Xiao Fan didn't spend those more than 700 gold immediately. He was going to start accumulating funds to build a tank factory.
He asked the soldiers to drive his 212 Jeep over, and Xiao Fan looked over his new car.
The square body had a retro feel, the straight lines and right angles showing the military's rugged style.
The body was very sturdy, with the spare tire hung on the back door of the vehicle.
Xiao Fan got in the car. The back seat space was large, with leather seats, and the seat backs could even be adjusted. This should have gone through some Red Alert System modifications.
As soon as Xiao Fan got in the car, Xiao Tian immediately jumped in as well, sticking his tongue out as he sat next to Xiao Fan.
Xu Qiang was Xiao Fan's driver, and drove the car heading back to the hotel.
When they entered the hotel, Xiao Fan immediately saw the Lin sisters waiting anxiously indoors.
Seeing Xiao Fan come back, the two sisters clearly showed surprised expressions on their faces, and both came up to greet him, "Brother Xiao Fan, did you win the battle?"
"Mmm, just over a thousand zombies were nothing, my men and I have completely annihilated them all. You can live safely here from now on."
The Lin sisters glanced at each other, and the younger sister Lin MoMo seemed to make up her mind and said, "Brother Xiao Fan, my sister and I are weak, it’s very dangerous for us to stay here and encounter people or zombies. You’re military personnel, you wouldn’t abandon us, would you?"
Facing the eager anticipation in the eyes of the two beautiful sisters, Xiao Fan stroked his chin, "It's not impossible to take you with me, but I can't cook very well myself, so you might suffer some hardships following me."
"It’s okay, it’s okay! My family runs a restaurant, our cooking skills are great! If it wasn't for this disaster, we were going to become food bloggers."
Faced with the sisters’ enthusiastic recommendations about themselves, Xiao Fan was no longer polite, being able to improve meals and having two great beauties to feast his eyes on every day wasn’t something anyone could keep refusing.
"Okay then, pack up your things and set off with me."
The two sisters had already packed up, each carrying a suitcase with them.
When they went outside, they clearly froze when they saw the convoy parked outside.
Xiao Fan's team could be called a convoy now - there was a Wildcat all-terrain vehicle, a 212 Jeep, a Changjiang motorcycle with sidecar, and two heavy trucks, which was already quite a substantial force.
And there were clearly more people now than before. After producing five infantry soldiers, Xiao Fan now had 13 soldiers under him.
Seeing the startled expressions on the sisters' faces, Xiao Fan calmly said, "I have an extremely large number of subordinates. Many people from all over the country have come to join me after hearing I was here. You’ll see more people later, don’t be surprised."
A trace of admiration flashed through the sisters' eyes. To be able to follow such a powerful person in such an apocalypse was also the fortune of the two sisters.
They secretly decided that they must take good care of Xiao Fan in the future. Having lost all family ties, they didn’t want to lose this opportunity.
Xiao Fan got into the Jeep, and the two sisters voluntarily followed. Xiao Tian had been sitting in the back seat, but after a look from Xiao Fan, he crawled up from a mental command and automatically ran over to the passenger seat.
Xiao Fan sat behind the driver's seat, with the two sisters sitting beside him as the vehicle departed.
Wang Zhan rode the Changjiang motorcycle with Bai Xiaochuan sitting in the sidecar, with the two riding ahead clearing the path.
Behind them was the Wildcat all-terrain vehicle, with two riflemen and four infantry soldiers riding inside, forming the most powerful firepower in the convoy.
Next was Xiao Fan’s 212 Jeep, driven by Xu Qiang, along with Xiao Tian and Lin sisters. This car was the core of the convoy.
Finally there were two heavy trucks, driven by the other two riflemen, with another two riflemen riding shotgun in each truck. One truck was full of fuel, while the other was full of daily necessities.
When they left the gas station, someone had thrown the few million cash inside the armored car into the heavy truck, saying that if they ran out of gas they could still use it to start a fire.
The mighty convoy left the service area, and Xiao Fan issued an order to all the drivers.
They were to try not to stop during the journey, driving at least sixteen hours every day. They were not to engage the undead if encountered, and also did not need to rescue any survivors. They were to stick to the highways without entering any city, in order to return home to Yan Yun City in the shortest possible time.
Everyone strictly followed Xiao Fan’s instructions and embarked on a forced march.
The convoy would only stop to eat and sleep.
For their first meal that night, Xiao Fan was pleasantly surprised by the gift from the two sisters.
They had cooked up that mutated Tibetan Mastiff killed by Xiao Tian - a whole pot of dog meat and that rich, thick dog bone soup that almost made Xiao Fan swallow his own tongue.
Moreover, after the meal everyone felt refreshed and reenergized, as if strength filled their bodies.
The sisters themselves were somewhat surprised, saying they had outdone themselves this time.
But Xiao Fan quickly realized it wasn’t because they had outdone themselves, but rather the meat of these mutated beasts was definitely a good thing.
In a doomsday where food was scarce, any food was good food, but ordinary food only served to fill one’s stomach. This mutated beast meat however, was different.
It seemed to contain abundant nutrition and energy that would surely benefit the human body if consumed regularly.
Especially when Xiao Fan ordered them to catch and stew some fish midway through their mutation, he became even more certain.
Unknowingly, Xiao Fan had discovered yet another secret of the doomsday - this mutated beast meat would very likely become a strategic resource in the future.
After the satisfying meal everyone’s spirits were high, and the convoy continued its journey through the night.
A journey of five thousand kilometers which, before doomsday, could have easily been completed within a week.
Now with sufficient backup drivers for rotating shifts, it should have been even faster, but Xiao Fan still underestimated the difficulties of this apocalypse.
There were often abandoned traffic jams blocking the way, with occasional zombie harassment. Sometimes they had to stop, to fight, to clear obstructions from the road.
With all the stopping and going, by the time Xiao Fan felt the temperature around him gradually cooling as they entered his northern hometown of Yan Yun City, half a month had already passed.
********
The wheat fields on both sides of the road had been replaced by tall cornfields, and the oppressive heat in the air lessened significantly with each gust of wind that blew through.
A bright white river flowed ahead, with a highway bridge crossing over it.
Standing atop the bridge was a towering memorial archway with the five characters “Yan Yun Welcomes You” inscribed on it.
Seeing his hometown’s boundary marker, Xiao Fan couldn’t help the turmoil in his heart.
Over twenty days since doomsday had passed, and he had finally returned home!