Chapter 676 - 554: Destroy by Any Means Necessary (Add more, 6/10, asking for subscriptions)

Since Gan Shang’s confrontation with Ju Tianrui, Gan Shang had noticed that Ju Tianrui did not send anyone out to search.

He realized that his previous suspicions were correct.

There was something fishy going on.

He also did not blindly send people out to search; he only knew about the East— the East?

To the east of Province X, it was all the East.

So many provinces, such a vast area, how could they search?

Sending people out, not to mention the scorching weather and long journeys, there was also the issue of refueling, which was becoming increasingly difficult.

Furthermore, the people sent out would be blindly searching. In an environment full of Zombies at night outside, it was very likely that they would never return.

His subordinates would also be unhappy.

Unless there was a specific place, otherwise blindly running out, telling them not to return if they didn’t find anyone...

Those subordinates might feel like they were being driven away.

It was nonsensical.

Gan Shang was anxious; the more time passed, the less likely his son would return.

In fact, he should have known, with no return after three or four days, in this apocalypse, it was very likely he was already dead.

But he did not want to believe it.

However, as days passed, he became increasingly furious.

Normally rational, his temper became unpredictable in these few days; just last night, a woman was killed by him.

His remaining rationality told him that he must start from Ju Tianrui.

He then called over Hai Chao, the head of security.

Recently seeing Gan Shang’s temperamental changes, Hai Chao also became cautious, gently stepping into Gan Shang’s room.

"Boss, you called for me." Hai Chao said.

"Sit." Gan Shang said with a gloomy face, as if about to drip water.

Hai Chao’s forehead sweated, unsure if it was from excessive tension or the sweltering weather.

He swallowed and said: "Boss, I can stand."

"When I tell you to sit, sit, don’t talk nonsense." Gan Shang’s eyes opened and closed with anger, like a maddened lion.

Hai Chao stepped forward, sitting on the stool, but he did not settle completely, only sitting on the edge, back straight, even straighter than a flagpole.

Sitting upright and stiff.

In the room, the breeze from the air conditioner blew; this treatment was exclusive to Gan Shang.

The generator burned diesel and ran day and night; such luxury wasn’t something everyone had.

But even with the cool air, the sweat on Hai Chao’s forehead did not lessen but instead increased.

Drops of sweat streamed down to his eyelids, stinging his eyes uncomfortably.

But he dared not wipe it; he feared that too many movements would aggrieve Gan Shang again, turning into an outlet for his anger.

A few seconds of silence.

Gan Shang opened his mouth and said: "Ju Tianrui, until now, haven’t they sent anyone out to search?"

Hearing this question, Hai Chao understood what his boss was pondering and slowly said:

"Yes, I specifically had someone watch them; they haven’t sent anyone."

"That old bastard, I knew he was deceiving me, still saying he doesn’t know the whereabouts of Xiao Jun, this is clearly favoring Xiao Jun and the others. Playing tricks with me, I won’t let him have an easy time."

His eyes widened, carrying a madness in his tone.

He continued: "Pass down my order, cut off the food we promised to Ju Tianrui; moreover, select some more people from the South District, and send them to the West another day."

"But, initially we had an agreement with Ju Tianrui; we provide some food, they face the Zombies when they come. If we directly cut off their food, could it provoke... "

Before Hai Chao could finish, Gan Shang, enraged, rose from the sofa-chair, yelling:

"What could it provoke? What right does he have? I’ve been generous enough to them, I thought I could recruit them, never expected this group of ingrates, biting the hand that feeds... "

Hai Chao, hearing his boss’s rage, felt somewhat helpless inside.

Initially, that wasn’t what the boss told Ju Tianrui.

At the onset, just building this wall, with Ju Tianrui spearheading, cost a great deal of effort.

To conserve strength, and because his own people generally had less combat proficiency than Ju Tianrui’s, during the early stages of Zombie confrontations, it was mostly Ju Tianrui and his people at the forefront.

And because they were at the very front, the casualties in Ju Tianrui’s team were comparatively high.

Meanwhile, those behind under Gan Shang himself were able to maintain such strong capabilities.

It was framed as cooperation, but it was the boss who proposed it. Now, in the boss’s mouth, Ju Tianrui seemed to be a subordinate, begging to cooperate with his boss.

Not hearing Hai Chao’s agreement, Gan Shang glanced sideways at Hai Chao.

Hai Chao hurriedly cursed as well:

"Indeed, Ju Tianrui and his people really don’t know what’s good for them, squandering all your efforts."

Hearing Hai Chao echo his sentiments made Gan Shang’s expression lighten somewhat, he sinisterly said: "The weather’s hot recently, fewer Zombies during the day. Although there are some at night, they basically pose no trouble.

It’s not the rainy season either, looks like it’ll stay hot for quite a while.

The wall has also been built.

Ju Tianrui and his people, they don’t hold much value for us anymore.

Pass down my order, cut their food allowance.

Wait for them to come begging."

Hai Chao hesitated, cutting off their food; isn’t that forcing them to leave?

They expended so much effort building this wall, and now you’re forcing them out.

What would Ju Tianrui do?

He didn’t know.

But he knew that if he tried to dissuade his boss, it would certainly enrage him, and he might even end up being an innocent victim.

Involving the innocent.

So he compliantly said, "Alright, I’ll make the arrangements immediately."

Hearing Hai Chao say this, Gan Shang looked much more pleased, and then he added:

"Also, don’t distribute the resources we previously captured to them. Additionally, tell our brothers to strengthen the guard to prevent any desperate actions.

Hmph, I don’t believe that Ju Tianrui won’t reveal Xiao Jun and their whereabouts, if he doesn’t tell me, I will cut off their food supply."

Hai Chao hesitated for a second and then asked, "What if they just leave? Should we stop them?"

Gan Shang considered the question.

After a long pause,

It seemed he thought of something and said, "Ju Tianrui is an idealist, somewhat old-fashioned; he often helps the refugees.

His moral integrity will surely make him choose to protect these refugees rather than leaving. Because he knows, once he leaves, the fate of these refugees will be even worse.

He won’t do it.

This is his weakness.

Just wait and watch him come to beg me."

As Gan Shang said the last sentence, he settled back into the sofa, with an expression that he had Ju Tianrui figured out.

Hai Chao, hearing his boss say this, couldn’t help but admire the dark tactics of his boss, using someone’s kindness to force them.

Indeed, the move was brilliant.

Although Hai Chao internally criticized, having followed Gan Shang for many years, he knew his boss needed flattery at this moment.

So, he timely delivered a compliment:

"You’ve thought this through brilliantly, orchestrating behind the scenes, winning this invisible battle.

Now, Ju Tianrui will definitely be in a predicament. He surely didn’t anticipate that you had him completely outmaneuvered; next, we just have to wait for him to beg you."

Listening to his subordinate’s pleasing words, Gan Shang’s troubled heart from the past few days also felt somewhat relieved.

His mind calmed a bit.

He spoke again:

"Simply waiting like this isn’t a solution. The longer we delay, the harder it will be to track down Gao Jie and the others.

Find out how much food supply Ju Tianrui and his group still have, and if you find a chance, steal their food.

Even burning it is fine.

Hurry them up to reveal the whereabouts of Xiao Jun and the others."

Hearing that he had to do such a thing, Hai Chao’s expression showed some difficulty; most of their people were not professionals,

before the apocalypse, some were part of the company’s security team, these individuals had slightly better combat capabilities.

But most were from their other subsidiaries, like some enforcers from the real estate company.

Asking them to steal Ju Tianrui’s food supply was too difficult.

Burning it, maybe that could work.

"What, is there a problem?"

Hai Chao shook his head like a bobblehead doll: "No, no."

Gan Shang looked at his expression, thought for a moment, and also hesitated.

Destroying Ju Tianrui’s food would cut off their means of retreat.

It could end up destroying both parties.

So he said, "Don’t do this for now. Just give the order to temporarily stop their food allowance.

As for what to do later, I’ll think about it.

You can go now."

Hai Chao, hearing his boss let him go, felt relieved.

He greeted his boss and then left the room, closing the door behind him.

After stepping out, he felt a chill on his back.

His back was already drenched with sweat.

Whew—

Hai Chao took a few deep breaths and walked towards his subordinates.

Inside the room,

Gan Shang’s expression fluctuated, overly concerned about his son’s safety, just now, he almost sent Hai Chao to deploy men to search.

But in the end, reason told him that even sending them out might not guarantee finding them.

The breakthrough still lay with Ju Tianrui.

Besides food, what other leverage did they have?

Gan Shang pondered privately.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

Refugees!

Ju Tianrui, you want to protect the refugees, right?

Good!

The more you care about it, the more I want to destroy it!

But then he thought about his father’s reminder, to focus on building up the base, fortifying it, recruiting manpower, planting crops, achieving supply balance.

It’s easy to say such things, but not so easy to implement.

Gan Shang somewhat guessed what his father intended.

But what concerned Gan Shang the most now, was where the hell had his son ended up?

What exactly was the situation now?