Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 986 - 426: Dividing the Spoils

Chapter 986: Chapter 426: Dividing the Spoils

Stone, Su Shi, and other transport workers were moving crates of supplies from the west side to the east side and then onto the helicopter. Stone didn’t look anything like a boss, gasping for air as he walked: "I really shouldn’t have come." His stamina was terrible; even climbing a staircase would have him panting like a pig, let alone moving supplies.

Regardless, the new first batch of supplies was quickly being moved away. Baldy counted the supplies and told everyone: "We need three more trips, 120 minutes, two hours."

Su Shi, hands on hips and too tired to move, said: "Baldy, did you forget to calculate the time it takes to transport everything?"

Baldy laughed: "Then let’s make it 150 minutes. Lin Wu, light it up."

Lin Wu took out an Incendiary Grenade from his backpack and threw it into the stairwell corner. Once lit, the gunmen all switched to pistols. With the noise reduced, the zombies outside stopped entering the building, but those near the stairs on the first floor continued to climb up.

"How many did we kill?" asked Lin Meng.

Lin Wu replied: "About a hundred, I’d say."

Lin Meng was surprised: "Only a hundred? Shouldn’t it be more like a thousand?"

Lin Wu: "At most two hundred."

Baldy, who was covering the rear, said: "Between 240-280. The zombies interfere with each other, and their bodies also slow down their attacking rhythm. You wasted quite a few bullets, resulting in a lot of ricochets. But your cooperation was very good and not focused on shooting just one or two targets, so you kept the zombies from advancing within five meters. It’s a very good result."

Baldy: "Don’t take off your helmets or goggles; we’re going to win this."

And Baldy was right; after hours of continuous fighting, humanity finally won.

Lin Wu was part of the last group to evacuate. It was his first time looking down at Zhongcheng District from the air during the day. The crowded district was teeming with zombies like a carnival, with no trace of survivors. This dampened his joy of success somewhat, for even knowing it was a game, seeing a city representing human civilization overrun by zombies was still hard to swallow.

...

Back at the railway bridge base, meals and tea were already prepared, giving the combatants a moment of happiness amidst their exhaustion.

After eating, Shana, Lin Meng, and Baldy counted all the supplies at the tail of the train. Up to now, neither base had proposed a plan for the distribution of supplies, which was quite rare for both sides. Therefore, after the count was finished, Shana and Baldy started negotiating the distribution of supplies.

Stone didn’t understand the approach of being a gentleman before a scoundrel, but he left the matter entirely to Shana. Stone grabbed Lin Wu and asked him to deal with Maya’s obsession with the helicopter. Ever since getting the helicopter, Maya had lost interest in the base’s affairs and fiddled with that toy every day.

Shana, the negotiator, was even more peculiar; she handed the decision-making power over to Baldy. Since Xiao Zhuan and the other four would stay at the railway bridge base, Baldy had no one to discuss the matter with.

The most important supplies, 15,000 rounds of 5.56 ammunition, Baldy took 5,000 rounds for himself. 8,000 rounds of 7.62 ammunition, Baldy didn’t want any. 30 carbines, Baldy took 15, leaving all the M4 models and all the Aka series rifles behind. He took 4 historically significant revolvers and left the other 80 pistols.

In addition, Baldy was very modest in distributing other supplies such as landmines, heavy machine guns, explosives, and grenades.

After finishing, everyone helped to load the supplies onto the train cars. Xiao Zhuan and others saluted Baldy goodbye, and driver Stone, with bodyguards Lin Wu and Lin Meng, set off to deliver Baldy and the supplies to the Veteran Base. Lin Meng was given the driving task while Stone had a drink with Baldy in the carriage and learned more about the Veteran Base.

Faced with Stone’s confusion, Baldy had to tell the truth. The trouble facing the Veteran Base wasn’t the aforementioned issue of having too many or too few people, because the base’s elders had the power to decide. The problem was the conflict between the power faction and the Military Rank Faction.

The first batch of veterans had management authority, but their military ranks were not very high when they retired, with the highest being Major Hu with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The third group to join included a Brigadier General, and after Major Hu’s death, seven people’s ranks exceeded that of the highest rank among the first batch of veterans.

Moreover, most veterans believed that Xiao Zhuan had successfully integrated the survivors and resources of the southern district and, even with ambitions, had a positive impact on the future of humanity.

Against this backdrop, the few first-batch veterans were already unable to turn the tide. The once seemingly strong Veteran Base changed its tune because of Xiao Zhuan’s continuous ’benevolent’ infusion of personnel, making the base a tool for the Alliance. Baldy continued to stay at the Veteran Base because he needed to integrate most of the personnel in support of an independent base, establish a program after relocating, and avoid becoming the Alliance’s hitmen.

Baldy had contacted the base in advance. When the tow truck arrived, about a dozen people came to help with the supplies. Some of them knew about the Veteran Club’s Vault reserves and asked Baldy about it. He told them that there had been some internal disagreements after Xiao Zhuan was injured, so they only secured a portion of the supplies. As for matters concerning Xiao Zhuan and the others, he would explain to everyone later. Most members of the Veteran Base were very satisfied with the haul and very warm to Lin Wu and the others, and even expressed guilt about the upcoming relocation of the base.

On the return trip, Stone summarized: "There are many good people, but good people are easy to use because they don’t just consider their own interests. It’s different for the bad guys; any proposal that doesn’t align with a bad guy’s interests is a bad proposal in their eyes. Don’t roll your eyes, Lin Wu, you’re a typical bad egg too, it’s just that your interests aren’t solely your own, you also consider the interests of your partners and the base."