Chapter 1080: Building Something Bigger

"Gotta say, Miles," Ethan said with a rare note of admiration, "you’ve got a better read on people than I do. With you around, our compound’s future looks solid."

"Come on, Captain, don’t tease me," Miles replied with a grin. "You’re just too lazy to bother with this stuff. If you actually cared to manage people, you’d be better than me."

"Alright, alright, not gonna argue that," Ethan said, waving it off. "Let’s get back to business. Have you decided? If we merge the two compounds, are we moving people to Pine Hollow or keeping them here?"

"Neither," Miles said, eyes firm. "I’m planning to build something bigger."

Ethan raised a brow. "Starting from scratch’s a lot harder than taking over something that’s already built."

"True," Miles nodded. "But if we’re thinking long-term, rebuilding makes more sense. This place is decent, but there’s no farmland nearby. Even if we smash up the pavement and try to grow stuff, the yield won’t come close to real soil. Pine Hollow has land, but it’s too small—no room to expand."

He leaned forward slightly, eyes gleaming. "I want to bring the city and the surrounding farmland under one perimeter. Build a mega-compound. On the way here, I spotted a small hydro plant near Redmont. It’s connected to a local reservoir. If we include both the plant and the reservoir, we’ll have water, fish, electricity, farmland—and Redmont’s urban resources. That’s everything we need to grow without limits."

Ethan let out a low whistle. "That’s a massive project. You sure we’ve got the manpower for it?"

"We do," Miles said confidently. "It’s the best path forward. And we don’t need to build it all at once—we can expand gradually. Between the people here and the ones at Pine Hollow, we’ve got over twenty-five thousand. That’s more than enough to get started."

"The real problem is the old city district. It’s crawling with zombies. If we can clear that out, everything else becomes a lot easier."

"Alright," Ethan nodded. "We’ll start clearing the old city soon. Conservatively, there’s probably seventy to eighty thousand zombies in that area. It’ll take time."

"Looks like we’ll be staying here for a few days," he added. "Once the old city’s cleared, we can think about moving people over. Just hope the compound back at Pine Hollow doesn’t fall apart while we’re gone."

"No worries there, Captain," Miles said with a smirk. "I guarantee it’ll hold for at least ten days, maybe two weeks. The people I left in charge are solid. Even if things go sideways, Goldie and Pumpkin are still there. Who’s gonna dare stir up trouble with those two around?"

"Fair point," Ethan chuckled. "Alright, you handle the handover with Tyler. I’ll take a look around this compound. Oh, and see if you can find me a reliable Tier 5 Enhanced. I’ve got an experiment to run tonight."

"Got it."

With the plan set, Ethan left Sean, Big Mike, and Skinny Pete with Miles, while he took Chris and a few others to explore the compound—dragging the unconscious Raymond behind them like a sack of trash.

The compound was huge—easily over a hundred acres.

As they moved through the area, they passed plenty of people. Most of them shrank back at the sight of Ethan’s group, fear written all over their faces.

Especially when they saw Raymond being dragged across the ground—faces twisted in shock, disbelief, and a little satisfaction.

Most of the people here looked malnourished, but Ethan noticed something else: a surprising number of them were Enhanced. Tier 1s and Tier 2s were everywhere, and there were even quite a few Tier 3s.

That had to be the result of the government’s universal enhancement program.

And it gave Ethan an idea.

Right now, they had no shortage of high-tier crystal cores. Tier 4 and Tier 5 cores were piling up. But Tier 1 and Tier 2 cores? Still the same stockpile from before. They weren’t finding low-tier zombies anymore—Tier 3s were rare, and anything below that was practically extinct.

But now, seeing the sheer number of low-tier Enhanced in this compound—easily over ten thousand—he realized something.

They could use those high-tier cores to directly boost these people.

If they played it right, they could build a force of over ten thousand Tier 5 Enhanced.

That kind of army could sweep through the old city’s zombie horde like a storm.

And it meant Ethan and the others wouldn’t have to do all the heavy lifting anymore. They’d just need to handle the Tier 6 and above zombies themselves.

Of course, that would only work once these people trusted them.

Not because he feared betrayal—Tier 5s couldn’t threaten them even if they tried—but because wasting resources on people who might flake was just bad strategy.

As for Tier 6s? That was a different story.

Anyone they pushed to Tier 6 had to be absolutely loyal.

Once someone hit Tier 6, they could absorb mysterious energy on their own every night and grow stronger without needing crystal cores. That was the graduation point—no more hand-holding, no more investment.

And that kind of power couldn’t be handed out lightly.

As for the survivors who hadn’t undergone enhancement, there wasn’t much that could be done for now. Maybe in the future, they’d find a way to turn them into Enhanced—but until then, they’d remain ordinary people, always a step below.

Of course, there was a more brutal workaround: artificially creating low-tier zombies. Let the unenhanced capture them, harvest the cores, and use those to enhance themselves.

But that was crossing a line. Too cruel.

Fortunately, Ethan and his team still had a decent stash of low-tier crystal cores. At least for now, they didn’t need to consider such desperate measures.

After finishing their sweep of the compound, Ethan and the others made their way to the largest house on the property.

Judging by the size and location, it had to be Raymond’s.

In the backyard, Garrick used his earth-type ability to dig a pit on the spot. They dumped Raymond’s unconscious body into it, then dropped several massive stones over the top, sealing it shut—leaving only a narrow gap for air.

It wasn’t until late at night that Miles and the others finally returned, looking exhausted. Taking over a compound this size was no small task. This was exactly why Ethan hated managing things.

Along with them came a Tier 5 peak Enhanced.

Ethan leaned over and asked Miles quietly, "This guy—can we trust him?"

Miles nodded. "Yeah. His story’s similar to Harris’s. Got screwed over hard by the compound. I had Skinny Pete use [Enthrallment] on him just to be sure—he didn’t lie. He checks out."

"Good."

Ethan turned to the Tier 5 Enhanced. "What’s your name?"

"Jacob Miller," the man replied. His eyes locked onto Ethan with a strange intensity—almost fanatical. It made Ethan’s skin crawl.

He leaned toward Miles again. "He wasn’t one of Kyle’s victims, was he?"

"He was," Miles said grimly. "Kyle raped his wife and sister."

Ethan frowned. "Then how the hell did he make it to Tier 5 peak? Raymond wouldn’t have given him resources."

"He didn’t. Jacob hit Tier 5 peak back when the government was still running things. Raymond kept him around as muscle. As long as he didn’t hit Tier 6, he wasn’t a threat."

"Got it." Ethan nodded, then looked back at Jacob. "We brought you here for an experiment. It’s not dangerous. Just follow instructions and you’ll be fine."

"Yes, sir!" Jacob said, visibly excited. His eyes practically sparkled.

Ethan shifted uncomfortably. "Alright, go wait downstairs. I’ll call you when it’s time."

"Yes, sir." Jacob left, still buzzing with energy.

After that, the group grabbed a quick bite and got some rest.

At midnight, everyone got up and headed to the backyard.

Garrick dug Raymond out of the pit. He was awake now, but with all four limbs broken, he couldn’t even crawl out on his own.

When he saw Ethan and the others approaching, the last of his bravado crumbled. Panic took over.

"I was wrong! You can have the compound! Please, I’m begging you—don’t kill me!"

Ethan’s face was cold. "Too late."

He turned to Garrick. "Do it."

The moment the words left his mouth, a jagged earthen spike shot up from the ground—straight through Raymond’s throat.

His body jerked once, then went limp.

Raymond was dead.