[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-zombie-apocalypse-creation":3,"chapter-zombie-apocalypse-creation-zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-553":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Zombie Apocalypse: Creation",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1887509,2510,"Chapter 553: Billion Dollar Problem","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-553",553,"\u003Cp>Meanwhile, over in the logistics office...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Morning, Houqin. How’s the past few days at work?\" Xiaoyun curiously asked, taking a seat before the desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How do you know I was at work on the weekend?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because I remember you were working on the weekend last time you called me here... Anyway, anything important or new I needed to know?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, Commander. There is something that I just need to make sure of... This gas supply is made by you, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Houqin staring at him right in the eyes, Xiaoyun felt a little pressured to turn his head over to the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah, I made it. What about it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nothing. Just wanted to make sure... Your power really is just unbelievable, no matter how I look at it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thanks for the compliment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Xiaoyun casually crossed his legs, Houqin rolled her eyes before taking out a small document from her cabinet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You deserve the compliment... But it sure is a headache for me to deal with,\" Houqin murmured as she handed the document.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why would it be a headache?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Houqin didn’t say anything back, but she handed the document over to Xiaoyun. Opening the file, his attention was instantly caught by the numbers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did I really make this many gas cans?\" Xiaoyun murmured in disbelief as the number of gas cans was well over a thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah... Commander, I really don’t know how I can explain this to the other staff that this is normal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just tell them it was from some hidden storage unit.\" Xiaoyun quickly made up an excuse, not really caring about the problem Houqin had brought up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With the same tags and manufacturing date? Looking the same size and hidden dent as every other can?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I mean... Who actually looks at that kind of stuff? Who’s going to look at the can and think someone created it out of thin air?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun’s answer seems to have finally defeated Houqin’s point. But she soon let out a sigh when she accepted the document back from him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why are you sighing? Is there something else on your mind?\" Xiaoyun curiously asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No. There’s nothing in my mind...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Houqin unwilling to answer, Xiaoyun didn’t pressure her to say it. He waited for her to bring up the next thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander, here’s this week’s resource allocation. If you’re fine with it, then I’m going to put it into effect.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mhm... I trust your skill. Anything else?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Last thing... The cost sheet for your trip in Changsha.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Xiaoyun accepted the paper she had handed over, Xiaoyun’s jaw dropped in disbelief once again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The total cost number was higher than he had ever imagined—over one hundred billion in a single operation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How the hell is this cost so high? You sure you didn’t misinput a few extra zeros at the end or something?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Houqin shaking her head, Xiaoyun had no other choice but to begin reading the fine print of each category.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very top was the soldier’s salary, which was a part of the operation, taking only a small share of the budget of 20 million NRC.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The price was reasonable for Xiaoyun as it had a one-time bonus for an emergency call-up on top of the base salary for the month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly, it also included the missing pay for Lingang’s troops, who had technically never received any wages the day they had left for Hunan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reading to the next category was the weapons order, only taking an estimated 1 million to replace all the weapons lost and the ammo used.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third category was the most eye-opening, as it alone had 979 million worth of damages in the summary section.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vehicles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pick-up Trucks, sedans, armored cars, tanks, buses, semi-trucks, and all sorts of transport tools that cost a fortune to repair, let alone replace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A third of all the vehicles under his control are now gone, stranded on the road or trashed up in Changsha with no way of recovery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only relief out of this category was the fact that all of the vehicle costs didn’t need actual payment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he really wanted to, he could simply call it a loss in the inventory. A heavy loss, but at least not a debt he needed to pay back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Next time you make a cost sheet, please don’t add losses as things we need to pay.\" Xiaoyun pointed out as he handed the paper back to Houqin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But we do need to pay it back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun froze for a second as his brain couldn’t process her answer. Or rather, his brain was avoiding the reality behind her answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander... Civilian groups owned some of these vehicles. Not all of them are owned by us.\" Houqin murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How many of them are not owned by us?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sweat was falling from his forehead as he felt scared for the first time, sitting in the logistics office in front of Houqin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Around 20 million worth of vehicles are not ours. Salvage groups own half of them, and the construction companies own the other half.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"20 million... That’s fine. When do we have to pay it back?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t know, Commander. We never really called up civilian cars for use until now. But they had been asking me for an estimated date.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So you’re telling me we have some wiggle room... Tell them I’ll release the report on their vehicles and the payment for it by the end of the month.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Houqin quickly noted it in a small notebook, waiting for Xiaoyun to continue as he fell into silence for a few seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Actually, tell them that I want to arrange a meeting with their representative to discuss the damage payment at the start of next month.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Houqin crossed out and wrote down several more words, Xiaoyun’s mind already had several ideas for paying it back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Anything else I need to tell them, Commander?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s all I can think of for now... You can separate this civilian payment from the military budget.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Houqin nodded, her hands already starting to type on the computer as Xiaoyun moved on to the next objective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And one last thing, no need to report this to Yuqi. I’ll deal with this myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander. I don’t think I can do that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why not?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Some of the vehicles belong to the Department of Transportation... And some of them belong to Agriculture as well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Never mind. I’ll explain it to her later... She hasn’t gotten this report yet, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Houqin nodding, Xiaoyun let out a small sigh of relief. He at least has some time to prepare for the upcoming battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Okay, then, with this cost sheet out of the way. Is there anything else you want to report to me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, sir... Wait, I almost forgot. Are we planning to order those tanks from Miss Anna’s factory?\" Houqin asked just as Xiaoyun got up from his seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s called off for now. I’ll place an order maybe later in the future when the budget is less tight... Anything else?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Houqin giving a final shake, Xiaoyun finally left her office as he closed the door behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Boy oh boy, how am I going to come up with this much money?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a second, a simple solution popped up in his head. A powerful tool he had at his disposal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, no, no, that would instantly crash the economy. I can’t just print more money.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the simple solution out of the equation, Xiaoyun’s mind started digging deeper and deeper for a solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After walking down the streets for several minutes, he finally came up with another simple solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Am I really going just to cancel the payment? That would make people lose faith in the government.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With another solution off the table, his mind immediately came up with another one. An idea that was slightly morally questionable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I just make a law nationalizing it, or just put military combat with no payment, then there wouldn’t be a problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I mean... What are they going to do? It’s just salvage groups and... Yuqi is going to be so mad over this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought of seeing her angry sent a chill down his spine. But it quickly vanished as an idea popped up in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One that would fulfill the payment to the salvage group, or even get a nice bonus out of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thing that all salvage group wants, and in an abundant quantity that he had no particular use for other than selling it to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All he had to do was propose it to Yuqi, get paperwork for it, and sell it off at an over-evaluated price to match the high vehicle prices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh my god, I’m a genius. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Xiaoyun entered his car, he quickly started up the engine before noticing the gas tank was almost empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Crap. I need gas... Time to check out the gas station again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1505,"2026-06-10T06:59:52.732Z",1,"novelbin.me","9edf0250f1251f4c3bcdf29cda0ef7c694e7f2b7b16a15f008a6211650423324","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-554","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-552",829,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fzombie-apocalypse-creation-cover.jpg"]