Chapter 1 Life in a Small Town

Outside of Dragon City, in a small town.

In this dirty and chaotic room, Zhou Tonghui looked at the familiar woman in front of him, his expression one of surprise.

Hearing his call, the woman turned her head, startled for a moment, and then replied, "Hey, Tonghui, you're here too?"

This familiar woman was none other than Wen Xiaorou.

At this moment, she was surrounded by a group of young people. These people didn't seem like high-level family members; their clothes were ordinary, and their expressions were somewhat panicked, but they all subconsciously gathered around Wen Xiaorou.

Seeing her here, Zhou Tonghui said anxiously, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing here? Didn't you evacuate with the children earlier?"

Wen Xiaorou wiped the sweat from her forehead, looked at the people around her, and explained softly, "We received the news last night and were originally going to leave early with the An family. But you know, I have a small company, and those young people who work for me have no one to care for them or take care of them. At this critical moment, they can't find any connections, and they all live outside the district. I was worried about them, so I went to pick them up, and that's how we missed yesterday's evacuation plan. Fortunately, I found Mingchao, and he immediately arranged for me to evacuate with the first group of people today. So I came all the way with the troops."

Zhou Tonghui said worriedly, "Sister-in-law, don't run around anymore. It's too dangerous around here now. How about this? You come with me later; I can take care of you on the way."

Wen Xiaorou nodded, "Okay."

Seeing Wen Xiaorou looking so disheveled, Zhou Tonghui couldn't help but worry. In the current situation, nowhere was safe. Plus, Yu Mingyuan had disappeared, his life or death unknown. As his brother, he naturally had to take good care of his family.

Thinking of this, Zhou Tonghui looked at the young people around him and asked with concern, "Did anyone get hurt on the way here?"

Wen Xiaorou immediately said, "Yes, we were bombed when we were leaving, and two children were injured..."

Zhou Tonghui quickly said to the officer beside him, "Quick, go to my car and get my medical kit!"

"Yes!"

The officer, with two guards, hurriedly left the room.

A few minutes later, they returned with the medical supplies and began to treat and bandage the injured young people.

One of the girls was seriously injured and had a fever. Fortunately, they treated her in time, and her life was saved.

At this time, there were probably over a thousand family members and refugees hiding in this area. Everyone was miserable, and some couldn't help but cry, filled with fear for the future.

Oppression, fear, sadness... all kinds of negative emotions filled this small town.

...

Around 12:30 AM, Xinlai District.

Xing Yao led his strengthened Fourth Battalion, a total of over six hundred men, completely adhering to the free-style combat strategy conveyed by the higher-ups, charging left and right along the way. They fought their way from the Guada District battlefield to Xinlai District, the capital of Modameng.

Along the way, they fought more than a dozen battles, large and small, but there were not many casualties, only some wounded.

To increase flexibility and focus on guerrilla warfare, Xing Yao even ordered the abandonment of military vehicles, which were handed over to brother units. The entire strengthened Fourth Battalion traveled light, carrying only individual combat equipment.

As the saying goes, you get the kind of soldiers you deserve. Under Xing Yao's influence, his six hundred men were all very cunning and fought in a very slick manner.

They fought when they needed to fight and rested when they needed to rest. They fought if they could win and ran if they couldn't, fighting with the style of bandits, never forcing themselves.

Moreover, all they encountered along the way were defeated troops of the Western Military Alliance fleeing from the Guada District, insignificant rabble with no big fish. This made Xing Yao, who was eager to make a fortune, a little anxious.

Just now, Xing Yao led his strengthened Fourth Battalion in a battle in the nearby town of Taila.

They encountered a group of troops wearing the insignia of the local armed forces of Lao Mo, a total of more than a hundred people, with mismatched equipment. For Xing Yao and his men, this was practically a free gift!

The strengthened Fourth Battalion only needed two charges to wipe out this force in Taila town.

At this time, the soldiers of the Fourth Battalion were clearing the battlefield, redistributing the weapons, ammunition, and military equipment left behind by the enemy.

Xing Yao sat under a broken wall, wiping the dust from his face while using a self-heating stove to boil water, warming his military flask in the process.

Lao Qian held a newly captured assault rifle, inspecting it as he walked to Xing Yao's side and said to him, "Damn it, the fighting here is intense, but we haven't caught any big fish? Look at this piece of junk, old equipment from over a decade ago. No one would even use it as firewood."

"Just some small fry," Xing Yao said, waving his hand. "Probably just another group of routed soldiers, no profit to be made."

Lao Qian squatted on the ground, looking at Xing Yao, and said with some puzzlement, "We're about to enter Xinlai District, and we haven't encountered any decent troops yet?"

Xing Yao sat cross-legged on the ground, thought for a moment, and said, "Those decent troops are probably all blocked inside Xinlai District by the Blackwater Mercenary Corps. Alright, don't panic. Have a drink. It's cold tonight."

Saying that, Xing Yao picked up the heated flask, took a gulp himself, and then handed it to Lao Qian, while also instructing, "Tell the brothers to stay alert. We just finished fighting here, and the gunfire lasted for a while. There might be other rebel troops coming soon. After the brothers finish collecting the war materials, let's find a mountain nearby, squat in the mountain for the night, and continue to advance into Xinlai District tomorrow."

Lao Qian nodded, "Okay, I'll urge the brothers to hurry up."

Xing Yao suddenly stopped Lao Qian again, "Wait a minute, have you tallied our achievements?"

"Of course, I've tallied them. Putting aside everything else, we've got over seven hundred sets of enemy armbands and shoulder patches!" Lao Qian sighed, somewhat regretfully, "This result is still somewhat acceptable!"

Xing Yao chuckled and kicked Lao Qian, "Damn it, I just love your bragging!"

As the two were talking, a series of footsteps came from nearby.

The company commander of the reconnaissance company below, leading his soldiers, escorted a dozen people towards them.

Among these dozen people, the leaders were two fat Indian guys with curly hair and oily black skin, dressed in suits and leather shoes. They looked quite wealthy, but they were currently in a rather disheveled state.

Seeing this group of people, Xing Yao wiped his hands, stood up, and asked, "What's the deal with these guys?"

"Pa!"

The reconnaissance company commander saluted him, then grinned, "Battalion Commander, we caught a few tycoons! This guy is an arms dealer from Xinlai District! When the war broke out here, he found a group of routed soldiers and paid them to protect him. We just happened to run into them."

Hearing this, Xing Yao's eyes lit up, "Damn, an unexpected harvest! Aren't we going to make a fortune!"