"Hey!"
Zhang Suâs expression tightened. Ever since his vision had been enhanced, he hadnât faced a challenge for a long time. The sudden subtitles took him by surprise, filling him with excitement.
And this time, it was particularly interesting. Chen Hanzhou stood about a meter in front of him, leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette while examining a mechanical prosthetic. At that moment, everything was frozen; even the smoke was suspended mid-air in a unique shape. It was incredibly fascinating.
Zhang Su reached out to touch Chen Hanzhou but was blocked by an air wall layer, unable to reach him. So, he quickly pulled back his thoughts and started examining the options.
"What the heck is âsubmissionâ? No way... As for extinction, hmm..."
From the bottom of his heart, Zhang Su was reluctant to engage in acts of extinction. For instance, during the past battle with the Beita Camp, he couldnât possibly go after the old, weak, women, and children harmless to him, unless he detected a crisis, in which case he would show no mercy.
The current situation was not like the initial outbreak of the catastrophe, when he was walking on thin ice, filled with trepidation. Now, as a leader of a faction, development and growth required manpower for support. Otherwise, no matter how elite his personnel was, theyâd always struggle against large forces.
The Cyan Dragon Corpsâ situation was quite unique. Internally, not only did they have a significant number of old, weak, women, and children, but also, the scientific division he had longed for!
According to Xin Qiâs report, the scientific division was not just developing zombies for warfare purposes but also had a medical department. These were the very forces Celestial Horse Island currently lacked.
Even without precise execution, he was certain that it wouldnât be too challenging to conquer the logistics and scientific divisions. However, conquering the core members and battle divisions of the Cyan Dragon Corps wouldnât be as easy!
"Does partial conquest count as conquest?"
Zhang Su was quite doubtful, but he couldnât afford to dwell too long. Watching the countdown diminish to just over ten seconds, he made his decision in his mind.
"A, Conquer!"
Even though it was highly challenging, it wasnât entirely impossible. The apocalypse was full of challenges, and human hearts wavered, making outcomes uncertain. He would take the gamble!
[Conquer percentage of the Cyan Dragon Corps: A, eighty percent; B, sixty percent; C, forty percent]
"Yeah?" Zhang Suâs eyes lit up. The second option directly resolved his previous doubt!
"According to that kid Xin Qiâs words, the core members of the Cyan Dragon Corps only number a little over twenty, making up less than ten percent. Viewed this way, the best outcome could yield eighty percent!"
"However... conquering a force canât just rely on talk. When the time comes, there will certainly be conflicts with the Cyan Dragon Corpsâ battle division. What if this group refuses to compromise?"
All Zhang Suâs speculations were based on winning through battle. For if he failed, everything would be empty talk, and thereâd be no point in considering further.
Thinking it over, Zhang Su ultimately believed that retaining sixty percent of the Cyan Dragon Corps would already be quite good, so he said, "B!"
[Estimated completion time: A, ten days; B, thirty days; C, eighty days]
"Heh... a freebie!"
Upon seeing the options, Zhang Su was exhilarated because he saw resolving the Cyan Dragon Corps as urgent; the longer it dragged on, the more problems would arise.
"A, ten days!"
While making the choice, he silently vowed in his heart to take down the camp within ten days!
[Challenge generated: Conquer sixty percent of the Cyan Dragon Corps members within ten days; Difficulty: A, Timer starts: 239:59:59, 0/342]
"What a pity, just a bit short of triple A. I wonder what kind of challenge a triple A would be, hmm? This final number..."
"Oh, this is incredible. The exact number in the Cyan Dragon Corps is displayed directly, haha. Uh, this number differs quite a bit from what Xin Qi mentioned... probably because it excludes the twenty-seven who died earlier. Let me calculate... three sixes are eighteen, four twos are eight, hmm, so just over two hundred and five need to defect to complete the task?"
"Hmm... Will the dead be counted..."
"Brother Su, youâre out? How was it? The three guys were pretty honest, right? I didnât hear any commotion in the house."
While Zhang Su was still pondering the challenge, Chen Hanzhou noticed Zhang Su leaving the room and turned to ask.
"Facing impending doom, they were well-behaved. Go notify everyone, gather at the Little Lucky Restaurant!"
Chen Hanzhouâs expression turned serious. Holding a meeting at this time must mean something very important. He nodded and, while notifying through the intercom, headed downstairs.
In five minutes, uninjured personnel gathered in the restaurant, which was always used for meetings and had become a de facto conference room.
"Tonightâs battle was immensely successful. However, I regret to inform you all that we have no time to rest. Based on what Iâve just learned, the Cyan Dragon Corps knows our exact location. If the Grain Collection Team doesnât return, theyâll dispatch people tomorrow or the day after to investigate, so we must act before then."
Zhang Su looked around at everyone, then shared the information he gained from Xin Qi about the Cyan Dragon Corps for everyoneâs consideration.
"According to that kid, only one or two teams are coming? Thatâs easy!" Lu Yubo was the first to speak out, "If they dare to come, weâll just kill them like we did tonight!"
"Thatâs right, Brother Luâs suggestion is quite powerful! Kill them until they are too scared, show them weâre not pushovers!" Zhao Dezhu agreed immediately.
"Peace is borne from slaughter, not from begging!"
Following this, several others also found Lu Yuboâs suggestion, though crude, very feasible.
The grand victory brought unprecedented confidence to the people of Celestial Horse Island.
However, Yuwen frowned and shook his head, "Forgive me for pouring cold water on this; I think Xiaoluâs proposal is unacceptable!"
Everyone turned to the weary-looking Yuwen.
Knowing that everyone was waiting for his insight, Yuwen adjusted his glasses and said, "The Cyan Dragon Corps is too vast and populous to be filled with incompetents, or they wouldnât have developed so much!"
"Trying the same trick again might not be entirely impossible, but weâll likely have to pay a much steeper price. My opinion is..."
At this point, Yuwen paused, then looked at Zhang Su with a solemn expression and said, "Mr. Zhang, speed is of the essence!"
Zhang Suâs eyes lit up. Upon learning that the Cyan Dragon Corps would dispatch a team to investigate, his first thought was a direct attack, but given his companionsâ weariness from the recent battle, a long, arduous journey might dampen spirits.
But he hadnât expected Yuwen to share his thoughts!
"Teacher Yu has expressed my very thought!"
Zhang Su took over, stood up, and said, "The Cyan Dragon Corps assumes theyâre the kings of Qing County, extorting resources from nearby survivor camps, thinking they can dominate. They surely didnât expect all three teams to fail!"
"Before the Cyan Dragon Corpsâ headquarters dispatches people to investigate, weâll disguise ourselves as their Grain Collection Team, infiltrate their camp, and catch them off guard!"
After hearing Zhang Suâs plan, everyoneâs expressions were colorful, feeling as if their brains shrank, with some even getting goosebumps.
What kind of move was this? Bold to the extreme...
"Su, Brother Su, are you planning to take advantage of the victory and directly hit the Cyan Dragon Corpsâ headquarters?"
Wu Lue asked haltingly, full of disbelief.
Others looked at Zhang Su with puzzled eyes, only a few showing solemn expressions.
In most peopleâs eyes, passive defense was the posture of a weaker side. Compared to Cyan Dragon Corps, Celestial Horse Island was weaker in manpower and weapons and naturally should be cautious.
Attacking the opponentâs base seemed too radical.
Zhang Su nodded, "Thatâs right. We cannot sit and wait to be slaughtered. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get in their trucks, take their captives, and 003, and make them taste their own medicine!"
"Damn!" Zhao Dezhu shouted, "Bro, we can even take a bunch of Petrified Skin Zombies and set them on fire later, use their methods against them, hahaha!"
"Eradicating the threat completely, letâs do it, Brother Su. When do we move out?"
Wang Xin clenched his fist and asked.
The enthusiasm of the group was ignited, their spirits soaring.