Chapter 69 Power, Food, Women.

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the fire shelter level of Building 17.

A group of people were huddled in the relatively drier stairwell, looking disheveled; they actually wanted to occupy the shelter level first, then make other plans.

However, in this building of Zhuang Yan's, the high-floor residents and the girls on the lower floors had deep conflicts and long-standing grievances over food and the water stored in the fire pipes...

The shelter level had long been blocked off!

" Damn it! Those bastards! They're so freaking wicked! Why the hell would they block the stairwell for no reason! "

Wang Huan kicked the fire door of the shelter level hard.

The fire door, naturally, showed no reaction and didn't budge, only emitting a dull thud; just by hearing that, one knew it was definitely blocked tight from the inside.

Wang Huan wiped the sweat from his forehead, his face full of anger and unwillingness.

He was angry because the high-level passage was blocked, and once the man with the gun was killed by the merfolk, everyone would just have to wait for death.

His unwillingness stemmed from wondering why the person with the gun wasn't him...

Wang Huan panted heavily, leaning against the cold, damp wall, his eyes flickering...

The fear from earlier on the eighth floor, when Zhou Yan had pointed a gun at him and nearly killed him, was gradually being replaced by a twisted and pathological ambition.

His mind was filled with the shotgun in Zhou Yan's hands and Zhou Yan's calm, all-controlling demeanor...

" Damn it! These days, the bold are stuffed to death, and the timid are starved to death! "

Wang Huan cursed his own incompetence in a low voice, his gaze sweeping over the group of terrified survivors beside him, who looked like stray dogs.

This bunch of idiots was currently a loose pile of sand, in need of a backbone...

" If only I had a gun... " Wang Huan was like someone possessed, crazy thoughts constantly swirling in his mind.

He thought of Zhou Yan's healthy complexion, he thought of the weak but exceptionally beautiful woman by Zhou Yan's side...

He thought of the food and supplies that might exist in the entire Building 16.

And those young, beautiful girls with sexy, hot bodies...

Power, food, women...

These are the most primal desires in the apocalypse.

Why should that man be able to have everything?

Right...

Just because of the gun in his hand...

" Heroes emerge in troubled times... Why can't that hero be me? "

Wang Huan licked his moist lips, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes.

He began to talk to the others in a low voice.

" Brothers! You all saw it just now, right? That kid downstairs, just with one gun, can force so many of us to act like dogs! And he can easily kill those monsters! "

Wang Huan's voice was low, guiding them step by step.

" What does this mean? It means in this world, having a gun makes you the boss! To hell with those merfolk; before a shotgun, all are equal! "

The few men who gathered around nodded one after another, their faces revealing expressions of envy and agreement.

" What do you mean, brother? You have an idea? " A Thin Tall Guy asked with an unreadable expression.

Wang Huan smiled viciously.

" In this building, you all saw those young girls, each one so succulent and tender, and they don't look like they've been starving either. There must be no shortage of food in this building! How about... "

" That won't work... That kid doesn't look like someone to mess with! "

Another man looked hesitant, suddenly regretting why he had been curious enough to gather around...

" Not someone to mess with? Fuck! At this point in time, tell the truth yourselves, how many people who have survived until now are easy to mess with? As long as we work together, his gun is just a piece of firewood! "

Wang Huan sneakily poked his head out to look down the stairwell, then turned back: " As long as we find a time when he is alone, or create an opportunity to be alone with him, we swarm him when he's off guard! As long as we get close, the gun will be useless! "

" Be ruthless when you strike! Once the gun is in our hands, let alone this building... by then, the entire complex will belong to us brothers! "

" That's not right... " The man who had just looked hesitant weakly interrupted Wang Huan's "daydreaming".

" Outside... there's still a Warship... "

The crowd fell silent...

A gun is easy to deal with, but that's only easy to deal with in the "conceptual" stage.

Deal with that Warship outside?

Are you kidding me...

They wouldn't even let you climb up even if they asked you to...

The reaction of that Warship just now was clearly abnormal, and everyone had long since given up hope.

" Let's wait for an opportunity... See what that Warship actually wants to do. If that Warship leaves, we'll find a chance to grab the gun! If this Warship is here to cause trouble, then we brothers will just have to be companions on the road to the afterlife! "

After a few sentences, it was clear that everyone was treating Wang Huan as their backbone.

They nodded repeatedly at what he said, and the last sentence invisibly brought everyone closer.

The few people huddled together, becoming much more familiar with each other.

It was just that Wang Huan's gaze would occasionally linger on the man who had been hesitating all along.

This person... Wang Huan didn't want to keep him.

He had to think of a way to kill him...

Zhou Yan held his gun and walked upstairs.

For Zhou Yan, the only value this group of people had was to lay the Floating Bridge; they were just manual laborers.

If they were obedient, Zhou Yan wouldn't skimp on the supplies they were due.

If they were disobedient, then he would use them as bait!

These mutated fish had become clever; they swam around but just wouldn't approach Building 16... leaving Zhou Yan with no other options!

Now the main task was to finalize the "manual labor" matter.

Building 17 was even damper than Building 16, with a musty smell in the stairwell mixed with a lingering scent of gunpowder, giving it quite a wasteland feel.

He pushed open the fire door, and a chaotic and oppressive scene in the corridor came into view, with a dozen or so people crowded into the dim space.

They were in groups of two or three, likely people who were familiar with or knew each other.

The air was filled with the smell of sweat, mold, and a fishy, earthy scent from the water.

Seeing Zhou Yan arrive, all voices instantly went quiet, and their gazes focused uniformly on Zhou Yan and the highly intimidating shotgun in his hands.

Zhou Yan scanned the circle, his gaze calm, and finally fixed on the man in the crowd who had been keeping his head down but had been watching the shotgun in his hand with a strange look.

" Listen up! "

Zhou Yan got straight to the point, his voice loud and clear.

" I am giving you two choices now. First! I will provide food and shelter. In exchange, every single one of you must listen to my commands and work for me! "

The crowd stirred, and everyone began to discuss it.

" What kind of work? " A bolder voice asked.

" Many things, for example... building a Floating Bridge! By connecting all the buildings together and concentrating our resources to support each other, we will have a greater chance of survival! "

This was purely Zhou Yan selling them a pipe dream.

Concentrate resources, my ass; it was nothing more than to better catch the fish in the water, or to capture merfolk to obtain blind boxes.

Polite pleasantries must be said eloquently; how can one tell the truth in polite pleasantries?

If he told the truth, could it still be called polite pleasantries?

This polite pleasantry was exceptionally effective, instantly resonating with many people, especially those who had been longing for safe shelter.

However, there were always people who wanted to opportunistically take advantage.

Wang Huan's eyes rolled, feeling that his opportunity had arrived.

He squeezed out a troubled expression, stepped forward, and feigned sincerity as he said: " Big brother... You have a gun, you're awesome! We have absolutely no problem following you, but... building a bridge is life-threatening work! That thing in the water is elusive... "

He deliberately drew out his tone, observing the changes in Zhou Yan's facial expression... trying to bargain...

" Look, with such high risk, just providing meals... is it a bit...? How about you give the brothers some defensive weapons? Even sticks or steel pipes would do! "

Zhou Yan smiled.

Looking at Wang Huan's face, which couldn't hide his scheming, he slowly spoke: " Then you can choose the second path. From wherever you came from, swim back to where you came from... "