Chapter 126
Back to the Apocalypse
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
Zhou Yuanji quickly distributed the tasks and divided everyone into three groups based on the number of people they had. One team was assigned to the science and technology building, another team was assigned to the training grounds, and another team was responsible for the dormitory building. Zhou Yuanjiâs arrangements were reasonable and logical, and as long as nothing unexpected happened, nobody would put forward any other suggestions. Although the military factory was dangerous, it was of great value to them. So even though many people had been sacrificed here before, there were still more people willing to follow in their footsteps and come to this place.
Zhou Yuanjiâs eyes are bright and ambitious, and he adjusted himself to his peak state.
Everyone readied themselves for a fight and were waiting for the order to start.
The Song and Qi Families clearly also had their own ambitions during this mission and had sent over two elite teams. Before the acquisitioned goods were distributed, they would all be at least superficially working.
As for the Bai Family, they were divided into two groups. One group was headed by the Zhou Family, and the other group contained Wu Guoanâs team. Like typical wallflowers, they had little say in the team and suffered the pain of being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Weâll go in and act independently. No matter what the situation is, we will meet here two hours later. Everyone should be careful. Safety comes first.â Zhou Yuanjiâs superficial words were very good, and most people felt very comfortable hearing this.
âGood.â
âNo problem.â
Everyone handed down orders to their own subordinates. This mission was very important, and they had to reiterate how they should coordinate, what arrangements needed to be made, and what routes to take. Even if they had done the preparation, nobody was relaxed and cautiously advised their subordinates over and over again. Only Wu Guoan and his group seemed to pay no heed at all as they sat on the floor to eat and drink, appearing not even the least bit nervous.
Zhou Yuanjiâs expression was dark. He endured, and endured again before bursting into anger on the spot. The gazes other people threw Wu Guoanâs groupâs way werenât pleased either, but they were eating and drinking their own provisions and hadnât rejected the assignments they were given. There was no room for others to criticize them, so everyone else simply turned their heads away so that what they couldnât see wouldnât irritate them. They all wanted to wait and see how long this group could remain proud for! There were some mercenaries who had established good relations with them on the way over and seeing how leisurely they were, jealousy rose up in their hearts. This group of people was just asking for trouble!!!
âPrepare for action.â Zhou Yuanji gave the command, his cold eyes sweeping indifferently over the carefree group on the ground. He knew that if he didnât speak up, that group of people would definitely turn a blind eye.
Everyone else also looked over. The situation currently was that they were all ready to go, but Wu Guoan and his team were still lazy and idle, sharply contrasting with everyone else on the scene.
âWhat?â Wu Guoan raised his head, his expression muddled, a piece of meat still inside his mouth.
âWeâre about to depart. Hurry up." Zhou Yuanji forced himself to explain patiently.
Wu Guoan opened his mouth wide, and the meat fell on his shirt. He looked foolish and ignorant as he asked, "Arenât we moving out tomorrow?"
âWho told you weâre moving tomorrow? Weâre leaving now. Right now. Hurry up and assemble." Even though Zhou Yuanji had a good temper, he couldnât help losing it at this point.
âNo, we canât do the mission today." Wu Guoan hurriedly shook his head, ignoring Zhou Yuanjiâs angry words as he spoke in a self-righteous manner.
Zhou Yuanji was so angry he was trembling and immediately made an exaggerated accusation, "Are you refusing to follow the command? Or are you objecting to the orders from the base? Or are you afraid?"
Wu Guoan refused to play along and retorted, âWho says weâre not obeying orders? Isnât it just a delay?"
Zhou Wei sneered, âIf you donât give a reason, you are disobeying military orders. According to military punishment, we can deal with you at will."
Wu Guoan grinned, then glared at the people trying to hide their laughter behind him. He felt extremely bitter; why was he the one responsible for doing all the hard work and saying bad things? He picked his nose in disdain. To tell the truth, he really looked down on this uncle and nephew pair from the Zhou Family. His potty mouth slipped out as he said, "Ohhh, the Second Young Master of the Zhou Family is really so amazing; you even managed to set up the Capital Base and can deal with people as you like. Psht. Donât treat us like weâre motherf*cking stupid, isnât it just that you donât like the looks of us? What tricks do you have planned next? Bring it on and stop doing things in secret."
âYouâre seeking death." Zhou Wei was in a rage, his fire abilities flaring out as he hurled a huge ball of fire at them.
âWhat? Are you getting angry because I spoke the truth?" Even before Wu Guoan could make a move, an ice barrier rose up in front of him.
Zhou Weiâs first blow didnât hit its target, and his anger was inflamed. Another fireball condensed in the air as he flashed towards Wu Guoan.
âStop it.â Zhou Yuanji hurriedly called his nephew back. His face was cold, and he was determined to deal with this group of people who didnât know what was good for them right here and now. The Zhou Family immediately prepared to attack.
The atmosphere crackled with tension, as though it could tip into a fight with just a breath.
âUncle.â Zhou Wei didnât really dare to attack them face on. He gave Wu Guoan a hard glare, then retreated to stand behind Zhou Yuanji.
Song Guoxing rushed out to mediate, âOkay, stop quarrelling. We havenât even started, and weâre already fighting amongst ourselves? What kind of people are we?"
Zhou Yuanji bit out a laugh, looked at Wu Guoan, then turned his head to look at Song Guoxing. He put on a helpless expression and didnât answer.
Song Guoxing frowned. He had heard his third elder brother say that the Bai Familyâs Young Master was worth making friends with before, but it was completely different from what he had witnessed during this journey. Young Master Baiâs team had no discipline, and Song Guoxing couldnât imagine what kind of accomplishments such a team could have. However, since his elder brother had advised him thus, he couldnât simply just watch on as they quarrelled. His impression of Bai Jing subconsciously turned worse as he looked at Wu Guoan with dissatisfaction, âLittle Wu, speak up."
Wu Guoan was very depressed inside, but he widened his eyes and said, âI think itâs better to take action tomorrow. Itâs not early anymore today, and weâve been hurrying along for the past few days. Everyone should recover today, so we have more energy tomorrow and are more likely to successfully complete the mission."
Song Guoxing was very unhappy and felt that heâd been held in contempt as he said, âItâs only 3 PM now. We had eight hours of rest last night and two hours of break this noon."
Wu Guoan seemed to be unable to understand his sarcasm as he grinned cheerfully, "I looked at the almanac yesterday. Itâs not a good idea for me to take action today. In order to reduce the number of casualties, itâs better to act tomorrow. Iâm also doing this for everyone elseâs sake."
Song Guoxing was really infuriated by this. Heâd never seen such an unreasonable person before. None of the soldiers in his team would dare disobey orders like this.
âWhoop!â Li Ran couldnât help laughing. He then noticed everyoneâs hostile stares and quickly covered his mouth. Brother Wu was too talented. He could even come up with this kind of tall tale. What kind of era was it now, to talk about divination guides?!
No matter what Song Guoxing or the Qi and Bai Families who also took turns to speak up said, Wu Guoan continued to make use of his excellent bullsh*tting abilities. As long as anyone brought up proper matters, he simply refused to agree. If they accused him of being afraid and timid, he would righteously reply that he was willing to do the task tomorrow. If they said that he was purposely causing trouble, he had a set of lies prepared as well as reasons upon reasons and always claimed that he was doing this for everyoneâs sake.
It was also impossible to really begin fighting amongst themselves. The saliva battle lasted for more than two hours. So now, there was no need to continue. The sky turned dark at 7 PM, and no action could be taken today. Everyone was so angry that their stomachs were growling, and it was just the right time to eat.
Song Guoxing swore that he had never been so angry in his life.
Unwittingly, Wu Guoan and others had become public enemy number one and provoked everyoneâs anger, but who cared? Surviving this mission would make them the biggest winners.
Wu Guoan had his own plan in mind. As one of Brother Saâs original men, he thought more deeply. Knowing that Brother Sa and Young Master Jing might be within those walls, it would be silly for them to really go in and do the mission during the day. It was obvious from a glance that Zhou Yuanji had something up his sleeve; the assignments seemed fair, but who knew if there was any danger? Others had come to the military factory before, and he didnât believe that nobody had ever managed to bring out any news. How could Zhou Yuanji look so confident if he didnât have some hidden cards in his hand?
All he had to do now was wait...
He believed that Brother Sa and Young Master Jing knew they were camping outside and would come to meet up with them. Everyone else in their team were also looking forward to their bossesâ arrival.
Night fell. The campfire burned bright as it flickered; the camp was divided into several factions, with Wu Guoan and others obviously isolated and left at the furthermost edge of the rear.
Nobody had any objections to this. To them, the further towards the edge the better, making it more convenient for Bai Jing and Xiao Sa when they came.
Sure enough, at around three in the morning, two extra figures appeared in their tent.
Bai Jingâs eyes swept around, and he couldnât help the twitch of his lips. Everyone was certainly there.
Wu Guoan laughed dryly, "Brother Sa, Young Master Jing, everyone was waiting for you."
Bai Jing looked around. It was a tent big enough for 80 people, but over a hundred people were crammed inside. Werenât they too bored, doing something like this?
Xiao Sa was expressionless as usual. He immediately found a place to sit down and said, "Enough. Letâs talk business."
Wu Guoan first went over the situation from today and received Bai Jingâs admiring glance in return, leading him to speak even more energetically as he added that heâd made Zhou Yuanqi tremble in anger and Song Guoxing snort and glare.
Bai Jing was very impressed, âYour shamelessness really knows no bounds, and you donât feel embarrassed even after going so far. You can develop as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the future, shameless matters can be left for you."
Wu Guoan choked instantly, and his breath was stuck in his throat. Could that even be considered a compliment? Foreign Affairs? What was that?
The future Minister of Foreign Affairs was like a frost-bitten eggplant as he instantly withered.
Everyone in the tent laughed. It had really been a pleasure watching Wu Guoan talk nonsense today. Everyone was amused, and the laughter continued endlessly.
When everyone had laughed enough and quieted down, Xiao Sa didnât delay any further and immediately brought up the topic at hand. He brought out a map and laid it on the ground, "This is the result of the investigations Bai Jing and I made. Take a careful look and remember it clearly."
Now that they were talking about proper affairs, nobody was in the mood to laugh anymore. Qin Lie saw through to the main point at a glance, âThis is the distribution of zombies?â
Xiao Sa nodded. âDonât go to the warehouse near the back or the fourth floor. Also, the zombies have a habit of patrolling. You guys need to remember that the zombies will definitely riot tomorrow. Take your small lives seriously, and if you see an opportunity, you can try to gain favour with the Song Family."
It was impossible to clap with one hand; Bai Jingcheng was their backing in the Capital, but if they encountered conflict, he was obviously unreliable. He Yong hadnât risen in power yet, and he preferred to deal with the Song Family over the Qi Family. Xiao Sa refused to admit that he was being a little petty; who told the Qi Family to have plans to marry someone from the Bai Family? Even if it was an empty alliance, it still made him unhappy.