[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-zombie-apocalypse-creation":3,"chapter-zombie-apocalypse-creation-zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-731":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},1887308,2510,"Chapter 731: Trimming the Numbers","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-731",731,"\u003Cp>The reassurance finally calmed down Yuqi’s voice as she only let out a small grumble sound before speaking up again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did Chengyi and Pinli agree to join your army?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nothing can’t be solved with a small bit of food... Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, the army we’re incorporating might be bigger than a usual army corps size.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not happening.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yuqi hangs up on the other side, Xiaoyun let out a small sigh as he looked towards the soldiers happily eating the food on the tables.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Maybe I do need to cut back the number of soldiers...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Xiaoyun, you aren’t going to come eat?\" Chengyi asked out loud as he casually waved towards him in his seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I already ate before coming over. You guys can enjoy your meal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the noon quickly flew by, Xiaoyun was back inside the logistics department, with Houqin sitting in her usual seat once again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey Houqin, what is the exact total number of soldiers under our command right now?\" Xiaoyun suddenly asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"600,000 soldiers on active duty, and 120,000 soldiers under reserve contract... Including the workers transporting the logistics, we have around 940,000 total.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We have 220,000 people working in the logistics department alone?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The number shocked Xiaoyun a little as his mind couldn’t really wrap around why the logistics department would even have that many workers for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Only 20,000 are actual logistics staff working in offices managing the supply route across different cities and the front lines.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Houqin stopped her work for a second, looking over to Xiaoyun as she spoke up again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The other 200,000 are in various roles, like trucking workers, medical support, engineering units, communication, and signal units.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, things like drone operators, military base janitors, special construction units, zombie intelligence groups, combat reporter—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Okay, that’s more than enough I needed to know... That’s definitely not the right angle to cut in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Xiaoyun stopped Houqin from listing more jobs, he was stuck in a little dilemma that seemingly had no good solutions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cut what? Is there something wrong with the military budget again?\" Houqin curiously asked, looking back at him with a confused eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well, I told Yuqi that we were going to fully incorporate the Changsha troops that came with us into the 6th Army Corps.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I thought we still have some extra money lying around that we didn’t allocate for yet from the Donggugan and Shenzhen sale.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"About that... I had to use some of that money to pay for calling a reservist to duty. The bigger issue now is that Changsha’s army is a lot bigger than I had imagined.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How much bigger?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Xiaoyun hesitating and awkwardly scratching the back of his head, Houqin started having a bad feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"175,000... Just slightly enough to add to the 6th Army Corps and make a new 7th Army Corps.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Houqin fell into complete shock, Xiaoyun started to realize the problem might be a little bigger than what he could tackle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey, I seriously didn’t expect that big of a number either until I contacted Yiming a few minutes ago.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Miss Yuqi would never agree to this,\" Houqin murmured as she finally recovered from hearing such a big number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know. That’s why I was thinking where I could cut back. There has to be a way to incorporate Changsha’s army into our pre-existing infrastructure.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander, why don’t you just reject some of them? We don’t have to let all of them join our army.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... I didn’t think of that. You might just be onto something.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more Xiaoyun thought of Houqin’s suggestion, the more he began to realize how naive he had been in thinking of incorporating the entire Changsha army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Command, I can guarantee that at least two-thirds of those soldier will quit on their own if you give them a retirement option.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Two-thirds? You’re stretching it way too far.\" Xiaoyun argued back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I had talked to several of them while I was in Changsha. They are in the military because there are no other jobs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once they see how rich Guangzhou is, they’ll flood into the labor market... I’m sure Miss Yuqi would be overjoyed seeing you help with the labor shortage.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few seconds of silence, Xiaoyun jumped out of his chair in complete excitement as he almost rushed over to the other side to hug her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh my god, Houqin, you’re a genius. How come I didn’t think of that? I’m going to call Yiming to do that right now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wait, Commander. Before you call Houqin, can I conduct a consensus on these soldiers first before you let Yiming select the best?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun thought about it for a second, then nodded in agreement as he couldn’t see any harm in doing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sure, go for it. Make sure you tell Yiming to select the best of the best. Better if you collaborate with Yuqi to register them in the government database.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Will do, sir.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Xiaoyun leaned back onto his chair, his mind was now more than relieved as it seemed there were no more problems facing him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the chaos set off by Zhongxiong’s sudden death seems to have had its dust settled for real this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m finally going to have a free weekend...\" Xiaoyun quietly murmured to himself as he couldn’t wait for an actual break.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What free?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Houqin curiously asked as her attention shifted back to the work on her computer, typing on the keyboard for some sort of email.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nothing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the two of them sat in the office with only the sound of the keyboard typing, Xiaoyun’s brain suddenly remembered something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Houqin, I almost forgot to ask you this... Do you feel better now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Feel what better?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After just a minute of silence, Houqin’s typing stopped once again as her face started to blush redder and redder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I-I feel a lot better now. T-Thank you for asking.\" Houqin nervously replied as she shyly scooched forward, hiding herself behind the monitor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s good to hear... Have you done a doctor checkup of any sort?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I haven’t.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You should.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t want to...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Houqin tried to respond as quietly as possible, Xiaoyun’s ear was still able to pick up the subtle voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why not? Are you scared that there might be something wrong hidden in your body?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Houqin only nodded her head as a response. Not a single word came out of her mouth as she started typing away on the keyboard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then you definitely need a checkup more than ever. I’m not joking, your body is critical to your health.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing her continue to type away, Xiaoyun could start to feel she was having a clear disdain for having a doctor’s checkup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey, are you listening to me? You really need to do a doctor’s checkup. I don’t want my employee to discover a hidden wound years later.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander, I don’t want a doctor checkup. Is that the answer you want to hear out loud from me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Houqin raised her voice in frustration, Xiaoyun suddenly got up from his seat before walking over to the other side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Absolutely not. You’re coming with me... This is an order, I don’t want to hear any more excuses from you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... I’ll do it later. Let me just finish this work first before—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I said, this is an order. You’re coming with me. NOW.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Xiaoyun refusing her arm go freely, Houqin finally gave up trying to stall as she turned off her monitor before getting up from her chair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why are you sighing for?\" Xiaoyun curiously asked, noticing her quiet sigh as soon as he let her go free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander, what are you going to do with me if the doctor diagnoses me with the virus still inside my body?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In your body? Then we can... use blood to do as many times as it takes. You don’t need to worry about me giving up on you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite Xiaoyun’s reassurance, the annoyance on Houqin’s face remained as she took one step behind him before stopping again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why aren’t you following me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander Xiaoyun, why do you care about me so much? This is more than what a boss is supposed to do for their employee.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Houqin’s sudden question caught him a little offguard, but he quickly recovered as he walked all the way back to the desk before walking her to the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My bad, I shouldn’t just call you an employee anymore... Here, do you want to be my girlfriend? Is that the better term you like to hear?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she stood still, Xiaoyun quickly grabbed her by the hands before opening the door to bring her out into the hallway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Unless you don’t want to be my girlfriend. But I don’t think you have a choice at this point... Might as well accept your fate at this point.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"M-Me, Y-You g-girlfriend?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mhm... I’ve realized I don’t want to let you go. You can call me selfish, but I couldn’t care less.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1506,"2026-06-10T06:59:54.595Z",1,"novelbin.me","274de8e474b140b3b5b19a1f4f76e4b36fbfe33c85be8760fe11f4963afd208e","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-732","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-730",829,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fzombie-apocalypse-creation-cover.jpg"]