Chapter 229 - 213: Brother Dong, Can You Introduce Me to Your Leader?

Chapter 229: Chapter 213: Brother Dong, Can You Introduce Me to Your Leader?

Day 67 of the apocalypse. Late November. The last rain of ’25.

Yu Dong clearly remembered that starting tomorrow, the temperature in Yanhai City would remain below freezing.

"This winter will be very cold... Officer Wang, remember to dress warmly."

"The cold won’t get to me. But with the weather this year, I wonder how many survivors will freeze to death without any way to stay warm..."

Wang Dingbei gazed worriedly at Binhai Avenue, hoping more people would arrive today.

"I’m going down to meet a friend."

"You know these people? Good. Make sure they follow the rules."

When Yu Dong got down to A Port, he saw Liangzi’s group of nine just arriving outside the sandbags and barricades.

There were nine mountain bikes, with packs and weapons strapped to them. Liangzi and the others were all dressed in professional-looking full cycling gear, complete with helmets.

Liangzi’s burly, six-foot-plus frame, typical of a P.E. student, made him stand out. Yu Dong recognized him in the crowd at a single glance.

’Not only did Liangzi’s group arrive early, but their team is also three people larger than in my past life... It seems our cleanup operations had a positive effect on them.’

This butterfly effect had changed things for the better.

Yu Dong figured it was most likely because his group had cleared Binhai Avenue and several small zombie hordes.

"Hey! Isn’t that... Brother Dong? Holy shit! For real? Brother Dong, you’re still alive?!"

Liangzi took off his helmet, his face lighting up with surprise as he stared at Yu Dong. He never imagined he would run into an old friend at a time like this.

"Heh... It’s me, Liangzi. Long time no see. I never thought... we’d actually meet again at a time like this."

Liangzi came forward and gave Yu Dong a bear hug.

"Fucking awesome! This is incredible!"

Then, Liangzi quickly turned to his eight teammates, pointed at Yu Dong, and said:

"This is a good buddy of mine from before the apocalypse, Brother Dong! Zihan, I’m gonna say something you won’t like... if the apocalypse hadn’t broken out, you might not have been able to pin me down. My man Brother Dong here introduced me to two college girls. What a shame... By the way, Brother Dong, how come you guys never showed up back then?"

"Sigh! You know how it is with girls, always taking their time. We’d agreed to head over together, but the two of them were taking forever with their makeup, as usual... We never thought the apocalypse would suddenly hit, and that’s how we ended up here."

"True... Ordinary girls love to take their time. But not my Zihan. She’s super efficient. Brother Dong, you’ll never guess what my girlfriend used to do! She’s tougher than a lot of guys, and her core strength is insane!"

"Uh... She looks like she exercises regularly. All of you are in great shape."

"Hahaha! You guessed right. Zihan is a competitive rock climber."

Yu Dong took a closer look this time. The team of nine all had fit, muscular physiques. There were three women and six men.

Just then, their leader, Gao Yan, walked over and gave Yu Dong a slight nod.

"I’m Gao Yan. Hello."

"I’m Yu Dong."

"Brother Dong, this is our leader, Brother Yan. He does parkour. He’s a total badass! When he’s really running through the city, even the climbing zombies can’t catch him!"

The joy of the reunion made Liangzi unable to stop talking.

"Impressive. I can tell you’ve all had serious training... Come on, let’s head inside."

Someone opened a gap in the barricades, and the group pushed their mountain bikes through.

They saw the container walls ahead, topped with an electric fence. Below was an anti-zombie trench, crossed by a wooden drawbridge leading to a large gate. On top of the containers were watchtowers, manned by numerous guards with guns and crossbows. The entire setup radiated an overwhelming sense of security.

Gao Yan nodded to himself. They had come to the right place.

The people here clearly knew how to handle zombies. The choice of location and the external defenses alone showed a high level of expertise.

He had encountered many settlements on the road... all of them mediocre, yet convinced their defenses were impenetrable.

Their abilities were average, but their confidence was off the charts.

These wannabe "neighborhood kings" were a dime a dozen.

If they ever faced the kind of horde he’d seen in the city, they’d be wiped out in one go.

He would try to offer a word of warning when passing through, but most people only trusted what they’d seen for themselves. All he could do was respect their choices and lead his team onward.

He only gave his advice once.

Some settlements had tried to recruit his group, but he considered it beneath him to stay in places like that with his people.

But today... he had come here with high hopes, and he was not disappointed!

They pushed their mountain bikes across the drawbridge and through the main gate. Inside A Port, various container workshops were still humming with activity, their production unaffected by the rain.

Inside A Port, people bustled about with umbrellas and raincoats.

The lively scene stunned all nine of them.

"So many people, such a huge place, and so secure... Brother Dong, this cruise ship base is badass! There must be a mastermind behind it!"

Zihan took off her helmet and shook out her short black hair, looking strikingly gallant.

"We heard Officer Wang on the radio every day, talking about how great the cruise ship was. Seeing it for ourselves is something else... This place is even better than we imagined."

Gao Yan asked, "By the way, Brother Yu Dong, do you know the leadership here? That Officer Wang who broadcasts every day—are you able to speak with him?"

"Uh..." Yu Dong paused for a moment. "It’s not really a question of being able to speak with him. It’s just that Wang isn’t in a leadership role anymore. He’s mainly responsible for security and the radio broadcasts. He should be down in a little while. You can chat with him if you want; he’s a very impressive man."

’Someone as assertive as Officer Wang isn’t the leader?’

Gao Yan found this hard to grasp. He then asked, "So who’s the top leader of the cruise ship base now? Could you introduce us? We’d like to report in and ask about the possibility of staying here long-term, and what the conditions might be."

Just then, someone from his group spoke up calmly from behind. "If you ask me, the security here seems a little lax."

"We just walked in with a member of the cruise ship, and the gate guards didn’t stop us. No one questioned or searched us. It’s no big deal for us, but... it would be a huge problem if bad people with ill intentions got in."

"In the apocalypse, you can never underestimate the darkness in the human heart..."

Gao Yan nodded. "We’ll mention it to the leader when we meet him... consider it our way of helping out."

Liangzi chuckled. "Brother Dong, what’s your job here? Killed any zombies? I’ll take you out killing them tomorrow, it’s a blast! How about you join our squad? You’d be our tenth member, rounding out the team!"

Gao Yan sized up Yu Dong’s physique—his well-developed arms and chest muscles showed that he also trained regularly. His upper body strength had to be solid, and he was well-spoken.

He thought it might be a good idea to recruit him, so he remained silent.

Just as Yu Dong was about to explain, a ten-man security patrol from the Ship Affairs team walked over. They were dressed in neat uniforms, and the man in the lead had a pistol gleaming in a holster on his hip.

They shouted in unison, "Sir!"

Then they stopped, eyeing the formidable newcomers with a hint of caution.

Gao Yan, Liangzi, Zihan, and the rest of the group looked on in confusion.

Yu Dong nodded slightly. "Team Leader Xiao, these people are my friends. They’re alright. Just let us talk amongst ourselves. You can go on with your duties; there will be many new arrivals today."

"Understood, sir. Call us if you need anything."

Since the last incident, the size and frequency of patrols had been increased to ensure A Port’s safety and to reassure the production staff. Otherwise, no one would have dared to come down here...

Because Officer Wang had taken full responsibility for the incident, Huang Henian wasn’t punished publicly. Instead, he was reassigned as a Sea Patrol Officer, tasked with going up on deck periodically to watch the sea and help the security team deal with any bloated zombies that drifted by.

Liangzi was stunned to see Yu Dong dismiss the patrol with just a few words.

"Brother Dong, they called you ’sir’... What kind of leader are you? What are you in charge of? You’ve got some serious clout, huh?"

Gao Yan and the others also stared at Yu Dong in amazement, seeming to realize... this man was far more important than Liangzi had made him out to be.

"I’m in charge of the entire cruise ship."

Yu Dong gave the nine of them a friendly smile.

In that moment, the person in their group who had questioned the lax security suddenly understood why no one had stopped them on the way in...