Chapter 417: A Thoroughgoing Conspiracy

"Originally, we agreed to discuss the details of our arrangement after we met. Right now, I want to ask: what exactly is going on with Daqiang and his team? What the hell are the Survivors' Alliance up to?"

Zhang Su had already confirmed the result he wanted and now steered the conversation back on track.

"Uh, Mr. Zhang, was it really you who lured that horde of corpses to the North Second Ring Road this afternoon?"

Li Zongkai asked cautiously.

Zhang Su made no concealment, giving a slight nod. "Yes, I did lure a horde southward this afternoon—for an experiment. But the previous three times had nothing to do with me."

"Ah, if I'd known Tianmayu was your territory, I never would've agreed to this operation. Mr. Zhang, this is a thoroughgoing conspiracy!"

Li Zongkai's voice, heavy with regret, came through the speaker, then he spilled everything he knew.

At first, Wu Daqiang and Xiao Tiao had been stunned by the possibility that this man might be their new leader, but the word "conspiracy" snapped them back to attention. They listened intently, growing more alarmed with every word—only now did they realize how dirty the upper echelons' schemes truly were.

There was no truth to the claim that four hordes had been lured to the north of Qincheng; the first three were all staged by the Survivors' Alliance—more precisely, orchestrated by Liao Youzhi, a secret even within the Alliance itself. After hearing this, Zhang Su frowned sharply. "Old Li, where did you get this information?"

"This info came from someone I planted beside Liao Youzhi. One hundred percent reliable—unless Liao Youzhi lied to his own woman too."

Li Zongkai answered with certainty, then continued.

"When the third horde appeared, Liao Youzhi summoned me, the Hawk Society, and the Revelation Group. For some reason, the plan was shelved—until today, another horde showed up..."

Li Zongkai didn't know that the plan had been shelved because Liao Youzhi felt the timing wasn't right, so he decided to add more fuel. Whether or not Tianmayu lured corpses to the North Second Ring Road today was irrelevant—Liao Youzhi had already secretly arranged the fourth.

"So the factions north of you have long been eyeing Qingxian? Wait—so the Hawk Society and the Revelation Group didn't know the previous hordes were Liao Youzhi's doing?"

Zhang Su asked.

"Of course not—if they had, they'd have turned on him already! The second horde that came from the north attacked the Hawk Society's headquarters. Liao Youzhi gathered our four groups for a meeting and proposed pushing northward. The original plan was to advance along Provincial Road 52 all the way to Qingxian, absorbing both sides' forces. Those who refused to submit would be driven out."

"All supplies would be divided equally among our four groups. Captives, regardless of number, would be split between the Survivors' Alliance and the Hawk Society. Land boundaries were already roughly sketched on the map—we were planning to start claiming territory next spring, when the earth revived and all things bloomed!"

When Li Zongkai finished, the seven people inside the Lucky Restaurant fell silent.

Mutual conflict seemed etched into humanity's genes. Even after the zombie apocalypse stabilized slightly, they immediately turned on each other again—fighting over land, resources, and population...

Wu Daqiang and the other four suddenly felt a kinship with Zhang Su. Tianmayu had been sitting peacefully at home when disaster fell from the sky—truly, when guilt is desired, no excuse is too flimsy. Meanwhile, they had been fighting on the frontlines, merely pawns in the power games of the big bosses.

Zhang Su and Yu Wen thought differently from Wu Daqiang and the others. The Survivors' Alliance had spent a month scheming with meticulous care—they must be preparing a major move. Their side needed to strengthen defenses—or...

"Old Li, how much do you know about the Survivors' Alliance? Their personnel, weaponry, all of it."

Li Zongkai immediately understood what Zhang Su was thinking. He spoke gravely: "The Survivors' Alliance has traded away a lot of weapons and equipment from us. They also maintain close ties with the Beihe District—you know how special that place is. They've got plenty of high-quality weapons too."

"Normally, when we deal with the Survivors' Alliance, we see their search teams aren't even fully armed. But their actual armory must be overflowing. More importantly, I suspect the Survivors' Alliance has... mutant zombies. Have you heard of them, Mr. Zhang?"

"Mutant zombies... those with special abilities, right? We call them mutated zombies. We've seen them—more than one kind. You're saying the Survivors' Alliance has some of those?"

Zhang Su's expression grew grim.

Conventional firearms are just guns and cannons. In this region of Qincheng, there are no highly advanced weapons. But mutated zombies are different—their abilities are unpredictable and varied. Without knowing how to counter them, extreme caution is essential. In the dim light, Li Zongkai nodded, pulled his coat tighter, and spoke into the communicator: "Yes. I have strong reason to believe the Survivors' Alliance is breeding mutated zombies as weapons."

Just as I thought.

Zhang Su and Yu Wen exchanged glances. There are too many clever people in this world—not just them knew the power of mutated zombies. Even if not every faction had the resources, the Survivors' Alliance, as the largest organization in Qincheng, certainly did. "Do you know what type of mutated zombies? Have you ever encountered any before?"

Zhang Su asked two questions in quick succession.

"We've encountered zombies that were different before, but we never thought to study them—we just killed them on the spot. As for the Survivors' Alliance's mutated zombies... I suspect they're temperature-related. I heard Liao Youzhi heats his place using zombies. Sounds fantastical, right?"

"No, Old Li, using zombies for heating is normal—just burn them. Isn't that obvious? Don't you know zombies burn better than coal?"

Zhang Su's lips twitched. Their entire Tianmayu, including both satellite villages, heated with zombie corpses.

Before Li Zongkai could respond, Wu Daqiang gave a strange smile. "We know..."

Soon, Li Zongkai's voice came again: "Yes, we all burn zombie corpses as fuel. But according to what I know, the Survivors' Alliance doesn't burn zombies for heat—they must have another method. Liao Youzhi keeps this tightly guarded. Even my informant couldn't get any details."

"Old Li, mutated zombies have many uses. Even if you kill one, don't treat it like a regular corpse. Keep it. I have researchers here who specialize in developing applications for zombies."

Zombie Application Science—a hot field in the apocalypse.

Li Zongkai slapped his forehead in regret. "Oh no, that's a shame—I already burned them all..."

He himself had lit the fire that destroyed the mutated zombies, mainly fearing the virus might spread through unusual means.

Zhang Su thought of the toxin zombies—if some faction accidentally found a toxin zombie corpse and tossed it into the furnace like a regular corpse, the consequences would be catastrophic.

"Well, they're burned now. Anyway, don't burn mutated zombies carelessly... Let's drop this for now. According to you, the Survivors' Alliance is deeply hidden. If we attack, there's a high risk?"

"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you'll never be defeated. We don't understand the Survivors' Alliance's situation—there's definitely risk. But if you decide to attack them, I can fully activate my spy network and bring back every piece of information."

Li Zongkai's meaning was clear: if Tianmayu chose to attack the Survivors' Alliance, Civilization Guard would offer unconditional support. Wu Daqiang and the others, having listened to this exchange, were numb. Of course—they were only frontline shock troops. The real battles had already been fought in the shadows...

Zhang Su also had people inside the Survivors' Alliance, but none as impressive as Li Zongkai's—someone who'd climbed into Liao Youzhi's bed. The intelligence level would be vastly different...

"Old Li, I think the Survivors' Alliance's presence in northern Qincheng is a poison tumor. If you were to manage the entire northern region, you'd do a better job than Liao Youzhi. What do you think?"

At these words, silence fell not only in the restaurant, but also on the other end of the line—Li Zongkai was left speechless.

He didn't understand what Zhang Su meant...

"Mr. Zhang, my Civilization Guard has over a hundred and twenty people now. This whole operation is already yours to manage—why would you ask me to take charge of something even bigger?"

Li Zongkai thought Zhang Su was testing him and quickly reaffirmed his loyalty.

This time, Wu Daqiang and the others finally understood: Li and this man had long had an agreement—they were already one family, and they just hadn't known. The five felt a wave of relief. They wouldn't die after all. Good...

Wu Daqiang and Xiao Tiao's gazes toward Zhang Su changed—complex emotions flickered within them.

Yu Wen remained calm, already piecing together the relationship between Zhang Su and Li Zongkai. This was clearly a pre-established external force—like digging tunnels from both sides, now finally meeting in the middle.

He too felt a pang of awe. He had always believed himself to be deeply strategic—but Zhang Su's plans stretched even further. Clearly, he still had much to strive for.

"None of this is urgent. First, let's gather intelligence. I've captured people from the Survivors' Alliance and the Revelation Group. I killed three from the Hawk Society, but got nothing out of them. Do you have anything else to tell me? If not, I'm going to go talk to the Survivors' Alliance people myself."

Zhang Su suspected Li Zongkai didn't know more than the Survivors' Alliance's team leader.

(End of Chapter)