Chapter 114: Return to Dawn City

Less than two months have passed since the apocalypse began, yet I have experienced more than I did in my previous two lifetimes combined. I once thought the zombie siege was the grand finale, but it seems it was merely the beginning.

Fang Xia finally returned to his territory with his band of ladies. It was in ruins, but compared to the sights he had seen along the way, it was still far better off. Lu Dezhi stood in the center of the camp, directing the rescue of the wounded. Seeing Fang Xia return, the fat man came sprinting over, snot and tears streaming down his face, shouting all the while, "Commander Fang, you’ve finally returned! I’ve missed you so much!"

Watching the three-hundred-pound man hit the speed of a pre-apocalyptic Olympic sprinter, Fang Xia extended his right leg without a second thought. The fat man went flying back at an even greater speed. When he hit the ground, the earth trembled, startling the nearby survivors so badly they scrambled to their feet, fearing a second earthquake.

"Stop playing dead and get up." Fang Xia walked over and poked the man’s belly with his foot; it was still soft.

Lu Dezhi scrambled up, wiped the tears from his face, and immediately forced a smile. "Brother Fang, that earthquake was terrifying! You’re just lucky, going out of the city for a trip right before it hit. You’re truly the Child of Destiny!"

Though Lu Dezhi had wanted to be suspicious, it was simply too far-fetched. No matter how god-like Fang Xia was, could he really have predicted an earthquake that had never once occurred in the history of White City? Therefore, he could only conclude that Fang Xia was incredibly lucky—a true Child of Destiny. Look at the ladies behind him; despite many being injured, very few had died. Unlike himself—even staying within the territory, he had nearly met his end, surviving only thanks to his three hundred pounds of flesh. His own wives, however, had been reduced to just two; he would have to start over again.

"What are the casualties?" Fang Xia asked, finding it strange that he didn't see Zheng Fakun.

"It’s grim. The death rate is over fifteen percent, and the number of injured is even higher—at least sixty percent. As for 'Skinny' Zheng, his luck was just too poor. The only fissure in the territory happened to start right where he was hiding. He was buried alive before he could even react."

Fang Xia had nothing to say about that kind of luck. Take Bai Xing, for example; a fissure had also passed through her hiding spot, but because it had cracked open from a distance, her skill level had given her plenty of time to dodge. If it had cracked directly beneath her feet, she would have been dead for sure, unless she were like Fang Xia and could teleport.

"Commander Fang, Skinny’s group still has over ten thousand survivors. About these people..."

Even without him saying it, Fang Xia understood. He wanted to absorb the remnants of Skinny’s group into his own, but Fang Xia didn't want them. "Leave them be. I’ll find them a new commander soon."

Having two separate groups would allow for competition and mutual checks and balances. If he let this fat man consolidate too much power, it wouldn't matter now, but human ambition grows alongside strength. With tens of thousands of people, why would they continue to pay protection money to Fang Xia’s force of a thousand women? It wouldn't be clear who was really in charge of the territory anymore.

As it happened, Guo Yu was currently idle. Fang Xia planned to have him take over as commander; he trusted Guo Yu far more. Since Chen Gang could no longer be counted on to nurture him as one of his own, he might as well move Guo Yu over. Fang Xia was confident in Guo Yu’s abilities.

"Commander Lu, the territory is in this state now. I’ll have to leave the reconstruction to your people. You can see my delicate ladies—I certainly can't have them doing that kind of labor." Lu Dezhi nodded repeatedly. "Liu Rui, discuss the planning and construction with Commander Lu."

Reconstruction could not be rushed; for now, they needed to find shelter. The villa Fang Xia had stayed in previously had unfortunately collapsed, so it seemed they would have to settle for tents today. For a long time to come, the vast majority of people in Dawn City would have nowhere to sleep, and the major factions were no exception. With so many people and a limited supply of tents, they could barely house their own; there was no way they would share with others.

It wasn't just here; other parts of Dawn City were scrambling to rebuild. If the zombies attacked now, it would truly be game over. These people had no idea about the city walls yet. However, Chen Gang would likely discover them today, after which he would dispatch large numbers of men to stand guard and prohibit others from approaching. A week later, once Dawn City was mostly rebuilt, he would claim he had constructed the walls himself to provide everyone with a safe environment.

Ultimately, he would naturally become the true Lord of Dawn City. This was all something Fang Xia had experienced in his previous life. Barring any accidents, Chen Gang couldn't have done this alone; other factions were involved behind the scenes. He wondered if the Liu Rui of his past life had been involved.

Fang Xia had no desire to compete with Chen Gang for the title of City Lord. He would leave sooner or later; as long as Chen Gang didn't provoke him, he wouldn't bother him either. After all, it was thanks to him that Dawn City had order, giving the bottom-tier humans a slim chance at survival.

Dawn City still had a million people, and after the zombie rain ceased for a while, more survivors would emerge. According to them, their cities hadn't built walls, which made them support Chen Gang even more. But now, Fang Xia knew that this wasn't Chen Gang’s doing at all; it was simply a phenomenon that occurred once the population reached a certain scale. There was an invisible hand intervening in all of this. This was the fundamental reason Fang Xia wanted to grow stronger.

Three days had passed. The first building in Fang Xia’s territory was complete. It remained in the same location as before, and due to the materials, it was naturally not as nice as the old villa, but it was more than enough for living—and more importantly, the floor space was much larger. The old second floor had only four rooms and a living room, but now, there were eight rooms and two living rooms.

As for other construction, the biggest headache had become cement. Cement had now become the scarcest resource in Dawn City. Previously, no one had been bored enough to hoard cement; they generally just grabbed what they needed.

Over these three days, relying on the fact that his harem group had suffered minimal losses, Fang Xia began crazily harvesting supplies. This earthquake had not only brought disaster to humans throughout White City but also to the zombies. However, most of the zombies had been buried underground, making it impossible even to scavenge for upgrade crystals. Yet, without the obstruction of zombies, scavenging for pre-apocalyptic supplies had become much easier. In those three days, Fang Xia’s team had traveled across more than half of White City, joined by people sent out by other factions.