Chapter 263: Dragon Army

"So does that mean the Ninth and Tenth Squads are having it too easy? Not only do they have less work, but they're also barely in any danger!"

Zhang Su frowned and asked.

Xin Qi nodded and said: "Actually, they don't want it easy—because whether they're on missions or working around camp, the Ninth and Tenth Squads earn no points… and promotion is extremely difficult. You only get promoted if someone ahead of you gets wounded or killed, and even then, you're pulled from the reserve."

"That makes sense…" Zhang Su knew there couldn't be such an obvious flaw. He continued: "When you arrived today, the Third, Fifth, and Sixth Squads were out—what were the others doing?"

Xin Qi was puzzled—he didn't know how this man knew their exact situation—but answered honestly: "Supply missions never send elite squads. The Fourth Squad took the Eighth Squad west to clear zombies out of villages. The rest are all still in camp."

"By the way, your camp used to be a military base, right? I see you all use standard-issue weapons."

Zhang Su suddenly remembered something Guo Dachao had mentioned and asked.

"Yes, the elders say it used to be an infantry battalion, right?" Xin Qi turned to look at his two companions.

"Mmmmm."

Both nodded vigorously, like chickens pecking rice.

Zhang Su asked.

Zhang Su asked.

Zhang Su looked at Xin Qi with suspicion—he thought this young kid was just pretending to be shy. He wasn't that young, and given the current world, why was he still blushing when talking about men and women?

He didn't care about these small details; his mind was focused on other things.

"I see…"

Zhang Su raised a hand to stop him and continued: "Tell me about the other departments—do none of them have combat capability?"

Since leaving Qincheng, Zhang Su had insisted every single member of his group be combat-ready—even delicate women had to fight, each one a steel maiden, never needing to rely on trade to survive.

Zhang Su had heard from Zhang Xin that within the Survivor Alliance, many women sold their bodies for resources, and there were even dedicated places for such business. The Dragon Army had the same problem—this service was clearly very popular.

He knew his own men would have such needs, but right now, in Tianmayu, such a project was impossible—most importantly, there were no suitable personnel…

"It's… it's women who specifically sleep with people," Xin Qi explained awkwardly, clearly embarrassed.

"Huh, that's a high-ranking position—doesn't that make them pretty powerful in your army?" Zhang Su teased.

"If I'm not mistaken, you two big soldiers should be the captains of the First and Second Squads, right?"

As he spoke, Xin Qi began pleading.

Unexpectedly, Xin Qi shook his head, embarrassed: "No, no—they're the Deputy Commander and the Chief of Combat Operations."

"Hmm… our boss is Ma Juguang. Everyone calls him Commander—he's not a former soldier, but he's incredibly strong in hand-to-hand combat and firearms. We call ourselves an army, but only two of us ever served in the military… because Ma Juguang originally set up this safe base inside the barracks, so he named it that."

"Hmm… besides Logistics, most people have some self-defense ability. Logistics is made up entirely of women, children, and elderly with almost no combat power—they handle all the camp's internal chores, the dirty, exhausting work, and… and those women too."

Xin Qi nodded dejectedly and said helplessly: "That's just their skill—you can't envy them. Survivors who joined later are completely outclassed by them… Big Brother, let us go. We're just following orders—we never meant to fight you, really."

"Hey, I ask you—how busy are those women who sleep with people?"

"Who's the boss of the Dragon Army? How many of you were originally from the military base?"

"We haven't finished talking yet—don't rush!"

Xin Qi turned his head with a strange expression, glanced at his companion, then nodded: "Very busy. Sometimes we can't keep up."

"What? What do you mean 'that'?" Zhang Su frowned.

Since ancient times, such things were never rare during wartime—people needed to vent emotions and relieve stress, and there were only so many outlets. Sleeping with women or playing cards were perfectly acceptable ways.

"What about the other two departments? What does the Administration Department do?" Zhang Su continued asking about the Dragon Army's internal structure—he had a plan and needed full understanding before acting.

"Officially, it's called the Administration Department—it manages all affairs, about twenty people total. Oh, right, some of the Deputy Commander's people are in there too. Not much work, but they eat a lot—we secretly call them parasites!"

Xin Qi clearly had no fondness for the Administration Department.

"Mmmmm, mmmm."

Unexpectedly, one of the companions in the corner spoke urgently—he clearly had something to say.

Riiip.

Zhang Su stepped forward and ripped off the man's mouth tape. "What do you want to say?"

"Ooh… ooh…" The man winced, then forced a smile: "Big Brother, Xiao Xin missed something—I'll fill in the gaps."

"Go ahead," Zhang Su said, seeing Xin Qi's terrified expression. "Don't get worked up. Omissions are normal—as long as you're not lying, I won't kill you… for now."

"Oh, okay, good…" Hearing he might live for now, Xin Qi nodded frantically.

"Here's the thing, Big Brother—the Administration Department's official role is as Xiao Xin said: managing affairs. But its real function is infiltration, balance, division, and gathering intelligence—especially on internal personnel."

The man speaking was around forty, sharp-eyed, thin but with some muscle from long-term training.

Zhang Su nodded thoughtfully. His own squad was tightly united, so he had no such concerns. But in a camp of three or four hundred people like the Dragon Army, if subordinates started causing trouble, it'd be hard to guard against. This department made sense—it wasn't just about securing the leader's power, but also protecting the whole group.

But the Dragon Army's internal situation was bad. He clearly remembered several squad captains discussing factions, so he asked: "What's the relationship between your Commander and Deputy Commander?"

"Relationship? Not sure… probably good?" The middle-aged man looked questioningly at Xin Qi.

Xin Qi frowned, thought for a moment, then shook his head: "I really don't know, Big Brother—I'm not lying."

Indeed, no useful information could be obtained from the low-level minions about the high-level news.

"Alright, last department—Science Department. What do they usually do?"

Zhang Su was most interested in this department. Fu Wei had shown him the power of science—the thalamus and petrified skin had saved at least five or six lives!

After meeting Zero-Zero-Three, his desire for science grew even stronger.

"The Science Department is divided into several small teams: the Medical Team treats the wounded; the Research Team studies zombie traits and develops antiviral drugs; the most mysterious is the Edge Team—they work on fringe science, incredibly secretive. Zero-Zero-Three was created by the Edge Team!"

The newly freed middle-aged man spoke like a machine gun, pouring out everything he knew, trying to impress and earn leniency.

"Edge Team…" Zhang Su muttered, frowning. That name was interesting.

More interesting than the team's name was the zombie modification…

It gave Zhang Su a cyberpunk vibe—zombies brought disaster to humanity, yet humans used zombies to create new possibilities. It felt surprisingly positive.

He turned to the three men: "Do you know how Zero-Zero-Three was modified?"

All three shook their heads. Xin Qi said: "About half a month ago, after we returned from a mission, we got a notice saying there'd be an important meeting that afternoon. Then the Science Department showed us Zero-Zero-Three…"

The middle-aged man added: "I asked around, but no one knew the details. They just said they captured many zombies and brought them to the lab. Everything else is a mystery. It's hard to even see Edge Team researchers—only the Commander and a few core members can interact with them."

Zhang Su wasn't surprised—he kept many secrets from his own men too. He asked: "Since it's called Zero-Zero-Three, what about the others? Is Zero-Zero-One the strongest?"

Xin Qi shifted his squatting position, about to speak, but the middle-aged man cut in again.

"Xiao Xin joined the army late—he doesn't know much. I'll tell you: the first was Zero-Zero-Zero, but the modification failed terribly. I remember it only lived half a day before dying. Zero-Zero-One wasn't much better—it died within an hour, suddenly convulsing and dropping dead."

"Zero-Zero-Two showed a little improvement—it could survive, but its combat power was weak, weaker than a regular zombie. They kept it as a training dummy for elite squads—probably already dead by now. Zero-Zero-Three was the first truly successful modification."

The middle-aged man paused, then continued: "There are rumors the Edge Team has started modifying Zero-Zero-Four. All hearsay, but I think no smoke without fire. They say Zero-Zero-Four is a speed-type zombie. But how far along they are, no one knows."

(End of Chapter)