Chapter 13: Satan Calls It Like an Expert

“Lai San is currently not leaving the main base at all. Except for some patrol squads sent out, thousands of lackeys are all clustered around the base, acting as a human shield.”

“That guy has learned his lesson—he even knocked down nearby tall buildings. Brother Long has no sniper vantage points. We can only solve this through close-range assassination, which is practically an unsolvable problem.”

“To break through their human wave tactics, we must lure the snake out of its hole. Here’s my proposal...”

After a moment, Lu Wenwu smiled warmly at the other four, who stared at him as if he were a devil.

The reason was simple: the seemingly harmless Lu Wenwu had just proposed a method that even a seasoned Russian counterterrorism officer would admire...

“We spread out the survivors’ locations to bait the infected into mobilizing their entire forces. Then we seize the opportunity to strike during the timing gap, reducing the difficulty of the assassination.”

“Anyway, after completing the main mission, we teleport out immediately. No need to worry about getting ambushed when we return.”

“What? What if we fail the main mission?”

“Then we’re done for. What else is there to say?”

“If we can’t succeed in the assassination even after drawing out the infected’s entire army, then there’s simply no other way to complete it.”

“Even a fool can see those survivors won’t help us willingly.”

“Otherwise, wouldn’t someone have spoken up when Lu Wenwu was trying to persuade them?”

Thinking about it, most of the tough ones probably already perished alongside previous players. The remaining survivors are all cowardly, fearful, and incompetent.

“This plan... is pretty brutal...” Wei Long said dryly.

The honest special forces squad leader felt his worldview shaken but was too respectful of Lu Wenwu’s strength and contributions to say much.

Yuan Shi stammered, “Bro Five... isn’t this approach a bit too...”

“Too inhumane?” Super Niu, having recovered, struggled to chew another pancake, “Then do you have a better solution?”

Yuan Shi frowned, considering for a moment. “Well... logically, shouldn’t we reason with them, appeal to their emotions, get those survivors to assist us wholeheartedly, learn about the world and background from them, find the weaknesses of Ma Guang and the infected, and then...”

“Then we end up like those others—assimilated rates soaring over forty percent, forever branded with disgrace for dragging down Bro Five,” Ye Hongyuan sighed. “Little Yuan, you don’t want to take a bunch of useless teammates into battle, do you?”

Yuan Shi hesitated, “No... I don’t.”

“Would you count passive assistance as assistance?” Ye Hongyuan asked.

“Maybe... yes.”

“Did we learn about the world and the infected’s weaknesses?”

“Yes... it’s been eight years since the contamination began. The population of the City of Evolution has sharply declined during the civil war. The infected respond sluggishly to scents.”

“Well, then that’s perfect! Don’t be too rigid.”

Ye Hongyuan spread his hands with a smile.

“In your youthful terms, your game understanding is still far behind Bro Five’s. Only by using every available resource can we go further, earn better ratings, and save more people.”

“Hmm... even if it’s inhumane—if those creatures can still be called human,” Lu Wenwu glanced at Ye Hongyuan in surprise.

The near-sixty chief physician was surprisingly insightful.

No wonder he was the most successful among them all.

Wei Long sighed, patting Yuan Shi’s shoulder, conveying unspoken understanding.

As former soldiers, their rigid thinking was hard to change.

“Alright, a serious question,” Wei Long sighed again. “How can we be sure the infected will actually come out in full force and fall for our bait?”

Lu Wenwu answered confidently, “Hunger.”

“Hunger?” The others were momentarily stunned.

Lu Wenwu nodded. “You might not notice, but from my observation, whether it’s the infected patrol squads or the mutated beast-men, their eyes are filled with hunger.”

“Hunger is an irresistible temptation for any creature, especially a group starved for who knows how long. Uninfected beings should be a deadly lure for them.”

“Of course, I have no concrete evidence—this is a reasonable guess based on information and some literary works.”

“Wait... so you’re saying they capture survivors to eat them?” Yuan Shi mumbled uncertainly. “And that they’re very hungry... Bro Five, is this really reliable?”

“About 80% sure. We’ll scout tomorrow and run an experiment to confirm,” Lu Wenwu said calmly. “As for judging hunger, I’m a cook—I’ve seen plenty of starving wolves.”

Hunger—that was directly read through his insightful eye.

The idea that infected captured survivors to eat was Lu Wenwu’s speculation.

They had learned that this apocalypse world had lasted over eight years.

Except for the survivors’ fortified base, which stored some supplies, food in the city must have long been exhausted.

The infected neither farmed nor produced anything—where else would their food come from?

Moreover, as the middle-aged man, thoroughly convinced by “virtue,” had described, Lai San’s followers had dwindled over the years, but their average strength had improved.

Lu Wenwu guessed they were likely cannibalizing each other.

The losers became food, and the survivors grew stronger.

This was nothing unusual.

In times of famine, humans eat humans.

The city was so empty there wasn’t a single corpse, not even mutated stray cats or dogs often seen in apocalypse stories—likely because they had all been eaten.

Ma Guang’s group had probably been starving for a long time, which was why none of their health bars were full.

But they were no longer ordinary humans; they could endure longer, maintaining sufficient combat power to survive until now.

“One last question,” Wei Long pondered. “If all the survivors die, would our mission fail? Or would it affect the mission rating?”

“What’s our main mission?” Lu Wenwu asked in return.

“To assassinate the infected... oh, sorry, no more questions,” Wei Long realized belatedly. “Yuan Shi and I agree with this plan.”

“I agree with Brother Five’s idea,” Super Niu declared. “Whatever Brother Five says goes!”

“Agreed,” Ye Hongyuan added.

“Woof woof!” Maomao, who had been reluctantly playing the role of a mascot on the ground, joined in, wagging his paws and nodding.

Consensus reached among five humans and one dog.jpg

Lu Wenwu smiled slightly. “Good. Now, let me outline our plan for the next few days...”