Chapter 1001 A World Still Evolving

"Xiao Hei, let's go!" Gu Chengyuan patted Xiao Hei's sleek head at his feet and said cheerfully, "Accompany me to count our new money!"

A total of three million zombie brain cores have been put into storage, which means that the system account will usher in a huge income of more than 30 million!

The pleasure brought by this "windfall" instantly diluted Gu Chengyuan's mental fatigue from working overtime, and made his steps lighter.

However, when Pu Guangqiang saw this scene, he felt like he had overturned a jar of old vinegar in his heart, and he said sourly: "In the past, at times like this... the leader always called me!"

As Gu Chengyuan walked to the door of his office, Zhou Guihong, director of the theater commander's secretariat, came up to him briskly from the secretariat next door, with a look of excitement and urgency on her face.

"Chief! Comrade Wang Wu, director of the military representative agency, has sent back an urgent report!" Although Zhou Guihong deliberately lowered her voice, she could not hide her excitement.

"Wang Wu?" Gu Chengyuan paused, his eyebrows slightly raised.

"Didn't he lead a team to Lan City to make advance contacts? And there's a response so soon? Is it good news?"

Gu Chengyuan keenly caught Zhou Guihong's excited expression and tone, and couldn't help but guess.

"The Commander is wise!!!"

Zhou Guihong couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, and her speech speed increased a bit:

"Director Wang Wu reports that this advance contact went exceptionally smoothly! Not only did we successfully establish direct contact with the 76th Army Corps in Lan City, but we also unexpectedly and perfectly timed ourselves to meet Lieutenant General Zou Yuan, Deputy Commander of the Western Theater Command, who had just arrived in Lan City with his troops!"

At this point, Zhou Guihong paused, her tone becoming even more excited:

"After learning about our intention to contact him, Lieutenant General Zou Yuan showed extraordinary enthusiasm! He immediately reported the situation to the highest levels of the Western Theater Command and decided to personally accompany Director Wang Wu to our Central Plains Theater Command for a preliminary meeting!"

"Furthermore, shortly after Deputy Commander Zou and Director Wang Wu departed, the Western Theater Command's leadership urgently dispatched an additional, highly-ranked official delegation to demonstrate their high level of attention!"

"The head of the delegation is Lieutenant General Zhang Shouzheng, Director of the Joint Political Work Department of the Western Theater Command and also a deputy theater commander! The delegation members are also of extremely high caliber. We expect the entire delegation to arrive at our night market by tomorrow morning at the latest!"

Ouch——!

After listening to Zhou Guihong's introduction, Gu Chengyuan's eyebrows suddenly raised, and he was really surprised!

The Western Theater's response...isn't it incredibly enthusiastic and proactive?! It's far exceeded expectations, even more exaggerated than the Southern Theater's initial response!

You have to know that even with the frequent visits from the Southern Theater Command, each time it was only a deputy theater commander who led the team. As for the Western Theater Command, which Gu Chengyuan subconsciously regarded as a potential opponent, the first contact actually sent two deputy theater commander-level lieutenant generals at the core standing committee level!

One personally accompanied the contact personnel to "take the lead", and the other led a high-level official visiting delegation following closely behind...

The implication behind this eagerness instantly dissipated the sense of relief that had just risen in Gu Chengyuan's heart due to the "little money", and was replaced by instinctive vigilance.

"When something is out of the ordinary, there must be something wrong..." His eyes became sharp.

How do you describe this feeling?

It's like someone you haven't contacted for a long time suddenly sends a message saying "Are you there?"

Given Wang Wu's character and the detailed instructions he gave before leaving, the Western Theater Command, especially Zou Yuan and the upcoming Zhang Shouzheng, must have been clearly aware of the current status of the 77th Corps - it has been incorporated into the Zhongzhou Theater Command.

Under such circumstances, the other party not only did not show any resentment or temptation, but instead showed such extraordinary "enthusiasm" and "attention"...

What's the secret behind this?

The most direct and logical thought instantly popped up in Gu Chengyuan's mind:

"Could it be... they're coming for the 77th Legion? Want to take the troops back? Otherwise, why would they make such a big fuss?"

But then he shook his head secretly, with a hint of amusement:

"But even if I, Gu Chengyuan, agree...I'm afraid all the officers and soldiers of the 77th Corps will not agree, right?"

The reason why he thought so was not because Gu Chengyuan thought he had some kind of domineering aura that could make others bow down to him and be loyal to him, but it was simply from the perspective of interests!

The current treatment in the Zhongzhou War Zone is so good that it is hard to find anyone comparable in the entire Zhou State, let alone in the entire world.

People tend to seek benefits and avoid harm. Even if they are soldiers, they would naturally prefer to serve in a place with good benefits...

Thinking about what might happen in tomorrow's meeting, Gu Chengyuan's eyes unconsciously became deep, and his fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the door frame.

After a brief pause of two seconds, Gu Chengyuan ordered, "Guihong, since the Western Theater Command has shown such high standards and enthusiasm, we can't be stingy and must give them enough face!"

"Well, pass on my order: 'Immediately notify Air Force Command to launch a two-plane formation of J-16s!' to escort the Western Theater Command delegation!"

"After all, night flights in the apocalypse are very dangerous. With the J-16 as a pair of eyes, I believe the other party will not get lost!" Gu Chengyuan said with a double meaning.

"Yes!"

...

Half an hour later, the guard service battalion arrived at the station.

In the vast No. 1 Brain Core Warehouse, Gu Chengyuan was leading the lion-sized Chinese wolfdog Xiao Hei, with Pu Guangqiang, the commander of the guard service battalion, and other accompanying personnel standing behind him.

Gu Chengyuan's gaze lingered briefly on the cold metal cabinets, and he decisively ordered in his mind:

"System, switch!"

Ding--

A crisp system prompt sounded deep in my consciousness:

'Report to the host, the conversion is complete!'

'Money +34213215'

'Current total amount of money: 38213412'

In the field of vision, the cold number on the system panel suddenly jumped to eight digits, exuding a heart-pounding power of wealth.

But there was no ecstasy on Gu Chengyuan's face. Instead, he fell into deep thought.

"Compared to the last conversion... the value provided by a single brain core... seems to have increased again?"

This subtle change was like ice water poured on Gu Chengyuan's heart, instantly dispelling the warmth brought by the huge wealth.

"Zombies...are still evolving?"

This is the most reasonable explanation. Otherwise, why would these zombie brain cores continue to appreciate in value? The system would never "subsidize" itself for no reason.

A deep worry quietly crept into Gu Chengyuan's eyes.

The evolution of a single zombie may not be a cause for concern, and may even be a "good thing" to some extent - it means that cannon fodder is more "valuable".

But... what if it's some weirder, more deadly special variant? What if... it's a zombie hive?

Does this mean that their evolutionary limit has not yet been reached? Will the end of this disaster be darker than expected?

He took a deep breath, suppressed the gloom in his heart, and decisively clicked on the Air Force template on the system exchange interface.