"Is there nothing more to it? If I remember correctly, these few factions came to us on their own and arenât strong at all. Why not just forcefully take back whatâs ours?"
Zhuang Shaohua went silent for a moment. He couldnât quite understand it himself. Although their strength had been severely damaged after the natural disaster, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.
Compared to the other three factions, they were still overwhelming.
Even if those three factions united, they couldnât stand against us.
Why are we hesitant to act? This puzzled him.
In response to Gao Ruâs question, Zhuang Shaohua shrugged and said:
"I donât know. Anyway, you have to meet Director Gan. You can ask him yourself then. To be honest, Iâm quite curious too."
Upon hearing Zhuang Shaohua, Gao Ruâs face fell. With things turning out like this, he still had to go to his father-in-law to ask for food aid.
He cursed inwardly: Asking directly for food is akin to signing my own death sentence. Damn it, itâs like adding fuel to the fire.
Itâs just an exasperating thought.
But since weâre already here, if I donât bring back the food, itâs all over.
Oh well, take it one step at a time.
Letâs first see how the situation unfolds here and how Father-in-law plans to resolve it. If he can retrieve half of the food, perhaps if I play the misery card, I might still get some food.
With these thoughts, Gao Ru decided not to mention food aid to his father-in-law for now.
Zhuang Shaohua sent two people to lead Gao Ru and his group to the central residential area.
The vehicles were parked inside the wall for the time being.
Upon entering, Gao Ru was taken aback by the scenes of the headquartersâ foundation.
It seemed that what Gao Ru said wasnât an exaggeration. The last natural disaster indeed caused considerable damage to the Western Alliance headquarters.
Even now, many roads were covered in dust, and some houses had collapsed, leaving ruins and debris everywhere.
Upon inquiring with the guide, he learned that during the last natural disaster, when the volcano erupted, it caused an earthquake here. The tremors were so severe that it brought down tens of meters of the East Wall. If Gan Long hadnât led a team for emergency repairs, they wouldnât have withstood the subsequent Zombie Tide.
Amid his shock, Gao Ru thought of the devastation on Juzi Island and suddenly understood.
On Juzi Island, the population dropped sharply from over three hundred to just over sixty, losing four-fifths of its people.
And if you include the refugees, it would be one in ten.
Alas...
Gao Ru sighed softly.
The two people leading them didnât take the middle road but detoured from the right.
Curious, Gao Ru asked, "Why not take the central road?"
One of them pointed in that direction and said, "We have temporarily sealed off that area."
"Because of those factions?" Gao Ru inquired further.
"Yes, weâve blocked them in now."
"Then if you can block them, why not just..."
Gao Ru started to say but suddenly stopped.
He remembered how his father-in-law would often do things that seemed baffling at the time. Yet, once everything was over, it became clear how right Gan Xiongâs decisions had been.
Looking at results, it was always about using the minimum power and resources to solve the biggest problems.
His father-in-law must have his reasons and considerations for acting this way.
...
Soon.
Gao Ru reached the courtyard in the middle, surrounded by many guards.
Even Old Zhuang stood at the gate of the courtyard, seemingly waiting for Gao Ru.
In fact, when Gao Ru first arrived, Xiao Zhuang had already sent someone to inform Gan Xiong and the others.
So Gan Xiong naturally knew that Gao Ru and his group were there.
After what Zhuang Shaohua mentioned, Gao Ru hadnât yet figured out how to face his father-in-law.
But Old Zhuang had already seen him.
"Director Gao, the boss is waiting inside for you. Please follow me," Old Zhuang said to Gao Ru, neither arrogant nor submissive.
Despite also finding the group from Juzi Island unwelcome, as they always asked for food whenever they came, which was annoying.
"Alright, Old Zhuang, howâs my father-in-lawâs mood?" Gao Ru asked in a low voice, leaning closer to Old Zhuang.
He didnât want to be caught in the crossfire and have to take the heat like a barrel of gunpowder.
"Not good." Old Zhuangâs mouth uttered two words.
His mood wasnât great either; the atmosphere inside the hall was even more suffocating than below freezing.
Hearing these two words, Gao Ru was taken aback.
He lamented inwardly: I knew nothing good would come from this visit. Adding insult to injury, Iâll have to face it sooner or later...
In the evening, a cool breeze blew.
Gao Ruâs forehead and palms were sweating, and he was trembling all over.
A moment later, they reached the entrance to the hall.
Old Zhuang knocked on the door, and Gao Ru nervously swallowed.
"Come in," Gan Xiongâs low and deep voice came through, revealing no emotion.
The two entered.
On the central sofa, a few people sat; Gan Xiong, his father-in-law, sat in the center. On each side were his brothers-in-law, Gan Long and Gan Hu, and seated next to Gan Long was a man named Wayne.
This Wayne led a private security team founded by Gan Xiong. Unlike Old Zhuang, Wayne barely appeared before the public before the apocalypse.
"Boss, Gao Ru is here," Old Zhuang slightly bowed and said to Gan Xiong, who was sipping tea on the central sofa.