RITAAB 92.2

Part 2

This was unacceptable. Now he only had two Variant beastman left under his command! Their numbers had decreased by four. Although he didn’t show it, he was extremely anxious.

If Xia Liansheng were truly willing to join them, Zhou Lie wouldn’t be so anxious. However, while Xia Liansheng claimed to accept their offer, he continued to string them along, never taking the final step to officially join.

Zhou Lie had a strange premonition that if Xia Liansheng joined them, their development would greatly improve. But this feeling came and went quickly, and he didn’t know if it was just his imagination.

However, it was undeniable that Xia Liansheng, as a Variant beastman, possessed formidable strength. If he truly joined their side, it would indeed be a significant advantage.

Xia Liansheng knew that he was now completely under Zhou Lie’s surveillance. Cheng Lin hadn’t returned for so long, and he must have died. Otherwise, given Zhou Lie’s personality, he would definitely have sent him back to continue monitoring him. Coupled with the previous betrayal of the three Variant beastman, Zhou Lie’s power had been significantly weakened.

He couldn’t help but think about his escape route. If possible, he definitely wanted to leave Zhou Lie’s group. But when he had previously spoken with the elephant Variant beastman, Qin Jiuzhen had accidentally been exposed. Although Qin Jiuzhen had only called out to him once, and he hadn’t responded, he had noticed the elephant’s gaze and how he kept changing the subject, trying to get information about Qin Jiuzhen out of him.

He knew that Zhou Lie was now definitely interested in Qin Jiuzhen, intending to use him to control Xia Liansheng, just like how they had controlled Lin Lou and the others.

He admitted that if Qin Jiuzhen were captured and used to threaten him into joining or working for them, he would indeed compromise.

The problem was significant. If it were before, it might have been possible, but after the incident with Lin Lou’s family being rescued, Zhou Lie would definitely have strengthened his methods of guarding hostages.

It would be absolutely impossible for him to single-handedly rescue Qin Jiuzhen after he was captured. However, he didn’t dare to act rashly now.

His relationship with Captain Gao wasn’t exactly good, so he wasn’t sure if Captain Gao would agree to help him. Moreover, he hadn’t spoken face-to-face with Captain Gao for a long time.

He knew the reason very well. After all, Zhou Lie and Captain Gao were enemies.

Now that the importance of Qin Jiuzhen to him had been exposed to Zhou Lie, he couldn’t act carelessly. Firstly, it involved Qin Jiulin. If he made any moves, Qin Jiulin would definitely find out, and all his previous efforts to build a relationship with Qin Jiulin would be wasted. This would affect his ultimate plan.

Furthermore, if he openly started protecting Qin Jiuzhen, it would be equivalent to turning against Zhou Lie. Protecting Qin Jiuzhen would be like telling Zhou Lie that he expected him to try and capture Qin Jiuzhen, that he didn’t trust him, and that he was leaving his organization!

Xia Liansheng had been thinking a lot recently, but he still hadn’t come up with a good solution. He needed to ensure that Qin Jiulin wouldn’t be suspicious and that Qin Jiuzhen wouldn’t be in danger. It was a dilemma!

Fortunately, at this time, the temperature began to drop. It was still fine during the day, but at night, everyone could feel the cold. Winter was coming!

The approaching winter meant that all of Mo City would soon be under Captain Gao’s control. After all, Gao Siyang had said many times that he wanted to take Mo City by force before winter arrived!

The time was approaching, but there were still many semi beastman present. Therefore, there would definitely be several major attacks in the coming period to completely eliminate or drive away the semi beastman remaining in the urban area of Mo City!

Xia Liansheng thought it over. If he could help Captain Gao complete this task ahead of schedule, he could use his contribution points to exchange for a better house for the Qin family.

As long as he was discreet, Qin Jiulin wouldn’t find out. He could exchange for several houses to create confusion, and once Mo City was officially under Gao Siyang’s control, there would certainly be no robbery, kidnapping, or imprisonment allowed within the city. Even if he didn’t protect Qin Jiuzhen, there wouldn’t be any major problems.

In the end, without any meeting or communication, both Xia Liansheng and Zhou Lie decided to wait and see, a decision born out of necessity.

Gao Siyang was somewhat aware of the undercurrents between them, but for Liu Zhongyuan and Qin Jiulin, it wasn’t that important.

In any case, whether it was Xia Liansheng, the Qin family, or the Yuan family, these matters were trivial to them.

The most important thing now was to kill as many semi beastman as possible, preferably eliminating or driving away this entire wave within a short period.

Taking over Mo City wasn’t just about killing all the semi beastman. There was still a lot of miscellaneous work to be done, such as cleaning up the city and restarting factories.

These were all crucial. If there was no electricity this winter, many people might not survive, especially the elderly and children. Gao Siyang didn’t just want to drive away all the semi beastman before winter; he wanted Mo City to have a minimum level of living security and safety.

Of course, security was already in place, thanks to the large quantity of munitions that Liu Zhongyuan’s team had transported back from the military base. It was more than enough to last through the winter.

Today, they gathered again to observe the situation in the southern part of Mo City. The streets, once crowded with semi beastman, now looked sparse and insignificant.

Liu Zhongyuan and Qin Jiulin could easily kill a large number of them, but considering the surrounding streets and buildings, it would still be somewhat difficult.

Although scattered, the total number of semi beastman was still considerable.

Gao Siyang said, “We’ve estimated that the number of semi beastman in this large area is around 120,000. The number isn’t particularly high, but this location is quite critical. I want to secure this area within today, so I’ve gathered all the Variant beastman. I want you to clear out the semi beastman in this area today.”

“Of course, there will also be many ordinary beastman assisting you with the cleanup.”

Qin Jiulin said, “Sometimes, ordinary beastman only hinder our actions. When we fight in our beast forms, we don’t hold back much in terms of speed or strength. If they get too close and are accidentally grazed by us, they’re likely to be seriously injured.”

Everyone nodded subconsciously in agreement. Many of the Variant beastman with larger beast forms felt he was right. Sometimes, with their larger size and faster speeds, the momentum was too great to control. They might indeed seriously injure an ordinary beastman with just a graze.

If the ordinary beastman were too close, they might also hesitate to act, which would in turn affect the Variant beastman’s combat effectiveness.

Lin Lou suggested, “Let us Variant beastman take the lead. The ordinary beastman can watch from behind and only intervene if any stragglers try to escape towards the base.”

“After all, killing semi beastman is quite easy for us.”

Gao Siyang considered this. “Do you all agree with this? Don’t you need ordinary beastman or snipers to assist you from a distance?”

Liu Zhongyuan replied, “That’s definitely not necessary. We’re so powerful; if you leave that area to us, we can definitely clear it out as quickly as possible.”

Qin Jiulin added, “While this location is important, if we cause too much commotion, won’t the semi beastman from the other three sides converge on us?”

Liu Zhongyuan stroked his chin. “It won’t be easy to handle then. After all, this location is in the center. If we make too much noise, the semi beastman will keep coming.”

Gao Siyang said, “There won’t be too many, at most double the number. Can you handle it? Or should I send soldiers to assist you?”

Perhaps because their ammunition reserves were truly abundant, Gao Siyang wanted to use some of it now. Of course, the key was still to accelerate the recovery of Mo City.

Liu Zhongyuan replied, “Not for now, we can manage.”

The Variant beastman dispatched this time were all combat types: Liu Zhongyuan, Qin Jiulin, and Qi Yue were all present, as were Lin Lou, Duan Shuangshuang, and Song Wennan. There were also five Variant beastman from the army.

Except for Zhang Yuankai, the pangolin, and a flying Variant beastman, the remaining three, including Mo Xinghui, would participate. Even Xia Liansheng’s team was there.

Naturally, Cheng Tianxiang had no combat ability and wouldn’t participate this time. Xia Liansheng and Xi Sihan would participate, making a total of eleven Variant beastman.

Such a number, even several years later, was a standard that most survivor bases couldn’t reach. There was no other way; the number of Variant beastman was simply too small!

Liu Zhongyuan asked, “What’s the timeframe?”

Gao Siyang replied, “I’ve calculated that if we can clear this large area within three days, we can expect to recover the entire Mo City within ten days.”

“The remaining time can be handed over to ordinary people for cleanup. Once all of Mo City is clean, we can officially begin preparing for winter.”

Qin Jiulin said, “Although the timeframe is a bit tight, if everyone gives their all, it’s not impossible. We shouldn’t delay any further. Shall we begin now?”

Gao Siyang naturally wished for them to leave quickly. After all, time was of the essence!

No one objected, and the eleven Variant beastman marched towards the mission location. The location was indeed crucial. While one side led to their safe zone, the remaining three sides were teeming with semi beastman.

Moreover, there were many factories in this area. If they could clear it out in advance, these factories could begin preparations when ordinary people came to clean the area later.

Once Gao Siyang fully took over Mo City, these factories could be put into operation, and both water and electricity supply could be restored on a small scale.

If they had heating in the winter, everyone’s lives would be much easier. After all, no one knew how cold the first winter after the apocalypse would be, or whether it would be as terrifying as a natural disaster.