Chapter 182: Conference of the Three Big Powers
After speaking some polite words, Lei Cheng immediately drove straight into the main issue: “I think all of you should know by now. There is a 100,000 zombie army that is approaching us from Shang Lin County. Now our Survival Camp has reached a point where its survival is at stake. I hope everyone will be able to put down their grudges and join hands together to fight against this threat.”
Lei Cheng seemed to be a naturally born actor as he said: “If we humans can join hands together, we will be able to defeat the zombies. Right now, right here, I swear in front of all of you. I swear that our military will fight to protect everyone. I, myself, will fight alongside each and every one of you, and live and die with LongHai Survivor Camp.
After Lei Cheng finished his speech, there is a sound of thunderous applause from the audience.
The fact that there are over 100,000 zombies from Shang Lin County that are making their way towards LongHai Survivor Camp is not a secret. If not for the support of the military and government officials who chose to make a stand in LongHai Survival Camp, most if not all of these survivors would have fled at the first whiff of this news.
Truth to be told, most of the survivors had wanted to flee and leave the camp. Nobody is willing to stay. However, a majority of the survivors do not have much stamina and strength to do so. After entering LongHai Survivor Camp, they did not have much food to eat, and were often hungry. As a result, even if they managed to leave the survivor camp, they do not have the energy to go too far.
In the survivor camp, almost all the weapons and tools attained from the [System] must be handed over the government, military or various faction heads. The regular survivors do not have any equipment to protect themselves. Even if they want to flee, they will not be able to survive out there without any tools to defend themselves with.
Lei Cheng’s words brought hope and reduced the anxiety of many heads of factions. Lei Cheng had control of a full camp of soldiers, and eight IFVs, giving them more confidence.
Hearing the thunderous applause, Lei Cheng finally revealed his true colours: “In this time of danger, we cannot allow conflicts among the various factions. We need to unite, and stand together to overcome this crisis. But it is not possible to do so with a strong leader. To ensure that every one will work together, we should choose a leader that will bring everyone to lead everyone to overcome this danger.”
As soon as Lei Cheng has finished speaking, Sky Wang immediately said in a loud voice: “Commander Lei Cheng is right! As he said if we all remain distributed like grains of sands, we have no hope of standing against the zombie army. We need to choose a leader to ensure that all of us fight together as one and overcome the zombie horde. I elect Commander Lei Cheng as our leader to direct this battle.”
One Blade Xu announced: “Commander Lei is not wrong. We cannot continue like this. I second the nomination of having Commander Lei Cheng as the leader of the expedition against the zombies.”
Among the men in the villa, there were also about ten others who supported Commander Lei Cheng as the leader.
But the rest of the other faction leaders chose to remain silent. They knew about having a single commander would be of great help to fight against the massive army of 100,000 zombies. But none of them was willing to be directed under the command of Lei Cheng.
Knowing Lei Cheng and his methods, Lei Cheng would surely send them to the frontlines without regards for their life. Even if the zombies were repelled, almost all or all of their men would undoubtedly die in battle. Without men, their power will be greatly reduced.
Each of these men hoped to conserve their forces and power. To these men, it would be best if others and the zombies were both gravely injured in this battle. Only then will they step in to reap the harvest.
Seeing that many of the men in the villa had chosen to remain silent, his eyebrow twitched. But he continued to smile as he announced: “Since everyone had supported me, I will step up and take leadership of all of you, and make sure everyone can overcome this crisis.”
Seeing that Lei Cheng just assumed leadership on his own without their approval, each of the leaders of the factions was appalled. They glanced at one another, and their eyes seemed to speak volumes. But not a single one of them dared to object to Lei Cheng’s seizure of power.
Lei Cheng represents the Military, and is the strongest power within LongHai Survivor Camp. He not only had a camp full of soldiers, but he also had supported many factions such as Big Knife Clan and Green Wolves Clan from behind the scenes. It is rumoured that he has close to of one-sixth of the population of LongHai Survival Camp working with him.
Among the rest of the men, only Yue Zhong has the power to challenge Lei Cheng for the post of the leader. If Yue Zhong did not object, none of the men is willing to jump out and face the wrath of the Lei Cheng. After all, Lei Cheng is a narrow-minded man and will get back at them in some way or another.
Gu Fei Fei was in a panic as she quickly asked Yue Zhong: “Yue Zhong, why didn’t you speak up? Right now, only you have the power to stop Lei Cheng.”
Gu Fei Fei is not stupid. She knew that once all the powers had been united under Lei Cheng, her father’s group’s power will be greatly reduced after the fight with the zombies. It is also possible that Lei Cheng will swallow the entire power.
The only one who can stop Lei Cheng from uniting all the factions under his despotic rule is the man who is sitting in front of her – Yue Zhong.
Yue Zhong looked that Lei Cheng who was standing high on the stage. He calmly replied to Gu Fei Fei. “Lei Cheng is not wrong. Only if all the factions work together can we overcome this crisis. Scattered grains of sands could not even hope to stop the massive numbers of zombie. Did you not noticed that not even a single government official attempt to stop him? If I am not wrong, they have already made an agreement with Lei Cheng, and approved of his action. Right now, our biggest enemy is not Lei Cheng, but rather, it is the zombies.”
Although Yue Zhong did not like Lei Cheng’s character, at this moment, Lei Cheng is the only one that could unite all the various factions and powers in LongHai Survivor Camp. Yue Zhong strength is not inferior to Lei Cheng, but he is an outsider. Both the government and military in LongHai will not allow him to take control of the various factions in LongHai Survivor Camp.
Yue Zhong could only close an eye to his dislike of Lei Cheng in the interest of the bigger picture – the army of zombies that will be attacking the survivor camp. LongHai Survival Camp has less than 7,000 survivors, and not of all these survivors are willing to fight. In contrast, the army of 100,000 zombies is united. Each and every one of the various factions and powers in LongHai Survivor Camp must stand united if they were to survive.
Yue Zhong could only watch in silent as Lei Cheng united the various factions under his banner.
Gu Yan Yi broke out in a bitter smile, and stopped Gu Fei Fei from saying anything else. “Fei Fei, stop it! Yue Zhong is not wrong. Right now, our mutual enemy is the zombie horde. If the zombies breach our defences, we will lose everything. Lei Cheng is not a good person, but he is he only one with the qualifications to unite the various factions and powers in LongHai Survivor Camp.”
Ning Zi Xuan and the rest of the men also kept quiet. After Lei Cheng had united the various factions in LongHai Survivor Camp, his power will grow by leaps and bounds. The government will be greatly pressurised. But as Gu Yan Yi had pointed out, if LongHai Survivor Camp is overrun with zombies, they will lose everything.
The scenario of the day of the apocalypse was all chaos break loose reappeared in the minds of these men.
Lei Cheng glanced at Yue Zhong, and saw that Yue Zhong had no intention of standing out to challenge his leadership. He smiled in happiness, and announced: “Now that everyone is one family, some words are better said in advance. Right now we are in a crisis. A refusal to listen to orders may lead to the destruction of our camp. If anyone dares to disobey my orders, they will be punished under military law. I hope all of you are well-prepared (to follow my orders).”
Sky Wang and One Blade Xu dared not to be rash with Yue Zhong a moment ago as they were worried about spoiling Lei Cheng’s chance of assuming leadership. If Yue Zhong had chosen to step up, it is debatable if Lei Cheng would win the support of the men.
Once Lei Cheng is angered, Sky Wang and One Blade Xu will be killed. After all, there are many more men who are willing to be Lei Cheng dogs.
Listening to Lei Cheng’s words, each of leaders of various factions within LongHai Survivor Camp also felt a chill. But not a single one of them dared to say a word. Even the government did not say a word. Yue Zhong also did not stand out. Of course, they would not dare to say anything. They all knew that Lei Cheng would not hesitate to kill the first one who step out as an example to silence the rest of the critics. No one is willing to be the one who step out and made an example of.
Lei Sheng walked towards Yue Zhong, look at Ji Qing Wu, and politely invited Yue Zhong: “Captain Yue, my father invited you for a short discussion.”
“Excuse me!”
Yue Zhong followed Lei Sheng towards a room inside the villa.
Lei Sheng led Yue Zhong towards a secret room, and then left him.
In the secret room was Lei Cheng and Chen Jian Feng.
Lei Cheng smiled as he saw Yue Zhong, and introduced himself: “You are Yue Zhong? I am Lei Cheng.”
Looking at Lei Cheng, Yue Zhong eyes seemed to flash with a strange light, but he smiled and said, “Pleased to meet you, Commander Lei!”
Now that the two strongest men in LongHai Survivor Camp are seated in front of him, Yue Zhong would only need to reach out and could kill them at his leisure. But he did not do so. Because he is aware that if he kills them, the entire LongHai Survivor will erupt in chaos. Right now the most pressing issue is still the zombies.
As well, being the heads of the respective factions in LongHai Survivor Camp, they should have some [System] equipment that will enable them to protect themselves. If Yue Zhong failed to assassinate them, the Survivor Camp would also be in chaos.
Lei Cheng is a cunning man. He tried to test Yue Zhong’s loyalty to him by asking: “Yue Zhong, what did you think of one commander commanding all the men?”
Yue Zhong seemed to be thinking over his question, before he finally said: “Having one commander is a very good thing. It can unite all units to combat the zombies. Commander Lei is really superb today. In one move, you have for uniting all the factions and powers in LongHai Survivor Camp under your leadership. During the time of war, I am sure that they will be a great asset in battling the zombies.”
Yue Zhong had avoided mentioning his forces in his reply. Also, in saying that Commander Lei had united all the factions and powers in LongHai Survivor Camp, he is implying that his forces are not under the command of Lei Cheng. After all, his forces are not a faction nor power within LongHai survivor camp.
Lei Cheng is not a fool, having played politics for years. He could infer what Yue Zhong is saying from his speech. He looked very unhappy and tried to grab Yue Zhong’s power by saying: “Yue Zhong, you are willing to bring soldiers to support our camp. This indicated that you were a man who has his country in his heart, and a hero who is willing to fight to protect his fellow man and country. Right now, you should be aware of the situation. If we cannot stand together as one, it would be impossible to fight against the 100,000 throng of zombies.
Only by having a single chain of command can we maximise the use of troops to defeat the zombies. I hope you can reconsider the big picture, and follow my orders. Let us fight as one to protect the citizens.”
Lei Cheng was hoping that Yue Zhong will gift command of his soldier to him. Yue Zhong forces were quite strong, and is very good cannon fodqder.
Yue Zhong just ignored Lei Cheng words and immediately state his terms and conditions. “3,000 tonnes of food, 100,000 ammunition, 30 Tang Imitation Swords, 20 newbie staff, 5 tonnes of petrol. If you want me and my men to fight against the zombie with all I have, you must give me all these items. If you don’t, I will immediately take all my men with me and leave the camp.”
Lei Cheng’s face become green with rage as he barked out: “You are taking advantage of the situation to rob us!”
Yue Zhong just coldly replied. “I have no relationship with this camp. Why do I need to bring my men and I to fight with these zombies and die? I am just a mercenary group that you hire to bring my troops to fight with you. The fact that I am willing to risk my life for your camp is already an act of mercy. As a mercenary group, did you really expect me to expend my own food and ammunition supplies to fight for you for free? Are you still dreaming? “
As far as Yue Zhong is concerned, all the talk that Lei Cheng had said is nothing but bullshit. If he really becomes the hero as spoken by Lei Cheng, the only fate waiting for him is the life of a vagabond. After Lei Cheng had used him, Lei Cheng would not hesitate to discard him.
Yue Zhong was willing to bring his troop to help the survivor camp is because of the 6,000 survivors. He did not come here to die. If Lei Cheng tries to use him and his troops as cannon folder, he will immediately forget about defending the camp, and retreat.
If there are insufficient ammunition, in the future all of Yue Zhong’s troops could only engage in close combat with the zombies. Even if each of Yue Zhong’s men took down 100 zombies before being slain, Yue Zhong would feel very heartbroken. After the apocalypse, each man is a valuable resource, and an elite troop is even more valuable.
After listening to Yue Zhong’s speech, the room temperature seemed to drop by several degrees. All three men did not say another word, and just watched each other silently.
Chen Jian Fong broke the silence as he gave in partially: “Yue Zhong, your demands are too excessive. 3000 tonnes of food and newbie staff I can give to you. But I can only provide 10 Tang Imitation Swords, 30,000 ammo, and 2 tonnes of petrol. This is already the best we can give. I cannot give you any more than that.”
Ammo and petrol are both valuable resources. 30,000 ammo and 2 tonnes of petrol are not a small sum. Chen Jian Feng could not give Yue Zhong so many items before the fight with the zombies.
Yue Zhong seemed to consider before nodding his head. “All right. Considering your relationship with Chen Yao, I will give you some face today.”
After Yue Zhong had agreed to fight the zombies together with LongHai Survivor Camp, the atmosphere in the room seemed to brighten up. Each of the three men had their own reasons for wanting to defend the camp but all of them were united in this.
After this discussion, Lei Cheng also knew that he had no say in directing Yue Zhong’s army. Both of them were only working together.
Chen Jian Feng knew that Yue Zhong had already scouted out the zombies. He asked, “Yue Zhong, what did you think about the fight against the zombies this time?”
“It is going to be a very hard fight. Today I have just investigated the zombies’ movement. They were continuously increasing their numbers by absorbing all the zombies from the surrounding regions. I guess that after ten days, when they reach here, we will be facing a massive sea of zombies that numbered over 120,000 and above.”
“May I suggest that we recruit all the men in this survivor camp, and train them. Then we arm them with weapons and have them fight the zombies. This is the only way we can protect the camp.”
In Big Cliff Village, I have a steel factory that can produce 150 machetes and 150 shields a day. If I focus on production on machetes, I can increase the output to 300 machetes a day. After ten days, I should have 3000 machetes. This is enough to arm 3000 survivors. If you want, I can sell each machete to you for 50 bullets each. 3000 machete is 150,000 bullets.”
Although Yue Zhong hopes that the survivor camp can overcome this crisis, he is not willing to give out his weapons for free. Big Cliff Village was taken with great difficulties. As well, making each machete requires a lot of effort. He will not give them away at a loss.
The survivor camp has close to 7000 people. About half of these are able-bodied men. If Chen Jian Feng is willing to issue an emergency order, he will be able to get 3000 more men to fight against the zombies.