Chapter 219 - 203: Dongzi, Do You Want a One-Man Show?

Chapter 219: Chapter 203: Dongzi, Do You Want a One-Man Show?

Yu Dong left Wang Dingbei’s room with a storm of emotions brewing inside him.

This strong man, whom neither zombies nor a mutiny could break, was now crumbling under the weight of his own moral judgment. He had taken all the blame for the incident upon himself.

He wanted Yu Dong to put him on public trial.

’Wang, you clearly did the right thing. How could I possibly put you on trial?’

If Wang Dingbei had reacted even a fraction of a second slower, it would have been a catastrophe!

If you had to find fault with Wang Dingbei, it would be that his security management was lacking, that he was negligent... but this wasn’t his problem alone. No one on the entire ship had expected that the Bloated Zombies they’d been toying with for over a month would suddenly spring up and start biting people!

If a trial was necessary, should Huang Henian, the one who caused the problem, be put on trial? Should Lin Mo, the head of internal affairs, be put on trial? Should Yu Dong, the leader, be put on trial?

This was simply a tragedy caused by a collective failure to understand the zombies!

Yu Dong believed that if someone had to take responsibility, then everyone on the cruise ship had to take responsibility!

’I should have Lin Mo go talk to Wang, help him work through it... We can’t let this delay our future work.’

This sort of thing was best left to a psychologist. There was no way Yu Dong was going to put Wang on trial.

It was too ridiculous!

Yu Dong even felt that if any of the survivors dared to blame Wang, they should be rounded up and interrogated to see what their deal was.

This time, he would stand firmly with Wang!

Besides, Wang’s actions had proven that he truly had the ability and decisiveness to defend the cruise ship base. If it had been anyone else... this crisis might have been their end.

Lin Mo truly lacked Wang Dingbei’s iron-fisted methods.

The cleanup outside was still underway as Yu Dong returned to his office.

Soon, his secretary, Jiang Zhuoyu, returned.

"Brother Dong, I just did a lap around the ship and asked my classmates. I’ve more or less pieced together what happened. It’s basically the same as the public story, no discrepancies."

"Mm, and what about Wang... have you heard any talk?"

"Yes, two different narratives. The people who were on the ship at the time all think Officer Wang did a great job. But some of the people who were below deck are complaining about him, saying he killed too many good people and that there must have been a better way..."

"A better way?" Yu Dong let out a cold laugh. "So now we have a bunch of armchair generals, is that it? The best way would have been to listen to Wang and not rush the line in the first place!"

Yu Dong felt this incident was a wake-up call. It made him realize one thing: the production personnel needed training too!

If they had received training and had killed zombies before, they wouldn’t have panicked so much. Forget about fighting back; they would have at least been able to follow orders and coordinate.

Not like today, where they were just a disorganized mob!

The two Bloated Zombies were one thing; no one had seen that kind of attack before, so it was impossible to defend against.

But to be chased down and eaten by a group of regular zombies, and then to insist on charging the defensive line at the end...

"They forced Wang to kill them!" Yu Dong said bitterly.

Seeing Yu Dong like this, Jiang Zhuoyu paused in thought for a moment before adding:

"Brother Dong, what’s our next move? Should I arrange for some people to guide the narrative, shift Officer Wang’s public perception, and refocus the conversation on the ’maritime crisis brought on by new zombies’?"

"Hmm... that’s a good line of thinking."

After a month of working together, Yu Dong and his secretary had developed a great rapport. Jiang Zhuoyu had not disappointed him; he really had some substance.

Not only did he complete his assigned tasks well, but he also proactively offered plans and suggestions, making him an excellent advisor.

It was just as Yu Dong always said: if you draw enough cards, you’re bound to get a good one eventually.

Jiang Zhuoyu wasn’t an SSR, but he was at least SR-level.

As the rescue operations continued, the population of their cruise ship grew, and all sorts of talented people began to emerge.

"So, should I go make the arrangements now?"

Just as Yu Dong was about to agree, the door to his office was pushed open.

Zhao Youcai and Yan Yikai strode in, followed by several members of the combat teams.

"Jiang, hold on. Let us talk it over with Dongzi first."

Yu Dong frowned as he took in Zhao Youcai’s posture.

"Youcai, what is the meaning of this?"

His gaze swept over the other combat team members, especially Sun Yu and the other blond punks, all of whom were Zhao Youcai’s trusted cronies.

Zhao Youcai ignored Yu Dong’s questioning gaze and said directly, "All of you, out. Don’t let anyone near this office!"

"Yes, sir!"

Zhao Youcai’s underlings walked out.

Jiang Zhuoyu looked at Yu Dong hesitantly.

Yu Dong waved his hand. "Jiang, you wait outside too."

Yu Dong was curious to see what Zhao Youcai and Yan Yikai were up to at a time like this.

After everyone had left, only Zhao Youcai, Yan Yikai, and Yu Dong remained in the room.

Zhao Youcai got straight to the point. "Dongzi, this is a golden opportunity! You absolutely cannot stick up for Wang Dingbei!"

’An opportunity?’

Yu Dong mulled it over for a moment before his expression darkened. "Youcai... are you telling me to take this chance to get rid of Officer Wang? That’s despicable!"

"No, Dongzi, you’ve misunderstood me. Wang Dingbei might be a little problematic, but we’ve all fought zombies together. It hasn’t reached the point of eliminating him. I just want him to step down."

A light called ambition glittered in Zhao Youcai’s eyes.

"Dongzi, do you want to have the final say?"

Hearing this, Yu Dong’s heart skipped a beat, and his eyes narrowed.

"Why do you say that?"

Zhao Youcai replied, "Wang Dingbei has become a check on your power. Remember his ’Reincarnator Benevolence Paradox’? The moment you fail to satisfy his police officer’s moral code, he’ll incite people to oppose you! A Reincarnator has to listen to a cop? Is there anything more foolish in this world?"

"Besides, ever since Wang Dingbei stopped going out to fight zombies with us, it’s become harder and harder for him to empathize with us. Take the ’low-temperature stipend’ we applied for a few days ago. Wang Dingbei shot it down without a second thought, and Lin Mo agreed with him. They don’t respect you at all! Does he have any idea how cold it is out there? The brothers are out there freezing every day fighting zombies without complaint, and when they ask for a ’low-temperature stipend,’ those two team up to shut it down."

"And lately, Lin Mo has been trying to find ways to cut the benefits for our combat and logistics teams. Is she trying to push the brothers to the breaking point so no one is left to kill zombies? Then we can all just sit around on the cruise ship playing cards, right?"

"Dongzi, haven’t you noticed that Wang Dingbei and Lin Mo have been getting closer and closer lately? Once they team up, do you think your words will still carry any weight? They’ll be able to reject us however they please. The combat and logistics teams suffer the most and take the biggest risks, fighting for their lives out there. You, as our leader, are hands-on with everything. And those two are behind the scenes, pulling strings to negate all our hard work. Is that fair?"

"So it’s not just Wang Dingbei who needs to step down, Lin Mo has to go too! She’s in charge of internal affairs, but she didn’t manage the base’s affairs well. She also bears responsibility for this incident. Her crime just isn’t as great as Wang Dingbei’s. We can just move her to the commerce team as a leader. As a former soldier, she should understand that rewards and punishments must be clear."

"Once that’s done, this base will be yours to command, Dongzi! We can do whatever we want, and no one will ever be able to oppose us again!"

Zhao Youcai grew more and more excited as he spoke.

Yu Dong pursed his lips and looked at Yan Yikai. "Kai, you’re here for this too...?"

"Brother Dong, I think you should be the boss. No one else has the right to deny you. Your voice should be the only one that matters on this base."

Yan Yikai was a staunch supporter of Yu Dong.

Seeing that Yu Dong hadn’t outright refused, Zhao Youcai pressed on. "After this incident, once we’ve taken down Wang Dingbei and Lin Mo, we’ll also knock down the two security team leaders who were primarily responsible and replace them with our own people. I think Kai and Wen Jie would be great for the job. Then the whole cruise ship will be ours to run, Dongzi!"

Yu Dong looked at Zhao Youcai and asked, "What about the military? If I take Lin Mo down... what will the military think? We’re supposed to rendezvous with them soon."

SMACK!

Zhao Youcai clapped his hands together. "That’s the most crucial point!"

"Dongzi, think about it. If the military arrives... and they want to board the cruise ship, will you still be the boss then? Your authority would be granted by them, and they could take it back with a single word. We might have some prestige on this ship, but... let’s be honest, the moment the military shows up, they become the legitimate authority, and we’ll just be pushed aside!"

"That’s why we can’t rendezvous with Qiao Yunliang yet! They’re running low on ammunition, and there are still two last zombie hordes on Binhai Avenue that haven’t been cleared. Without our corpse-burning pits, the military can’t get through."

"We’re not opposing Qiao Yunliang and his men. We’ll just find an excuse to delay them, let them go find some ammunition somewhere else. While they’re busy, we’ll attack from the west and take the military sub-district’s warehouse. All that equipment will be ours. Then, when we meet up with them, if Qiao Yunliang needs ammunition, he’ll have to come to us to get it."

"That way, we become indispensable partners. We’ll control the most important resources, and no one will be able to sideline us. We’ll remain the bosses of this cruise ship forever!"

"We can’t just let Qiao Yunliang swoop in and reap the rewards after we’ve worked so hard for so long, can we?"

"Dongzi, are you really willing to serve under someone else?"

Zhao Youcai looked as if he wanted to rip his heart out and show it to Yu Dong, just to make him choose the path that would truly benefit their team.

Yan Yikai also chimed in, "Brother Dong, everyone here is following you. Nobody wants to end up just being assimilated by the military. Compared to anyone else... everyone wants to work with you."

"Brother Dong, you have to stay the boss!"

Yan Yikai genuinely wanted Yu Dong to be the boss. His feelings were very simple: Yu Dong treated him well and valued him, and the benefits for their combat team were excellent. He was respected wherever he went.

Before, even his own family wouldn’t listen to what he had to say. But after following Yu Dong, Yan Yikai had gained a voice of his own. There were even a lot of girls making eyes at him.

Besides... that security team leader position Zhao Youcai had mentioned sounded pretty good.

Seeing Yu Dong thinking, Zhao Youcai decided to add more fuel to the fire.

"Dongzi, this isn’t just what the two of us think. It’s what the combat teams think."

Looking at the two men urging him on and the future they described, Yu Dong stood up and rubbed his hands together.

"It’s been getting a little cold lately..."