Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

”Our original agreement will be discussed in detail when we meet, but for now, I want to ask what exactly is going on with Daqiang and their operation, what is the Survivor Alliance up to?”

Zhang Su had already verified the results he wanted and then steered the conversation back to the main topic.

”Mr. Zhang, was it really you who drew the zombie horde to the North Second Ring Road this afternoon?”

Li Zongkai asked cautiously.

Zhang Su didn’t hide anything, just nodded slightly and said, ”Yes, it was indeed me who brought a wave of zombies south today to conduct an experiment. But the previous instances had nothing to do with me!”

”Ah, if I had known that Celestial Horse Island was your territory, I would have never agreed to this operation, Mr. Zhang. This is a complete conspiracy!”

Li Zongkai’s regret-filled voice came through the speaker, and then he disclosed all the information he knew.

At first, Wu Daqiang and Xiaotiao were still stunned by the thought that the person before them could be their new leader, but the word ”conspiracy” grabbed their attention, prompting them to listen intently. The more they listened, the more shocked they became, only now realizing how dirty the tactics played by the upper echelons were!

There was no such thing as four waves of zombies being drawn to the north of Qin City; the first three times were all a stunt directed by the Survivor Alliance, or more precisely, a trick managed by Liao Youzhi since not even most of the Survivor Alliance members knew about it!

After hearing this, Zhang Su frowned and pursued further, ”Old Li, where did you get this information?”

”This information was leaked by someone I planted by Liao Youzhi’s side. It’s 100% authentic, unless Liao Youzhi also deceived his own woman!”

Li Zongkai answered firmly and continued.

”When the third wave of zombies appeared, Liao Youzhi gathered me, the Little Eagle Association, and the Apocalypse Corps. Later, for unknown reasons, the plan was shelved, until today when another wave of zombies appeared...”

Li Zongkai didn’t know that the plan was shelved because Liao Youzhi felt the timing wasn’t quite right and decided to add fuel to the fire. Whether or not Celestial Horse Island brought zombies to the North Second Ring Road today didn’t matter because Liao Youzhi had already secretly arranged for the fourth wave...

”So, you mean the northern factions have long set their sights on Qing County? Wait, according to your statement, the Little Eagle Association and the Apocalypse Corps weren’t aware that those zombie waves were orchestrated by Liao Youzhi?”

Zhang Su asked.

”Correct, otherwise they would have turned against him! The second wave of zombies that came down from the north impacted the headquarters of the Little Eagle Association. Liao Youzhi gathered our four groups for a meeting, proposing to advance northwards. The plan was to take Province 52’s road all the way to Qing County, and we’d absorb all the factions along the way, driving out those unwilling to be assimilated.

All resources would be split amongst our four groups, captives would be divided between the Survivor Alliance and the Little Eagle Association regardless of number, and as for land distribution, a rough division had already been sketched on the map. When spring arrives and recovery begins next year, we’ll start drawing boundaries!”

After Li Zongkai finished speaking, there was a moment of silence among the seven people inside the Little Lucky Restaurant.

Mutual conflict seems to be a part of human nature, ingrained like a program. In the midst of a zombie apocalypse, when things become slightly stabilized, humans immediately start fighting for land, resources, and people...

Wu Daqiang and his five companions instantly felt a sense of being kindred spirits with Zhang Su. Celestial Horse Island was like sitting at home with trouble descending from on high. It’s true what they say: when you desire to add a crime, you needn’t worry about the lack of a pretense; they were fighting hard outside, only to be pawns in the bigger game between tycoons.

The issues that Zhang Su and Yuwen considered were very different from those of Wu Daqiang and his mates. The opponent had spent months meticulously planning, so a major move was inevitable. More defenses were needed on their side, or perhaps...

”Old Li, how much do you know about the Survivor Alliance’s situation? Personnel composition, firepower allocation, and so on.”

Listening to Zhang Su, Li Zongkai immediately realized what he was thinking and said gravely, ”The Survivor Alliance exchanged a lot of weapons and equipment from us, and they maintain close contacts with Beihai District. You know the special nature of that place and its abundance of top-notch weapons!”

”When we usually interact with the Survivor Alliance, we see that their Search Team doesn’t even have full weapon distribution, but actually, the Alliance’s weapons depot must be well-stocked. The key is, I suspect that the Survivor Alliance has... Have you heard of mutant zombies, Mr. Zhang?”

”Mutant zombies... Those are zombies with special abilities, right? We refer to them as mutated zombies and have encountered them, more than one kind. Are you saying the Survivor Alliance has those things?”

Zhang Su’s expression became a bit grave.

Ordinary firearms and cannons are nothing special. There are no overly modern weapons in Qin City’s area, but mutated zombies are a different story; with unpredictable and varied abilities, extreme caution is required before understanding how to combat them!

In the dim light, Li Zongkai nodded, adjusted his clothes, and spoke into the transceiver, ”Yes, I have sufficient reasons to suspect that the Survivor Alliance is raising mutated zombies as weapons!”

Indeed!

Zhang Su and Yuwen exchanged glances. There’s no shortage of clever people in this world; how could they be the only ones aware of the power of mutated zombies? Even if not every faction has resources in this aspect, the Survivor Alliance, being the largest organization in Qin City District, certainly does!

”Do you know what type of mutated zombies they might have? Have you encountered mutated zombies before?”

Zhang Su asked two consecutive questions.

”We’ve encountered different kinds of zombies before but never thought about researching them; we killed them on the spot instead. As for the Survivor Alliance’s mutated zombies... I suspect it has something to do with temperature. I’ve heard that Liao Youzhi’s living area uses zombies to keep warm, which sounds quite fantastical!”

”No, Old Li, using zombies for heating is perfectly normal, burning them. You guys don’t know that zombies burn better than coal?”

Zhang Su smirked. Their entire Celestial Horse Island, including two Satellite Villages, relied on zombies for heating.

Before Li Zongkai could respond, Wu Daqiang laughed awkwardly and said, ”We know about it...”

Soon, Li Zongkai’s voice came through, ”Yes, we all use zombie bodies as coal, but as far as I know, the Survivor Alliance doesn’t burn zombies for warmth; they must have some other method. Liao Youzhi is very strict about this, and my men couldn’t find out anything.”

”Old Li, the applications of mutated zombies are varied, even if they’re killed, don’t treat their bodies like ordinary zombie corpses. Keep them; I have researchers responsible for developing zombie applications!”

Zombie application studies, a hot profession in the apocalypse.

Li Zongkai slapped his head at hearing this and lamented, ”Oh, what a pity, they’ve all been burned...”

Back then, Li Zongkai personally set fire to burn the mutated zombies, mainly fearing that the virus might spread through special means.

Zhang Su thought of the Venom Zombie. If any faction accidentally found the corpse of a Venom Zombie and treated it like an ordinary zombie thrown into the furnace, that would be a big joke indeed!

”Burned ones are gone; in any case, don’t rashly burn mutated zombies... Let’s not dwell on this for now. According to your statement, the Survivor Alliance keeps things hidden well. If we were to attack, would there be significant risk?”

”Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will not be defeated. We don’t understand the Survivor Alliance’s situation, so there’s definitely risk. But if you decide to attack the Survivor Alliance, I can activate spies completely and bring back all the information!”

Li Zongkai’s intentions were clear: if Celestial Horse Island chooses to attack the Survivor Alliance, Civilization Guardian will unconditionally support them!

Wu Daqiang and others were already numbed by the dialog, realizing they were merely brave pawns charging forward, while the real confrontation started behind the scenes long ago...

Zhang Su also had people in the Survivor Alliance, although they weren’t as capable as Li Zongkai’s person who could climb into bed with Liao Youzhi. The amount of information would certainly differ...

”Old Li, I think the Survivor Alliance entrenched in Qin City’s north is like a malignant tumor. If you handled the entire north, it would be better than Liao Youzhi. What’s your opinion?”

This statement left not only the restaurant but also Li Zongkai on the other side speechless.

He didn’t quite understand Zhang Su’s intention behind such words...

”Mr. Zhang, your... I’ve built Civilization Guardian, which now has over 120 people, and you want to manage this project. Why ask me to handle an even larger scale?”

Li Zongkai felt Zhang Su was testing him, quickly reaffirming his loyalty.

This time Wu Daqiang and the others thoroughly understood that there was a prior arrangement between Chairman Li and the person before them. They are one family; they just didn’t know. Inside, the five lamented, yet also breathed a sigh of relief. They didn’t have to face death, which was great...

Wu Daqiang and Xiaotiao’s glances towards Zhang Su had some subtle changes, carrying complex emotions.

Yuwen was calm, having basically comprehended the relationship between Zhang Su and Li Zongkai; this was completely Zhang Su’s pre-developed external force, akin to tunneling through a mountain from both sides, finally reaching a juncture.

Feeling the same lament, he always thought he was farsighted but didn’t realize Zhang Su’s plans were even more far-reaching. It seems there are still many areas he can improve upon.

”None of this needs rushing; let’s first gather intelligence. I’ve captured some people from the Survivor Alliance and the Apocalypse Corps. Three from the Little Eagle Association were killed by me, but nothing meaningful emerged. Is there anything else you need to tell me? Otherwise, I’ll go talk to the Survivor Alliance people.”

Zhang Su thought the information Li Zongkai had wasn’t necessarily more than the Survivor Alliance’s leader.