[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-zombie-apocalypse-creation":3,"chapter-zombie-apocalypse-creation-zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-606":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},1887392,2510,"Chapter 606: Gender Gap","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-606",606,"\u003Cp>\"Is it really that bad that it’s becoming a problem during combat?\" Xiaoyun questioned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not that far... But outside of combat, it’s becoming a stark contrast that hinders comradeship.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Bang’s point intrigued Xiaoyun a little, but he waited for him to take a bit of the food before asking again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can you give me some examples?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Like during the off-times, the female and male units don’t interact with each other at all. They live in completely separate camps and set strict borders.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Doesn’t seem that bad to me,\" Xiaoyun murmured as he imagined it inside his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It doesn’t sound that bad until General Yezi’s original order was to operate in a mixed environment, not to create special zones.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then what’s the reason for this divide?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Colonel Ningjing. She has openly disobeyed Yezi’s order and made special arrangements for her female troops.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Does Yezi know about this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He later readjusted his order to allow it... But she didn’t ask him for permission at first. That’s disobedience.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun thought for a second before coming up with the conclusion that it wasn’t really that big of a deal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If Yezi is fine with the change, I don’t see the issue... Besides, is there no other reasoning behind why the female soldiers are so reluctant to have mixed camps?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noticing Han Bang eating the noodles rather than answering his question, it instantly became clear he was hiding something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Han Bang, be honest with me. What was the reasoning for Ningjing to set up separate camps?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a short moment of silence, Han Bang finally confessed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One... One of the male soldiers got drunk and forced himself onto one of the female soldiers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There you go. I don’t see any issue with them having a separate camp. How did the soldiers even get alcohol to get drunk in the first place?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s a hard job. Soldiers couldn’t help themselves when they found one when they cleared the city.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s not a valid excuse. A crime is a crime. Don’t tell me you forgive that soldier’s crime.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course not. I already discharged him from the military and transferred him to Guangzhou’s police force for assault.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Bang’s answer relieved the worry on Xiaoyun’s face, but the problem clearly remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a gender divide in the military that was brewing, whether Xiaoyun liked it or not. It was an issue that he needed to tackle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander, I have one important question... It’s one that had bothered me and many of my comrades.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why do we have female soldiers at all? Call me old-fashioned, but I really don’t see the need for them to be a part of combat duty.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun fell into silence this time. In his mind, he didn’t really know how to answer it. He understood Han Bang’s point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, he couldn’t bring himself to restrict an entire gender from joining the army, especially considering how many of them had actively signed up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would be cruel for him to prevent them from fighting the zombies when many of them were also a part of people who lost their loved ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was clearly a demand, a drive of people who actively sign up for reenlistment and stay through all of the same military training as men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Han Bang, let me ask you a question... Can you beat an arm wrestle against Colonel Ningjing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... No, sir.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then can you tell me if the female soldier doesn’t fight as hard as men against the zombies?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, sir... But——\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There is no but. Just because women weren’t in an active role in the past doesn’t mean they can’t be a part of the active role now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Han Bang could speak up again, the conversation was quickly interrupted as a worker came up with a bowl of Shandong mian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your noodles, sir.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the worker walked off, Xiaoyun quickly added one more point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t bring up the whole argument that women are inherently not fit for combat. Most of the population before the outbreak was not fit for combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And one last thing, you might want to read up on the newspaper. There’s already a study showing the physical gap between the two genders has been closing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I get it, Commander. I understand your point.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Bang murmured, his face seemingly still a little hesitant to accept Xiaoyun’s perspective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I hope you really do... I don’t want to hear any more comments that divide the army from my officers, do you understand?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, sir.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now, are there any other examples of unfairness? Tell me the whole story and don’t try to half-bake one side.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There is one more thing... Commander, do you know how many of the workers in the logistics office are women?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh boy, don’t tell me you’re bringing this up. I know the majority of the office jobs are held by women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But unless you can bring solid proof, I might seriously consider you as holding in contempt as inherently biased towards women.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m serious, sir... I have gathered a few evidence that—Ahem, shows how the logistics department had favored the women’s unit over the men’s unit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tell me about it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Bang quickly took out a small notebook from his pocket, showing a list of what appeared to be some sort of violation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When Mingxu and I asked for two full crates of ammo each, we were given 1. Meanwhile, Ningjing requested 2, and they got 2 all for herself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You reported this to Yezi?\" Xiaoyun asked the same question again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I did. He just told me the logistics office was running short of supplies. But the next week, it was the same thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were given priority, despite both of our divisions being right on the frontline every single day just like them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s just small things,\" Xiaoyun argued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Small things that could be life or death. Why are they being treated with speciality over us when we are supposed to be all equals?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Xiaoyun took a bit of the noodles, he already knew the answer to Han Bang’s question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was an undeniable slight favor towards female units over male units in the logistics department. But if he saw it through a female officer’s len, it felt normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew it was unfair to the male units. But it leaned more towards an equity over equality kind of debate rather than a fairness question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps it was just his machismo influencing him, or how society has functioned in the past decades of female empowerment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trend of women deserves some sort of compensation in society. Or maybe he just felt empathy and guilt when he should have been more rational instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ll seriously consider this issue... Send me a full list of the violations next week, and I’ll investigate and talk to Houqin myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you, sir.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Xiaoyun left the Shandong restaurant, his mind was a little conflicted. Deep inside, it made sense in his eyes to treat women better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially considering he had nine lovely wives back home that he wouldn’t dare to hurt, or have anyone put them in harm’s way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, as a man himself, it would be almost traitorous to ignore men’s demand for a ’correction’ on the ’over-correction’ issue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a societal issue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One that he felt his hands were tied, considering almost every part of his government had both men and women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he handled it wrong, it could spell disaster not just militarily, but domestically as well. Even his marriage could be at stake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ideally, the best solution was to give it a cold treatment, the more he thought of it. Letting it die down on its own and hoping for the best.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just taking any side, even a neutral side or a side based on truth and fairness, was going to lead to biases in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why don’t these stupid problems just go away? Why does it always have to be so hard to deal with?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun murmured as he continued walking down the street. His mind too preoccupied as he struggled to come up with an answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After walking through the entire commercial district, he soon ended up back at the doorstep of the logistics department.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Maybe a different day.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heading over to the parking lot, Xiaoyun quickly got into his car before starting it up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Driving down the road, he could see people walking on the streets, with many of them standing at the bus stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both men and women alike, all waiting at the same place to head back to work. No such big divide seems to exist at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Maybe the issue isn’t that big of a deal... Yezi and Yiming themselves haven’t brought this up as a problem at all.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more Xiaoyun drove down the road, the more he felt the problem in hand had been blown out of proportion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very most, it was a minor issue that was more of a few bad apples in a big basket. One that just needs a few more oversights and guardrails.\u003C\u002Fp>",1525,"2026-06-10T06:59:53.365Z",1,"novelbin.me","e24b21294ea16488c3e6c1ff0fd3fe445e278402fbdbc12bbc4e7a41d01d09d5","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-656","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-804",829,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fzombie-apocalypse-creation-cover.jpg"]