On the first day of collaboration, Xiao Jun also personally went into battle.
And those two gangs acted as if they had injected chicken blood, performing even more exaggeratedly.
If you didn't look at the casualties, but only at their outward appearance, Xiao Jun even felt that those two gangs might have averaged three-stage mutants.
But in reality, many of them were still first-stage mutants.
Perhaps this was the power of hormones.
Although Xiao Jun's team only deployed half of the ladies tonight, because there were two large groups drawing aggro, the pressure was actually lower.
As for the ambush of the fourth-stage zombie? You didn't see the Captain sitting here, did you? Although he wouldn't make us his signature fried rice anymore, he wouldn't let a single fourth-stage zombie take advantage of us either.
Come to think of it, the Captain's fried rice was really delicious. Wasn't there an old saying, eating fried rice makes you more capable?
My post-2000s father didn't deceive me—that night the ladies were more ferocious than the last when dealing with zombies, all for the sake of getting another serving of the Captain's signature fried rice.
Perhaps taking a lesson from the fourth-stage zombie last night, tonight's zombie was much smarter and didn't hold back until the very end, but instead launched an attack within the first hour.
This was the first time the Gale Gang and Tiger Leopard Gang witnessed such a spectacular scene, and it was aimed right at them.
Many who had been intoxicated by hormones suddenly sobered up, retreating continuously.
This thing can't be dealt with, or else it's the end.
In the forward direction was Xiao Jun's Harem Gang.
Twenty ladies leapt out in unison, skillfully taking on the third-stage zombies one by one.
And that fourth-stage zombie died the quickest—before it could figure out what was happening, Xiao Jun had appeared by its side and taken its head.
Seeing how powerful Xiao Jun was, the other two gangs also gained a huge boost in confidence. The plump and thin gang leaders yelled oddly to rally the morale of their members.
They even charged to the front lines, leading by example.
Although those two didn't look like much, they were at least bona fide third-stage mutants as gang leaders.
Fully equipped with combat knives and tactical gear as standard issue, the fourth-stage zombie had already been killed by Xiao Jun, so there weren't any other zombies that could harm them.
With the gang leaders personally on the field, it greatly boosted morale. Compared to the previous few nights of barely scraping by, today was much better.
Ten minutes of zombie rain, three hours of battle.
After finishing, each of the ladies in Xiao Jun's team could receive a can of eight-treasure porridge, which had become a daily ritual.
This was how it had been for over a week, except for that one night when Xiao Jun was the chef.
The ladies were used to it and didn't think it was a big deal, but the other two gangs couldn't stand it.
We're all brothers in the same trench, who isn't tired after fighting? So why do you guys still get a night snack to replenish your energy?
This night snack was something they could only dream of in normal times.
Anyone would break down if they had to eat the rations every day, their mouths would become as bland as a bird's.
The joy of a great victory didn't seem so exciting anymore.
The plump and thin gang leaders ran over with grim expressions.
"Captain Xiao, this won't do. If you're going to distribute them, you have to do it secretly after going back. How are we supposed to handle this?"
The two gang leaders became angrier as they spoke, so angry that tears flowed from their mouths.
"The two gang leaders worked hard tonight."
Xiao Jun hurriedly took out two bottles of eight-treasure porridge from his spatial bag, along with two bottles of yogurt.
"It's late at night, drink some yogurt to help you sleep. I'll leave first, but I'll make sure they're more discreet next time."
Xiao Jun slipped away.
The plump and thin gang leaders quickly pocketed the eight-treasure porridge and yogurt.
"What are you all looking at? Hurry up and clean the battlefield, then go home and sleep."
His newly found 14th wife was still waiting for him. He could give her the yogurt to make her happy, and maybe unlock a few new skills in bed tonight.
...
Second floor lounge.
The whole family sat together neatly. Li Jingyin had also come out of the room, accompanied by Li Qianwan.
"There's an important matter I need to tell everyone."
Everyone stopped what they were doing and the twin sisters put down the sunflower seeds they were eating, since there was an outsider present and they had to maintain appearances.
A fifth-stage zombie and a zombie siege—these were things that couldn't be concealed, so it was better to share them in advance and make thorough preparations for the best chance of survival.
After briefly explaining the situation, everyone fell silent to digest the shock.
Although Xiao Jun's explanation was simple, it had a huge impact on them that required time to process.
"Brother Xiao, you mean that in a few days, a fifth-stage zombie will lead hundreds of thousands of zombies to rush in here?"
Xiao Jun nodded.
"Hundreds of thousands is just an estimate, it could be even more."
No one could say for sure how many zombies were out there. Based on his experiences from the previous life, each zombie siege involved over 300,000 zombies.
It might seem like Future City had at least 200,000 people now, but the vast majority were only first-stage mutants. The number of second-stage mutants definitely wouldn't exceed thirty percent.
The third-stage mutants were the core members of the major gangs, or small gang leaders.
Fourth-stage mutants were even rarer—there probably weren't more than fifty in the entire Future City.
Xiao Jun's gang currently had five fourth-stage mutants, and after this round of the zombie rain, there would probably be around eight.
But against hundreds of thousands of zombies, that amount of strength was essentially negligible.
Not to mention there were an unknown number of fourth-stage zombies and one completely unstoppable fifth-stage zombie among them.
After everyone fully processed what Xiao Jun said, a hint of despair appeared on their faces.
So this was the end of the world? No matter how hard they struggled, they would ultimately be crushed by the wheels of fate, leaving nothing behind.
"Cheer up, the fifth-stage zombie isn't invincible, and with Future City's population of millions, hundreds of thousands of zombies aren't unbeatable either."
"But in your current state, you're indeed helpless."
If they could live, who would choose death?
Everyone lifted their heads to look at Xiao Jun, a glimmer of hope flickering in their eyes.
"Brother Xiao, what should we do now?"
As the chief steward, Jiang Yue was the first to react.
"Do you remember the last time we went outside the city? We left behind a lot of alcohol blocks on the bridge."
Everyone knew about this, it was Li Jingyin who had led people to gather firewood and spread it out.
"The zombies will swarm towards Future City from all directions, but the only route in our direction is that bridge. As long as we block the bridge, at least our backs will be covered."
This was the first solution Xiao Jun had come up with, and the alcohol blocks left behind last time could finally be put to use.
"Li Qianwan, this task falls to you."
Li Qianwan nodded blankly, not knowing what she was supposed to do.
"Today is the fourth day of the new round of the zombie rain, with three days remaining before it stops. The zombies outside the city could move at any time, so you'll need to station yourself at the bridge entrance. As soon as the zombies show any signs of movement, set it on fire immediately."
"Have Jiang Yue arrange for a few people to protect you."
It was unknown from which direction the fifth-stage zombie would come, but it definitely wouldn't be the first to charge in. As long as the fire started, it didn't matter how many zombies came—they would be walking into their demise.
"Jiang Yue, how many alcohol blocks do we have left?"
He had mentioned this to Jiang Yue before and asked her to collect more, but with the limited time remaining, he didn't know how many she had managed to gather.
"Not many alcohol blocks, but I got some of these instead."
A gas canister suddenly appeared in the lounge, and Jiang Yue grinned proudly.
Damn, this was way better than alcohol blocks.
"When the time comes, have a few people protect Li Qianwan and throw all of these onto the bridge. How many do we have?"
"Thirty-four."
Jiang Yue gave a number.
So many? Xiao Jun had thought having around ten would be good enough, he never expected her to find this many.
Throwing all of it up there, the explosion's power would probably be able to blow up the bridge.
I've seen news before about firecrackers blowing up bridges.
"Alright, let's wait until the zombies make a move before acting, so we don't end up being attacked from behind if the bridge doesn't blow up."
Everyone's gaze turned to Li Qianwan.
Swallowing hard, Li Qianwan nodded.
She had the fire ability, so it made the most sense for her to do this. They couldn't just let the zombies start attacking the city walls and then have someone slowly light it with a lighter.
"Starting tomorrow, during the day we'll clear out the zombies near the bridge. We need to clear them out every day to ensure that as soon as the zombie rain ends, Li Qianwan can get into position immediately."
Jiang Yue nodded, this shouldn't be a big issue. She'll start arranging it tomorrow.
"Xiao Jun, should we notify the others?"
The zombie attack would be targeting all survivors, not just their team. It would be good to spread the word so everyone can prepare.
"I'll inform Chen Gang, but let's not tell the others for now to avoid panic."
If everyone knew they only had a week left at most, Future City would descend into chaos. They might not even make it to the zombie attack - tomorrow's zombie rain could wipe out half of Future City.
"Understood."
The others all nodded.
"Jing Yi, how many third-tier mutant crystals were you able to exchange?"
Jing Yi managed the trading hall and was in charge of exchanging the mutant crystals.
"We barely got any third-tier mutant crystals. Even though we opened at a high ratio, we only managed to exchange 7 of them."
It looks like leveling up to the fifth-tier with third-tier mutant crystals before the zombie attack is impossible.
"But we did exchange a lot of second-tiers. Give it two more days and we'll all be able to level up to the fourth-tier."
Jiang Yue and the little loli were in charge of leveling up from second to third-tier. Apart from the portion left at Jing Yi's for exchange, the rest of the first-tier mutant crystals could level up quite a few third-tiers every day.
The mutant crystals from cigarette sales still made up the vast majority.
"Let's hold onto the fourth-tiers for now. Focus on leveling up more third-tiers and see if any other abilities manifest."
Third-tier was the benchmark that determined one's ceiling.
With limited resources, they had to prioritize leveling up those with abilities, and the stronger the better.
Up until now, no one knew how many abilities humans could awaken.
It wasn't fully understood even after six years in the previous apocalypse.
Many people with special abilities wouldn't reveal them.
Just like Wan Qianya and Jiang Yue - apart from Xiao Jun and a few close individuals, no one else knew the specifics of their abilities.
Only the more conspicuous ones like fire abilities or durability abilities that could be seen when used, and which more people tended to awaken, were widely known.
After going over the details, the sky was brightening.
With such a major issue at hand, no one felt like sleeping.
Moreover, Xiao Jun had only given them a broad outline - Jiang Yue and the others still needed to work out the specifics.
"What do you all want for breakfast?"
Xiao Jun suddenly asked.
"Let's have noodles. I'll have them start making them now."
Apart from the four bodyguard girls on the first floor, two chefs had also moved in. The stove was already set up, they just lacked ingredients to showcase their skills.
But breakfast was doable - they could make noodles, rice noodles, or even buns and dumplings.
They had more than enough ingredients, after all.
Thinking back, all of Xiao Jun's pre-apocalypse preparations were to feed the initial thirty-one girls. With people, they could seize more resources.
Unlike many teams that only banded together after Future City was established.
Back when the apocalypse first started, he couldn't even feed himself, let alone a whole group.
The arrival of the airdrop boxes had also lulled many into mistakenly believing pre-apocalypse supplies weren't that important anymore.
This allowed Xiao Jun to strike gold by brazenly collecting supplies for an entire week.
Hence their comfortable living conditions now.
After breakfast, Xiao Jun left the territory alone.
He headed to Guo Yu's home as usual.
He had complete trust in Guo Yu - in his heart, he could only sense respect towards himself.
"Whatever you say, Xiao Jun."
After briefly explaining the situation, Guo Yu immediately agreed to follow Xiao Jun's arrangements.
"Have your aunt stay at my place first. When the zombies attack, bring your people straight to my territory."
Xiao Jun had given Guo Yu a thousand second-tier mutant crystals to level up to the fourth-tier.
His rare Frenzy ability was extremely powerful, a huge boost once leveled up to the fourth-tier.
He was now a brigade commander in Future City with a few hundred people under him. When the time came, he could bring them all directly to Xiao Jun's territory, increasing their chances.
There was no other choice - he didn't have enough people, so he had to resort to this method.
Future City was huge anyway, a few hundred less people wouldn't make much difference. Just consider it casualties from not being careful enough during the first wave.
"Be careful yourself, I'm going to see Chen Gang."
After repeatedly warning Guo Yu not to reveal his level up unless Chen Gang asked about the source of his mutant crystals, a question he wouldn't be able to explain.
In the main reception hall of Future City's administration office.
Chen Gang was surprised to hear Xiao Jun had come to visit.
The last time Xiao Jun came, he made a huge profit through cigarettes. This time, Chen Gang wondered what good news he brought.
After Xiao Jun entered, the two spoke for over an hour.
When Xiao Jun left, Chen Gang's expression was grim as he paced alone in the spacious reception hall, clearly troubled.
A few minutes later, Chen Gang seemed to have made a decision.
"Quick, summon Mr. Zhuge. I have an urgent matter for him."