When morning arrived again, the sunlight reappeared. The dark clouds from the previous night had also dispersed considerably, suggesting it wouldn't snow again anytime soon. The atmosphere in Yan Jing was particularly peculiar, as everyone was questioning whether the battle against the zombies could be concluded swiftly.
Outside the tents, sounds of laughter could be heard. Without the pressure of zombies, the soldiers were very relaxed. Although they couldn't go home yet, their safety was guaranteed, which was enough to make them feel at ease. Shen Feng, inside his tent, was woken by the commotion outside. He opened his eyes and felt a moment of disorientation, his head also aching slightly.
"How much did I drink last night? Why am I only waking up now? Did something strange happen last night?" Shen Feng muttered to himself, holding his head.
Suddenly, Shen Feng noticed a pile of clothes by his pillow. He vaguely remembered them being his dirty clothes that he hadn't had a chance to wash, so he had just tossed them into the tent. Yet, now the clothes were neatly folded, and he could even smell the scent of laundry detergent on them.
"That's strange, how did my clothes get washed? Was it a Conch Maiden? But I didn't pick up any conch shells," Shen Feng couldn't figure out who had washed his clothes. Normally, no one would casually enter Shen Feng's tent.
Unable to comprehend it, Shen Feng found Chu Chaoyan and asked, "Did you wash my clothes for me?"
Hearing Shen Feng's question, Chu Chaoyan sighed helplessly and shook her head, saying, "In the future, you should really stop drinking. Drinking always leads to trouble. Even though you're an ability user, your tolerance isn't that great. Last night, you were the only one acting like a lunatic!"
"Acting like a lunatic?" Shen Feng frowned at this statement and then began to recall carefully. "Weren't we having hot pot with those people from the Ability Administration last night? Fang Qinghao brought some baijiu, and after that, I can't remember anything. If I was acting like a lunatic, couldn't all of you stop me?"
A look of helplessness flickered in Chu Chaoyan's eyes. She was utterly defeated by Shen Feng. Such an important matter last night, and he had forgotten most of it upon waking. His memory was like that of a fish, forgetting things as soon as they happened. Chu Chaoyan could only recount the events of the previous night in broad strokes. To be honest, regarding last night's events, Chu Chaoyan sided with Li Keyi.
Shen Feng's group had eaten Li Keyi's lost dog, and then Li Keyi came to demand an explanation. Instead, Shen Feng had cornered her, not even offering an apology. Being treated like that, Li Keyi only punched Shen Feng once, which was actually letting him off lightly. However, Xiao Sheng had also blocked Shen Feng at that moment, preventing Li Keyi from continuing her assault, which was another reason.
Listening to Chu Chaoyan's explanation, Shen Feng's heart sank. He hadn't expected that he had done something so outrageous while drunk. Moreover, if that was the case, the washed clothes in his tent were actually washed by Li Keyi. His actions last night had clearly hurt Li Keyi.
"I'll never drink again!" Shen Feng regretted it deeply and slapped himself hard.
Seeing Shen Feng blaming himself, Chu Chaoyan quickly advised, "Don't rush. Go and apologize sincerely, attributing last night's events to drinking. I believe Li Keyi will forgive you. What's the use of hitting yourself now?"
Shen Feng shrugged. "No need to apologize. If she forgives me, she'll just cling to me again. Let's keep it a misunderstanding. At most, I'll find a way to compensate her later, like buying her another dog. It's just that there are too few mutated dogs nowadays, so I need to search properly."
Chu Chaoyan gently shook her head and said nothing.
The relaxed atmosphere didn't last long. Although the zombies had all retreated underground after the snowfall, it still put immense pressure on people. No one knew when the zombies would surge out of the ground again to besiege Yan Jing City. As long as the zombies weren't completely annihilated, they would always remain a sword hanging over their heads.
The higher-ups in Yan Jing had deliberated multiple times and screened many tactics. They reluctantly concluded that they had no idea about the distribution of zombies underground. Without understanding the enemy's deployment, any tactic would be mere speculation. Therefore, the first priority was to ascertain the situation underground.
This was the time for high-tech means to come into play. Specialized personnel remotely operated unmanned detectors into the underground. These detectors had wheels and mechanical arms, allowing them to advance steadily on flat ground or steep slopes. Crucially, the detectors' backup power could sustain them for three days!
When the detectors had signal, they would automatically upload surrounding terrain data. If there was no signal, they would return at a predetermined time. Most importantly, the detectors were equipped with small radars that continuously emitted ultrasound waves, autonomously mapping the underground caves by analyzing the detected ultrasound waves.
It seemed that detectors were the most suitable means for gathering information underground, as they could advance smoothly even in the subterranean environment. However, the researchers overlooked one crucial point: the zombies wouldn't foolishly watch the detectors move freely underground. As soon as the zombies discovered the appearance of the detector vehicles, they would immediately rush up and tear them apart.
The research personnel responsible for the detectors continuously deployed dozens of them. The vehicles entered the caves one after another, descending from the caves surrounding Yan Jing. As long as they could survey a sufficient area, the loss of many detectors wouldn't matter. However, as soon as the detectors entered the ground, they were immediately destroyed, leaving no time to upload terrain data from within the caves.
At this point, all the researchers understood that accurately probing the underground using detectors was unrealistic.
However, without knowing the underground situation, no combat strategy could be formulated. The immediate priority was to quickly understand the underground conditions to swiftly end the war. If they couldn't even defeat the zombies in Yan Jing, the zombies in the Central and Southern regions would be even more numerous, making the battles even more difficult.
Finally, after several days of deliberation, headquarters made a decision: "Implement the 'Pathfinder Plan.' Recruit evolved individuals and ability users from the army and the public. Anyone who completes a certain level of mission will be rewarded with evolution potions. The top ten individuals who map the underground will be rewarded with ten liters of evolution base, and the person who maps the most will receive an ability potion!"
When headquarters announced the plan and rewards, countless people eagerly signed up. Everyone was mesmerized by such generous rewards. Not to mention the evolution potions and evolution base, just the ability potion that the first-place winner would receive was something that could grant extraordinary power. Becoming an ability user was akin to ascending to heaven in one step!
Not only evolved individuals participated in the registration, but many powerful ability users also joined the plan. Everyone wanted to receive the rewards, and even ability users were tempted.
For ability users, they naturally didn't need ability potions, as drinking another ability potion would have no effect on someone who already possessed abilities. However, ability users also had families or friends. If not, they could sell them privately, which would be a huge fortune. It was said that people abroad were willing to pay ten thousand tons of grain for an ability potion, but they couldn't get one, which highlighted the allure of ability potions.
Shen Feng was also tempted. He immediately called Chu Chaoyan and Lu Xian to sign up together. One could never have too many ability users under their command. Including the Chang Jianyi siblings from Yu Zhou, Shen Feng only had seven ability users, which was still too few. At critical moments, ability users had the power to change the tide of battle. Shen Feng hoped to have more and more ability users under his command.
In Yu Zhou, there was actually another ability potion, but Shen Feng had saved it for his family. He hoped to give it to his family when the opportunity arose, thereby increasing his parents' and sister's self-preservation abilities. Considering this, Shen Feng felt an even greater shortage of ability potions. This time, he was determined to win first place in the plan!
"Yang Chang, Old Guo, the team is in your hands. Guard the city walls diligently. If there are any similar opportunities in the future, I'll bring you along," Shen Feng earnestly instructed Yang Chang and Guo Pinming before leaving the base.
Guo Pinming quickly nodded and said seriously, "City Lord, don't worry, I will definitely complete the mission!"
The reason Shen Feng brought Lu Xian and Chu Chaoyan was that their abilities would be very important underground. Chu Chaoyan could use chlorine gas to seal off paths, preventing them from being unable to protect themselves if they encountered zombies underground. Lu Xian's ability was to detect enemy situations, especially since his ability had a wide coverage range, allowing him to sense enemies in advance underground.
The number of people signing up for the Pathfinder Plan was enormous, totaling over three thousand. Anyone who participated in the plan had to go to an area outside the city to register, receive exploration equipment, and then set off into the surrounding mountains and forests to explore caves.
When Shen Feng led his group to the assembly point outside the city, he discovered that it was densely packed with people, including many familiar faces. In particular, Shen Feng frowned as he saw several individuals standing behind Wang Ao Ye not far away.
Lu Xian nervously said to Shen Feng, "City Lord, look, there are six ability users next to Wang Ao Ye. They seem to be the ones who ambushed us before. I thought we had killed them, but now they're alive. This is too strange!"
Shen Feng also saw the people behind Wang Ao Ye. He frowned and thought, "Perhaps they have some strange ability, otherwise, these people wouldn't have survived."
"If only we had finished them off then. Unfortunately, it's too late now!" Lu Xian said regretfully.
Shen Feng also felt a sense of regret. At the time, he had considered the negative impact of killing ability users. If he had also cut off their heads and left, it would have been too much. Therefore, Shen Feng hadn't done so, but he hadn't expected these people to be alive now. Not killing a snake completely would surely leave a future problem!
Wang Ao Ye seemed to have noticed Shen Feng's presence there as well, so he walked over with the people behind him, pretending to be oblivious as he said, "Mr. Shen, hello. Long time no see, are you doing well?"
Shen Feng looked at the six people behind Wang Ao Ye and said indifferently, "Things have been so-so lately. It's just a shame to see a few enemies, which immediately put me in a bad mood. Can you explain your subordinates behind you?"
Wang Ao Ye looked surprised. "Mr. Shen, do you have a grudge against these useless subordinates of mine? I had no idea. Because when I found them, it was on a dark and stormy night, and they were all on their last breath. I'm a soft-hearted person and can't bear to see others die in front of me, so I saved them!"
Shen Feng smiled and said casually, "Since they are your subordinates now, let's let this matter go. However, I'd still like to remind you that trash is always trash. No amount of trash can enhance strength. Have you considered that?"
"Thank you for the reminder. However, I am now a fourth-tier ability user. As long as I am not trash, that's enough!" Wang Ao Ye replied with a smile.
Wang Ao Ye certainly understood Shen Feng's sarcasm, but he didn't care. He only wished to become stronger. Besides that, he wanted to enjoy life to the fullest, and he had the right to say so.
As they spoke, Wang Ao Ye waved his hand, causing a lot of sand to fly from all directions. The countless grains of sand converged to form a sandcastle, which looked quite exquisite, much better than the sand structures children build on the beach.
"This sand sculpture is for you, Mr. Shen. See you again if fate allows." Wang Ao Ye laughed heartily and led his men away from Shen Feng.
Seeing this, Chu Chaoyan felt displeased and whispered into Shen Feng's ear, "That guy is mocking you. He's so detestable. We must teach him a lesson when we have the chance!"
Shen Feng shrugged and said, "Let him be. Don't mind him. We have our own mission!"
After speaking, Shen Feng kicked over the sandcastle in front of him. Now that he knew what Wang Ao Ye's ability was, it was controlling sand. This ability was quite good, at least there was no shortage of sand on land. His main domain should be in the desert, but unfortunately, there weren't many deserts in the south.
This ability was considered material-based. Although not as powerful as natural-type abilities, its combat effectiveness was quite impressive.