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

"Bro, are you serious?"

"Stop bullshitting, who the hell is still doing business at a time like this?"

It's no wonder Peng Liu didn't believe it.

The most valuable thing now is food.

And the most precious thing also happens to be food.

Apart from that, no one wanted anything else, but who would have food and not eat it themselves, instead trading it with someone else?

What, are they so full they want to play the hero like Lei Feng?

Who would believe that!

And what was Big Beard just talking about?

He said his boss had not only food but also medicine and equipment.

That's even more nonsensical.

If they had that kind of power, why would they need to do business?

Couldn't they just send people to break down their doors and rob them?

Not just Peng Liu, nearly everyone who heard Big Beard's spiel thought this way, so the looks they gave the two men grew even more unfriendly.

Telling lies without making them remotely credible—did they really take them for fools?

Truth be told, Peng Yue initially felt the same way.

But intuition told him that the man before him obviously wasn't making up desperate lies on the fly to deceive people; Big Beard's expression was very calm.

Even a hint of confidence seemed to seep through.

Right, the boss!

He had mentioned the word "boss"!

Peng Yue thought carefully and realized he didn't know anyone who went by that title.

The other side had also said they were from the city center.

Combining the two, a new possibility emerged.

Big Beard was telling the truth.

At least, these two probably weren't sent by the Chens to cause trouble.

Actually, on further thought, it seemed there had been some sort of misunderstanding from the start. Even if the Chens were causing trouble, they wouldn't just send two people over—that would be a clear death sentence, wouldn't it?

Once Peng Yue realized this, much of his anger had already subsided.

Then there was only one thing left.

Ten minutes later.

Inside the second floor of the motorcade's compound.

Peng Yue sat on the sofa with several apples on the coffee table in front of him, picked from a nearby orchard.

And this orchard was precisely the reason for the recent conflict with another group.

An orchard spanning over a thousand acres.

Less than twenty zombies.

Several brothers with varying expressions sat on sofas and chairs, some even standing behind their boss like guard dogs.

Their only commonality was the scrutinizing gaze they all had towards the two men opposite them.

Even after Peng Yue issued the command, he couldn't help but doubt.

Were there really such impressive people in the city center?

Unbelievable.

Big Beard continued to speak, his tone becoming increasingly relaxed, exuding a strong sense of confidence, especially after seeing just a few apples on the coffee table.

Weren't they a little too shabby?

"..."

"There are no other forces left in the city center."

"Nearly all the thousands of survivors there are living in a safe zone."

"Safe zone?"

Peng Yue was somewhat skeptical.

Soon after the disaster struck, he had sent people to check out the city center.

Although it was originally just to seek government assistance, everyone knew what happened next; the city government had already been overwhelmed by zombies ahead of everyone else.

No government, so where would the safe zone come from?

Could it be the army?

Thinking of this, his gaze became somewhat complex.

Meanwhile, Hou Shubin, who was busily crunching on a yellow apple, happened to look up and joined in, "Heh, just looking at you guys, I know you don't believe it."

It wasn't just these folks separated from the city center by a large river who wouldn't believe it.

Even they didn't believe it at first.

Zombies were everywhere.

Without a government, without an army, who could carve out a safe zone amidst a city overrun by the walking dead?

Yet somehow, the company did just that.

Or rather, Zhang Ye did.

Hou Shubin shattered the illusion in the minds of Peng Yue and co with a single statement.

"It's not the government, nor the army; our boss created a safe zone from scratch with just three women in tow."

"As time passed, more and more people joined, now there must be at least eight or nine hundred."

"Just the security guards on patrol number over a hundred."

"That's not counting the Combat Department."

When he finished these words, he saw the Peng family brothers on the other side each with a look of shock, obviously frightened by his recent statement.

But before Hou Shubin could feel smug for even a few seconds, Peng Liu, who had been eyeing the two men with discontent, spoke up with sarcasm:

"Are you bullshitting me?"

"Starting from scratch with a few women?"

"Is this Mr. Zhang a reincarnation of Captain America?"

"Liu!"

"Is that how you talk to our guests?"

Peng Liu had barely finished when his elder brother scolded him, prompting him to immediately lower his head and fall silent.

Yet the expressions on everyone else's faces clearly showed disbelief.

It sounded downright like a fantasy.

There were many capable people out there.

Peng Yue, Mr. Chen, they had all pulled together their own teams.

But to claim someone had managed to rally hundreds from scratch in the current situation, they found it hard not to doubt whether Hou Shubin was exaggerating.

Not a single person in Jiangbei District had the ability to do so, including that man from the card factory.

Just as Peng Yue was about to ask more questions to determine if these two were merely trying to trick him to save their own skins, Big Beard suddenly pulled out that revolver.

"What are you doing!"

"Bro, quick, get behind me!"

"Damn it, I knew there was something off with these two!"
Enjoy new stories from empire

The instant the gun was drawn, the living room descended into chaos and even Peng Yue became a bit tense subconsciously.

But Big Beard just twisted his wrist and handed over the gun.

Peng Yue looked at him, puzzled.

What did this mean?

"For me?"

Peng Yue asked tentatively.

Seeing Big Beard nod, he carefully took the handgun and then inspected it under the light.

Upon closer inspection, he found many unusual aspects.

Both the barrel and the grip gave off a strong sense of crudeness. Was this really a homemade revolver?

No, that wasn't right, there were two of them!

The man named Hou also had one on him!

In other words, not only did both individuals have firearms, but they also had standardized revolvers made by the same person?

Now, without government regulation, those making guns in secret were not few in number.

But those were mostly homemade shotguns or zip guns.

People capable of making handguns were incredibly rare.

Suddenly, Peng Yue thought of something and quickly held the gun upright, squinting as he peered into the barrel.

Under the bright light, he could clearly see the rifling inside.

There were actually rifling grooves?

"Getting it now?"

Big Beard's voice rang out again.

Peng Yue silently pushed the handgun back across the table.

"This gun, was it also made by that company behind you?"

He spoke and intently watched Big Beard, obviously trying to gauge the truth from the man's facial expression.

Big Beard's answer was simple and straightforward.

"Made at the machinery factory."

"Machinery factory?"

Peng Yue was momentarily taken aback, but before he could continue questioning, the other man already cracked a smile:

"That's what they call it up there."

"But we prefer to refer to it as—"

"The arsenal."