Chapter 236 - 220: The Fourth Situation

Chapter 236: Chapter 220: The Fourth Situation

As a leader, when Qiao Yunliang couldn’t resolve a complaint from his subordinates, the best solution was... to stall.

Under the pressure of a potential split between the two teams, Qiao Yunliang thought it over carefully, then turned first to his zealous young soldier, Qian Chenglin.

"Qian, the issue you’ve raised... is a good one. In the future, if you encounter similar problems and Advisor Li can’t resolve them for you, come report to me immediately! What’s happened has happened; there’s no use in covering it up!"

"Yes!"

Qian Chenglin and the other soldiers looked at Qiao Yunliang, moved. This was a leader worth serving.

If Qiao Yunliang was truly in cahoots with the people on the cruise ship, then everything they believed in... would have shattered.

"Regarding this matter, I have just carefully considered your opinions. I’ve decided to temporarily halt the distribution of firearms to the cruise ship’s combat group and reconsider the entire situation. I will announce my decision to all troops. You may go back for now."

"Yes, Commander!"

The soldiers were satisfied!

Zhao Youcai grew anxious. He pointed at Qiao Yunliang and said:

"Wait, you’re tricking us again???"

"Put your finger down!"

The soldiers raised their guns and aimed at Zhao Youcai, their eyes instantly turning fierce!

In an instant, a chill ran down his spine!

Yu Dong tugged on his sleeve, signaling him not to be rash.

"What do you all think you’re doing? Lower your weapons!"

Qiao Yunliang barked!

The soldiers shot Zhao Youcai a vicious glare before lowering their guns.

Qiao Yunliang gave Advisor Li a look. Li Shengguang immediately led the soldiers, who now had their answer, and left to go manage his men.

Zhao Youcai sat back down, but a wave of intense shame washed over him. He had actually just been threatened at gunpoint on his own cruise ship!

This wasn’t like the warning threat from Officer Wang last time. Zhao Youcai could tell... this group of soldiers would actually kill him.

In their eyes, Zhao Youcai was the leader of this undisciplined combat group, and not a good person either.

Once the door was closed, Qiao Yunliang let out a deep sigh, feeling helpless in the face of this irresolvable conflict.

"Things have come to this, and my hands are tied... The guns, I will give them to you, but not now. After we’ve fought off the zombie horde and are leaving the cruise ship, we will leave your share of the guns and ammunition on board for you to collect yourselves."

Yu Dong hadn’t panicked because he trusted Qiao to give them an answer.

Sure enough, although it was a compromise... Qiao would at least honor his promise.

But Zhao Youcai didn’t see it that way.

"We’re about to face a massive zombie horde, and you won’t give us guns? What are we supposed to fight with? When the time comes, we’ll be completely useless!"

Zheng Zhonghu, who had been quiet until now, frowned.

"Can’t you see the Commander is already in a difficult position?! It’s not like he’s refusing to give them to you. Do you want our men to mutiny on the cruise ship? A full-blown riot? Would that make you happy? In two days, you wouldn’t even be proficient with a gun yet. Using it on zombies would just be a waste of bullets!"

Qiao Yunliang, however, said calmly:

"Then please have your people... take a rest. Just provide us with air support. Leave the main battlefield to us."

Yu Dong knew when to quit while he was ahead and didn’t press Qiao any further.

"Fine, we’ll do as Qiao says. What happened... we bear some responsibility, but ultimately, time is not on our side, and I don’t have a better solution either. Let’s just try to understand each other. By the way, don’t punish Lin Mo. I’m relying on her for all matters of military discipline and morale."

Qiao Yunliang also nodded. "Lin Mo, I’ll make a note of this incident. From now on, do what you’re supposed to do. Help Yu Dong build a team with good conduct."

"Yes, Commander!"

Thanks to the tacit understanding between the two leaders, Lin Mo did not have to take the blame.

Because Yu Dong knew the current situation on the cruise ship... was inseparable from Lin Mo. All internal affairs were managed by her and her people. Replacing her would make it difficult to handle that mess.

Qiao Yunliang also needed her to represent the military in a leadership position on the cruise ship. It provided some oversight, at least, to prevent Yanhai City’s largest team from going down the wrong path.

Besides, it wasn’t her primary responsibility in the first place. There was no need for her to be the scapegoat to quell the anger.

Lin Mo wasn’t as stubborn as Wang, so she took the opportunity to gracefully back down and continue her work.

Qiao Yunliang and his men left.

Yu Dong patted Zhao Youcai’s shoulder. "Don’t be resentful. Our people do have some issues, and it was used against us. But I still trust you all... After the combat group finishes training tomorrow morning, I’ll hold a meeting with them."

Discipline had to be enforced, and Yu Dong would handle it personally. But the most important thing... was not to let this incident create a rift between the two teams. They still had to cooperate to fight the zombie horde.

"Hey, Yu Dong!"

Lin Mo called out. Yu Dong turned back, "Hm?"

"Never mind... It’s nothing important. We can talk about it later. Let’s focus on the horde first. I’m going to check on the logistical preparations..."

"You’re right. In the face of the horde, everything else is a minor issue. I’m a little tired today. I’m going to get some rest..."

Yu Dong felt mentally and physically exhausted.

’If only I just had to fight zombies, life would be so much simpler.’

Thankfully, all of this would end after the horde arrived. Everyone would go their separate ways, and they would get their guns.

Yu Dong had three predictions for the coming zombie horde.

The first was that the horde would stop outside the silent buffer zone he had created. Having lost new zombies to join its ranks and without sound to guide it, it would bypass Binhai Avenue behind the buffer zone and surge elsewhere. If so, they could develop in peace and gradually reclaim lost territory.

The second was that the silent buffer zone would fail, and the horde would charge straight for them. In that case, they would fight! They were now well-equipped and had ample ammunition. If they could actually wipe out this massive horde, their future resistance in reclaiming the Yanhai City Urban Area would be much smaller.

The third was that the horde would come, and they would fail to defeat it. If that happened, they would just retreat to the sea on the cruise ship. Their ship was very tall, and they had spent the past few days reinforcing and modifying it. The Bloated zombies wouldn’t be able to jump on board. They could observe the horde’s movement and then decide where to go. In any case, they had plenty of fuel and many potential landing spots to choose from. With the cruise ship, they had everything.

"No matter which scenario plays out, we’re already in an invincible position!"

This was everything Yu Dong had strived for since his rebirth in this life!

He would ensure that the zombie horde that had destroyed him in his past life could never destroy him again!

He would break free from this dead end!

...

「The countdown began.」

On the morning of Day 78 of the apocalypse, Yu Dong held a general meeting for the combat group, stressing discipline, boosting morale, and strictly forbidding any verbal conflicts with the soldiers.

In fact, those who were paying attention already knew what had happened last night.

Many veterans of the combat group were resentful!

"Boss, we conquered this territory, and now they’re saying we have no discipline? Who do they think they are!"

"If they’re so capable, why didn’t they build the zombie horde defenses themselves? Why didn’t they lure and burn the smaller hordes themselves? Why are they waiting for us to clear Binhai Avenue? Talk is cheap!"

"Isn’t this a classic case of ’let’s ignore the facts’? And to think I always respected them and saw them as our role models. I never thought... they’d stab us in the back."

"If you ask me, it’s because we didn’t give them a cut of the money. If we raised their compensation to our level, I guarantee not a single one of them would be complaining. That’s what you call seeing the essence of the matter!"

"If they really look down on us that much... then we just won’t fight anymore. Let them fight. It’s the middle of winter, wouldn’t it be more comfortable to just lie back on the cruise ship with the heat on?"

"Boss, Brother Youcai, just tell us what to do, and we’ll do it. Worst case, we just stop playing with them!"

When faced with accusations and criticism, very few people could reflect on their own faults. Instead, they just saw red!

And today, the combat group was seeing red.

Yu Dong held up a hand to quiet them.

"I know what you’re all thinking. That’s just the opinion of a few soldiers; it doesn’t represent everyone. Besides... Commander Qiao has always held us in high regard. He won’t hold this against us."

"Once the zombie horde is dealt with, the army will leave, so there’s no need to worry too much."

"This incident was just a small friction due to a difference of opinion. But we also need to get our own house in order. We’ll focus on discipline, train hard, and make them see us in a new light!"

"As for you three, Sun Yu... since you were made an example of, I’m docking your pay for a week as punishment. Don’t let it happen again, or the combat group will have to clean house."

After clarifying the situation, Yu Dong emphasized discipline once more, and the matter was temporarily put to rest.

Some in the combat group had wanted to take the opportunity to mess with the grunts who had caused them trouble, but with the horde on its way... they let it go for now.

First, fight the external enemy.

The City Defense Group and Logistics Group were reinforcing their defensive lines and had come up with more sophisticated designs to counter the massive horde, striving to upgrade the defenses again within the next two days.

The new bombs being rushed into production by Zhou’s team had reached a certain quantity and were already being placed in key locations...

The various work groups began packing their things to bring aboard the ship. If they couldn’t win the fight, they would flee with their means of production.

The army began setting up firing points, distributing ammunition, and constantly discussing fire support plans for shooting the zombies.

All major survivor settlements were notified to pack their belongings, prepare their vehicles, and if the horde truly broke through, to immediately drive to the cruise ship base to rendezvous.

Everyone prepared nervously, bracing for the arrival of the world-endingly massive zombie horde.

Until Day 80 of the apocalypse, when Qiao Ping once again gave birth successfully.

Yu Dong went over to see the baby, who looked exactly the same as in his past life. He stroked his head.

"This time, Uncle will definitely make sure you grow up well."

Huang Zhiqiang was also there, bustling about as if it were his own affair.

"Here, the formula is here, it’s here!"

The first meal would be formula.

Qiao Ping grabbed Huang Zhiqiang’s hand. "Thank you... Huang."

"But you can just let them do it..."

She said helplessly, pointing at the female nurse and the many female members of the business group.

Huang Zhiqiang’s face turned red.

"Ahem~ It’s mainly... I like kids. I just couldn’t help myself, couldn’t help myself."

He then handed the baby bottle to the nurse and walked out amidst a round of giggles.

Yu Dong also prepared to face the horde that night.

12:00 AM.

The city... was silent.

Day 81 of the apocalypse.

The soldiers who had been freezing outside all night returned to the cruise ship, exhausted, to rest.

The zombie horde never came.