The wasteland in the northwest of Qingquan City.
Pine and elm trees covered with snow emerge from the damaged country villas, withered sea buckthorns sway under the collapsed buildings, and the only road has been buried by time. When you look up, you can see the snow all over the sky.
This is the junction of Qingquan City and Tianshui City, and it is also the border of the southern urban agglomeration of the River Valley Province.
Although geographically, this primitive urban area is closer to Tianshui City, it belongs to Qingquan City with a larger population and more concentrated industries in terms of administrative divisions.
It has a name full of original ecological flavor, namely the Elm District.
There used to be a large number of elms and pines and cypresses planted here, but now only those evergreen trees survive.
In that distant utopian era, this area was once a famous summer resort. With Linghu Lake to the south and low mountains and gentle hills to the west, the occasional breeze and sunset in the forest always make this place full of poetry. Residents of the two cities who are tired of urban life often come here to live a secluded life for a few days.
Because there are no high-rise buildings here, every household has a lawn the size of a basketball court. Some people will grow some primitive crops in the backyard, which led to the survivors in this area being self-sufficient for a period of time in the early days of the wasteland era, forming an agricultural community based on families.
Of course, it has been abandoned now.
The wildly growing green plants have replaced the traces of civilization. In just a few decades, the greening rate of this idyllic little village has soared from 60% to 100%. Now it is difficult to distinguish the edge of the forest from the ruins.
Facts have proved that once humans adapt to industrialization, it is difficult to stay away from industry for too long.
Even if many people shout that they are tired of the hustle and bustle of the city, if they really go back to the agricultural era, 99% of people will not be able to stand it.
The primitive crops grown as a hobby were not enough to feed the refugees, let alone the locals. With the arrival of the harsh winter, the large and small agricultural communities soon disappeared in the snow.
Due to the lack of recyclable garbage and the presence of dangerous alien species, few survivors visited here, and only some fearless merchants chose to settle here.
However, now, this abandoned city that no one cared about has become unusually lively.
A group of uninvited guests came from the north and stepped into this place in a mighty manner.
They held bolt-action iron barrel rifles of uniform style, cheap wooden stocks, and the barrels were even bulky castings. There were no protective gear or uniform clothing, only a tattered fur coat and short boots with fur edges to barely cover their bodies.
The only uniform equipment on them was probably the electric shock collar around their necks.
These people were undoubtedly human.
However, there was no trace of civilization and rationality in their beast-like pupils.
Holding rifles and wearing collars, they are more like a group of tamed monkeys. The junior officers holding remote controls and following behind them to urge them forward are more like real people.
Those who know the business can tell the identity of those wearing collars at a glance.
Clones!
And they are the cheapest ones!
In the entire Central Continent, there is probably only one organization that can "tame" clones on a large scale and efficiently and put them into the battlefield in an organized manner.
That is the Legion!
Standing next to a dilapidated house, a man in a navy blue coat looked at the troops marching forward, his vulture-like eyes as sharp as a dagger.
His name is Vanus.
Whether in the Legion headquarters or in the Eastern Legion to which he belongs, this is an unremarkable name.
However, contrary to that ordinary name, he has the ambition to become a general.
The desire for honor and power prompted him to join the Eastern Expeditionary Force, follow the footsteps of General Kraus, and march eastward towards the Great Rift Valley in the north of the River Valley Province.
Legend has it that the "Enterprise" in the Far East also sent an expedition there, but unfortunately failed.
However, Vanus did not want to express any opinion on the failure of the enterprise, and even sneered at it.
In his opinion, those weak people who covet enjoyment and curl up in the interior of a province do not understand what war is at all, and it is natural that they will fail.
But the Legion is different.
They are warriors born for fighting, flesh and blood driven by iron will.
Whether they are clones, free people or citizens, from the moment they are born, the iron law of the Legion has been branded in the hearts of each of them.
Even without advanced equipment, they can still rely on their desire for victory and glory, and their deep will to win, and march in four directions at the same time, conquering a vast territory in a wasteland of ruins, making countless tribes of all sizes bow down and offer slaves and tributes.
Sooner or later, the fertile Great Rift Valley will succumb to the iron hoof of the Legion, and there will be no exception under the Lion Flag. They will use the Seven Days of Massacre to punish those who resist stubbornly and commemorate the dead heroes.
Although the war has been deadlocked for a year, Vanus has no doubt about it.
They are about to win!
Originally, he and his men were going to participate in the winter offensive, but at this time, a piece of news that could not be ignored came from afar.
A mobile fortress is heading west!
According to the intelligence collected, the fortress comes from the distant east coast, and is dominated by a group of nobles from the enterprise. Of course, in their own words, they are senior employees. Judging from the route, they seem to be planning to go west to find the whereabouts of Shelter No. 0.
Coincidentally, the Legion was also very interested in Shelter No. 0.
However, it was not something that the expeditionary force should intervene in. Moreover, it was not a wise choice to divide the troops to provoke the people of the enterprise at this critical juncture.
Vanus raised an objection to General Kras, but the objection was rejected.
According to General Kras, in order to break through the unbreakable Holy Shield system of the Great Rift Valley, the expeditionary force needed this mobile fortress to process nuclear materials for them and produce cheap and easy-to-use nuclear warheads.
Although reluctant to admit it, their tactical nuclear bombs were almost used up...
"How long are we away from that fortress?"
Hearing the voice of the commander, the adjutant behind Vanus reported in a deep voice.
"There are still 10 kilometers, sir."
Vanus nodded and said.
"Stop here. As long as they are not blind, they must have discovered us."
The Legion does not have too dark technology, but it does not mean that they have not seen it.
Vanus's thinking is very clear.
Build fortifications, establish positions based on jungle terrain, and then use artillery to attack their rear, and finally force them to surrender.
I believe that as long as the sound of the artillery sounds, those weaklings who have never fought a hard battle will be in chaos.
"Lay tin foil and insulation foam, and build a command center here!"
Stepping on the concrete bricks under his feet, looking at Vanus in the south, his eyes narrowed into a slit.
"Those tin cans are not easy to deal with, but they can't stay there forever."
"We'll wait for them here!"
...
Pioneer, a light fixed-wing drone took off from above the fortress and hovered along the edge of the Elm District.
At the same time, the combat command center.
Lu Yang stared at the snow-like bright spots on the screen, and his brows gradually frowned.
"People from the Legion?"
The drone operator in front of the console answered.
"It should be, Captain."
There were more than 2,000 bright spots that flickered on and off, distributed on a battle line 2 kilometers wide and 2 kilometers deep, like beans scattered on the ground.
Apart from the Legion, he couldn't think of any other possibilities.
Lu Yang had heard before that the Legion had a DNA fragment that was banned in the pre-war society, which could increase the development speed of clones throughout their life cycle to 8 times that of normal people.
These mass-produced clone slaves only need 1 to 2 days to develop from embryos into babies that can leave the cabin. After being sent to the crowded nursery, they will complete the childhood stage that normal people need 8 years to complete in 1 year.
In this 1 year, they will learn the language, or it doesn't matter if they can't learn it. When the time comes, they will be sent to a facility similar to the arena, where they will spend their second year, which is the adolescent stage.
During this stage, their mortality rate is as high as 50%, and some facilities that select elites can even reach 70%. These facilities will not teach them how to fight, but only serve as sieves to screen those who can adapt to the battlefield, or those who are ferocious enough.
Those who come out alive will be sent to the front line on their second birthday to become qualified cannon fodder.