"Jarvis, pull up the video related to the cross-river bridge."
"Of course, sir."
Jarvis responds, and the screen of the tablet flickers slightly, revealing a video recording.
The footage is indeed of the cross-river bridge, and from the angle of the camera, it seems to be recorded by a soldier from the military using recording equipment.
Two women exchange glances and simultaneously reach out to bring the tablet in front of them, placing it on the table and starting to watch intently.
"This was captured last night, after deciding to head to Donghai City, with Jarvis's help," Ray says, holding a beer.
"This is..."
The two women, while watching the video, suddenly change their expressions.
In the video, a police officer driving with his family arrives at a checkpoint, presents his badge, hoping to bypass the queue for inspection and cross the bridge directly.
However, the military personnel are very firm, not agreeing at all, and prevent them without any room for negotiation!
Then, the officer tries to drive through forcefully. What Zhao Zhirou and Liu Yuqing did not expect was that the military personnel actually ordered to open fire directly.
Bang bang bang—
Watching a series of gunshots ring out, bullets striking the car and sparks flying, Zhao Zhirou and Liu Yuqing are stunned.
Boom—
The sound of the car exploding follows, along with flames and smoke filling the entire screen.
As the flames and smoke clear from the screen, the officer and his family are seen to have perished in the exploded vehicle.
Thinking the video was about to end, the two women were shocked to find it continued.
At that moment, the screen flashes, and a large group of survivors appears, seemingly charging directly towards the camera.
Bang bang bang—
The next moment, a series of gunshots halt all the survivors in their steps.
"If anyone else disrupts the order, attempting to storm the checkpoint, they will be shot on sight!"
With the voice of an officer, the video recording comes to an end.
However, just before the screen goes dark, the two women catch a glimpse of a pile of bodies...
Zhao Zhirou, with a background in special police forces, recognizes at a glance that these are not the bodies of zombies, but of living people!
This realization completely shocks Zhao Zhirou!
Her long-held beliefs are starting to crumble!
Ray, casually offering her a piece of meat, says, "Things are different now. The rules that worked before are obsolete now. So, you need to change your way of thinking, otherwise, I can't guarantee that you won't end up like them next time."
Zhao Zhirou snaps back to reality and looks at Ray, who is nonchalantly drinking beer and smoking. She bites her lip, and after a moment, nods.
"I understand!"
With a burst of laughter, Liu Yuqing, who had recovered from the shock of the video, sees her expression and laughs, "He's just teaching you how to survive in these times. Why so serious?"
Liu Yuqing glances at Ray, "I've been taught by him several times."
During their time at the supermarket yesterday, Ray had taught her more than once. Although she knows Ray means well – after all, it's the apocalypse, and the world has truly changed, no longer the lawful, civilized society it used to be.
The weak are doomed not to survive!
And for women, unless you are strong enough to protect yourself, you're at risk of being reduced to someone else's object of play.
Especially if you are a beautiful woman!
"No, what Ray said makes a lot of sense..."
Zhao Zhirou comes to her senses, a bit embarrassed, she lowers her head and quickly takes a bite of her food to hide her discomfort.
Ray shrugs, "Learn a hundred ways to survive, but if you remember just one, you'll live longer than others!"
Crude, but undeniably true!
After finishing their meal, they quickly tidied up the table and moved together to the living room, settling down on the sofa.
However, the seating arrangement was somewhat intriguing; Ray sat on the large middle sofa, with the two women seated on either side.
Ray lit a cigarette, "Tonight, I plan to spread the news on the internet that the zombie virus has broken out in Shangbin City and that it has already fallen, to cause global panic."
"Spread it online, to cause global panic?" Zhao Zhirou was taken aback, "Hasn't the whole world already fallen?"
Since the outbreak of the apocalypse, she had hardly any chance to use a mobile phone or watch TV, let alone browse the internet for news. Even if she had the time, she would use it to stay vigilant or catch a moment's rest.
After all, in a post-apocalyptic world, lowering your guard could be deadly!
There was no opportunity to enjoy a luxury like now: taking a nice bath, changing into clean clothes, having a hearty dinner, and then relaxing on the sofa to discuss plans and strategies.
So, she had assumed the entire world had fallen.
"No, the news we got last night said the whole world hasn't fallen yet!" Liu Yuqing quickly explained, then looked at Ray with curiosity, "Causing global panic? What's the benefit of doing that?"
After hearing Liu Yuqing's explanation, Zhao Zhirou felt slightly relieved inside. The fact that not everything had fallen meant there was still hope. But upon hearing her question, she too became intrigued and turned her attention to Ray, waiting for his answer.
Facing the puzzled looks of the two women, Ray didn't offer an explanation. Instead, he picked up the beer from the coffee table for a sip and countered with a question: "Considering the military's current defensive posture, what do you think our chances are of getting through?"
Liu Yuqing didn't even need to think before shaking her head, "Almost no hope!"
Ray looked towards Zhao Zhirou.
Zhao Zhirou, furrowing her brows in thought, then looked up at Ray.
"I think I might understand what you're getting at!"
Ray smiled silently, gesturing for her to share her thoughts.
Liu Yuqing's gaze followed to Zhao Zhirou.
"Spreading the news will indeed cause global panic, but it will also directly alert everyone living in safe cities that the officials are hiding the truth! The outside world has actually fallen!"
"This way, people living in the cities will definitely find ways to ensure they can survive if their city falls in the future!"
"It will prompt more people to build walls and take protective measures in advance!"
"And the more people that survive, the more there will be to resist the zombies, preventing the collapse of civilized societal structures!"
"This also opens up many more options for us!"
"Besides, it can greatly reduce our visibility..."
"Until the military and the government completely overlook our existence!"