hsntnovel Chapter 103 Taking the Initiative
Chapter 103 Taking the Initiative
When the topic returned to the insects, a leader of a small faction looked worried after reading the documents on the table:
"No wonder I recently heard from my men who were out collecting supplies that they saw traces of zombies being eaten in this area."
At first, I wondered if it was the work of some kind of mutated animal, and I was just about to take people to see it.
Looking at it this way, it does seem like it was made by these insects.
But if all of this was done by insects, isn't their expansion rate a bit too fast?
"The distance between here and the place where you found the insects is too far, isn't it?"
Wang Xiao said seriously, "This is one of the reasons why I was so eager to invite everyone to this meeting."
According to the intelligence currently available to our hotel and the Qin Group, the swarm's activity range is rapidly expanding outward from this area.
At their current rate of expansion, I think it will take them at most two to three weeks to completely turn this area into their breeding ground.
Once they complete their evolution through the zombies and survivors gathered there, what we'll face next will likely be far more than just a few thousand worm-like zombies.
A young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses exclaimed, "Two to three weeks? That fast?"
He is a representative of the "Dawn Mutual Aid Association".
Wang Xiao continued, "Not only that, our Peace Hotel and the Qin family strongly suspect that these insects exist in a way similar to a king, which is the main reason we invited you all here."
The threat of insect swarms has been clearly outlined in the documents you all have, so I won't elaborate further.
What I want to say is that, given the current rate at which these insects are developing, it would be very difficult for any one of our forces to completely eliminate them in a short period of time.
To eradicate this problem permanently, we must concentrate all our efforts and nip it in the bud before it gets out of control!
Feng Ye spoke up: "Does Boss Wang mean we should take the initiative?"
Wang Xiao nodded and said, "Yes."
Seeing that Wang Xiao's expression didn't seem like he was joking, Feng Ye said seriously, "Alright, I admit that letting the insect swarm expand is indeed a threat, but the risk of launching a proactive attack is also considerable. If we fail, all of us here will probably suffer heavy losses."
Wang Xiao said, "I completely understand Chief Feng's concerns, but please think carefully: if we don't take the initiative now, will we still have a chance to counterattack once the swarm has fully developed?"
The meeting room fell silent once again.
Qin Huai'an looked around and slowly said, "I think Boss Wang is right. Staying on the defensive will only make us lose the initiative step by step."
Since insect swarms possess the ability to learn and evolve, it means that we don't have much time left.
Everyone says that if something big happens, someone taller should take the lead, but you don't really want to give up the habitat you finally found so easily to these insects, do you?
Furthermore, don't forget about those doors that might pop up again at any time.
Escape now, no problem. But what if there are more doors appearing later? Where do you plan to run then?
Safety isn't something you escape from; it's something you fight your way out of!
Everyone present was intelligent, and with Qin Huai'an, as the representative of the Qin Group, having expressed his stance, they naturally had no reason not to participate.
Soon, the meeting shifted from concerns about losses to whether to launch a proactive attack before the insect swarm had fully formed, and how to do so.
Just like Qin Huai'an's saying, "If there's a problem, there will always be someone tall to take the blame," the two top forces, Chenghua District, Heping Hotel, and Qin Group, have all decided to take the initiative. Even if these forces want to back down, the other participating forces will push them forward in order to further share the risks.
After all, none of you here want to lose the power you've worked so hard to build up.
Therefore, when it comes to taking risks, the more people involved, the better.
……
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city.
The midday sun pierced through the thick clouds, barely casting its rays onto the dilapidated streets of Chenghua District.
On the rooftop of an abandoned high-rise building, Yue Man put down his binoculars, rubbed his sore eyes, and said to Wan Menghuai beside him, "This situation is much worse than our employer estimated."
After observing the surrounding situation, Wan Menghuai also said with a solemn expression: "These few streets alone are almost all infested with the kind of insect-infested zombies described in the documents."
Moreover, their movement patterns were significantly more regular than our employer had described, as if they were patrolling their territory, unlike the zombies we encountered before, which simply wandered aimlessly through the streets.
Yue Man raised the binoculars again and said, "These insects have really learned to be smart."
In my field of vision, the area near the power maintenance center has been completely overrun by insects.
A large number of worm-like zombies are moving along a fixed route, searching, much like ants sending worker ants to scout ahead before carrying food.
What made Yue Man even more uneasy was that he discovered that the size of several insect-like zombies was significantly more evolved than described in the report.
Yue Man pointed to one of them and said, "Look over there, don't you think that insect-turned zombie seems a bit different from the other insect-turned zombies?"
Wan Menghuai looked in that direction and immediately gasped.
What should have been an ordinary zombie was now kneeling on the ground, a hideous gash on its back from which several insect-like tentacles protruded, devouring the scattered pieces of flesh and blood around it.
As it fed, its tentacles rapidly thickened and lengthened, then retracted back into its body. Strangely, however, it did not absorb the flesh and blood; instead, it seemed to intend to transport it somewhere.
Wan Menghuai exclaimed in surprise, "The report didn't mention anything about such a disgusting thing."
Yue Man couldn't help but recall what Wang Xiao had said to him before he set off.
Insects themselves are not scary; what's scary is their learning ability and speed of adaptation.
If they are allowed to devour zombies and flesh, this area will become a living hell in less than two weeks.
Yue Man put the binoculars into the side pocket of his combat uniform, stretched his limbs, and said, "You stay here, I'm going inside to take a look."
"Are you crazy?" Wan Menghuai grabbed him. "Our main task is to observe the situation and try to find traces of the nest. If we go deeper, it will be difficult to escape once the swarm discovers us."
Yue Man, however, rarely showed a serious expression, and pointed to the Swift Shadow combat suit on his body: "That Boss Wang gave me this thing, not so that I could use it as a telescope stand."
And you're right, insects evolve too fast.
But if I don't try to find the nest, they might build it right in front of the hotel tomorrow. I don't want to have to move again because of these bugs after only a short time of settling in.
"you……"
Wan Menghuai was silent for a moment, then finally sighed and replied, "Alright, I can agree to let you go deeper, but I have one condition. If you are surrounded by insects, I will retreat immediately. At most, I can use steel wire to buy you three seconds. Don't expect me to die with you."
Yue Man smiled and said, "Thank you."