Chapter 231: New Goal

In the top-floor conference room of the Starfire Group headquarters, a map covering the entire wall was hung,

marked with the boundaries of the safe zone and the surrounding terrain, as well as several unknown areas circled with a red marker. Lin Chen stood in front of the map,

holding a laser pointer, the red light of the tip landing on a blank space at the edge of the map.

Sitting in the conference room were over a dozen core members of the Starfire Group, each with a thick report in front of them, recording environmental data outside the safe zone and sporadic information about survivor strongholds.

A squad leader in charge of reconnaissance stood up and reported in a loud voice,

"Team Leader Lin, the three reconnaissance squads we sent out have already explored a fifty-kilometer radius outside the safe zone.

In this area, there are three small survivor camps, each with about a hundred people,

and they have no heavy weapons, posing no threat to us. Additionally, we discovered an abandoned military base that may contain a large amount of weapons and ammunition, but there are large hordes of mutant corpses around the base, making it temporarily inaccessible."

Lin Chen didn't speak, the red light of the laser pointer moving slowly, sweeping past the locations of the three survivor camps,

and finally stopping on the marker for the military base. His gaze was deep,

his eyes no longer holding the previous coldness and violence, replaced by an unprecedented firmness.

The landscape of the safe zone had stabilized, the Iron Hand Group's remnants had been completely cleared,

all surrounding small factions had submitted, and internal traitors had been dealt with,

making the Starfire Group the undisputed hegemon of this region. But Lin Chen knew,

this was not enough; the safe zone was just a small shelter, and the world outside was broader and even more dangerous.

"For the three survivor camps, send people to make contact." Lin Chen finally spoke,

his voice steady and powerful, "Tell them that those willing to join the Starfire Group,

we will provide shelter and supplies; for those unwilling, we will draw boundaries,

and we will not infringe upon each other. Additionally, strengthen the research on mutant corpse hordes, analyze their habits and weaknesses, and prepare for the subsequent attack on the military base."

"Understood." The squad leader sat down immediately and took out a pen to record this in the report.

Another core member in charge of logistics stood up: "Team Leader Lin, the safe zone's supply reserves are enough to last three months, but there is a significant shortage of medicine and fuel.

If we are to expand outward, these supplies must be prepared in advance. We can trade with those three survivor camps, using food to exchange for their medicine and fuel."

Lin Chen nodded: "Do as you say. When trading, send more people to prevent anyone from playing tricks. Additionally, have the logistics team speed up, repair the safe zone's protective shield, and reinforce the city walls to ensure our home base is foolproof."

The meeting lasted for two hours, with core members taking turns reporting their work,

and Lin Chen giving instructions one by one. From supply reserves to personnel training, from reconnaissance and exploration to base defense,

every detail was arranged in an orderly manner. After the meeting, the core members left one after another, leaving only Lin Chen in the conference room.

He walked to the window and pushed it open, a cold wind blowing in his face. The sky outside was still gray,

the wind and snow had stopped, and sunlight filtered through the clouds, shining on the city walls of the safe zone,

reflecting a faint light. He looked at the endless snowfield outside the city walls, at the mountains vaguely visible in the distance, and a strong impulse surged in his heart.

【System Prompt: Host's goal change detected, task list automatically updated.】

【System Prompt: Explore unknown areas, obtain more resources, enhance Starfire Group's strength. Task reward: Unknown.】

Lin Chen ignored the system's prompt,

his gaze crossing the snowfields and mountains, casting toward a much more distant place.

There were unknown dangers there, as well as unknown opportunities. He knew,

the Starfire Group could not be trapped in the safe zone forever; only by going out,

could they find more resources, become stronger, and truly survive in this cold apocalypse.

He turned back to the map, picked up the red marker, and next to the military base marker,

drew a large arrow pointing to the blank area outside the map. Then, next to the arrow, he wrote a few words: Starfire Group, Expedition.

Just then, a team member pushed the door open, holding an encrypted telegram: "Team Leader Lin, we received a telegram from afar; the signal was weak, and it took us a lot of effort to decipher it."

Lin Chen took the telegram and scanned it quickly. The content was simple, only one sentence: There is a city in the north, with hundreds of thousands of survivors, in urgent need of aid.

Lin Chen's eyes lit up abruptly, and he gripped the telegram in his hand,

his fingers turning slightly white from the force. He looked up toward the north on the map, which was also a blank space, an area no one had ever explored.

"Prepare the vehicle."

Lin Chen said to the team member, his voice carrying an irrepressible excitement.

The team member was stunned for a moment, then reacted: "Yes, Team Leader Lin, where are you going?"

"To the North Gate." Lin Chen stepped toward the conference room door, his pace fast, "I want to go see for myself what the world outside is really like."

The team member hurriedly followed, their footsteps soon disappearing in the corridor. In the conference room, the red arrow on the map was particularly striking, pointing to the unknown distance. Sunlight shone through the window onto the arrow and those words, reflecting a dazzling light. ===== CHAPTER 232 =====