103: Chapter 103 "It seems some people think my rules are just for show."

The Zombie Horde retreated.

Outside Cloud Top Palace, the shantytown was a muddy mess.

A group of survivors knelt outside the quarantine line, their throats hoarse from shouting.

"Mr. Lin, please let us in!"

"My wife is pregnant! The child is innocent!"

"You have so many women inside, you can't just watch a pregnant woman die, right?"

"The land for Cloud Top Palace was our family's homestead before it was demolished; we have a share in this place too!"

There was also a man in a suit kneeling the most properly.

His forehead was pressed against the mud.

"Mr. Lin, as long as you open the door, I am willing to transfer all my company shares to you."

Fat Dragon stood behind the quarantine line and laughed out loud.

"Shares?"

"Brother, can your company even be traded for a few packets of instant noodle seasoning right now?"

The man in the suit's face stiffened.

The next second, he strained his throat and shouted again:

"We also fought against the Zombie Horde just now!"

"We also contributed!"

The outer wall broadcast turned on.

Lin Yuan's voice came through.

"We don't take trash."

With one sentence, the outside was instantly silenced.

Lin Yuan continued:

"As for the crystal cores from the Zombie Horde, Lu Yan will go dig them out in a while."

"Those who participated in the battle will be rewarded with one basic ration."

The survivors kneeling in the mud immediately looked up.

Some eyes lit up.

Some still wanted to bargain.

"Why? We are the owners!"

"This place doesn't belong just to you!"

Lin Yuan said indifferently: "Fine."

"Go bargain with the zombies."

The man's mouth hung open, and he went silent.

A few seconds later.

Su Xiaonuan's voice patched into the outer wall broadcast.

"Temporary exchange list."

"Common grey crystal core, half a day's ration."

"D-rank white crystal core, three days' rations."

"C-rank red crystal core, redeemable for medicine, hot food, and basic weapons."

"Those who hoard crystal cores will be expelled."

She paused for half a second.

"Registration will be handled by Captain Han Xue."

Fat Dragon grinned.

"Did you hear that? Captain Han is keeping the records."

Captain Han Xue stood by the quarantine line.

She watched the group of kneeling people, then looked toward Tiangong No. 1.

Soon, she lowered her eyelids, wondering what she was thinking.

Tiangong No. 1.

Qin Yumo came down from the second floor.

The wound on her shoulder had just been bandaged, with a bit of blood seeping from the edge of the bandage.

But there was no fatigue in her eyes.

Only battle intent.

She walked up to Lin Yuan.

"Master."

"The Zombie Horde has retreated, but there are still many left down the mountain."

"I still want to fight."

Tang Qiqi, whose hand was still wrapped in gauze, immediately looked up.

"You just finished fighting the Mole King!"

"You need to recover from your injuries!"

Qin Yumo didn't look at her.

She only looked at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Take a few people to practice."

"Remember to be back before dinner."

Qin Yumo licked her lips.

"Yes."

Tang Qiqi stood up, pouting.

"Sister Yumo, I'll go with you."

Lin Yuan glanced at her.

"Don't cause trouble."

Tang Qiqi stood up unhappily and went back to her room.

"You won't take me mining! Hmph!"

Ten minutes later.

A narrow gap opened in the outer gate of Cloud Top Palace.

Qin Yumo vaulted over the outer wall.

Fat Dragon followed with a dozen elites.

There were also seven or eight bold shantytown survivors following, holding spears and axes, trembling as they trailed behind.

These people had hacked at zombies during the chaotic battle earlier that day.

But when they really reached the mountain road, the tips of their spears were still shaking like a sieve.

Someone swallowed hard.

Someone tried to shrink back stealthily.

Qin Yumo stood at the very front.

Her red hair was blown by the wind.

She raised her blade and pointed down the mountain.

"Listen clearly."

"Groups of three, spears hold them off, axes finish them off."

A middle-aged man asked, trembling: "What if it lunges at us?"

Qin Yumo glanced at him.

"Then go die."

The man shut his mouth.

Fat Dragon cursed from the side:

"Learn something, all of you!"

"The Valkyrie is holding a class; you wouldn't get this kind of treatment even if you paid tuition outside!"

Down the mountain, several wandering zombies were attracted by the scent of blood and came lunging over, swaying.

The first group of survivors lost their footing on the spot.

This kind of encounter battle was completely different from the position battle just now.

The spear jabbed off-target.

The axe hacked into a shoulder.

The zombie's head tilted slightly, and it continued to crawl forward.

"Ah!"

The man was so scared he retreated.

Qin Yumo stepped forward.

The back of her blade knocked the man's wrist away.

"The head."

She slashed backhanded.

The zombie's skull split open.

A grey crystal core rolled into the mud.

Qin Yumo picked it up and tossed it to the middle-aged man who asked the question earlier.

"Half a day's meal."

The man held the crystal core, his throat bobbing.

The fear was still there.

But there was something else in his eyes now.

A second zombie charged over.

This time, the spear held it against its chest.

The axe swung down.

It didn't hit accurately.

Fat Dragon kicked him.

"The head! Does your family grow crystal cores in their stomachs?"

On the third strike, it finally split the skull.

A grey crystal core fell out.

Someone shouted.

"Kill one and you get food!"

That sentence was more effective than any pep talk.

In that instant, in their eyes, the zombies were no longer just monsters.

They were walking meal tickets.

The hands on the mountain road no longer just trembled.

The fear began to morph.

It turned into hunger.

It turned into greed.

It turned into the instinct to survive.

Suddenly, a D-rank Elite Zombie crashed out from behind a wrecked car.

Its skin was blue, and its shoulders were bulging.

Bang!

A survivor was sent flying and rolled into the drainage ditch.

Another person was so scared he dropped his spear.

"Help!"

Qin Yumo charged forward head-on.

She crossed her twin blades, locking the zombie's neck.

Bang!

Her knee shattered its jaw.

The zombie still wanted to bite.

Qin Yumo pinned its neck with her left blade and drove her right blade into its temple.

A twist.

The white crystal core was pried out.

She shook the blood off her blade.

"This one, three days' food."

No one on the mountain road spoke.

Three seconds later.

Someone with red eyes lunged at another zombie.

"Mine!"

Fat Dragon laughed and cursed: "Don't fight over it! Keep track by group!"

Inside Tiangong No. 1.

Liu Qing projected the drone footage onto the main screen.

Qin Yumo led the team forward.

Fat Dragon brought up the rear.

The survivors went from hacking wildly to learning to hold, lock, and finish.

The efficiency was very low.

Their movements were ugly.

But they began to kill proactively.

Su Muxue watched the screen.

"The few people who die today are more valuable than if they all die later."

Su Xiaonuan nodded and added a line on her tablet.

[Outer Circle Zombie Hunting Squad: Temporarily established.]

In front of the registration table in the outer circle.

Captain Han Xue sat there.

The first survivor ran over, clutching a bloody crystal core.

"Captain Han!"

"I killed it! I really killed it!"

Captain Han Xue looked at the wound on his arm.

It wasn't a bite wound.

She opened her mouth, almost asking if it hurt.

But the words stopped at her lips.

She picked up a pen.

"Name."

The man froze.

Captain Han Xue repeated:

"Name, group number, crystal core rank."

The man quickly replied:

"Liu Qiang, Group 3, two grey crystal cores!"

Captain Han Xue wrote it down.

"Go get bandaged."

The man held the registration card like his life depended on it.

Captain Han Xue looked at the form.

The police badge in her pocket pressed against her chest.

It was cold.

Evening.

Qin Yumo returned.

She tossed a bag of crystal cores onto the registration table.

Grey crystal cores and white crystal cores were mixed together, clinking softly.

The shantytown had its first meal.

Hot porridge.

Steamed buns.

And half a spoonful of pickles.

Someone broke a steamed bun in half, stuffing one half into their mouth and hiding the other half against their chest.

Someone sat in a corner holding their porridge, crying while eating.

Fat Dragon stood at the main gate of Cloud Top Palace.

"Stop that damn crying."

"Keep killing tomorrow."

"If you want to eat meat, bring a C-rank crystal core to trade."

Lin Yuan sent an extra hot pot meal to Lu Yan's Villa No. 13.

Fat Dragon's Villa No. 12 had one too.

When Fat Dragon saw it, he was delighted on the spot.

"The boss is generous!"

"Brothers, let's dig up more crystal cores for the boss tomorrow!"

The smell of hot pot drifted out on the night breeze.

The few households in the outer villas had their eyes fixed on it.

Relying on the fact that they still had some food stored at home, they hadn't gone out to fight.

But after nearly a month, they were tired of canned food and dry biscuits; who could resist hot pot?

Fat Dragon looked at those people's eyes and spoke in a smarmy way.

"Want to eat?"

"Go kill zombies."

The scent of hot pot was the most blatant class line.

Night fell.

The broadcast channel was suddenly interrupted.

"Citizens of Jiangcheng, please pay attention."

"The South Suburb Military District has established an official shelter."

"All Awakened Ones, armed personnel, and medical staff, please report immediately."

"We will distribute supplies based on contribution and protect the people together."

"Those who dare to kill zombies, bring three crystal cores as proof, and you can exchange them for an official position."

He paused, his tone rising.

"Certain private fortresses are hoarding resources for self-preservation and refusing unified dispatch; this is an extremely selfish act!"

"We strongly condemn it!"

In the shantytown, someone looked up.

"An official shelter?"

"Distributing based on contribution, doesn't that mean we can eat too?"

"An official position... that's better than risking our lives against zombies here, right?"

Someone looked down at the half-steamed bun hidden in their shoe sole.

Others glanced secretly down the mountain.

Tiangong No. 1 control room.

Liu Qing had already intercepted the internal footage from the South Suburb Military District.

Wounded soldiers lay all over the hallways.

A corner of the ammunition depot was still smoking.

In front of the fixed machine gun positions, survivors were being conscripted to move sandbags.

An Awakened One had just finished registering when a soldier put a metal bracelet on them.

Liu Qing pushed up her glasses.

"Should we make it public?"

Lin Yuan watched the screen.

"No need."

Su Xiaonuan looked up.

"Tools don't need loyalty."

"If they want to leave, we can just replace them with a new batch."

At night.

Liu Qing tallied the crystal core data.

She was typing on the keyboard and suddenly stopped.

"Mr. Lin."

Su Xiaonuan looked up.

Liu Qing projected the form onto the main screen.

"Thirty-seven people went out."

"The kill record shows at least eighty-six grey crystal cores."

"But only seventy-one were turned in."

The living room went quiet.

Su Xiaonuan's eyes turned cold.

Lin Yuan picked up his teacup.

His voice was very faint.

"It seems someone thinks my rules are just for show."

"Captain Han Xue, you handle it."