North entrance, Gavin's group.
This was the core area of Lorenzo's former weapons production line. The factory buildings here were the tallest, and the machinery was the most densely packed.
"Mike, take the left. Ethan, take the right. I'll hold the center. Maintain a triangle formation and prioritize protecting the key machine tools."
Danny and the others remained at First Outpost, responsible for maintaining communications.
Mike's gaze swept over the machine tool control panels and the workshop's hydraulic pipes, and he used hand signals to tell the teammates behind him whether an area was safe or needed to be avoided.
Leah, who was in charge of commanding Operation Spring Harvest, crouched beside Allen Miller, guarding him while coordinating the entire field.
Through her earpiece, she received reports from each group and adjusted orders based on the actual situation and the drone footage. "Maya, there are two CNC machines in the southeast corner of Factory Building Two. Mark them as high-value."
"Edmund, a small group of walkers on the west side of the warehouse wasn't lured away. They're moving in your direction."
"Gavin, there's a hygiene products factory ahead of you. Make clearing it your priority."
The entire clearing process was quiet.
In just one hour, the main passages and core factory buildings of Block B had been swept through once.
There was very little gunfire. Most of the fighting ended in silent close-quarters kills and precise shooting.
The occasional brief exchange of fire was strictly contained to a small area and did not cause any major disturbance.
By the time Leah stood in the central plaza of Block B, where the walker horde had originally been densest, the morning light had grown much clearer.
Aside from scattered corpses and signs of fighting, there were no active walkers left in the plaza.
Reports from each group came through her earpiece one after another.
"East section cleared. Key equipment marked. No casualties."
"South section cleared. Warehouse initially secured. Small amount of usable supplies discovered. No casualties."
"North section cleared. Main production line equipment is in better condition than expected. Suspected weapon design blueprint storage point discovered. No casualties."
Leah pressed the transmit key. "Block B has been cleared. Repeat, Block B has been cleared. Zero casualties on our side. Factory equipment is mostly intact."
From the water tower, Jenson and Bossie watched the walker horde pour into the massive breach in Block D's isolation wall. They were about to climb down, but what happened next made both of them frown.
"This is Jenson. After entering Block D, the walker horde is behaving abnormally. They aren't moving deeper in. Most of them are gathering near the entrance."
It was as if there were an invisible "wall" inside Block D, one that even the walkers feared.
Bossie carefully flew his Black Raven over.
When he saw the footage coming back, his expression grew serious. "The horde is staying away from that chemical plant in the northwest corner.
"The walkers are pushing and crashing into one another, like they don't dare go any farther. A small number are even trying to turn back, but they're being blocked by the horde still coming in behind them."
Leah's order came immediately. "Jenson, Bossie, continue monitoring and record all abnormalities. Shepherd Dog, keep a close watch on the horde movement in Block D. Try to lure them farther in.
"If there are signs of a large-scale backflow, warn us immediately. Once the tail end of the horde enters Block D, Carver, Merle, Daryl, close the gate."
Soon, the very last tail of the horde, a few walkers missing their lower halves, dragged themselves into Block D.
After they could no longer see any walkers from a distance, Carver and the other two jogged over, shut the large iron gate to Block D, and hung several heavy padlocks on it.
Lock upon lock. Not even the devil himself was getting out.
Everyone knew perfectly well that they had personally locked the horde, along with the high-risk walkers inside the chemical plant, next door.
But sooner or later, they would still have to go in and deal with them.
Block B had been taken.
Not long after, heavy trucks began entering Block B one after another from outside the park.
At the front was Calista's Knight XV, followed by a long line of modified cargo trucks and trailers.
The convoy braked hard in the plaza, kicking up a cloud of dust, and came to a steady stop in the center of Block B.
Calista pushed open the door, removed the scarf covering her face, and soon spotted Leah pacing near the edge of the plaza. She walked toward her sister.
The people in the convoy filed out one after another.
The driver's door of a truck in the rear clanged open, and Ancheta jumped down.
He narrowed his eyes and scanned the surrounding factory buildings. "Not bad. Roofs haven't collapsed, and the walls haven't been shot full of holes."
Ancheta waved his hand and shouted to the people who had come with him, "Everyone, move! First, tighten Block B's 'fence.'"
Among the dozens of people who had arrived, there were men and women of different ages, but they all had one thing in common. They were strong and fit.
They unloaded bundles of barbed wire, pre-welded steel triangular barricades, thick rebar stakes, several small generators, and diesel-powered impact drills from the trucks.
"Same old rules. Team A, survey points, drive stakes, and pull the base netting. Team B, inspect every factory entrance and exit. Seal what needs sealing and reinforce what needs reinforcing. Team C, come with me to check the substation in the factory area."
The division was clear.
On one side was the engineering team led by Ancheta.
On the other was the Defense Force led by Maya, spreading out quickly to occupy the high ground, their muzzles aimed warily at the perimeter to prevent any blind human force from trying to take advantage.
The scene instantly became busy.
A young man under Maya watched the engineering team reinforce the defenses as if they were stacking building blocks and could not help clicking his tongue. "Damn. Are these guys here to fight a war or build a building?"
Maya did not even look up. "Without these 'builders,' we wouldn't sleep soundly on the ground we take.
"Ancheta is our best combat engineer.
"Just watch. Before dark, this place will look completely different."
Her words quickly came true.
The engineering team's efficiency was frightening.
Barbed wire rapidly extended along the boundary of Block B. Heavy roadblocks and mobile checkpoints were set up at key intersections.
The windows of several major factories were sealed with quick-drying cement and steel bars, leaving only narrow firing slits.
Ancheta led his people to find the factory area's backup diesel generator set. After tinkering with it for a while, several emergency lights in the nearby office building actually flickered and struggled to life.
In daylight, the glow was far weaker than the sun, and it flickered now and then. But for that beam of light to appear in an industrial park abandoned for so long carried extraordinary meaning.
The engineering team kept working until afternoon, when Ancheta came to report.
"Calista, Block B's emergency perimeter defenses have been reinforced.
"I checked the wall around Block D. There are no breaches. We also used the steel plates and concrete blocks we could find to seal off Block D's main gate. Even if the walkers inside riot, they won't be getting out anytime soon."
Calista nodded to Ancheta.
If she were not worried that blowing up the chemical plants in Block D would make too much noise, release toxic gas, and draw all the walkers in Knoxville over, she would have preferred to bomb the place directly.
That way, no matter what was inside, once it was blasted to ash, it would be safe in the end, wouldn't it?