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墨書 Inktalez
Song Jiu contemplated over ten different opening lines, some fiery and motivating, others gentle and soothing. However, as he stood up and prepared to speak, he steeled himself and cast aside the carefully considered words he had been mulling over for so long, opting instead for the most direct approach.
"Everyone has worked hard today, but we cannot let our guard down just yet. Let's eat first, and later I will assign three people to patrol the night. Everyone needs to stay alert."
"Liu Yan, you assign three people to the night watch team; arrange the rest as you see fit. We need armed guards at all four corners of the Watchtower and the broken wall."
"The women and children can rest easy tonight and conserve their strength; there will be new tasks for you tomorrow."
"If anyone has questions, feel free to ask now. By the way, let me introduce myself. My name is Song Jiu, and I will be responsible for camp security starting today."
Song Jiu spoke at a steady pace, ensuring that everyone present could hear him clearly. He scanned the room with a cold gaze; aside from Liu Yan nodding in acknowledgment, the others looked bewildered and confused.
It wasn't just the Militia who were taken aback; Luo Yu and a few others were equally stunned. They had briefly discussed things earlier and thought it best to transition naturally into the first night. During the day, facing off against Zombies was urgent, so the Militia had kept pace with Song Jiu's commands. Now that the immediate danger had passed, expecting them to follow orders obediently seemed unrealistic. Initially, Song Jiu had thought along those lines too, which was why he had been racking his brain for comforting words to ease their minds, but he changed his mind at the last moment.
Times had changed. If this were three years ago, Song Jiu leading a team to scatter Zombies and protect the camp would have earned him respect—even if it didn't last long, he could have commanded authority for a while. Unfortunately, three years had passed; these seemingly harmless Survivors were no longer the panicked and helpless individuals they had been at the onset of the disaster.
Certainly, among these people were those who had survived by sheer luck, but it was undeniable that another portion harbored hidden intentions. Setting aside the Zombies for a moment, those who relied more on strength than luck—could they simply bow down and accept someone as their leader? Before this moment of crisis, they had remained complacent because they had witnessed the overwhelming power of Zombies and the continuous supply of resources supporting their lives.
Who was Song Jiu? What right did he have?
The Survivors were not foolish; with Scarface Bald and Stubborn Man both dead or missing and Chef Jia's attitude having flipped, these two events alone had already alerted them to a familiar scent in the air. Coupled with Song Jiu's earlier remarks, it solidified their suspicion that he intended to establish his authority.
Earlier that afternoon in the square, who was it that indignantly accused the Militia of faltering? It was Song Jiu.
And now, who stood in the same place saying similar things to the Militia? It was still Song Jiu.
Why should his loud proclamations grant him control over the camp?
They had lost fifty lives; what about Song Jiu? He emerged unscathed while bringing back an unknown number of people—twenty or thirty at least.
It wasn't supposed to be this easy to take advantage of the situation.
The overwhelming majority of the silent Militia shared this thought, which is why they chose to remain quiet. They neither voiced their opposition nor showed any intention of following orders. However, without exception, their displeased gazes were directed at Liu Yan, the only one who had responded to Song Jiu, and many muttered curses under their breath.
Song Jiu remained calm, quietly waiting for the crowd's emotions to escalate. He was eager for someone to step forward and openly challenge him.
Indeed, the reason Song Jiu changed his mind was to cut through the chaos swiftly.
He had never hoped to win people's hearts in a single battle, especially since the greatest threat, the Zombies, lurked among the Militia.
It was possible to get through tonight unscathed, but what about tomorrow or the day after? Unless he wiped out everyone in the camp, it would be impossible to achieve a win-win situation in the short term. Since he would eventually have to face them head-on, why continue pretending? The Zombies would return soon; Song Jiu needed to take full control of the camp before that happened. Thus, he decided to let courtesy and charm take a backseat for now and would find a way to regain that later.
Luo Yu quickly understood Song Jiu's intentions but didn't hold much confidence. The more people there were, the harder it was to manage them. Moreover, in Luo Yu's view, a policy of appeasement seemed more suitable for tonight's situation since Chef Jia appeared to be on Song Jiu's side. Working together from both inside and outside would clearly be more effective than forcing a compromise like Song Jiu intended.
However, with Song Jiu having already made his stance clear, there was little Luo Yu could do but continue observing how things unfolded. With that thought in mind, he nudged Jiao Ziqian, who was engrossed in his meal, signaling him to stay alert. He discreetly pulled out a Steel Saw Blade and placed it on his lap under the table.
Song Jiu had no time for further contemplation; he stood there puffing on a cigarette without a filter. He felt quite satisfied with the current situation; at least Liu Yan had given him a direct response.
The night breeze swept through the square, mingling with the thickly awkward atmosphere in the camp.
Song Jiu scanned the faces in front of him, half encouraging and half provoking, hoping someone would step up and point out the troublemakers. Unfortunately, those who met his gaze quickly looked away; no one wanted to be the first to speak up. The reason was simple: the loudest man from earlier that afternoon had not returned alive after being left behind by everyone else.
In the chaos of battle, the Militia members were too preoccupied with their own survival to notice how that unfortunate companion had met his end. But that did not hinder their wild imaginations; combined with Song Jiu's piercing gaze, they all believed that he had taken advantage of the chaos to eliminate that man.
Song Jiu felt a twinge of disappointment as he suddenly empathized with teachers from his school days who would lament about students not acknowledging their authority or communicating effectively.
Just as Song Jiu was savoring this feeling of defeat internally, he caught a glimpse of movement at the corner of the long table. Excitedly, he turned his attention there with all the enthusiasm of catching someone in wrongdoing but found Xiaofei sitting awkwardly while next to her were Pockmarked Girl and Cold Man.
Song Jiu paused for a moment as he observed Xiaofei and Pockmarked Girl's strange expressions before realizing what had happened. Clearly, Cold Man couldn't stand Song Jiu's authoritative demeanor and intended to jump in as a revolutionary but was held back by Xiaofei and Pockmarked Girl.
Everyone's gaze followed, and Luo Yu and the others furrowed their brows, calculating how to train him later. The Militia members were full of anticipation, eager to cheer him on, looking like they were poking a silly dog up a wall.
Song Jiu couldn't help but smirk inwardly; he had almost forgotten about the troublemaker. So, he decided to take advantage of the situation and tossed the hot potato to Cold Man. "Oh, this friend has something bold to say? Go ahead, no worries. Tonight, let's be open and honest, so we don't add unnecessary trouble later." He added with a sly grin, "Don't be afraid."
Cold Man was skilled in martial arts and was indeed a practitioner, but his temperament left much to be desired. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be three to five years older than Song Jiu. Unfortunately, he fell for Song Jiu's childish provocation and snorted coldly before standing up.
Satisfied, Song Jiu returned to his seat of authority and shared a cigarette with Dream Fan, squinting to see what kind of waves he could stir up.
The few people rescued from the warehouse had not revealed their identities yet; everyone else assumed they were brought in by Song Jiu. So when they saw them starting an internal conflict, they wore expressions of schadenfreude as if watching a show. Only Liu Yan put down his bowl and chopsticks, his vacant eyes scanning Cold Man before shaking his head with a cold smile and returning to focus on his meal.
"The camp belongs to everyone; everyone is equal. We are used to addressing issues with Sister Jia," Cold Man retorted without backing down, his gaze sharp.
"Yes, you are right about that, but it has nothing to do with the issue I just mentioned," Song Jiu replied with a fake smile, continuing to provoke Cold Man's patience. "I have no intention of creating a hierarchy, but in a communal living situation, there must be some division of labor. Sister Jia is already exhausted managing internal affairs; do you expect her to handle everything with knives and guns too? You seem quite capable yourself; do you really need a woman standing in front of you?"
"Don't twist my words. How long have you been at the camp? What gives you the right to take over this place built with the blood and sweat of fifty lives?" Cold Man shot back sharply, invoking the historical argument of seniority. However, he seemed to forget a few things: first, he had nothing to do with the camp's construction; second, apart from Pockmarked Girl and a few others, no one knew who he was. Thus, when they saw Cold Man challenging Song Jiu based on "seniority," several older men couldn't hide their disappointment: another foolish rookie.
Such harmless questions were naturally not worth Song Jiu's response. Xin Mengfan lightly coughed to draw everyone's attention toward herself and then flashed a charming smile as she sweetly said, " Brother Jiu may not have been here long, but didn't you just say everyone is equal? How can there be talk of seniority in an equal place? Besides, if it weren't for Brother Jiu risking his life today, would you even have the chance to be here? And if I remember correctly, weren't you also rescued from the dungeon by Brother Jiu? How shameless can you be?"
Xin Mengfan was clever enough to hit Cold Man where it hurt while also revealing the existence of Zombies in the camp.
"And everyone here should not think that just because we've survived this Zombie ordeal today that we can relax. Do you know that there might be Zombies sitting right next to you? Did you know that this idiot and several of us were locked up in the dungeon by Zombies? Do you realize that soon enough Zombies will return, and you won't escape being prisoners either?"
Her words stirred up a wave among the crowd like a detonated mine.
Luo Yu shook his head helplessly; this was something that should have been said by Song Jiu. Yet here she was spilling it all out. However, it didn't affect the overall situation; since Zombies were among them and the Militia didn't recognize Xiaofei and others, it was better to lay everything on the table rather than hide it. This would also put some pressure on any hidden Zombies.
Xin Mengfan shot an apologetic smile at Song Jiu and blew him an air kiss from across the room.
Song Jiu smiled lightly; having his lines stolen left him momentarily speechless. He could only pick up his Plum Wine to soothe his throat while waiting for the restless crowd to move on to the next phase.
"Is what you said true?"
"Do you have any evidence?"
"Yeah, just empty words. Why should we believe you?"
The voices of questioning surged like a tide, and no one paid attention to the Cold Man who stood dumbfounded in place. The square under the night sky finally broke the awkward silence and erupted into noise once more.
"What he said is not wrong; it's true."
Chef Jia appeared just in time from outside the crowd, arms crossed as she stepped into the center.
Tonight, she wasn't wearing her pristine chef's uniform, but her expression remained calm, just like her voice—cool and yet imbued with a convincing charm.
Song Jiu was not surprised by her support; however, his attention was not on the aloof woman at that moment. The instant Chef Jia spoke up to corroborate, Song Jiu keenly observed two individuals whose expressions had drastically changed.
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