Wu Ming did not deny it, but instead asked, "Who are you people?"

The burly man hesitated for a moment before replying, "We are the rat-catching team from Deer Cry Fortress. You... are you really the army?"

"The first force for the rejuvenation of China," Wu Ming replied succinctly.

"The revival of China?" The burly man and the people behind him looked at each other, clearly unfamiliar with the name.

But soon, the burly man came to his senses and asked in surprise, "The First Army? You still have many people?!"

The others also came to their senses, looking at Wu Ming and the others with fervent and excited eyes.

Since there is a First Army, it basically means that there is also a Second Army.

An army must have at least several thousand people, right?

Wu Ming did not answer directly, after all, the Huaxia Fuxingguang had more than 100,000 fully armed soldiers.

Moreover, an army will be expanded soon.

Such numbers are always dismissed as unbelievable by survivors in the wild whenever they are mentioned.

It would be better to figure out the situation here.

Then send the troops over.

Wu Ming smiled slightly, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tossed it to the burly man, calmly saying, "Take us to your Deer Cry Fortress and tell us about the situation at Wind Cloud Fortress, how about it?"

The burly man took the pack of cigarettes, his hands trembling slightly.

He carefully unpacked the package, pulled out one, held it to his nose, and took a deep sniff, a look of ecstasy on his face.

Everyone else watched with bated breath, their Adam's apples bobbing involuntarily.

"Good...good stuff!" the burly man muttered, quickly stuffing the cigarettes back into his pocket, as if afraid Wu Ming would change his mind.

But he showed no intention of giving anything to anyone else.

However, no one else showed any unusual reaction, as if it was only natural for the strong man to take the good stuff.

Wu Ming witnessed all of this.

But he didn't say much.

Every place has its own rules.

Upon receiving a pack of cigarettes, the burly man's attitude immediately became enthusiastic. "Sir, you're too kind. I'll take you to Deer Cry Fortress right away! Our boss will definitely be eager to see you!"

"She especially likes police officers and soldiers! We have several police officers and soldiers in our fortress, and they are now high-ranking officials in Deer Cry Fortress!"

Wu Ming raised an eyebrow: "Your leader is a woman?"

“Yes!” The burly man nodded repeatedly, his tone filled with pride. “Our leader is incredibly capable! Not only is she smart, but she’s also a very powerful Newtype! If it weren’t for her, we would all be dead by now.”

On the way to Deer Cry Castle, the burly man launched into a long and detailed explanation.

He claimed his name was Wang Tietou and that he was originally a villager from a nearby village who had taken refuge in a cave after the disaster broke out.

He was later rescued and, along with a dozen other survivors, sought refuge at Deer Cry Fortress.

“Lumingbao was originally a guesthouse area built in the mountains. The scenery there was beautiful, and there were several guesthouses,” Wang Tietou said as he walked. “When the disaster happened, our eldest sister was on vacation there.”

"After the disaster broke out, she and several other women managed to clear all the zombies from the guesthouse."

Wu Ming was somewhat surprised: "How many women?"

"Yes!" Wang Tietou nodded vigorously, his eyes full of admiration. "Isn't that amazing? She just led the guesthouse staff and a few female guests, using kitchen knives, steel bars, and fire axes to slowly eliminate all the zombies in the guesthouse, and even saved more than a dozen people in the process..."

As Wang Tietou recounted his story, the development of Lumingbao gradually became clear.

After clearing out the initial guesthouse, the female leader led her people to clear out four more nearby guesthouses, bringing the survivors together.

They built a wall using stone and wood, connecting the five guesthouses together to form the original Deer Cry Castle.

"...Later, the eldest sister led us to expand outwards," Wang Tietou continued, "first clearing out several surrounding villages and rescuing more survivors. Gradually, Lumingbao developed."

After thinking for a moment, he proudly said, "We now have over five thousand people in Deer Cry Fortress, more than a thousand of them are brave warriors, over four hundred are elite members, and over thirty are new humans!"

"And our leader is an absolute master among the new humans!"

At this point, he subconsciously glanced at the heavy machine guns and 12.7mm ammunition belts in the hands of Chen Ding and the others.

He said with some regret, "Unfortunately, we only managed to get a few pistols, but we couldn't find any machine guns because we had no idea where to find them."

"If we had heavy machine guns like yours, the strength of our Deer Cry Fortress would increase significantly! We could even attack the county town!"

Wu Ming remained outwardly calm.

But deep down, he admired the female leader of Deer Cry Fortress.

Despite being a woman, she led the guesthouse staff and female guests to kill so many zombies after the disaster.

Even though those zombies were constrained by their environment and trapped in the guesthouse.

But this courage is by no means simple!

Moreover, she was able to establish a survivor base with a population of over 5,000 and cultivate such a large armed force. This female leader is indeed extraordinary.

They talked as they walked.

The mutated greenery here has clearly been cleared over a long period of time, creating pathways.

Therefore, even walking through the mutated jungle at night is not difficult.

During the conversation, the group had already arrived at the foot of the mountain.

Wu Ming looked up and saw patches of firelight appearing on the mountainside.

These lights, when connected, revealed the outline of a settlement built against the mountainside in the night.

“That’s Deer Cry Fortress,” Wang Tietou said, pointing to the lights on the mountain with pride.

By the light of the moon and the torches on the wall, Wu Ming could make out the general appearance of the settlement.

The tall wooden and stone walls meander along the mountainside, and the figures of patrolling people on the walls are faintly visible in the torchlight.

Inside the walled compound, a cluster of buildings is built against the mountain in a staggered pattern, and scattered lights flicker in the night, giving people a sense of inexplicable peace of mind.

Wu Ming then looked around.

There are many giant trees, hundreds of meters tall, all around.

In the darkness, it resembled a colossal beast.

If viewed from a distance, these flames would most likely be obscured by the layers of giant trees.

Discovering this Deer Cry Castle is somewhat difficult.

However, with the First Army stationed in the county town seven or eight kilometers away, they would discover this place sooner or later.

At this moment, Wang Tietou took out a walkie-talkie and shouted, "It's me! Wang Tietou from the rat-catching team! We've brought back distinguished guests!"

Before long, Wu Ming heard what sounded like some device activating on the mountainside.

Wang Tietou said with a smile, "Sir, please!"

Wu Ming smiled slightly.

Soon, Wang Tietou led Wu Ming and the others up the mountain.

now.

Although Chen Ding and the other soldiers remained vigilant, their expressions were noticeably more relaxed.

After all, we are now facing our own kind.

Moreover, given Commander Wu Ming's strength, even if the entire Deer Cry Fortress attacked together, they wouldn't be able to harm him in the slightest.