Chapter 97: The Attitudes of Each Building in the Community
Listening to Zhang Yi's murmuring, Zhou Ke'er felt her heart race with anxiety. At this moment, no one in the entire community knew they were teetering on the edge of hell, dancing madly between life and death. Their fate rested on Zhang Yi's whims.
"Thank goodness I chose to stay with him," Zhou Ke'er thought, feeling a deep sense of relief.
Suddenly, Zhang Yi looked at Zhou Ke'er and patted the sofa beside him. "Come here."
Zhou Ke'er walked over and sat next to him. The room was warm, so both of them were dressed casually in comfortable loungewear. Zhou Ke'er had no clothes of her own here; everything she wore was chosen by Zhang Yi. Naturally, the style was to his liking, making her look incredibly cute and suited to her figure. Sitting close to Zhang Yi, she was as gentle as a Siamese cat.
Zhang Yi picked up a glass of water from the table, took a sip, and asked Zhou Ke'er, "Ke'er, from your perspective, should I fight them or make peace?"
Zhou Ke'er was surprised that Zhang Yi was asking for her opinion. It was a sign of trust, and she was happy about it, even though she had initially thought he was about to say something more intimate. Slightly disappointed, she was still glad he valued her input.
After thinking for a moment, she replied, "If you fight them, can you withstand the combined assault of the residents of the other 29 buildings?"
"Yes, no problem at all," Zhang Yi said confidently.
Zhou Ke'er looked at Zhang Yi with surprise. She had thought he might say it was impossible, but his certainty caught her off guard. After all, he had never disclosed how many weapons and supplies he had.
Thinking about his abilities, she realized that with Zhang Yi's supernatural powers, anything was possible. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "But if you make peace, won't you have to provide for everyone in the community afterward?"
Zhang Yi laughed heartily. "Based on their proposals, that's exactly what they expect."
Zhou Ke'er immediately protested, "That’s impossible! Even if each building has only 50 survivors, that’s 1,500 people! Providing for so many people would require an enormous amount of supplies. Expecting you to bear that burden alone is unreasonable!"
Zhang Yi waved his hand dismissively. "The calculations aren't that simple. They propose high demands, waiting for me to negotiate. Also, don’t consider them as good people. Anyone controlling a building has their own group. They’ll prioritize their own people. The rest are just reserves. Do they need to waste food on reserves?"
Zhou Ke'er agreed, nodding. "Even so, providing for 30 buildings' worth of supplies is a huge burden!"
Zhang Yi nodded, "Exactly. So I need to avoid this trouble."
"I could kill them all, but it’s a complicated and risky process. I’d have to leave my house and engage them directly."
He rubbed his head. "Do you have any ideas on how I can avoid both the hassle of killing everyone and the trouble they bring?"
Zhou Ke'er pondered deeply. Zhang Yi wrapped his arm around her slender waist, lost in thought.
After a while, Zhou Ke'er said, "There’s no clear solution. To them, you’re their only hope. If you don’t help them, they’ll definitely try to kill you."
"But there’s a theoretical solution, though impractical."
Zhang Yi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What is it?"
Zhou Ke'er smiled, "Avoidance might be shameful but effective. You could leave this community and live elsewhere to escape them."
Zhang Yi stared at her, initially finding her suggestion absurd and laughable. Leave his hard-built safe house? However, an idea suddenly struck him.
Could he store the safe house in his alternate space and take it with him?
He had previously attempted to store large items, but they had to be standalone objects. His safe house was integrated into the building’s structure. Taking it would require dismantling it, but how?
"If it could be dismantled, those scoundrel neighbors would have done it already," he thought. This idea, though bold and almost impossible, intrigued him.
Maybe in the future, under certain conditions, he could try it out. But for now, it wasn’t feasible.
Seeing Zhang Yi’s serious contemplation, Zhou Ke'er laughed, "I was just joking. You’re not really considering it, are you?"
Zhang Yi smiled, pinching her nose. "Then what do you suggest?"
Zhou Ke'er pouted, "I don't know!"
Zhang Yi's eyes grew deep. "Then let's wait and see. Time is on our side, and we have the advantage!"
For now, Zhang Yi planned to continue observing the situation and making a decision based on the developments. He held the initiative, and with his arsenal of firearms and precise shooting ability, he wasn’t afraid of a group attack.
Currently, the only potential trouble was the other 29 buildings uniting against him. However, given the post-apocalyptic mistrust and self-interest, such unity was unlikely. Each building had its own way of surviving: Zhang Yi, the Tianhe Gang, and the Wolf Gang through force and slaughter; Chen Lingyu through brainwashing and control; Li Jian through scientific management creating a harmonious community.
These differing ideologies meant mutual distrust and potential enmity among them. Uniting them all would be difficult. Zhang Yi intended to keep observing and adjust his strategy accordingly. With control over the situation and sufficient firepower, he remained confident in his ability to handle whatever came his way.