CHAPTER 319: CHAPTER 10: RECRUITMENT

When Zhou Qingfeng struggled to survive in the end times, he often went hungry or full, and had no choice but to depend on various factions like a beast of burden.

At that time, various gang forces emerged like bamboo shoots after rain, most of which quickly burst like bubbles or were annexed by other stronger forces.

Any force that could take root in the harsh apocalypse was invariably well-organized, well-equipped, ruthless, and had some military backing to a greater or lesser extent.

When the ’countryman’ Vice President handed over the dossier of ’Wayne Herbert,’ Zhou Qingfeng showed no reaction on the surface, but his heart raced suddenly.

He recognized this person, "Undead Wayne," and the mysterious organization ’Undead’ he led.

Compared to other forces that plundered resources and territories everywhere, the ’Undead’ kept a low profile, had few members, but mastered advanced medical and pharmaceutical technology.

Zhou Qingfeng once worked as a mercenary for the ’Undead,’ helping them search for the surviving refugees struggling in the apocalypse.

The ’Undead’ occasionally sold some enhancement drugs to the outside, which Zhou Qingfeng had also used, and the effects were surprisingly good, with relatively few side effects.

In the apocalypse, it was considered an extremely sought-after "brand product."

Zhou Qingfeng had met the leader of the ’Undead,’ Wayne Herbert, several times.

He had cautiously asked the other party why they went to such great lengths to gather so many ragged, skinny surviving refugees.

At that time, Zhou Qingfeng was lonely, carrying a humble hope, with the subtext: "Can you take me in? I also want a job and environment where I can live steadily."

Now, he no longer remembered exactly what "Undead Wayne" had said, only recalling that scornful and cold look thrown at him, which meant clearly—"You are not worthy to join us."

Until many years later, the ’Undead’ were swallowed by another great force.

Zhou Qingfeng once met a former member of the ’Undead’ in a ruins tavern, bought him a drink, and chatted all night.

He learned that "Undead Wayne" tried to find the perfect evolution path, and the surviving refugees he painstakingly gathered basically became caged experimental subjects.

As for the enhancement drugs, what the ’Undead’ sold to the outside were just inferior products; the truly precious high-grade goods were internally reserved.

But in an apocalypse where tomorrow was uncertain, Zhou Qingfeng had nothing to complain about; being able to use them was already a great fortune, who dared to ask for more? The fact they were willing to sell to him was already a great blessing.

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Holding Wayne Herbert’s dossier, Zhou Qingfeng walked out of the ’White House,’ his thoughts scattered, returning to the post-apocalyptic wasteland he once wandered.

He vaguely remembered during the conversation in the ruins tavern, that former ’Undead’ member drunkenly revealed some seemingly trivial secrets at the time.

The ’Undead’ had more than one or two bases in North America, as many as a dozen, all converted from pre-apocalypse military medical research institutes.

And they weren’t hidden bases deep in the mountains, but small towns with full amenities like water, electricity, and heating, with decent living conditions.

After all, the ’Undead’ themselves didn’t want to live a harsh life in closed shelters.

Zhou Qingfeng had also been to several ’Undead’ bases, but at that time, he didn’t know how important those seemingly ordinary places were.

"By the way... has Wayne Herbert created the ’Undead Guard’ yet?"

The ’Undead’ organization wasn’t the largest among the numerous forces in the apocalypse, but its direct guard unit had formidable combat power.

The genuine "X Enhancer" had astonishing effects, capable of upgrading human functions to an incredible extent, but its success rate was disastrously low, less than one percent.

And Wayne Herbert had a diluted version of the ’X Enhancer,’ although the enhancement cap wasn’t high, and the effects couldn’t last long, its greatest advantage was extremely high adaptability.

About one-tenth of people could successfully withstand the transformation by the drug, with relatively few side effects.

It was precisely by leveraging such mass enhancement that the ’Undead’ could establish a guard unit with stable numbers and strength far superior to ordinary people.

In the outside world’s view, these guard members seemed to possess an immortal body, able to quickly recover even when seriously injured, which is also the origin of the name ’Undead.’

His scattered thoughts gradually contracted, and Zhou Qingfeng took out his phone, opening his memo. He had long since started recording his post-apocalyptic memories, which were hard-earned survival experiences.

In the memo was a record about the ’Undead,’ detailing their base locations and general insights. He was just about to browse through and deepen his memory... his phone rang.

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The call was from the Chief of Staff, asking to meet ’Harden’ privately.

The other party got straight to the point, "Harden, there are some things I have to say directly. The matter of you taking down Admiral Alvin has become a semi-open secret in Washington D.C."

He paused, observing Zhou Qingfeng’s reaction between his brows and eyes, attempting to seize the initiative in the conversation.

"Those people you have dirt on are not honest. They’re secretly associating, desperately trying to find a way out for themselves.

You’ve created too much pressure for those bastards, and in their eyes, you’re the biggest obstacle, the primary target they want to eliminate."

The Chief of Staff threw this bombshell to catch Zhou Qingfeng off guard, but what greeted him was just a cold: "Oh... and then?"