Chapter 148: Rules
Zhang Xiao Qiang immediately understood Three’s meaning. Previously, the women were sort of prostitutes, for the men to release their sexual urges. It was to help them cope with the stress and fear. That was why the women didn’t need to work, they just had to serve the men. Now, they could work, and could take care of themselves, they wouldn’t need to be treated as prostitutes. However, if the men couldn’t have an outlet, there might be a problem.
Zhang Xiao Qiang waved his hands and said: “Then let them learn to be military men, if they can’t hold it in, use their hands. They will have the freedom to fall in love, but no force will be allowed. Those who break the rule… kill without mercy.”
Hearing that tone filled with killing intent, Three trembled slightly. Zhang Xiao Qiang continued: “There has to be a repair center, where all the weapons can be fixed, vehicles can be maintained, and look into maintaining some equipment and machinery. We cannot allow ourselves to fall back to the Stone Age.”
Hearing those rules, He Wen Bin was slightly shocked. Brother Long and Chen Yi had not thought about such stuff, they would just think of going to snatch things, in exchange for some lives of their brothers. Now, since taking over the helm, Zhang Xiao Qiang had implemented different things meant for them to survive and expand. In the future, they would be able to sustain themselves, and not waste precious lives.
Zhang Xiao Qiang did not see their expressions, he was still thinking of changing locations, as the chicken farm was too close to the city. The granary was also close to the small town. Once they moved the food from the granary out, they would have the capital to expand, and open up some ground to grow some stuff. When they were well fed and trained, they could then deal with the scattered zombies. There was some old saying that went “The villages surround the city”, wasn’t it?
He looked at Frank: “Go find some locals, it would be better if they used to be taxi drivers.”
Frank headed out, and brought Lu Ren Yi in. When Zhang Xiao Qiang saw him, he remembered that Lu Ren Yi had mentioned he used to be a transport driver in the past.
“Lu Ren Yi, you’re local, do you know if there are any areas that has a low density of people in the past? It would be best if there’s a water source nearby.”
“Few years ago, a hole was discovered in Yellow Cloud Village, and there were many springs in it. One of the bosses had opened up a spring bathhouse. I heard that business wasn’t so good, mainly because the place is too far out, and the roads weren’t good. Not many people frequented the place. I’ve been there once, and saw many constructions ongoing. The signboards and welcome signs were all built nicely, just that it was hard to see anything beyond it. There’re aren’t any towns near there, and the nearest would be about half an hour drive away.
The moment Zhang Xiao Qiang heard this, he got excited, and asked: “How far away is this place? What’s the surrounding terrain like? Any special characteristics?”
Lu Ren Yi smiled bitterly, he had just passed by casually, how could he remember clearly?
“It isn’t too far from here, about 3 and a half hour’s drive away. I think there isn’t anything special about the place. Those who are from there and did not discover the spring were all farmers. The bathhouse was built at the valley, and it’s only about 200 m between the 2 mountains on either side. The place is slightly close to the old National roads, even so, few cars would stop by there.
When Lu Ren Yi was done, Zhang Xiao Qiang had made up his mind to move the base there. It was far from the denser cities and towns, had fields to grow crops, and even had buildings all set up. Adding on to the water source, it was the best place to retreat to. If they could then build up a wall of defense around, then scattered zombies would not be able to affect their daily living. They could then scavenge around and collect up the resources. The first batch of survivors could be considered the founding fathers then. Even though he wanted to head to WH, who knew what it was like at WH now? As long as he left something for himself, he would have more options to choose from.
Zhang Xiao Qiang gathered the rest of the survivors in a meeting and tried to convince them. After all, it would be considered leaving a base for himself. If things didn’t look up, he could come back here and expand, who knows, it might develop into a stronghold.
Outside the main doors, other than the women following Zhang Xiao Qiang, 40 to 50 people gathered, their eyes slightly dazed. Zhang Xiao Qiang felt uncomfortable having so many eyes on him, as though it was like introducing himself during his secondary school days. His mouth became dry, however, he was still someone who had gone head to head against a D2. He breathed in a little, and calmed himself down. He then walked up the stage and looked down at the rest, with Three supporting He Wen Bin, and Frank and Lu Ren Yi stood behind him.
The expressions of the people below were all different. One had a depressed look, his skin yellowish. After the events of yesterday, most of them could only have half of their original amount of chicken feed. They were afraid that Zhang Xiao Qiang would still continue to mete out more punishments, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably. Their attention was on Zhang Xiao Qiang, afraid to miss out on any words, this had to do with their future after all.
Those who had been drafted into the combat team were hanging on to every single word that Zhang Xiao Qiang was saying. They were the survivors yesterday, and of over 20 that had been rescued, only half made it back alive. Their morale should have been low, but they have seen for themselves, how that fearsome and terrifying D2 that was impervious to even bullets had been killed by Zhang Xiao Qiang.
Now, he was their leader, and their morale and spirits were high. They didn’t shy away from risking their lives, with a powerful head, what’s there to fear or dislike? They had been saved because of him, and his actions of killing the D2 had been witnessed by many. Even though his situation had been pathetic, it only served to heighten their respect. They had lost all courage just facing it, yet he had taken the initiative to engage it and even kill it.
What was courage? This was it, the fact that you could do what others couldn’t. To them, Zhang Xiao Qiang was a warrior, a strong person, and which person wouldn’t like to follow a strong person? Who wouldn’t want to live longer? Who didn’t want a strong leader to guide them? At least they knew he wouldn’t force them to fight while hiding behind them.
The women stood at one side, their faces blank. They had lost all hope and were numb to the future. Their gazes were on him, not moving, like waiting to be sold off as goods. They had been subjected to various torment and humiliation at the hands of depraved men. Even when they didn’t eat their fill, they had to smile to serve those bastards. If they offended them, they would get beaten. Those men vented their stress and fears on these women, driving all other thoughts out of their minds, leaving only perseverance. Otherwise, they would just end their own lives. It would be a form of release anyway.
Zhang Xiao Qiang then cleared his throat and spoke again: “At this point, I’m calling the shots here for now, thus, I’ll set some rules. What are rules? Whatever I say, goes! Those who aren’t happy, those who aren’t willing, you can leave, the door’s over there. Once you leave, your life and death is of no concern to me. If you go out and regret, and want to come back? Not a chance!” He pointed to the gate and shouted, his eyes sweeping past everyone present. All of them felt their hairs stand on ends, as they lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze. Even the numb women were the same. Here, Zhang Xiao Qiang was like God, he was a God of War that had won a D2.
Zhang Xiao Qiang then took a deep breath before continuing: “Rules are rules, who want to challenge them? Come up now…”