Invasion of America

Chapter 131 Differentiation
Before nightfall, more than fifty people in town came to collect canned potatoes, and the exploration team's 'free' supplies were completely depleted.

The entire process was unexpectedly silent. There was no fierce resistance as expected, nor was there any joyous welcome of the victorious army after surviving a calamity. It was more like a routine procedure.

The survivors in the town seemed very apathetic; giving them things didn't elicit any kind words in return, but they didn't refuse either—they resembled a group of homeless people coming to collect relief.

Most survivors felt it was their duty to receive supplies, and even blamed the exploration team for arriving too late and giving them inferior goods.

If they had something to eat, they would definitely have given up on canned potatoes—this lukewarm, even disdainful, attitude was a real headache for the exploration team.

Before coming here, everyone thought about what to do if they encountered a large number of survivors. They all felt that they could handle it, and if all else failed, they would retreat.

But on the very first day, reality taught all the team members a lesson—you can't win people's hearts with small favors; in fact, it might even breed greed.

If hundreds or thousands of survivors were to emerge, the hundred or so people in the shelter would have no chance of controlling them.

Only former sheriff Congus felt it was only natural; the American underclass has always been full of resentment, feeling that others owe them something.
-
Not long after nightfall, Zhou Qingfeng called Chen Rui, Luo Ge, and others over and contacted Xiao Jinlang at the shelter via radio for a short meeting.

"The number of survivors in the town is greater than we expected. If we can make good use of this human resource, it will definitely be of great benefit to our future development. If we don't use it well, we will be in big trouble."

"There are a lot of news articles online about poor, lazy people who take welfare for granted and act with a straight face. I used to think it was a joke, but now I realize that there are really such people."

"We face a huge hidden danger: a hundred or so people living in a world with a completely different culture and race."

How do white and black people view us? A minority of individuals, because they share the same resources as us, may be able to work together with us.

But what about those who are not of our kind? Judging from the current situation, they probably don't harbor any goodwill towards us, especially given that we occupy more resources.

The meeting was attended by family members, so everyone could speak freely. The questions raised were quite pointed, such as how to protect oneself when communicating with the outside world.

In China, if someone suffers a disaster and dies, the survivors stick together and help each other. But this is abroad, and the situation is completely different.

Zhou Qingfeng reflected on the conflicts he had encountered in the apocalypse but had no good insights. Xiao Jinlang, however, had an idea.
"There is only one way to fight against a large enemy with a small force: learn from the British and take a detached approach to sow discord among your opponents. Don't let the enemy become a monolithic entity; break them down as much as possible."

This statement is quite insightful. For Easterners who value unity and friendship, "division" is a completely different way of doing things.

Zhou Qingfeng immediately thought, "Incite conflict between Black and White people? For example, if there are fewer Black people in the town, unite them against the White people."

Roger gained more insights during his daytime emergency care work: "There should be further subdivisions among Black and White people, including those who are isolated and those who band together."

In addition, "white" is a general term that includes believers in Catholicism, the Gospel, and all sorts of other beliefs; there are people of British, German, and Irish descent.

These guys must have a lot of internal conflicts.

We could treat certain ethnic groups favorably, like those of Mexican descent, how about that? As long as the enemy is disorganized, the threat to us will be smaller.

This idea immediately opened everyone's minds, and they suddenly felt that the difficulties at hand were much smaller, and there was no need to treat all alien races the same.

Chen Rui added, "Besides dividing the enemy, we also need to strengthen ourselves, accept those who share our values, but be wary of 'bananas' (people who are culturally Westernized but intellectually disabled)."

The idea is good, but how do we implement it?
-
While Zhou Qingfeng was in a meeting, dark figures darted around the town, stealthily approaching their house and gradually getting within a hundred meters.

Omar, who was collecting canned food during the day, was among them, but he was lagging behind, squatting in a corner of the house, watching intently.

Before nightfall, this guy contacted many survivors in the town, promoting his idea that 'it's better to rob than beg for food'.

Although the exploration team was strong and well-equipped, it only had twelve members in total. This numerical disadvantage made it more attractive to many ambitious individuals.

The survivors who have made it this far are not those who are kind-hearted; they are all selfish, ruthless, and have long been accustomed to looting and killing.

During the day, seeing Zhou Qingfeng and the others with rosy complexions and clean clothes, many survivors felt resentful—we were all struggling to survive the apocalypse, so why could you eat well while we had to eat coarse food?

Omar's proposal received considerable support, with about thirty or forty people verbally agreeing.

Loose connections couldn't form a strong organization, and only seven or eight people were willing to come out at night. The rest weren't unwilling to come, but rather lacked the necessary resources.

The town had long lost its water and electricity supply. Apart from a few people who had installed solar panels on their roofs, the other survivors didn't even have a single light source.

Especially after the lack of meat, night blindness even became a common problem, and people would go blind when it got dark.

These seven or eight people did not want to stay together, and slowly approached from different directions. When they were about a hundred meters apart, they all slowed down at the same time.

Omar was once a survivalist who used solar power to charge a night vision device that allowed him to vaguely see a modified pickup truck used as cover a hundred meters away.

Those pickup trucks are extremely powerful, generally exceeding 800 horsepower and tens of thousands of Newton-meters of torque. When equipped with armor and machine guns, they become unstoppable and can be used as armored vehicles.

Five pickup trucks circled around a two-story house in the middle. There seemed to be an observation post on the roof, but no lights were on. Omar was unsure of the other side's situation and thought he should send his 'friendly forces' to probe first.

He remained squatting there for several minutes without moving, and no one else did.

On the contrary, Marco, who was in charge of guarding, broke out in a cold sweat in front of the monitor screen and quickly called Zhou Qingfeng and others to deal with the situation.

The pickup truck is equipped with military-grade night vision devices, and its power supply relies on a large battery with a capacity of over 100 kilowatts, far exceeding the power of models used by individual soldiers—in electronic equipment, power is king.

At the same distance, the exploration team's night vision goggles can see farther and more clearly.

After Zhou Qingfeng arrived, he only glanced at the scene before giving the order without hesitation: "Any spying of this kind for no apparent reason shall be regarded as hostile. Fire a few short bursts of machine gun fire. It's not illegal to kill them anyway."

The exploration team's remote-controlled machine gun comes with a laser rangefinder, and the weapon station and machine gun are linked, allowing it to be controlled from inside the pickup truck.

The team members on guard in the vehicle stared at the night vision goggles' display screen, using a remote control to select a target and lock on, just like playing a game.
Just before the pickup truck opened fire, one of the surviving observers, whether out of sheer audacity or a genuine desire to test the expedition team's capabilities, fired first.

The piercing sound of gunfire rang out in the darkness, bullets whizzing by and striking the armored plates of the modified pickup truck with a few crisp clanging sounds.

The twelve members of the exploration team were all startled. Everyone immediately started asking questions over the radio, and the communication channel was filled with shouts and extremely noisy sounds.

The more noise they made, the louder they shouted, until they completely blocked the channel. "Stop yelling like a bunch of rookies, all of you shut up!" Zhou Qingfeng yelled, gripping the microphone. "Report any casualties, and if there are no casualties, search for any suspicious targets and open fire!"
-
Hearing gunfire in the night, Omar knew he was in trouble. He immediately ducked and hid from the street corner where the spies were watching.

The next second, the machine gun on the opposite pickup truck opened fire, and five medium-caliber M240s spewed out flames half a meter long.

The 7.62mm full-power machine gun bullets came 'rat-a-tat-tat', and after several short bursts, more than a dozen bullets shattered the corners of the wooden house.

Omar had already dodged, but he was still blinded by the splinters. He felt like his soul was leaving his body, and he crawled away on his hands and knees.

This person was considered to have escaped quickly; the others who escaped slower were left lying dead on the spot, unable to get up.

After the gunshots rang out, several mechanical dogs darted out and circled the scene of the gunfight a few times, looking for any remaining enemies to finish them off.

The entire process lasted less than three minutes before it stopped. It was pitch black at night, and even with night vision goggles, it was difficult to monitor the situation, leaving the entire exploration team in a state of chaos.

That night, the number of sentries was doubled, with robotic dogs lurking a hundred meters away, and drones patrolling the area around the residence every half hour until dawn.
-
The next day, Ms. Leila, who had joined the exploration team, got up to tidy her bedding and learned that a small battle had taken place the night before.

"Someone opened fire on the exploration team in the middle of the night, and then the machine gun on the pickup truck returned fire, killing several people." The speaker was also a woman in her thirties who had defected to the team, named Joanna.

Yesterday, more than a dozen survivors joined the exploration team. They were mostly elderly, weak, women and children who could no longer hold on and were too desperate to care about anything else but survival.

For the safety of the group, after dinner they were put in the basement of the house where they were staying. They slept soundly through the night and were completely unaware of the situation outside.

Lyra breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that the expedition team was unharmed. She was fed up with the nomadic life and desperately wanted to settle down. If the expedition team had been defeated, it would have been a disaster for her.

"The men in town are all bad; they deserved to be beaten to death."

Joanna nodded, agreeing with the idea, and then asked in a low voice, "Why do you think this exploration team took us in? Could it be that they have designs on us?"

Leila understood what she meant.

The hardships of life turned men into beasts, and for women, life was unbearable without anyone to rely on, making selling their bodies the only way to survive.

Similarly, the members of the exploration team, having been cooped up in the shelter for a year, couldn't help but linger their eyes on the few women they encountered yesterday, seemingly finding something interesting.

Leila shrugged and sighed, "It doesn't matter. Those men can do whatever they want, as long as I and the child can survive."

Joanna murmured, seemingly lost in thought.

At breakfast time, the expedition team was finally served baked bread instead of potatoes.

The children ate heartily, laughing frequently. The adults in the shelter, however, noticed the differences in their treatment.

Because Leila received twice the bread as everyone else. At the dinner table, Zhou Qingfeng warmly conversed with her, "Madam, are you of Mexican descent?"

“Uh, I’m actually from Guatemala, which is a bit far from Mexico.” Ms. Leila has a darker complexion; she’s neither white nor black.

"Oh, I see, Latino." Zhou Qingfeng ate his breakfast on his own, and pushed his condensed milk towards the other person.

Leila was somewhat flattered, wondering if this young Asian man had taken a fancy to her, a withered and faded woman.

Zhou Qingfeng continued, "I once hired a group of Mexican immigrants, and they were all good people. Although you are not of Mexican descent, I think you are close."

You're the first person to join us, and you're older and more mature. I hope you can be a team leader, managing about ten people.

Lyra was genuinely surprised. She had been so hungry yesterday that she had mustered the courage to ask the exploration team for help, having already prepared herself to die if she couldn't survive.

I never expected to be saved from such a desperate situation.

Although she didn't know exactly what she was to do, she quickly agreed, "Okay, Mr. Victor, I'm willing to be the team leader. I'll definitely be able to manage the team well. I'll do whatever you ask me to do."

Joanna, a younger woman herself, sat nearby, practically dying of jealousy. She'd gone straight to talk to Lyra as soon as she got up, hoping to build a closer relationship and perhaps even form a bond.

In no time, the team leader, 'Victor,' promoted Lyra, while ignoring Joanna who was right next to him.

The two women seemed to represent a class difference.

"Don't worry, we won't ask you to do anything too dangerous. Your job is simple: help collect recyclable materials from within the town."

For example, plastic products.

We have a rudimentary dry distillation system that can produce fuels such as kerosene, gasoline, and diesel by fractional distillation after heating at atmospheric pressure.

So now we need a lot of plastic cups, plastic buckets, plastic toys, and the like, to collect these things and use them as raw materials for fuel production.

Zhou Qingfeng was telling the truth. He and 'Grey Shark' had studied the fuel issue. Although photovoltaic power generation is good, it cannot solve all energy needs.

Since large-scale chemical plants have collapsed, we can only rely on small-scale chemical plants to obtain fuel.

Before the apocalypse broke out, he imported several sets of rudimentary oil refining equipment from 'Dongda'.

That thing has a small production capacity, causes a lot of pollution, and has an extremely harsh working environment, but it is by no means a piece of junk made from just an oil drum. It is a proper piece of equipment designed and manufactured by a petrochemical machinery plant.

As long as the raw materials are supplied, the 'primitive oil refining' equipment can produce two to three tons of different types of fuel per day, which is enough to support the daily use of a team of a thousand people.

The shelter actually has several oil tanks containing a total of two thousand tons of high-quality fuel oil, but that fuel oil is being used up little by little.

Previously, the shelter had no need for external exploration and expansion, and no one wanted to start the refining equipment. But now things are different.

If there is a continuous supply of fuel, even if the quality is a little poor, it doesn't matter, at least it solves the problem of 'whether or not'.

Hearing that she only had to pick up plastic and recycle materials, Leila breathed a sigh of relief. At least it was a decent job, and the workload wasn't too heavy. She was sure she could handle it.

(End of this chapter)