Chapter 246: Tao Zhengyi's Fate!

"No!! Don't throw me out here!! Please!! I'm begging you!! I'm begging you!!"

On the highway linking Ning Guang County to Qing Yuan County, Tao Zhengyi was trussed up like a pig, miserably begging Xiong Zheng.

At a distance of 10m away, over a hundred zombies were currently shambling towards him.

Xiong Zheng laughed coldly as he kicked out at Tao Zhengyi, causing him to fly 2m away. He guffawed,

"Damn pig! You dare to betray us at a critical time! You can go and die for all I care!"

"NO!!! AHHHH!!! I CURSE YOU ALL!! AHHHH! SAVE ME!!!"

A zombie grabbed onto Tao Zhengyi and opened its mouth. It bit down viciously, biting off a huge chunk of meat from Tao Zhengyi's face. The rest of the zombies had reached him as well and began ravaging his body, gorging on his flesh and blood.

"Sister Yatong! Isn't this too cruel?!"

Tong Xiaoyun could not help but cry out as she watched Tao Zhengyi being eaten alive.

Xiong Zheng glanced at Tong Xiaoyun as he laughed and shook his head,

"Heh! Cruel? Miss Xiaoyun, you're too kind-hearted! Based on this dogsh*t's crimes alone, even dying 10 times over would not be enough to atone for his sins. Do you know what we discovered when we ransacked his place? He had kept a private room in his villa where he tied up many girls who were not that much younger than you! 10 of them! 6 had already turned into corpses. He's this kind of scum and yet you're still pitying him? It's too laughable!"

At first, Tong Xiaoyun did not believe Xiong Zheng's words. However, she was reminded of the scene at Clear Wind Camp, where she had seen the gory insides of the factory. She shuddered involuntarily and held onto Zhuo Yatong's hand tightly.

Zhuo Yatong's beautiful eyes flashed with a complicated gleam, as she patted Tong Xiaoyun's hand and said,

"Xiaoyun, if these people were successful and gained control, our plight might be much worse. The current situation is vastly different from the world we lived in before, you will have to adapt to it."

"Mm!"

Tong Xiaoyun grabbed Zhuo Yatong's hands tightly as she nodded and replied.

"Let's go!"

After Tao Zhengyi's anguished screams had died off, Zhuo Yatong brought Tong Xiaoyun and the warriors of the First Company to charge at the zombies.

All the warriors of the First Company were fitted with Tang Replica Swords (Tao Zhengyi had amassed a number in his storage over time), and all of them wore the Mutant Water Snake Scale Armor. They rushed into the horde like tigers attacking a herd of sheep, easily killing off the zombies and gaining enhancements.

The warriors of the Second Company were holding .03 Rifles and were firing at the zombies. The zombies were picked off row by row like squishy moving targets. Yue Zhong was currently standing behind observing the horde's movement, and standing beside him were Shen Xue, Lǚ Níng and Gao Lina.

Lǚ Níng looked towards Yue Zhong and smiled sweetly,

"Yue Zhong, how is it? Have you considered? As long as you bear the ammunition cost and pay us 5000 tonnes of rations, we will help you to clear these zombies."

In the military, there were many trained shooters. Helping Yue Zhong to clear the zombies was not only a good training for her soldiers, but also a way to obtain precious rations. Lǚ Níng thought that it was a good deal to engage in. However, Yue Zhong brushed it off and said,

"No need!"

The zombies on this road that connected Ning Guang County to Qing Yuan County did not seem to be under the command of a Z-Type, and hence they were much less dangerous. It was the perfect place to cultivate his Enhancers as well as to train his troops. Yue Zhong would naturally not give a free meal to the Army.

3000 tonnes of food was not a small sum, and as Yue Zhong did not promise to help transport the rations, the army could only rely on their own vehicles to transport the 3000 tonnes of ration towards SY County. However, the distance to cover required a few days, and so Shen Xue and her 2 friends stayed by Yue Zhong to observe his actions.

Shen Xue was currently eyeing the shooters of the Second Company as she laughed coldly,

"Based on your subordinates' skill, without our help, even a week is not enough to clear the road to Qing Yuan County."

The shooters of the Second Company were indeed not up to standard, as even within a range of 100m, they could not deal lethal blows. Many bullets were wasted on the non-fatal parts of the zombies, which did nothing to slow them down. Compared to the elite army, Yue Zhong's Second Company was like a militia.

Yue Zhong stared at Shen Xue coldly and said,

"This is our business and it doesn't concern you!"

It was precisely because of Shen Xue that Yue Zhong had lost a large number of his elite soldiers from the First Company, making him not even have a single shred of goodwill towards this ice-cold beauty. If it wasn't for the huge and powerful army backing her, he would have already executed this woman.

Shen Xue looked at him and smiled coldly, not uttering a word more. She did not harbor any good feelings towards Yue Zhong either. She knew that she wasn't his match, otherwise she would have executed him as soon as the opportunity arose.

Yue Zhong suddenly spoke,

"Is SY County facing a ration shortage?"

Shen Xue and the other 2 ladies were shocked in their hearts.

Lǚ Níng glanced at Shen Xue. She wanted to smile and say something but Yue Zhong cut her short.

"You can keep mum! However, I have my means of finding out. Within 3 days, I will know the truth of the matter." Yue Zhong called out coldly.

[Dedition: Keeping 'mum' is another way of saying to keep silent or a secret.] [Such as keeping "mum" about that plate of chicken n chips yesterday...-UBPM]

Lǚ Níng hesitated for a while before replying softly,

"Yes! We are indeed facing some issues in SY County.

Yue Zhong frowned and asked,

"How? I remember that there was a huge granary near SY County that you guys obtained. There should be more than enough to last for awhile."

Lǚ Níng laughed bitterly and proceeded to explain the situation to Yue Zhong.

Indeed, there was a granary containing 150,000 tonnes of rations near SY County. The first thing SY County could manage was to gain control of it. Although there were various issues like corrupt sale for personal gain, some bad food mixed in with the edible food, the total amount gained was still a whopping 100,000 tonnes.

Under the efforts of the government and the army, they managed to take in over 100,000 survivors; with sparing distribution, the amount was enough to last for another 2 or 3 years, hence it wasn't an issue at first.

Not long ago, the son of one government official had abducted a pretty housewife and raped her at his home: under the influence of drugs, he had accidentally caused her death. In the current world, such deaths were common and the official's son did not give it much thought. Unfortunately, the husband of that woman was a powerful Evolver. His own wife had been violated to death, causing the Evolver who was very much in love with his wife to be furious.

He brought the case to the government's attention, hoping to seek redress and to punish that official's son. However, due to the fact that he was dealing with a high-ranking official, he was instead captured and thrown into jail. In a bout of rage, the Evolver killed the jailers and made use of the dark of the night to kill the soldiers guarding the granary. He then proceeded to set fire to the granary, destroying about 80,000 tonnes worth of rations, before escaping in the midst of that chaos, plunging SY County into a serious situation.

The remaining 10,000+ tonnes of food was only enough to feed the survivors for about a few months, and this naturally caused the government and army to panic. Due to the situation, Shen Xue was dispatched to attack Ning Guang County and wrestle back control over it, using their food to tide over SY County's own problem. This had led SY County to witness and fear the rampage of infuriated Evolvers.

Yue Zhong asked blandly,

"After such a mess, is the son dead yet? "

Lǚ Níng hesitated for a while before laughing bitterly,

"He's grounded for 2 months!"

"2 months?!"

Yue Zhong laughed coldly before he looked at Shen Xue and said,

"And you expect me to throw in with SY County. If it were me who was played by this bastard, how long would he be grounded for? 3 days? Or 1?"

"You aren't anything better!"

Shen Xue retorted with a cold gaze,

"The women and children were innocent! What did those rebels' actions have to do with their kids and wives? You had to deal with them with such ruthless methods? How are you different from those bastards! Privileges and special treatment, these exist in all countries and powers. Even if you forced yourself on the women in Ning Guang County, who would be able to stop you? Who is capable of punishing you? You fight so much, isn't it also about protecting your own interests, not to mention your own benefits!"

Yue Zhong replied icily,

"Since you've made it so clear, I can't be bothered to argue with you. Commander Shen, do you require anything else? If not, please leave. I don't have time to engage in pointless banter."

Shen Xue glared at him coldly before leaving him with,

"You think I want to waste my breath on you? You're just a warlord causing divides amongst the country!" Gao Lina followed behind Shen Xue.

Lǚ Níng looked towards Yue Zhong apologetically as she said,

"I apologize for them, Commander Yue! Commander Shen's temperament is a little obtuse! Please don't take offence."

Lǚ Níng's role in Shen Xue's team was mainly responsible for foreign affairs and public relations. Based on Shen Xue's temperament, it was not suitable for her to handle such matters.

Yue Zhong eyed Lǚ Níng and said detachedly,

"Whatever you have on your mind, say it!"

Since Lǚ Níng had not left yet, it was evident she had something to discuss with Yue Zhong.

Lǚ Níng looked at Yue Zhong and smiled,

"I hope to use 500 jin of gold to exchange for 5000 tonnes of ration!"

Yue Zhong stared at Lǚ Níng icily and replied,

"Impossible! The 3000 tonnes of rations were the limit of my goodwill. I will not give way for a second time."

Lǚ Níng replied somewhat regretfully,

"What would you want then? I hope that we can establish a stable relationship for trade. Be it steel, tools, clothes, shoes... all these commodities, as long as you need them, we can ship them over. Of course, you will have to pay the equivalent amount in rations and the usage of fuel."

[UBPC: Experienced soldiers wanted!]