He said, "Gather everyone. I have something to say!"
Yang Chang didn't dare to delay and quickly gathered everyone. Shen Feng stood on the hilltop and said earnestly, "I, Shen Feng, will never forget my brothers. After all, Chen Sheng once said, 'If you become rich and noble, do not forget your friends.' Therefore, I will definitely let all my brothers become evolutionists! From now on, you will have to follow my orders, otherwise, I will enforce military law!"
The soldiers below cheered immediately upon hearing that they could become evolutionists. Those who had already become evolutionists became anxious. They had previously felt superior because they were evolutionists. If everyone else became an evolutionist like them, how could they show off their superiority?
However, at this moment, Shen Feng continued, "As for those who have already become first-tier evolutionists, I will also give you enough evolutionary supplies to allow all of you to become second-tier evolutionists and possess stronger power."
At this time, the officers also spontaneously cheered. This action startled the artillerymen who were eating nearby. They looked confusedly in the direction of the cheers, not knowing what had happened. They could only hear the people on the mountain cheering, with no sense of tension at all, which was truly strange.
Jin Zijue's entire body was either bandaged or in splints. Without help, even defecation was a problem. However, Jin Zijue was still a third-tier evolutionist and could roughly hear what the people on the mountain were saying. He immediately said to a nearby artilleryman, "Go and get your battalion commander."
Wang Yue Sheng was called to Jin Zijue's side and asked doubtfully, "What is it?"
Jin Zijue whispered to Wang Yue Sheng, "Go and secretly observe Shen Feng's actions. The most important thing is to see what those soldiers are eating later. Don't make a sound, and come back immediately after you've seen it!"
Wang Yue Sheng frowned upon hearing Jin Zijue's instructions. "This might not be good. We are allies with Shen Feng, and my men rely on Shen Feng's protection to fight. If we go to spy now and are discovered, it will be difficult to explain!"
Wang Yue Sheng still had a sense of the bigger picture. Rongcheng was currently in great danger, and he did not want to provoke Shen Feng. After all, Shen Feng was currently the only reinforcement for Rongcheng. If he displeased Shen Feng and it affected the front-line operations, it would be bad. Therefore, he did not want to do these things.
Jin Zijue said anxiously, "This is a big deal! We must figure it out. Moreover, once this matter is clarified, I will report it directly to headquarters, and headquarters will commend you! Don't you want a promotion of three ranks? You have to take risks at this time."
Wang Yue Sheng was helpless. Since Jin Zijue had said so much, it was clearly a very important matter. He had no choice but to agree and prepare to go near Shen Feng's camp to take a look.
To prevent himself from having no means of escape if caught, Wang Yue Sheng took a roll of toilet paper and drilled into the woods. He thought that if he were discovered while spying, he would have an excuse: he could say he was going into the woods to relieve himself. In that case, the other party couldn't possibly beat him up without distinguishing right from wrong, could they?
When Shen Feng finished his speech, he specifically asked Chu Chaoyan, "How was my speech just now?"
Chu Chaoyan did not miss this opportunity to criticize Shen Feng and directly said, "It's like a mountain bandit, and the soldiers below are like his subordinates. So, the reason why the army is not formal is you; you are not formal."
In Chu Chaoyan's eyes, Shen Feng was not a city lord at all, but a gang leader. His words were full of profit and brotherhood, and the systems that should have been used were nowhere to be seen.
Shen Feng smiled helplessly, choosing to ignore Chu Chaoyan's criticism. He was not a soldier to begin with, so how could he be formal now? As long as the people below obeyed him obediently, it was fine.
Afterward, Shen Feng began to distribute the treant jelly to the people below. Although Chu Chaoyan considered it evolution jelly, Shen Feng felt that the name was not formal enough, so he planned to think of a more impressive name later.
Guo Pinming, as the test subject, successfully evolved after eating the jelly, transforming from a second-tier evolutionist to a third-tier evolutionist. This indicated that the jelly was indeed what was needed for evolution and was safe and harmless, and also effective for evolutionists below the third tier.
Shen Feng held a spoon and scooped a spoonful of jelly for the people below. If they were already evolutionists, he scooped a large spoonful, ensuring that all his subordinates became evolutionists.
Shen Feng guessed in his heart, "With two thousand evolutionists as my subordinates, my strength should have increased significantly, right?"
This scene was seen by Wang Yue Sheng, who was hiding in the woods. He discovered that Shen Feng was distributing a red jelly-like substance to his subordinates. It looked very bouncy, and most importantly, after the soldiers below ate the jelly, they immediately collapsed and started sleeping, which seemed very strange.
Wang Yue Sheng returned to his camp and told Jin Zijue what he had seen. Jin Zijue, after hearing Wang Yue Sheng's account, immediately understood and muttered to himself, "So Shen Feng is not eating evolution potions, but something else. Red jelly? I know!"
Wang Yue Sheng understood why Shen Feng could break through the evolutionary barrier. It turned out that what Shen Feng ate was something else. Although he didn't know what it was, knowing this information was enough. He had been stuck at the third tier for a long time. He had been drinking evolution potions before, but he couldn't evolve to the fourth tier. Now he understood that Shen Feng must have mastered a new evolutionary item, so as long as he could get his hands on it, he could evolve to the fourth tier.
Wang Yue Sheng looked at Jin Zijue's excited face and couldn't understand why he wanted to know these things.
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand now, but you'll know how powerful it is by tomorrow morning. Shen Feng has some good stuff in his hands," Jin Zijue explained in a low voice. At this moment, he believed he had discovered the truth: Shen Feng had found something good!
Wang Yue Sheng was skeptical and thought, "As long as we wait until tomorrow, everything will be clear!"
However, the next day, both Shen Feng's and Wang Yue Sheng's walkie-talkies rang. The Rongcheng Command Center conveyed the order: "The zombies are about to attack Rongcheng. You will immediately attack the zombies from the rear, at all costs!"
Shen Feng found the order strange. "Why the rush? Even if only the last defense line remains, it shouldn't be at all costs, should it?"
The command center replied, "Tens of thousands of zombies have appeared inside Rongcheng! The city is in chaos, and it has reached the most dangerous moment!"
Shen Feng was stunned to hear that zombies had appeared inside the city again. Wasn't it said that all the sewers inside the city had been blocked? How did zombies appear again? Could zombies have crawled out of the sewers again? That couldn't be right.
At this moment, Shen Feng had no time to think further. He stood up and began to rally his soldiers for battle. If the last defense line was breached, then everything would truly be over!
After a night, all the soldiers had become evolutionists. Everyone could easily lift large stones. Moreover, Yang Chang, who was already a third-tier evolutionist, even performed a demonstration of uprooting a willow tree. Since there were no willow trees on the mountain, he found a small tree and tried it. To his surprise, the small tree, which was twenty centimeters in diameter, was indeed uprooted!
Yang Chang estimated that after evolving a couple more times, he would probably be able to uproot a willow tree, and then he would possess the strength of a crane!