The most ruthless person in the apocalypse

"Mr. Zhang, population expansion is a good thing for us, but it is also a challenge. We must pay attention to it."

In the Little Lucky Restaurant, Yu Wen and Zhang Su sat opposite each other. There was an ashtray on the table with two lit cigarettes placed on the indentations on both sides, with wisps of smoke floating up.

As the saying goes, the fewer people there are in a meeting, the bigger the decisions will be, and the more people there are in a meeting, the more nonsense is talked about. When Zhang Su and Yu Wen blocked out the others and sat together, there must have been some very critical matters to discuss!

"I can feel!"

Zhang Su nodded and said, "When there were only more than 20 of us, the atmosphere in the camp was very harmonious, just like being at home. We felt like we were all brothers and sisters, and we all had a common understanding. Even after Old Wang from the United Village came over, it was fine. After all, there were not as many people as us, so the impact was not big. But in the past two days, the population has increased by more than 50 people. I feel obviously different when I came back today. The warm feeling of returning home has been diluted."

From the initial struggle to survive after the disaster to now, it is no longer just about staying alive. If you spend all your effort to build a camp but still cannot live the life you want, then it is no different from being displaced outside.

Everyone wants to live a better life, and the camp atmosphere is one of the very important indicators.

"Yes, that's what I'm talking about." Yu Wen pushed his glasses and said, "Among these three people, Wang Longzhong, Ma Changshou, and Yang Liehuo, I think we should pay attention to Ma Changshou, or the people in Xidaying Village."

Zhang Su thought about it seriously. He knew that Yu Wen would never speak without a purpose. He must have a reason for saying that. However, he couldn't ask directly. After all, he was the boss. If he didn't figure out something, he would be criticized by his subordinates.

After a moment, he said, "I know Lao Wang's situation quite well. The people of Lianhe Village are also well integrated. Yang Liehuo of Kuanzhuang is carefree, or bold but careful. He is very honest and kind-hearted. The young ladies and wives who follow him are also very well behaved. It's not that the people of Xidaying Village are full of bad intentions. I just feel that... the cohesion of Xidaying Village is still very strong, right?"

"Correct!"

Yu Wen slapped his palms very seriously and said, "There are 27 people in Xidaying Village. Although they came to Tianma Island, they don't seem to be integrated. They are more like a group joining our camp in the form of an alliance. They don't say they are autonomous, but they are still willing to listen to Ma Changshou. This is very bad!"

It is a good thing that Xidaying Village has cohesion, but now it has chosen to join Tianma Island, which is not a good thing for Tianma Island.

"Just now I was standing high up and observed the crowd and discovered this problem. They have experienced the previous disasters, so it is normal for them to have strong cohesion. I will talk to Ma Changshou. I can tell whether he has any ideas or ambitions."

Zhang Su not only observed with his eyes, he could also hear a lot of things that Yu Wen could not hear. It was true that most people in Xidaying Village still regarded Ma Changshou as their backbone.

Yu Wen smiled deeply and said, "Mr. Zhang, Tianma Island is the camp you found after leading us all the way out of Qincheng. To be selfish, even if there is someone more capable than you, I don't want to see Tianma Island change its name."

Zhang Su smacked his lips, took a puff of his cigarette, and said, "Old Yu, I don't think I told you about the Qinglong Corps. Do you know why they made major mistakes and omissions in their strategy to fight the zombies?"

Yu Wen didn't understand why Zhang Su mentioned something else, but there must be a purpose behind it, so he shook his head to indicate that he didn't know.

"Because of factional fighting."

Zhang Su blew out a smoke ring and said, "According to Pan Guoliang and the others, two factions were formed inside the Qinglong Corps, headed by the commander and the deputy commander. The factions fought each other, and then it became what it was. So...if you don't say anything, I won't allow any changes to the management model. At least at this stage, centralization is a better development model!"

"I think so."

Yu Wen fully agreed with Zhang Su's point of view, and the two then made detailed plans for development in the future.

Taking issues such as people's cohesion into consideration, although the satellite village model is adopted to avoid large-scale zombie attacks, all personnel will be gathered together during training, except for those on missions.

In the initial stage, in order to meet the needs of development, people who are already familiar with each other will be arranged to live in a satellite village. If gangs appear after a period of time, they will be broken up and distributed. The most important resources will all be controlled by the core members and stored in Tianma Island.

"And one more thing."

After discussing the matter of rebuilding cohesion, Yu Wen narrowed his eyes and said, "Mr. Zhang, if we want them to stay alert and not think of taking advantage of loopholes, we must create an external enemy. This enemy must be strong enough and difficult to deal with, so that people will have a long-term sense of vigilance and maintain a consistent determination to face the outside world."

Zhang Su spread his hands and said as a matter of course: "Isn't the threat of zombies enough?"

Today's zombies are no longer the weaklings they were when the disaster broke out. After two rounds of reinforcement, the zombies have improved in strength, reaction and speed. It is not obvious when fighting them inside fortifications, but it will be very dangerous when encountering them in the wild.

Yu Wen shook his head decisively and said, "This is not enough."

"It's hard to feel the threat of zombies in a safe camp. If you can't feel it, it's hard for it to pose a psychological threat to people. We must make everyone feel it. The threat of zombies should be kept in mind. In addition, I think the cold can be fully utilized. Extreme climate is also an enemy of us humans."

"Hmm...huh?"

Zhang Su suddenly had an idea and said, "Ease makes people relax. Teacher Yu, do you mean that we can create some difficulties artificially so that everyone can always feel the presence and threat of external enemies?"

"Yes, that's great." Yu Wen nodded repeatedly.

The means behind this are definitely not glamorous, but for the development and future of the camp, Zhang Su does not reject this kind of behavior at all. He does not think that he can win the support of the people by relying on benevolence!

After some discussion, Zhang Su and Yu Wen walked out of the restaurant, both with happy smiles on their faces. Outsiders had no idea that the topic they were talking about was very heavy.

After parting ways, Zhang Su learned through the intercom that Ma Changshou was instructing how to grow vegetables, and he found him without any delay.

"Old Ma, I think you are quite capable."

Inside the vegetable greenhouse, Zhang Su squatted down and put his hands on the stove to warm them, speaking casually.

Ma Changshou rolled his eyes and asked tentatively, "Boss Zhang, where did you get this from?"

"You have been able to lead so many people in the village to survive until now in the apocalypse. Don't you have any ability?"

Zhang Su stood up, took out a cigarette and handed it to Ma Changshou.

Ma Changshou bent down to take the cigarette, took out his lighter and quickly passed it to Zhang Su, then lit it himself, waved his hand modestly and said: "Boss Zhang, you are too kind, it was all luck, and it was also a blessing in disguise, but so many brothers died anyway, alas."

"Not bad, look how close those villagers who survived are to you, and they follow your lead. It's awesome that you can do this!"

Zhang Su held a cigarette in his mouth and gave Ma Changshou a thumbs up with a very sincere expression on his face.

However, it was this sincere expression that frightened Ma Changshou so much that he didn't even dare to smoke. He just pulled off the part that had just been lit, and said with trembling skin on his face: "Boss Zhang, you... I, I don't have any bad intentions, is there any misunderstanding here?"

As a shrewd man, Ma Changshou immediately understood Zhang Su's intention after hearing his words. He was dissatisfied with Zhang Su's power over the people in Xidaying Village and was afraid that it would affect future management. To put it more seriously, he was afraid that Zhang Su would lead others to cause trouble!

This kind of doubt is normal, but he must dispel the other party's concerns as soon as possible. It is not a good thing to leave such an impression on the other party when he first arrives.

"Why do you get so excited just by talking for a few words?" Zhang Su blew out a smoke ring and smiled.

Ma Changshou didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He put the half-smoked cigarette between his ears and clasped his hands together and bowed repeatedly: "Boss Zhang, my only wish is to keep the villagers alive. I have no other wishes. Having come this far, I have basically completed my mission. From now on..."

Ma Changshou paused, then smiled with a relieved smile and said, "From now on, this responsibility will be handed over to you, Boss Zhang. I am just an ordinary member of the Tianma Island Camp. Why don't I stay here and not go to Madian Village? I will be a vegetable farmer here and fiddle with vegetables every day. How do you think?"

A person's prestige is not established overnight, and it will take more than a day or two to lose it, but he must cut the Gordian knot now, even if he is reluctant, he cannot hesitate.

"Lao Ma, we have known each other for two months, so we can be considered old friends. You should know what kind of person I am, and you should also know where my bottom line is, right?"

Zhang Su asked with a smile.

"Of course I understand, Boss Zhang, what do you think of my proposal?"

He had joined the Qinglong Corps before and tried to play tricks, which nearly killed everyone. However, the zombies attacked them, leaving only a group of them alive. This time, Ma Changshou was not going to play smart and was determined to fully cooperate with the other party.

"It would be a waste of your talent to let you grow vegetables here. How about this..."

Zhang Su thought for a moment and said, "Come here and be our technical consultant. You must be good at growing vegetables, raising chickens, ducks, fish, pigs and sheep. You can guide us and give us a good salary. How about that?"

"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it." Ma Changshou bowed repeatedly. He knew very well that the guidance was just a cover, and the real thing was to keep him to work in Tianma Island. However, it would sound better to put it in another way, but he felt that this arrangement was very good.

He was really tired after working so hard these days. Now he had a good place to relax. It might be a good thing for himself and the survivors of Xidaying Village.

"Okay, then it's settled. I'll announce it tonight. Congratulations to Advisor Ma in advance. Here, a small gift."

Zhang Su took out two packs of cigarettes from his pocket and stuffed them into Ma Changshou's pockets, then left the vegetable shed.

"call……"

Seeing Zhang Su close the door of the vegetable shed, Ma Changshou let out a long sigh of relief, and his nervous heart finally settled into his stomach. Thinking that the burden on his shoulders had been lifted, his body felt lighter, and he sat down on the small stool next to the stove.

He took off the half-smoked cigarette stuck in his ear, thought for a moment and put it back, opened a new pack, lit one, and puffed away with mixed feelings.