Chapter 279: Determination
“Isn’t the captain your little nephew…” Major Liu’s words trailed off as he saw Lu Xiao curl one side of his mouth in a wicked smile. What he said next took a twist, “Could you help ask, maybe connect the dots?”
“Okay, I’ll ask, but my nephew got sick trying to save someone. I don’t know when we’ll get results.”
“With that, we can rest assured,” Captain Sun quickly responded.
The three walked out together. Having not yet figured out the whole incident, the two began asking for details.
Learning that the Zhuang family cooperated with Luo Qi, even entrapping people from the Hunters’ Guild, left them speechless. It could only be said: abilities really move people’s hearts.
“So their people… are they going to be sent back?” Captain Sun asked.
“Trading supplies for people,” Lu Xiao said. “Who works for free these days?”
Captain Sun and Major Liu exchanged looks, understanding the implication.
They didn’t ask further. Approaching the villa’s door, Lu Xiao reminded them, “Take your supplies away quickly. I’m taking over the Zhuang family’s faction.”
Neither could oppose Lu Xiao and silently nodded after a moment.
Inside the villa, things remained as when he left. Most had been busy since early morning and still hadn’t eaten breakfast. They had simply set up a large pot in the courtyard to cook communal meals.
When Lu Xiao returned, people were lining up to get food—each person receiving a bowl of stew and two large steamed buns.
Everyone queued orderly, greeting Lu Xiao as he came in.
Jindiao was helping serve the food. Seeing Lu Xiao hand the ladle to someone nearby, he stepped closer and said, “Young Master Lu has a bad headache. He asked me for two painkillers earlier and has gone back to his room to rest.”
Lu Xiao nodded and asked, “Has anyone else from the lone squad recovered? Have you sent someone over to check their health?”
“No one’s recovered yet. They still can’t move. They say they have no strength and their abilities haven’t come back. The healer-type ability users have already examined them and found no external injuries. It’s probably caused by medication, but the exact ingredients aren’t clear yet, so we dare not act recklessly.”
“Qi Lin fed them some porridge this morning but didn’t dare to give them much. They’re unsure if the patients were injected with anesthetics and worry they might choke.”
“Alright, got it. Go eat. Have the men downstairs all eaten?”
“Most have eaten already. We didn’t let anyone go out today. Everyone is on high alert, ready in case something happens,” Jindiao reported, then asked, “Master Xiao, should I bring you a meal inside?”
“Send one over,” Lu Xiao said. He hadn’t eaten well in days.
Jindiao responded and quickly prepared a meal for Lu Xiao. By the time he finished, Cong Qing had already squeezed in beside him.
“Our warehouse is fully under our people’s control now. All supplies have been inventoried with no major discrepancies. The men downstairs don’t know what happened and keep asking. Some tried to contact the Zhuang family but were stopped by us. Rumors are spreading that you want to seize power.”
After Cong Qing finished, seeing no reaction from Lu Xiao, he continued, “The major teams in the Hunter’s Guild have started searching for Luo Qi’s whereabouts…”
“Luo Qi fled?”
“He must have sensed something wrong. It’s said he left the villa area early this morning, without even taking his daughter. He hid alone. Now his daughter is under surveillance, and the entire base is searching for him.”
“Got it. Keep a close watch, and if necessary, help find him.” Lu Xiao still felt uneasy about several squads going to the lone squad to trade supplies for people. He worried that if many squads united against them, Lu Weiyi’s abilities wouldn’t hold up, especially since the squad members hadn’t recovered enough to assist.
“Understood,” Cong Qing replied, then asked, “What about the remaining small factions of the Zhuang family? Should we try to unite them?”
Lu Xiao paused and looked at him.
Cong Qing explained, “Boss, here’s what I think: we have no choice but to separate from the Zhuang family now. The Zhuang’s influence in the entire Capital base was already weak, and now with this turmoil, other factions are eyeing us, just waiting for a chance to take us over. If we don’t unite more small teams, it’ll be hard to stand firm.”
“Especially the small squads below also need big factions to rely on. Instead of others benefiting, it’s better they come under us. We used to be one faction, so cooperation and management would be smoother.”
Lu Xiao said nothing, but Qi Lin, who had been taking care of everyone in the villa hall, suddenly said, “Young Master Lu, why don’t you take your men to our base? Our base is all military, easy to manage. It’s on an island, isolated, so no risk of zombie attacks. It’s vast and rich in resources, much better than fighting for influence in this tiny Capital.”
“Is it really that good?” Lu Xiao smiled.
“Just like before the apocalypse,” Qi Lin gave the highest praise.
“I’ll think about it,” Lu Xiao said, addressing Cong Qing as well.
Cong Qing nodded and left to handle other matters.
As Lu Xiao entered the door, two toddlers sitting on the floor immediately looked up.
“Great-Uncle!”
“Great-Uncle!”
The childish voices rang out. Zhuang Ai Yi got up and ran toward him, then paused to pick up Taotao, who was awkwardly crawling on the floor, and ran toward Lu Xiao again, almost like a little cannonball landing on his thigh.
Lu Xiao waved his big hands and scooped both kids up, holding them like Russian nesting dolls—one inside the other.
“Ai Yi, have you eaten breakfast?” Lu Xiao softened his voice.
“Ai Yi has eaten—meat porridge,” Zhuang Ai Yi puffed out his belly. “Little brother drank porridge too. We’re both full.”
“Good job, Ai Yi, you’re already taking care of your brother,” Lu Xiao praised, then noticed Taotao looking at him with shiny, beautiful eyes and said casually, “Taotao, you’re great too.”
After the praise, the two kids were put back down and returned to playing with the Lego blocks on the floor.
One big kid playing with a smaller one went smoothly, with no adult supervision needed. Qi Lin only had to occasionally peek to ensure their safety. He had never thought children could be so easy to manage.
Lu Xiao settled on the sofa. Jindiao brought in a bowl of stew and three steamed buns and placed them in front of Lu Xiao. Lu Xiao picked up his chopsticks and took a slurp before remembering, “Has my nephew eaten?”
“No. The captain isn’t feeling well and went back to his room. He told me not to disturb him unless necessary,” Qi Lin said.
There were still many things to discuss with Lu Weiyi, but he looked weak, and Lu Xiao had nothing more to say. The current lab situation was a black box to them. Fortunately, all factions were busy hunting down the culprit and hadn’t realized to rescue the missing people yet.
“Alright, you work a little harder. If anything happens, just call them,” Lu Xiao said, then thought for a moment. “Why don’t you all move to our villa? This villa is a bit far from our area and not convenient to look after.”
Moving people back and forth wastes manpower, and he was worried other factions would exploit the opportunity to attack Lu Weiyi and the others.
“I’ll ask the captain later.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Lu Xiao said, finishing his meal quickly, then stood and asked, “Which room is Lu Xi in?”
“I know, Great-Uncle, I know!” The lively Zhuang Ai Yi immediately raised his hand. This time, instead of carrying Taotao, he grabbed Taotao’s hand and shakily made his way toward the stairs.
The barefoot kids stepped on the floor. Although the place had been temporarily cleaned, bloodstains still showed in the cracks, making the children’s tender little feet look even more pitiful.
Lu Xiao stepped forward, picked up the children, and told someone to find shoes for them.
There weren’t enough rooms on the first floor to accommodate all the patients, so they were all dispersed back into their original rooms. To prevent intrusion by special ability users, the stairwells and doorways were guarded by ability users, ensuring that anyone lying in bed could be seen at a glance.
Everyone was resting—some asleep, some still alert enough to glance over when he passed.
Lu Xiao nodded at them quietly and entered Lu Xi’s room. Inside, Lu Xi was curled up asleep, his face pale after days of torment.
If Lu Xiao hadn’t seen the much worse condition of Lu Weiyi, he would surely have felt deeply sorry for Lu Xi. But compared to Lu Weiyi—who was obviously uncomfortable yet still bearing responsibility—Lu Xi actually seemed somewhat alright.
Outside it was already hot. The child was wrapped in a thin blanket, sweating heavily on his forehead. Lu Xiao reached out to pull the blanket away a bit, but as soon as he touched him, Lu Xi shuddered.
“My dad is… a Major General in the military. He’ll kill you…”
“He will definitely come to save me… I want him to kill you…”
Lu Xi mumbled through tears.
Lu Xiao paused, looked up, and saw no sign that Lu Xi had woken up—he seemed trapped in a nightmare.
“He will, Dad will come save you,” Lu Xiao said softly, half-kneeling on one leg, gently patting his son to calm him, quietly pulling the blanket away.
Even as he said this, Lu Xiao knew that if not for Lu Weiyi stepping in, he himself would probably have kept investigating, and it was uncertain whether he could wait that long.
At this moment, Lu Xiao felt he had been too lenient with the Zhuang family.
He also once again realized his own power was still too weak.
Lu Weiyi had a base, but it was clearly still under construction and not fully operational. Even with numbers, they were at a disadvantage nearby. If his location attracted the attention of other big bases, whether he could hold onto it was uncertain.
And himself?
He couldn’t even secure the Capital, let alone offer any real help.
At this moment, Lu Xiao agreed with Cong Qing’s words.
He wanted to gather all the Zhuang family’s power under his control.
Even… if possible…
He wanted to take over the Hunter’s Guild squads.
Right now was the perfect opportunity—it just depended on how to use it.
Lu Xiao thought this through, then got up carrying the two children and quickly went downstairs to consult the team’s strategists.
