Chapter 290: Strategy
This was the site of a very important event in Lu Weiyi’s past life.
Around this same time in the previous life, the Capital base suffered a mutated rat outbreak.
In the first year of the apocalypse, this kind of thing should’ve been preventable, as the base would’ve had defenses in place. Under normal circumstances, a large-scale outbreak wouldn’t occur.
But the timing had been unfortunate. Just before the earthquake near the World Trade Center, there had been a supermarket on the second basement level. When the quake hit, it was buried underground.
After the area was rebuilt, that location was never excavated, and the materials stored there remained buried and untouched.
Eventually, the site became a breeding ground for mutated rats. They reproduced uncontrollably and eventually exploded in numbers.
A year after the apocalypse began, heavy rains caused the ground to collapse, exposing the hidden area.
The mutated rats that emerged were reportedly the size of dogs and caused significant damage to the base, with the Zheng family taking the biggest hit.
Fortunately, Zheng Yi—the family’s leader—reacted quickly and decisively, preventing mass casualties.
That incident solidified Zheng Yi’s position within the Zheng family.
When Lu Weiyi had drawn maps earlier, he’d included every detail of the surrounding areas, including some hidden basements and secret underground locations.
At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it—he merely sensed that something was there. Mutated animals were common in the apocalypse, and if they didn’t pose a large-scale threat, they were typically ignored.
This time, though, he wanted to take a look. If he could use the rat nest to his advantage, it might help resolve their current crisis—or at least cause some trouble for the Zheng family.
Along the way, neither he nor Qi Lin spoke much, but Lu Weiyi could faintly sense that many people were still watching them.
Qi Lin parked near the World Trade Center and turned to ask, “Is there anything you need to buy?”
Lu Weiyi had already extended his spiritual sense across the area.
“There’s a dessert shop nearby that Ai Yi likes—go buy a few portions from there. Then get a few other things from nearby shops. I’ll wait here.”
Lu Weiyi handed him a pouch of crystal cores with his eyes still closed.
Qi Lin looked at the crystal cores, then at the shops he’d mentioned. After a moment of silence, he decided to follow orders and stepped out of the vehicle to go shopping.
As Lu Weiyi’s mental power spread, he took in everything in the vicinity—including supply points and even warehouses controlled by the Zheng family.
He even discovered an emergency escape tunnel in the center of the area. He had to admit, Zheng Yi was indeed highly security-conscious.
In his past life, Lu Weiyi had only been warned by Zhuang Mingxu to avoid this area for a while. He hadn’t known how extensive the mutated rat infestation was.
Now, seeing it firsthand gave him chills—part horror, part surprise.
Back then, he had wondered how a regular supermarket could foster such a large-scale infestation. But now it made sense: the supermarket had been next to the Zheng family’s warehouse.
The warehouse, likely considered secret and neglected over time, had become a paradise for rats.
The rice bags were torn apart and turned into nests. The rats had multiplied to their peak, nesting and sleeping on piles of grain.
In retrospect, the outbreak had probably been kept secret out of embarrassment.
Looking at the warehouse, now filled wall-to-wall with rats, even Lu Weiyi felt sorry for Zheng Yi.
He clicked his tongue.
Not long after, Qi Lin returned with the snacks, confused. “Do you want to eat this, Captain?”
Lu Weiyi had gotten the intel he needed and was in a great mood. Though his head still hurt, he had grown used to the pain—it was almost bearable now.
He glanced at the snacks, took one portion, and began eating slowly. Qi Lin stored the rest and asked, “Where are we going next?”
“Go back,” Lu Weiyi said.
Qi Lin opened his mouth but didn’t say anything in the end.
The car drove for a while before they ran into Lu Xiao halfway.
“Xiao Yi,” Lu Xiao opened the car door and motioned for him to come over, “Where did you go?”
“To see the bad luck of the Zheng family.”
Lu Xiao had been running around all afternoon, hitting many walls. He had just heard that one of his team members had been surrounded and injured, so his brow was tightly furrowed and he looked exhausted. Hearing this strange remark, he looked over with confusion.
Lu Weiyi glanced at the driver. Lu Xiao nodded, indicating he could be trusted. Only then did Lu Weiyi lean in and say a few words.
“A lot?” Lu Xiao’s joy was visible. “How much?”
“Probably over ten thousand,” Lu Weiyi recalled the scene. “That warehouse was completely destroyed.”
Hearing this, Lu Xiao burst into laughter. “This is really great news!”
“We’ll need to go back and make a plan, make good use of this.”
“What made you think to go there?” Lu Xiao asked happily.
“I was familiarizing myself with the area the past few days, happened to glance at it while passing by, didn’t pay much attention then, but suddenly remembered and went to take a closer look,” Lu Weiyi said casually. “We’d better use this opportunity to strike a blow against the Zheng family’s power, help you stabilize your position, and buy some time.”
The confrontation between the two major forces at the base depended on opportunities. Opportunities were fleeting—miss this one, and who knew how long it would take for another chance at this scale to appear.
Besides, it was still the apocalypse. External threats were becoming more severe. They couldn’t afford to focus all their attention on infighting.
Lu Xiao agreed. The two decided to discuss things further after returning.
“I heard the reason you were delayed returning was because of a zombie horde attack. Is it resolved?” Lu Weiyi asked casually.
Lu Xiao shook his head, his expression turning grave. “We diverted them elsewhere.”
“This time, the zombies gathered spontaneously, and there were a lot of them. At first, everyone thought they were being led by something, but no leader was found. They were heading toward the Capital base. I suspect they were attracted by the people here.”
The only thing that could attract them away would be another gathering of people. Lu Weiyi thought about the surrounding bases and asked, “Pingjin Base?”
Lu Xiao nodded helplessly.
They all knew the situation at Pingjin Base. All the ability users were inside the city; outside were only ordinary people. If a zombie horde hit, those ordinary people would suffer first.
“The powerful ability users at the base were either involved in collecting supplies from the Qiqiao Town reserve warehouse, or leading teams to gather new energy panels elsewhere. The ones remaining at the base are average. If a large-scale zombie wave hits…” Lu Xiao didn’t finish his sentence.
In the end, it was just a matter of shifting the disaster elsewhere. They couldn’t fight the horde head-on, so they lured it away.
Lu Xiao didn’t bother continuing his excuses. He smiled bitterly and admitted, “We couldn’t win.”
Moreover, everyone who went out had their eyes on the supplies in Qiqiao Town. At that point, the Zheng family probably already knew the supplies had been taken, but said nothing.
Lu Xiao only realized it after returning. The reason he and part of the Zheng family were left behind to divert the zombies was likely to stall him.
If the Zhuang family hadn’t intervened, the Zheng family would likely have already made a move against the Only Team.
Back at the villa, Xu Yi and Dean had returned safely. The living room was once again filled with people lying around, getting ready for dinner.
Zhuang Mingxu, wearing an apron, was busy showing off his cooking skills in the kitchen. Qi Lin, who had returned earlier, was already helping bring out dishes.
“Dad, Bro,” Lu Xi greeted them with a cup of water in hand when he saw them.
“Feeling better?” Lu Xiao ruffled his son’s hair.
“Much better,” Lu Xi waved his hand. He could move around now. He told Lu Xiao what Zhuang Mingxu had explained, “Just takes a bit longer to metabolize.”
“As long as there’s no other problem,” Lu Xiao said.
“Uncle, stay for dinner. I made a lot,” Zhuang Mingxu had indeed prepared a whole table full of dishes, served in small bowls, and even a big pot of meat stew.
Lu Xiao didn’t stand on ceremony.
After dinner, they decided to hold a small meeting.
“I think as vice-captain I should participate,” Ning Yuan said.
“Same here,” Li Zhuang chimed in, followed by Antonio’s agreement.
The others didn’t speak, but clearly wanted to know what was going on.
“Let’s all do it together. Not knowing anything makes us uneasy. If there are problems, we can solve them together.”
Seeing that Lu Weiyi didn’t object, the group began their discussion right at the dining table.
Lu Xiao explained what had happened that afternoon.
The Zheng family had made a huge move—virtually a desperate gamble. Most teams who knew any details didn’t want to get involved. Obviously, Lu Xiao was not in a favorable position.
Not kicking him while he was down was already a kindness. Cooperation was basically impossible.
Lu Xiao had spent the whole afternoon out, but gained nothing—at most, some teams he had good ties with openly refused to participate.
“Some even advised us to leave quickly,” Lu Xiao chuckled wryly.
One or two people might be able to leave, but how could an entire team just walk away? Without the protection of the base, sourcing supplies on the road would be a nightmare.
After sharing his side, Lu Xiao didn’t continue. The Zhao family had refused to meet Zhuang Mingxu—he already knew that. The only good news now was Lu Weiyi’s discovery of the mutated rats.
After recounting his findings again, Lu Weiyi said, “Tomorrow I’ll go meet Zhao Qiang.”
Meeting Lu Xiao’s gaze, Lu Weiyi’s expression remained calm. “If he won’t meet, then I’ll make him.”
Truth was, they still had some concerns. Otherwise, just a few crystal-core guns from their spatial storage would be enough to cause major damage to the big factions.
And with Lu Weiyi’s ability, just by standing in a crowd, he could wipe out everyone within a kilometer if he so desired.
The Zheng family and Lu Xiao, at their core, were still soldiers. They didn’t want to cause too many casualties. Even in the current power struggle, they hoped for a way with the least personnel loss.
