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

Rats, if not eliminated, will certainly become a major hazard.

But it's impossible for our company to uproot them completely with the strength we currently possess.

After all, even the technology before the disaster couldn't completely eradicate these disgusting creatures but instead allowed them to make the most of the spring breeze of human development and settle down in the cities.

If they can't be eliminated, then we can only think about containment or prevention of the rat population.

Zhang Ye suddenly thought of that mutated wild cat.

Cats are the natural predators of rats, and if we could have dozens or hundreds of mutated wild cats or other mutant beasts that used to feed on rats to help, then we certainly wouldn't have to worry about a rat infestation in the safe zone.

But the problem is, from what we can see at present, they don't only eat rats.

They also eat people.

I'm afraid that before long, not a few rats would be eaten, but all the people would be gone.

Then what's the point?

This idea won't work.

Right, how about finding some talents in the field of chemical engineering from among those survivors and creating some rat poison?

But then Zhang Ye thought again; there had been countless types of rat poison in the past.

But their effects didn't seem very satisfying.

They worked in the short term.

However, in the long run, they would only increase the rats' resistance to the poison, leading to the rapid reproduction of rats with even better drug resistance.

It seems there's only one solution then.

Move out.

"Director Zhang, there is another matter I'd like to report to you,"

Just as Zhang Ye was feeling anxious, he suddenly heard Lin Mo's deliberately lowered voice.

He turned his head and saw the other looking at him with a mysterious expression on his face.

There was also a hint of excitement.

At this moment, Liu Bing and Gao Feng were still wolfing down their food, seemingly unaware of the conversation between the two.

Zhang Ye immediately became interested, "Go on."

"It's like this."

"Do you still remember that Mutant Rat's corpse?" Lin Mo said again in a lowered voice.

He kept his eyes on Liu Bing, who was focused on eating across from them, as if he was afraid Liu Bing would hear his words.

Seeing his expression, Zhang Ye became even more curious.

"Remember, what about it?"

"Just say it."

"I hate beating around the bush."

Seeing Zhang Ye's reaction, Lin Mo no longer hesitated and simply said, "That rat was eaten by them."

"What!"

"What was eaten?"

Zhang Ye exclaimed in surprise, only to see that Liu Bing and Gao Feng, who were eating, had already turned to look in their direction.

He quickly composed his face, then turned to Lin Mo and said:

"You mean that rat?"

Lin Mo could only nod his head resolutely.

Honestly, he hadn't expected anyone to be tempted by a Mutant Beast's corpse.

On the other hand, Liu Bing, who was eating, suddenly stopped. His face tensed up, as the people who had eaten the rat were none other than him and a few of his subordinates.

In Sanjiang City, since ancient times, due to its location in the southeast of Shen Zhou, there's been a custom.

It was that as long as it could walk, there was nothing that couldn't be eaten.

Rats were naturally included.

In some border provinces south of Sanjiang City, there was even a dish where newly born baby rats were eaten alive with dipping sauce.

The highlight was the 'tenderness'!

(I'm making this up, guys. Don't take it seriously.)

And because of this, Liu Bing and his people already had the idea of eating that rat corpse the moment they saw it.

They were even somewhat glad that the rat was large enough.

Like a medium-sized dog.

Plenty of meat.

After meeting with Xu Lin, they took the rat corpse, which should have been thrown away, back to their residence, and then cooked a big pot of meat soup and enjoyed it.

As for Lin Mo, although he seemed unaware, he had actually guessed their intentions early on.

But instead of stopping him, he went with the flow, handing the rat carcass over to Liu Bing for disposal.

Then he secretly commanded Gao Feng and the veterans to guard their room.

In case the rat meat caused Liu Bing and the others to mutate.

Yet everything was normal.

Up till now, including Liu Bing, four people who had eaten rat meat showed no signs of turning into zombies.

Their behavior was indistinguishable from that of normal people.

"I'm sorry, Director Zhang!"

"I didn't know!"

"Really!"

Liu Bing panicked on the spot.

Only then did he realize how dangerous his actions the night before had been.

Then he felt a surge of intense fear from the bottom of his heart, afraid that Zhang Ye would order them all to be executed as ticking time bombs.

Meanwhile, the security guards outside rapidly took control of the Hunter Squad members who had eaten the rat meat.

Including Liu Bing, they were all locked up in the cells.

Outside the cell,

Lin Mo stood with his head down, his back drenched in cold sweat.

He had thought his risky move had been successful.

Yet, now judging from Zhang Ye's reaction, the outcome seemed to differ from what he had expected.

"Do you know?"

"The maximum incubation period for the virus is three days."

Zhang Ye stopped here and narrowed his eyes as he looked at Lin Mo in front of him.

The rest didn't need to be said.

"I'm sorry, Director Zhang."

"I will keep an eye on them here."

As soon as Lin Mo finished speaking, he saw Zhang Ye turn and leave after dropping a line.

"If they die inside after three days—"

"Then you go in yourself."

——————————

Time flew by, and three days had passed in a blink of an eye.

As it turned out, some people are just born gamblers.

And this time, Lin Mo had evidently bet right; none of the people in the cell, including Liu Bing, exhibited any signs of mutation, despite looking quite dejected.

The meat of the Mutant Rat was indeed edible.

What did this mean?

A new source of meat.

Even Zhang Ye hadn't eaten fresh meat for a long time, not to mention the others at the company.

Lin Mo was promptly reinstated.

And Liu Bing and the others, who had been locked up for three days, were released.

They had thought they were dead for sure, but not only were they alive, but they also received an additional reward.

As the first group to eat the Mutant Rat and survive, the company decided to convert them from nominal employees to regular employees and let them enjoy the same benefits as other combat members of the Combat Department.

In addition, each of them received a reward of a full two hundred exchange vouchers.
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At the same time, the company issued a recruitment notice.

Looking for survivors with breeding experience, primarily responsible for cultivating and large-scale farming of mutant creatures, and also issued a bounty task to all survivors within the safe zone.

To capture Mutated Rats.

Just one alive was worth a reward of five hundred exchange vouchers.

And the Hunter Squad was officially established.

Although their first mission was a success, it came with heavy casualties.

It also revealed a new problem.

A lack of discipline.

After learning from their last experience and taking the combat teams as a reference, Lin Mo and his team quickly formulated a series of new rules.

The most important of which was obedience.

Everything had to follow the orders of the superiors, with violators executed on the spot.