Qingtang Town was originally a small town with a population of nearly 100,000. During the Great Cataclysm, many people died, but even more turned into Zombies, with their numbers reaching at least 60,000.
A year ago, as the Great Cataclysm began to subside, Star Shield Shelter started launching operations to clear out Zombies in the surrounding areas.
Qingtang Town was a full 50 kilometers away from Star Shield Shelter as the crow flies. At such a distance, clearing out its Zombies was a rather low priority.
The army wasn't even dispatched. Instead, the clearing was handled by posting missions at the Mercenary Guild.
As a result, after a full year, the number of Zombies in Qingtang Town had only been reduced from 60,000 to a mere 30,000.
The main reason for this was that the mission rewards weren't particularly high. So, forget the Second or Third Level Mercenary Corps; even regular First Level Mercenary Corps were seldom willing to come.
