Chapter 230 - 214: Doomsday Ranger

Chapter 230: Chapter 214: Doomsday Ranger

"You can report to me now. On behalf of the cruise ship leadership, welcome to the base!"

Yu Dong officially extended his hand, shaking hands with each of them.

Only when his hand was grasped by Yu Dong’s rough, warm one did Liang Mian look at Yu Dong as if waking from a dream.

"Brother Dong, you... you’re the boss here???"

"There are two of us in charge right now. I have a partner. I’ll take you to meet her in a bit. Come with me."

The group of nine followed behind Yu Dong in disbelief, staring at his young back.

’How, with so many people here, could they let a university student be the one in charge?’

’The older, more capable people, even the police officers who enforced order before the apocalypse... they all listen to him?’

’How did he do it?’

The nine of them simply couldn’t wrap their heads around it.

Along the way, they ran into Officer Wang coming off the ship. Yu Dong introduced them.

Wang Dingbei gave the group a slight nod. "Follow the rules on the ship. If I catch you causing trouble... I don’t care if you’re Yu Dong’s friends, it won’t end well for you."

"Behave yourselves, and we’ll get along just fine."

Having given them a little warning, Wang Dingbei left. Jiang Zhuoyu, having finished his task, came to Yu Dong’s side.

"Jiang, perfect timing. Take my friends to register with Lin Mo and then get them checked in. Get Liangzi and his partner a spacious room with a large bed. Make sure the other guys get the best rooms, too. Also, sort them out with daily necessities. Whatever they need to buy, just deduct it from my salary."

"Right away, sir. Everyone, please follow me."

Jiang Zhuoyu took the group to be vetted by Lin Mo. Afterward, he helped them procure some supplies, processed their room cards, and got them successfully settled into the cruise ship base.

A while later, Yu Dong returned to their office. The earlier enthusiasm was gone from his face as he asked calmly:

"Dr. Lin, those people just now... what do you think of them?"

"Do you want the truth or the polite version?"

"I don’t know them very well, but I ran into them in my past life... Their vision and abilities far surpassed mine at the time. I want to see if they can become our friends in this life."

Looking back, their decision to fight their way out of the city and head for Officer Wang’s cruise ship base was definitely the right one.

Lin Mo understood after hearing this.

"People are changed by their environment... different circumstances shape different people. But this time, I have to congratulate you. The people you’ve found are of very high caliber. Most of them have strong wills and formidable abilities. Hmm... that one, Liang Mian, is a bit lacking, but he won’t drag their team down. However, their group is also quite proud. They might not be very obedient to authority."

"Mm, then I’m relieved... I’ll put them in my Combat Team Two and make them the core. I’ll have them manage others."

"Not a bad idea. The current Combat Team was formed from mass recruitment without proper screening, so it definitely has some flaws. Go ahead and build up your Team Two... A combat team, first and foremost, must be good at combat."

"I think the current Combat Team is fine. We can’t just write off their achievements because of a few shortcomings. No one’s perfect. Even if Gao Yan, Liangzi, and the others form Combat Team Two... it won’t necessarily be perfect in every way. Dr. Lin, there’s no such thing as a perfectly correct choice in this world. We just have to work hard to make the choices we made the right ones..."

Yu Dong didn’t actually like how Lin Mo was always criticizing flaws from her high horse. He wished she would help the current team improve.

In his eyes, loyalty was the most important thing; ability was secondary.

Did Yu Dong not know that Zhao Youcai wasn’t the best fighter? His constitution couldn’t compare to Yan Yikai’s, his skill with firearms was worse than Xiao Dabe’s, and his combat sense was a world away from Uncle Yu’s. But... he was loyal enough, and he was resourceful.

Zhao Youcai would never let anyone else get their hands on the Combat Team. He kept it firmly in their grip, becoming one of Yu Dong’s most trusted right-hand men.

In contrast, Gao Yan, Liang Mian, and the others... Yu Dong would have to continue observing them to ensure they were trustworthy before he could give them any power.

They had the ability; now, it all came down to their loyalty.

For now, Yu Dong planned to have his secretary, Jiang Zhuoyu, go over and keep an eye on Combat Team Two...

Yu Dong’s words made Lin Mo think for a long time.

The last rainy day of the year was especially long. On Binhai Avenue, more and more survivors who had mustered the courage to escape began to appear, riding shared bikes to the cruise ship base.

The number of survivors at the cruise ship base grew...

Lin Mo pondered for a while before finally shaking her head with a sigh. She gently rubbed her temples. She still needed to deal with more pressing matters; changing mindsets was a slow process.

"Zixue, go do a full inventory of our warehouse."

"Yes, Sister Mo."

Lin Zhixue went out to carry out the order. She called over Fu Yuanyuan, Yang Yi, and a few other women and headed to the warehouse.

Lately, Qiao Ping’s belly had been getting bigger and bigger. Her due date was approaching, so she could no longer do many things. Most of her duties had been divided between Lin Zhixue and Lin Cong.

Last month, when Lin Zhixue saw that Yu Dong had hired a secretary, she immediately recommended herself for the position of Lin Mo’s secretary.

Lin Mo felt that someone like Lin Zhixue, who had a bit of a thirst for power, was easier to control. The kind of people who just wanted to ’lie flat’ were the hardest to manage.

Besides, Lin Zhixue was reasonably smart and useful for day-to-day tasks. Since they were both women, it was also more convenient, so Lin Mo went ahead and promoted her to be her secretary.

As a leader, she would of course give positions to those who worked for her. Not even a saint could avoid that.

Lin Zhixue had missed the first round of ’dividing the cake,’ but through her own effort and astuteness, she seized the second opportunity and successfully entered the cruise ship’s game of power.

...

"Sorry, but I’m afraid we can’t join the cruise ship’s combat team."

That evening, after dinner, Yu Dong went to talk to the nine of them, who were now settled in, about his plan for Combat Team Two.

Gao Yan politely refused him. The other teammates didn’t look surprised—it seemed they had already discussed it.

"Can you give me a reason? The benefits for our combat team are very good."

The Combat Team’s benefits were head and shoulders above all other jobs, and they even had special daily provisions, absolutely making it worthwhile for the members to go out and kill zombies every day.

"It’s not about the benefits. The terms you’re offering are excellent. For people who want to do some good in the apocalypse and live comfortably... it’s a perfect choice."

"Mm, but?"

"But the few of us are different... We have our own combat strategies, our own rhythm. We’re used to dealing with zombies on our own and aren’t accustomed to taking orders from others. So... sorry to disappoint you. I really am."

Gao Yan looked at Yu Dong, his expression slightly apologetic.

After all, Yu Dong had personally had his secretary arrange everything for them perfectly and had even paid out of his own pocket to buy them many things. They’d also had a hot meal in the cafeteria.

They usually traveled light to maintain mobility, but now, on the cruise ship, they had a home they could move right into.

Liang Mian and Cao Zihan in particular, the couple, were especially satisfied with the comfortable suite Yu Dong had arranged for them.

For people like them who had spent years sleeping outdoors, it was simply heaven.

At this moment, seeing the unconcealable disappointment on Yu Dong’s face, Liang Mian quickly added, "But we could cooperate with the cruise ship. For example, if you have any missions, like searching for some crucial supplies, we can do it for you. You can just pay us in points."

Yu Dong had been disappointed, but his interest was piqued when he heard this.

"Tell me more."

This plan was clearly something their team had already worked out.

Gao Yan slowly explained, "Here’s what we were thinking... On a normal day, we’ll conduct our own activities. We can turn in supplies we gather from the outside in exchange for points to live here. If the cruise ship has any missions or commissions, we’ll take them on if they’re within our capabilities to help out. Just pay us in points."

"We have great respect for the cruise ship’s existing order and rules. We hope we can do what we want to do here, while also bringing some value to the ship."

"I wonder if the cruise ship base has room for a team of Rangers like us?"