Apocalyptic Reincarnation: Start with a 30-million Bonus

Mr. He had no such good temper and directly spoke with sarcasm:

”I’m telling you again, Mr. Zhuang, we’ve said all the good words.

Just now, Old Wu sent someone to convey to us that if we pay one-third of the protection fee, among our three families, your family has more than a dozen people, and together we are still less than fifty people.

Now our civilian group, after this cold weather, has dwindled from over a thousand people to about 800.

Once we enter Safe City, the protection fee will be waived, and we can still enjoy a supply of 5% of the resources for the remaining 750 people.

Think about it, if that’s the case in the future, how comfortable our lives would be.”

Mr. Zhuang looked at his face, felt nauseous for a moment, and angrily said:

”Whatever you want to do, I don’t care, but I definitely disagree. I would rather die than comply.

Have you all lost your conscience to dogs, teaming up with them to bully your own people? It’s because of people like you that they manage to completely exploit us.”

”Mr. Zhuang, don’t be ungrateful.”

Seeing that Mr. Zhuang was still unresponsive,

Mr. Sun’s eyes flickered, and he walked straight out the door.

Five minutes later.

Mr. Zhuang’s two brothers and his son followed Mr. Sun in.

As soon as Mr. Zhuang’s brother entered, he said: ”Big brother, Old Sun talked to me about this too, and I think it’s acceptable. Even if not for yourself, think about us brothers.”

Mr. Zhuang’s son, who was also 19 this year, came forward and said:

”Dad, mom’s not well, she’s been malnourished these past days, look at her now, if she doesn’t get supplements, I’m really worried about her health...”

As soon as Mr. Zhuang’s brother and son entered, he anticipated this scene - human nature gravitates towards benefits.

Even if he himself is not greedy, as long as he has family and loved ones, he has vulnerabilities.

To others, that is an opportunity.

Mr. Zhuang painfully closed his eyes, took a deep breath. He hadn’t expected both his brothers and son to come persuading him, making him feel desperate.

Without their support, if even they don’t back his decision, then what meaning does he hold?

Moreover, if he still stubbornly insists on his initial decision, his brothers and son might harbor great resentment against him in the future.

It could even lead to family disintegration.

Mr. Zhuang felt like a castrated ox, overcome by a heavy hammer, feeling utterly weak.

He collapsed onto a chair and said, ”Well then, you decide.”

Most of the time, people are not free.

Unless indifferent to everything, everyone has vulnerabilities.

Half an hour quickly passed.

Mr. Wang did not leave but simply stayed in the square, observing everyone.

When he saw Mr. Zhuang’s state, he sensed something was wrong.

He closely watched Mr. Zhuang, Mr. Sun, and Mr. He, and suddenly it seemed he understood something.

When he was in business, it was always like this, when negotiations broke down at crucial times, it wasn’t about superficial, company-level interests;

But rather, it involved one’s personal interests that couldn’t be negotiated.

Mr. Wang murmured with a sarcastic tone, ”Ah, humans.”

The meeting reconvened.

The atmosphere was much better this time, as Old Wu spoke again:

”Just now, I discussed with Hua Chuanlong and Ke Hanyu.

We’ve reduced from one-half to one-third, which is our greatest sincerity.

Hua Chuanlong and Ke Hanyu are also taking risks to guard our Safe City.

There’s no free lunch under the heavens; while we protect Safe City and ensure your safety, it should be fine for you to offer some sponsorship fees.

Mr. Sun, how did you all discuss?”

Mr. Sun took the question from Old Wu and said: ”We went back and thought about it; the temperature’s rising, and more zombies will appear. Yesterday, I saw two zombies at the door.

So, after internal discussions, we accept this distribution ratio.”

Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhuang opened his mouth but felt a tug at his sleeve.

Turning back, he saw it was his son pulling at him, his eyes pleading.

His son looked a lot like his mother, and Mr. Zhuang suddenly thought of his wife, who had indeed aged a lot, as she often went out to search for supplies, and then food was still insufficient, and now...

Ah...

Old Zhou suddenly shut his mouth again, unable to speak.

He still had family, after all.

Upon hearing Old Sun’s words and seeing Old Zhou seemed to have something to say, Old Wu directly asked, ”Old Zhou, what do you think?”

Old Zhou swallowed and said, ”I... have no problem.”

Mr. Wang stood among the crowd, observing the scene like a bystander, certain they had made some private deal.

What they hadn’t anticipated was how many of these ordinary citizens would remain; it was an unknown.

No one knew.

Hua Chuanlong laughed heartily, ”Hahaha, alright, then we’ve happily decided on this.”

Old Wu also smiled, saying, ”Okay, we’ve settled the issue of how the sponsorship fee should be distributed.

Next, we need to discuss where to search for supplies next to avoid repeated searches in the same areas, which could lead to arguments and conflicts.”

Hua Chuanlong, Ke Hanyu, Old Sun, and others fell silent upon hearing this.

There were many miscellaneous supplies outside now, even some complete industrial equipment.

But were they useful to them?

Useful, but not the most useful.

For them, the most valuable thing was: food!

They had also tried growing some crops in Safe City, but due to drought, the crops had failed.

Then there came a snowstorm, and they had a large population.

It simply wasn’t possible to feed so many people.

Plus, Safe City was originally a residential area repurposed, the cultivable land was insufficient.

The crops planted outside Safe City had also been trampled by the Zombie Tide several times.

Food was the biggest issue!

They had searched the areas around Safe City and found a lot of food, which was now all consumed.

Now, the food they could find nearby was becoming increasingly scarce, and though much of it had passed the expiry date and could still be eaten, some of it had literally turned into a pile of shit.

Thus, they needed to search further afar.

Hua Chuanlong spoke, ”Old Wu, you seldom go out to search for supplies, maybe you’re not aware, but now there’s less and less food to find outside.”

Ke Hanyu added, ”Right, we still need to think of ways to grow some crops ourselves.”

Old Sun responded to Ke Hanyu, ”We did plant before, didn’t you experience that drought? It didn’t rain for so long, humans almost died of thirst, let alone the crops.”

Old He also said, ”We must plant, that’s certain, but now everyone’s food supply is almost depleted. Not to mention whether there will be another prolonged drought like before,

even if not, and we have favorable weather. But by the time these crops are ready, we’d have already starved to death.”

Old Wu heard this, frowning deeply.

For a moment, everyone was silent.

Mr. Wang, who had been coldly observing from the sidelines, was utterly speechless hearing this.

So they only considered this issue now?

Food, food, food.

He was nearly out as well, but he had hidden some near Safe City.

At least that would last another two months.

Thinking this, Mr. Wang suddenly felt a sense of superiority.

But soon, he pondered how he had come to this, having a sense of superiority just because he still had two months’ worth of food hidden outside.

Thinking back a few months ago, what sort of life was he living.

A bunch of subordinates, he could eat whatever he wanted.

It all came to this because of the people from Xin City.

Suddenly, an idea sparked in his mind:

Xin City?

Safe City, out of food?

The thought excited him.

Since there was conflict, it could be exploited. Alone, he couldn’t trouble the people of Xin City, but Safe City had many.

Create conflict!