Chapter 54 Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland 17
Outside the door, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
The corridor was quiet; most of the survivors were still fast asleep. A peaceful night had allowed their tense nerves to relax in a long time.
Without alerting anyone, Zhou Jue walked straight to the control panel on the G floor.
While you're at it, take a look at her "surveillance footage".
With a thought, the Hummingbird drone hovering outside the office building transmitted its last images.
In the scene, the once-proud "vice president" is now cornered in a room by three zombies. He is waving a broken table leg, his face covered in sweat, tears, and snot, his expression contorted with extreme fear, and he is uttering incomprehensible roars.
His once-proud suit was now torn to shreds, and his body bore several deep, bone-revealing scratches.
The zombies pressed closer and closer, and he was forced to retreat until he finally stumbled and fell to the ground.
"No...don't come any closer! I'm the vice president! I have money! I have a lot of money!"
He was still relying on his last resort, but it was meaningless to the zombies who were only interested in fresh flesh and blood.
The next second, three zombies swarmed at them.
A piercing scream came from the screen, but it was quickly drowned out by the horrific sounds of chewing and tearing.
That's the end of the video.
Zhou Jue expressionlessly turned off the drone's recording function, putting it into standby mode.
At this moment, Wang Yong, Chen Shuqi, Li Dahai, and Zhang Lan also arrived at the control panel.
"Boss, you're up too? We..." Wang Yong was about to report on his work.
"Let's look at something first," Zhou Jue interrupted him, projecting the image onto their screen.
She pressed play.
The entire process of the vice president's frantic cursing, attracting zombies, and finally being devoured was shown to the four captains frame by frame.
At first, Wang Yong and Li Dahai were somewhat puzzled.
But when they learned that the man had a chance to escape, yet chose to stay upstairs to curse Zhou Jue and even tried to incite other survivors, their initial reluctance turned into indifference.
Zhang Lan covered her mouth, her face pale, clearly terrified by the final bloody scene.
Only Chen Shuqi remained unusually calm from beginning to end. She pushed up her glasses, seemingly deep in thought.
After the video finished playing, everyone fell silent.
"You all understand?" Zhou Jue retracted his terminal, his voice icy: "I don't keep ingrates here, much less spoiled brats. Show this video to all the members, let them know that betraying me will only lead to a worse fate than what he suffered."
"Yes!" Wang Yong straightened up, his voice loud and clear.
At this moment, he truly understood Zhou Jue's code of conduct. It wasn't cold-bloodedness, but rather the most efficient principle in this cannibalistic world.
Chen Shuqi said, "Boss, this is the right thing to do. The first step in establishing order is to clarify the rules and the consequences of breaking them. This can prevent a lot of unnecessary trouble."
Zhou Jue nodded and looked at Wang Yong: "What are the search team's plans for today?"
Wang Yong immediately replied, "Reporting, boss! I was just about to take some men to clear out the areas on B2 that we haven't explored yet, to see if we can find more supplies, and also to let the team members familiarize themselves with how to deal with zombies."
This plan is very sound; starting from the inside minimizes the risk.
“Too slow.” Zhou Jue rejected the idea outright: “The supplies here will run out sooner or later. If we just sit around and do nothing, we’ll be doomed. Today, the search team will be on its first mission.”
Outbound mission!
These four words gave Wang Yong a jolt of energy, but also made him feel immense pressure.
What is the target?
Zhou Jue pulled up an electronic map of the area around the hospital and pointed to a red dot: "There's a 24-hour convenience store here, about 800 meters from the hospital. It's not very big, and there shouldn't be many zombies inside. It's a good place to practice for the first time."
She paused, then added, "I'll go with you on this mission. But I'll only observe, not participate, unless you encounter danger."
Hearing that Zhou Jue would be coming along, Wang Yong immediately felt more at ease.
"Boss, who do you think would be the most suitable person to go on the search team?"
"You choose for yourself." Zhou Jue handed over this power to him: "Remember, you don't need the strongest fighter, but the most obedient and the most mentally strong."
"clear!"
Wang Yong accepted the order and left. After waking everyone up, he prepared to select team members for their first mission in the lobby.
The news quickly spread among the survivors.
We need to go outside!
We need to go to that city overrun with zombies!
Fear and resistance were written all over everyone's faces.
Wang Yong first approached Lei Hu. Without a word, the muscular man picked up his baseball bat and stood up: "Count me in."
His reasoning was simple: he was the strongest fighter in the team besides Zhou Jue and Wang Yong, and he had to go.
Then, Wang Yong's gaze swept across the crowd, and everyone avoided his eyes.
Even the first group of people who came out of the hospital had shifty eyes.
To everyone's surprise, Lin Wei, the seemingly delicate girl who wrote the SOS, actually stepped forward.
"Captain, I want to go too." She mustered her courage and said, "I don't want to always hide behind others; I want to do my part as well."
Wang Yong hesitated for a moment, but seeing the determination in her eyes, he nodded.
"Is there anyone else who wants to go?"
Zhao Dezhu pushed through the crowd, stood in front of Wang Yong, and patted his chest: "Brother Yong! Brother Yong! It has to be me! I'm the boss's most loyal little brother. How can I miss out on this first time of territorial expansion? I have to go and cheer for the boss!"
"You'll only cause trouble if you go," Wang Yong refused without hesitation.
"Who said that! I can run fast! I can be bait!" Zhao Dezhu exclaimed anxiously.
Just as Wang Yong was about to refuse, Zhou Jue walked over and said, "Let him go."
Everyone was stunned.
Zhao Dezhu was overjoyed and bowed deeply to Zhou Jue: "Your Excellency is wise! Your Excellency has discerning eyes!"
Zhou Jue ignored him and simply said to Wang Yong, "In the apocalypse, don't underestimate anyone."
He then looked at the other survivors: "Anyone who wants to go, anyone who wants to train themselves, can go. In the apocalypse, no one can protect you for life. Only by becoming strong can you increase your survival rate."
Upon hearing Zhou Jue's words, everyone looked thoughtful.
Liu Jianguo hesitated before speaking, "I...I'll go too!"
"husband......"
"dad......"
Liu Jianguo gave the two of them a reassuring look, then his tone became firm: "Captain, I'll go too!"
He has a family, so there's no reason for him to run away. Besides, they have such a powerful leader with them, so their safety is guaranteed. If he doesn't go out and train himself now, he might not have another chance in the future.
Finally, the makeshift search team, embarking on its first mission, was officially established.
Team leader Wang Yong, team members Lei Hu, Lin Wei, Zhao Dezhu, and Liu Jianguo.
They found a few fire axes and some steel pipes in the fire extinguisher box, which together constituted their makeshift weapons. Zhao Dezhu pulled out a crowbar from somewhere, hugged it tightly to his chest, and muttered something as if in prayer.
"Let's go when you're ready," Zhou Jue's voice came.
The group of five walked to the heavy doors of the hospital.
"laugh--"
The door slid open slowly, revealing the gray, desolate world outside once again.
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