Once the shelter's war machine was set in motion, it crushed every corner around it with unstoppable force.

The sense of urgency stemming from the unknown within Lin Feng was like the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, making every decision he made imbued with unquestionable ruthlessness and efficiency.

He stood before the enormous sand table of Chengtian Hall, his gaze no longer limited to the shelter itself, but sweeping across the entire area he knew of where the flame of humanity still lingered.

“Liu An,” Lin Feng’s voice was colder than the wind outside the window, “Mark all the settlements we know that have not yet submitted on the sand table. No matter how big or small, no matter how far or near, not one can be missed.”

Liu An, the chief steward, immediately jogged forward and carefully marked seven or eight locations on the sand table with a red marker.

These settlements are mostly far from the shelters and were previously temporarily abandoned due to distance and value considerations.

"Leader, the largest of these settlements is 'Rock City,' located 300 kilometers to the west, with a population of about 5,000. The second largest is 'Hope Town' to the south, with a population of about 3,000..."

Lin Feng had no interest in hearing his detailed explanation. He extended a finger and pointed directly at the nearest small settlement.

"Qin Lan."

"exist!"

"I'm giving you a combat battalion. Within three days, bring back all the people and supplies here. If there is any resistance, kill them without mercy."

"Yes!" Qin Lan answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Wang Dachui, Li Xiangbin."

"Leader, we are here!"

“Starting immediately, plan new residential and industrial areas around the shelters. I want you to have the infrastructure ready to accommodate 10,000 new residents within two weeks.”

This order sent a chill down the spines of both ministers.

A capacity of 10,000 people for half a month would have been unthinkable in the past.

But now, looking into the unquestionable eyes of the man on the throne, they could only swallow all their difficulties.

"Yes, sir!"

A fierce and sweeping conquest, ostensibly for the sake of "integration," was thus set in motion.

Lin Feng's patience had completely run out.

He no longer sent envoys to persuade them to surrender, nor did he give them any choice.

The black torrent of the Ironblood Legion, accompanied by the roar of the "Landwalker" assault vehicles, swept across the wasteland like the scythe of death.

For small settlements of only a few hundred people, the will to resist crumbled the moment they saw the uniform black armor, the sharp standard weapons, and the fanatical soldiers. Most of the time, the city gates would be opened immediately.

However, there are always some who overestimate their abilities.

In a settlement called "Eagle's Nest," built on a cliff, the leader, relying on the strategic location that made it easy to defend and difficult to attack, dared to stay inside and even throw rolling stones and Molotov cocktails down from the cliff.

Lin Feng was in the command vehicle at the rear, watching all of this indifferently through the footage transmitted by the drone.

He didn't even get out of the car.

He simply sat in the comfortable chair and closed his eyes.

The next second, the hundred-meter-high cliff where the Eagle's Nest settlement was located emitted a tooth-grinding, unbearable groan.

Under the awe-inspiring gaze of hundreds of Ironblood Legion soldiers, the hard mountain, as if gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, began to crack and shatter from the inside!

Just seconds later, with a deafening roar, the entire cliff, along with all the buildings and survivors on it, collapsed into a pile of rubble, forever buried under the dust.

From beginning to end, the Ironblood Legion did not fire a single shot.

Lin Feng simply said into the communicator, "Go to the next location."

This genocidal, ruthless approach is more persuasive than any language.

When the news spread, the remaining small settlements all sent people to offer their loyalty.

A week later, Lin Feng's army arrived at the gates of Panshi City.

This is the largest human settlement in the surrounding area, apart from the shelters.

With a population of over five thousand, they had every reason to be proud. Although their city walls weren't as impressive as those of Green Valley Fortress, they were still quite formidable.

Lin Feng's army did not surround the city without attacking as they had done before, but instead marched directly to within a hundred meters of the city gate.

On the city wall, crowds thronged, and the atmosphere was tense.

Soon, the city gate slowly opened, and a group of people walked out.

The leader was a middle-aged man wearing a sharp, old-fashioned suit.

His hair was neatly combed, and he wore gold-rimmed glasses. Behind him were a dozen or so equally well-dressed and arrogant followers.

He walked straight to Lin Feng's command vehicle, straightened his collar, and shouted at the car window in a condescending tone.

“Listen up, everyone in the car! I am Ji Hong, the CEO of the Panshi City Management Committee.”

The car door opened, and Lin Feng slowly stepped out, surrounded by a group of bodyguards.

When Ji Hong saw how young Lin Feng was, a hint of contempt flashed in his eyes, but he still maintained his ridiculous arrogance.

“Very well, it seems you are the head of that shelter.” Ji Hong pushed up his glasses and said in a condescending tone, “On behalf of the Rock City Management Committee, I am officially informing you.”

He paused, then his voice suddenly rose, filled with an unquestionable sense of authority.

"I hereby declare that from this day forward, your shelter, along with all the people and resources under your jurisdiction, will be under the unified leadership of our Rock City!"

Upon hearing this, his entourage all wore smug smiles.

In their view, they represent the "order" and "civilization" of the old era and are the natural leaders.

The faces of Qin Lan and the others instantly turned frosty, and they gripped their weapons even tighter.

Lin Feng laughed.

It was an extremely cold, mocking laugh, like watching a clown perform.

"On what grounds?" he asked with great interest.

Ji Hong seemed to have heard a huge joke. He exaggeratedly rubbed his forehead and said in a tone as if he were lecturing an ignorant child, "Why? Young man, it seems you know nothing about the order of this world."

He pointed to himself, then to the entourage behind him.

"Because we are leaders by nature!"

He said proudly, "Before the disaster, I was the CEO of a multinational corporation, the man next to me was a powerful leader, and that man was the heir to a financial oligarch... We were the natural managers and rulers of this world! And you peasants only needed to obey!"

"Oh..." Lin Feng drawled out his words and slowly nodded. "You're right."

Ji Hong's smug smile widened.

However, Lin Feng's next words completely froze the smile on his face.

"Yes, but that was on Earth."

Lin Feng's eyes instantly turned as cold as ice, "This place is an alien planet."

He took a step forward, and an invisible, suffocating, terrifying pressure instantly enveloped Ji Hong and the others.

"Here, there is only one rule: the strong prey on the weak!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Lin Feng's eyes narrowed.

"puff!"

A soft sound.

Ji Hong's expression was forever frozen in that moment of astonishment and bewilderment.

A small bloody hole appeared between his eyebrows, and then, as if his bones had been removed, he collapsed limply to the ground.

The dozen or so so-called "elites" behind him didn't even have time to react before an invisible force snapped their necks, and they fell to the ground dead like harvested wheat.

Lin Feng didn't even glance at the corpses. He turned around and gave a cold order to the large, menacing army behind him, which was already equipped with a large number of automatic rifles.

"Attack the city."

"Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"

"yes!"

"Da da da da da!"

The next second, thousands of automatic rifles roared simultaneously!

A dense, metallic storm of death instantly swept over the walls of Rock City!

The guards on the city wall, still stunned, didn't even have time to utter a scream before being torn to pieces by the powerful kinetic energy.

Their flesh and blood bodies are as fragile as paper in the face of modern firearms.

The resistance of Rock City collapsed completely in less than ten minutes in the face of the overwhelming firepower of the Ironblood Legion.

When Lin Feng entered the city, all the survivors knelt on both sides of the street, trembling and not daring to raise their heads.