Chapter 833 - 611: Internal Strife

"Dad, Uncle, Second Uncle." Gao Ru stood beside the sofa, slightly bowing his head as he spoke.

The three of them faced Gao Ru, but their reactions were entirely different.

Gan Long nodded slightly at Gao Ru, neither close nor distant. Although he wasn’t entirely satisfied with his brother-in-law, since he was his sister’s husband, the deeply scheming Gan Long still maintained appearances.

As for the hot-tempered and straightforward Gan Hu, he didn’t hide his disdain. He glanced at Gao Ru, snorted contemptuously, and ignored him.

Regarding Gan Xiong, he showed no reaction or expression towards Gao Ru’s greeting, simply taking a sip of tea. It was as if he regarded Gao Ru as air, completely nonexistent.

The atmosphere turned a bit awkward.

Old Zhuang left the hall after finishing his speech.

Wayne glanced at Gao Ru, then looked at Gan Xiong, feeling restless as if there were ants under his seat.

"Wayne." Gan Xiong suddenly spoke.

"Uh-huh, Boss, what can I do for you?" Wayne instantly responded upon hearing Gan Xiong call him.

"Do as I said before, surround them, don’t let them out, and don’t go in. If they dare to rush out, be firm, and if necessary, you can kill.

If anyone wants to communicate or send a message, unless it’s a top authoritative figure from the three families, there’s no need to report it.

Make this point clear to them.

You should go over there and keep an eye on things, report back with any situation promptly."

Wayne felt relieved hearing Gan Xiong’s words. Gao Ru clearly came with something, and it wasn’t anything good; their family discussing was awkward for an outsider like him.

Thus, he quickly stood up and said, "Alright, Boss, I’ll head over right now."

Then he slightly bowed, keeping his eyes straight, and walked outside.

After leaving, he thoughtfully closed the door behind him.

Gao Ru’s heart was anxious, seeing Wayne leave, he thought he might finally get questioned by his father-in-law.

Blades await him from all directions, sooner or later he must speak, might as well confess early.

But Gan Xiong didn’t satisfy him.

Slightly raising his head, he questioned Gan Hu, "The granary was assigned to you for inspection, you bear the greatest responsibility for this incident.

It’s been a few days now, how’s the inquiry with those on duty at the granary going?"

Faced with Gan Xiong’s question, Gan Hu knew his father’s temper; if he did something wrong and refused to admit it, the consequences would be severe.

Thus he didn’t retort against his father’s blame, opening his mouth: "It was clarified, the Qian Family coerced those two on duty; their families were captured by Qian Family.

It was at the peak of the Zombie Tide, the most dangerous time, most of us went to the walls to resist zombies, so there were only two people at the warehouse.

The Qian Family joined forces with the Zhou Family to transport the grain away.

According to the two’s descriptions, the Qian and Zhou Families were ready to flee anytime, they filled their vehicles with fuel, intending to escape the moment the city fell to zombies and became uncontrollable."

"Ha! Escape? Naive! They haven’t looked at the walls. In such a situation, they still want to run?" Gan Xiong scoffed coldly.

Gan Hu also didn’t quite understand; at that crucial moment, Qian Family and they knew the situation was dire, and they even sent people to volunteer at the walls.

In times of collective prosperity and damage, why engage in such infighting?

Why does internal conflict intensify when danger escalates?

"I still don’t get it, doing such things, aren’t they afraid we’ll settle accounts later?" Gan Hu asked in confusion.

Gan Xiong glanced at his younger son, then said to Gan Long, "Explain to him."

Gan Long, with his steady demeanor, sighed and said emotionally, "With the walls about to break, they naturally won’t care as much.

Moreover, the insatiable human greed, the boundless ambition. Previously in the base, they were always subordinate, constantly subject to us.

Perhaps seeing our heavy losses, they wanted to seize the grain once more, thinking even if the walls held afterward, they could contend with us for control of the base.

Fortunately, despite our heavy losses, we can physically overpower them easily, plus they didn’t move all the grain, giving us leverage. But if they took all the grain, holding it over us, we’d be in a passive position."

Gan Hu understood immediately.

Feeling a wave of relief, if all the grain was taken, they’d hold gasoline and fire in one hand, guns in the other.

They’d be extremely passive if threatened they would burn all the grain.

The lifeline lies in the grain.

Grain, it’s all about the grain.

In this apocalypse, the importance of grain and military strength is virtually equal.

With grain, one can threaten those with military power, yet equally with strong force, one can threaten those with grain.

Before Doomsday, a saying was prevalent, neighbors hoard grain, I hoard guns; neighbors become my granary.

But if before you kill the neighbor, he locks the door and burns the grain, what then?

Only hope for unpreparedness or that not all grain is burned.

And now, they have strong military power along with grain, holding the initiative.

Not completely constrained by the Qian Family.

The reason they haven’t aggressively attacked yet is simply to retrieve the remaining half of the grain and avoid more manpower loss.

Now it’s a stalemate, besieged heavily, applying pressure, making them voluntarily yield.

Gan Hu gradually understood through Gan Long’s explanation.

Gao Ru also comprehended through their conversation.

But even as he understood, a bitterness welled up.

Because until now, Gan Xiong had no intention of acknowledging him.

Standing here, his legs had grown numb, yet he dared not sit.

He could only obediently listen to their dialogue.

Gan Xiong naturally noticed Gao Ru’s entry, well aware of Gao Ru’s purpose—a demand for grain.

For Gan Xiong, of course, he cared for Gan Shang’s safety, but Gao Ru was the one who came, and given his expression upon entry and his silence about the situation, it meant, at the very least, Gan Shang was safe.

He was somewhat dissatisfied with this son-in-law, initially accepted reluctantly due to his daughter’s liking, not wanting to break them up—it’s natural he wouldn’t show a good face.

Especially as he was his father-in-law.

...

Sha City.

Li Yu and his group quickly arrived near Juzi Island.

From afar, they could see Kunyu Building.