Having received the Commander's orders.
The first squad quietly retreated back to the base.
They encountered no enemies along the way, and their return was smooth.
Cinder personally brought Sophia to welcome the returning Soldiers.
This small gesture earned the Soldiers considerable respect for their Commander.
Who would like a Commander who treats their lives as worthless grass?
At least Cinder treated them with respect.
That alone was enough.
He ordered everyone to take shifts for patrol.
Cinder returned to the command room to await good news from the second squad.
He slept intermittently that night, checking for new messages from time to time.
Finally, at 8 AM, the second squad brought Cinder good news.
[Congratulations! You have obtained 'Brute' Infantry Unit × 1]
The team members' excited voices came through the radio.
"This is 'Red Alert Infantry Squad One.' Command room, please acknowledge and respond. Over."
Sophia responded, "Infantry Squad One, this is the command room. Go ahead."
"Reporting to the command room, we found a large fellow here, about three meters tall. He is currently tied up because he is too dangerous. We cannot transport him back to headquarters. Requesting vehicle support. Over."
Seeing this unit, Cinder's face lit up with joy.
Isn't this the 'Hulk' modified by the Red Alert Yuri faction?
This is a big guy who can dismantle tanks with his bare hands.
He hadn't expected the second squad to find such a unit.
Sophia looked at Cinder, awaiting his orders.
Cinder replied, "Send the Grizzly Tank to pick them up."
"Yes." Sophia picked up the radio to contact the tank unit to depart, and also instructed the second squad to continue their mission and search for the second crate.
Soon, less than half an hour later, the second squad once again brought good news to Cinder.
[Congratulations! You have obtained 1000 Funds]
Although it wasn't Blueprint Energy, the funds were highly practical.
Instead of building more good brothers with the 1000 Funds, Cinder unlocked the wall blueprint.
[Blueprint Energy 600 → 500]
Clicking 'Build,' the base quickly completed the construction of four wall pillars.
The total cost was 400 Funds.
Cinder enclosed the base, the barracks, and the power plant within the perimeter.
High walls automatically connected the wall pillars.
Looking at the map, one-third of the central area of Dadupa Valley was completely walled off.
Cinder did not compress the space too much.
The base could currently accommodate a War Factory and several ore refineries.
He walked out of the base to look around.
The walls were nearly twenty meters high and were equipped with anti-climbing razor wire.
While this defense wouldn't be enough in the allogene world, it was sufficient to deal with some Hilichurls.
This was the intersection of three large tribes, and they had arrived and pitched camp last night.
Now that it was dawn, these Hilichurls would come out to hunt and forage.
If the area wasn't enclosed by walls, they might very well rush into the base.
Of course, the best defense would be to use four wall pillars to enclose a single structure.
Each structure would have an independent defensive zone.
But Cinder was too poor right now, so everything had to be kept simple.
The troop strength wasn't enough for such detailed deployment either.
For now, they only needed to guard one entrance.
By 3 PM, the second squad finally returned.
From afar, Cinder saw the three-meter-tall giant.
It drove inside the walls.
The Soldiers worked together to move the giant off the chariot.
Electronic shackles were fastened to the Brute's hands and feet.
He also wore a device on his face similar to 'Cyclops' visor.
Just like Cyclops' visor, this device was used to control the Brute.
"Has this big fellow been this quiet all day?"
"Reporting, Commander, this guy is very quiet. It seems the shackles have some kind of tranquilizing effect."
Cinder nodded and commanded the Soldiers, "Open the shackles."
The squad leader looked at Cinder in shock.
Anyone with eyes could tell that this Brute was not someone to provoke.
Unlocking the shackles at such close range meant they could very likely be attacked.
Cinder reassured them, "Don't worry, he won't attack us. Unlock the shackles."
Cinder commanded again, and the Conscript reluctantly unlocked the Brute's shackles.
Beside Cinder, the Soldiers gripped their carbines tightly. If the Brute showed any intention of attacking the Commander.
They would kill the Brute, even if it meant facing a court-martial.
Hiss~
With a pneumatic sound, the shackles on the Brute's hands and feet opened.
Freed from restraint, the giant slowly stood up from the ground.
Beneath the Soldiers' leather gloves, their hands were slightly sweating.
Cinder's expression, however, remained quite relaxed.
It wasn't that he was brave, but that he trusted the Soldiers provided by the system were absolutely loyal.
Furthermore, the Brute was one of the few Red Alert units capable of being immune to mind control.
Just then, the Brute suddenly raised both fists, preparing to smash them down.
The Conscripts immediately raised their guns and aimed them at the Brute.
Moments before they could fire, Cinder stopped everyone.
Boom—!
The Brute's fists heavily slammed into the ground.
The ground trembled, and a half-meter deep pit appeared in front of Cinder.
The Brute nearly roared, "Give me something to break!"
Cinder smiled happily.
He immediately ordered the Soldiers to lure an unlucky squad of Hilichurls from outside the wall.
Unexpectedly, they also brought back a Mitachurl.
Cinder ordered the Brute, "Go tear them apart."
Given permission, the Brute charged toward the squad.
His speed was astonishing; that massive frame could accelerate briefly, rivaling a cheetah.
And his strength was equally incredible.
With just one punch, he flipped the Mitachurl over.
Stepping on the Mitachurl's chest, his massive fists pounded the Mitachurl's head, punch after punch.
In less than ten seconds, the Mitachurl's head was smashed into a pulp.
Other regular Hilichurls were even less of a match for the Brute, being instantly killed with a single blow.
Cinder was very satisfied with the Brute's abilities.
An existence capable of dismantling tanks with bare hands naturally possessed formidable combat power.
"More! More!"
The Brute roared at Cinder.
His toys were gone, and he wanted more toys.
Cinder chuckled, "Don't worry, there will be plenty of toys for you tonight."
Cinder gave the order for the Brute to hold back.
Compared to the Grizzly Tank, the Brute was more suitable for collecting crates.
He possessed self-healing abilities, could handle most terrain, and had top-tier speed, stamina, and combat power.
Most importantly, he was quieter than the Grizzly Tank, and his movement didn't require fuel; he only needed to be fed.
His only drawback was that his mind might not be very sharp, making him poor at finding the location of crates.
Cinder had a solution for this—by sending a Police Dog to guide him, his intelligence deficit could be well managed.
The day quickly passed.
At night, Cinder sent the Brute and the Police Dog out to search for crates.
The results of the night were quite fruitful.
All five crates were collected.
And perhaps due to the Brute's dumb luck, all the crates collected that night contained good items.