CHAPTER 336: CHAPTER 4: DIVISION

Before nightfall, more than fifty people in the town rushed to receive potato cans, and the ’free’ supplies carried by the exploration team were directly emptied.

The entire process was unexpectedly silent, with no anticipated intense resistance, nor was there a welcoming of the survivors as if it were a routine procedure.

The survivors in the town appeared very numb. Giving them things didn’t earn any gratitude, but they didn’t refuse either—like a group of vagrants coming to receive aid.

Most survivors felt it was rightful for someone to deliver supplies to them, and even blamed the exploration team for arriving too late and the supplies being too poor.

If they had food to eat, they would surely despise the potato cans—this indifferent, even ’disdainful’ attitude was quite troublesome for the exploration team.

Before coming, everyone had thought about what to do if encountering a large number of survivors? They all felt that our side could handle it, and if not, they would retreat.

But only on the first day, reality taught all team members a lesson—that small favors cannot win hearts, and could even foster greed.

If hundreds or thousands of survivors suddenly appeared, the mere hundred or so people in the shelter simply couldn’t control them.

Only Kongges, the former police chief, felt it natural—the bottom tier in the United States always harbors resentment, feeling that others owe them.

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Not long after nightfall, Zhou Qingfeng called Chen Rui, Roger, and others over and connected with Xiao Jinlang at the shelter via radio, having a small meeting together.

"There are more survivors in the town than we anticipated. If we can make good use of this manpower, it will surely benefit our future development. If not, trouble will follow."

"There’s a lot of news online about lazy people living off welfare, believing it’s their right to receive it. It was seen as a joke before, but now we find there really are such people."

"We face a great threat, which is a hundred or so people residing in a world culturally and racially completely different from ours.

What do those whites and blacks think of us? A few individuals sharing the same resources with us might cooperate.

But what about others not of our ethnicity? From today’s situation, they likely don’t hold goodwill toward us, particularly when we hold more resources."

Those attending the meeting were insiders, everyone could speak freely, the issues raised were sharp: how to protect ourselves in exchanges with outsiders?

If it were domestically, facing disaster and adversity, survivors would band together for warmth and assistance. But this is abroad, the situation is entirely different.

Zhou Qingfeng recalled the conflicts he encountered in the apocalypse, having no good insights on this. But Xiao Jinlang had an idea...

"The only way to fight many with few is to learn from the Englishmen, and assume a transcendent position to sow discord among opponents, preventing them from forming a solid front, as much as possible dividing them."

These words were enlightening, as for Easterners who favor unity and friendship, ’divide and conquer’ is a drastically different approach.

Zhou Qingfeng immediately thought, "Stir up conflict between blacks and whites? For instance, there’s a small number of blacks in town; unite them to oppose whites."

Through daytime rescue work, Roger had gained more insights, "Blacks and whites should be further divided as well—those who are weak and isolated versus those who band together.

Moreover, ’white’ is a general term; there are Catholics, Evangelists, and others; there are English, German, and Irish descendants.

This group definitely has internal conflicts.

We could favor certain ethnic groups, like Mexicans, how about that? As long as the enemy is fragmented, the threat to us is reduced."

This idea immediately opened everyone’s mindset, and suddenly the difficulties seemed much smaller, realizing there was no need to treat all different ethnic groups equally.

Chen Rui added, "Besides dividing the enemy, we also need to strengthen ourselves by recruiting those with similar views while being alert to ’bananas’."

The idea is good, but how to execute it?

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While Zhou Qingfeng was holding a meeting, shadows sneaked around in the town, stealthily approaching the building they were in, moving within a hundred meters.

Among them was Omar, who had received his can during the day, but he was at the rear, crouching at a corner, watching intently.

Before dark, he had contacted many survivors in town, promoting his notion: ’Rather than begging, it is better to plunder’.

Although the exploration team was strong, they numbered only twelve, and being in the minority made several ambitious individuals more covetous.

To have survived up to now, these survivors hadn’t done so by being kindhearted, each was selfish and ruthless, familiar with plunder and murder.

Seeing Zhou Qingfeng and others healthy and well-dressed during the day, many survivors felt resentment—suffering through the apocalypse together, why should they eat well while we eat scraps?

There were quite a few who responded to Omar’s proposal, roughly thirty or forty verbally agreed.

However, loose connections could not form a strong organization; only seven or eight were willing to act at night. Others didn’t come because they were unable, not unwilling.

The town had long lacked water and electricity, and besides a few houses with solar panels installed on rooftops, other survivors did not have any lighting tools.

Especially after lacking meat, night blindness had even become a common problem, leaving them blind when night fell.

These seven or eight were also unwilling to gather together, dispersed in different directions, approaching slowly. Upon reaching within a hundred meters, they inadvertently reduced their speed.