You were supposed to hoard supplies, why the heck did you hoard zombies!

Chapter 277 What Do You Want

The mission had failed.

Liu Tao had no choice but to accept this reality.

Not only had they failed, but now they themselves were in the hands of Xu Lin.

Even ordinary farmers would fight to the death with them over a few corn cobs in the field, so why was Xu Lin treating them so well with canned food and noodles? What was his purpose?

Not to mention that they had originally come in pursuit of the traces left by the military.

He couldn't help but take another look at the crowd around him.

The guns were obviously homemade; their design clearly mimicked the old northern Russian AK-47 assault rifle, and they seemed to be of a uniform standard, indicating they were made by the same person or workshop.

Beyond these imitation rifles, their other gear also had a distinctive uniform style.

The base shirt worn underneath was a yellow-green camouflage coat.

Over this was a vest made of metal sheets.

Probably aluminum alloy.

On their shoulders, elbows, forearms, and shins they also wore corresponding protective gear. Although the coverage wasn't extensive, the scratches on them clearly indicated they offered some protection against the claws and teeth of zombies and wild beasts.

The material of these protective pieces was mostly metal, with a few seemingly made of some kind of leather.

Could it be stripped from those Mutant Beasts?

Liu Tao couldn't help feeling astonished in his heart.

The people in the watchtower faced the same problem with insufficient protection, yet no one had ever thought to make some protective gear from metal scraps or beast hides.

In this regard, the people before him had adapted to the post-apocalyptic world far better than those in the watchtower.

Not to mention other matters like reserves of supplies.

When compared with them, it was a world of difference.

Before eating today, he had already forgotten what meat tasted like; after all, you couldn't expect to find any edible meat in a quarry full of stones.

And for the sake of the watchtower's safety, the lieutenant had ordered from the very beginning to prohibit anyone from consuming the meat of those Mutant Beasts.

To many, these are animals clearly manifesting infection and seen as poisonous mushrooms.

Eat them and you would die.

But Liu Tao had seen it very clearly.

The cans they had brought down from the truck for him to eat were obviously recently sealed because the seal bore a row of black text: "Produced on September 26, 20xx."

The city was full of zombies, it wasn't likely that they were produced by zombies working day and night in a factory, right?

If they were recently produced, then where did the ingredients come from? There's no need to think too hard about that.

And who still has canned dog meat?

There was even canned rat meat.

When Liu Tao first saw these two words, he instinctively felt a bit queasy, but the hunger in his stomach didn't afford him much right to think, opting instead to trust the savory aroma he was smelling.

Indeed, that was the case. When the creamy white meat was fished out of the soup, he almost swalowed his own tongue.

As he ate, he pondered, he must tell the lieutenant as soon as he gets back.

The meat of the Mutant Beasts didn't carry the virus.

We can't waste meat any longer.

Having the ability to produce firearms and protective gear, finding a sufficient food supply, and considering the several dozen survivors now gathered in the yard, it was clear that they had enough people to provide substantial manpower.

All this indicated that the force behind Xu Lin had already far exceeded the military at the watchtower.

So why were they looking for the military?

For weapons?

Liu Tao glanced again at the rifles and the oddly-shaped machetes in their hands and shook his head in thought.

The workmanship of these imitation rifles might be a bit outdated,

but that didn't mean they lacked power.

A bullet fired from an M16 or a plain steel pipe had essentially the same lethal potential.

Moreover, from what he could see at the moment, the number of weapons they had was enough to compensate for these differences.

But what else could they be after if not for the military weapons and equipment?

Resources?

There are only about a dozen bags of rice left in the outpost, scavenged from a nearby village.

It seems there is also half a bag of potatoes in the cellar.

It looks like a lot, but for the dozens of people now living inside, it would barely last less than two months, and that's with everyone tightening their belts and eating with grass and leaves.

Not to mention whether the lieutenant would agree to hand over these things to these people.

They would probably look down on such a small amount of food.

He thought over and over but still couldn't come up with an answer, so finally, he asked outright, "Brother Xu, just tell me, what do you want after going to so much trouble to find us?"

"Heh."

"What do I want?"

Xu Lin looked at him and chuckled.

"Captain Liu, are you mistaking us for bandits or robbers?"

The members of the Combat Department surrounding them burst into laughter, with many now wearing a look of disdain. Did this soldier take them for beggars?

The four team members who had come with Liu Tao naturally felt displeased at hearing the laughter of the others.

But Captain Liu Tao acted as if he hadn't heard.

He just kept looking at Xu Lin.

Clearly, he didn't care about the others' opinions.

Liu Tao just wanted to know the true purpose of Xu Lin, the leader of these people. After all, they were colleagues in a sense, and there might well be friends among them who knew each other.

Since they couldn't compete in terms of brute strength, they naturally had to understand the other party's intentions and see if a settlement could be reached.

Moreover, he had a doubt in his mind that he had yet to voice.

Who was behind Xu Lin?

The municipal government?

This seemed like a reasonable answer.

After all, who else but the government could mobilize Xu Lin of the Security Bureau and arm so many survivors, aside from the government itself?

If it really was the government, then maybe there was a new solution for the predicament at the outpost.

Joining forces could be enough to stabilize the order in parts of the region.

And then gradually, they could reclaim the entire city from the zombies' grasp.

"I want to see your leader."

"Now."

Xu Lin, gazing into his eyes, stated directly, his expression very serious.

Liu Tao was taken aback, "Leader?"

Then he quickly realized. The person being referred to must be the lieutenant who led the troops in retreat from the highway. Read the latest on My Virtual Library Empire

Thinking about it, this request seemed reasonable.

And it might even have some advantages.

Like intelligence.

Xu Lin and these people had come from the downtown area.

What did that indicate?

It meant that they had established a safe and secure settlement in the city and possessed sufficient defense capabilities to resist zombies and other threats, while also holding much intelligence unknown to them.

Of course, the most critical might be the possibility of them providing some material support.

That was exactly what the outpost needed most at the moment.

Provided these people had no ill intent.

This was a risk.

To agree or not to agree, after pondering for a moment, Liu Tao made a decision, "I can take you to the outpost, but on one condition."