Chapter 252 - 235: Matter and Faith

Chapter 252: Chapter 235: Matter and Faith

In the early days, there was no screening process; anyone healthy and willing to work could join. So he had arranged for an old acquaintance, Hou Qian, to enter the combat team and keep an eye on Zhao Youcai and Yu Dong for him.

For the past few months, while the combat team had its minor flaws, they generally hadn’t broken any major rules, so he had just turned a blind eye.

He knew you couldn’t expect ordinary people to pick up weapons and instantly have the discipline of soldiers. That was just ridiculous.

As long as things were generally stable, that was good enough.

At the time, he had met with a patrolling Hou Qian and told him what to do.

’The military has the message and has readied their equipment; they should be arriving by now.’

’The only reason Qiao Yunliang and his men left the cruise ship was because they couldn’t find a justification to stay, thus saving face for the military... I’ve given them a reason now. They should be on their way back.’

Yu Dong’s bottom line was sinking lower and lower, so low that he could no longer stand by and watch.

’He’s not only clinging to his power now, but he’s also stopped listening to others. Well then... it’s time for Yu Dong to step down.’

Wang Dingbei believed he had given Yu Dong his chance.

To maintain order and stability on the cruise ship base, he had no choice but to make Yu Dong step down and stop his increasingly outrageous human experiments.

He would forge the alliance that Yu Dong and Qiao Yunliang had failed to create.

’Looking at it now, maybe I shouldn’t have stepped down and left this mess to Yu Dong and Lin Mo... If I had still been here, Yu Dong would never have gone this far.’

’If this goes on, Yu Dong will basically be an emperor.’

’Zhao Youcai is his head eunuch, leading a group of secret police to arrest people everywhere...’

And after forging the alliance, Wang Dingbei was determined to purge Yu Dong’s core followers. They had to be held responsible for Yu Dong getting to this point.

’It was time to set things right!’

But as time passed, there was no sound or movement from outside...

Wang Dingbei frowned slightly. ’Why is the military so slow?’

’This shouldn’t be happening... Qiao Yunliang would definitely seize this legitimate opportunity to take control of the cruise ship base. There’s no way he could have reached some new agreement with Yu Dong.’

’What’s going on?’

The smile on Wang Dingbei’s face slowly vanished. A smirk played on Yu Dong’s lips.

"Officer Wang, what are you waiting for? Hou Qian?"

At the mention of that name, Wang Dingbei’s expression changed abruptly!

"You..."

"Sigh, Officer Wang, how could you make the same mistake Lin Mo did?" Yu Dong shook his head.

"You wanted Hou Qian to be your spy, but what were you banking on? A moral high ground? That little old friendship of yours... was that really enough?"

"What kind of treatment did I give him? What kind of respect? What kind of status!"

"They’re all like brothers to me! We fight zombies side-by-side every day, guns in hand! Ours is a bond forged in blood!"

"What makes you think that a few words from you could make my brother betray me?"

Yu Dong swung his arm emphatically, flecks of spittle flying from his lips, his sharp jawline standing out.

After reporting to Wang Dingbei a few times, Hou Qian began fighting zombies alongside Yu Dong and had long been moved by his character. During a celebration on the night after they first trapped and wiped out a small zombie horde, he got drunk and, in a tear- and snot-filled confession, told Yu Dong everything.

Yu Dong had forgiven him.

Because Yu Dong had a place for him, even though he had once worked for Officer Wang.

The moment Wang Dingbei secretly found a chance to speak with Hou Qian, Hou Qian had turned right around and reported it to Yu Dong.

Now, Wang Dingbei’s composure was gone, replaced by... shock.

’Yu Dong has turned the combat team into his private army. They only know of Yu Dong and Zhao Youcai; they’ve forgotten about the people...’

’The combat team is not a team for the people...’

’They are members of Yu Dong and Zhao Youcai’s clique, every last one of them.’

’Materialism... it has corrupted them.’

"Officer Wang, don’t bother with these little tricks anymore. It’s meaningless. On this cruise ship... only I call the shots."

Yu Dong strode out of the room.

Hou Qian was waiting for Yu Dong outside and fell in step behind him, looking completely natural.

The combat team members on guard duty all stood up and watched Yu Dong leave.

They might have their flaws, their hands might not be clean, but they knew... they knew who put food in their mouths and who had led them to their current status.

Who would keep giving them a good life from now on!

Officer Wang? The military? The people?

No!

It was Yu Dong!

Only Yu Dong considered things from their perspective, only Yu Dong was genuinely good to them, and only Yu Dong was on their side!

They repaid Yu Dong with two words: Loyalty! and Faithfulness!

These people were the source of Yu Dong’s confidence in his dictatorship.

He would rely on these people to rule the cruise ship and complete the research and development of the vaccine.

’Once this is done... I will return power to the people.’

"Jiang, arrange for a car. I’m going out to Song’s villa base..."

"Yes, boss."

Jiang Zhuoyu used his walkie-talkie to call Yu Dong’s personal driver and have him bring over his exclusive ride, an Ideal.

As Yu Dong walked, his mind mulled over the future.

’We’ve used up all the felons on the cruise ship... The next step is to find more on the outside.’

’Over the past few months, Song Jinchuan’s place has attracted a lot of people—probably over a hundred by now. There are bound to be good and bad apples among them. I’ve heard Song say before that they also lock up people who do bad things...’

’Maybe I can get three people from him...’

’Everyone will benefit from the vaccine. All the settlements along Binhai Avenue have to help out. The cruise ship base can’t be the only one providing people.’

’I also need to get a few people from the Neighborhood Warlord and the Olympic Sports Center Base...’

As Yu Dong mulled this over, he walked off the cruise ship. His ride was already waiting for him below.

Before he could even get inside, the sound of many cars and trucks came from outside.

It was followed by the sound of dense footsteps from outside.

The walkie-talkie on Yu Dong’s hip crackled to life.

"Boss, Boss! The army’s here! They’re all armed... Holy shit! Why are they pointing their guns at me!"

Startled, Yu Dong looked at Hou Qian.

Hou Qian quickly waved his hands in denial. "Boss, it wasn’t me! I haven’t told anyone!"

The next moment, a voice boomed from a loudspeaker outside:

"Everyone on the wall, freeze! Open the gate immediately, or we’re blasting it open!"

The patrols on the wall, staring down the barrels of countless guns, didn’t dare move.

Below, no one opened the gate.

BOOM!

A large gate was blasted open with explosives. Soldiers poured in, detained the men on the wall, and charged directly for A Port. ℯ

Just then, Yu Dong’s combat team also came running down from the cruise ship.

Zhao Youcai and Yu Chengfei were both out, leaving only Sun Yu behind. He saw the situation and shouted:

"Brothers, raise your crossbows! Protect the boss! We’re not going down without a fight!"

The 50-man combat team raised their crossbows, aiming at the soldiers.

But there were too many soldiers!

Several hundred men had completely surrounded A Port.

Yu Dong, Sun Yu, and the combat team were all trapped.

The two sides faced off in a tense standoff!

A fully armed, helmeted Qiao Yunliang stepped out from among the troops.

"Yu Dong, my men received a formal complaint, with a name attached, accusing you of illegally restricting the personal freedom of multiple police officers. It also states that you have sent innocent people to be used for human experimentation. The nature of these acts is vile. Do you acknowledge these charges?"

Standing beside Qiao Yunliang was... the veteran, Yang Ze.

Yu Dong looked at Yang Ze with a complicated expression. "Yang Ze, I trusted you... Why did you betray me?"

"My loyalty is only to my country and its people."