Haiyuan Town was not a major economic hub, even though it was not far from Haixin City.
Its development was, well, just so-so.
However, a wide river flowed through the center of the town, with only a few bridges for passage.
The military chose to establish a base here precisely because of this river.
With this river, it was equivalent to having an extra line of defense.
Even if the zombie tide attacked and the base walls were breached.
They could still fight again using the river, allowing for offense or defense.
If they really couldn't fight back, they could just blow up the bridges and escape. It was unlikely that any number of zombies could fill this river.
Even if zombies could cross the river, the military would have enough time to retreat, without worrying about being caught by the zombie tide.
Wang Yu and his brothers spent half a day exploring and finally found a relatively decent place to stay before dinner.
It was a four-story Western-style house located by the river in the town center. When Wang Yu and his group arrived, a middle-aged woman was sitting at the entrance, looking to be less than fifty years old.
Wang Yu walked up to her and asked with a smile, "Auntie, do you know if there's anyone around here willing to offer free accommodation?"
The middle-aged woman looked at Wang Yu and the others, noticing they were all young and well-behaved. She asked if they were students.
Wang Yu replied, "We are all students from Haixin University, fleeing here. We just arrived in Haiyuan Town this afternoon."
Afterward, they chatted for a while.
Wang Yu and his group learned that the family ran an aluminum alloy business, with their shop on the first floor. However, there was nothing left inside; it had all been requisitioned and transported away by the military.
Upon learning that Wang Yu and his six companions were all students from Haixin University, and seeing Wang Yu's refined and honest appearance, the middle-aged woman said her home could also provide lodging.
However, they would have to wait for her husband to return to discuss it.
Her husband had answered the call to work for the military and was expected back soon.
Wang Yu and his brothers sat by her door and continued to chat.
It turned out the family had two children, a brother and a sister.
The brother was a graduate of Haixin University and worked in Haixin City, but... he was likely beyond saving.
The sister was in her final year of high school, attending the local high school. After the military arrived, they rescued the students who were trapped at the school.
She was supposed to take her college entrance exams next month, and with her grades, she could have easily gotten into Haixin University, which was her strong desire.
However... it was unlikely she would ever be able to go now.
The aunt felt a connection to Haixin University, which was why she was willing to take them in.
Soon, the aunt's husband returned.
He looked very ordinary and honest, with calluses on his hands, indicating years of hard work.
The couple discussed it. Initially, the uncle disagreed.
However, after the aunt whispered to him, "They are all evolutionaries," the uncle's gaze flickered.
He then agreed to let Wang Yu and his group stay at their home.
But they could only stay on the second floor, where they used to store machinery and aluminum alloys, which had now all been moved.
The second floor had three rooms and a bathroom, but it was quite spacious. Wang Yu and his group settled on the second floor, and the couple gave them some bedding to sleep on the floor.
Sleeping on the floor was actually more convenient, as more people could fit.
Wang Yu gave the aunt the remaining bread and sausages from his backpack as a thank you. Afterward, the seven of them gathered in one room.
"Boss, what do we do next?" Zhang Xiaoyu asked.
At the base, they called him "Master," but outside, they called him "Boss," as Wang Yu had instructed.
Wang Yu said slowly, "You all learned about it this afternoon. To survive in Haiyuan Town, you either join the army or work for the military, exchanging labor for supplies."
"Or you can join an evolutionary group and go on external missions. Ordinary missions also reward supplies, and if you're lucky, you can keep the supplies and insect crystals you acquire on your own expeditions."
Zhang Xiaoyu slapped his thigh and laughed, "Great! Then let's start our own evolutionary group for fun. It'll be interesting!"
Wang Yu ignored him and turned his gaze to Lin Hao, as he was frowning.
"Haozi, what are you thinking about?"
Lin Hao was nudged by someone next to him before he snapped back to attention.
"Oh, it's nothing really," he paused, then continued, "Boss, I was just thinking, since we've just arrived, if we form our own evolutionary team and rise quickly.
"Won't that be a bit... conspicuous?"
The others also frowned upon hearing this. Although they didn't think much of being evolutionaries, it didn't mean evolutionaries were everywhere!
All seven of them were evolutionaries, and Wang Yu was even a Level 3 evolutionary, while the others were Level 2.
Such strength would likely be rare in the entire Haiyuan Town base.
After all, becoming a Level 3 evolutionary required hunting at least 1110 Level 1 zombies.
And Level 1 zombies had only appeared for a week. Hunting over a thousand zombies within seven days was quite difficult.
Only the military, with its ample firepower, could possibly achieve this.
Wang Yu thought for a moment and said, "Then tomorrow, let's gather more information and see what the evolutionary strength in this base is like."
The others nodded in agreement with this plan.
Since Wang Yu's goal was to control the entire Haiyuan Town base, he naturally couldn't be too dazzling from the start.
There were only seven of them, and only one Level 3 evolutionary. To try and take on the army of over ten thousand people now would be like an ant trying to shake a tree.
Leaving one person to guard the entrance, Wang Yu took the other five into the secret realm to eat.
Although his storage ring also had hot meals, eating in the secret realm undoubtedly saved time.
About a minute later, Wang Yu and the others came out, bringing some food and drinks for the person guarding the entrance.
Seven people sleeping in one room was a bit cramped, so they moved four of them to the adjacent room.
The night passed uneventfully.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.
Wang Yu heard a quarrel downstairs.
He patted the edge of his bed, "Haozi, go down and take a look."
Lin Hao, who was on the makeshift bed, immediately got up, rubbed his face, and went downstairs.
After three to five minutes, Lin Hao came back up.
"Boss! It seems this family is in trouble." He frowned and said, "Three evolutionaries have come downstairs, saying they are here to propose marriage."
"Propose marriage?" Wang Yu's eyes darted, and he asked with some surprise, "The high school girl upstairs?"
The couple and their daughter lived on the third floor, as Wang Yu and his group had learned from the aunt yesterday.
Lin Hao nodded, "That's right. And those three outside are just proposing on behalf of someone. The one who wants to marry the high school girl is the boss of their evolutionary team."
Wang Yu chuckled helplessly, "They don't even come to propose themselves. If this weren't Haiyuan Town, they'd probably just come and snatch her away."
He sat up, took out a washbasin and water. Lin Hao immediately took it and helped pour water into the basin.
Wang Yu took out a towel and wiped his face slightly, smiling, "Let's go take a look. I don't want this place to be destroyed right after we've found a place to stay."
...
Soon, Wang Yu saw the so-called three evolutionaries.
A胖子 (fat person), and two middle-aged men of normal build.
They were arguing with the couple. Seeing two young men descend the stairs, the胖子's face immediately darkened. He stared intently at Wang Yu, as Wang Yu's aura was clearly incomparable to Lin Hao behind him.
He turned to the middle-aged uncle and said with a creepy laugh, "Heh heh... Old Li, what's going on in your house?"
"How is it that after just one day, you've taken in a pretty boy as your live-in son-in-law? If our captain finds out, I won't be able to explain."
The胖子 was already plain-looking, with a face full of fat. Now, with a forced smile, he looked even more unpleasant.
Wang Yu heard someone call him a pretty boy as soon as he came down the stairs, but he wasn't angry at all.
After all, he wasn't making a living with his looks. Having strength and being praised for being "handsome" was a good thing, wasn't it?