After careful consideration, Zhang Ye arrived at a satisfactory conclusion. As long as he remained within Building 25#, utilizing the firepower at his disposal and the strength of his secure house, even if residents from the other 29 buildings joined forces, they would be unable to harm him. In essence, in the current circumstances of extreme food scarcity and freezing temperatures, stepping out into the biting cold wind for even a short walk was a tremendous ordeal.
Twenty people combined could not match the strength of a single person from the past. "My personal safety is assured. At worst, I can ride my motorcycle to break through the encirclement and engage in guerrilla warfare using my weapons to slowly wear them down. However, doing so would be incredibly troublesome. How long would I have to keep killing people from Building 29#?"
"But if I don't kill them, they will definitely come to attack me." Zhang Ye pondered deeply. Whether to expend some time and energy to eliminate those in the neighborhood posing a threat to him or explore alternative solutions, Zhang Ye had not made up his mind in the short term.
He glanced at his phone and decided to chat with Li Jian. He wanted to see if all the building leaders had similar thoughts. Zhang Ye opened the chat with Li Jian and, without acknowledging him, Li Jian took the initiative to introduce their situation.
"Mr. Zhang, I come with sincerity, hoping to cooperate with you to build a harmonious home, a post-apocalyptic utopia."
"Up to now, only five elderly people in Building 18# have died, succumbing to complications caused by the extreme cold."
"Through reasonable planning and resource allocation, we are living harmoniously."
"I believe this is the best way to survive in the apocalypse, preserving the flame of human civilization and facilitating reconstruction after the snow disaster."
"Now, we lack an effective source of food. As a token of our desire to cooperate, we can offer manpower and resources to meet your various needs."
"We can also mediate relationships with other building units to avoid conflicts."
After reading Li Jian's introduction, Zhang Ye felt more at ease. Indeed, Li Jian, the financial director of a large group, had much higher emotional intelligence than Chen Lingyu, the pyramid scheme operator. Clear organization, concise presentation of interests, and a confident tone.
However, what Zhang Ye valued most was Li Jian's mention of building a harmonious home. Despite more than twenty days into the apocalypse, not a single person in Building 18# had died in conflicts. Zhang Ye looked at Zhou Keren, who was massaging his feet with care, and said, "Keren, do you know about Building 18#?"
After a moment of contemplation, Zhou Keren replied, "I've heard some things. It's said that their building leader is a very charismatic person. After the apocalypse, he united all the residents, adopted a method of centralized resource distribution, and most people have survived until now."
Zhang Ye sighed, "Indeed, he's a talent. Managing finances not only requires understanding how to manage but also knowing how to maximize benefits."
In reality, Li Jian's approach was the most reasonable. In contrast, other buildings, such as Zhang Ye's Building 25#, wasted a lot of resources due to conflicts and internal disputes. Theoretically, if a person did not engage in physical activity (including mental activity), they would consume very little energy in a day, and one meal would be sufficient.
"Li Jian is a talented individual," Zhang Ye exclaimed, but then added, "However, thinking of long-term survival in the apocalypse in this manner is still impossible."
Li Jian's ability lay in establishing order. Through his influence in Building 18#, he had united everyone early on. However, what if faced with an external attack?
The comfortable group of people, once confronted with the likes of Heaven's Alliance or Chen Zhenghao, the villain, would probably only end up being slaughtered.
This was similar to the ancient Central Plains civilizations repeatedly losing to nomadic civilizations. Without the protection of force, all stability and harmony were false.
Zhang Ye asked, "If I disagree, what will you do?"
Li Jian contemplated for a long time before replying with a message, "We approach you with sincerity and extend an invitation for cooperation. If you decline, I'll feel regret, but it doesn't mean your thoughts won't change in the future. I still look forward to the next opportunity for cooperation."
Zhang Ye smiled. This official way of responding seemed very pleasant.
"Why, don't you choose to attack Building 25#? Or when other building units attack, won't you choose to join?" Li Jian's reply was also very frank.
"Our military force is only used for self-defense and will not actively engage others. It's not that we lack the strength, but pointless internal strife would only result in mutual harm." Zhang Ye was impressed. Look at them, clearly being timid but insisting on speaking righteously.
Speaking of which, the harmonious home in Building 18# had passed half a month peacefully in the apocalypse, and indeed, they did not have the courage to fight with others.
Li Jian was a wise person.
He also understood that if Zhang Ye truly fought with others, even if they went over, they wouldn't get much benefit. It was better to sit back and watch the tigers fight. If Zhang Ye lost, and the snowmobile fell into someone else's hands, he could go find others to cooperate with.
"Wait for my reply."
After sending this message, Zhang Ye went to the friend request list to add other people. Due to the overwhelming number of people wanting to add him as a friend to ask for supplies
, he had ignored all friend requests.
Now, it seemed that everyone in the entire neighborhood, from each building, wanted to have a conversation with him and ask for help in gathering supplies. Indeed, after Zhang Ye added several more building leaders, their expressions of intent were almost indistinguishable from those of Chen Lingyu and Li Jian. They all hoped to cooperate with Zhang Ye, asking for his help in gathering supplies to survive.
However, their offered conditions were extremely limited. Only providing labor, women, and a promise not to take advantage in conflicts. The only difference was their attitude—whether it was good or bad, that was all.
Lying on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling, Zhang Ye murmured softly, "Now there are only two choices, fight or cooperate."
"Fighting means having to kill all those who threaten me. This is not impossible, but it's too time-consuming and requires too much ammunition. Killing the numerous residents in all 30 buildings in the neighborhood would deplete the ammunition I've stored. The ammunition reserves obtained from the police station aren't too much, only a bit over a thousand rounds. This is still a consideration under ideal circumstances. If they come to attack me and hide inside the building, I won't dare to take the risk of going in. Moreover, although I don't have any psychological shadow about killing, I'm not a psychotic butcher. Most people in the neighborhood don't have much resentment towards me. If I kill them all, I might feel a bit guilty. Damn, maybe I'll even end up with psychological issues."
Rubbing his temples, Zhang Ye felt that killing everyone in the entire neighborhood was not a good option. It would be too troublesome.