Chapter 249 - 233: A Failure Is a Dictator; a Success Is a Savior

Chapter 249: Chapter 233: A Failure Is a Dictator; a Success Is a Savior

Silence was opposition.

"Take them all away. Lock them up."

Yu Dong steeled his heart and had everyone present, aside from Lin Mo, locked away.

Wang Dingbei, Xiao Dabe, Yang Ze, Jing Yanwei, and Chen Guangzong.

The leaders and deputy leaders of the Security Group and the Ship Affairs Group, neither of which had ever been under Yu Dong’s control, were all rounded up in one fell swoop.

The three Type 92 pistols carried by Wang Dingbei, Xiao Dabe, and Jing Yanwei were also confiscated.

After the last zombie outbreak on the cruise ship, Wang Dingbei and Xiao Dabe had traded their MP9 submachine guns for the pistols carried by Yu Dong and Zhao Youcai.

Pistols were more convenient for guard duty, while the submachine guns were kept for emergencies, like fighting zombies outside the ship.

Now, Yu Dong had confiscated all of them.

"Yu Dong, I’m very disappointed in you... You and your people will pay the price for this."

Wang Dingbei said, looking Yu Dong in the eye before he was led away.

"Before that happens... I will succeed, Officer Wang." Yu Dong met his gaze with unwavering determination.

Although Wang Dingbei was furious with Yu Dong, he ultimately didn’t draw his weapon.

Whether it was because he knew they couldn’t win against so many members of the Battle Group, or because he wanted to preserve one last shred of dignity, Wang Dingbei and his people did not put up a desperate struggle.

"Give them the same living conditions as always. Take good care of them..."

Yu Dong wouldn’t do anything to harm them, because these people... were his best friends.

’It’s just that my friends are stopping me from doing the right thing.’

’I can only ask my friends to put up with this until I’ve finished what needs to be done...’

After Zhao Youcai had the others led away, only Yu Dong and Lin Mo remained in the office.

Just as it had often been.

But the Yu Dong of this moment was completely different. He had taken a giant leap for the sake of the vaccine. He was now the sole leader and no longer needed anyone else’s opinion.

Yu Dong’s word was now law.

"Lin Mo, do you really support me?"

"Yu Dong, I support your work on the vaccine, and I supported what you did before. I know you’re preparing for a possible future, but... this is as far as it goes, Yu Dong. You can’t cross any more lines. If you do, you’ll fall into an abyss you can never climb out of."

Lin Mo’s principles were more flexible than Wang Dingbei’s.

She just hoped Yu Dong wouldn’t do anything more extreme. She could understand everything he had done up to this point.

Cai Hong and Zhao Yun were dead, so let their deaths be a sacrifice for science. But Lin Mo didn’t want any other innocent people, or even those who weren’t so innocent, to die.

She chose not to confront Yu Dong directly in order to preserve the last shred of morality he had left...

’I have to help him.’

Otherwise, if Yu Dong continued down this moral slippery slope... in the short term, the trust and unity built on the cruise ship would completely collapse. In the long term, the future world might become a dictator’s paradise...

If Yu Dong could indeed be reborn multiple times, he had the power to make that a reality.

Therefore, if Lin Mo wanted to prevent the "bad ending," she had to stay on Yu Dong’s side.

Yu Dong hadn’t expected that Lin Mo, a military woman, could see things more clearly than Wang Dingbei.

"Spoken like a true psychologist... You must have seen far more extreme situations. I know you think I’m going to extremes, but success requires it... I promise you I’ll never harm an innocent person. As for the guilty... I can’t make any promises for them."

"Alright. But please don’t keep things from me... I’ll help you figure out how to manage the fallout. Otherwise, with so many people suddenly missing from the ship, how will you explain it?"

Lin Mo paused, looking at Yu Dong—utterly exhausted after a full day of fighting zombies, only to have to deal with internal strife. She reached out and gently caressed his face, which was red from the biting cold outside.

"How would you ever manage without me...?"

Hearing this, Yu Dong suddenly felt a lump form in his throat.

He knew taking this step meant saying goodbye to the "good leader" he once was. He was prepared to be misunderstood by everyone. But Lin Mo...

...had supported him at this most critical moment.

"Dr. Lin, you’re a dependable teammate. I’ll never forget this..."

Only someone who had been reborn could understand the true meaning of those words.

"Let’s hope luck is on our side."

Lin Mo knew the best possible outcome now was for the vaccine trial to succeed. That way, Cai Hong and Zhao Yun wouldn’t have died for nothing, and they would have a vaccine. As for the thirteen dead scumbags, she believed even Wang Dingbei wouldn’t dwell on it.

Worst case, they could just make Yu Dong drink thirteen shots as a penalty.

The ends would justify the means.

"Zixue, bring Qi Wenwen to my office. I need her to take over the Ship Affairs Group."

Lin Mo called Lin Zhixue to arrange for a capable person to take charge of the Ship Affairs Group.

Qi Wenwen was a woman who had once been an attendant on the cruise ship and was eager to get ahead.

Yu Dong also had Zhao Youcai send people to take over the Security Group.

They needed to quickly contain the fallout from this incident and prevent greater turmoil.

Yu Dong knew... this was just a temporary fix. If the imprisoned leaders didn’t appear for a long time, people would definitely notice something was wrong.

But for now, this was his only option. He just had to stall until the vaccine was successfully developed. Then, everything would be different.

’Fail, and I’m a dictator. Succeed, and I’m a savior!’

After settling matters in the office, Yu Dong walked out and headed to the cafeteria for dinner.

After orchestrating things all evening, he hadn’t even had a chance to eat.

Zhao Youcai and the members of the Battle Group joined him for the meal.

At the dinner table, Zhao Youcai glanced around cautiously before asking, "Dongzi, do you really trust Lin Mo? Aren’t you afraid she’s just pretending to go along with us, only to secretly report back to the military? She’s one of Qiao Yunliang’s people! If the military finds out... they’ll have an excuse to return, and then it’s all over for us."

"She has an eye for the future... Don’t worry. We need this ally."

Yu Dong knew his people alone couldn’t ensure the long-term stability of the cruise ship. Besides, if both Wang Dingbei and Lin Mo disappeared at the same time, leaving only him in charge... it would be too conspicuous.

Anyone who wasn’t a complete idiot and had even a bit of political sense would know something major had happened in the upper ranks.

So, for Lin Mo to proactively offer her help was the best possible outcome.

Unfortunately... Wang Dingbei’s principles were simply too rigid.

Yu Dong couldn’t persuade him, so locking him up temporarily was the only option.

"Fine. Since you trust her, we’ll trust her this once! But if the military really shows up, I’ll be the first to put a bullet in her!" Zhao Youcai said fiercely.

"Don’t be so bloodthirsty. Let’s just eat..."

Yu Dong’s gaze kept returning to his satellite phone, hoping Meng Dongqing would call with good news that could quickly get him out of this complex situation.

...

「Day 114 of the Apocalypse.」

The people on the ship woke up to find that the leaders of the Ship Affairs Group and the Security Group had been replaced.

The explanation Lin Mo gave was that the military needed to establish a temporary prison to hold criminals, and the officers had been dispatched to assist. They would also arrange to transfer the cruise ship’s criminals to military jurisdiction.

She explained they would be gone for some time, and in their absence, others would temporarily take charge of the two groups.

With both Yu Dong and Lin Mo giving the same story, the Ship Affairs Group didn’t react much. After all, they were just workers. Their jobs were routine, and they’d been doing them for years...

But there were murmurs of dissent from within the Security Group.

"Was it so urgent? Did Officer Wang and the others just leave without a word?"

"This doesn’t seem like Officer Wang’s style... He might be rough around the edges, but he’s very meticulous about his work."

"They didn’t leave a single person behind? Couldn’t they have left Xiao or Yang? They were all transferred?"

"Wait, the Battle Group is taking over? What’s that supposed to mean? Aren’t they sticking their noses into a lot of things lately?"

Yu Dong had assigned members of the Battle Group to the Security Group, placing a highly-skilled veteran named Hou Qian in charge. Hou Qian was considered one of the most well-rounded elite soldiers in the Battle Group.

However, he generally stayed out of internal politics and preferred to keep a low profile.

But unexpectedly, even his appointment provoked a backlash from the Security Group.

On the very first day, members of the Security Group were clamoring to see their leadership, and several came to Yu Dong and Lin Mo to make inquiries.

Yu Dong had only sent half of the Battle Group out that day, keeping the rest on the ship for any contingencies.

The situation was giving Yu Dong a headache.

"How about we just replace the entire Security Group with our own people? They’re impossible to manage. They go everywhere... They’ll soon discover that Officer Wang and the others are locked up in the 9th-floor prison."

Lin Mo’s mouth twitched.

"We don’t need to arrest all of them... There’s someone who can placate them for now."

"Who?"

Lin Mo smiled faintly.

That afternoon, Yang Ze, the deputy leader of the Security Group, put on a show of returning from off-ship. He resumed his duties and confirmed to his subordinates that the others had been temporarily dispatched to the military, and that Wang Dingbei’s group would have to remain there for some time.

With one of their own leaders back, the Security Group immediately quieted down.

They went back to their duties. After all, if the two top leaders and their own deputy leader were all saying the same thing, what else could they do?

This latest internal crisis was temporarily quelled.

Lin Mo and Yu Dong each shook hands with Yang Ze.

Lin Mo said, "Yang Ze, thank you for stepping up. You’ve helped us maintain stability on the ship."

Yu Dong added, "It’s always best to rely on our own people... I’m glad you came around, Yang Ze. We’re working on something monumental. If we pull this off, we’ll be heroes of the nation!"

Yang Ze forced a smile. "I’ll do my job... When the time comes, please release Officer Wang and the others. They... they aren’t our enemies."

"Don’t worry, I won’t harm them,"

Yu Dong said, patting his chest in assurance.

Yang Ze had been forcibly dragged into Yu Dong and Lin Mo’s conspiracy.

But after leaving the office, Yang Ze was deeply conflicted. He didn’t know if what he had done was right or wrong.

’Is this what a soldier is supposed to do?’

’Can Yu Dong and Lin Mo truly represent my beliefs?’

’Was Officer Wang... wrong? Or right?’

These three questions lingered in Yang Ze’s mind.

...

「Day 115 of the Apocalypse.」 Yu Dong finally received a call from Meng Dongqing.

"Sir, I have good news and bad news..."

"Not this routine again... I’ll take the good news first."

"One of our three test subjects survived, and he still retains his full memory."

"We succeeded!?"

Yu Dong couldn’t believe it. ’It actually... worked!’

’This was the right move!’

"The bad news is, his body has already begun to zombify. It’s rapidly developing into one of the large, muscular zombie types. He didn’t become immune to the virus. He’s... a zombie that has retained its memories."

"Which test subject was it?"

"Cai Hong."