As Lianzheng stared at the three cans before him, a surge of ideas appeared in his head.

"Shit! Why didn''t he tell me this is the kind of food he''s providing? This is going to be the easiest job I got."

Seeing Lianzheng throwing the paper full of ink into the trash and taking another one out, the two slowly walked out of the room.

"Thanks, god, I''m not the leader... I would rather starve than make plans on paper." Cheng Zui murmured.

"Yeah..." Tingliao murmured as he closed the door behind him.

---

When the time was now six, hundreds of people had gathered before the staircase, all waiting for a certain individual to show up.

All of Lianzheng''s men, along with the police force, were maintaining order, with several women on the side already cooking the canned food.

Meanwhile, Lianzheng was standing a little far back from the staircase, just far enough that people below couldn''t see him.

Next to him were Cheng Zui and the police chief, their hand on the rail guard as they looked down at the crowd.

"Is everyone here?" Lianzheng asked.

"Yep, two of our men just gave me the signal." Cheng Zui replied.

"You ready?" The police chief asked.

Lianzheng didn''t reply, but he took a deep breath before walking forward as he approached the staircase.

As he travels down the staircase, he notices Tingliao standing next to Liu Peng and his son, as if he is making sure they don''t try anything stupid.

On the other side, he sees Lingling and Zhezhe both standing next to the table, getting ready to distribute the food.

"Good evening, everyone. You all probably have already learned that I''m now the leader of the station.

I know some of you might not know me. My name is Lianzheng... You guys probably don''t really care who''s in charge."

The awkward silence made Lianzheng more nervous, but he continued.

"I used to be one of you, living in tents and waiting for food relief in line until the second outbreak and running all the way to here.

I was starving, along with my brother... But eventually, I was able to start going outside to salvage food."

Before Lianzheng continued, his face looked proud, as if he was extremely satisfied with his accomplishment.

"I was able to lift myself out of poverty. And then I was able to meet my wife Lingling... She''s over on the side right there."

As the crowd turned their head towards where Lianzheng pointed, their eyes instantly turned into a wolf looking at sheep.

But it wasn''t because of Lingling''s look. It was the food on the tray and the beef smell that had spread through the entire station.

Still, nobody dared to make a move or ask to hurry as Lianzheng''s men heavily guarded it with guns.

"Ahem, you might all be wondering where we got the guns that looked different from the police.

"I guess..."

"Imagine if you risk your life, and you tell me that I don''t even get a faster line getting food?

I would be mad as hell for my brothers and me. They should be thankful that we''re even giving them these kinds of meals in the first place."

Cheng Zui''s straightforward talk made the police officer a little uncomfortable, but he knew Cheng Zui was right.

"Language Cheng Zui. Everyone here is a comrade. There''s no our brothers and others. We''re all living in the same country."

Lianzheng''s serious tone made Cheng Zui close his mouth, realizing the words he said were promoting disunity.

"Police Chief, I actually have one request... Do you have contacts with other station''s police force?" Lianzheng asked in a calm voice.

"A little. We usually like to have contacts between us in case there''s a break-in or expedited criminals.

But since we''re in the outer layer of the city, I barely need to contact them at all... I still have a station messenger that can contact most of them, though."

"Great. Can you bring it to me later tonight? I want to make a deal with all of them."

"All of them? You sure?"

"I''m sure of it. They''ll make their choices when they hear things unfold above them..."

Lianzheng didn''t elaborate any further, keeping the two on the hook as the three of them started eating the food in their tray.

---

As the clock struck eight, the entire metro station was dead silent, with only whispers coming from different tents along its path.

Lianzheng and the police chief were both sitting in the security guard''s office, which had a mic and speakers on the desk.

"I already dialed and told them to listen in at eight. Most of them responded, but a few on the other side of the city didn''t," the police chief pointed out.

"That''s okay... You can start it."

The police chief pressed a button, and a sound of static appeared before stabilizing into a preset channel.

"Hello, this is metro station fifty-five. My name is Lianzheng, and I have an announcement for all of you."

Lianzheng took a short breath to shake off the nervousness, then continued.

"The army has arrived in Foshan, and they''ll start clearing the city within the next few weeks.

Tomorrow, they''ll be launching an artillery strike on the city to thin out several densely populated zombie hordes.

But that''s not why I called you here today... I, Lianzheng, representing Metro Station fifty-five, was offered the chance to reunite with them by the army.

However, I haven''t said yes yet. I realized that everyone down here should be allowed to rejoin our fellow countrymen above ground.

So, anyone willing to join me and the movement to reunite with the outside world, please come over tomorrow and meet up.

I''ll be awaiting your response... But please, consider this your last chance of leaving this metro once and for all."