Chapter 405: Investigation Team

Liao Youzhi said: "We each send five men to investigate the north!"

"I second that."

"Agreed."

Li Zongkai and Yang Xin both agreed readily, but Liu Yao hesitated; he raised his smoldering cigar and said, "Hey, Chief Liao, I'm fine with everyone contributing, but you all have big operations—don't you know my situation? I can't spare five men. Maximum three!"

The Survivors' Alliance, the largest of the four factions, had grown to nearly four hundred people, with its Guard Unit, Vanguard Corps, and Search Teams totaling seventy to eighty, plus additional unaffiliated fighters—roughly a hundred and a few combat-capable members.

Yang Xin's Tianqi Corps occupied an automobile sales park, situated between the city and suburbs, with excellent conditions overall; it now numbered close to two hundred, but combat personnel were scarce—only about forty.

Li Zongkai's situation was unclear to everyone, as his Civilization Protectors were stationed far away, though still within Nancheng, at the easternmost edge; all they knew was his numbers were no less than a hundred.

The Little Eagle Society was the smallest, with only seventy-some members; despite the name "Eagle," it was anything but fierce—over half were elderly, weak, women, and children who only scavenged for trash and supplies; true combatants numbered no more than thirty.

Liao Youzhi shrugged helplessly and said, "Commander Liu, in this matter… the Survivors' Alliance has no issue. What do you think, Brother Gong?"

"Fine."

Gong Chengming nodded with a faint smile.

"So you need to ask Chairman Li and Old Yang—they're the ones who must agree."

Liao Youzhi gestured toward the two with a smile.

"Don't ask me—I won't agree!" Yang Xin cut Liu Yao off immediately.

"I'm not asking you!"

Liu Yao's temper flared; he took a deep breath and turned to Li Zongkai: "Brother Li, lend a hand to your younger brother?"

"Investigating is no big deal—extra or fewer men won't matter. But when real action comes, Little Eagle Society better not drag us down!"

Li Zongkai studied Liu Yao with a knowing look.

"You can count on me—I'll give it my all!"

Liu Yao slapped his chest loudly, leaving handprints on his wool sweater.

"Good, decision made—no time to waste. We'll assemble the team during dinner, and depart under cover of night. Chairman Li, you'll need to supply some night-vision gear."

A grin spread across Liao Youzhi's rugged face; with the restaurant brightly lit, it was harmless—but in dim light, it would terrify the timid.

"This'll count as a contribution from Civilization Protectors, haha."

Li Zongkai wasn't stingy; this operation would benefit Civilization Protectors too—he couldn't be overly selfish.

"Good, good, good—agreed, everyone's happy! Come on, eat your fill, drink your fill!" In the past, meals weren't important—once business was done, everyone left; the remaining feast might be packed up by staff or tossed in the trash.

But now it was different: only after settling matters did the real meal begin. Even faction leaders refused to waste such a spread; they ate, drank, chatted about past, present, and future—the atmosphere was warm.

During this time, they drafted the investigation team's roster; since Civilization Protectors, Little Eagle Society, and Tianqi Corps all brought their own people, they quickly assembled a sharp investigative unit.

On the fourth floor of Lègòu Mall, Zhang Xin leaned against the railing, a cigarette dangling from his lips, staring down at the pitch-black first and second floors and the dimly lit third—no one knew what he was thinking, when suddenly, footsteps echoed from the stairwell behind him, making his heart skip.

Soon, he heard a rapid clatter of footsteps ascending floor by floor, along with two voices chatting—but too muddled to make out; he knew the speakers were Chief Liao Youzhi and Deputy Chief Gong Chengming.

He crushed his cigarette, returned to the room, shoved away the woman who lunged at him, gripped the alliance's walkie-talkie, his expression tense and conflicted.

"Should I send the message now…"

Zhang Xin checked the time, touched the pistol at his waist; ten minutes had passed since the two leaders returned. If there was action, a notice should've been issued—yet the walkie-talkie remained silent. He checked if it was on, then suddenly remembered: for major operations, they'd use the loudspeaker, not the walkie-talkie.

Another ten minutes passed—still no movement. Only occasional coughs drifted up from below, and faint, intermittent sighs rose like whispers.

"No message? No message is the best message… Wait."

Zhang Xin gently set down the walkie-talkie, his mind uneasy; he even secretly hoped Liao Youzhi would announce tomorrow's attack on Tianmayu—then he could defect openly, instead of being stuck in this torment!

Three convoys left Lègòu Mall in succession, illuminating roads toward east and west; the two convoys that departed westward minutes apart merged after traveling a distance—whether due to conflict or some other scheme, it was unclear.

After the three convoys departed, several more vehicles slowly pulled out—but headed north. Four cars drove without headlights, moving in darkness at a slow pace of thirty to forty kilometers per hour.

That night, many in the Four-Faction Alliance couldn't sleep soundly, their minds churning.

In contrast, Tianmayu's people had no such worries: by eight p. m., lovers were dating, readers were studying, and those ready to rest were already tucked in; Zhang Su was leading a team working by the mountain stream! In under four hours, after dinner, Wu Lue and Liu Tianji had built a remote ignition device, while Yu Qing had crafted numerous bombs—five to six sizes, from small to large, suited for different scenarios.

After simple tests, the remote ignition device successfully triggered the fuses and detonated the bombs; for a massive explosion, just a small amount of Shengtian Original Juice added to a plastic container attached to the bomb would do the trick.

This was Zhang Su's new name for the toxic liquid—just one drop of Shengtian Original Juice guaranteed instant ascension to heaven.

"Boss Zhang, we must conserve the long-range remote device—we only have one. Unless we dismantle all extra walkie-talkies, we can't make five of these ultra-long-range ignition units."

After testing, Liu Tianji reported his concerns to Zhang Su; under current camp conditions, remote ignition wasn't hard—but communication modules were scarce, making mass production of long-range devices impossible. For shorter ranges—say, eighty to a hundred meters—they could make many.

Zhang Su examined the device in his hand, smirked, and said: "No problem. When we plant the bombs, we'll figure out a way to reuse them."

Considering lead time, lengthening the fuse and protecting it with non-interfering material should work fine; later, we'll collect more communication modules to build more remote ignition devices.

These bombs will be the core defensive weapon for our future outpost and can be flexibly deployed in offensives—indispensable.

(End of Chapter)