Initiating the Citywide Deadman Cleansing Plan

"He'll do it."

Wang Peibo spoke lazily, "If you think of him as a program, then the task I've set for him is like an unassailable core logic—it's a necessary condition before his existence. As long as he wants to maintain his individuality, he must first complete the task I assigned. This is one of the unbreakable conditions."

He paused, scratching his ear thoughtfully, before continuing, "Even if he doesn't want to maintain his existence and tries to resist these tasks... I can always reboot the system. He has no ability to reboot; he can only exist in the nodes I'm sure to reach."

Wang Peibo thought for a moment and found an apt term for it, "Yeah, basically, he's a relatively free tool."

"That's pretty impressive, too," Mike chuckled softly.

Wang Peibo shrugged, "He's not so much impressive as he is just... constrained by design."

Mike gave him a knowing look. "So, does that mean your next suggestion for me is to leave here?"

"Leave where?"

"Earth."

Mike stared at Wang Peibo, understanding that leaving was part of the plan. If Mike didn't leave, there wouldn't be a need for Wang Peibo to assign an additional task to his clone.

"Not yet," Wang Peibo said flatly. "Do you think you can just leave whenever you want? Can you survive in the vacuum of space? Can you find a suitable mechanism outside of Earth? Can you attract most of the attention of the system right now?"

"It's not as simple as building a rocket and launching into space," he added, "You need to meet these conditions first."

He looked at Mike with an almost bored expression. "Right now, the system hasn't truly activated yet. Everything is still in preparation. What you need to do for now is simple."

"Get stronger, endlessly and tirelessly."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Do you mean strengthen myself, or the forces at my command?"

"Both."

Wang Peibo gestured toward the window. "But not including those regular people you care about. Unless you plan to take them with you when you leave."

"I understand," Mike nodded, glancing out the window. He then asked, "But will your clone stop me from doing what I need to do next?"

"No," Wang Peibo shook his head. "He's going to focus on something else now. I've arrived, so his tasks are complete. Unfortunately, he didn't really make you struggle as much as I thought he would."

Wang Peibo looked mildly disappointed, pouting slightly. "I expected to come back and find you holed up in some shelter, with all your skilled people and powerful allies dead."

Mike smiled lightly. "I'm not weak either."

He paused, then added, "By the way, the plague in Xinchang, that was Chen Yanshuo's doing, wasn't it? Was that arranged by your clone?"

"I haven't heard about this," Wang Peibo replied lazily. "It's probably a new variable. In this reboot, anything I don't know about or any danger you experience is likely the work of my clone. It's his first time doing this, and anything he does is a new variable."

It was clear Wang Peibo enjoyed "variables."

After countless failures, it was inevitable that a fixed program would lead to more failures. But a new variable—was the key to new possibilities for success.

"You should ask Chen Yanshuo about it," Wang Peibo suggested. "If it was him, you have plenty of ways to get him to talk."

Mike shook his head. "It's not necessary anymore. I already know the answer."

Chen Yanshuo was a skilled strategist with tens of thousands of abilities, and creating a plague like the one in Xinchang was easy for him. If he hadn't been so eager to decapitate the situation, it would have caused Mike more trouble.

"Your clone is too ruthless," Mike sighed. "In the months he's been in charge, a lot of people probably died on Chen Yanshuo's turf."

Wang Peibo smirked. "Too bad. You can't kill Chen Yanshuo; this time, he's the villain. Given my plans, Chen Yanshuo might still be useful, at least for the future, under my clone's control."

Mike gave him a curious glance, but Wang Peibo suddenly spoke up.

"Second mistake."

Wang Peibo scrutinized Mike, his tone growing serious. "You're too kind. You can stubbornly try to protect everything you care about, but you need to understand that sometimes, sacrifice is necessary."

"In the grand scheme of things, compared to the survival of the group, casualties during a disaster are inevitable. Whether they die by Chen Yanshuo's hand or by something else, people will die."

"You can't save everyone. The unnecessary pressure will only make you more exhausted and hopeless."

Wang Peibo's voice was heavy with conviction, but Mike didn't respond strongly. He was still too stubborn to change his personality from a few words. Mike was more curious, "So, by your logic, does that mean I'll be cold and ruthless in the future? Start seeing people as expendable?"

"You're already on your way," Wang Peibo shrugged, unbothered. "You yourself are the most stable, unchanging factor. You always strive to minimize casualties, for the sake of so-called beliefs."

"Changing your nature is difficult, but it's not necessarily a bad thing."

Mike laughed, standing up again. "So, do you need a position? I can arrange something for you. Or if there's anything you want to know about the current situation, or any new variables we need to consider?"

"No need." Wang Peibo kept his eyes on the comic book in his hands, shaking his head. "Do what you need to do. I'm just an observer for now."

It wasn't time for him to intervene in Mike's actions. Based on past experiences, this moment didn't require any significant changes.

Mike nodded, though he still found Wang Peibo's calm demeanor intriguing. There was a strange sense of familiarity, like meeting an old friend again, as if words weren't necessary.

Mike didn't leave the room but returned to his desk, switching through timelines to monitor the disaster recovery in the Four Cities during the Fourth Apocalypse.

Before Wang Peibo's arrival, the cities were overrun with undead, and the internal conflict was escalating. But after two hours, Mike checked again and was surprised to find that the situation in the cities had largely stabilized.

While there were still undead roaming the streets, the cities had swiftly contained the threat. The dead were no longer spawning, and the crisis was beginning to subside. Thanks to the strong implementation of Mike's directives, the cities quickly regained control, effectively reducing the impact of the disaster on the populace.

The people of the Four Cities, from the military personnel to ordinary civilians, displayed remarkable resilience and unity in the face of disaster, demonstrating the strength of their collective spirit.

Looking at the performance across the Four Cities, the city that stood out the most was Jinling. By now, most of the fighting against the undead was over. Only a few straggling undead remained in abandoned buildings, and the cleanup teams had already begun.

Jinling's command had already set a new goal: "Clear the entire city of undead within 24 hours."

Meanwhile, the other cities, including Xinchang, were still engaged in heavy combat. There were still large clusters of undead in the streets, and drones were sweeping the skies to assist with the cleanup.

Despite the fact that the cities weren't lacking in military strength, their methods were remarkably restrained. To avoid unnecessary damage to the urban infrastructure and to preserve the lives of civilians, they refrained from using large-scale destructive weapons. Instead, they focused on infantry combat, ensuring the threat was eliminated with minimal collateral damage.

This was a basic principle for Eastern countries: solving the disaster wasn't the only goal; ensuring the welfare of the people was paramount.

In just two hours of intense battle, the people saw firsthand just how powerful Mike's group truly was. The speed and efficiency with which the disaster was handled was almost reminiscent of peaceful times.

At least, that's how the citizens saw it. Some even began to joke about how easy it all seemed.

"Is this the deadman apocalypse? Damn, I've been waiting for three doomsdays, and this is it? I'm so disappointed."

"It's funny, I used to post about survival strategies and survival probability reports for the zombie crisis back in the peaceful days, and now I can't help but feel embarrassed. Is this even a threat?"

"I don't get it... wasn't it supposed to be the end of the world? Aren't the West terrified of this stuff? How come it's so easy to handle?"

"I get it now. It's just Western propaganda! They've been lying about the apocalypse the whole time!"

The online forums were filled with lighthearted chatter. The brief disaster hadn't caused significant harm, but it had served as a small test for the people.

Mike understood that the public's view of the apocalypse had changed. After three months of relative ease, the people had become overly complacent about the difficulty of the disaster.

He didn't need to tell them too much truth. They joked that it was their collective efforts that had broken the system's undead-spawning mechanism, making the apocalypse feel like a joke.

However, after reviewing the data and analyses from the Four Cities' command posts, it was clear that the situation was far from over. The undead threat wasn't truly eliminated; it had only been paused.

Mike knew that the difficulty of the apocalypse was gradually increasing. The strength of the threat had evolved, but it was still within the capability of humanity's control.

"Maybe I was too optimistic," Mike muttered to himself, scanning the information and reports. "The future is full of uncertainties. If the disaster's intensity shifts at any point, I need to get stronger before that happens."

"For now, though, things are looking good. The undead crisis has been contained, but now, it's time to prepare for our next move—heading toward Shen City."