Chapter 144: An Expedition to the Eastern Suburbs

After leaving Xun’er, Wu Jue went to the front courtyard. It was time to organize the group and prepare for the next stage of his plans.

Huron had already been sent to make contact with the people in the eastern suburbs. When the time came, they would find an excuse to seize their territory. Ning City would soon belong to him.

So long as the Heavenly Execution Clan did not come meddling first, he could devote himself to studying the particle cannon, put it into mass production, and use the zombies here as test subjects.

For that, he would need Xiao Yang’s help with the necessary connections. Wu Jue was about to ask Miao Pu to deliver a message when he saw Scar Hua being released. The man said he wanted to see Wu Jue.

“You come inside with me,” Wu Jue said. “Say whatever you have to say.”

The two entered the room. Completely off guard, Wu Jue took out a cigar and handed it to him, letting Scar Hua try it first. Then he sat down on the sofa and asked with a smile, “So? You enjoyed yourself yesterday, didn’t you? Finding it hard to leave? Thinking of staying?”

Scar Hua accepted the cigar but did not smoke it. Instead, he slipped it into his pocket and stared at Wu Jue.

“If I said I wanted to stay, would you believe me? Don’t you think I might look for an opportunity to kill you and become the boss myself?”

He sat down on the sofa as well, staring fixedly at Wu Jue. His eyes, however, were frighteningly empty.

“What’s the matter? You got a taste of the good life yesterday and can’t bear to leave?” Wu Jue lit his own cigar and slowly blew out a ring of smoke, making no direct reply.

The two sat in silence for half a minute. Not until a small column of ash had formed on Wu Jue’s cigar did he flick it into the ashtray. Then he stood and patted Scar Hua on the shoulder.

“Don’t bother trying. I gave you an opportunity, but you couldn’t bring yourself to act. If you want to kill me, become as strong as I am first. Now come out. I have something for you to do.”

Only after Wu Jue had left did Scar Hua finally exhale in relief. He leaned back against the sofa, drenched in cold sweat. He had spent the entire night brewing the resolve to confront Wu Jue, yet when the moment came, it had been utterly useless.

Only now did he understand how terrifying Wu Jue was. Deep within him, the desire to follow such a man began to take root.

Looking at Wu Jue’s powerful back, he suddenly realized that in this apocalyptic world, this strongman was the support he needed to cling to.

Wu Jue left the room again and glanced at Miao Pu, who was basking on the roof. He called out, “Hey, Miao Pu! You should know what’s happened here by now. Go back to C City and find Xiao Yang.”

Miao Pu rose lazily, stretched, and meowed twice before jumping from the roof and leaving the courtyard.

Now it was time to accomplish something truly important.

Wu Jue went downstairs and summoned Old He along with the newly recruited survivors. Addressing them, he said, “From today onward, you can all rest easy. As long as I’m here, your lives will only get better. Under my rule, as long as you work hard and make an effort, you will be rewarded. Don’t assume that all I know how to do is kill people and seize territory. I will be more disciplined than the bosses who died before me. I have no interest in taking your personal belongings, nor will I seize them without reason. All I require is absolute loyalty.”

He checked the time, then continued, “Next, I may have to go to the eastern suburbs to negotiate a deal. While I’m away, Old He, Xun’er, and Sister Ming will handle everything. The three of them will decide how supplies are distributed. While I’m gone, Xun’er has the authority to decide who lives and who dies, so don’t underestimate her. That’s all.”

He gave Old He a few more instructions, telling him to drill the men whenever there was nothing else to do and keep them ready for battle at all times.

Only then did Wu Jue lead Scar Hua, who had come downstairs, outside.

“Come with me,” he said. “It’s time for you to make your appearance.”

The two of them took a car and set off for the eastern suburbs to see how Huron and the others were doing.

They took a winding route along the way, avoiding the zombies roaming through the city. As Scar Hua drove, he asked, “With so many zombies around—and who knows how many there are elsewhere—what are we supposed to do in the future?”

Wu Jue smiled. “Are you afraid? You people are truly spineless. You hide in your little haven and enjoy yourselves, never thinking of fighting the zombies for territory.”

He rolled down the window and displayed the particle cannon he carried with him. Taking aim at a zombie wandering along the roadside, he grinned.

“Let me show you something new.”

He fired without warning. The blast struck the zombie and exploded it into pieces, splattering the ground with blood. Scar Hua was so startled that his hands jerked, sending the car swerving sharply.

“What is that? How can it be so powerful?”

“A secret weapon!” Wu Jue said with a laugh. “A fine tool for dealing with zombies!”

Under Scar Hua’s astonished gaze, he then told him to keep driving, and they headed straight for their destination in the eastern suburbs.

Although they had taken a detour, the journey was not a short one. Along the way, Wu Jue saw the ruined remains of the city and asked Scar Hua, “This place has been destroyed beyond recognition. How long have you been here? After the crisis broke out, did you ever think of leaving?”

Scar Hua shook his head. “Leave? Where would I go? Some people had already fled here from other places. After hearing what they said, I learned that this place was considered relatively safe. There are only mutated zombies here. In some places, there are actual monsters, and one careless mistake is enough to get you eaten. If you hadn’t appeared, I might still be wasting my days under Brother Cheng.”

“Wasting your days won’t do,” Wu Jue said, his eyes shining as he gazed outside. “If you keep living like that, sooner or later someone will eat you. A man must think ahead.”

As they spoke, they left the highway and arrived outside a resort. Scar Hua stopped the car and pointed ahead.

“That’s the place. Brother Cheng brought me here once before. It’s practically paradise. You know what a resort is, right? This one is unbelievably luxurious. The guards at the entrance are all experts, and the zombies can’t get anywhere near it.”

“The zombies may not be able to get in, but that doesn’t mean I have no way in. Just watch.”

Wu Jue sat quietly in the car, studying the resort entrance while waiting for Huron to send him a signal.

***

Half a day earlier.

Huron drove the injured Ah Hu to the resort and stopped outside.

“We’re here,” he asked. “How do we get in?”

Ah Hu looked at Huron, who had taken on the identity of Brother Cheng, and could not help laughing.

“If you’re Brother Cheng, you should know how to get inside. He used to be a regular here. If you don’t know the details, how do you plan to get in?”

A trace of displeasure appeared on Huron’s face. He suddenly sounded the horn. Before long, two men appeared from inside the gate. Each carried a Beretta pistol as they approached the vehicle and aimed at the two occupants.

“Brother Cheng, Ah Hu, what brings you here?”

“Can’t you see that Ah Hu is injured?” Huron shoved the man beside him forward. “Tell the bosses inside that something major has happened in Ning City. They shouldn’t remain ignorant of it. We’ve come to warn them.”

The two guards recognized Ah Hu and Brother Cheng. Seeing that Ah Hu was seriously wounded, they suspected that something truly serious had happened. One remained at the gate while the other went inside to report.

A moment later, he returned and said, “The boss says you’re to get out and come inside. Leave the car outside.”

Huron did not argue. He helped Ah Hu out of the vehicle. The two guards searched them thoroughly and, after confirming that they carried no dangerous items, allowed them inside.

As soon as they entered the resort, they saw a huge swimming pool filled with women in swimsuits. Several men were playing with women in the water as well. It was a scene of heavenly luxury, something that should never have existed in the middle of an apocalypse.

Huron was mildly astonished, but did his best to remain calm as he followed the guards inside.

Before they reached the hall, they saw a woman wearing sunglasses leaning against the doorway. She greeted Huron with a smile.

“Well, if it isn’t Brother Cheng! What brings you here today? And with Ah Hu, too? Have you grown tired of the women around you and come looking for something different? Honestly, you men are always chasing after something new. But we have plenty of girls here—little celebrities, campus beauties, whatever you want. Nothing like the women over in your territory, all of them selling themselves and degrading their own bodies.”

Her few sentences were overflowing with the air of a woman from the pleasure districts. Huron found himself unable to respond at once, unable to determine who she was.

Ah Hu answered for him.

“I’m talking to you, Sister Zhao. You used to be an idol yourself. How did becoming a director make you so shameless? We’re here on serious business. Can’t you see I’m wounded and about to die? Could you stop wasting our time?”

Sister Zhao quickly stepped aside and said sulkily, “Fine, I’ll move. Just don’t come begging me for anything later.”

She slipped away, only to walk over to the swimming pool and call out to the girls enjoying themselves there.

Huron lowered his voice and asked Ah Hu, “Who exactly is this Sister Zhao?”

Ah Hu chuckled. “A famous director who helps people launder money. Everything she makes becomes a hit. If the apocalypse hadn’t happened, the backer behind her would have been incredibly powerful—strong enough to stand on equal footing with the South China Gang in this region.”

Huron memorized the name Sister Zhao. She was clearly no ordinary woman. Anyone capable of moving among the underworld was bound to possess some kind of ability.

They continued farther inside and reached the main hall. In the center, two middle-aged men sat on several leopard-skin sofas, each embracing a woman and loudly discussing vulgar matters.

When the two newcomers entered, the men patted the women beside them and sent them away. Only then did one of them address the visitors.

“Old Cheng, what happened to you and Ah Hu? You’ve fallen on hard times!”

The speaker was a middle-aged man with a face covered in fleshy folds and a pair of glasses. He sat there with an air of imperious authority. Based on the information Huron had received earlier, this man was likely Ren Tiancheng, one of the monsters controlling the eastern suburbs.

In Ning City and throughout Anhui Province, Ren Tiancheng was a man of immense wealth and influence, powerful enough to cover the sky with one hand. He had made his fortune in construction, then moved into land contracting and real-estate development through government partnerships, amassing wealth beyond measure.

He was the rich man most feared and hated by ordinary people. When the apocalypse arrived, he relied on his abundant resources to hire mercenaries as bodyguards and transform his own resort into a paradise where he could live in comfort, secluded from the outside world.

As for the man sitting opposite him, he was presumably Ren Tiancheng’s partner—the former Ning City official Zhu Yibiao.

Huron immediately sounded him out.

“It hasn’t come to that. But our good days are almost over.”

“A monk came from outside and took the territories belonging to both our groups by force. His next move will be to come after the two of you.”

Apocalypse Martial God, Chapter 144: Eastern Suburbs Expedition — Complete.