Chapter 423: Playing by No Rules

Deep into the night, Tianma Yu finally grew quiet—but it was only surface stillness; many could not sleep, and six or seven of the ten captives stared wide-eyed, fearing for their lives.

Wu Baokang, who had been beaten several times, either exhausted or not, was now sound asleep—and snoring loudly.

In Room 201, Ju Wuying sat on the bed in a special posture; a faint glimmer seeped through the curtain gap into the pitch-black room. She closed her eyes to rest, listening to the sounds from next door—the rhythmic, rising and falling snores never ceased.

Yu Wen had assigned Wu Daqiang and the other four a two-bedroom apartment, more than enough for all five, but none of them felt sleepy; they sat together discussing the surreal events of the night.

They speculated endlessly about the relationship between Civilization Guard and Tianma Yu, and the connection between Chairman Li and the King of Hell—but ultimately realized their guesses meant nothing. Decisions made from above could not be changed; their best choice was obedience.

Some sensitive members of Tianma Yu sensed a tense atmosphere and only wished for dawn to come, so they could learn the full situation from Zhang Su.

Zhang Su slept poorly too; his plan had been shelved, and he needed to redraw it. He could not possibly believe Zheng Xinyu's suggestion—that a row of bombs would kill everyone. What about Civilization Guard? Besides, he truly did not want large-scale slaughter—unless absolutely forced.

After the incidents at Beitaizi Camp, the Green Dragon Corps, and Kuan Zhuang, he slowly realized one thing: often, the thoughts of subordinates differed from their leaders'. They might merely be bound by chains, making choices out of necessity. If another path existed, most would not fight to the death—survival was everyone's shared goal.

Half-asleep, he felt he'd only just fallen asleep at dawn—when a single snore later, he was jolted awake by frantic knocking.

Knock knock knock…

"Honey, wake up! Wu Daqiang's here looking for you!"

Zheng Xinyu, who should have been on duty in the monitoring room, knocked on the door; Wu Daqiang stood behind her, his expression grave.

"What?"

Zhang Su reached for his wristwatch on the nightstand—5: 0? "Come in, come in…"

After calling out a few times, Zhang Su rubbed his face and climbed out of bed, turned to tuck the blanket around Zhong Xiaoshanjian, rubbed his bleary eyes—and saw Zheng Xinyu and Wu Daqiang enter the room.

After dropping Wu Daqiang off, Zheng Xinyu left without a word—the monitoring room needed someone on duty.

Wu Daqiang stood awkwardly by the door, his gaze clear as he said to Zhang Su: "Mr. Zhang, please come with me immediately—Chairman Li has something to tell you!"

"Old Li? At this hour… Do you know what's going on?"

Zhang Su thought it absurd—but his hands kept moving, knowing Li Zongkai was steady and would never act recklessly.

"Big matter!"

Wu Daqiang spoke succinctly.

Those two words jolted Zhang Su fully awake. He pulled on his cotton pants while urging Wu Daqiang to hurry outside.

Soon, the two arrived at the residence of Civilization Guard's five members. The other four were awake, seated around a table where the communicator and signal transmitter lay plainly in view.

"Mr. Zhang, please."

Xiao Tiao gestured solemnly toward the table. Zhang Su picked up the communicator, frowned, and said: "Old Li?"

"Mr. Zhang, Liao Youzhi contacted me at 5: 0, saying he'll meet at LeGou Mall at 7: 0, then head straight to your location."

?? Zhang Su blinked his dry eyes, doubting what he'd heard, and blurted: "What did you say?"

After Li Zongkai repeated it, Zhang Su's mind finally clicked. His gaze sharpened: "Yesterday, I learned from Wu Baokang that their survey team was scheduled to return in two days. How could the plan change after just one night?"

Liao Youzhi's move was utterly unexpected. Zhang Su had no clue what his strategy was—it was too erratic! Li Zongkai sighed over the line: "I'm just as baffled. What should we do now? Should I go or not?"

In long-term planning, Li Zongkai excelled—but when faced with sudden chaos, he hesitated.

"Wait, wait, let me think!"

Zhang Su had just powered up, his brain still warming up, when he heard this bombshell. He felt a mental lag, rubbed his face hard, and asked: "Do you think the Tianqi Group and the Little Eagle Society will show up?"

After brief thought, Li Zongkai replied: "When Liao Youzhi took the lead, the Little Eagle Society joined first. Liu Yao was highly enthusiastic—he'll definitely come. As for the Tianqi Group, given Yang Xin's habit of grabbing every advantage, he won't miss this either—but he'll complain loudly."

"Complain loudly…"

Zhang Su shook his head in disbelief. "Who's got a boss who nags like that? They don't understand the stakes. Liao Youzhi claims he wants to seize the north and split the spoils with you—but in truth, he's targeting all three of you."

"What? This…"

Li Zongkai knew Zhang Su never spoke without cause. He hurriedly asked: "Mr. Zhang, what information do you have?"

"Wu Baokang revealed that Liao Youzhi plans to use this northern expansion as cover to crush all three of you. Once done, he'll dominate the north alone."

Upon hearing this, Wu Daqiang and the others froze in place…

Li Zongkai's voice, incredulous, crackled through the communicator: "Mr. Zhang, this is too unbelievable! I suspected Liao Youzhi had hidden motives—but I never thought he meant to destroy us!"

Alliances rise and fall—it's the natural order, even in the apocalypse. If Liao Youzhi succeeds, the Survivor Alliance will become the strongest force in Qincheng, and other county factions will likely be slowly absorbed.

From a human perspective, the growth of a survivor faction is good—but from the viewpoint of those being swallowed, it's total disaster. "So… should I go or not?"

Li Zongkai was truly torn—the situation had become a complete mess.

"If you don't go, you're openly declaring you're done with Liao Youzhi. I doubt the other three will trust you. He'll almost certainly bring his men straight to you. Better to play along, meet up, then you and I strike from within and without—crush the Survivor Alliance outright. As for the Little Eagle Society and Tianqi Group, we'll see how they react. What do you think?"

Zhang Su proposed a radical plan.

Wu Daqiang and the others listened, mouths dry—everything was falling apart. The north of Qincheng was about to descend into utter chaos…

(End of Chapter)