Chapter 108: Formulating the Containment Plan

Given the present situation, Chen Yi felt that beyond showing tolerance to the injured, he must be especially wary of the final organization.

The people in that organization were ruthless and merciless; no one there could truly extend complete leniency to an enemy. For the sake of safety, he believed there was still much to be done.

After careful consideration, Chen Yi assigned Hu Sanhan to inspect the wounded refugees who came to the warship for help. Only one could be taken in at a time, and even that one had to undergo a month of evaluation before being fully admitted into the new recruits’ squad.

Lu Kai had a more delicate temperament, so he was put in charge of training the newly joined members of the squad.

It was not as if simply entering the team meant the refugees could eat, drink, and play to their hearts’ content. More importantly, they had to learn self-reliance and acquire the ability to withstand hardship.

“But you also have to think about the problems in this world,” Chu Yunxi said, raising an indispensable point. “You may feel these are things they should naturally complete, but those people may think these are our concerns and have nothing to do with them.”

“Then let them do as they please.”

Chen Yi gave another cold laugh. “If they want to survive without paying a price, then let them sink or swim on their own. We do not need philanthropists right now; we need people who can help one another out of difficulty. Of course, once there is combat, casualties are unavoidable. They must be mentally prepared to face all this. If they cannot, then they can never join us.”

What he said was not wrong, but Chu Yunxi still felt uneasy, always sensing that this matter would be difficult to end cleanly.

“Don’t worry.”

Patting his wife’s hand again, Chen Yi’s gaze was firm. “At a time like this, as long as we stand together, we can solve the problem.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Chu Yunxi muttered, drawing closer to Chen Yi. “But right now there are only a few of us. If we want to expand our numbers, it’s still a difficult task.”

“It’s fine.”

Chen Yi smiled again. “When things come, we accept them as they are. We still need to proceed step by step and make up for what we lack. Don’t be anxious. What is meant to come will come. There is no need to think about too much right now.”

With that, Chen Yi prepared to return to the small island from before. This time, however, he took the warship with him. Unlike last time, there were still unexplored matters on that island.

When they arrived again, they suddenly discovered that the island had been set ablaze.

Chen Yi hurried down at once and, together with the Great Kunpeng, used seawater to douse the flames. Yet by then, little remained of the island’s supplies, and even the zombies had withered almost entirely dry.

It was obvious that whoever had engineered the appearance of the tier-three zombies here could not tolerate their failure in the slightest.

“Boss, this is brutal,” Lu Kai and Hu Sanhan inhaled sharply. “Even if they were zombies, they at least went to complete the mission, and yet they ended up with this kind of fate.”

“Enough.”

Chen Yi sighed again, feeling that the matter was excessively cruel. But in this apocalyptic world, where even the slightest deviation could mean death, it was hardly surprising that some people would act this way.

After carefully examining the remaining debris around them, Chen Yi chose the newly fallen tree trunks that could still be used and had them carried aboard the battleship.

Lu Kai felt somewhat puzzled.

“What use are these tree trunks?”

“You don’t get it?” Chu Yunxi gave a faint smile. “In ancient times, people often killed with bamboo arrows. From the looks of it, Chen Yi’s choice has no other purpose than to make bamboo arrows or some other weapon that can save bullets.”

Chen Yi froze for a moment, then quickly looked at Chu Yunxi with an approving expression.

“Not bad, little woman. That idea is truly excellent. In the end, I may have the brains, but when it comes to reflexes, I’m still no match for you. Top student indeed, remarkable.”

Chu Yunxi’s cheeks turned slightly red.

“Don’t tease me. You’ve always been as meticulous as a thread; how could I ever compare with you?”

Chen Yi was about to speak again when he saw a layer of white mist beginning to spread out from within the island.

“Not good, get out of here!”

He wrapped an arm around Chu Yunxi and carried her into the air.

Lu Kai and Hu Sanhan, together with Sun Dawei, likewise avoided the attack through the power of spatial transfer from the black hole.

By then, the island had been completely engulfed in the white fog, making it look eerie and unsettling.

All of them could hear the shrieks of some kind of creature coming from within.

Lu Kai was trembling a little.

“Boss, what is this white fog? Why does it feel so strange? It’s not going to kill people, is it?”

Chen Yi frowned.

“It’s hard to say. From the cries inside right now, there may be serious trouble. As for whether the things making those sounds are still living beings, that cannot yet be determined with certainty.”

Chen Yaxi also voiced her position at this point.

“Then let me go take a look? My shuttle is pretty powerful.”

“Nonsense.”

Chen Yi shook his head at once. “How could that work? If something goes wrong when you go over there, what are we supposed to do?”

“Exactly.”

Chu Yunxi was equally opposed to Chen Yaxi’s suggestion. She had long since regarded the young girl as one of their own, just as Chen Yi did, so how could they allow her to take such a risk now?

“If anyone is going to take the risk, let me go.”

Chen Yi made his decision then and there. “After all, I have the ant-gene toxin conversion ability in me now. No matter what new kind of poison it is, I should be able to resolve it with ease.”

“No way, boss.”

Lu Kai immediately protested. “You’re our pillar of support. If something happens to you, what are we supposed to do?”

“It won’t happen.”

Chen Yi spoke again, his eyes still unwavering. “With me here, there will be no mistake.”

“We still need to see whether anything else might happen.”

Hu Sanhan had another thought at that moment.

“Rather than going inside, why not find a way to disperse this layer of toxin? Then when we go to the island, we might be able to uncover the truth. And as for whether this poison means those people failed to completely destroy the island’s lifeforms, that’s worth considering too. Otherwise, the presence of this smoke is simply too suspicious. After ordinary burning, the chance of producing such dense white smoke is not very high.”

These were indeed all questions.

Chen Yi understood this very clearly, and his brows were heavy with concern.

“A biohazard is one thing. The most troublesome issue is the existing zombie mutation itself. The tier-three zombie king is not the strongest thing out there. What I fear is that our real ordeal may only be beginning now.”

Chu Yunxi smiled with some relief. “But no matter how hard it is, aren’t we all by your side?”