It's been eleven years since the apocalypse. Just as life was finally stabilizing and improving, this battle might set everything back by years.

Shao Qi also witnessed the scene. Crushing an enemy who was shooting under his foot, he moved to an overturned car. He flipped it over and rescued two unconscious men from beneath.

Zhuo Hao broke through the encirclement and ran over, taking the injured men from Shao Qi's hands, saying heavily, "Boss, it was my lack of vigilance that gave them the opportunity."

"You can't possibly block every hole a rat might scuttle through, can you?" Shao Qi cleared a path with his foot, directing him to organize a rescue team.

Gu Zhuo, being pursued relentlessly by Zhou You, watched his comrades fall one by one, feeling the impending grip of death.

He called Lin Tingyu, yelling, "Lin Tingyu, where are your men?"

Lin Tingyu sighed, "Gu Zhuo, do you really think you still stand a chance?"

"If you're afraid, get out of Dawn City!" Gu Zhuo smashed his phone, regretting ever believing that Lin Tingyu could be so easily controlled.

Indeed, Lin Tingyu hesitated. His original plan was to let Gu Zhuo face the enemy first, ready to seize any advantage that arose.

But he hadn't expected Shao Qi and his few men to break out from the gym.

Both Zhou You's power and the giant mech controlled by Shao Qi exceeded Lin Tingyu's expectations. Hence, he hesitated.

This moment of hesitation allowed his restrained opponents to escape the battlefield and support Shao Qi.

"Is the situation beyond retrieval?" He observed the chaotic battlefield on the monitor, contemplating if joining the fray would make a difference, especially since Shao Qi wouldn't dare to fire indiscriminately in the city.

Even if Lin Tingyu managed to escape from Dawn City, once Shao Qi dealt with Gu Zhuo, he'd easily turn his attention to him.

"Take a gamble! Mobilize all our men. Every person they encounter should be driven to join our ranks," Lin Tingyu commanded fiercely.

His aide hesitated, "Commander, are we really using civilians as shields? Even if we win, we'll lose the people's trust."

"What is public sentiment in these times? Do I need their trust? I just need their submission!"

Lin Tingyu's ambitions knew no bounds; the Zhu family was merely a pawn in his game.

Yan Wu's right leg was struck by a laser cannon, and he almost stumbled to the ground.

Controlling Yan Wu to evade the lasers, Shao Qi saw from a distance a convoy herding a group of people towards their location.

Zhou You's curved blade plunged into Gu Zhuo's chest. Looking into his unyielding eyes, he whispered, "Did you know? Shao Qi once considered promoting you."

After his martial skills were completely disabled, he pondered deeply. During that time, he lacked confidence and preferred not to take charge. He listed a few potential successors, among whom was Gu Zhuo.

Although Gu Zhuo had made some irrational decisions in the past, as long as they didn't harm the country and its people, they could be overlooked.

Regrettably, he was too eager for quick success. He was the one who initially suggested disbanding the Fire Flame Squadron, which is why, upon Shao Qi's return, actions were immediately taken.

"Damn it, those lunatics are using civilians as human shields!" Xiong Mi Le and his team arrived, improving the situation. Just as they were about to call for the enemy's surrender, another troop approached.

"Damn! Who's this shameless bastard? I'll take him down first!"

"Those are underlings of Lin Ting Yu from Yang City Base. When did they enter Dawn City? There's quite a number of them."

"What should we do now? Engage or hold off?" As the group hesitated, they saw the giant Kong rush forward. He didn't fire; he simply ran, with countless bullets and shells hitting him without slowing him down.

"Snap out of it! Provide backup! Split into two teams and create a shield between them. First, ensure the safety of the civilians off the battlefield!" Zhou You ordered and immediately pursued, once again leaping onto the shoulder of Yan Wu, sharing the brunt of the firepower with Shao Qi.

Even as robust as Yan Wu was, it couldn't withstand constant bombardment, and inside the control room, Shao Qi struggled with the intense heat.

Zhou You tapped the location where Shao Qi was and asked, "Can you hold on?"

"I'm managing," Shao Qi replied, his voice strained. In reality, other than his hands, his body had gone numb.

Shao Qi maneuvered Yan Wu into an intricate aerial flip, landing behind the group that had been driven forward. He then raised both hands, unleashing his full firepower to buy time for his teammates.

From the rear of his formation, Lin Ting Yu, spotting the solitary Kong in front of their ranks, smirked and commanded, "Ignore the rest. Focus fire on that Kong. Bring it down!"

As Yan Wu touched down, Zhou You swiftly jumped off, sneaking into a nearby building and covertly circling to the rear of the troop.

Repeated blasts hit Yan Wu, with the temperature inside the control room soaring. Shao Qi was drenched in sweat, yet his fingers never ceased moving.

"Alert: Mechanical damage has reached 60%. Recommended to return for repairs."

"Alert: Energy levels at 20%. Recommended to cease firepower output."

"Alert: System will shut down in 10 minutes. Yan Wu will enter sleep mode. Please be prepared."

Just when Shao Qi was nearing his limit, a cavalry unit suddenly appeared from the enemy's rear, astonishingly numbering in the thousands.

He glanced distractedly, recognizing them as the contestants from the previous martial arts tournament, warriors from various bases.

Each of these individuals was highly skilled. They had earlier escorted the audience to safety and had intended to stay, but the area was heavily surrounded, and the situation was unclear, forcing them to retreat.

However, they hadn't gone far. With constant updates about the situation, upon seeing civilians being herded as human shields, they could no longer remain passive.