[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-zombie-apocalypse-creation":3,"chapter-zombie-apocalypse-creation-zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-750":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},1887327,2510,"Chapter 750: Steady as she goes","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-750",750,"\u003Cp>As Xiaoyun walked into Houqin’s office, she was already talking to five workers, three women and two men, all wearing a white uniform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good evening, sir!\" One of the workers said out loud, noticing him silently opening the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Evening. You guys busy right now? I can wait outside.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No need. I’m almost done... Remember, you two need to get a confirmation number before handing the supplies over on the other side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And you three need to make sure the supplies are actually received on the other side. Don’t just expect the soldiers themselves to unpack it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, sir.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a wave, all five of them immediately left the room, closing the door and leaving the two of them inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What did these five people do wrong?\" Xiaoyun curiously asked, taking a chair from the side to sit right across from Houqin’s desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They are forgetting basic procedure at the last mile stretch. They were supposed to get the Colonel or their assistant to sign it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn, sounds pretty serious. How big was it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Undercounting two hundred rifles missing in the inventory. Almost caused a whole fraud investigation because of it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I see... Seems like you got it all sorted out though, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Houqin closed her file cabinet and sat back down, she looked right into Xiaoyun’s face before looking away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ahem, is there anything that needs to be reported?\" Xiaoyun asked as he could feel a slight awkwardness between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Han Bang had mostly finished recapturing all of the lost territory in the two cities during the mosquito and storm outbreak.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Houqin instantly answered, her face returning to normal as she looked towards her computer that had a note sheet open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did he give an estimated timeframe of when things will be finished?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not yet. Do you want me to ask?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s fine. He’ll give a date when he’s confident with his progress. What else is there to report?\" Xiaoyun asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Han Bang also requested the reinforcement of additional divisions from Lingang’s army over to Zhongshan’s direction.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lingang? Why does he need more troops from him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Zhongshan is short on men right now since it is only operating at half of its intended army corps.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, right, almost forgot about that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun didn’t ask any further, as he knew the other half of the army was composed of fresh recruits from the population.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They haven’t even gone through two months of training yet, which is why he had them stationed in the base under Wuli.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I approved it and let Lingang decide... Was that a good decision?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t see anything wrong with it as long as they know what the limit is. But make sure they ask you every time they make a troop transfer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Houqin noted it on her computer before turning her attention back over to Xiaoyun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The next thing I want to report on is this month’s budget... Commander, I don’t know how to put this, but it’s starting to get a little too high.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as she was about to hand Xiaoyun a report, he shoved it aside before taking out a piece of paper from his own bag.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know. I already talked to Yuqi about it. She’s willing to pay off the deficit as long as we decrease the rate of the army budget increase by 10%.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The answer surprised Houqin a little, but she didn’t question it as she began reading the paper that Xiaoyun had handed over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Houqin, how has the army trimming going so far? Has Yiming over in Shaoguan said anything back so far?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He managed to retire 30% of the soldiers who didn’t fit the physical or the age requirements.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyun let out a small sigh of relief inside his head, as that decrease alone was enough for Yuqi’s demand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander... I don’t think this is enough to pay off the deficit we’re facing soon.\" Houqin suddenly pointed out as she put the paper down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking back the previous paper on the table, Xiaoyun soon realized why Houqin had stated the one-time increase wouldn’t be enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What the hell? What’s all this 300 million pension expenditure coming from?\" Xiaoyun questioned in confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You said we were retiring those soldiers with the same benefits as regular soldiers... Should I scale it back down?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I really said that? Nevermind then.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the room fell into silence, Xiaoyun soon put the paper down as a frown appeared on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yuqi is not going to be happy if she sees this massive spike. She’s going to think I spend it on some fancy new toy...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Um, commander... Actually, nevermind. I’ll just tell her to cancel it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the hesitation on her face, he was instantly intrigued by what cancellation she was referring to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s wrong? Just tell me. The budget can go to hell if it means the army can fight better in the long term.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a short silence, Houqin finally spoke up again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Miss Anna wanted to renegotiate the military contract we had placed with them since April.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She didn’t even tell me that when I was at home... Did she state what kind of change she wanted to make in the military contract?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Something to do with the special forces rifles... I think she wanted to raise the prices on them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Raise prices? Not in a million years. A signed contract is a signed contract. If she can’t make it, then she should be paying for the cancellation fee.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Xiaoyun shamelessly switched sides, Houqin didn’t react to it as she dropped the next part of the story to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She already delivered the rifle that had been promised in the contract. It’s the ammo for the gun that hasn’t been negotiated yet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ll negotiate with her myself. She’s not getting a single dime outside of the labor price when we’re the ones providing the material.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Okay then... The meeting is at six o’clock tomorrow morning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Perfect, won’t interrupt with my regular schedule. Is there anything else you wanted to report to me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Um... Two more things. General Yezi had resumed operation towards Yanfu city, and Lingang had requested to switch position about an hour ago.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first news didn’t really surprise Xiaoyun, but the second one confused him. Being stationed in a recently cleared city was a job that only some can dream of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially when Lingang had already reached the ceiling in terms of ranks, the only higher rank would be the Commander-in-Chief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Switch position? Where does he want to swap for? Didn’t he just move to Shenzhen a week or two ago?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t know. Maybe he just doesn’t like to stay on the defense... Should I ask him to provide a reason?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just Deny it. There’s no available job position right now that he can swap to... Houqin, I almost forgot to ask you something.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it, commander?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When do you want to come over to my home? Ahem, I mean just to have dinner. Nothing else.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite Xiaoyun adding the last part to clarify the confusion, Houqin’s face still flushed a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t think I’m ready yet...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s fine. Just give me a date so I can ask Leyan to prepare for it... Don’t worry, they’re more than happy to see your face there.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Really?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"100% They had all been wondering when you’re moving——Ahem ahem, I mean coming over to have dinner.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mistake was far too late as Houqins’ face turned ripe as an apple, shyly looking over to the side again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Look, Houqin. Do you really want to live with your parents for your whole life? You’ve got to move out at some point, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My parents already moved out...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she quietly responded to his point, Xiaoyun quickly hid his embarrassment by getting up from his office chair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Actually, I think today is the perfect day. After you get off from work, you’re getting in the car with me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"W-What? Y-You can’t d-do that.\" Houqin instantly argued, her face looking more nervous than ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why not? Are you not my girlfriend? Come on, they aren’t monsters or anything. There’s nothing to be scared of.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Houqin still refusing to agree to his idea, he stood there in silence before an idea suddenly popped into his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How about this? I bring them to visit your home. They just want to know you better. You can’t be scared of your own home, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The offer made her freeze for a second. But in the end, she slowly nodded her head, agreeing to Xiaoyun’s compromise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the best possible outcome she could ask for that didn’t require her to go to Xiaoyun’s home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Great. I’ll go call Leyan right now and see if they’re free...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Houqin realized the trap Xiaoyun had set up, Xiaoyun had already left the room, giving her zero chance to speak up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>----\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leyan, Houqin didn’t want to come visit.\" Xiaoyun quietly whispered over the phone as he stepped into the hallway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You had one job! And you’re telling me you failed?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey! I can’t force her to go. That would be kidnapping... But I did manage to convince her to let us visit her apartment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few seconds of silence, Leyan finally spoke up again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come back home first. I don’t have a car.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1557,"2026-06-10T06:59:54.595Z",1,"novelbin.me","7db0915389ee7bfa7ed8591a0fdd951ed872182905086775a322448a3c31fb7a","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-1","zombie-apocalypse-creation-chapter-749",829,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fzombie-apocalypse-creation-cover.jpg"]