I collect zombie kings in the apocalypse.

Chapter 46 Settling the Newcomers

He looked up and saw that it was the 10th floor of their building, number 3. A window was pushed open, and a dark red piece of cloth peeked out from the crack, swaying from side to side.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

The person on the 10th floor is the survivor whom Shen Qingci sensed yesterday, the one whose heart was filled with malice.

Instead of knocking on the other party's door, Lu Chen locked the fire door on that floor from the outside and deliberately left two zombies in the corridor, so that even if the other party had extraordinary abilities, they wouldn't be able to get out.

Now this "bad apple" is also actively seeking help.

Lu Chen withdrew his gaze, his face expressionless.

Building 3 is their core stronghold, but the 10th floor still has zombies and the person trapped inside, which is ultimately a hidden danger.

If we can clear this floor as well, the entire Building 3 will be a safe zone. We can live on whichever floor we want, and supplies can be stored in different locations.

"Let's go up and take a look later."

Lu Chen made a decision: "Let's see how smart he is!"

It doesn't matter if the other party is evil at heart, as long as they are clear-headed, know how to assess the situation, and know when to bow their head and when to cooperate, they can be saved for the sake of military merit.

When the time comes, we'll arrange for someone to live on a separate floor and have a few zombies keep an eye on them; they won't be able to cause any trouble.

But if the other side is both wicked and stupid, and can't see the situation clearly, then don't blame him; he doesn't need this one military merit.

Soon, the group entered Building 3 in a grand procession.

Lu Chen had two fully armed zombies guard the entrance to the building, and then he led the remaining zombies and 46 new survivors up the fire escape stairs.

When they arrived on the third floor, Gao Yuan and his men were already waiting there; he hadn't had a moment's rest this morning.

While Lu Chen and Shen Qingci led their team out to sweep the building, Gao Yuan, along with several support staff who remained on the 5th floor, cleaned the 3rd and 4th floors from top to bottom.

Although the zombies had been cleared from these two floors before, they had only killed the zombies and dragged away the bloodstains. The clutter in the rooms and the personal belongings of the original residents were still piled up in the same place, making them uninhabitable.

Gao Yuan led his team to clean every room again, sorted and packed up useful items and moved them to the 5th floor supply warehouse, and piled up useless junk in the fire escape for later disposal.

Each bedroom has a few mattresses, and the living room has a few more cots. Each room can accommodate up to four or five people.

These two floors together are more than enough to house fifty or sixty survivors.

Upon arriving on the third floor, Lu Chen handed over all the newly arrived survivors to Gao Yuan for management.

Before he set off this morning, Gao Yuan had trained five people in advance to be responsible for registration and room allocation. They were all among the survivors rescued yesterday who were more meticulous and articulate.

Today, they followed Gao Yuan around the 3rd and 4th floors, rehearsing in advance how many people would stay in each room, how men and women would be separated, and all the procedures.

Before assigning rooms, Lu Chen first found Shen Qingci, pulled her aside, and asked in a low voice, "Among these new survivors, how many are truly ruthless?"

"Three." Shen Qingci was clearly prepared and quickly recited the names and physical characteristics of the three people.

After listening to her, Lu Chen called Gao Yuan over and asked him to arrange for the three people to be in the same room by themselves.

Gao Yuan was taken aback. A separate room seemed like special treatment.

But he glanced at Lu Chen's expression, asked nothing, nodded immediately, quickly scribbled a few lines in his notebook, and turned to make arrangements.

Gao Yuan is a smart man; he knows what he should ask and what he shouldn't ask.

This quality is also one of the important reasons why Lu Chen is increasingly satisfied with him.

The entire registration and allocation process was efficient and rapid.

Five registrars each took charge of an area. Each new survivor first registered their name, age, pre-apocalyptic occupation, and any special skills before being led to a designated room.

In just half an hour, all 46 people were assigned their own mattresses.

Those survivors who followed Lu Chen and Shen Qingci back, their faces still showing trepidation, visibly relaxed their shoulders the moment they sat down on their beds.

Although the room was cramped, it had doors and windows, clean bedding, and heavily armed zombies standing guard in the corridor. This sense of security was something they had never experienced in their own rooms.

Next came the lunch that everyone was most looking forward to.

Of course, this is also what Lu Chen was hoping for.

Because the number of people suddenly increased from 20 to 66, the temporary canteen in room 503 was simply too crowded.

Gao Yuan made a last-minute decision to vacate room 504 as a dining room, and the two rooms together had a total of six large round tables.

Sixty-six people filled the two rooms to the brim, the clatter of bowls and chopsticks mingling with the hushed conversations, and the air filled with the aroma of braised pork, stir-fried vegetables, and steamed buns.

Sun Xiulan and her two assistants worked at full capacity at noon today. The braised pork was the last piece of fresh meat they had, and they put everything else in the pot, adding plenty of soy sauce.

The stir-fried vegetables were potted plants that we brought down from a balcony this morning. There wasn't much of them, and each person got a few bites.

There's plenty of rice; several large rice cookers are used in rotation. Of course, since there's no electricity now, we use a pressure cooker on the gas stove to simmer the rice one pot at a time.

Before eating, Gao Yuan cleared his throat and picked up the enamel mug.

"Everyone, please put down your chopsticks and listen to me for a moment."

The room gradually quieted down. The old survivors of Building 3 were used to this routine. When they saw Gao Yuan stand up, they habitually put down their chopsticks and picked up their cups.

The new survivors were still a little confused, but when they saw the old people standing up, they followed suit and stood up one after another.

Gao Yuan didn't spout any profound theories; his tone was as plain as ever, his pronunciation clear, and his pace neither too fast nor too slow.

"This morning everyone was still trapped in their rooms, and zombies were still roaming the corridors outside. Nobody knew how many more days they could hold out."

"The reason we're all sitting here now, with hot food and so many people watching over us, isn't because we're lucky, it's because there are two of us."

"Our Captain Lu Chen and Vice Captain Shen Qingci cleared out the zombies floor by floor and rescued us."

He paused here, his gaze slowly sweeping over each face, and then, as usual, raised his glass, bowed slightly, his voice low but heavy.

"Thank you, Captain! Thank you for lunch! Thank you for surviving another day!"

The elderly residents of Building 3 echoed this sentiment in unison, their movements of standing up, raising their cups, and bowing in perfect unison.

Among the new survivors, some reacted quickly and immediately stood up to pick up their cups, while others were a beat slower and had their sleeves tugged by the people next to them. Some held empty cups with trembling lips, their emotions stuck in their throats, and when they opened their mouths, it turned into a sob.

Lu Chen sat at the head of the table in room 503, holding a cup and looking around.

His face showed no emotion, but the meteorite mark on his left wrist was experiencing a surge of warmth that only he could feel.

There were 66 people, 46 of whom were attending the pre-meal thanksgiving for the first time.

Their gratitude was scalding; a powerful warmth flowed into the meteorite imprint, making the inside of his wrist feel faintly hot.

After thanking 503, he took Gao Yuan to 504 again and repeated the process.

After expressing his gratitude to both sides, Lu Chen sat back down in his seat and picked up his chopsticks.

During a break from eating, he secretly glanced at his left wrist while picking up food; the fluorescence of the meteorite mark had reached about 80%.

Without a doubt, if we have dinner again, we can start another round of intensive training today.