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墨書 Inktalez
"Go on," Song Jiu nodded.
"Although I'm not sure why they appeared in the county town, they didn't attack you, and they even saved one of your people," Liu Yan carefully chose his words and continued, "I think they just wanted you to come here."
Song Jiu raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue.
"According to what Brother Ziqian said, if those Zombies hadn't shown up that night, you were planning to stay in the county town, right?" Liu Yan asked.
"That's right," Luo Yu answered before Jiao Ziqian could respond.
"So, if there hadn't been any Zombies, you might not have noticed the large horde approaching. Given your armed forces at that time, if you had been trapped in the town, it would have been quite dangerous," Liu Yan said without hesitation, smoothly transitioning into discussing the Zombies: "You mentioned that those Zombies don't fear other Zombies; that's evidence. Zombies aren't as complicated as you think, but they're not that simple either. For example, myself and the other Zombies in the camp can only run when faced with them."
"Why?"
"Because..." Liu Yan licked his lips, seemingly unsure how to explain. After a moment's thought, he made a strange analogy: "It's like two products coming off an assembly line with different workmanship."
A table full of eyes widened in surprise.
"Workmanship?" Jiao Ziqian's features twisted in confusion as he exclaimed, "Are you saying you're artificial humans?"
Luo Yu rolled his eyes at him and teased, "Stop reading comics and read more books."
"Uh, that could be one way to describe it," Liu Yan surprisingly didn't refute this but acknowledged the description instead. He frowned and said, "It's hard to explain in just a few words. Simply put, Zombies are products of drug-induced pathology; it's unrelated to the natural mutations circulating outside."
Another bombshell revelation.
"Drugs?" Song Jiu furrowed his brow while Chef Jia kept his eyelids low, remaining silent throughout the conversation.
"Yes, but that's a long story. I'll explain it to you slowly when I have more time," Liu Yan redirected the topic back to their discussion. "So I believe the Zombies you encountered should be related to this place. They might be advance scouts or something else. In any case, they encountered you and warned you before the horde attacked. Their purpose was to lead you here, which aligns with the principle of the camp raising Survivors."
"I tend to agree with his opinion," Luo Yu nodded in agreement.
"So you're saying that we should conduct a large-scale search for the Zombies, using various methods to gather the Survivors at the camp, and then cycle through them for blood transfusions? That makes sense," Song Jiu posed a question that went unanswered, pondering for a moment before continuing, "This way, the county town will be safe, and it will be easier for us to move around. As for the Zombies, there's no need to panic just yet. I've had Sister Jia compile a new list of names for the camp, and I've arranged for guards, so there shouldn't be any issues with infiltration. Even if they are observing us from the shadows, there's no reason they would know about any internal changes."
"So you're planning to invite trouble in?" Pockmarked Girl finally found an opportunity to interject, hastily asking.
"Or you could say it's like inviting a guest into a trap," Chef Jia chimed in unexpectedly, smiling slightly. "It's quite bold; however, if it works out, it could save us a lot of trouble. But I think you still haven't grasped the root of the problem."
"Oh?" Song Jiu raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean?"
"The enemies you are currently envisioning are merely the same batch of Zombies that return every month," Chef Jia said as she dipped her finger in some wine and drew a circle on the mahogany table. "Perhaps we can deal with this group of people, but behind them is a powerful force that has already formed a scale and possesses some degree of organization. I have reason to believe that this camp is just one of their many breeding grounds. If the Zombie Squad responsible for personnel changes here were to disappear, what do you think would happen?"
Chef Jia's words instantly dropped the temperature in the room to freezing point. Everyone exchanged glances, their brows knitting together in concern.
Song Jiu tapped his fingers on the table, gently breaking the silence. "So, Sister Jia, what advice do you have for me?"
Chef Jia sighed deeply and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know; all I can say is that this situation is quite difficult. We are not the only ones alive; what we have to face is far more severe than we imagine. Right now, you are the master of this camp; I can only offer suggestions. The decision is yours."
"Mm." Song Jiu nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Actually, I'm curious about one thing: where do all those supplies that the Zombies regularly bring back come from? If they are so affluent, why are they keeping Survivors in these mountains instead of just transporting everything away?"
"I can probably answer your first question," Chef Jia said as she raised her glass and drank it all in one go, her fair cheeks flushing with color. "As I mentioned earlier, we are not the only ones alive; similarly, there is not just this one camp. I was curious too because they often bring back seasonal vegetables and fresh meat. These ingredients don't have proper refrigeration but show no signs of spoilage."
The Round Table Knights frowned as they listened intently, waiting for Chef Jia to continue unraveling the mystery.
"This indicates that there must be places nearby where they store large quantities of supplies or that they acquire resources from locations close by," Chef Jia's gaze swept across everyone before settling on Song Jiu's face. "There must be more than one gathering place for Living Persons nearby; the supplies provided by the Zombies should be replenished along the way."
Silence fell—a suffocating silence.
Chef Jia's speculation was somewhat bizarre; Jiao Ziqian felt lost in confusion while Song Jiu and a few others vaguely grasped Chef Jia's meaning.
Riverside Camp might just be a cog in a larger mechanism, or perhaps one stop along an endless journey. Along this road with no known destination, there exists a Survivor breeding ground, a supply depot, and if we delve deeper, there might even be specialized areas for vegetable cultivation, livestock raising, storage of medicinal resources, and fuel supplies. Just like Chef Jia illustrated on the table, Zombie arranges various roles along predetermined routes, completing the circuit each cycle, using the storage from one stop to replenish the next, perpetuating a cycle that achieves a certain balance.
Suddenly, Song Jiu understood the worry etched on Chef Jia's face. Her concern was not about the returning Zombie, but rather the chain reaction triggered by disrupting that balance.
Staring at the gradually fading circle on the table, many puzzling questions seemed to unravel and lose their mystery.
For instance, Riverside Camp regularly undergoes a change in personnel, secretly relocating a group of people. Song Jiu had always been puzzled about the significance of moving these individuals. Initially, he thought Zombie was cultivating some capable managers. It was only after Chef Jia's hints that Song Jiu realized his misunderstanding.
This is a circle; if the previous stop at Riverside Camp provided food, then what does Riverside Camp supply to the next location?
The answer was evident.
It was like an arithmetic problem: the circle represents "10." Zombie breaks "10" into smaller parts, placing them at ten different locations. Then it takes some from "1" to "2," and from "2" to "3," cycling through until the final result is naturally greater than "10." What about that surplus?
Song Jiu gasped in shock at his own hypothesis.
A group of people turned to look at Song Jiu, puzzled by his sudden expression.
Chef Jia smiled, her smile tinged with bitterness; she knew that Song Jiu had grasped it.
“Oh my God, Zombie is building a city,” Luo Yu exclaimed, finally catching on with wide eyes.
“What? What are you all talking about?” Jiao Ziqian fidgeted anxiously, tapping this and that while waiting for someone smart to reveal the answer.
“Zombie is invisibly establishing the prototype of a city,” Luo Yu said incredulously as she looked at Song Jiu, struggling to find the right words. Finally, she resorted to plain language: “With so many roles within a fixed area, isn’t this just the prototype of a city? Just like this camp; although there’s farming and livestock, the output isn’t enough to sustain so many people. Therefore, supplies need to be replenished from upstream or downstream. Other places might be able to consistently produce certain types of goods but lack sufficient personnel to scale up. Hence they need fresh blood from Riverside Camp. It’s a chain where each link is indispensable.”
“That sounds pretty good,” Pockmarked Girl blinked in confusion and asked, “If that’s really the case, then why don’t we just keep operating like this?”
“Could it be the government?” Xiaofei, intrigued by this speculation, wondered aloud. “Once this circle becomes complete, wouldn’t an orderly human society be restored?”
"Not the government." Liu Yan adjusted his glasses and stated firmly, "The remnants of the government have been hiding overseas for three years now."
"How do you know all this?" Jiao Ziqian asked, curiosity evident in his expression as he looked at the stern-faced Liu Yan.
Liu Yan lifted his eyelids and noticed the puzzled gazes directed at him. He sighed helplessly and said, "This is a complicated matter. Just trust me; I'll explain it to you when I have time."
"Wait, don't change the subject," Pockmarked Girl interjected, waving her hand anxiously. "No one answered my question. Why do you think this is a bad thing?"
"Guli, if it were the government rebuilding order, that would indeed be a good thing. But the current source is not the government," Chef Jia gently explained while ruffling Pockmarked Girl's messy hair. "From what we can see, Zombies are at the center of this. They may want to establish a regime, but it won't be what we imagine. The circle keeps expanding; the more powerful each station becomes, the harder it is to break free from the whole circle. The upstream and downstream stations are like beads, and Zombies are the string that holds them together. For instance, if we break away from the circle now, we will first lose our supply of resources. Fortunately, we have a large population base and a geographical advantage by being near mountains and water. Moreover, we are still in the early stages of drawing this circle; as long as we see a way out and work together, we will eventually get through it. But what about the future? Zombies connect all the lines and possess mobility and firepower that we lack. Once cities are formed, do you think we can become citizens like before?"
"I don't understand; what will we become then?" Jiao Ziqian asked with a grin.
"Slaves," Xin Mengfan said softly from where she had appeared.
"Pretty much," Luo Yu nodded in agreement and added, "We are the foundation of a pyramid; we need to operate in cycles to maintain balance, which results in absolute dependence on those at the top. And those at the top are precisely the Zombies."
"Exactly. As the foundation, the larger our population base, the more resources we can create. However, the resources that end up in our pockets are only enough to keep us running; most of it goes to those at the top," Song Jiu clarified, summarizing their thoughts. "Zombies seize resources and become part of the wealthy elite while we remain tethered by ropes around our necks, walking in circles around a grinding stone."
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