Chapter 565: Post-War Planning
Mr. Zheng passed away.
With his death, the mistakes made in the battle due to his hesitation were buried.
The Kyoto base was severely damaged by zombies, and the city was full of ruins. Fortunately, thanks to Mr. Zheng's decisive decision to let the people evacuate, the death toll was minimized.
After repairing the city wall, the Zheng family held a grand funeral.
Along with Mr. Zheng, there are also tens of thousands of supernatural people who sacrificed their lives. Some of them still have their bodies found, while others only have their clothes left.
The original location of the villa had been destroyed by intensive missile attacks, so the base built a cemetery here to commemorate all the people who died in the first joint operation of mankind after the apocalypse.
A large number of Zheng family members died this time, and the coffins alone accounted for one-tenth of all the people. The word "Zheng" on the front coffin was so densely packed that people felt heavy-hearted.
The Kyoto base was saved because of Mr. Zheng who stepped forward in times of crisis. In addition, Zheng Yi is now the only SS-level psychic in Kyoto, and the status of the Zheng family army is likely to become the leader in the entire base team.
Many members of the teams privately worried that Zheng Yi would take the opportunity to develop the Zheng Family Army into a one-man show in the Kyoto base. Some small and medium-sized teams that were affiliated with the Guards and the Flame were obviously much more restless during the days leading up to the funeral.
Because of what Zheng Yi did to Lu Xi's gang on the battlefield, Lu Xiao felt that he owed them a favor, so he suppressed his subordinates' instigation and did not let them show up.
On the other hand, Zhao Qiang, upon hearing the concerns expressed by several team captains, shook his head and rejected the idea, saying, "Even if he wants the Zheng family army to develop, he wouldn't choose now."
"Why? Now is the best time. The people who did not participate in the battle do not know about the mistakes the old man made in decision-making. They only think that the people of Zheng's army stood up to command and won the victory." Su Wei, the captain of the Menglang team, now has long scars on his once shiny bald head. Just looking at the scars across his head, you can tell that he has not had an easy life in the past few years.
"Every day, people go to the cemetery to pay tribute to Mr. Zheng, lining up from morning to night, and I found out that there are indeed people in the Zheng family who are promoting the decisive role played by the Zheng family's army in this battle." Sun Laiqian, who smiles like Maitreya Buddha, has the same aura as before, except that his face looks a little more vicissitudes.
After the Hunter's Guild was disbanded due to an incident, their two teams relied on the Guard Team. They didn't interact much in normal times, and only got together when things like this determined the future of the base's power.
"You talk as if the Zheng family alone can win the battle. In that case, just send people from the Zheng family. Why do you need other people?" Su Kuo complained dissatisfiedly. Su Wei glared at him and he looked away silently.
"The higher you stand, the greater the responsibility. Let them publicize it." Zhao Qiang didn't care at all that there was someone above him. What's more, he knew best that so many people of the Zheng family army had sacrificed this time. It just looked prosperous. In their heart, they didn't dare to conflict with the guards or Lieyan.
What excites him even more now is the millions of crystal cores collected by the Kyoto base.
There are more than two hundred S-level crystal cores in it. So many crystal cores alone are enough to give birth to several SS-level psychics. Moreover, even after upgrading to SS-level, further upgrading to S-level crystal cores is the best choice.
When he thought of the number from the Yueban Bay negotiations, his heart ached.
That would be tantamount to handing over the S-level psychics of their own team to others.
It is undeniable that Zhao Qiang wanted to break the contract at this time.
But... the two SS-level psychics from Yuebanwan are both in the Kyoto base. It seems that they plan to attend the funeral and get the things before leaving together.
Zhao Qiang found an excuse to send the two teams away and took out two S-level earth crystal cores from his arms.
Deputy Captain Sun Lin, who was following him, saw him like this and asked in a low voice, "Sheriff, do you want to upgrade?"
Without waiting for Zhao Qiang to answer, he answered himself, "Now everyone's attention is focused on the funeral and the subsequent anti-zombie alliance talks. No one will pay attention to us. It's a good time to upgrade."
As he spoke, he became more emotional and asked excitedly, "Do you want me to help you prepare a safe place?"
Zhao Qiang did not answer, but stared at the crystal core in his hand and asked, "Do you know how many earth-type S-level crystal cores we harvested this time?"
Sun Lin shook his head.
He was not the one responsible for collecting the crystal cores, and this matter needed to be kept absolutely confidential. Only the people from the Three Domination Team in the base knew the number.
"Thirty-six," Zhao Qiang replied.
"Thirty-six," he murmured.
He quietly upgraded to the peak of S-level, and the most consumed were A-level crystal cores. All the earth-type crystal cores of everyone in the entire guard team were monopolized by him, which allowed him to successfully upgrade to this day.
The two in his hand were specially kept for use when upgrading. I believe that any team would be envious of them if they got them under normal circumstances, but in comparison now, they seemed petty.
How could he be willing to save such a small amount with so much trouble, only to have to give so much away to others?
"What's the situation over at Yueban Bay?" Zhao Qiang asked.
"No problem. The earth-type ability users are cooperating with the government to rebuild the city wall protections and build houses. The rest are resting in the temporary base."
"Didn't they send anyone to participate in the work of collecting the crystal core?"
"Not even one." This was what surprised Sun Lin. In the process of killing millions of zombies outside the city, there was no time to collect the crystal cores. Now, members of each base wanted to participate in the collection, hoping to hide a few secretly. If they happened to get a high-level crystal core, it would be a big bargain.
But Yuebanwan used the excuse that he needed to rest, and Agen didn't join in. Sun Lin didn't know whether to say that they were of noble character or...
"Could they have already known that our base has marked these zombie crystal cores?" Sun Lin asked.
Zhao Qiang shook his head and changed the subject, "Spread the news about the reward that Yuebanwan asked for for supporting Kyoto, especially to other bases that came, make sure they all know."
Sun Lin frowned in confusion. They also came to support the battle. If other bases knew that Yuebanwan had been paid, how could the next anti-zombie alliance be successfully established?
Obviously, Zhao Qiang had no intention of explaining to him. He stood up, put away the two crystal cores and said, "I will be away for a few days. Tell others that I am recuperating from my injuries."
"Okay," Sun Lin responded. Seeing Zhao Qiang put the crystal core back into his arms and hurried away, he had a vague guess in his heart, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.
**
According to the custom of the Kyoto base, Mr. Zheng's body was preserved for five days.
In five days, most of the crystal cores outside the city have been collected. Due to the markers released in advance by Kyoto, all the crystal cores collected outside the city are covered with a layer of black substance, which requires special medicine to remove.
This left many people who wanted to take advantage of the situation empty-handed, and the noisy crystal core collection operation quickly came to an end.
The damaged city wall was repaired with the help of the earth-type mutant, and the entire base became bustling again.
The shops reopened, the cries of hawkers rang out again, and the liveliness covered the previous silence. If it weren't for the occasional broken walls, it would seem as if the life-and-death battle a few days ago had never happened.
Zheng Yi, dressed in black, led the Zheng family and other relatives of the deceased to pay tribute in front of the cemetery. In the solemnity, he was much calmer. The impetuousness of the past disappeared with the road that Grandpa Zheng paved for him with his life, and instead, he put away his arrogance and unrestrainedness.
Li Yan brought along the leaders of several Yuebanwa teams, and the leaders of various bases stood beside them.
Compared to the warmth they received a few days ago, the looks from various bases today were somewhat strange, and even mixed with a hint of anger.
They are all people who have survived the brink of life and death, so they are all somewhat sensitive to the way people stare at them.
"Why do I feel like they are not very friendly to us?" Ye Jia patted the snow on his hair and whispered.
"Are you jealous that we have another SS-level psychic?" Song Xian touched his chin, looking proud.
Du Ping glanced at the two young captain and deputy captain, wondering whether their heartless appearance was real or fake.
"Haven't you heard the rumors circulating in various bases in the past two days?" Gao Yang took off his glasses, carefully wiped the water dripping from them and asked.
"What rumors?"
"They said our base came to support us after negotiating terms with the Kyoto base," Gao Yang said. Seeing their strange expressions as if they had known about this for a long time, he added, "It is said that they asked for a thousand S-level crystal cores."
"How many?"
"What?"
The two surprised voices attracted the attention of the people around them. The two smiled awkwardly and nodded to the people. After a while, they asked in a trembling voice, "Where did you hear that? Is it true?"
"It's fake." After Li Yan and Li Zhuang said goodbye to Lu Xiao after the memorial service, they came over with a sullen face and replied on behalf of Gao Yang.
Several team leaders immediately looked over and waited for him to continue speaking, but Li Yan waved his hand and said, "Go back and talk about it."
The group said goodbye to everyone present and headed towards their temporary residence.
Several team leaders who were not aware of the situation were observing their leader's expressions. Li Zhuang looked nonchalant and nothing seemed unusual, but Li Yan had a serious look on his face.
In the living room, Dean and Antonio were being affectionate with each other, while Liu Rui and Xu Sa were sitting in front of the stove, warming themselves by the fire, turning the sweet potatoes on top from time to time. The whole house was filled with sweet fragrance, which eased the slightly tense atmosphere along the way.
"Is someone plotting against us?" Gao Yang took the initiative to speak.
"Yes and no." When they first came, they did not communicate with the various teams about the crystal core matters. On the one hand, they did not want the matter to be leaked in advance and affect the subsequent cooperation against the zombie alliance. On the other hand, they were also worried that the teams below would compete for travel spots because of the crystal cores.
"So we did collect the crystal core," Yue Qiwen said affirmatively without waiting for him to elaborate.
The others immediately looked at Li Yan. A thousand S-level crystal cores were enough for anyone to take the risk.
"No." Li Yan glanced at Li Zhuang, not knowing whether it was appropriate to talk about the specific matter.
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