Chapter 585: Tianhai City's Predicament

Early the next morning, everyone who came from the Outer Cities received a notification: they were required to arrive at the Tianchang Conference Center in the heart of Blizzard City before 9:30 a.m. According to the previous notice, the gathering was officially scheduled to begin at ten o'clock, so asking them to arrive half an hour early was reasonable enough. When Zhang Yi got up, his eyes were a little hazy. Truth be told, he hadn't slept well the whole night. After all, he was in an unfamiliar city and an unfamiliar room—it was hard to get proper rest. Not to mention, last night’s battle had stirred up countless thoughts in his mind, and he didn’t fall asleep until the latter half of the night. In the morning, a group of attendants wearing matching uniforms arrived at the apartment, pushing food carts. They delivered meals room by room. Whether by prior agreement or coincidence, the leaders of the other three factions and Zhang Yi’s team members all gathered in his room to eat together. Zhang Yi’s room wasn’t that big—once everyone showed up, there wasn't even enough space to sit. So they sat on the floor or the bed, eating while discussing the upcoming gathering. As for the topics—they were mostly just things that had been discussed before, being brought up again for emphasis. Zhang Yi responded to them casually, but made sure to highlight some important reminders about being here. “Listen up! This is Blizzard City. We might be the big shots back in Tianhai City, but compared to the regional headquarters, our power is still tiny.” “Not to mention, right now this place is packed with Superhuman forces from twelve Outer Cities. One careless move and there could be a serious clash.” “That’s why—I don’t want any of you getting into conflicts with others.” At this point, Zhang Yi stressed again, “If something really does happen, hold it in for now! We’ll settle things after we leave Blizzard City.” “Even if someone points at your nose and cusses you out while we’re here, you’re not allowed to fight them!” Xiao Honglian frowned slightly when she heard that—she knew it wouldn’t be easy. With so many people crammed into one place, conflict was bound to happen. Especially given Tianhai City’s current state, they’d probably be seen as the easiest target. Still, she nodded. “Zhang Yi, now that we’ve agreed to follow your lead, we’ll do as you say!” Xing Tian smiled. “Same here.” Only Chen Jingguan had his brows deeply furrowed, his face full of concern. Zhang Yi noticed something was off and asked calmly, “What’s wrong, Chen Jingguan? You have a different opinion?” Chen Jingguan was startled, then quickly forced a smile. “Of course not. I think what you said makes perfect sense.” “It’s just... I’m worried that even if we want to keep things peaceful, this trip to Blizzard City might not go smoothly.” Everyone turned to look at him. Chen Jingguan held a somewhat unique status—he came from the higher-ups of the Jiangnan Region. Even though Huaguo wasn’t founded long enough to have centuries-old family clans, his parents had once held considerable power and influence in Jiangnan. Even now, he still had quite a few relatives and old connections in Blizzard City. They might not be reliable, but they could still offer intel that others didn’t have access to. Zhang Yi said, “Chen Jingguan, unless you plan to stay in Blizzard City for good, you’re still with us in Tianhai City. We share the same interests. If you’ve got news, you should share it.” Chen Jingguan shook his head. “I have no interest in Blizzard City. Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox—I get that much.” He said to the group, “Yesterday after arriving in Blizzard City, I heard some news... and it’s not good for us.” “The zombie horde issue in Tianhai City has already spread throughout the entire Jiangnan District. Especially the surrounding cities—they’ve all been affected by the zombies that spilled over.” “Right now, just about everyone knows Tianhai City suffered chaos from the horde. The major forces were nearly wiped out, and we’ve got no strong powers left.” “But Tianhai City is still rich—huge population, tons of resources. When we were strong, nobody dared mess with us. But now? We look like a fat lamb, just waiting to get bitten.” Xiao Honglian and Xing Tian immediately looked furious. “They wouldn’t dare!” Zhou Ke’er and the others looked worried too. They had only just started to enjoy a few peaceful days—was war about to break out again? Only Zhang Yi remained calm, as if none of this came as a surprise. “That’s it? That’s the big news?” Zhang Yi said with a relaxed tone. Chen Jingguan looked at him in disbelief. “Zhang Yi, how can you not care at all?” “Survival of the fittest—that’s just how the apocalypse works. What’s so surprising about it?” Zhang Yi replied with a grin. “But…” Before Chen Jingguan could argue, Zhang Yi cut him off, “If anyone dares to make a move, we’ll just kill them. It’s not a big deal. That’s how we used to settle things between factions anyway.” If something’s bound to happen, there’s no point trying to dodge it. From an outsider’s perspective, Tianhai City was indeed too weak right now. With so many resources, of course the neighboring cities would be tempted. Zhang Yi had already guessed this would happen back after that battle, so it didn’t catch him off guard. To the others, Zhang Yi’s calmness came off as a quiet confidence, a sense that he had everything under control. So they all felt much more at ease—following Zhang Yi seemed like the right choice. But in truth, Zhang Yi’s thinking was very simple. If anyone tried to mess with Tianhai City, he’d strike back. Even if the enemy was too powerful to take head-on, he’d just protect his own turf. As for the other three factions? If they didn’t have the strength, they had no right to hoard so many resources. It was fine to be greedy, but without power, greed only led to destruction. The little bond he had with the other factions wasn’t enough to make him risk his life fighting for them. After breakfast, they checked the time—it was already past 8:30—so they all set out for the venue. After leaving the apartment, they saw other Superhuman groups from different cities heading the same way. Each force moved as a unit based on their city of origin. They may have been competitors before, but now they were sticking together—displaying strength to avoid being underestimated. In a world ruled by strength, if you’re seen as weak, you’ll be the first to get wiped out. Among the twelve cities, Tianhai City’s group looked the most underwhelming. They had the fewest people. Unlike the others who showed up with hundreds, even large-scale teams. It wasn’t that Xiao Honglian and the others didn’t want to bring more—they just didn’t have the numbers anymore. Even within their current group, some weren’t even Superhumans. Looking at the other cities’ imposing squads, Xing Tian felt a bit nervous and muttered to himself, Let’s just hope nothing goes wrong...