Chapter 136 - 135: Show of Force! A Stratagem
Chapter 136: Chapter 135: Show of Force! A Stratagem
Lu Feng didn’t linger. The current priority was to bring the people from Red Leaf Base back to Qingfeng Base.
"Let’s go. Back to the base," Lu Feng said to Lin Jiao.
This trip out could be considered a success, having resolved all the issues.
Red Leaf Base was just too close to Qingfeng Base.
No wonder their base had been attacked by zombies.
The only thing he didn’t know now was whether the two culprits, Guo Qi and Teacher Hu, had directed the zombies, or if the zombies had found their way to Qingfeng Base on their own.
But that wasn’t important anymore.
’According to the plot, the Hexagonal Beast should be hiding and recovering from its injuries. The next time it appears will probably be during the Frenzied Zombies arc.’
’When that happens, the City East Alliance will be the unlucky ones.’
’Besides, he hadn’t lost any of the people he’d brought with him, and he was even able to swallow up Red Leaf Base. This was a huge win.’
’He just wondered how much research and tech talent was in this group.’
’His goal remained the same: build a post-apocalyptic research base and then export its technology to the real world.’
"Mm." Lin Jiao nodded and left with Lu Feng.
Not long after, Lu Feng led his people away from Red Leaf Base and headed for Qingfeng Base.
Along the way, Lin Jiao had already taken a headcount of the people from Red Leaf Base. There were a good 500-plus people, many more than at Qingfeng Base.
And that was even after Red Leaf Base had lost quite a few people during the zombie siege.
Lin Nan, of course, noticed that the route they were on wasn’t eastward, as Mr. Lu had previously mentioned. They were heading in the opposite direction.
But when he remembered how Guo Qi had led people to ambush them, it was clear they had suspected Red Leaf Base from the very beginning. ’There’s nothing to be said about that,’ he thought.
Just then, a cry of surprise came from someone in the group:
"It’s healed! It’s really all faded!"
"Haha, this is truly incredible!"
"..."
Hearing the commotion, Lin Nan realized what was happening and hurried over. Sure enough, he saw an excited man clutching his arm, surrounded by a crowd of other survivors.
This was one of the men who had been attacked by a mutated zombie and had taken the special serum.
You could now see that the black lines spreading across his arm had completely disappeared.
Those hideous black lines were a condition that only appeared after being bitten by a mutated zombie, a result of their much more potent venom.
Now the black lines on his arm were completely gone. Even the blood flowing from the wound was no longer black, but a healthy, bright red.
This proved that he was completely cured.
"Hurry up and clean the black blood that leaked out. It carries the zombie toxin, so don’t let it re-infect the wound," Chen Fei’s voice suddenly cut in, a sharp reminder from the side.
The survivors glanced at him, then immediately nodded, taking out alcohol and disinfectant to help the man treat his wound.
Lin Nan gave Chen Fei a surprised look.
’I don’t remember this Guard Squad Leader at all,’ he thought. ’If he’d always been this conspicuous, he should have been noticed long ago.’
Chen Fei noticed Lin Nan looking and offered a polite smile.
Lin Nan froze for a second, then watched as Chen Fei headed toward the back of the column and yelled at a group of people, "All of you carrying food, pick up the pace!"
In the apocalypse, food was one of the most vital resources. It was the surest guarantee of survival.
Previously, Red Leaf Base had found a good amount of coarse grains and had also managed to procure a large supply of cockroach paste. Mixed together, it could sustain them for a long time.
Seeing this, Lin Nan was even more astonished. ’When did Chen Fei integrate so seamlessly? And the people from Red Leaf Base are acting so obediently to his orders, all of them calling out in response.’
’It’s as if this is completely normal.’
’After all, Chen Fei was just a Guard Squad Leader before this. Many of the survivors from Red Leaf Base shouldn’t even know who he is.’
At that moment, however, Chen Fei looked over at Lin Jiao, Wang Cheng, and the others with surprise.
As he was telling people to be careful with the food, they had actually shown looks of disgust.
’I’m not mistaken,’ he thought.
’They’re disgusted by this food?’
’This can only mean one thing: Qingfeng Base has plenty of food, and it’s much better than this cockroach paste. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have this reaction.’
’This point alone proves how powerful Mr. Lu’s base is. In the apocalypse, food is a direct reflection of strength.’
Soon, the group saw the flag of Qingfeng Base in the distance.
When they arrived at Qingfeng Base, Xu Bin and Guo Zhen were already there with a group of people to welcome them.
The moment Lin Nan, Chen Fei, and the people from Red Leaf Base entered the main gate, they saw the two men.
Upon seeing the pair, the newcomers’ faces filled with shock.
To an ordinary person, Xu Bin and Guo Zhen’s builds were like small mountains—they were simply massive.
Lin Jiao took the opportunity to introduce them to Lin Nan’s group. "Mr. Lin, these are Xu Bin and Guo Zhen. They’re two of our base’s managers, and they’re also ability users."
This statement clearly shocked Lin Nan and his people even more.
’Ability users!’
’No wonder they’re built like that.’
’After all, ability users are rare in the apocalypse, and every single one is incredibly strong.’
’I can’t believe two of the managers at Mr. Lu’s base are ability users.’
Then, they were even more amazed to see a Mecha, worn by a member of the Salvation Army.
’They knew just how terrifying those things were.’
’Mr. Lu’s base actually has this kind of weapon?’
’It’s astounding.’
’Three of these Mechas, as long as they had enough power, could easily wipe out everyone in Red Leaf Base, couldn’t they?’
This was clearly a deliberate arrangement by Lin Jiao, a show of strength.
’Even without the boss’s orders,’ she thought, ’I know I have to find a way to make these people from Red Leaf Base stay. Otherwise, are we just going to give them a free meal and let them leave?’
’A show of force is appropriate right now, especially since the survivors from Red Leaf Base just suffered a major disaster.’
’This show of force will let them know that a disaster like that would never happen at Qingfeng Base. We have the strength to handle it.’
’Under these circumstances, what survivor wouldn’t want to join a safe and powerful base?’
’But a show of force alone isn’t enough of an impact.’ She turned and instructed Guo Zhen, "Pass on the order. The kitchen is to make extra food today to welcome our new survivor friends. Make sure everyone eats their fill."
’After force comes food.’
’The one-two punch will be much more effective.’
’I’m sure other bases can’t afford to let every survivor eat their fill. You can tell just by looking at what these people from Red Leaf Base were eating—coarse grains and cockroach paste.’
’Even if they had slightly better food, or even just enough food, no one would willingly eat cockroach paste.’
Although the stuff is nutritious and edible, the taste is truly hard to stomach. As for what it tastes like... well, if you catch a couple of cockroaches and eat them, you’ll probably get the idea.
Guo Zhen immediately went to make the arrangements.
The kitchen quickly began preparing the extra meal. The base was well-stocked with food for the time being, especially since Lu Feng had just transported in so much grain.
Soon, buckets of white rice were carried out from the kitchen. The sight of the glistening, plump grains of rice shocked everyone from Red Leaf Base.
How long had it been since they had eaten rice like this?
The feeling was truly sublime.
When Lin Nan took a bowl of rice and had a few bites, the fragrant aroma made him let out a long sigh.
He knew then that as long as Mr. Lu’s base always served food like this, Red Leaf Base now belonged to Mr. Lu.
Chen Fei stared at the fluffy white rice, the light in his eyes growing even more intense, his thoughts impossible to guess.
’This Mr. Lu’s base is something else.’