He and his men repaired the site, turning it into Bloodfall’s training base.
Paige Summers had heard him mention that they conducted intensive, isolated training there.
He would often have his men capture ferocious Mutant Beasts—and even Zombies—and throw them inside to stage "surprise attacks" on the trainees. In short, Marcus Monroe’s methods were becoming increasingly unpredictable...
Bloodfall Base was constantly changing, and the same was true for Southreach.
Not long after Paige Summers returned, she heard about the swift and decisive action Claire Chapman had taken against Leo Joyce. His style bore the distinct hallmark of Bloodfall: ’it’s obvious who’s responsible, so why bother looking for evidence?’ He simply detained the man directly, imposed a strict information blackout, and kept everyone in the lower ranks completely in the dark.
While Leo Joyce was confined, Maisie Joyce, with Claire Chapman’s full support, felt emboldened and began to implement a series of sweeping reforms in Southreach. She was determined to excise the long-standing corruptions in The Government and the military that she had previously detested—a malignant tumor she was resolved to remove to prevent its regrowth. She also introduced practical policies for the Hunting Parties and the general populace. The former were encouraged to eliminate Zombies; their hauls were not only tax-exempt but also came with rewards. As for the latter, they were properly assigned various jobs, such as city repairs and cultivating mutant plants, which guaranteed them a source of income.
As a result, the general atmosphere in Southreach quickly improved.
The people who had lived through the zombie outbreak began to smile again.
Most of Southreach’s upper echelon were pleased with these developments. Of course, a small minority was less than satisfied, but they did little more than grumble about it.
Claire Chapman had now taken over the remnants of the Second Division and also controlled the city’s The Guard. His personal strength was remarkable, and he was the City Lord’s fiancé. As the saying goes, husband and wife are one and the same—who would dare to act against them?
After what had happened before, Maisie Joyce’s control over the Noble Houses became even stricter. She was determined to prevent any family from growing too powerful, ensuring that The Government had absolute priority in the distribution of benefits. She also made efforts to recruit any exceptional Superpower Users from the Noble Houses into the military. With Claire Chapman in command there, she was confident they couldn’t stir up any trouble.
Keith Preston was somewhat unsettled by all these changes.
But Maisie Joyce treated him quite well.
The First Division’s provisions were not reduced; in fact, she encouraged him to train his troops well. She also deferred to his opinions on any personnel transfers within the First Division.
But that was as far as it went.
In effect, she had tethered him to the First Division.
Meanwhile, Claire Chapman frequently invited soldiers from the First Division to conduct joint training exercises with the Second Division. While strengthening the ties between the two units, he would also periodically conduct some ideological reinforcement, making the First Division’s soldiers realize that the Southern Army was now a single entity, and their mission was to eliminate Zombies and protect their home.
Not to mention, the various training methods Claire Chapman introduced were highly appealing to them.
After training with the Second Division, most of them discovered that as their physical stamina improved, they would often achieve breakthroughs with their superpowers as well.
Without anyone realizing it, many of Claire Chapman’s ideas had taken deep root within the military.
Keith Preston was frustrated, but he had no grounds to complain.
Could he really say that Claire Chapman was wrong?
He couldn’t!
However, he also realized that they truly had no intention of sidelining him. So, slowly, as it all became routine, he gradually came to accept the situation. After all, an improvement in the Southern Army’s overall quality could only benefit him! And as long as he did nothing to harm Southreach’s interests, he knew Maisie Joyce and Claire Chapman were not the type of people to discard someone once their usefulness had passed.
Of course, no one interfered or objected when he privately cultivated his own loyal retainers.
With the entire city galvanized into action, the number of Zombies outside the walls began to dwindle.
The Southern Army and the Hunting Parties grew less and less afraid of the Zombies. They started to view them as valuable opponents, employing guerrilla tactics against them.
They fought when they had the advantage, and when the Zombies tried to encircle them, they retreated back to the city.
The goal was to eliminate them one by one, without suffering any casualties.
Fortunately, the number of Zombies didn’t increase during this time.
For every one they eliminated, the total number of Zombies decreased by one.
The sense of accomplishment was immense!
Everything was heading in the right direction.
「Back at Bloodfall Base, when Annie was six months old, great news arrived from Central City.」
After countless failed experiments, a research team from the Central City Research Institute, led by Academician Warren, had finally succeeded in developing a medicine capable of revitalizing the soil!
It was already showing promising results in the experimental fields around Central City.
According to reliable intelligence, ordinary crop seeds could sprout and grow in experimental fields treated with this medicine. Although the yields were not expected to be high, for all Astorians, this represented absolute hope for the future!
As long as people have hope, they have drive and something to look forward to.
The news spread quickly.
Bases large and small erupted in celebration.
After suffering for so many years in the apocalypse, people finally saw that if they just pushed a little harder, fought a little longer, a normal life might very well be within their grasp!
Nadia even sent a special letter to Paige Summers.
She told her that the seeds Paige Summers had provided played a significant role.
The active substances extracted from them were the key to the medicine.
However, these active substances were not impossible to replicate.
So now, The Research Institute could produce the medicine even without Paige Summers’s seeds. In her letter, Nadia expressed boundless optimism. Although mass production of the medicine wasn’t yet possible, she firmly believed that in the near future, they could revitalize all the land in Astoria, planting crops and vegetation to make it teem with life once more!
As Paige Summers read the letter, tears streamed down her face.
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