After a day of clearing, by 5 PM, the dormitory area of the West Campus was declared complete.
The scattered zombies stood no chance against the fully armed soldiers.
Thanks to the generally reclusive nature of college students, most zombies were found locked in dorms, appearing very weak without fresh blood to sustain them.
More importantly, the small number of students staying on campus and their scattered distribution made the cleanup easier.
The reason it still took almost a day was mainly due to the scattered distribution of zombies, which required a lot of time running back and forth.
The result of the day's work was the elimination of over four hundred zombies, allowing Gu Chengyuan to recruit another infantry squad.
After recruiting the squad, his system still had 562 credits remaining.
Gu Chengyuan's reserve fund allocation was to keep enough credits to supply the current forces, to handle emergencies.
The most terrifying thing about the apocalypse was the Zombie Tide. Whether in movies or novels, the overwhelming, endless Zombie Tide was an insurmountable disaster.
Therefore, Gu Chengyuan had to prepare extra ammunition, even if it meant slowing down development. It was worth it.
Having fewer people was manageable, but lacking ammunition was deadly. Even if the number of people doubled, without enough ammo, encountering even a hundred-strong Zombie Tide would force them to flee.
Zombies may be brainless, but they're fierce! With immense strength, unlimited stamina, no sense of pain, and no fear! They're beyond human resistance!
Currently, Gu Chengyuan's forces had reached two platoons. With one more, the actual organization could reach a company, matching his current Captain Rank.
Gu Chengyuan had a feeling that when the actual organization reached the peak of his rank, the system would undergo significant changes.
Besides the income from eliminating zombies, they also rescued 113 students. Coincidentally, among them were several of Gu Chengyuan's classmates.
Several classmates, upon being rescued, immediately recognized Gu Chengyuan in his combat uniform, standing beside the Mengshi 3 Armored Assault Vehicle with Xiao Hei.
At that moment, Gu Chengyuan was sitting by a flower bed, petting Xiao Hei while listening to the signaler Zhang Zhiquan report on the battle situation.
Zhang Zhiquan, not very tall but stocky, was memorable for his black and white streaked hair and his system-defined Cantonese accent, speaking softly with a unique tail sound, "Oh!"
For example, "Commander, that's how it is, oh!"
This contrasting tone was something Gu Chengyuan found quite engaging.
Pu Guangqiang, on the other hand, was holding a shotgun, vigilantly watching the surroundings, fulfilling his duty as a guard.
This was one of the reasons Gu Chengyuan liked Pu Guangqiang. Despite his various quirks, he was very serious about his duties.
"Chengyuan?" A slightly anxious voice came from a survivor being led by a soldier to the safe zone. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Gu Chengyuan looked up in confusion towards the source of the voice.
As he turned his head, the voice in the crowd grew more excited.
"It's me! I'm Zhao Jie!"
"Zhao Jie?"
Gu Chengyuan was a bit surprised to see the tall and strong Zhao Jie, but not entirely unexpected.
Zhao Jie was the sports commissioner of the class Gu Chengyuan returned to after discharge, known for his hearty and enthusiastic nature, and excellent sports skills. Gu Chengyuan had played many games with him and had a good impression of him.
"Chengyuan, have you been recalled?"
Seeing Gu Chengyuan in full combat gear, Zhao Jie was envious, instinctively thinking that with the apocalypse's outbreak, Gu Chengyuan, as a retired soldier, was recalled by the Zhou National Ministry of Defense.
This made Zhao Jie secretly happy, as the previous fear of the uncertain future was greatly alleviated by Gu Chengyuan's appearance.
He wasn't very familiar with Gu Chengyuan, only knowing that after his discharge, Gu Chengyuan was somewhat solitary in class, so he often invited him to join activities.
But there was no deeper understanding; he only knew Gu Chengyuan was also good at sports, and particularly handsome!
Because he had played sports with Gu Chengyuan, classmates from his and other faculties often asked him for Gu Chengyuan's contact information.
Frankly, he was a bit jealous, and inviting him to play was sometimes an attempt to outdo him.
But all those complex emotions vanished the moment he saw Gu Chengyuan turn his head, leaving only a profound sense of kinship!
It felt like when a teacher checks homework and you panic because yours is blank, but then you see your deskmate's is also blank.
So Zhao Jie's call to Chengyuan was sincere and heartfelt.
"Uh, sort of! What are you doing here?"
Gu Chengyuan didn't explain in detail, choosing to change the subject. Since they were classmates, explaining would lead to more questions.
When he discovered it himself, due to the nature of his identity, even if puzzled, he wouldn't ask directly, keeping his questions to himself.
"I'm at school reviewing for the postgraduate entrance examination."
"Oh, oh, follow them for now. We need to regroup the troops here. I'll catch up with you later!"
"Okay, okay! I won't disturb you then!"
Zhao Jie was also afraid of interrupting Gu Chengyuan's mission. He had heard that military discipline was strict and feared causing Gu Chengyuan to be punished because of him. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Although he wore a combat uniform, Zhao Jie knew from playing and chatting that Gu Chengyuan was just a conscript.
At the bottom of the military rank system, with veterans, assistant squad leaders, squad leaders, and platoon leaders above him.
Greeting Gu Chengyuan was purely a sense of shared hardship, without any thought of leveraging connections.
After Zhao Jie finished talking with Gu Chengyuan, the survivor group, led by the soldier, continued towards Building 22, not noticing why the entire group paused when Zhao Jie spoke.
After Zhao Jie left, Gu Chengyuan vaguely felt that there were ambiguous glances from the crowd directed at him.
Shortly after leaving, in the survivor group, a muscular man over six feet tall, Zhao Hu, couldn't help but speak up, "Impressive, Brother Jie, you even have connections in the army!"
Immediately, someone chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, Brother Jie has a wide network! You'll have to look out for us!"
Although there was no intention of exploiting connections, the flattery still made Zhao Jie secretly pleased. He deliberately didn't explain in detail, just maintaining a mysterious demeanor and calmly said:
"It's nothing, he's a good buddy of mine, just happened to meet."
Hearing this, the others were even more delighted. They had been following Zhao Jie since the apocalypse broke out, initially thinking Zhao Jie would be in trouble when the military arrived, but it seemed his backing was even stronger!
Among the lively crowd, two girls whispered to each other.
"Ai Ke, from the name, is it the Gu Chengyuan from the Internet of Things class you told me about?"
The girl called Ai Ke had shoulder-length, light yellow permed hair, a delicate face, bright eyes, and red lips. Standing about five feet seven, she exuded a heroic aura, standing out among the girls.
"Yes, it's him," Ai Ke replied in a hoarse voice, weary and distracted.
"So handsome, how could you be so indifferent back then, not even wanting to reply to his messages?" The short, plump girl with glasses was excited, as if questioning why Ai Ke would waste such an opportunity.
"Ah Wen, what's the use of being handsome? There are plenty of handsome guys, I've never lacked them around me."
"That day I saw him at the academic office, still picking courses to make up credits in his senior year. Do you think someone like that is worthy of me?"
"But he served in the military, and he looks so handsome in his combat uniform!" Ah Wen was clearly a staunch supporter of good looks!
"Served in the military? I'm not an inexperienced girl. Regardless of how he performed, even if he's strong, so what? He's still just a low-ranking soldier... Let's not talk about him, better to think about what we'll do at the new place."
Ai Ke's expression was indifferent, her eyes hiding concerns about the future.