Sometimes what shocks you at first glance might be a limited edition supercar, or a box of cash, or an incredibly beautiful woman.
But none of those are the most shocking - what's truly shocking is something beyond your imagination.
For instance, here in this bird-free wasteland, a massive city suddenly rises from the ground.
Especially for those accustomed to modern cities, this walled city is straight out of a sci-fi movie.
Under the distant sunlight, the city walls made of bluestone concrete emit a faint glow.
The three-kilometer-long winding wall seems to have been transported from another realm, appearing out of thin air, looking utterly surreal no matter how you look at it.
"The... the City of Dawn!"
The middle-aged man stammers out these words, his previous bravado now thrown far, far away.
This aura of power doesn't seem so easy to flaunt after all.
Even their Yunzhou Film City base pales in comparison to the grandeur and might of the City of Dawn.
What is that thing?
Those walls look impossibly sturdy, almost unscalable, and that huge metal gate.
Why would they make such a massive gate if they can't even open it themselves?
And those water gates, with iron sluice gates spanning seventy meters wide - the middle-aged man feels vexed. When did these survivors become so capable as to build such things?
If you're so capable, why not just join the Survivor Alliance?
And those watchtowers, one every few hundred meters. Even from this distance, he can vaguely make out the patrolling soldiers inside, clearly watching in his direction.
You City of Dawn, a place no one's ever heard of, making things so difficult for me, a tax official.
The middle-aged man briefly considers turning back.
He doesn't feel he has the clout to come here collecting taxes.
But then he sees the hook-nosed man behind him and changes his mind.
The middle-aged man is named Xu Qingshan from the North Wind Army.
The hook-nosed man is named Diao Yuan, the third-in-command of the second biggest power in the Alliance, the War God Army.
Diao Yuan is a mutant with immense personal strength, accompanying Xu Qingshan on this tax collection mission to protect him from potential harm by the survivors.
Seeing Diao Yuan's gaze on him, Xu Qingshan feels he can't show weakness in front of him.
After all, in the entire Alliance, the North Wind Army's biggest threat comes from the second-ranked War God Army.
To secure the number one position in the Alliance, he has to stand his ground.
Clearing his throat, he orders the driver, "Don't just gape there, you'll have plenty of time to stare later. Drive up to the main gate of this city. I want to see how a place like the City of Dawn sprang up in this little corner of Yunzhou City."
The Land Rover accelerates towards the City of Dawn.
Four heavy trucks follow close behind, carrying the taxes he's come to collect.
The closer they get to the City of Dawn, the better the road conditions become.
This area was originally a pathless wasteland, but now it has an asphalt road several kilometers long.
As he drives along the asphalt road approaching the city, Xu Qingshan feels more and more awestruck.
Rack his brain as he might, he can't fathom how such a massive city could have appeared here.
The only thing he can rely on now is the name of the Survivor Alliance.
He hopes the people inside the City of Dawn will be cowed by the Alliance's might and pay him the taxes.
Finally, the vehicle arrives at the foot of the City of Dawn.
Xu Qingshan gets out and strains his neck looking up at the towering walls.
Unable to see the top, he can only approach the main gate and pound on the iron door.
"Open up!"
He feels like he's pounding on a train with that single knock on the massive iron slab. How did they even install something so huge?
Unable to make the iron gate budge, he backs up about thirty meters until he can barely make out the nearest watchtower.
"Hey, anyone in there? I'm Xu Qingshan, a tax official from the Survivor Alliance in Yunzhou City. Who's your leader? Send your leader out to speak with me!"
The distance forces him to shout at the top of his lungs, leaving him slightly winded after just those few sentences.
But the soldier in the watchtower only gives him a cold glance, completely ignoring him.
Xu Qingshan is instantly indignant, wanting to flare up but not daring to after spotting the huge machine guns in the watchtower.
Those young soldiers might not be very capable, but rookies tend to have fiery tempers.
If he provokes one of those hotheads and catches a burst of gunfire, he'll die an utterly senseless death.
This isn't the pre-apocalypse era anymore. Caution is key.
So Xu Qingshan can only swallow his anger and shout hoarsely from below.
"We, the Survivor Alliance, are based in the Film City to the north of Yunzhou City with over 160,000 survivors! We have formidable armed forces! We're willing to help all survivors get through this dark apocalypse together..."
"We believe in equality for all! Everyone gets to eat!"
"We'll help you face the zombie threat and ensure the survival of humanity!"
"In this time of crisis, humans must unite..."
"On behalf of the North Wind Army, I promise all your reasonable demands will be met..."
"I... *cough cough cough!*"
Meanwhile, inside the base, Xiao Fan received another group of visitors as Xu Qingshan was shouting himself hoarse outside.
Two SUVs drove directly into the city interior through the southern underground tunnel.
The tunnel exit was located on the banks of the Haoyuan River in the inner city district. The tunnel gate opened, and the two SUVs emerged one after another.
After getting out, these people went straight to the pond near Xiao Fan's official residence.
"Commander, we're here."
Xiao Fan turned and smiled at the group of foreign soldiers. "John, you guys are pretty slow."
John handed Xiao Fan a large bundle of jewelry. "Commander, here are the jewels we've collected recently, brought them all to you."
As Xiao Fan converted the jewels into funds, he asked John, "You're a bit shorthanded now, aren't you?"
"Yes, Commander, we only have eight men in one squad. The manpower is too limited - there are many dangerous areas we can't go into at all."
"Okay, in that case, I'll reinforce you to a full platoon strength. And then... you can do some mercenary work as bandits here in Yunzhou for now."