The sound of gunfire in the distance continued for some time.

After leaving a total of 7 dead bodies and 3 wounded people who could not be taken away, the marauders retreated in a hurry back to their trucks.

The machine guns on the top of the two trucks raked the forest, and another patrolling pickup truck with a machine gun on top in the distance also drove over to assist them, covering their retreat while firing into the forest.

The players did not chase out of the forest.

Their transportation tool was on the south side, completely opposite to where they were.

Out of the forest was a gentle slope. Without fast and motorized transportation, it was impossible to chase down those trucks on foot.

"Damn it, those fuckers are running really fast!" Carrying an Armor Fist Bazooka, Battlefield Cheerleader looked at the distant snowy cloud. After aiming for a while, he finally put the rocket launcher down with a sigh.

At a distance of 200 to 300 meters and a speed of more than 30 miles per hour… It would be really difficult to hit without using cheats.

Thinking that taking out a truck would get him 100 war points, he couldn’t help but smack his lips.

What a pity!

If only we could arrive a little earlier just now!

Spring Water Commander came from behind and patted him on the shoulder. "It’s already very good, our mission is just to drive the enemy away. So it was already completed the moment they started to retreat. As for the secondary goal, it depends on whether our enemy is stupid or not. But those AIs are quite smart. They actually turned around and ran away when they found out that the situation was not right."

To be honest, it was a bit cowardly, but it was also very realistic.

A battle between the two sides in this kind of terrain could easily turn into a stalemate, and at that time the outcome of the battles would completely depend on who had quicker reinforcements.

At the end of the day, they were still in Clearspring City.

In the case of not knowing the strength of the opponent, it was reasonable for the commander of the opponent to make the most prudent choice based on the limited information.

However, that was not like the style that those marauders should have.

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Spring Water Commander thought silently in his heart and gave an evaluation to these marauders.

These monsters are not easy to deal with!

Meanwhile...

The captain of the guard clad in an exoskeleton, walked to the center of Winter Willow Camp and found the village chief there.

Looking at the wrinkled old man, he said in a serious tone, "... The people that attacked you were the marauders from the Bonechewer Clan. They have recently expanded from the middle of the River Valley Province to the south, and while we had the upper hand this time, I’m not sure if they will come back."

Looking around, Wrench continued, "I’m sorry this happened, we’ve done our best."

The villagers had dragged the corpses of their fellow villagers to the square. Roughly counted, there were at least twenty of them.

Many of them died in a tragic and shocking way, making Wrench frown.

What a bunch of animals!

He couldn’t imagine what would happen if he had arrived a few minutes later.

"Sir, please don’t say that," Ma Zhanqiu shook his head and said, "If it weren’t for you... our fate would’ve been even worse."

Next to the old man, a man in ragged clothes stumbled over. Half of his face was burned, and his forehead was covered in blood. As if he was scared out of his mind, he kept murmuring, "I’ve said it long ago... We should’ve escaped from here. This time it was just a wave of thugs, but the more terrifying demons are still yet to come. No one will be able to defeat them, no one!" ᚱ

Wrench looked at him. "Who is he?"

Ma Zhanqiu sighed softly. "He is a distant relative of mine who escaped from Heavenly Water City. His name is Ma Shan. His family was destroyed by those marauders… so he isn’t stable mentally."

Wrench was struck speechless.

Encountering those marauders twice in a row? This is really unfortunate.

Seeing the man wearing the exoskeleton in front of him looking at him with pity, Ma Shan said agitatedly as if he was trying to prove that he was not crazy, "I’m not kidding! They have big, big guns and big cars... The worst part is that they enslaved a Deathclaw! I know I sound crazy, but I saw everything with my own eyes! There is no doubt that they are all minions of the god of death, otherwise it is impossible to explain why those Deathclaws are standing with them!"

As the most ferocious beast in the wasteland, a Deathclaw was regarded as a symbol of death, and was even worshiped as a servant of the god of death by many ignorant tribesmen.

Wrench’s frown slowly grew deeper. Although he didn’t understand what nonsense the man was talking about, his intuition told him that this person might have some very important information. "I’ll take you to see the administrator."

Ma Shan looked bewildered. "Administrator...?"

Only then did Wrench realize that he hadn’t introduced himself. "I apologize, I forgot to introduce myself, we’re from Shelter 404."

"Shelter?" Ma Zhanqiu was dazed, looking at Wrench with a surprised look on his face, apparently not expecting that he was rescued by blue coats.

The ragged man’s face lit up after hearing what was said. He quickly stepped forward and said incoherently, "Please, please take me there! As long as we close the door, those marauders won’t be able to get in!"

...

Back in the outpost.

The skinny man sat in the reception room, fidgeting on the chair, with a worried expression on his face. His eyes looked out of the window and the door from time to time, extremely anxious.

Through questioning, Chu Guang learned that the man’s name was Ma Li, the second son of the Winter Willow Camp village chief.

He also had an older brother named Ma Yong, but such trivial matters were not important.

Chu Guang didn’t want to swallow them whole, but he had to admit that the tragedy at Winter Willow Camp sounded the alarm in the hearts of all survivors in the northern suburbs.

After seeing the tragic situation there through the drone, the representatives of the other survivors’ settlements were terrified, and finally recognized the reality.

The Bonechewer Clan had reached the northern suburbs of Clearspring City!

They were brutal, well-equipped, and well-versed in tactics. Ordinary survivor settlements were no match for those hungry wolves at all!

People who were still hesitant at first, and even planned to relocate, had now made up their minds and begged Chu Guang to help them, hoping to start the relocation work as soon as possible.

The rest of the negotiation went much smoother.

There were thirteen survivors’ settlements in the northern suburbs of Clearspring City, spread over an area of nearly 500 square kilometers.

Chu Guang quickly made a relocation plan, evacuating them in three batches. The furthest would start moving first.

The five survivor settlements closest to the Central Continent Aerospace Ecological Experimental Base were included in the first evacuation plan.

Among them include Chaowei Battery Factory, Hope Mountain Cooperative, Home of Scavengers, Highway Town, and Winter Willow Camp... a total of more than 600 households with a total population of more than 1,000, equivalent to six Baker Streets.

There were only nine trucks that the outpost could use, and that was including the four newly seized!

People didn’t have to take trucks, but someone had to move the goods.

It was especially so for food.

Other things could be left behind, but they had to bring food with them!

Otherwise, when so many people arrived in Longevity Town, Chu Guang wouldn’t be able to find enough food for them, and the famine would probably find him before the Bonechewer Clan.

Chu Guang found Liu Ding, mobilized 50 strength type players to form a transport team, and 100 soldier players served as escorts for the evacuation.

They would start with the outermost survivor settlements and assist the local survivors to evacuate.

All personnel and supplies would be evacuated to New United Gas Station 10 kilometers away from Longevity Town before heading to Longevity Town in batches.

As for what should be done after that...

They would cross the bridge when they got there.

The priority now was to bring the people and their supplies back.

If those marauders got supplies, who knows how many more would come?!

The door to the reception room opened.

Looking at the administrator who came in from outside, Ma Li, who was sitting on the stool immediately stood up and hurriedly greeted him. "Sir, is my home... alright?"

Chu Guang looked at him and said, "My subordinates saw your father. He should be fine, but… Your village has suffered some heavy losses. My people are assisting your villagers to evacuate. If everything goes smoothly, you will be able to see your father in Longevity Town as soon as tomorrow evening."

Hearing that his father was still alive, Ma Li was relieved, and his tense shoulders relaxed. However, when he heard what Chu Guang said later, his heart couldn’t help but twitch.

Winter was already tough enough…

Now that they had lost their village and their home, it was foreseeable that their days ahead would be more difficult than before. But no matter what, the other party had saved his life.

Ma Li lowered his head and said sincerely. "Thank you…"

Chu Guang shook his head. "You are welcome. We’re really helping ourselves by helping you."

Winter Willow Camp had more than 70 households, nearly 200 people including the old and weak.

From those marauders’ perspective, they would be enough food for a long time...

Ma Li looked at Chu Guang and asked sincerely, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Chu Guang thought for a second and said, "The outpost has limited capacity. We plan to evacuate the first batch of survivors from the relocation plan to the New United Gas Station ten kilometers from Longevity Town, and then transfer them to Longevity Town in batches. If you want to help, you can go there. I can arrange some work for you, or you can try to appease the survivors, so that you can also see your father soon."

Of course, that also meant that he would be at the frontline.

Ma Li took a deep breath, overcame the fear in his heart, and nodded solemnly. "I would like to go!"

Chu Guang looked at the man who had gathered his courage in front of him with approval, reached out, patted him on his arm. "Go."

"The boarding point is at the north side of the park. My guys will take you there!"

...