Chapter 528: I Feel Something

The icy temperature sharpened the mind; through the shattered laboratory door, stars filled the sky.

Zhang Su shook the walkie-talkie in his hand and looked at Li Zongkai and Yu Wen, speaking slowly.

"This disaster must have affected many people, severely damaging camps already on the brink—some may take advantage of the chaos, but I'm not being arrogant: given Qin Cheng's current state, no faction poses a threat to us. Instead, we may soon face passive expansion."

Leaving aside Tianma Yu, even the former Survivor Alliance was an entity no small faction could match; seeking refuge in danger is human nature, and situations like Niuyazi's won't be isolated cases.

As a major power, we can't remain indifferent to others' pleas in such harsh conditions. Once, saying "human civilization's survival depends on us" was a joke—but now it's no exaggeration; the real burden rests on every shoulder.

Greater power means greater responsibility—and now it's tangible.

Li Zongkai and Yu Wen understood Zhang Su's intent in telling them this: he needed their input.

"Crisis forces humans to instinctively band together; only the mentally unstable would sabotage. Stability isn't the issue here—I believe this is the perfect chance to expand, but we must build authority during the crisis so we can manage smoothly afterward."

Yu Wen had always focused on governance and immediately offered his opinion based on the current situation.

After a moment's thought, Li Zongkai continued Yu Wen's line: "Mr. Zhang, forgive my frankness, but if we continue developing separately under these conditions, we may face even greater danger. We may need to consider merging."

Dispersion was meant to avoid being targeted by zombie hordes, but the situation has changed. After their enhancement, zombies' ability to locate humans has dramatically improved. If we still follow our old survival plan, no place except Tianma Yu—the strongest—will have any real defense.

"By the way, I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier."

Zhang Su rubbed his temple and pointed toward the kindergarten: "The Auto Park has been fully abandoned. The Qitian Group and Little Eagle Society have fully merged; ordinary members are settled at the kindergarten. We left over a dozen combat personnel behind and brought everyone else here. Once things stabilize..."

"Whistle! Whistle-whistle..."

As they spoke, a whistle shattered the peace inside the mall, followed by voices from below.

"A group of zombies coming from the south—number unknown, roughly fifty."

"Quick, notify Brother Commander of the Yama Legion..."

"Shut up. Fifty zombies? We can handle them ourselves. Brothers, grab your gear!"

Below, Liu Yao immediately organized personnel to prepare for resistance.

In the past, fifty zombies could be easily dealt with by even informal combatants—but not anymore. We need regular troops, with cover and preparation, or everyone's in danger...

"Zombies have gotten this strong—our days are only getting harder..."

Wu Lue peered down at the bustling personnel and sighed.

"Old Li, how many more can the barracks hold?" Zhang Su asked.

Li Zongkai's eyes lit up: "Are you thinking of moving everyone here to the barracks?"

"Exactly."

After repeated zombie attacks, Zhang Su felt continuing to spread out was unwise—but he didn't want to bring everyone back to Tianma Yu either; it would be too crowded.

Whether from self-interest or other considerations, he wanted Tianma Yu to consist solely of core members, with as many as possible being elite among elites.

Li Zongkai spoke with certainty: "The barracks' infrastructure is still solid. We can comfortably fit around five hundred. There'll be some friction, but we can adjust gradually later."

"Good. As long as the infrastructure holds, everything else is manageable. Then let's use tomorrow and the day after to move everyone over."

"Everyone?"

"Including those from the kindergarten?"

Yu Wen and Li Zongkai asked simultaneously. Zhang Su nodded: "Yes. You've seen the zombies—they've got noses like dogs, far more sensitive than before. Thankfully, they no longer gather in hordes before attacking, but even these scattered raids are a headache. Splitting our forces makes defense exhausting. Better to build a solid fortress!"

"But..." Li Zongkai paused, then said, "If we're building a fortified camp, isn't Tianma Yu more suitable?"

Tianma Yu was built against the mountain, with a single path up and down—slight modifications would make it a naturally defensible stronghold. The barracks had no advantage over it.

"I also think if we're going to merge..."

Yu Wen hesitated, then made up his mind: "I believe if we merge, the best choice is to bring everyone back to Tianma Yu. Village One and Village Two still have capacity. If absolutely necessary, activate Village Three to the north. It'll take effort, but it's a permanent solution."

The afternoon's decision had trapped everyone in a siege, leaving Yu Wen with psychological scars—he now spoke cautiously.

Zhang Su stayed silent, his mind turning over the surroundings of Tianma Yu. After a long while, he sighed: "Since we're all comrades, I'll be blunt: bringing this many people back to Tianma Yu at once might overwhelm us. Not to mention supplies—we'd be stretched thin."

Supplies were vital for survival. Originally, every household had ample resources; pooling them and distributing fairly wouldn't be a problem. But now, the Auto Park's supplies were looted, and Qitian Group originally had over a hundred people—that's a huge gap. Before, it didn't matter—we could just scavenge. But now, with these powerful zombies everywhere, search missions have become far more intense, and efficiency has plummeted. "Yeah, feeding and caring for several hundred people is a problem..."

"Too bad it's freezing cold now—farming won't keep up!"

Supplies were a major issue. Li Zongkai and Yu Wen both frowned, racked with worry—this was their headache, and no quick solution came to mind.

"Boss, I..."

Chen Hanzhou, sensing the silence, stepped beside Zhang Su, his eyes avoiding contact: "Could we find a quiet place to talk?"

"You didn't rest? What's up? Come, let's talk over here."

Zhang Su raised an eyebrow and pointed to Gong Chengming's humble hut.

He knew Chen Hanzhou had been quietly following them, pretending ignorance, but he'd always kept part of his attention on him.

"I'll chat with Xiao Chen over there. You two think it over—tell me your thoughts later."

Zhang Su gave the instruction and walked off.

Aside from Zheng Xinyu, no one gave their private conversation a second thought, treating it as ordinary talk.

Inside the pitch-black room, a spark flared as Zhang Su lit a cigarette, then offered one to Chen Hanzhou, smiling: "Still smoke?"

"Just barely acceptable..."

Chen Hanzhou took the cigarette, lit it himself, then fell silent.

In the darkness, Chen Hanzhou could barely see anything, only making out Zhang Su's silhouette. But Zhang Su saw everything clearly—as if in daylight—every subtle expression on Chen Hanzhou's face laid bare.

"Damn, if only I had Ju Wu Ying's ability. Is it because my sight and hearing are too sharp that I can't sense others' inner emotions?"

Zhang Su exhaled smoke, brooding in frustration.

"Um... Boss, you said before—if I felt any abnormal reaction, I should tell you. I... I feel something's off with me."

After a moment's hesitation, Chen Hanzhou frowned and spoke.

Zhang Su had sensed from the moment Chen Hanzhou called him that he'd bring up today's changes. Seeing it confirmed, he felt both surprised and deeply relieved.

As long as someone was willing to open up, that was good!

(End of Chapter)