Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

“So, does this mean the Ninth and Tenth Squads are too relaxed? Not only do they have less work, but there’s also basically no danger!”

Zhang Su frowned and asked.

Xin Qi nodded and said, “Actually, they don’t want to be relaxed because whether it’s going on missions or working in the camp, the Ninth and Tenth Squads don’t earn points… and promotions are also difficult. Only when the squads at the front suffer casualties can someone be promoted from the reserves.”

“That makes sense…” Zhang Su knew there wouldn’t be such a glaring loophole, and he continued, “When you arrived today with the Third, Fifth, and Sixth Squads, what were the other squads doing?”

Xin Qi was very puzzled, not understanding how the person in front of him knew specific details about them, but he answered truthfully, “Tasks like collecting food don’t involve elite squads; the Fourth Squad and the Eighth Squad went west to clean up the zombies in the village, and the rest are in the camp.”

“By the way, your camp was a military camp before, right? I see you all have standard weapons.”

Zhang Su suddenly recalled some things Guo Dachao had said and asked.

“Yes, I heard from the elders that it used to be an infantry camp, right?” Xin Qi turned around to look at his two companions.

“Mhm hm.”

The two nodded repeatedly, their heads bobbing like chickens pecking grains.

“Who’s the boss of the Cyan Dragon Corps? How many of them were originally from the military camp?”

Zhang Su asked.

“Um… our leader is called Ma Juguang, everyone calls him Commander. Actually, he wasn’t a military man, but he’s incredibly skilled; he’s good at fighting and handling guns. Although we call it a corps, there are actually only two real soldiers… because Ma Juguang established the safe base at the military camp, it was named this way.”

“If I’m not mistaken, the two Big Soldiers should be the captains of the First and Second Squads, right?”

Zhang Su asked.

To his surprise, Xin Qi shook his head awkwardly and said, “No, that’s not right… One of them is the Deputy Commander, and the other is the Chief Commander of the Combat Department.”

“Oh, those are some high ranks. They must be doing quite well in your corps,” Zhang Su teased.

Xin Qi nodded reluctantly with a sigh, saying, “Well, that’s their own capability. It’s something you can’t envy. Survivors who joined the corps later can’t match them in any way… Brother, please let us go. We’re just following orders, and we have no intention of being enemies with you, truly.”

As he spoke, Xin Qi began to plead for mercy.

“We haven’t finished discussing things yet, so don’t be in such a hurry!”

Zhang Su raised his hand to stop him and continued, “Tell me about the other departments’ situations. Do they all lack combat capability?”

“Um… except for the Logistics Department, most people have some ability to protect themselves. The Logistics Department consists mainly of women, children, and the elderly with little combat power. They handle some internal chores and do all the dirty and tiring work, plus there’s also some women for… um, personal services.”

“Personal services? What do you mean by that?” Zhang Su frowned and asked.

“It’s… it’s essentially women who are specifically there to sleep with people.” Xin Qi explained awkwardly, feeling quite embarrassed.

Zhang Su looked at Xin Qi with a skeptical gaze, thinking this young man was pretending to be naive; he’s not that young, and given the current environment, he’s still bashful when talking about matters between men and women?

He didn’t pay much attention to these small details, his mind more occupied with other thoughts.

“Hey, I’m asking you, are those women providing cozy services busy?”

With a peculiar expression, Xin Qi turned to look at his companions, then nodded and said, “Very busy, sometimes they can’t keep up.”

“I see…”

Zhang Su had previously heard from Zhang Xin about how within the Survivor Alliance, many women sold their bodies for resources, and there were places that specialize in such businesses; the Cyan Dragon Corps was likely the same, indicating how popular this enterprise seemed.

He believed his subordinates might also have such needs, but unfortunately, in Celestial Horse Island, it was impossible to run such a business, and most importantly, there were no suitable personnel for such professions…

Traveling all the way from Qin City, Zhang Su’s main focus was on having every member be capable of fighting; even the delicate women had to participate in battles, each one being a strong and independent woman, not needing to rely on such businesses to feed themselves.

From ancient times to present, during times of war, such things were not uncommon; people need to release emotions and relieve pressure, and there are limited ways to do it; sleeping with women and playing poker is a very suitable way.

“So what about the other two departments? What’s the Affairs Department responsible for?” Zhang Su continued to inquire about the internal situation of the Cyan Dragon Corps; he had a plan in mind and needed to fully understand the details before proceeding.

“Publicly known as the Affairs Department, it’s actually Ma Juguang’s core team, a department managing various affairs, consisting of about twenty people. Oh, right, some of the Deputy Commander’s people are also in it. Not much work, but they eat plenty. Privately, we call them parasites!”

Xin Qi clearly had no good feelings towards the Affairs Department.

“Mhm hm, mhm hm.”

Unexpectedly, a companion from the corner urgently spoke up, clearly having something to say.

Rip.

Zhang Su stepped forward and tore off the tape from the man’s mouth, saying, “What do you have to say?”

“Ouch…” The man first showed a pained expression, then licked his lips and said with a smile, “Brother, Xin might have missed something. Let me add on.”

“Alright, go ahead.” Zhang Su saw the fear on Xin Qi’s face and waved his hand, saying, “Don’t be nervous, missing information is normal. As long as you didn’t lie, you won’t be killed for now!”

“Oh, oh, alright…” Hearing that his life was tentatively spared, Xin Qi nodded repeatedly.

“Here’s how it is, brother. The public function of the Affairs Department indeed aligns with what Xin said, managing various affairs, but actually, their main role is infiltration, balancing, factioning, and gathering information, collecting intel on internal personnel!”

The speaking man was about forty, looking very shrewd; although relatively thin, he had built some muscles through long-term exercise.

Zhang Su nodded thoughtfully; his team was very united now, without such concerns, but the Cyan Dragon Corps with three or four hundred people could be hard to defend against internal sabotage. The existence of such a department holds great significance for overall control, not only solidifying leadership but also providing some protection for the collective.

However, the current situation within the Cyan Dragon Corps wasn’t ideal; he distinctly remembered the discussions among some squad leaders about faction issues, so he asked, “How’s the relationship between your Commander and Deputy Commander?”

“Relationship? Not too sure… Should be quite good, right?” The middle-aged man looked at Xin Qi with a questioning expression.

Xin Qi frowned, thought for a moment, and shook his head, saying, “Truly don’t know, brother. I’m not lying to you…”

Indeed, you can’t get top-level information from small fry.

“Alright, onto the last department, the Science Department, what do they usually do?”

Zhang Su was most interested in this department; Fu Weijun exposed him to the power of science, saving at least five or six people with the Thalamus plus Petrifying Skin!

Ever since he saw 003, his desire for scientific knowledge became even stronger.

“The Science Department is divided into several teams. The Medical Team is in charge of treating the wounded, the Research Team focuses on studying the characteristics of zombies, including developing medicine against the zombie virus. The most mysterious is the Edge Squad, their research falls under fringe science areas, very enigmatic, 003 is a monster modified by them!”

The newly unsealed middle-aged man rapidly shared all he knew, hoping to portray himself well for lenient treatment.

“Edge Squad…” Zhang Su frowned and muttered, finding the name quite interesting.

More intriguing than the squad name was the zombie modification…

This gave Zhang Su a bit of a cyberpunk vibe; zombies had brought disaster to humanity, yet now humans were using them to create new possibilities, quite an optimistic perspective.

He then looked at the three of them and asked, “Do you know how 003 was modified?”

The three shook their heads in unison. Xin Qi said, “About half a month ago, we completed a mission and returned to the camp, received a notice about an important meeting in the afternoon, and then the Science Department showcased 003 to us…”

The middle-aged man added, “I asked many people but nobody knows the specific details, they only said many zombies were captured and taken to the lab; everything else remains unknown, very secretive. Usually, you rarely see the Edge Squad scientists, only the Commander and a few core members have contact.”

Zhang Su wasn’t surprised by this; he also kept many secrets from his companions. Then he asked, “Since there’s a number 003, what about the other numbers? Is 001 the strongest?”

Xin Qi shifted positions, about to speak, but the middle-aged man immediately jumped in.

“Xin joined the corps relatively late, not aware of some matters, let me explain. Initially, there was 000, but it was a huge failure; it lived for half a day and then kicked the bucket, followed by 001 which wasn’t much stronger, maybe lasted an hour before suddenly dying.”

“It wasn’t until 002 that there was some improvement, at least it could live, but its combat ability was quite weak, even worse than ordinary zombies, leaving it to the elite squad for training purposes; they’ve likely destroyed it by now… 003 marks the first successful modified zombie.”

The middle-aged man paused before continuing, “There are rumors that the Edge Squad has begun working on 004, though those whispers are merely speculative, but I feel there might be some truth, saying 004 is intended to be a speed-type zombie; its current modification stage remains unknown.”