Chapter Seventy-Six: Injustice and Hidden Peril

“Master! Something’s not quite right…”

“I’ve heard that recently, whether it’s Lakan, Bell, or Hukun, they’ve all recruited large numbers from the survivor camp at the foot of the mountain.”

Early in the morning, Joe knocked on Ye Hai’s door to report.

Ye Hai, looking barely awake, rubbed his sleepy eyes and replied nonchalantly, “The northern front is almost upon us. Of course those three are panicking.”

“Whenever there’s an invasion, that lot always drafts a bunch of cannon fodder from the survivors. It’s routine…”

Joe shook his head. “No, this time is different.”

“According to our informants, each of them has recruited several hundred people, and their teams now number over a thousand!”

Ye Hai was momentarily stunned.

He frowned and looked at Joe. “Are you sure our men haven’t got it wrong?”

“How could they possibly support over a thousand people?”

Joe shrugged. “Apparently, Bell opened the granaries…”

“Lakan provides weapons, Hukun supplies energy…”

“These three seem to have formed an alliance! And not only are they getting along, they’re surprisingly generous!”

Ye Hai almost laughed aloud.

To think the forbidden figures of the Pilate black market could cooperate—now that’s absurd.

Their mutual grudges were a mile long.

“I’ll have the zombie crows keep an eye on them.”

“Maybe the pressure from the three northern factions is just too much.”

“After all, those are massive organizations, several thousand strong. Their frantic recruitment makes sense.”

“But still, have our people stay alert. Things are unsettled lately.”

“I’ve finished modifying the hundred-odd high-energy weapons we got from Javier. Swapped in biofuel—all distributed, handed to the brothers!”

“And make sure the young men at Lianna’s camp get priority. They’re former soldiers, and with better weapons, they’ll be more effective.”

“Tell them to step up security, especially Titch and Nangong’s sides—no slip-ups.”

“If anything happens in our territory, we’re in for trouble!”

“After we’ve dealt with the three northern powers and they’ve seen how the bioweapons perform in combat, send them packing—and get our goods delivered.”

“ART-2 is still lurking nearby; I can’t rest easy with them here.”

“If a fight breaks out, ART-2 might stir up real trouble.”

Joe nodded and hurried off to make arrangements.

…

“Hey, hey, brothers… Why are we being sent to the armory at this hour?”

A few corpse hunter outposts strolled toward the armory, chatting.

“Ha… Er Gouzi, you don’t know, do you?”

“Let me tell you, Ye Hai and Joe, our corpse hunter officers, brought back a bunch of high-energy weapons this time…”

“Rumor is, they’re real gear from the First Defense Army of Giant Tree Star.”

“Nice…”

“Aren’t we about to go to war with the three northern powers?”

“Definitely time to upgrade our kit.”

Er Gouzi grinned. “Good news, huh? Fly, where’d you hear this?”

“Just don’t let us get our hopes up for nothing.”

“A high-energy rifle… is worth more than our lives!”

“Hey, Fly… Any idea how many weapons the officers brought back?”

Fly chuckled, feigning mystery.

“You asked the right man, Er Gouzi.”

“My little brother’s a guard at the armory. You all know that, right?”

At this, the whole group nodded vigorously.

Everyone knew Fly’s brother was an armory guard.

In the corpse hunter’s peripheral ranks, treatment varied greatly.

Aside from the officers, the closer one was to the mountain’s core, the higher the status.

For these outpost members, the highest rank belonged to those guarding the forbidden zone.

These were all injected with gene-enhancing drugs, second-stage mutants.

They were the strongest fighters below the officers.

Next in rank were villa guards, armory guards, and others responsible for daily protection of the officers’ villas and key storerooms.

Like the forbidden zone guards, these were also second-stage mutants, but their gear was hand-me-downs from the forbidden zone guards—a step lower.

The lowest were Er Gouzi, Fly, and those who patrolled the perimeter—over five hundred members.

They rarely saw meat, subsisting on barely edible synthetic food.

Their weapons were crude gear from Lakan, unreliable at best…

So hearing they might get a batch of gear from the Giant Tree Star Defense Army was cause for elation.

When Er Gouzi led his group of twenty-odd to the storeroom, the quartermaster was already distributing weapons.

The group queued up, chatting eagerly.

“How many do you think we’ll get?”

“I figure at least a hundred, worst case fifty!”

“Twenty forbidden zone guards, ten villa guards, ten storeroom guards—one each!”

“That’s forty gone.”

“Look at the boxes—I counted thirty or more, five rifles each, that’s over a hundred and fifty!”

“About a hundred twenty left—even if they don’t give us all, with five hundred men, at least fifty for us, right?”

“Imagine us patrolling with high-energy rifles—what a sight!”

Laughter erupted among them.

After a long wait, their turn finally came.

But just then, dozens of men rushed up to the quartermaster, showing Joe’s authorization.

“Hey! Mr. Joe sent us for weapons—how many are left?”

Seeing the officers’ note, the quartermaster did not dare delay.

He turned and checked the boxes.

“One hundred thirteen high-energy rifles left… How many do you need…”

Before he finished, the leader waved decisively.

“We’ll take a hundred ten—come on, boys, help carry them all back!”

The group surged into the armory, shouldering weapon crates.

Er Gouzi and Fly were stunned.

This wasn’t right…

Their group had queued for ages, just about to get their turn.

And now, at the critical moment, someone swept up everything—what was that about?

And five hundred brothers were waiting for news from Er Gouzi’s group.

They weren’t having it.

They surrounded the quartermaster, demanding an explanation.

The quartermaster, face drawn, showed them Joe’s note.

It was simple: “Priority supply, Joe Hal!”

Seeing it, Er Gouzi nearly exploded.

But an officer’s word was law—no defiance.

Yet everyone who’s survived on Zombie Star was a hardened fighter, not given to swallowing indignity.

So, they let the quartermaster go and blocked the armory door.

Er Gouzi strode up to the other group’s leader, eyes blazing.

“Hey, brother!”

“New here, huh…”

“Where you from?”

“Big appetite—aren’t you afraid you’ll choke?”

“We’ve queued half an hour for these weapons—just as we’re about to get them, you sweep them all up?”

“I’ve seen Joe’s note, I don’t want to defy it…”

“But you, if you’re sensible, leave half behind!”

“Otherwise, our five hundred brothers won’t let you off.”

The leader shot Er Gouzi a contemptuous glance.

He snorted coldly.

“Scram…”

That single word triggered a brawl.

But Er Gouzi’s group was only twenty strong.

The other side had twice their number, all ex-soldiers.

Soon, Er Gouzi’s crew was strewn across the floor, searching for teeth.

As they left, the others spat on Er Gouzi’s head.

“I’m from Miss Lianna’s camp…”

“The note’s from Mr. Joe…”

“We’ve got more men, and we fight better!”

“Trying to steal? A bunch of brainless fools, not even knowing their own worth!”

With that, they left, chatting and laughing.

Er Gouzi struggled up and sat upright.

His eyes burned with resentment as he spat blood.

“Damn it, can’t get gene drugs… can’t get high-energy weapons…”

“Food’s no better than the refugees at the mountain’s foot!”

“We do the hardest, dirtiest work… and now the connected guys push us around. I’m done!”

“Tell the brothers—no patrols for the next three days.”

“Let them do as they please… Didn’t they take a hundred-plus high-energy rifles?”

“Let them patrol!”

“This time, I refuse to believe we can’t get a bit of justice…”