Chương 155: The War Room

Vince's attitude toward these people had remained remarkably consistent from day one: the ultimate player's playbook—never initiate, never commit. So, he hadn't actually spared a single thought on how to arrange things for them if he ever had to pack up and leave this place. In his mind, their survival had always been Ben's problem, not his. It wasn't cold-bloodedness; it was simply the most rational way to survive in this new world.

He could be a flagship, but he absolutely couldn't be a locomotive dragging a dozen dead-weight train cars behind him. Every ship in his wake needed the ability to navigate its own course. Otherwise, when the storm finally hit, those towing ropes would just drag the flagship down into the abyss with them. If they could keep up, he didn't mind tossing them some scraps and throwing a little protection their way. But if they fell behind? Vince wasn't about to bust his ass trying to carry them.

Seeing those three buses parked right outside the supermarket the moment he got back proved one thing: Ben and his crew fully understood Vince's stance. Good.

"We really owe these buses to Bruno..." Ben said, turning and clapping Bruno on the shoulder. Vince glanced over. Bruno had evidently consumed the two crystals Vince left him before heading out. His Health Bar had bumped up to [185/420], an increase of seventy points to his max HP. Even his right arm had fully regenerated. It still looked a bit stiff, but he could clearly grip things normally.

"Nah, I can't take the credit. It's all thanks to the two crystals Vince gave me. Not only did my injuries heal up a ton, but my Strength stat even got a solid boost." Bruno scratched his head, looking a bit sheepish at Ben's praise. He pressed his palms together in a gesture of gratitude toward Vince, then threw a mock punch with his left hand.

"Even with just one good arm, I was one-shotting those zombies with my club..."

"The bus station wasn't swarming with too many zombies, and all the keys were just sitting in the guardhouse. We drove these straight off the charging stations. Fully charged!" Ben pointed a thumb at the buses.

"At full load, they've got a range of two hundred kilometers. More than enough to get us to the Quarantine Zone, and they can haul a ton of cargo, too!"

"Nice. Good looking out." Vince nodded. He waved a hand, gesturing for the two of them to follow him to the clinic.

"Round up your guys..."

"Zack, Hank, let's go." Ben quickly waved over his core members. A group of five or six trailed behind Vince as he headed toward the clinic. The moment Vince pushed the clinic door open, he heard Zoe still running her mouth to the others. She was right in the middle of her dramatized recounting of The Foolish Soldier's Tearful Farewell, and Vet Lin's Miraculous Intervention...

"... And right in the nick of time, three crisp clangs rang out! Dage made his glorious... Oh, Dage! You're back!" Catching sight of the crowd filing in behind Vince, Zoe snapped her mouth shut, quickly dragged a stool over next to Claire, and sat down with the perfect posture of a well-behaved student.

"Take a seat, everyone... Since you guys are already up to this part, I'll just give you the quick rundown of what happened next." Vince lightly tapped Zoe on the head, pulled up a stool in front of the two girls, and looked around the room. Everyone grabbed a chair and settled in, listening as Vince recounted his excursion. He intentionally skipped over all the bloody combat details, focusing entirely on what he'd deduced about the military squad's situation and the current tactical landscape.

"... Any questions? Speak now," Vince finished. He accepted the glass of water Claire handed him and met the gazes of everyone in the room.

"Vince, those thousands of zombies you mentioned... you said they're dispersing? How long until they reach us?" Ben was the first to speak up, hitting the nail on the head with the one critical question concerning all their survival. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"No idea. But the fire is still burning tonight, so they won't swarm us right away. We'll have to wait until daybreak to scout it out and get a real estimate," Vince replied seriously.

"That squad... are they reliable?" Cody chimed in, pivoting to the military group. Before Vince could answer, Zack, who was sitting behind Ben, suddenly raised a hand.

"Vince, Cody... speaking of that squad, I've got some intel you need to hear..."

"Spill it."

"I used to be a recon scout, Ben knows this," Zack started after getting the nod.

"The bus station where we grabbed the rides was up north, so we didn't pass the gas station on our way back."

"But when we got back, Ben mentioned that Zoe passed by the gas station and saw people showing up. So I immediately dragged Bruno out with me to do some recon... and I noticed a few things that felt off."

"Heh, I just tagged along to watch Zack's back. I wouldn't dare creep too close and risk exposing myself," Bruno quickly added.

"But Zack is insane. He got right up on them, and those guys with the guns didn't notice a damn thing."

"What felt off?" Vince asked, giving Zack a thumbs-up in response to Bruno's praise. They didn't know about Seth's abilities yet; otherwise, he could have just brought Seth along for this kind of infiltration job to let the kid learn the ropes. Still, his curiosity was piqued.

"They just didn't feel professional. If you call them soldiers, they don't even know how to post a proper sentry watch. But if you say they aren't, they definitely know how to handle their weapons. I brought this up with Ben right after we got back." Zack frowned, recalling the scene.

"But those vehicles and guns are straight from the military district. Totally different gear from your average militia or armed cops... The lights were on inside the station, but Ben said no contact yet, so I didn't risk going in."

"Zoe and I noticed something similar when we passed the station on our way back. Their uniforms were mismatched," Vince said. He remembered his own suspicions.

"Is it possible they recruited vets, cops, or anyone else who knew how to shoot along the way?" However, knowing that the military bearing of the men in the armored vehicle was impossible to fake, he offered this theory.

"Highly likely..." Zack hesitated for a second, nodding in agreement with Vince. Then a thought struck him. He looked up and asked, "Vince, you said you saved two soldiers on the road. Was their gear different from the guys at the gas station? Also, that older soldier you mentioned in the armored vehicle—could you let me take a look at his epaulet?" Hearing this, a few pieces clicked into place in Vince's mind. He asked Zoe for his backpack, fished out the military epaulet, and handed it to Zack.

He then turned to Claire.

"Claire, you remember the broadcast recording we got from the radio? Grab your phone..."

"Oh, right! Okay, I'll go get it..." Claire turned and hurried out of the room. A moment later, she returned with her phone. She booted it up. It still had juice. She tapped the screen, and the recording began playing for the room.

"Dr. Ye? Where did a Dr. Ye suddenly pop up from?" Vince muttered to himself, frowning in confusion as he listened to the audio again.

"Ye... Evelyn Ye! Dage, what if 'Dr. Ye' means Dr. Evelyn Ye! The signal was just bad and got cut off!" Zoe slapped her thigh, blurting out the realization.

"Ah, yeah, that makes sense. Nice catch..." Vince paused.

"Wait, but isn't Evelyn a Colonel? How did she become a Doctor?"

"Key personnel in military-affiliated research institutions are usually technical officers," Ben chimed in. Having served himself, he might not have had Zack's combat skills, but he understood the military hierarchy far better than Vince did.

"Holding a rank and an academic degree isn't a contradiction. It just means these people are brilliant, top-tier talents capable of running entire divisions."

"Vince, here you go. This is a Colonel's rank..." Zack handed the epaulet back. He hesitated slightly before stating with absolute certainty, "The oldest survivor in our neighborhood is maybe fifty. Almost all the elderly are... gone.

"Nationwide, there aren't many Generals under the age of fifty. So a Colonel is essentially the highest-ranking commanding officer you'll find right now... Based on what you said about his demeanor, he was definitely the commander of that squad." Colonel Zhou... The pieces finally fell perfectly into place for Vince. That man had to be the 'Colonel Zhou' that Wyatt and Marcus had been talking about.

"Which means the commander of this squad is dead. Subtract the researchers, and there couldn't have been many actual combatants coming out of JiShan in the first place. Half of them, at most," Vince said, ticking them off on his fingers.

"Five in the APC, plus the five Wyatt called out by name... So there are only about six or seven actual, trained soldiers left..."

"Which also means..." Ben picked up the thread.

"Even though that squad has military-grade gear and vehicles, the majority of their armed manpower aren't actually soldiers. They're just drifters or local cops they picked up along the way who happen to know how to pull a trigger..."

"Then we really can't count on them acting with any military discipline..." Zack muttered. He then stood up and gave a slight bow to the room.

"Vince, Ben... You guys were right to hold off on making contact. I complained about it earlier. I was short-sighted, and I apologize."

"Oh, you were talking shit behind my back?" Vince laughed.

"Zack, sit down, sit down. It's water under the bridge..." Ben quickly waved him off.

"Alright, so that's the situation. You guys get your own preparations sorted out. As soon as the sun comes up, that squad is going to make a move. They've got guns, so do not start a conflict. We'll play it by ear when the time comes..." Vince didn't raise his voice, but his words carried that unwavering, grounded confidence he always had. He was setting the definitive strategy for all of them: watch quietly, and strike only when the enemy overplays their hand. He stood up, looking at Ben and the rest.

"Tell your core members, your fighters, and your drivers to get whatever sleep they can. Nobody knows what's going to happen tomorrow, so we prep for both best and worst-case scenarios... Meeting adjourned!"