Chapter 41 Methods, Wang Meng's Fury

It began with a single girl's sob.

Soon, it turned into a collective outpouring from over thirty people.

They cried their hearts out,

as if trying to expel all the fear, hunger, and despair that had accumulated since the apocalypse began along with their scalding tears.

Su Meier stood to the side, watching this scene, her heart churning.

What a formidable method!

A big stick, then a sweet date.

First, he used the cruelest means to completely shatter these girls' dignity and will,

forcing them to struggle for survival amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood,

then used the almost humiliatingly meager "wages" to let their grievances and resentment build to a peak,

and finally, with just a bucket of the most ordinary instant noodles, instantly dissolved all the negative emotions...

He so easily harvested their most absolute loyalty and gratitude!

This man's skill at manipulating hearts was even more terrifying than the spear in his hand.

Jiang Yuwan didn't witness the whole process, but seeing these girls looking both as if they'd survived a calamity and deeply grateful, she could guess about seventy or eighty percent of what happened.

This dog man...

Sure, he's a bit of a lecher, but his methods are indeed extraordinary.

It couldn't possibly be just a simple act of compassion. She would never believe Su Ze was the type to overflow with saintly kindness.

"The instant noodles... should we give them to them?"

Liu Qiaofei looked at the large pile of colorful packaging on the ground, her little face filled with heartache.

Those were all Su Ze's supplies!

But when she saw the girls weeping with joy, their faces full of gratitude,

and thought that since Su Ze had done this, he must have his reasons, the reluctance in her heart vanished like smoke.

Everything Senior does is right!

She proactively ran back to the Dormitory, huffing and puffing as she carried out that camping pot.

She also brought out a lot of drinking water and a pack of charcoal.

Yao Qingya said nothing, silently stepping forward to help her set up the pot, pour water, and light the fire.

Soon, the water in the pot bubbled and boiled, white steam rising in a warm, humid mist.

"Stop crying, line up, one by one!"

Liu Yuanfang wiped her face, forcefully suppressing her excitement, and began organizing order.

The girls helped each other up, forming a crooked line.

"Gurgle..."

Someone's stomach betrayed them first, followed by the sound of swallowing saliva rising and falling among the crowd.

The girls carefully cradled the instant noodles in their hands as if holding some priceless treasure,

their faces showing excitement, exhilaration, and even a hint of reluctance.

"Don't just stand there, eat quickly!" Liu Yuanfang was the first to tear open the lid of her cup with a fork. She shouted at everyone with red eyes,

"If you don't eat now, what if someone snatches it away later? Only what's in your belly is truly yours!"

These words sent a jolt through all the girls.

They tore open the packaging and lined up to receive scalding hot water from Liu Qiaofei.

"Sss... ha..."

The first girl whose noodles were ready couldn't wait for the noodle block to fully soften. Eagerly, she used her fork to twirl a clump of noodles that were still a bit hard in the center, blew on them twice, and stuffed them into her mouth.

Even though it scalded her mouth, the moment the oily, flavorful food slid down her throat, her tears burst forth again.

She cried while wolfing down the food, as if trying to swallow all the grievances she'd suffered these past days along with that mouthful of noodles.

Soon, the entire corridor was filled only with the rising and falling sounds of loud noodle-slurping and the barely suppressed, happy sobbing.

"Landlord, everything is here."

Su Meier traded all the copper coins from her backpack to Su Ze.

Immediately after, Jiang Yuwan and the others also walked over, handing over all their gains.

Su Ze looked at the new number on his personal panel and curled his lips in satisfaction.

[copper coins 1426, Silver Coins 0, Gold Coins 0]

Indeed, many hands make light work.

If he had to kill over seven hundred zombies alone to gather this amount,

wouldn't his arm go numb from killing?

It seemed forming his own faction was completely necessary.

Others were forming gangs and alliances, and he held so many resources.

There was no reason to remain a lone wolf, doing everything himself. That would be too tiring.

As for choosing these girls...

Although their combat power was indeed low, precisely because of that, they were easier to control.

Most crucially, the zombies at this stage were weak.

Strong individual combat power wasn't needed; instead, teamwork and execution were more important.

Using unlimited "ammunition" to forge these girls into "catapults" offered extremely high cost-effectiveness.

Of course, hidden achievements like [Hundred Zombie Slayer], which required killing a certain number of zombies, still had to be done personally.

But that wasn't a problem.

These few hundred were just the zombies in the fourth-floor corridor.

Other floors had numbers no less than here, not to mention outside the Dormitory building, where there was an ocean of zombies almost ten times larger.

There was no need to worry about not having enough to kill; on the contrary, they couldn't kill them all.

Moreover...

after midnight tonight, the zombies would respawn!

Su Ze pondered his future plans,

while on the other side, the atmosphere was completely different.

Jiang Haiqing and the other four stood dejectedly before an exceptionally tall and burly man.

The man was a full 1.9 meters tall, with bulging muscles all over his body. Just standing there gave off a strong sense of oppressive feeling.

He was Wang Meng.

"...That's how it was, Brother Meng!"

Jiang Haiqing gnashed his teeth as he recounted the events, adding inflammatory details,

"That Su Meier is a bitch! We kindly took her in, and she turned around to cozy up to that pretty boy named Su Ze! We were furious and wanted to get her back, but..."

He deliberately omitted their sordid intention to "enjoy" Su Meier, portraying themselves only as betrayed good Samaritans.

"...That Su Ze, relying on some broken turret, was unbearably arrogant! We wanted to smash his turret, but he actually threatened to wake up all the zombies on the fourth floor and get us killed there! We had no choice but to... to..."

His companions behind him chimed in one after another,

each feigning righteous indignation, trying to get Wang Meng to stand up for them.

After listening, Wang Meng's face remained expressionless.

He didn't speak immediately, only his sharp eyes slowly swept over Jiang Haiqing and the other four.

The air in the corridor seemed to freeze.

Jiang Haiqing and the others grew uneasy under his gaze, gradually falling silent, waiting anxiously for his reaction.

Suddenly!

"Smack!"

A crisp, loud slap rang out without warning!

Jiang Haiqing was spun halfway around by the force of the slap, his cheek swelling visibly and turning red.

He covered his face, looking at Wang Meng in disbelief.

"Bro... Brother Meng, why did you hit me?"

Wang Meng ignored him, instead looking at the other four, his voice cold as ice.

"I'm asking you. Before, when I asked you to come with me to the teaching building to gather supplies, you said you had urgent matters to attend to. Was it for this woman?"

The four turned pale, stammering and unable to speak.

Wang Meng's gaze grew even colder.

"And the result?"

"The woman is now in another man's arms, sitting on his lap!"

"You five grown men, charging over there with such fury, not only failed to get her back, but got extorted for supplies and came running back with your tails between your legs like dogs?!"

"Smack!"

Another slap landed hard on another athlete's face!

Wang Meng's chest heaved violently, clearly furious to the extreme.

He suddenly stepped forward, grabbing Jiang Haiqing by the collar,

his face, twisted with anger, almost touching Jiang Haiqing's nose.

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling interrogation.

"Do you know what angers me the most? It's not that you're useless, nor is it simply losing such a top-tier woman!"

"What angers me most is that you idiots broke the rules!"

"What did I say back then? Any valuable information, any discovered supplies, including... the personnel situation in the Dormitory, must be reported immediately! I will make unified arrangements for distribution!"

Wang Meng's eyes held only the fury of someone whose territory had been violated and whose rules had been challenged.

"A top-tier woman like Su Meier, you motherfuckers dared to hide her away, wanting to enjoy her yourselves?!"

"Now look! You didn't get a taste of the meat, and you've brought trouble upon yourselves!"

"Did you take the rules I set as nothing but hot air?!"