The Wisdom of the Ancients

"Sometimes, for the sake of safety, delaying our journey may be better than rushing ahead."

A voice came from outside the cafeteria.

Everyone inside turned to look at the slowly opening doors.

A group of people, stained with the blood of monsters, was coming in. Gao Zheng stood at the center, and he had been the one to speak.

"Would you be willing to stay here for a few more days, Xi Qing? Once we've cleared the area around the base, we can head to the county together. That would give us an extra measure of safety." Gao Zheng smiled as he extended the invitation to Xi Qing.

Xi Qing began to hesitate. This did seem like the better choice, but she couldn't shake the feeling that they shouldn't stay in one place for long, especially here at the foot of the Taihang Mountains.

The mother of the pair who had previously decided to stay chimed in as well. "Miss Xi, I know you're worried about the situation in the county. But you said yourself that they're better prepared there than we are here. There's no reason we could hold out here but they couldn't hold out there. There's no harm in resting for a few days, learning about the area, and making more preparations before setting out."

Xi Qing hesitated. "But..."

The mother continued, "Miss Xi, we've all seen what you can do on this journey, and we believe you can get us to the county safely. But if there's a better option, why not take it?"

Xi Qing glanced around at the people who had come here with her and saw a glimmer of hope in almost everyone's eyes. They were all waiting for her to accept the invitation.

Especially when she saw the hope in Su Mo's eyes, she knew she couldn't insist on her own plan anymore. Even if she insisted on leaving tomorrow, hardly anyone would follow her. Besides, the group could no longer be united around her the way it had been before.

In the end, Xi Qing agreed. She looked at Gao Zheng with resignation and sighed inwardly. As expected of someone who had held a position of authority for so long—he understood people far better than a student like her. With just a few words, he had turned around the favorable situation she had built.

Gao Zheng reached out and shook Xi Qing's hand lightly. "In that case, on behalf of Xingyan Group, I'd like to welcome you all, Xi Qing. I look forward to working together."

Xi Qing put aside her somewhat helpless expression and said firmly, "Now that we've agreed to work together, please tell us what your company plans to do next so we can prepare in advance."

Gao Zheng gave Lin Chenxing, who was standing beside him and watching the proceedings with interest, a nudge forward. "This is our little strategist. He can tell you about our plans from here."

Lin Chenxing was startled by Gao Zheng's gesture. He had been wondering how Gao Zheng would explain their plans and who he would ask to do it. He hadn't expected the task to fall to him.

Lin Chenxing quickly composed himself and gathered his thoughts.

"Our plan can be summed up as 'build high walls, store abundant grain, and bide our time before claiming supremacy.' In other words, we're borrowing the wisdom of the ancients."

"'Build high walls' means exactly what it says: building walls. I think you all saw what happened tonight. The walls we built before weren't sturdy enough. So sturdiness is the first requirement for the new wall around the base—and the bare minimum."

"Second, although those monsters can't jump in for now, we can't afford to let our guard down. The wall must be tall enough as well."

"Third, to make the wall both sturdy and tall, it'll have to take up a lot of space. So we'll need to expand outward to avoid reducing the space inside the base."

"Fourth, we need to defend against threats from above. Our base is still poorly equipped to deal with aerial attacks. Fortunately, the flying creatures can't tear through our protective net yet, but it's always better to prepare in advance."

"'Store abundant grain' is simpler. Our supplies now come from just one source: our reserves in the base. Fortunately, we anticipated this beforehand, and we should have enough food to last six months. But we need to start planning for supplies beyond that."

"First, farming. We've set aside an area in the southeastern part of the base. That'll be our farmland. We were already prepared to start planting, but this happened so suddenly."

"Second, scavenging. Once we've cleared out the monsters nearby, the next step will be to open a road to Chuilong Town and send out the Exploration Team to gather the supplies left there. We'll also see if there are any survivors."

"Third, trading. After we've explored Chuilong Town, we'll open a road to the county seat and trade supplies with the people there."

"Fourth, testing. There are so many monsters, and they all used to be animals. Some of them must still be edible."

"'Bide our time before claiming supremacy' doesn't mean we're trying to rule over everyone. It means doing everything we can to strengthen ourselves and survive this disaster to the very end. Our biggest and best-equipped research center is here, too. If we immediately shift its focus to military equipment, the more time we have, the more steadily our strength will grow."

After laying out the group's plans in one breath, Lin Chenxing felt a flicker of excitement. It was as if he were suddenly full of confidence about the future.

Xi Qing gave a slight nod when he finished. The plan seemed satisfactory to her.

"The plan is mostly fine. But you should take the monsters' strength more seriously. I saw Chuilong Town fall with my own eyes. Some of the monsters there were far more terrifying than the ones that attacked your base tonight. You'll probably face considerable resistance when you try to clear the surrounding area."

"Also, I think you should add one more thing: keep a record of every monster you encounter. I believe it'll be a great help with your future explorations."

Gao Zheng agreed. "That's true. As Chenxing said earlier, these monsters seem to be constantly evolving. Keeping records will help us understand their evolutionary chains and make it easier to identify new monsters we encounter. That way, we can figure out their possible weaknesses and kill them faster."

With that, Gao Zheng immediately turned to Li Yueqi and instructed him, "Have the Administration Department collect information on every living creature online and archive it right away. Also, have the researchers from the Biological Laboratory work with the Administration Department to organize the information. While they're at it, have them classify the monsters we killed tonight and determine which animals they mutated from. Finally, have every department download and back up the online information immediately, just in case."

"Old Gao, leave me in charge of coordinating that last task." He Qishun's half-closed eyes slowly opened, and an air of seriousness settled over him.

Gao Zheng nodded with a smile, indicating his agreement. "Then I'll leave it to you."

Afterward, He Qishun and Li Yueqi left the cafeteria one after the other and got to work.