You were supposed to hoard supplies, why the heck did you hoard zombies!-Chapter 287 - 286: Rat Swarm

"What?"

"The purification plant has been destroyed?"

"Who did it, could it be that Li Wanhao secretly sent people—"

As soon as Liang Zhijie walked through the door and heard this news, his face was filled with shock as he looked at Lu Yong, whose expression was equally complex. Doubt was evident in his eyes.

The purification plant, being the only power in Jiangbei District that could stand up to Li Wanhao, wasn’t just all talk.

It was based on their own substantial strength.

They had hundreds of armed personnel alone.

The settlement, centered around the purification plant and the nearby residential compound, wasn’t very large but was spacious enough to accommodate three to four hundred survivors.

Moreover, the purification plant itself was almost a completely enclosed space.

Taking it down from the outside would not be an easy task.

And now you’re telling me it has been destroyed?

All of a sudden?

Even if Liang Zhijie found it hard to believe, he still felt that it was 80 percent likely that Li Wanhao was behind the deed. Otherwise, there was no other settlement in Jiangbei with such capability.

But facing his suspicion, Lu Yong only shook his head slightly.

"It probably wasn’t Li Wanhao."

Yet Liang Zhijie couldn’t believe it, and decisively countered, "Impossible. Aside from him, no one else has the strength."

"Nor the motive."

And that point wasn’t wrong.

Although Jiangbei was chaotic, most of the leaders of the various powers shared a commonality—they mostly just wanted to keep to their own turf and live a peaceful life.

Of course, one could also say these people simply wanted to be emperors in their own territories.

You don’t attack me, I don’t attack you.

Everyone lives in peace.

After all, food, clothing, and other necessities now lay scattered along the streets outside. If anyone wanted them, nobody else would stop them from taking what they needed.

Furthermore, a complex web of allied relationships kept each other in check, overall leading to stability.

Only Li Wanhao was different.

What he wanted wasn’t just to control Wanhao District. He aimed for the entire Sanjiang City and possibly an even larger territory.

It was also for this reason that he established a so-called government within his territory.

Then he went on to create various departments and enact laws.

In such a climate, any power that stood in the way of Wanhao District’s expansion would be eradicated or absorbed. The purification plant, a major thorn in Li Wanhao’s side, naturally became a top priority.

Just when Liang Zhijie was sure that Li Wanhao was the perpetrator, Lu Yong suddenly emphasized, "It definitely wasn’t Li Wanhao’s people."

Liang Zhijie did not refute this time but looked intently at him, obviously wanting to know the basis for such a confident claim.

The answer was quickly revealed.

"Because this news was brought back by the military team."

"The military team?"

Liang Zhijie was somewhat surprised again.

"The military team didn’t just leave a few days ago..."

As he spoke, something seemed to click in his mind, but his thoughts were still clouded, as if shrouded in a fog, impeding his clarity.

Lu Yong continued directly without pause, "Yes, the military team."

"Do you remember the person I introduced you to a few days ago?"

"You mean that deputy commander of the third squad of the military team with one blind eye?"

Liang Zhijie immediately recalled.

"Exactly."

"He just returned from outside."

"The news came from him."

Lu Yong nodded, then added, "Commander Wu Yue has been out on a mission with his men recently, hasn’t he?"

"They indeed intended to strike at the water purification plant."

"Too bad they were one step too late."

"Late?"

"What do you mean?"

Liang Zhijie became even more perplexed as he saw Lu Yong’s gaze suddenly shift to the unopened can on the table, his expression unconsciously growing extremely complex.

"Rats."

"Mutant rats."

"The whole water purification plant had been taken over by a swarm of mutant rats that appeared from who knows where."

"Wu Yue’s people were initially puzzled; despite having entered the territory of the water purification plant, they didn’t see any sentries or patrolling personnel."

Lu Yong spoke with a hint of horror appearing in his eyes.

Yet he continued.

"At first, they thought there was some internal trouble at the plant, which led to lapses in their external defenses."

"Wu Yue immediately led his armed team swiftly towards the water purification plant." Find your next read on novelbuddy

"And what they discovered..."

Liang Zhijie swallowed hard, even though he had guessed the answer, he couldn’t help but ask, "What did they find?"

Lu Yong lifted his eyelids to look at him, his voice now trembling a bit:

"Dead."

"All dead."

"The water purification plant was infested with rats everywhere."

"The armed team didn’t even have a chance to go inside and take a look before the rats found them, had they not been at a safe distance then, those dozens of people wouldn’t have made it back either."

After saying this, both of them fell into silence.

Liang Zhijie was stunned into silence for a long while.

In his eyes, there was only shock.

The water purification plant that had stood firm against Li Wanhao for half a year was gone just like that?

To be devoured by a horde of rats?

That was one of the major settlements in Jiangbei District, four to five hundred lives, extinguished in an instant?

A deep abyss of fear instantly enveloped both of them.

At this moment, the long-forgotten fear of the outside world swiftly surged back, and they realized that the dark cloud hanging over many survivors’ heads was not just the enemy forces.

But these wild beasts that had mutated under the influence of the Corpse Worm and were rapidly adapting to the environment.

The crazed and vast swarm of rats was likely just one of them.

There were many other things that people either didn’t know about or hadn’t paid attention to, swiftly adapting to the new environment, waiting for the right moment to suddenly leap out and reveal their presence to the world.

After the panic subsided, the two decided to report this news to the company immediately.

The walkie-talkie left by Peng Liu happened to come in handy.

The maximum communication range of five kilometers was just within the signal reception for Jiangbei Base, which was less than four kilometers away from Wanhao District.

And upon receiving this news, Peng Liu almost bit his tongue in shock.

"Are you two sure there’s no mistake?"

"It’s a rat swarm?"

Seeing Lu Yong looking at him, Liang Zhijie nodded emphatically: "The message came from inside the armed force of Wanhao District; there can be no mistake, and they have no reason to deceive us with false information."

Peng Liu quickly reviewed in his mind and felt that he was right.

Fuck, this was serious.

After putting down the walkie-talkie, he went straight to find his elder brother, Peng Yue, and then informed Gao Feng, who was in charge of the overall security of Jiangbei Base. They quickly agreed on something.

This matter had to be reported to Director Zhang immediately.

They had to go themselves.

So Gao Feng did not hesitate to drive to the company’s headquarters in the city center and met Zhang Ye, who was inspecting an armored vehicle.

"Boss."

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"There’s trouble in the north."