Everyone had originally been rather nervous about attacking Demon Camp, but now their mindset was completely different.
With Beedrill on their side, this was going to be a complete trouncing. They figured that all they would have to do by going along was clean up the battlefield afterward.
Huang Jiafei suddenly shouted, “Long live Brother Lu! Brother Lu is invincible!”
Seeing this, the others immediately wanted to join in, but Lu Li’s face turned green.
They weren’t far from the aquarium. Were they really not afraid that shouting so loudly would attract the Water-type Pokémon?
Lu Li hurriedly stopped the crowd before they could start making a racket. “Keep your voices down. We’re pretty close to the aquarium. If you attract those Water-type demon beasts over here, we’ll all be finished!”
It wasn’t that he was afraid of those Water-type Pokémon. Pokémon were simply far too destructive. If the two sides started fighting inside the mall, the shockwaves from the battle alone could bring the entire building down. If that happened, everyone in Dawn Camp would be buried along with it.
The people who had been about to start shouting immediately shut their mouths when they heard that.
Even Huang Jiafei, who had started it, gave an embarrassed laugh, feeling as though everyone’s glares could flay him alive.
Jun Shutong also stepped forward to calm everyone down. “I know everyone is excited, but please don’t get too excited just yet. The most important thing right now is taking down Demon Camp and rescuing the innocent people who are being oppressed and harmed there.”
In truth, not many of the people present genuinely cared about rescuing those who were being oppressed and harmed. They could barely guarantee their own survival. But since Jun Shutong had already put it that way, they could only nod along.
Besides, expanding the camp had its benefits. Their available manpower would increase tremendously.
Lu Li led everyone into the emergency passage. Just as they reached the exit, he said to Beedrill, “Little Yellow, please stay alert and watch the surroundings. If there’s any danger, act immediately. You don’t need to wait for my orders.”
Beedrill nodded.
Throughout the entire journey, Beedrill never paid any attention to the others. Even though the people around it looked at it strangely, in its eyes, they were no different from ants by the roadside.
If it was bored and saw a swarm of ants, it might glance at them with some interest, but it certainly wouldn’t care about the ants gathering around to watch it.
Lu Li noticed this as well.
“As expected, there’s still a long way to go before the profession of Trainer can become widespread,” Lu Li sighed inwardly.
Right now, the problem wasn’t whether humans were willing to accept Pokémon, but whether Pokémon were willing to accept humans. In fact, both sides had their own problems.
Humans were filled with fear and hatred toward Pokémon, while Pokémon regarded humans as mere straw dogs. [TN: Straw dogs were used as offerings in ancient sacrifices in place of real dogs, brought in with pomp but thrown away afterwards i.e. something discarded after use.]
The large group marched from the mall into Anke Residential Complex. With Beedrill present, no Pokémon came over to provoke them.
Those solitary Flying-type Pokémon lost interest in the group of humans as soon as they saw Beedrill.
Even if they managed to defeat Beedrill and take down all these humans, the nutritional value of that amount of flesh and blood still wouldn’t make up for what they would expend in a life-or-death battle against Beedrill.
Lu Li first led everyone toward the villa district. They needed to find Grandma Zhao and see whether the bulletproof vests were ready. They had already settled the matter yesterday.
When they arrived at Zhao Limin’s home, Lu Li didn’t even need to bring it up. Grandma Zhao had her daughter-in-law take out three white garments.
“This silk is as tough and strong as steel wire. Even with our whole family working together to rush the job, we’ve only managed to finish three pieces so far. One is for a woman, and another was made according to your measurements.” Grandma Zhao said with a smile all over her face, introducing it in a thoughtful tone.
She had made a women’s version in advance because she had long heard that Dawn Camp’s leader was a woman. As for Lu Li’s custom-made one, as an experienced tailor, she had only needed to glance at him to get a rough idea of his measurements.
The final piece, which was suitable for most people, was the newest one they had completed.
Lu Li curiously took the vest. Judging from the material, he could tell it was meant to be worn close to the body as an undershirt. Of course, there was nothing stopping someone from wearing it on the outside, but if appearance was also a consideration, then it really could only be worn underneath.
Lu Li didn’t stand on ceremony. He simply took off his clothes in front of everyone and changed into it.
After putting it on, Lu Li asked Huang Jiafei for a fruit knife.
“Hold this up. I’ll test it.” Lu Li handed the standard version of the Weedle-silk bulletproof vest to Zhao Limin.
Zhao Limin hurriedly took the vest. Lu Li first slashed at it several times with the knife.
After confirming that the vest hadn’t been cut, Lu Li stabbed it hard several more times. The Weedle-silk bulletproof vest remained completely undamaged.
Although he still wasn’t sure whether the vest could actually stop bullets, there was definitely no problem with it stopping knives.
Lu Li nodded in great satisfaction. “Thank you for your hard work.”
Lu Li had always been quite respectful toward people with technical skills.
Grandma Zhao hurriedly waved her hands. “Not at all. As long as the clothes meet your requirements.”
The others also gathered around curiously and stared at the vest in Zhao Limin’s hands, their eyes filled with envy and longing. Although this vest couldn’t protect them from demon beasts, it could protect them from other humans.
In the apocalypse, who wasn’t afraid of getting shot in the back?
Under everyone’s eager, probing gazes, Zhao Limin forced an awkward smile and explained, “Everyone will get one eventually. It’s just that we haven’t had enough time yet, so we’ve only managed to make these three.”
Lu Li also nodded. “In the future, Weedle-silk bulletproof vests can be exchanged for contribution points. I’ll try my best to keep the price within a range everyone can afford.”
The Weedle-silk bulletproof vest had originally been made for the Scavenging Team anyway. After all, he rarely went out to search for supplies, so his chances of encountering danger were far lower than those of the Scavenging Team members.
Huang Jiafei familiarly sidled up to Zhao Limin and reached out to snatch the vest from him.
“It’s really soft. Better than most of the designer underwear I’ve worn,” Huang Jiafei remarked as he stroked it.
Old Xu’s eyes darted around before he asked with a grin, “Brother Lu, can I just order a custom-made one? I should have enough contribution points to exchange for one of these Weedle-silk bulletproof shirts.”
“You can ask Grandma Zhao about that. As long as she doesn’t find it troublesome, it’s fine with me,” Lu Li said, not making things difficult for Old Xu.
Grandma Zhao smiled as well. “No problem. I can take custom orders here.”
As soon as Grandma Zhao finished speaking, the villa’s living room instantly became lively. With Old Xu taking the lead, everyone began giving her their body measurements.
Lu Li didn’t stop them. Instead, he handed the women’s vest to Jun Shutong. “Go change into this in the bathroom.”
Jun Shutong took the vest, thanked him, and went into the bathroom with it.
By the time Jun Shutong came out of the bathroom, everyone had already given their measurements. Only then did Lu Li ask, “Does anyone know which building Demon Camp is in?”
“I do.” A survivor from Anke Residential Complex raised his hand.
Lu Li urged, “Then lead the way.”
With their guide leading them, Lu Li soon arrived at the so-called Demon Camp.
The people of Demon Camp had occupied the office building in Anke Residential Complex, and more than half of the survivors were packed into this building.
For safety’s sake, Lu Li said to Beedrill, “Beedrill, stay by my side and prevent anyone from ambushing us.”
Once they entered the office building, the ones he needed to be wary of were humans, and Beedrill’s reflexes were fast enough to deal with most crises.
Meanwhile, inside Wang Dazhuang’s office at Demon Camp.
After hearing his underling’s report, a trace of confusion flashed across Wang Dazhuang’s fierce face.
Wang Dazhuang asked in puzzlement, “Those people from Dawn Camp are coming here?”
The underling giving the report nodded.
“How many of them are there?” Wang Dazhuang continued.
“A little over twenty, I think.”
Upon hearing that there were only a little over twenty people, the confusion and worry on Wang Dazhuang’s face instantly vanished.
You have to understand, Anke Camp alone had several hundred able-bodied adults, and nearly two hundred of them were willing to follow Wang Dazhuang’s orders.
A lecherous gleam flashed through Wang Dazhuang’s eyes as he rubbed his hands together and asked, “What about that Police Officer Jun?”
The underling reporting to him shook his head. “Don’t know, but she should have come with them. Our people only saw Dawn Camp’s group heading this way from a distance.”
Wang Dazhuang slammed his palm heavily onto the table and said with complete confidence, “In that case, gather our hundred-odd brothers and let’s go welcome those fat sheep delivering themselves to our doorstep.”
If some of his men hadn’t gone out scavenging for supplies, he would have brought all two hundred.
“Twenty against two hundred. The advantage is mine! Jun Shutong, what are you going to use to fight me?” Wang Dazhuang thought viciously.
Before long, Wang Dazhuang had gathered his men. To bolster appearances, he even temporarily pulled in several dozen more people from around the camp.
However, two hundred people were obviously a bit crowded inside the office building, so Wang Dazhuang decided to wait for them on the sixth floor.
The sixth floor was one enormous office with plenty of open space, more than enough to hold two hundred people.
When the time came, all he had to do was display the full formation of those two hundred men. As long as the people from Dawn Camp had any sense, they would definitely surrender unconditionally.
Besides, the sixth floor had originally been prepared as a “slaughterhouse,” so even if a conflict broke out, there would be no need to specially clean the floor afterward.
Soon, a crowd armed with kitchen knives, fruit knives, baseball bats, and even folding chairs followed Wang Dazhuang noisily up to the sixth floor.
“You, go act as the messenger. Tell that woman from Dawn Camp that I’m waiting for them on the sixth floor. If they don’t believe you, tell them we’ve already blocked the stairs at the emergency exits. Whether she wants to come or not, she has to!” Wang Dazhuang pointed at a bespectacled young man with a refined appearance and ordered him to go.
Wang Dazhuang wasn’t bluffing. The office building only had three emergency exits in total, and he really had assigned people to watch every single one closely.
Dawn Camp would definitely send someone up. If they refused the invitation, he would let them enter the camp, then lead his men downstairs to block the way out and trap them inside.
The bespectacled young man who had been singled out immediately plastered a flattering smile on his face, bent at the waist, and nodded repeatedly. “Yes, Boss.”
He didn’t dare argue, nor did he dare refuse, because Wang Dazhuang’s methods for dealing with disobedient people were truly vicious, worse than anything a beast would do.
…….
Huang Jiafei muttered worriedly, “Do you think the people from Demon Camp might have already run away?”
After saying that, Huang Jiafei glanced at the Beedrill beside Lu Li. If the people of Demon Camp had seen them hanging around with a hornet demon beast, Demon Camp would definitely lose the courage to oppose Dawn Camp.
Old Xu also thought Huang Jiafei’s concern made sense, but he still hoped things would develop in a favorable direction, so he comforted him, “That’s possible, but what if Demon Camp didn’t see it?”
“Jiafei’s concern isn’t unreasonable. If they saw your—” Jun Shutong paused. She had originally been about to say “hornet demon beast.”
But remembering Lu Li’s earlier introduction, she continued, “your Beedrill, then they’ll definitely try to escape. Should we leave a few people behind to block the emergency exit?”
Lu Li shook his head. “No need. Don’t forget, our goal isn’t to fight a battle of annihilation.”
One reason he had come to wipe out Demon Camp was to get revenge for the disgusting incident last time. The other was to prepare some “food” for Mimikyu.
After all, in the apocalypse, manpower itself was a resource.
Besides, all the supplies Demon Camp had looted were stored in this building. As long as they took control of the building, it wouldn’t matter even if those people escaped.
The nearby resources had already been scavenged almost completely clean. Even if those people fled, they wouldn’t be able to find any new supplies to survive on.
The group had only just reached the fourth floor when they encountered a young man wearing glasses. He had clearly been waiting there for them.
“You’re the people from Dawn Camp, right?” Cai Cong asked arrogantly.
Jun Shutong, who was walking at the front, stopped at the corner of the stairwell and nodded. “And who are you?”
“Boss Wang sent me. I’ve been waiting here specifically for you.” As Cai Cong spoke, he discreetly craned his neck to look at the others.
Then—
Cai Cong’s face filled with shock. He rubbed his eyes and checked several times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. The arrogance on his face instantly vanished without a trace, replaced completely by terror.
“De—de—demon beast?” Cai Cong pointed at the Beedrill at the back of the group with a trembling finger.
Beedrill didn’t even bother to acknowledge him. It simply followed steadily beside Lu Li like a silent guardian knight.
Cai Cong instinctively wanted to turn and run, but he quickly realized something was wrong. None of the people present looked panicked. Instead, they all looked as though they were watching something amusing.
That was neither normal nor logical.
Forcing himself to suppress his fear, Cai Cong looked at Beedrill again. Once he confirmed that Beedrill actually had no intention of attacking, he became even more confused.
After forcibly calming himself down, Cai Cong asked awkwardly, “Sirs, could you tell me what’s going on with this demon beast?”
“Can’t you tell? This demon beast listens to our leader now,” Huang Jiafei boasted proudly.
“So this demon beast really was brought here by you people?” Cai Cong stared at Lu Li in disbelief.
Although he had no idea how these people had gotten that demon beast to obey them, one thing was certain—Wang Dazhuang was finished.
Cai Cong hesitated for barely a fraction of a second before decisively switching sides.
With a face full of “righteousness,” Cai Cong declared, “Esteemed sirs of Dawn Camp, I’ve come to abandon the darkness and join the light!”
At those words, the people from Dawn Camp finally couldn’t hold it in anymore.
Everyone burst out laughing in unison.
First arrogant, then servile. It was simply ridiculous.
Even the corners of Jun Shutong’s lips curled upward slightly. She hadn’t expected Demon Camp to send someone like this as their messenger.
Jun Shutong suppressed her smile and asked coldly, “What did Wang Dazhuang send you here for?”
“That b*stard told me to bring you to the sixth floor,” Cai Cong hurriedly replied.
Jun Shutong nodded. Thinking that Wang Dazhuang wanted to negotiate, she continued, “And then?”
Cai Cong cooperatively revealed Wang Dazhuang’s intentions. “That b*stard has more than two hundred people stationed on the sixth floor. He plans to overwhelm you with sheer numbers. If you don’t cooperate, he’ll definitely make a move.”
After hearing Wang Dazhuang’s plan, Jun Shutong was a little baffled. She asked in confusion, “He didn’t run?”
“Uh… have you considered the possibility that the b*stard has absolutely no idea Dawn Camp can command demon beasts?” Cai Cong explained faintly.
If he had known Dawn Camp was coming with a demon beast, his attitude just now would have been ingratiating from the start, followed immediately by prostrating himself.
Jun Shutong also looked at Lu Li in confusion and asked, “Didn’t that guy arrange for anyone to keep watch?”
Lu Li asked, “Do you have a walkie-talkie to contact him?”
“Yes.” Cai Cong hurriedly pulled a walkie-talkie from his pocket.
Seeing that Cai Cong had one, Lu Li asked again, “Do you normally have people patrolling?”
“Yes, but under normal circumstances, everyone just goes through the motions. It’s too dangerous outside. Even when people really do patrol, it’s limited to inside this building.”
“Someone was originally supposed to be patrolling today, but after hearing that you were coming, Wang Dazhuang gathered everyone on the sixth floor.”
Jun Shutong suddenly understood. “No wonder we didn’t run into anyone all the way up here.”
After getting a rough understanding of the situation in the building, Lu Li immediately ordered, “Let’s go. Take us to the sixth floor.”
Cai Cong, his servility on full display, nodded and bowed: “Sirs, please follow me.”
There was a reason Cai Cong had managed to survive a month into the apocalypse. That level of sycophancy, the kind you normally only saw in television dramas, wasn’t something an ordinary person could pull off.
As Cai Cong led the way, he worked hard to demonstrate his value.
“Sir, most of our camp’s people are concentrated on the ninth, tenth, and eleventh floor. The twelfth floor is the supply warehouse. The floors below the ninth are basically unused.”
“Then there’s Wang Dazhuang himself. That guy is very good at winning over thugs. Although the atmosphere in the camp is terrible, it hasn’t affected Wang Dazhuang’s control over the camp.”
“If you intend to take over our Anke Camp, sir, I suggest you win over the survivors on the ninth floor first. Those survivors only joined recently and haven’t fully integrated into the camp yet.”
“Also, the camp’s higher-ups and core confidants generally live on the tenth floor. Our camp even has a red-light district on the twenty-first floor. There used to be a massage parlor there. Anyway—”
Cai Cong explained everything that needed to be said in perfect detail. Just as he was about finished speaking, the group arrived at the emergency exit on the sixth floor.
Hearing footsteps approaching, Wang Dazhuang had already arranged his formation. He had someone bring over a grand wooden armchair and place it squarely in front of the emergency exit, then sat down on it with his legs spread wide in an imposing posture.
The moment anyone pushed open the door, the first thing they would see would be Wang Dazhuang seated directly in front of the exit.
Behind Wang Dazhuang stood a crowd of people, all holding various kinds of blades.
The moment Jun Shutong pushed open the door, she saw Wang Dazhuang.
And the instant Wang Dazhuang saw Jun Shutong, his eyes practically lit up.
With a lecherous grin plastered across his face, Wang Dazhuang loudly joked to the underlings behind him, “I’ve never had a policewoman in my life. When we start fighting later, make sure you all take good care of Officer Jun.”
The people behind him burst into laughter upon hearing this. Some even started whistling, making the scene extraordinarily rowdy.
But it didn’t last long.
Because Lu Li was right behind Jun Shutong.
And emerging alongside Lu Li was Beedrill!
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