Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Outsourcing Team Members, Supply Points Outside the Fortress
𝗜'𝗺 𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 10-20 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗞𝗼-𝗙𝗜. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝗲! 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘆𝗼𝘂!!
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Seeing the sultry woman's face flush, it seemed that Dragon Brother had a taste for such things.
However, these gold and silver ornaments and cash were utterly useless in the apocalypse. Many survivors still clung to pre-apocalypse mindsets, believing the disaster was temporary, and had looted cash and even gold during the chaos. But such things held no value now.
When the two team members opened the third door, a pungent smell wafted out.
Inside was a semi-enclosed room, with the windows welded shut by iron frames and covered with thick black cloth, blocking any sunlight from entering.
The two team members turned on their flashlights, illuminating the room, and everyone could see the layout more clearly.
There were around twenty women in tattered clothes of varying ages, staring blankly as they huddled together. Their bodies were covered with faint white spots.
It seemed these women had suffered significantly at the hands of Dragon Brother and his men over the past few days.
However, compared to those at the Yida supermarket, Dragon Brother hadn't been overly brutal; while their faces were pale, at least they were all intact and alive.
"Don't be afraid; we're not bad people. That Dragon Brother has been killed."
One of the team members explained while beginning to untie the ropes binding the women.
"Zhao Long is dead?"
A glimmer of hope sparked in the dull eyes of one woman. As soon as her ropes were loosened, she immediately seized the hand of the team member and eagerly asked.
"Yes, we've killed all those thugs; you're free now."
Noticing her excitement, the woman quickly released the team member's hand and shouted to the others, "Sisters, that bastard Zhao Long is dead! He's been killed!"
Her voice echoed in the semi-enclosed room, rekindling hope in the eyes of the other women, but it quickly faded again.
Whether Zhao Long was really dead didn't matter; there would always be another Wang Long or Li Long, and their fates would still be those of prisoners and playthings.
The woman's gaze landed on the sultry woman nearby, and her expression turned vicious. The frail body instantly stood up, hastily adjusting her clothing, and she angrily declared, "Li Chunhua, you bastard! You pretended to be weak to trick me into opening my house's door, causing so many neighbors to die. Now I want you to pay with your life!"
After saying this, she lunged at Li Chunhua.
The other freed women also glared at Li Chunhua with murderous intent.
Regardless of what their futures held, they had to tear her apart now to avenge their deceased loved ones.
Li Chunhua, whose face had already been pale, instantly turned ashen. She fell to her knees, tightly clutching Ye Zian's thigh, and began to plead for her life.
"Boss, I didn't want to do it! Zhao Long threatened me into tricking them. If I didn't agree, he would have killed me!"
Seeing the furious expressions of the women, Li Chunhua understood that the only person who could save her now was the man before her.
"Whatever he told you to do, did you do it? If I told you to eat shit, would you eat it?"
Desperate, with tears streaming down her face, she sobbed, "Boss, I would eat it! I'll do anything you want! Just take me back; I'll serve you well, and I'll be more obedient than a dog!"
After saying this, she knelt down, desperately writhing.
Ye Zian looked at her with disdain, while Lin Qianshan reacted quickly, kicking Li Chunhua away with a cold huff.
"I don't want a woman with a heart as venomous as yours."
Li Chunhua spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the nearby white wall.
Lin Qianshan's kick was not light; Li Chunhua was sent flying seven or eight meters, and only came to a stop after crashing into the wall.
Blood continuously oozed from her mouth, and she howled in pain as several of her ribs broke.
The other women, seeing that Ye Zian had no intention of saving Li Chunhua, picked up nearby tools and began to strike her relentlessly.
Initially able to struggle and plead for mercy, Li Chunhua gradually lost her will to fight under their blows.
They did not stop until they had beaten her into a bloody pulp, exhausted themselves in the process.
The first woman to emerge from the room looked up at the ceiling, tears streaming down her face as she muttered something. Quickly wiping her tears, she approached Ye Zian, clearly recognizing him as the leader of this group.
However, looking at Ye Zian's young appearance, she couldn't help but think he seemed a bit too young.
"My name is Wang Yan. Thank you for saving us. I don't know what you need us to do in return."
Wang Yan didn't believe Ye Zian had saved them without any motives.
But upon seeing Lin Qianshan, who looked like a fairy, and the demeanor of the other team members, Wang Yan realized that Ye Zian was not like Zhao Long and wouldn't look down on them.
"Inside that room are the supplies and weapons left by Zhao Long; they're all yours. I need you to hold this place and act as a temporary supply point for my team. You can also hunt zombies and exchange their heads for some supplies."
These women had little potential; aside from Wang Yan, who had some value in training, the rest were just cannon fodder.
Thus, Ye Zian intended to use them as outsourced team members, giving them no benefits while assigning them dirty work.
Although their potential was evident, their luck was not guaranteed; who knew where each person's fate would lead?
Wang Yan was clearly the backbone of these women, and the others looked to her, waiting for her response.
Wang Yan was somewhat surprised and tentatively asked, "Is that all?"
She had thought that even if Ye Zian looked down on her, he would still drag them back to do hard labor. Even if he didn't want them, there would be other men in their camp, right? Now he was actually allowing them to develop freely while leaving Zhao Long's supplies intact.
"Of course! As long as you serve as my supply point here, we won't have any conflicts between us."
"Naturally, I'll compensate you for the supplies my team consumes; I won't take advantage of you."
Wang Yan didn't hesitate for a moment and replied, "As long as I, Wang Yan, am alive, this place will always be a supply point for your team. Even if you ask me to die, I won't hesitate."
Ye Zian had rescued her from the tortures of darkness, and Wang Yan was not the type to be ungrateful.
"Good. Remember what you said today. If you go back on your word…"
Before he could finish, Ye Zian sliced his Tang sword against the wall.
The thick bricks were cut through, leaving a one-centimeter deep mark.
Seeing the terrifying power of the Tang sword for the first time, Wang Yan and the other rescued women couldn't help but swallow hard. Wang Yan was relieved that she had answered promptly and decisively.
•~~~•~~~•~~~•~~~•
𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁: '𝗕𝗼𝗴𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂' 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 $5 𝗧𝗶𝗲𝗿.
𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁: '𝗝𝗰1202' 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 $5 𝗧𝗶𝗲𝗿.
𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 35+ 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:
𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝗚𝗼𝗱𝗢𝗳𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿