CHAPTER 282: CHAPTER 282: A NEW OPENING

"You’re such a bastard!" she hissed, eyes wet now. "You could’ve just stayed gone."

"I could’ve.." he agreed. "But I need Zone 4."

She stepped forward, ignoring the cold sweat breaking down her back. "And what if I say no?"

Feng’s eyes glinted, but he didn’t sat anything.

Instead, he took a single step aside and the army behind him obeyed.

The area elow moved like a breathing tide. Seven hundred corpses shifting in eerie synchronicity, silent, obedient and terrifying.

Wuxiu stumbled back a step.

"You wouldn’t!"

[He will. It’s best to back down. ] Her system replied.

"I don’t want to fight you," he said. "But I will if I have to."

Wuxiu stared at him for a long time.

Then she exhaled, quietly. "...You really haven’t changed."

"I have.." he said. "I just don’t lie to myself about who I am."

She looked away, bitter, and nodded.

"Fine. It’s your zone now."

Feng Yizhou didn’t thank her. What he was going was still going got benefit her eventually.

"Rest.." he said over his shoulder. "I’m not here to destroy it. I’m here to rebuild."

The next morning, the new banner of Zone 4 was raised.

It wasn’t a flag. It was presence. The sheer, visible difference. The undead no longer attacked, they patrolled.

Survivors whispered Feng Yizhou’s name in fear and awe, but none dared resist. His rule spread like a system notification.

By noon, two new arrivals approached the central tower: Haoyu and Sun Zi Mo.

Feng Yizhou was waiting on the balcony.

"About time.." he said, arms folded. "You’re late."

Haoyu grinned, walking up with ease. "Sorry. I had to get past your new border patrol. They don’t talk much. Brother Feng."

Sun Zi Mo stood quietly behind him, face unreadable, hands in his pockets.

Feng’s gaze swept over them both, then settled on Haoyu. "Your system’s the Survival Guide, isn’t it?"

Haoyu nodded. "Yeah."

"Good. You’ll help me restructure this zone." Feng Yizhou turned away from them, pointing down toward the northern ruins. "Issue public tasks. Food, fortification, resource recovery. Prioritize endurance. You know how it works. If you don’t, your system will tell you what to do.."

Haoyu nodded.

Then he turned to Sun Zi Mo.

"You," he said. "I’ve mapped out areas of heavy rot and infestation. I need them cleared. Use your ability only when I say. I need precise detonations. Start with sectors D3, E1, and G5."

Sun Zi Mo "I understand sir."

While all these new development was going on, another team also had their plans.

"With Fengya’s death, there’s a spot left on the team." the red hairded man, Niu Tangchen spoke up.

"I can’t believe that bitch killed sister Fengya.." the silver haired girl, Marigold wiped her eyes.

"Gu Qingran isn’t a small person. She’s got a powerful system and she’s powerful on her own." the silver haired man, Kennel replied.

"True that. But as you can see 10 new systems were released. We should use that opportunity to our advantage. We’ll send a message to all new users. The spot Fengya left behind must be filled up. And most capable of the 10 would do. There’s always a few bad eggs in a crate."

Du Yuan hissed "Just let me kill that bitch myself. I want my revenge.."

Niu Tangchen gave him a cold glance. "You can’t. Not yet. Do you want to end up like Fengya? Charging in blindly won’t get you anywhere. We need strategy. Control."

Marigold exhaled shakily and pulled her knees up to her chest. "So what now? We pick one of the ten new users and bring them in?"

"Yes.." Kennel answered, eyes sharp. "And while they’re still adjusting to their systems. Before they realize what they’re truly capable of."

Du Yuan’s hands clenched. "And what if they refuse?"

"Then they disappear," Niu Tangchen said, voice cool. "No one will mourn them..."

Kennel smiled "Like brother Tangchen saidz there’s always a bad eggs and someone like Qingran would always have more enemies than friends."

Niu Tangchen nodded "Apocalypse system. Draft a welcome message to these new users."

Far away, the system sent out its quiet pulse to the ten new users, disguised as a routine status check.

Hidden within the lines of data was a coded message, visible only to those with keen instinct or dangerous ambition:

[A position has opened in the Elite Team. If you’re reading this, you’re eligible. Prove your worth.]

Some saw it and ignored it.

Others hesitated.

One user, alone in a collapsed mall, tapped the message twice and smirked. "Prove my worth? Sure. I love a good challenge."

Back in Zone 4, Haoyu jogged down the tower stairs, heading toward the makeshift operations center with Sun Zi Mo behind him.

"You okay with being ordered around like that?" Haoyu asked, glancing back.

Sun Zi Mo didn’t stop walking. "I don’t mind. He’s efficient."

"Yeah," Haoyu muttered. "Terrifyingly efficient. Besides, I was in the military you get used to being ordered around."

Haoyu pushed open the metal door to the operations center, exhaling. The map table in the center of the room still had blood stains from weeks ago, but it was functional. He stepped around to the side, placing both hands on the edge.

"Lotus.." he called out mentally, summoning his system.

A faint ripple stirred in his mind before a voice replied with its usual lazy sarcasm.

[You called, soldier boy? What, you finally decided to do your actual job? Or is this another "Feng Yizhou said so" moment?]

Haoyu sighed. "Brother Feng wants task distributions set for the zone. Basic recovery, structure reinforcement, food supplies. I need a rollout plan."

[Ugh. Fine. I’ll do all the heavy lifting as usual. Give me thirty seconds to turn your vague ’save the world’ mission into actual human-readable tasks.]

Haoyu waited as glowing data scrolled past in his inner interface, invisible to anyone else.

[Done. Here’s the draft. Should be doable for anyone..]

ZONE 4 TASK BULLETIN – ISSUED BY SYSTEM: SURVIVAL GUIDE]

1. Food Recon Teams – Scavenge any remaining supermarkets, malls, or vending machines. Report findings. Prioritize canned goods and long shelf-life materials.

2. Fortification Units – Assign squads to reinforce building perimeters with salvaged metal, wood, or zombie bones (yes, they work).

3. Resource Recovery – Deploy into collapsed sectors to locate fuel, clean water, tools, and medical supplies.

4. Civilian Protection – Volunteers needed for patrols. Zombies obey Feng now, but raiders are still a thing.

5. Zone Cleanup – Burn contaminated corpses, especially in Sectors C, G, and the river path.

[Optional flair: "Contributing to these tasks will increase your system compatibility and survival probability by 37%. But who cares about that, right?"] Lotus added dryly.

Haoyu smirked a little. "Thanks, Lotus. I’ll make the announcement."

[Be still, my nonexistent heart. My user is finally useful.]