An entire afternoon, the town square was bustling with activity.
Ordinary people felt the most significant changes when their levels were increased. The transformation from a regular person to an ability user brought them a very tangible feeling.
First, there was the improvement in their physical fitness and bodily functions, followed by the unique abilities they had evolved.
For a time, the square was filled with discussions and exclamations of excitement.
Finally, before nightfall, the town's population had all their levels forcibly raised.
Ordinary people were elevated to the fourth tier. Most of the zombies outside did not exceed level four, so as long as they formed groups, they could face the zombies outside.
Zhao Guodong's confidantes were upgraded to the fifth tier, while only Zhao Guodong himself reached the seventh tier.
With so many people leveling up, Zhao Guodong's crystals had been completely depleted. However, even so, Zhao Guodong and his people didn't seem to mind. With their levels increased, as long as they were active in venturing out, they could acquire more crystals in the future.
"The crystals we used today will be returned to you. Please leave your contact information, and we will collect them slowly and have them delivered to you."
Zhao Guodong had no intention of using Lu Heng's crystals for free. When Lu Heng initially agreed to provide him with crystals, he had only thought of securing this opportunity to provide welfare for the townspeople. He certainly wasn't going to pass it up.
However, he had never considered taking advantage of someone for free.
"Wuming City, you can send them there later."
Although Lu Heng didn't care about these crystals, he wanted to put some pressure on them, lest they continue to harbor a complacent mindset.
"Are you really from Wuming City?"
"Yes, didn't I say so at the beginning?"
Zhao Guodong rubbed his hands, looking a bit embarrassed. "Then it's likely to take us a longer time to return them, but we will definitely return them to you."
"Mm, have you decided whether you're going to the base nearby or developing in other bases?"
Zhao Guodong's people were quite numerous. The number of people who had leveled up this time was around fifty to sixty thousand.
"We plan to scout the nearby base first. If it doesn't work out, we'll consider other places. It's just that we haven't ventured out much before, so we're not very familiar with the larger bases outside."
Lu Heng took out a map from his spatial dimension and circled a few of the closest large bases.
"These are all bases prepared by the military or government. They are all quite substantial, but I haven't had specific contact with them, so I only have a general understanding of their situations."
"That's already very good. With this, we'll have more options. Tomorrow, I'll have people inquire about those bases."
Zhao Guodong naturally leaned towards the base closest to them. After all, the town had a large population, and many of them lacked experience. Long-distance migration would inevitably lead to population losses.
Moreover, they were afraid of encountering large numbers of zombies if they ventured too far.
"I'll still be here tomorrow. If you don't reach an agreement with the nearby base, I can arrange for you to go to Wuming City."
As long as a small team was dispatched from Wuming City, escorting the people here back to Wuming City would be no problem.
"Alright, I'll personally go to the nearby base tomorrow morning to check it out."
Although the nearby base was decent in size, it was not on the list of bases Lu Heng had provided.
The bases Lu Heng had drawn for Zhao Guodong were also those that had previously come to Wuming City to discuss matters.
At night, Lu Heng returned to the villa that had been arranged for him to spend the night.
He also declined Zhao Guodong's invitation to dine together. No matter how delicious the food was here, it couldn't compare to the food in his spatial dimension.
Lu Heng still had plenty of specially ordered dishes from the restaurants that he hadn't finished.
Upon returning to the villa, Lu Heng once again placed Antelope outside to stand guard for the night.
Tomorrow, almost everyone in the town would be venturing out.
Zhao Guodong and his people needed to contact the larger bases to discuss resettlement.
They had a large population, and if they all moved, the other base would need to provide enough rooms for them.
As for the others, they would have to face the zombies directly. They had to take the first step.
The next day, the morning sun shone through the glass into the villa.
However, Lu Heng's figure was nowhere to be found in the room. This time, Lu Heng did not rest in the villa; he entered his spatial dimension after returning.
He checked Evan's progress inside before returning to his own apartment to wash up and sleep.
Estimating that it was roughly dawn outside, Lu Heng emerged from his spatial dimension.
Many people had seen Lu Heng in the town yesterday, but even so, no one had come to the villa to disturb him last night.
It was likely that besides excitement, everyone was also feeling apprehensive about facing the zombies today.
Fortunately, each of their homes had ability users. At worst, they could form teams and venture out for training, which would surely allow these newly evolved ability users to achieve their own first kills.
When Lu Heng emerged from the villa, there were almost no people on the streets outside. Zhao Guodong had not sent anyone to disturb Lu Heng's rest.
Lu Heng took Antelope directly to Zhao Guodong's office. Upon arrival, he learned that Zhao Guodong had left with his people at the crack of dawn.
His task today was also quite heavy. In addition to discussing migration matters at the nearest base, he also needed to venture out and test his lightning ability.
Previously, he could only perform single-target attacks, with one lightning ability only able to attack one zombie. Now that his level had increased, he needed to practice more.
The base closest to the town was called 'Leize', and it was formed by a unit from the former military region.
When Zhao Guodong arrived, the ability user teams there had already gone out to search for supplies.
Therefore, there was no significant delay at the entrance check of Leize Base.
Zhao Guodong explained his purpose to the guards at the entrance of Leize Base. Those people couldn't make the decision themselves and directly led Zhao Guodong to the command center within the base.
"Report, the person has been brought here."
The soldier escorting Zhao Guodong reported loudly outside a room. Their purpose had already been relayed to the high-ranking officials inside via the base's intercom.
After being granted permission, they led Zhao Guodong and his group into the command building.
At this moment, Zhao Guodong's ability level was comparable to that of several senior generals in Leize Base, so he was not looked down upon by others along the way.
"Come in."
A steady voice sounded. The soldier helped Zhao Guodong open the door and let them in.
As the door closed, Zhao Guodong and his group could see the situation in the room.
This was his first time visiting the command center of Leize Base.
In the past, when he came to this base, he would at most complete some missions issued by the base or exchange some essential supplies.
"Sit."
There was only one man in a military uniform in the room. He was sitting behind a desk. Seeing Zhao Guodong and his group enter, he put down the pen in his hand.