"Chairman Li, it’s been more than half a month since we last met, haha, come, come, have a seat!"

The setup in the luxurious private room was no different from before the disaster broke out. Seeing his subordinates lead Li Zongkai in, Liao Youzhi laughed and greeted him.

"Good evening, Chairman Li."

Although Gong Chengming was the second-in-command of the Survivor Alliance, he typically shouldn’t have attended the banquet. However, Liao Youzhi had the habit of bringing him along, implying that the second-in-command of the Survivor Alliance had a status equal to the other faction leaders.

Gong Chengming, being self-aware, followed Liao Youzhi to greet the guests, looking restrained and humble.

"Leader Liao, as vigorous as ever, haha, good evening, Vice Leader Gong."

Exchanging pleasantries, Li Zongkai glanced around the room and noticed no guards present, only two women in cheongsams standing with bowed heads. The one person standing by the seat without immediately greeting him was none other than Liu Yao, the head of the Little Eagle Association.

The large mahogany dining table was adorned with fruits, teacups, teapots, and some nuts – all very elegant items.

"Ha, it still looks the same as before. The last time I had a meal here was four or five months ago. Wait at the door."

Instructing his men, Li Zongkai closed the door to the private room and approached his seat.

"Old Li, you’re not actually late, unlike a certain Yang who can’t even be bothered to come for the meat!"

After Li Zongkai exchanged greetings with the host, Liu Yao spoke up. Despite his rough appearance, he was quite adept at managing details and spoke in a tone that indicated he had a fairly good relationship with Li Zongkai.

The Little Eagle Association was in the northwest direction of Qin City, separated by over ten kilometers from Civilization Guardian, with no overlapping influence. However, they were not on friendly terms with the Apocalypse Corps, who hadn’t yet arrived, due to occasional conflicts since both were located in the northwest.

Looking at the neatly arranged tableware, Li Zongkai sighed inwardly, wiped his hands with a hot towel handed over by a server, and said to Liu Yao, "Director Liu, it’s been a while. How did this happen?"

As he spoke, Li Zongkai pointed in surprise at the area beneath his right ear, displaying genuine concern without pretense.

Liu Yao touched his scar and chuckled nonchalantly, "Damn it, a traitor ambushed me. I’ve taken care of him, it’s not important!"

Gong Chengming’s eyes flickered with an imperceptible expression upon hearing this, with a faintly amused smile on his face.

"In today’s world, credibility is of utmost importance!" As Liao Youzhi removed his mask, a scarred face emerged. "Director Liu, I’ve had a similar experience, damn it, back when the disaster first started..."

With the conversation opened up, the four at the table began sharing old stories over sunflower seeds, creating a relatively amicable atmosphere, half an hour passing in the blink of an eye.

Liao Youzhi checked his wristwatch and frowned slightly, "It seems Old Yang hasn’t returned from Beihai District yet, shall we..."

"Director Yang from the Apocalypse Corps has arrived."

Before Liao Youzhi finished speaking, a voice came through the intercom.

The group exchanged glances, each wearing a different expression.

Soon, the door to the private room was pushed open again.

"Emma, on the way back from Beihai District, I almost didn’t make it to see Leader Liao due to a zombie horde! Hey, Old Li, good evening!"

Yang Xinqi’s muttering voice breezed into the room as a middle-aged man, around forty or fifty years old, entered, looking travel-worn. He was tall, thinner than the others in the room.

"It’s good to be back safely, haha!"

"Pleasure to meet you."

Liao Youzhi and Gong Chengming stood up to greet the guest, while Li Zongkai merely rose to exchange a pleasant greeting with a smile.

"Hey, Liu Yao, you’re still not dead?"

Yang Xinqi spotted Liu Yao seated in the corner with his legs crossed.

"You idiot, confronting a zombie horde and still alive, you think I’d die? Ugh, your Abandoned Heaven Team is dead, but I’m living well!"

Liu Yao deliberately emphasized the word "Abandoned." He had no intention of greeting Yang Xinqi and spat a sunflower seed shell in his direction, which, unfortunately, landed on the carpet.

"My gosh, what lack of manners! Leader Liao, if I’d known you were going to invite him, I wouldn’t have rushed back!"

Yang Xinqi pointed at Liu Yao and mocked him, looking full of disdain.

"Damn, you idiot dare talk to me about manners, whose bastard sent people to steal from New Dragon Guangyuan Mall three days ago? A bastard!"

Liu Yao flared up at the comment, retorting immediately.

Yang Xinqi laughed nonchalantly, "Yep, a bastard did steal it!"

"I said only a bastard would send people to steal, you damn..."

"Hahaha, gentlemen, gentlemen, let’s not quarrel!" Liao Youzhi, feeling a headache coming on, knew the two would undoubtedly clash sitting together. With no attempt at restraint, he had to step in to mediate.

"We’ve gathered today for a bigger cause. Set aside personal grudges for now. You probably don’t know, but people from other districts and counties refer to us as the North City Four Tigers when they come for trade!"

With that said, Liao Youzhi noticed a proud smile appear on Liu Yao’s face, but there was a hint of irony as though he was about to verbally assault Yang Xinqi. Quickly raising a hand, he said, "Quick, Xiaotao, tell the kitchen to start serving the dishes! Come, let’s discuss important matters!"

"For Leader Liao’s sake, I won’t argue with animals! Chairman Li, could you move over a bit..."

Yang Xinqi glanced at Liu Yao with nonchalant disdain and dragged a chair to sit between Gong Chengming and Li Zongkai.

Li Zongkai felt a bit helpless, but to ensure the conversation continued harmoniously, he shifted aside...

"Idiot, such a pathetic thing!"

Realizing further commotion would be ugly, Liu Yao muttered a curse and continued eating sunflower seeds.

Liao Youzhi opened a delicate wooden box, took out a cigar, and gestured for the server to distribute them to the assembly. Straight to the point, he said, "Gentlemen, the northern part of Qin City is under our collective control. United together, no one dares oppose us!

But in less than a month, four groups of zombies inexplicably emerged in our area, one with numbers nearing ten thousand!

Two of these zombie groups were found disturbingly close to our alliance. You can probably sense the danger; if anything unexpected happens, Qin City is too small for us to escape unscathed. We can’t let this evil force continue with impunity, right?"

Discussing recent experiences, Liao Youzhi was righteously indignant.

"This damn group, truly despicable, Leader Liao! Since you’ve gathered us, do you have any information?"

Liu Yao from the Little Eagle Association was the first to pound the table. Their camp had also faced a zombie horde recently. Thankfully, with enough preparation and timely discovery, at the cost of a comrade, they successfully warded off the threat.

"Of course! If I didn’t have concrete information, I wouldn’t have called everyone together. According to reports from my subordinates, the troublemakers are a survivor force north of State Road 52. Their headquarters is on Celestial Horse Island, though we haven’t found their exact name, probably just obscure nobodies!"

After Liao Youzhi shared the information, those seated showed no extra reactions. However, upon closer inspection, one could see an unusual flicker in Gong Chengming’s eyes.

"Leader Liao, if you don’t mind me asking, how reliable is your information?"

This time, the question came from Li Zongkai.

"100% confidence!"

Liao Youzhi intertwined his index fingers, gazing sharply with a low voice, "Today, my Search Team Three saw several vehicles leading a massive zombie horde across the Chuhai River Bridge from the north, leaving them on the North Second Ring Road! How’s that different from someone taking a dump in our home?"

"Just like some people, quite disgusting, truly deserves a beating!"

Liu Yao said sarcastically, looking at Yang Xinqi.

"What’s wrong with you? If it were me, I’d not only dump but smear it on your face!"

Retorting immediately, Yang Xinqi then gave no chance for a flare-up, turned to Liao Youzhi, and said, "Leader Liao, since the root cause is clear, let’s go straight to Celestial Horse Island for compensation. Split the gains four ways, and everyone will be happy!"

Rubbing his forehead at Yang Xinqi’s suggestion, Liao Youzhi pondered for a moment, "Our four alliance factions combined can deter others, but we lack full understanding of the north. In case of a confrontation, we might suffer losses. Any other thoughts?"

Glancing at Gong Chengming and then focusing on Li Zongkai, Liao Youzhi asked...