Chapter 59: The Meeting Begins, Level 5 Zombie King!

At this moment, the middle-aged man on the podium saw that most people had taken their seats and gently clapped his hands.

“Everyone, since we’re all here, let’s begin the next part of the meeting.”

“First, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Qian Lidong, the person in charge of the South City Defense Survivor Base. The reason for initiating this meeting is that our base has discovered some new information regarding zombies. I will now explain it to everyone.”

As he finished speaking, one of his subordinates unfolded a sheet of white paper covered with writing and displayed it for all to see.

“Everyone should know that since the outbreak of the zombie crisis, the initial ordinary zombies that only chased and bit instinctively have evolved into different types.”

“Currently, among Level 2 Zombies, we’ve discovered Bone-armored Zombies, speed-based Climbers, and so on. In Level 3 and Level 4 Zombies, various evolved types have appeared as well, such as the massive and immensely strong Tyrants, and the Whippers capable of long-range attacks.”

“It is precisely due to the emergence of these zombies that many of our bases are now on the verge of collapse. The danger of venturing out to collect food has greatly increased.”

“At the same time, zombies of the same level now have an advantage over human Evolvers. This means that if the top-tier combat power of us human survivors cannot stay ahead of the zombie evolution, we will always be suppressed!”

“And according to the intelligence we currently have, aside from us humans absorbing Zombie Crystal Cores to evolve, the zombie population itself also engages in cannibalism to evolve!”

Upon hearing this, everyone furrowed their brows. Clearly, this was not good news.

Until now, no one knew how evolved zombies came to be. The most common theory was probability—like one or two evolved zombies emerging out of every ten thousand, as if it were a matter of innate talent.

But now, it seemed that was not the case!

“Everyone! This isn’t even the worst part!”

At this point, Nurse Xia Yan frowned and asked:

“What could be worse than that?”

Qian Lidong nodded.

“According to our latest findings, a Level 5 Zombie King has already emerged in the South City!”

“The combat strength of this zombie is unknown, but it already possesses intelligence on par with humans! It can command zombie hordes and weigh the pros and cons of danger!”

This stirred up a heated discussion among the crowd.

Are zombies terrifying?

Yes—but not the most terrifying!

Because low-level zombies act solely on instinct. Even Level 3 and Level 4 Zombies only exhibit enhanced instincts. At their core, they have never displayed signs of intelligence.

But what Qian Lidong said had now erased the only gap that existed between zombies and humans.

Once they gain intelligence, zombies may very well surpass humans in all aspects.

No sense of pain, extraordinary physical strength, and now, intelligence—this was an overwhelming combination.

And most critically, zombies with intelligence could now actively create evolved zombies!

Everyone present was sharp enough to immediately grasp the severity of this matter.

“Therefore, the purpose of this meeting is very simple. Our South City Defense Survivor Base hopes that everyone can work together to clear out a larger area. Then, we can expand outward from this point, forming a defensive barrier. In doing so, we can concentrate our efforts to resist the zombies and also reduce the chances of mass zombie accumulation leading to further evolution. As for this Level 5 Zombie King, I suggest we join forces to hunt it down!”

After he finished speaking, the crowd fell into silence.

Under such circumstances, no one dared to act rashly.

Clearing zombies would require large-scale activity, which meant massive energy expenditure.

In other words—food!

Without food, how could those under them maintain their strength to fight?

They wouldn’t even be able to hold their guns!

So in the end, it all came down to food.

Right now, every base was already tightening their belts. Many survivors didn’t even dare to move too much to conserve energy.

At this moment, a bald man stood up.

He had established his base in a large food processing plant in the South City.

Among everyone present, he was one of the few whose food situation was relatively manageable.

“Brother Qian, I understand everything you’ve said, but my people aren’t even eating enough to stay full. How are they supposed to fight? They’ll die of hunger before they even meet the zombies on the road!”

Once those words were spoken, everyone began to chime in.

“Exactly, Brother Qian. It’s not that we’re unwilling. If you came to our base, you’d see people lying in the sun, starving.”

“Just today, we ran out of food again. After this meeting, I’m still thinking about where to scavenge some.”

“Who isn’t? We Evolvers can endure it, but our subordinates can’t. We can’t expect Evolvers to do all the zombie clearing alone, can we?”

The meeting room became noisy for a while.

Seeing this, Qian Lidong also showed a pained expression.

“I understand everyone’s difficulties. How about this! Our South City Defense Base still has thirty tons of surplus grain. We can divide twenty tons evenly among everyone. As you all know, I have the largest personnel count and the highest demand, so this is the most I can offer!”

Sitting off to the side, Nurse Xia Yan raised her brows, somewhat surprised.

She had interacted with Qian Lidong quite a bit recently.

He wasn’t exactly easy to get along with.

In this apocalypse, everyone was ruthless.

And yet he was offering twenty tons of food!

Excluding her own base, the other bases combined had a population of about 3000!

If the twenty tons of rice were rationed at half the normal intake, it could last for two months!

Could Qian Lidong really be this generous?

Just as Nurse Xia Yan was puzzled, Qian Lidong suddenly continued:

“But this operation is destined to last more than just a day or two. If this food is distributed among everyone, it still won’t be enough…”

As he spoke, he acted as if he suddenly remembered something and looked toward Nurse Xia Yan.

“Leader Xia Yan, among all the bases here, only your hospital base has sufficient food supplies and has completed a planting system, achieving self-sufficiency.”

“But in terms of population, your base has only around a hundred people. Realistically, you can’t consume that much grain. How about sharing some of the surplus with us?”

Nurse Xia Yan smiled.

At that moment, she finally understood the reason behind Qian Lidong’s earlier generosity.

So, it turned out he had his eyes on the fat piece of meat that was her base.

She knew it—this was the apocalypse!

Who would really be willing to sacrifice for a so-called alliance?

Now it all made sense!

Seeing that Nurse Xia Yan hadn’t spoken for a while, Qian Lidong added another sentence.

“Leader Xia Yan, as you can see, I really don’t have much surplus grain left. Otherwise, I would have offered more.”

Unfortunately for him, Nurse Xia Yan wasn’t buying it at all.

Whether he truly had more surplus grain or not was just a matter of what he claimed. And whether he really set aside twenty tons…

Nurse Xia Yan even suspected that a few of them had colluded in advance to scheme against her.

“What Leader Qian said is quite true.”

“In fact, our hospital shelter isn’t just growing grains now. We also have a large amount of fresh fruits and vegetables. Some of it can’t even be eaten in time and ends up rotting in the fields.”

“For instance, I’m sure it’s been a while since everyone has had stir-fried bok choy? And cucumbers, eggplants… Oh, and recently the winter melons have ripened too. Boiling a pot of soup with them is truly delicious. After the meal, you can even enjoy some dragon fruit and other fruits.”

Hearing these descriptions, even the leaders of various bases couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.

Why was the gap between people so vast?

All were trying to survive in the apocalypse, yet she turned it into a farming simulator.

They couldn’t even get enough to eat, and she was already experimenting with recipes and after-meal fruits.

It was simply infuriating!

“So what does Leader Xia Yan mean…”

Nurse Xia Yan looked at the crowd, all of whom had green light flashing in their eyes, and said with a smile:

“My meaning? Heh, very simple! Just follow the policy I previously stated. If you want food, fruits, or vegetables, they’re all available—but you must trade for them!”

“Exchange Zombie Crystal Cores and corpses! Clear prices, fair trade for all!”

“But if anyone’s expecting a free handout…”

“Sorry! That’s a declaration of war against our hospital base. Once the boss returns, I’ll report each and every one of you. When the time comes, you may take the goods, but don’t count on living to use them!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep