The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse
Chapter 230 - 226 Let’s Negotiate

Chapter 230: Chapter 226 Let’s Negotiate

"Based on visual estimation, there were around a hundred thousand zombies in the area where the gunfire happened last night," Gao Yuan tried to explain what he had witnessed using the most formal wording possible. If it had been just him and Yu Shunzhou talking, it would have been a lot simpler.

It was just a massive, dark swarm; going there was suicidal, so you’d better run like hell.

However, experience had shown that when speaking with Zhao Qiang and Panxin and others like them, it was better to be formal and to articulate the data as clearly as possible.

"Considering both the number of zombies and the distance from the area of the firefight to Almaty City, there are a substantial number of zombies within the city, certainly in the millions. If we try to force our way through, the likelihood is slim."

After finishing, Gao Yuan placed the map on the hood of the car, "Where are we on the map?"

There were two maps, a large traditional one and a small satellite map printed just before departure. Zhao Qiang used a marker to draw a circle on the map, saying, "We are right here."

Gao Yuan glanced at it and immediately sighed, "Alright, there are only two highways from east to west through Almaty, and we are already on the northern one. This means there are no other highways we can take as a detour. As for leaving the highway and bypassing it, is that feasible?"

Zhao Qiang and Panxin shook their heads, Panxin saying in a low voice, "We’ve just scoped out the terrain nearby, and it’s about a thousand meters above sea level, on the edge of a semi-desert. Growing crops requires irrigation, and even though our vehicles have good off-road ability, leaving the highway is practically impossible. Moreover, we are not familiar with the surrounding terrain."

Zhao Qiang pointed to a path on the map, "We are on the main road, but once we reach here, there are country roads we could take to bypass the zombie hot zones. The only issue is."

Looking rather helpless, Zhao Qiang sighed, "The only issue is that if we take the country roads, we must go through villages occupied by the Rebel Forces, and I have confirmed this multiple times, without a doubt."

"Isn’t there any further detour possible?"

"No, the only way is through regions occupied by the Rebel Forces, which leads to the A3 highway heading directly north. If we really want to avoid those occupied regions, we’d have to turn around, go back, travel a thousand kilometers, bypass Altun Mountain Desert Park, and then take another route."

Gao Yuan slapped his hand down, "That settles it, we have no choice but to go through the area held by the Rebel Forces."

Zhao Qiang frowned, "There’s no need to even consider fighting our way through, we can only negotiate."

Gao Yuan immediately said, "We definitely can’t fight our way through. The zombie horde has already left the city and isn’t far from the territories held by the Rebel Forces. If we shoot or fire a cannon, the zombies could wipe out all the survivors, and we would just have to detour thousands of kilometers. So, I think this might actually be to our advantage, those rebels wouldn’t dare to shoot!"

Zombies are a common enemy to all of humanity, so now they could actually use the zombies to pressure the Rebel Forces.

Zhao Qiang pondered for a moment and then said, "Okay, I’ll take the prisoners to negotiate. Let them guide us and make them give us a way through, or we all die together. Of course, this is just a posture; we can’t really let things escalate to destruction. If necessary, we take the long way as a last resort. Safety first."

Gao Yuan looked at Zhao Qiang, then at Panxin and the others, and seeing no objections to Zhao Qiang’s plan, Gao Yuan could not help but say, "You’ve got to be kidding me, how can we take prisoners to their base?"

Zhao Qiang looked at Gao Yuan who spread his hands and said, "If you ask me, we should kill the prisoners, present zero evidence, and then claim that last night we encountered zombies, and we fought side by side against the horde. Since the people are dead, it’s whatever you say goes. But if we take the prisoners with us, regardless of anything else, at least last night’s conflict is confirmed, and we are enemies."

Zhao Qiang thought for a mere moment, then looked at Gao Yuan with some astonishment, "That makes sense!"

Panxin whispered, "Is killing prisoners really appropriate?"

For someone like Zhao Qiang or Panxin, from inside the system, they were inherently bound by certain constraints. But for someone like Gao Yuan, when survival trumps everything else, to hell with anyone else. As long as his conscience is clear, that’s pretty damn good.

"Isn’t it appropriate?"

Now it’s the apocalypse, which, of course, Panxin and his type knew. But knowing and adapting are two different things, and to what extent they have adapted is hard to gauge.

Taking a deep breath, Panxin said, "Alright, it’s suitable enough. Let’s do as you suggested."

Zhao Qiang said, "I’ll handle the negotiations. You all..."

Gao Yuan slapped the map and said, "Boss Zhao, I’ll go negotiate; you do the translating. We can’t let a bunch of rebels block our path. But I think the Rebel Army won’t let us pass easily."

"Oh, why’s that?"

"Because of the apocalypse mentality."

Zhao Qiang laughed, "You’re talking to me about psychology?"

Gao Yuan said very seriously, "I’m not talking psychology with you; I’m talking about apocalyptic psychology, where having guns means you’re the boss. You all, either in bases or shelters, at least you don’t have to worry about food, right? You haven’t starved up until now, have you? Do you know about my girlfriend, Luo Xingyu? When she was famished, she wanted to fight me with a knife. Now, since the rainbow militants are extremely short on food, if they can see zombies up close, they’d rather be full when they die. They would rather fill their stomachs first, no matter what."

Zhao Qiang and Panxin were both somewhat taken aback, then Panxin said, "During our survival training in the wild..."

"Don’t talk about that; if you were starving to death, you could just shoot a flare and someone would pick you up. You know you won’t really starve, but the Rebel Forces are different. Because now, for most people in the world, hope is gone. No hope means despair, and despair means anything can happen. If just one of those thousands of rebels goes crazy and fires a gun, we’re done for."

Zhao Qiang looked as if he were meeting Gao Yuan for the first time, and with astonishment, he said, "I feel like I’m just getting to know you. It seems I need to re-evaluate my understanding of you."

Gao Yuan laughed, "It’s different. You are the elite of the nation; we are survivors. You think about things from the perspective of the country and the military; we focus on how to keep living. It’s completely different."

After a moment of silence, Zhao Qiang nodded and said, "Alright, let’s go negotiate now."

Gao Yuan said to Zhao Qiang, "Boss Zhao, I have to say one more thing. Usually, I follow your lead, but today you’ve got to listen to me. When it’s time, you have to do exactly what I say, okay?"

Zhao Qiang nodded solemnly, "Of course, you are the team leader."