Chapter 175 Who's Hiding There?
They all looked up at Josie, who met their gaze and continued, "We brought food, wood-type ability users to improve farming, and technology to awaken the powers of ordinary people! We want to work with you to protect these scientists and fight against all the difficulties of the apocalypse. Wouldn't it be better to stick together and survive in this world? Why do we have to fight to the death?"
These words stunned Professor Wang and the guards on the ground.
The tragedy and despair on their faces froze, replaced by a profound astonishment and disbelief.
Joining? Cooperating? Sticking together for mutual support? This is completely different from the bloody massacre and resource grabbing scenario they envisioned!
"Get up."
She gave Luo Xiang and the others a wink. The superhumans who were suppressing the soldiers slowly loosened their grip.
The captain of the guard struggled to his feet, clutching his broken wrist, and looked at Josie with suspicion.
Josie looked directly at him and all the guards: "You are soldiers who protect our country, and you deserve our respect. We have no intention of harming you. But the condition is that you must also accept us. Lay down your weapons, give up resistance, and join us to protect this base and everyone inside."
Her voice suddenly turned cold, carrying an undeniable air of ruthlessness, "But... if you choose to outwardly comply while secretly plotting against us, then you can see just how ruthless we really are!"
The chilling warning felt like a real, biting wind.
The guard captain looked at Josie's confident and fearless eyes, then at Fu Jinxing, the man with an outstanding demeanor who called himself a scientist, and then at the strange and unpredictable black mist and invisibility ability he had just witnessed... His tense body finally relaxed little by little.
He swallowed hard and turned his gaze to Professor Wang.
Professor Wang was also looking at him, his expression complex, but he nodded slightly.
The guard captain took a deep breath, as if using all his strength, and slowly and laboriously raised his intact hand to Qiao Xi and Fu Jinxing, giving a standard military salute: "I... Li Weiguo, former captain of the Chuncheng Base defense squad. On behalf of... on behalf of the base's defense personnel, I accept... cooperation."
His voice was hoarse, filled with humiliation, but even more so with a faint hope that he himself couldn't quite explain.
As he finished speaking, the extremely tense atmosphere in the control room finally eased a little.
The alarm had stopped sometime ago, and only the low hum of the ventilation system could be heard.
The cold barriers had not completely disappeared, but a fragile, survival-based bond of cooperation had been barely established in this post-apocalyptic underground fortress.
Once the situation stabilized, Fu Jinxing turned to Luo Xiang and Xie Jue, "Now that things are stable here, you two set off immediately to bring over the researchers and the remaining superhumans."
"good."
Xie Jue and Luo Xiang accepted the order and turned to leave the base without hesitation.
When the management of the base was handed over, the original staff were clearly hesitant, but they had no choice.
The core members brought by Fu Jinxing quickly took over the base's daily operations, resource allocation, and defense rotations. Their high efficiency and clear organization made the original staff feel a sense of security, even though they were unwilling.
At least they appeared orderly and showed no intention of harming the researchers.
Josie knew that military conquest was only the first step; winning the hearts and minds of the people was the long-term solution.
She took the initiative to approach the former base members who were gathered in the corner of the public rest area, looking wary and resentful, especially the young researchers and technicians.
She pulled up a chair and sat down naturally next to them, ignoring the wary looks they were giving her, and started the conversation in a relaxed tone: "The apocalypse has been here for so long, and you've just stayed in this 'iron can' without going out to see the outside world?"
The air seemed to freeze suddenly.
Some of them went out, but they never came back.
A young researcher wearing glasses, with a refined appearance but unable to hide his anger, turned his face away, while a slightly older technician snorted coldly, making no attempt to conceal his hostility.
Josie didn't seem to mind, and instead chuckled lightly, the laughter sounding somewhat abrupt in the quiet rest area: "It's okay, it's normal not to understand now. Maybe in a while, you'll be grateful we barged in."
"Thank you?" The refined-looking researcher whirled around, his eyes behind his glasses burning with humiliation. "Thank you for violently seizing our territory? What's the difference between that and robbery! Why should we thank robbers?"
"Robbers?" Josie's smile vanished, replaced by a cold, insightful sharpness.
She leaned slightly forward, her voice low but carrying a penetrating power, clearly reaching everyone's ears: "Little friend, you're too naive. In this apocalypse, true robbers are synonymous with 'kindness'! If the people you encounter are like us, only stealing things and not harming anyone, you should be grateful!"
Her gaze swept over the young faces, which appeared immature due to their isolation. "Have you ever been out there? Do you know what it's like outside? Do you know what people like you... who are 'honest,' 'kind,' and 'reasonable', are in the eyes of those who have lost their humanity?"
She paused, looking at the confusion and unease rising in their eyes, and said, word by word, "They are at the very bottom of the food chain, walking canned meat! They are the lambs who are deceived until not even a bone remains... They will approach you with the most hypocritical kindness, gain your trust, and then, when you are least expecting it, devour you completely! Skin and bones, not a single thing left!"
“Ugh…” A young female technician turned pale and couldn’t help but cover her mouth, turning her head to the side to dry heave.
The others also turned ashen-faced, their stomachs churning.
Josie's descriptions were so detailed and gory that they instantly shattered their long-held illusions, built up within their "iron cans," that the apocalypse might still retain some order and humanity.
Josie looked at their pale faces and physical discomfort, and a very faint, almost cruel smile appeared on her lips.
Without saying another word, she stood up briskly and began to stroll along the edge of the rest area, her sharp eyes scanning the base’s internal structure, pipeline layout, and functional area division.
Her calmness and powerful aura sent a chill down the spines of the original staff who had just been stunned by her words.
That afternoon, wherever Josie went, she could feel the gaze of the original staff.
The next day, as she was inspecting the base as usual, she suddenly turned to look at a corner and said, "What are you hiding there for? Come out."
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