Wasteland Commander-Chapter 173: The Spectacular Dawn Gala!

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: The Spectacular Dawn Gala!
Shen Ruihui’s motor tricycle led the way, while the Guard Company’s soldiers jogged in, quickly parting the crowd to make a path.
The crowd stepped back, aware that Leader Ye of Dawn City was on his way.
The beast of an RV rolled in, parking in front of Dawn Theater.
The door swung open, and the first to leap out was a giant dog.
It was almost as big as a horse, and once it hopped out and sat there, it towered over people, ensuring no one dared to come close.
Next down was Magnetic Storm Infantry Udyr.
His towering frame, heavy armor, and the electromagnetic gun in his hand were all terrifying sights.
Some whispered among themselves, where did Leader Ye find such formidable warriors?
What followed was even more daunting.
A truck trailing behind carried two enormous bears that disembarked, lumbering to the front.
The sight of these creatures, standing over four meters tall, drew gasps from the crowd—initially believing mutant beasts had entered the city.
Once they realized the bears, like large dogs, were sitting tamely, the crowd calmed, understanding they were also tamed by Leader Ye.
This prompted applause from many, as the stronger Leader Ye’s forces seemed, the safer Dawn City felt.
From afar, Feng Qi and his companion watched. His friend looked at Feng Qi with concern: "Brother Qi, they appear tough to handle."
"Indeed, not easy to deal with, but I trust they’ll devise a solution."
More people continued to exit the RV, including some obviously burly soldiers, followed finally by Zhuge Yunxue escorting Ye Fan out of the vehicle.
The large entourage did not linger at the entrance but swiftly entered Dawn Theater.
About five minutes after Ye Fan entered, the theater opened to the public.
Those in line began to file in, entering the newly-constructed temporary theater.
The theater was decently lit, featuring a large stage at the end and a fan-shaped seating arrangement.
The auditorium held about five thousand seats, with Ye Fan and others placed directly opposite the stage.
Red Alert System soldiers guarded the area, ensuring complete separation from the surroundings.
People entered with tickets, taking seats corresponding to their numbers.
The seating process took over twenty minutes before everyone was inside.
It was nearly 8 p.m., with the performance set to begin soon.
The TV station crew set up cameras in the theater, preparing to broadcast the entire event live.
Ye Fan signaled towards Ye Luo, prompting someone to immediately include Ye Luo in the protection detail.
To his left was Zhuge Yunxue, and to his right, Xiao Jing.
Behind him stood Magnetic Storm Infantry Udyr, whose massive presence nearly blocked any attack angle from the rear.
At his feet in front, two large bears lay prone, possessing alertness more acute than military dogs, ready to spring up to protect their master.
Xiaotian brought Heaven-Suppressing nearby, with a perimeter of special forces soldiers surrounding them.
Beyond the special forces lay the Guard Company’s Three-star Soldiers, creating an impenetrable barrier.
Above, Dark Clouds and White Cloud positioned themselves in the shadows of the ceiling, unseen due to the downward lighting, concealing these two beasts.
Ye Fan adjusted his hat, wrapped his white cloak around him, and leaned back in his chair, eager to see what kind of tricks those people would pull today.
Finally, the time struck 8 p.m.!
********
Dawn TV Station’s broadcast waves spread far and wide, with television programs from here receivable within a 3,000-kilometer radius.
Ice City Liberation Army.
Oil City Storm Army.
Crane City Divine Dragon Army.
Rakshasa of Hai Shan Wei.
Daqing Mountain Prison Base of Coal City.
And countless other survivor factions equipped with televisions, all could witness this performance.
While most people watched with interest, some were waiting to see a fiasco.
If nothing went awry, tonight’s event might turn into a broadcast of Ye Fan’s funeral.
Especially those aware of Level 2 Evolver capabilities, as they doubted Ye Fan’s extensive precautions would be effective.
********
Outside Dawn City, a caravan from Ice City had entered Dawn City’s radar scope.
It was a convoy entirely consisting of massive trucks.
The trucks, covered in tarps, concealed their cargo, which, according to the caravan, was fish they had gathered from Songjiang.
Songjiang is the second-largest river in Divine Dragon Province, just behind the Shenlong River.
Songjiang runs through Ice City, splitting it into two.
Jiangnan occupies most of it, while Jiangbei occupies a smaller part.
This makes fishing convenient for the survivors in Ice City, so calling them frozen fish is plausible.
The convoy moved at a steady pace, expected to reach Dawn City by around 9:30 p.m.
In the lead truck, a man was smoking, chatting with the person beside him.
"This might be the end for Dawn City."
"Yeah, have you heard? This operation involves all four top Ranger experts, and allegedly, three mysterious experts have joined as well?"
"Really? The mysterious experts too? Who are these three people?"
"No one knows for sure, the identities of the mysterious experts are confidential, but they’ll surely appear in unexpected ways, and they’re probably in Dawn City by now, maybe even near Ye Fan."
"That’s good, Dawn City has grown too quickly, and using force comes with too many inconveniences, so the leader can only resolve things this way. If you want to blame someone, blame Ye Fan for being born at the wrong time."
********
At eight o’clock in the evening, the show started on time.
"Seven clangs of long dong clang..."
Accompanied by elegant piano music, the stage curtains slowly opened.
At the center of the stage were the outstanding male and female hosts.
The man wore a suit with a bow tie, and the woman wore a skirt suit paired with cotton socks, warm and pretty.
Surround sound speakers filled the hall.
"Ladies... Gentlemen of Dawn City!"
"Survivors in this difficult world!"
"Everyone... good evening!"
Ye Fan led the applause, and the hall erupted with applause.
The camera zoomed in, stopping on the two hosts.
The male and female hosts worked harmoniously, speaking in turns with modulation and variation.
"A meteor shower destroyed our homes."
"A great catastrophe took our loved ones."
"Four months ago, we thought we would live a happy life."
"Four months ago, we thought we would hold hands with our partners and grow old together..."
"Four months ago, we thought we would get rich, get promoted, succeed in our careers, and live a long life..."
"But, on that day, the sky suddenly went dark..."
"Next, please enjoy the song and dance, ’The Deadly Meteor Shower!’"
On the stage, the lights flickered, and images began to appear on the projection screen.
The images included many video clips of meteor showers, even videos people captured after the apocalypse happened.
The meteors fell from the sky, passing through the atmosphere, dragging long tails and appearing in people’s sight, growing larger.
Cities fell into panic, and chaos ensued.
Even in the images, missiles were seen launching to strike the meteors, but it was futile as there were too many.
So many it was despairing.
Small meteors vaporized in the air, turning into plumes of gray smoke, the source of the acidic smell.
The larger meteors were heading towards important locations.
Ye Fan watched very carefully because he fainted when the meteor shower arrived, unaware of the aftermath.
The images began to shake, with explosions occurring in some places.
Disaster struck!
At this moment, stage actors appeared.
There were both male and female actors, with varied costumes—some in company uniforms, some in sanitation worker outfits, some riding motorcycles playing delivery guys, others with backpacks as students.
This was a tableau of all walks of life, a scene commonly seen at noon in a city.
Meteors exploded, the crowd was chaotic!
The actors performed the chaotic process for a while, then began a dynamic dance.
The light and sound cooperated, and the dancers performed remarkably well. It was indeed rare to see such a performance in the apocalypse.
Applause thundered in Dawn Theater, as people’s long-suppressed enthusiasm found release, with continuous cheers and whistles.
After the first dance segment, the dancers seemed exhausted, collapsing one by one on stage, leaving only the student with a backpack standing.
The student looked around but couldn’t wake anyone up.
A black mist appeared on the screen behind, as if dark clouds covered the sky.
Suddenly~~!
The people who were lying down stood up!
Their limbs stiff, bodies swaying, reaching out toward the little girl.
Seeing this scene, everyone felt a tightness in their hearts because almost everyone had experienced such a moment.
As the little girl was about to be surrounded and eaten by the zombies.
A beam of light burst from the dark clouds!
A computer-generated image of Ye Fan’s figure appeared on the screen.
In his hand was a gun, wildly shooting at the zombie crowd.
The images used a combination of light effects and reality, with Ye Fan firing in the images, zombie actors on stage staggering, with blood bags prepared in advance exploding, all dying under Ye Fan’s barrage.
The little girl was rescued, rushing towards Ye Fan excitedly.
The lights flickered, the little girl actress on stage disappeared, replaced by a little girl in the image, tightly embracing the image of Ye Fan.
In the sky, dawn finally pierced through the dark clouds.
The images finally froze on the emblem of the Dawn Army.
Then the actors stood up, saluted the audience, turned around, and ran off-stage to change for the next act.
The applause from the audience was as intense as a storm, lasting endlessly.
Watching the final image of Ye Fan embracing the girl, Ye Fan sighed softly.
"The people who produced this show put in a lot of effort... Why don’t we have such thoughtful people in my Dawn Army?"
The male and female hosts walked onto the stage again, as the next program was about to begin.