Mutual Exploitation in the Apocalypse

The Apocalypse

7:00 AM

"Li Xuan, how are you holding up?"

"Boss, I'm starving! Yesterday, I recklessly consumed a zombie crystal core, and I didn't expect it to make me this hungry. Luckily, Sister Xiaoqian and Sister Shadow gave me two bowls of rice soup, or I wouldn't have made it through!"

"Thank you, sisters! If I find any supplies in the future, I'll definitely repay you double!"

"No, make that ten times!"

Li Xuan responded with heartfelt gratitude.

"See? That's the benefit of being part of a team," Zhang Qiang said righteously. "If you were alone in a situation like yesterday's, you might not have survived. In a team, at least your life is safer."

"In a team, we need to support each other. We can't be disorganized or selfish—we must learn to contribute."

"Our next mission is to find other evolved individuals and invite them to join us. The more people we have, the better our chances of surviving the dangers ahead. At the same time, we'll kill zombies, collect crystal cores, and scavenge for supplies."

"Captain, what if we run into ordinary survivors? Should we save them?" Li Xuan asked.

"Hmph! What's the point of saving useless people? If they can't even kill a zombie, keeping them around is just wasting food!" Zhang Qiang sneered. "We're an evolved team, not a shelter for the weak. Anyone without value should be left behind."

"But… survivors can become evolved if they consume zombie crystal cores, right? I became an evolved after accidentally killing a zombie!"

"Li Xuan, listen carefully. If someone doesn't even have the courage to fight zombies, they'll be useless even if they evolve. I'm not interested in teaching cowards how to be brave. I only recruit people who are already useful!"

"Understood, Captain. Your words are enlightening. I've been too soft-hearted. Just the other day, I gave my food to some girl, and I ended up starving because of it!"

Li Xuan flattered Zhang Qiang with ease, subtly shaping his image as someone kind-hearted but not overly naïve. This kind of persona helped him gain the team's trust.

Zhang Qiang trusted people like Li Xuan more easily. A person with compassion hadn't completely lost their humanity—they still had a bit of righteousness left. People like that were the easiest to control. Ruthless people, like Zhang Qiang himself, were the real threats.

"Li Xuan, our food supplies are running low, and you haven't contributed anything yet. So, for today's breakfast, you only get one piece of flatbread. Consider it a loan from the team. You'll need to repay it by scavenging supplies or handing over two zombie crystal cores to cover the cost."

"You can choose whichever you prefer."

Zhang Qiang spoke coldly, like it was just business.

Unbelievable.

Yesterday, they promised that joining the team meant enough food and guaranteed supplies.

Now, just one morning later, he's already in debt?

Two zombie crystal cores for a piece of flatbread? That's not even close to the trade rate from yesterday!

There was no way Li Xuan would give up his crystal cores.

So, he'd just owe them for now.

"Captain, I'll just put it on my tab for now. Once I find supplies, I'll pay the team back immediately."

The truth?

Li Xuan had already eaten breakfast—Thai lemongrass chicken, pineapple fried rice, salmon sashimi, Australian lobster, and juicy soup dumplings.

A feast beyond their wildest dreams.

Who the hell cared about a piece of flatbread?

Still, Li Xuan carefully accepted the flatbread and took a small bite.

"Damn, it's hard as a rock. Tastes like crap."

"Even a dog would spit this out."

"But for now, I'll play along."

"After all, an evolved team can collect zombie crystal cores way faster than I could alone. Zhang Qiang and the others are strong—I can use them to my advantage."

"He thinks he's exploiting me, but trust me—I never lose in games like this."

Zhang Qiang thought he was using Li Xuan. But wasn't Li Xuan doing the same?

It was all mutual exploitation.

---

Soon, the evolved team—Zhang Qiang, Shadow, Zhou Xiaoqian, Red Hair, Hawk, and Li Xuan—left the villa complex and headed toward Wanxiang City.

Wanxiang City was a massive commercial complex in the heart of the city, packed with supermarkets, tea shops, clothing stores, jewelry shops, restaurants, kids' play zones, cinemas, cosmetic stores, and luxury boutiques.

Before the apocalypse, it was bustling with people.

Now, it was a zombie nest.

Conservative estimates suggested at least 1,000 zombies lurked inside.

Ordinary survivors wouldn't even dare approach it—unless they had a death wish.

Even evolved individuals avoided it.

No one had heard of an evolved person strong enough to fight a thousand zombies alone.

Plus, there was a good chance Level-2 zombies were hiding inside.

The team drove a large van, reaching Wanxiang City within half an hour.

As soon as they stopped, the noise attracted over a dozen zombies.

The six of them made quick work of the zombies, efficiently harvesting their crystal cores.

"Captain, are we really going into Wanxiang City?" Zhou Xiaoqian asked nervously.

"There are way too many zombies. If we get surrounded, we're as good as dead."

"Who said we're charging in head-on?" Zhang Qiang replied. "There are too many zombies for that. But we can clear them out little by little. We'll lure small groups out, ambush them, and repeat the process. After doing this enough times, the zombies inside will be wiped out."

"I've been observing Wanxiang City. It's always crawling with zombies, which means no other survivors have scavenged it. There must be a ton of supplies inside!"

"As long as we clear it out, we'll strike it rich."

Zhang Qiang's plan sounded convincing.

"Wait, Captain, why do I have to lure the zombies?" Li Xuan protested, pretending to be scared.

"I just became an evolved. I'm not strong enough yet. It's too dangerous—I don't want to do it!"

"This Zhang Qiang… what a scumbag."

"If I hadn't already evolved to Level 2, this suicide mission would've gotten me killed."

"You're digging your own grave, pal."

Li Xuan cursed silently in his heart.

"Hmph! Exactly because you're weak, you need more practice!" Zhang Qiang snapped.

"I'm not asking for your opinion. This is an order. You can refuse, but you'll face the consequences. Think carefully before you answer."

Zhang Qiang gripped his spiked club tightly—a clear threat.

Li Xuan had no doubt that if he refused, Zhang Qiang wouldn't hesitate to smash his skull in.