Miles then sent a private message to Anthony: "If you want food, do exactly as I say. Organize the others to go out and eliminate the zombies."
Anthony responded without hesitation, "You got it, Miles. Consider it done!"
Anthony, like most of the residents, was far more concerned about food than the infection. Without food, they'd die of starvation long before they risked becoming zombies. Miles' offer was a lifeline to him.
"As I said, let's protect our home by eradicating these zombies!" Miles announced in the chat. "If everyone agrees, I'll provide thirty portions of food daily. And if anyone captures a zombie, they'll get a whole roasted chicken as a reward!"
To those enduring this catastrophe, a roasted chicken held a value beyond measure, worth more than lives themselves.
Anthony chimed in eagerly, "Really, Miles?"
"Of course."
"So if I capture Andrew, you'll really give me a whole chicken?"
Miles replied by posting a picture of a roasted chicken. "If you capture or eliminate Andrew, it's all yours."
"Damn, I'm in!" Anthony announced to the group. "We're all gonna die if we just sit here, so why not go for it? Either I eat that chicken, or I become a zombie. At this point, what's there to lose?"
That sentiment resonated. Now it was no longer a choice between life and death but about how to live and how to die.
Soon, other voices rose in agreement:
"Miles, I'll follow you if you can spare a meal!"
"I'm in!"
"So am I!"
Miles watched the flood of replies with satisfaction and added, "Don't worry, thirty portions of food daily, no exceptions. But how you divide it is up to you. Just know…"
He let the warning linger for a moment. "If anyone thinks they can slack off and just reap the benefits, don't blame me for what comes next…"
Then, he added Ryan to the group chat.
"This is Ryan," he announced. "From now on, he'll be overseeing this. If you want to join, report to him directly. And let me be clear—anyone caught scheming gets dealt with on the spot."
Before Ryan could respond, his phone exploded with friend requests. Good thing he had plenty of power; otherwise, the flood of messages would've drained his battery in minutes.
Yet, the device started to lag from the overload, prompting him to report the issue to Miles, who chuckled. "Is that all? Open your window—I'll throw you a few iPhone 24s."
Even under normal circumstances, Ryan could never have afforded such a luxury. Now he sat there, grinning at the brand-new device, although the barrage of notifications quickly became annoying.
Annoyed, he typed into the chat: "Anyone who spams me again won't even get a scrap of chicken!"
Silence fell.
After adding the volunteers to a new group chat, Ryan gave it a fitting name: "Zombie Eradication Squad."
Miles joined the new group and laughed at the name.
This Ryan really had a knack for this.
Inside the chat, Ryan was already giving orders: "Everyone, meet at the entrance to Building 104 in an hour. We'll conduct a sweep of the area—report any suspicious figures or zombies immediately!"
Someone asked, "Isn't Miles coming with us?"
Ryan snapped, "Are you stupid? Miles is our leader. If he dies, say goodbye to that roasted chicken!"
Though they resented the logic, the residents couldn't disagree. They knew that if Miles came out now, the angry crowd would tear him apart long before the zombies got a chance.
An hour later, Ryan appeared, clad in a sleek, insulated spacesuit.
It was custom-prepared by Miles—a training suit for astronauts. Besides extreme cold resistance, it offered impressive radiation protection. Its lightweight material allowed complete freedom of movement, a necessity for survival outside.
Before long, the assembled residents—Anthony, his three henchmen, and a crowd of four to five hundred people—gathered.
So many people, yet only thirty portions of food. The tension was palpable; it seemed another battle was inevitable.
Miles would not increase the rations. He understood the "hungry wolf" effect too well. Drop one piece of meat into a starving pack, and the strongest emerge, while the others become willing followers. Over time, the survivors would adapt to this fierce competition, growing loyal to the one who provided.
Whether this competition led to casualties was of no concern to Miles. In this world, the value of a human life was reduced to a mere number.
All he cared about was the outcome.
The Zombie Eradication Squad moved out, dividing into four groups led by different team leaders to conduct a thorough search of Cloudtop Heights.
Anthony was one of these leaders.
Titles here required no formal election—only the hardest fists and the strongest will.
The second squad leader, Sini, was a familiar face to Miles. She'd initially been part of the group that led the assault on his villa alongside Tyler.
Then there was the third team leader, Sarah, a former telecom executive who, like Anthony, had her own loyal followers.
But the most intriguing leader was an elderly man in his seventies.
Despite his age and frail appearance, Miles had witnessed him knock out a burly two-hundred-pound man with a single punch.
These four might be the leaders now, but in a world falling apart, only the most ruthless could truly rule.