Arlan's group arrived at the construction site and they were welcomed by Rex De Guzman and Karl.
"How are you, Mr. Roa?" Rex smiled warmly at him while shaking his hand. He was very thankful to Arlan. If not for him, the De Guzman Family would have been struggling to survive in the apocalypse.
Arlan didn't want his people to get affected by his emotions. He smiled as he replied. "I'm good. I've seen your report about the progress of the construction. I hope the zombies didn't trouble you much."
Rex De Guzman chuckled and shook his head. He took a glance at Karl and said. "With Mr. Vercede and the army, no zombies managed to get close to us. Besides, Catanduanes doesn't have a high population so the number of zombies here is lesser compared to the capital."
"That's true." Arlan nodded in agreement.
"Let me show you around the site, Mr. Roa." Rex De Guzman brought Arlan around the site and gave him a quick tour to see the progress of the construction project.
Arlan saw that the workers were already making the foundations of the residences. In Last City, Rex De Guzman and Luke Montefalco proposed a point system to replace the monetary system. Money was slowly losing value and soon it would become obsolete so to prevent the economy from falling apart, the two business leaders suggested this idea and Arlan immediately approved it after taking Winter's advice.
All the workers who applied for the construction job were given a fixed amount of credit points as salary. They could use these credit points to exchange for essential items like food, clothing, and many others. Arlan also introduced flying cars to the market, but he set the price high. Even the top officials in his territory like Rex De Guzman and Luke Montefalco would have to work for a few months to purchase it.
After inspecting the site for almost half a day, he suddenly received a video call request from Lieutenant General Rivera.
"Mr. Roa, we have an emergency." The commanding general's face was grim, making Arlan turn serious.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"What happened?" He asked.
"The scouting team stationed at the capital's shelter discovered another zombie horde in Quezon City. According to them, there were hundreds of thousands of zombies in the horde. They also mentioned that there were over a thousand unique zombies, including a new type that isn't recorded in our database." The commanding general reported.
Hearing this, Arlan's expression hardened. Conrad and Cedrick were both stationed in the shelter and they had 1000 soldiers under their command. "General, send ten thousand men to the capital to crush the zombie horde. I give you the authority to use twenty Black Dragon Assault Helicopters and twenty battle tanks!"
The commanding general was pleasantly surprised by this. The Black Dragon Assault Helicopters were very lethal to the zombies and there was also a bonus of twenty fearsome modern battle tanks. "I will make the arrangements. Thank you for your trust."
"Let's meet at the shelter, general. I feel like there is something more to this zombie horde. I hope I'm wrong..." Arlan was suspicious about the fast development of the zombies. He believed that there was something that spurred their growth.
The commanding general was stunned. "You're going to the capital?"
Arlan nodded his head. "I have to be there. Bring Sigurd and Khalon with you. We can leave the territory in Winter's hands. She can handle everything while we are away."
"Understood." The commanding general nodded.
Arlan disconnected the call. He told Rex and Karl about the situation before bidding them farewell. The construction project was going well so he didn't need to worry about it anymore.
Arlan soon boarded the Black Dragon Assault Helicopter with Krizia and his subordinates. The situation was urgent so he asked the pilot to fly at full speed.
In two hours, they safely landed at the shelter. The commanding general already informed the acting president that he was coming so when they landed, Manuel Chavez and a few more officials came to welcome them.
"Welcome, Mr. Roa!" Manuel Chavez heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Arlan. The fact that he was here showed that Arlan valued his promise that he would protect the shelter.
"Please bring me to your office, Mr. President." Arlan skipped the pleasantries.
The acting president nodded his head seriously. He also understood the urgency of the situation so he didn't mind his attitude. "Follow me."
However, the officials following the acting president were annoyed by Arlan's lack of respect.
Not long later, they arrived at the president's office. The commanding general was still not there so they waited for him before starting the meeting.
Arlan used the time to ask Cedrick and Conrad about the situation.
According to them, the new type of zombie they discovered was a mix between a Tank-type zombie and a Hunter-type zombie. It was nimble and physically strong. Furthermore, they also found out that it was capable of controlling the zombie horde to a certain degree.
Arlan frowned upon hearing this. The new zombie was very troublesome and its ability to control other zombies would be dangerous for them. "How many of these new zombie did you find?" He asked in a low voice.
Conrad took a deep breath as he replied. "We have only discovered four of them up until now."
Arlan remained silent and leaned on his chair. The presence of this new zombie made him realize that the zombies were evolving faster than he had imagined.
While he was deep in his thoughts, the commanding general entered the office together with Sigurd and Khalon.
"I'm sorry we are late. The weather is bad tonight and we have to make a few detours." The commanding general said as soon as he entered the office. He then greeted Arlan and the acting president.
"Now that the commanding general is here, we should begin the meeting." Arlan didn't want to waste any time.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmEveryone took their seats. The meeting started with Cedrick and Conrad's report about the movements of the zombie horde in Quezon City. They also showed images captured by the drones.
When the acting president saw that Quezon City was already overrun by zombies, his expression became solemn.
Quezon was the most populated city in the country with over 3 million residents. That means, if they allowed the horde to accumulate more strength, the number of zombies in the horde would reach over a million. Just the thought of it made Manuel Chavez shiver in fear.
"Ten thousand soldiers from Last City are on their way here, but it might take them long to arrive. They have to pass by three cities to reach the shelter, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, and Las Piñas. According to our data, each city had at least a hundred thousand zombies with Parañaque having the most with 140,000." The commanding general showed them the related data while saying this.
Arlan pondered for a moment. Back then, the army led by Conrad and Cedrick didn't encounter a lot of zombies since only a few thousand people were infected at that time.
"Boss, didn't you send twenty Black Dragon Assault Helicopters together with the army?" Krizia suddenly spoke, her words attracting everyone's attention.
Arlan nodded his head. "Yes. Wait... Are you saying that we should use them to transport the soldiers to the shelter?" He hadn't thought of this idea.
Krizia nodded her head. "That's right. Although the helicopters would have to go back and forth to bring all the soldiers, it would save us some time. If we follow this plan, we only need to wait for a day before everyone is gathered here."
Arlan clapped his hand. "Brilliant! Let's follow this plan."
Krizia was happy that she was able to help them come up with a solution.
The group discussed the battle plan for this subjugation and this lasted for almost an hour. It was already past midnight when the meeting ended so Arlan went to sleep in the residence prepared by the acting president for him.
When he woke up, he didn't even take a bath. He only brushed his teeth and washed his face. When he went to the command center, he saw Krizia speaking with the commanding general. She hadn't slept since the meeting last night because she had to oversee the transport of the troops.
Arlan felt guilty when he saw her tired face. He patted her shoulders and said. "Krizia, you should rest now. Leave the rest to me."
Krizia knew that she had to take some rest. Although her body was improved by the Body Enhancing Serum, she still needs to sleep. "Yes, boss." She squeezed out a smile.
"Go now." Arlan asked a soldier to follow her. He was afraid that the girl would collapse from the lack of sleep.
Arlan chatted with the commanding general and found out from him that over seven thousand soldiers had been transported to the shelter. They only need a few hours more to gather everyone.