Chen Luo looked serious. Since this concerned their next step, everyone followed him into the living room.
Ma Yu had been about to clear the table, but Chen Luo called her over too.
Rice and the Dharma King also found places to sit.
After spending so many days doing nothing but eating and playing, everyone felt a little lost.
Chen Luo tapped the glass coffee table and said, "Mi Ling, I told you, I'm not just stronger than you. I'm better at seeing the big picture too."
Well, the truth was that Chen Luo might not have been better than Mi Ling, but he had experience from his previous life. Even the most brilliant strategist couldn't compete with that.
Chen Luo said, "Mi Ling, if you were the leader, what would you do to lead us forward?"
Mi Ling froze. What should they do next?
When the apocalypse first broke out, she had been at school, and her only thought had been to get home and see whether Mi Li was safe.
That had been her sole purpose, sustaining her all the way home.
After returning home, she had unexpectedly encountered Chen Luo, but Mi Li was completely unharmed. At that point, she had already been more than satisfied.
Although Chen Luo had gone way too far in messing with her, she was still full of gratitude.
But as for what came next, the world had suddenly become unfamiliar. She felt lost and genuinely had no idea what to do.
The only thing she was somewhat certain of was that she needed to keep growing stronger to withstand whatever dangers she encountered.
Mi Ling answered honestly, shaking her head. "I don't know."
Chen Luo looked at the others, who shook their heads too. They had no shortage of food or drink, and their strength kept increasing, but they genuinely had no idea what specifically they should do.
Chen Luo neither mocked them nor acted smug. Hadn't he been just like them in his previous life?
Chen Luo began speaking slowly.
"Big Pillar and I once encountered a Rat King. It was incredibly strong, and we nearly ended up dying in its jaws. Mi Li and I also encountered an obese zombie that was on a completely different level from ordinary zombies."
"Besides, I have a feeling that zombies will keep getting stronger. For ordinary people to fight them and survive, their only chance is to band together."
"Even if my feeling is wrong, supplies will become increasingly difficult to obtain. Trying to snatch food from under a horde of zombies' noses alone would be a near-certain death sentence."
"Take you, Mi Ling. Would you dare to grab supplies from under the noses of more than twenty zombies by yourself? It would be too difficult, wouldn't it? But with our whole squad, would you still think it was difficult?"
"Regardless of human nature, or whether a hastily assembled team is united, it's still stronger than you alone."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Chen Luo continued.
"Survivors forming teams and living together in settlements is inevitable. No matter how strong one person is, they'll still have to flee if they encounter a group of hundreds or thousands."
"Our squad is strong, but frankly, if we encountered a group of over a hundred people, we'd suffer casualties even if we won. Mi Li might die, or Big Pillar might die."
"That's absolutely unacceptable."
"We either have to form a group of our own or join one."
"Only then can we ensure that we stay alive in relative safety."
In his previous life, Chen Luo and Su Dazhu had joined a settlement. They'd had no choice. Without joining, they would have been pushed around.
In this life, Chen Luo had absolutely no need to join any group. He could live perfectly well alone, and he couldn't finish his stockpiled supplies in a hundred lifetimes.
If he encountered danger, a single Void Walk would let him escape.
But could the others do that? They couldn't flee with Chen Luo.
Unless Chen Luo did what he'd done in his previous life-kept his head down until the end, outlived everyone, and experienced that loneliness all over again.
Then what the fuck was the point of being reborn?
Mi Ling wholeheartedly agreed. If she didn't join a group, others would push her around.
On her way home, she had often encountered covetous looks from groups of people. If she hadn't been strong enough, or if there hadn't been so few of them, she would never have made it home alive.
"As for joining a group, I'll be honest. I'm not willing to serve under someone else. Why should I have to cater to someone else's whims?"
"Besides, Mi Ling, Mi Li, you sisters are so beautiful. What if you join a group and someone demands that you sleep with them? Surely you don't think no one would have designs on you then?"
With order gone, people's desires had been unleashed. It wasn't hard to imagine what two beautiful women would face.
Mi Ling's expression hardened. "If anyone dares to have designs on me or my sister, I'll castrate him."
Chen Luo gave an awkward laugh, his expression looking a little unnatural.
Chen Luo coughed. "So joining someone else's group is completely out of the question, but we don't want to be pushed around either."
"That means our next step is to form a group-a larger one. But we won't take just any trash."
After Chen Luo's explanation, everything clicked for them. They really did need to form a larger group.
Chen Luo said, "If zombies keep getting stronger, and there are too many around the city center, anyone with a little sense will choose to move out toward the outskirts."
"If my judgment is correct, it won't be long before lots of people flee to the outskirts and form settlements."
In his previous life, once zombies evolved to level one, they gained a little intelligence and were no longer as easy to kill. They also became stronger. Wouldn't establishing a settlement in the city center be asking for death?
Anyone with the ability and luck to escape had been forced to flee to remote areas.
There was one thing Chen Luo hadn't mentioned: the apocalypse wasn't just about zombies.
Many animals, plants, and insects had mutated, as had creatures in the sea. Some powerful sea creatures could survive on land and had come ashore.
There hadn't been many of them, but each was immensely powerful.
They had forced survivors from coastal cities to flee to the Divine Capital for refuge too.
Even more terrifying was that... humanity had been all but wiped out.
Chen Luo hadn't survived by fighting head-on. He had survived by lying low, with an unmatched ability to stay out of danger.
Once humanity was wiped out, Chen Luo had found no meaning in staying alive, so he had buried himself.
Mi Ling smiled bitterly. "I really haven't thought as far ahead as you have. I also think what you've said makes a lot of sense."
Chen Luo chuckled. Then go on, call me big brother.
If he asked Mi Ling to do that now, she would probably find it a little hard to say.
But you aren't going to renege on the stakes we agreed on earlier, are you?
Chen Luo couldn't help trembling with excitement.
Before you continue