Donggang Plantation.
The scars of battle were beginning to fade. The survivors dug out the bodies of their comrades and buried them on the small hill north of the plantation. On the street outside the barbed wire, zombies tumbled along and wandered around mindlessly.
In the days of continuous fire, Empire’s sieging forces destroyed their walls multiple times and cut through the barbed wires to lure zombies into the plantation. The battle devolved into chaos between humans and zombies.
In the chaos, over one thousand slaves died.
With such a limited amount of ammunition, their ability to limit their casualties to around one thousand against an actual force showed that the slaves were certainly a force to be reckoned with.
Of course, NAC’s airstrike also was part of the reason.
Out of fear for an airstrike from NAC, Empire’s Second Division didn’t focus all their efforts on launching a full-scale attack. Out of fear for NAC’s forces, Empire’s Second Division chose to retreat north for independence. It was only then that the siege of Donggang Plantation finally ended.
Since they didn’t know where to go, one thousand survivors chose to leave while the remaining seven thousand survivors gathered together. They elected a leader who led them to rebuild their home on this piece of land.
One morning.
An SUV darted into the street and sent a few dumb zombies flying before it came to an abrupt stop in front of the plantation.
Two machine guns on the wall immediately pointed in this direction. Survivors with scarves and rifles walked up to knock on the car window.
“This place isn’t open to the public. Please leave.”
Li Wang glanced at the muzzles on the wall, took a deep breath, tapped on the door to lower the window.
“I don’t have bad intentions. I represent NAC and I want to see your leader.”
Li Wang thought these people would courteously invite him in, but the survivor’s expression made a 180-degree shift as he examined Li Wang with caution.
The stark difference completely caught him off guard.
The soldier at the gate pressed on his collar, walked to the side, and spoke with his superior before he quickly returned to the car window.
“We can take you to see our leader, but we have to search you.”
Li Wang’s eyebrows raised and he was about to go off, but when he thought about Jiang Chen’s test for him, he breathed in and suppressed the anger in his mind.
“Of course.”
He pushed open the door, walked out, and opened his hands.
“I swear I don’t have any weapons on me.”
The soldier ignored him and briefly scanned his body. After confirming there were no weapons, he took Li Wang into the plantation.
After walking on a muddy road, they arrived in front of a three-story office building.
Li Wang saw the leader of the survivors when he stepped in.
His knife-sharp eyes could pierce people’s minds and his defined face was tattooed with the slave mark, but from his straight back, Li Wang didn’t see the meekness typical of a slave.
[This isn’t an easy character.]
That was Li Wang’s first thought.
When the uprising erupted, the spies behind the conflict retreated from the plantation amidst the chaos. No one could provide him with assistance, and the only information he had was from one week ago.
“Aha, let me see who came. The ambassador of NAC? You finally remembered your neighbor.” The leader walked up to Li Wang. With his eyes narrowed, he aggressively stared Li Wang down. “Tell me your intentions.”
Li Wang didn’t dodge his stare. He paused for a moment before he calmly said, “Are we not allies?”
“You used us to keep Empire Second Division here and used our blood to pave your victory – would you refer to this as an alliance?” The leader started laughing hysterically and he shrugged. “What’s next? After you take over the capital, do you plan on taking over the slaves in the capital?”
“You’re mistaken.”
“Let me tell you, we won’t accept any enslavement from anyone, even if you’re powerful enough.” The leader lowered his voice. His scratchy voice rang beside Li Wang’s ears as the words came out one by one.
The pitiful people who just escaped from the shackles of enslavement were more sensitive and more conceited than anyone. While they only had poorly made rifles and a limited amount of ammo, they still believed they could use their faith to defend their freedom.
They were sensitive and suspicious of any form of control.
They wouldn’t listen to anything right now.
[The missiles of Order should wake these people up…] That was Li Wang’s only thought.
“We won’t do that.” Li Wang used his most reasonable voice.
“But who can promise you won’t do that?” the leader asked in an exaggerated tone. “We have our hands and feet and we can grow mutated fruits and Carm tree sap. Why would we join you?”
“We can purchase your mutated fruits and Carm tree sap.”
“Federation’s market can too. You’re not unique.”
The negotiation was at a stalemate from the beginning, but fortunately, Li Wang detected the problem.
“Federation came to see you?”
The leader shrugged and replied with an undeniable expression.
Not denying the claim was equivalent to agreeing with it.
Li Wang took a deep breath, cleared his thoughts, and calmly said.
“Could you give me five minutes?”
…
At the command post, Jiang Chen was working.
Regarding the growth of NAC in the Hongcheng region, he was strategizing the smaller details regarding the bigger picture of expansion. While the model of Sixth Street could be used as a reference, it couldn’t be perfectly replicated here and required minor adjustments.
Elections, law…
This time, the door opened and Wang Zhaowu walked into the office.
“Are you busy?”
“Almost done. Why?” Jiang Chen dropped the pen in his hand and asked Wang Zhaowu.
“Nothing in particular. I just wanted to ask if you’ve made a decision for the captain.” Wang Zhaowu closed the door behind him.
The situation with Hongcheng was stabilized. After the open border agreement with Federation came into effect, NAC managed to successfully establish itself in the area. It was near the end of July. After leaving for one and a half month, it was time to return at the beginning of August.
Jiang Chen said from the beginning that the captain of Order would be selected at the end of the conquest. As the General and Division Commander, Wang Zhaowu couldn’t act as the captain and deputy captain forever.
“I have someone in mind but I’m undecided.”
Wang Zhaowu was relieved when he heard Jiang Chen had a plan. He said with a smile, “I thought you forgot about it. Now I feel assured.”
“Enough. You think I would keep you as deputy captain forever? Head back and clean up. It won’t be long until you have to return to your Second Division.”
“Roger!”