In a frigid apocalypse, I went on a shopping spree with the reborn.

Jiang Qingyue did not press Wang Dawei for more information. She returned to the shelter and began to make a hypothesis that was highly feasible but extremely risky.

Jiang Qingyue is very clear about her strengths and weaknesses.

Her refuge's greatest advantage is that each one has immense potential.

She herself, Long Jiuxing, Yan Bao, Snake Baby, and Little Hen are all incredibly promising.

In addition, the team is small and gets along very well, so there is no need to spend too much time managing the team or worrying about betrayal.

The disadvantages are also very obvious: the number of people is small.

Right now, her combat power is stuck at 100,000, and Long Jiuxing is also stuck at 100,000; there's no way for them to increase it further.

The zombie kings all have their own lairs, where they are working hard to create baby zombies. Many of those that do not meet the requirements are actively screened out by the zombie kings and become first-tier crystal cores.

Before long, Yan Bao, Zai Zai, and the little hen will all accumulate 100,000 combat power, and then they will also be stuck here.

If too many crystal nuclei are produced, they will be of little use to them and can only be exchanged with others.

But the captains of the other major bases weren't fools either. They lacked second-tier crystal cores, and so did the others, so no one was willing to trade.

Furthermore, as the number of zombie cities increases, there will inevitably be zombie attacks on human bases. Each time a zombie city is attacked, as long as it is defended, a lot of low-level crystal cores can be obtained.

No matter which major power it is, low-level crystal cores are indispensable.

Or, to put it another way, there are weak individuals in the base who need first-tier crystal cores, but these people cannot make the decision. They cannot provide the high-tier crystal cores that Jiang Qingyue needs, or anything even rarer, so it is impossible for the two parties to form a trading relationship.

It's unlikely that Nangong Zhao and his group would exchange second-tier crystal cores for first-tier crystal cores with Jiang Qingyue to improve their subordinates' strength.

"There are still too few people." The more Jiang Qing thought about it, the more she felt she couldn't afford to wait any longer.

Long Jiuxing studies zombies every day, but even as a layman, she knows that this is not something that can be done overnight.

We were lucky; it was completed in three to five years.

If you're unlucky, you might still not understand it even after 30 to 50 years.

We can't just rely on Longlong.

The problem now is that they have no way to improve, so they can only wait.

Wait until those zombies get stronger, and until Nangong Zhao, Liu Yuyao, and the others catch up one by one.

At that time, everyone will be stuck at 100,000 combat power.

At that time, the other party had more people and more power, so the five poor little ones in their shelter had a hard time.

Jiang Qingyue took out a notebook, wrote the words "recruiting" on it, looked at it for two seconds, and then crossed it out.

Those who are family know their own situation. She is not a qualified manager, nor is Long Jiuxing, and the remaining three little ones do not have the potential.

The pen paused for a moment, then wrote two more words: zombie.

Hiring people won't work, but what about training zombies?

Her previous purpose in raising zombies was to mine crystal cores.

It has now been discovered that zombies are far more useful than subordinates. As long as the zombie king is controlled and one remains stronger than the zombie king, countless zombies can be controlled and used for one's own purposes.

There's no risk of betrayal, no need to worry about the zombies' needs for food, drink, and excrement, and if something really happens, you won't feel bad if you die.

The more Jiang Qing thought about it, the more she felt that this matter had potential and was highly feasible.

This zombie has so many advantages that it's hard for her not to be tempted.

"But this means we can't mine second- and third-tier crystal cores in the early stages."

Instead, the goal is to cultivate all the zombies with potential into zombie kings, allowing them to continuously branch out and produce more baby zombies.

Once the group has grown to a certain size, the cores of the zombies that have exhausted their potential at various stages will be extracted to enhance their strength.

This is another advantage of zombies. Zombies are a rather cold-blooded race. Just look at the zombie kings nowadays. They can offer up newly created little zombies without any emotional fluctuations so that Jiang Qingyue can mine their crystal cores.

Even the most intelligent zombie kings would not show any emotional fluctuations when their companions had their crystal cores removed; they were more like machines devoid of feelings.

Since their own king didn't care, Jiang Qingyue naturally had no psychological burden. She could order them around and dig for crystal cores as needed.

But there is a risk in doing this, namely, the controllability.

At present, this is not difficult. Jiang Qingyue believes that even if the Corpse King President breaks through to the seventh level, he may not be her match.

But if she can't find a way to improve after reaching the seventh rank, she might become food for the Corpse King CEO.

But as long as she remains stronger than the Corpse King CEO, she can overcome the disadvantage of having fewer people in the shelter.

"Let's do it this way."

After writing and drawing, noting the advantages and disadvantages, and thinking it over and over again, Jiang Qingyue felt: nurture!

Raise lots of them!

The more zombies you raise, the better, as they can work obediently without needing to be fed, drunk, or relieved, and can improve themselves.

Even in the worst-case scenario, where the Corpse King is about to surpass her, she still hasn't found a way to increase her strength.

In this situation, we should join forces with Long Jiuxing and Zaizai to kill the Corpse King President first, and then spend some time cultivating a new Corpse King.

"This way we can also obtain a seventh-order crystal core."

"Hey." Jiang Qingyue chuckled as she thought about it, "If you calculate it this way, there's practically no cost involved."

Where does the risk come from?

Is there a risk?

If you can't control it, kill it and mine its crystal core. Then kill the next one that can't be controlled and mine its crystal core too...

She refused to believe that, after watching it every day, a domesticated zombie could turn the tables and kill her.

After figuring things out, Jiang Qingyue picked up her personal terminal again and issued a bounty order, still to buy zombies. The reward was the same as before: anyone with the potential to become a third-tier zombie king would be accepted.

Spring City, the base for "I'll Be King in the Apocalypse".

Nangong Zhao turned off his personal terminal and looked at Jiang Qingtian beside him, a hint of testing in his eyes: "Your cousin is buying up zombies in large quantities again right now. Why do you think she's doing this?"

Jiang Qingtian pursed her lips: "Does the captain want to hear the truth, or do he want me to pledge my loyalty?"

"Oh?" Nangong Zhao leaned back on the sofa, placing her two long, snow-white legs on the coffee table, causing several male team members to quickly look down at their toes.

"Sweetie, tell me the truth! How do you mean by 'showing loyalty'?"

Jiang Qingtian took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and looked into Nangong Zhao's eyes: "If the captain wants to hear me pledge my loyalty, I can hand over the personal terminal to the captain for inspection."

"After I upgraded to level two quantum computer, I still haven't added my cousin as a friend. We haven't exchanged a single word, and I haven't revealed a single word about the zombie kings I'm raising or the underground zombie nest to my cousin."

"If I encounter my cousin in danger in the wild, I will do everything I can to save her. But I will not reveal a single word about the secrets of the base to anyone, including my cousin, without your permission, Captain."

Nangong Zhao raised his chin: "Go on."

"If the captain wants to hear the truth, I will put aside my relationship with my cousin and, in your capacity as vice-captain, give my opinion."

The five women and three men beside her all looked at Jiang Qingtian. They were all high-ranking members of the base, and although some of them were not deputy captains, they were in charge of all the base's affairs.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be qualified to sit here and hold a meeting in the middle of the night.

Their opinions on Deputy Captain Jiang were also complicated. Some of them were veterans who had been with Nangong Zhao since the Overlord Base. When they first arrived in Quanshui City, they didn't even know who Jiang Qingtian was.

But it didn't take long for this unknown nobody to surpass them and become the vice-captain of "I'll Be King in the Apocalypse".

It's impossible for everyone to be convinced; many people secretly hoped that Jiang Qingtian would anger the captain.

Jiang Qingtian wasn't unaware of those resentful looks, but she wasn't the same Jiang Qingtian she used to be.

Ever since my cousin brought Long Jiuxing to Xingfu Community and killed Wang Dawei on the spot, tens of thousands of people in the entire base have not dared to utter a sound.

She knew that the emotions of the weak were unimportant.

Anger or kindness, it's all in vain.

Strength is what she should pursue.

She had already tasted the power of authority. Just like now, as she spoke to the captain, no one dared to interrupt, no matter how much they questioned her.

But this is not enough.

Under Nangong Zhao's gaze, Jiang Qingtian spoke her analysis truthfully: "My cousin bought zombies last time. At that time, many people thought she wanted to acquire high-level crystal cores, while others thought she wanted to raise more zombie kings."

"Now that she's making her second acquisition, I think my cousin doesn't just want to raise a few zombies; she probably wants to turn the entire Spring City into a zombie capital."

"What's the reason?" Nangong Zhao asked.

"It's very simple," Jiang Qingtian said, "A king doesn't meet a king."

"Spring City isn't very big to begin with, but the captain has taken over the entire main city area, and everyone in Spring City has become the captain's people."

"Although the relationship between the two sides is good now, I believe that no strong person would want to stay in the same place as someone who is not much weaker than themselves."

"My cousin didn't step up to reorganize the Happiness Base when it was leaderless, which shows that she didn't want to spend the effort to manage a base. With that kind of personality, she also didn't want to spend the effort to defend against a powerful enemy."

"Go on," Nangong Zhao said, his tone unchanged, revealing neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction.

Jiang Qingtian wasn't sure if she had hit the nail on the head, but she still forced herself to say her analysis: "If I had the same strength as my cousin, I would only have two thoughts when facing a powerful neighbor: either kill him or drive him away."

Upon hearing this, the others nearby paused, secretly observing the captain's expression.

Those who served under their captain knew all too well how proud he was.

Even though Li Tiege used to be more obedient than a dog, he was still taken down by the captain and Liu Yuyao.

Even when Liu Yuyao took the initiative to invite him, the captain did not agree to stay at the Overlord Base.

Such a person would absolutely not tolerate being expelled by Jiang Qingyue.

"Go on." Nangong Zhao tossed his hair. "What, are you like toothpaste? I'll squeeze a little, you give a little."

Jiang Qingtian breathed a sigh of relief, thankful she wasn't angry: "You can tell from how my cousin treats Wang Dawei that although she doesn't want to manage so many people, she doesn't want to keep danger around her."

"The captain's current influence and strength are greater than Wang Dawei's before, so she can't possibly turn a blind eye to it."

"If my cousin wants to eliminate the team leader, now is the perfect time."

"Now both she and Long Jiuxing have reached 100,000 combat power, far ahead of everyone else. If the two of them come together now, no matter how many of us there are, it will be useless."

Nangong Zhao lifted his eyelids slightly: "You mean, I have absolutely no chance of winning against her?"

"Yes."

Jiang Qingtian's words made the people next to her hold their breath, and they all thought to themselves, "Is this Vice Captain Jiang a Der?"

Even if it's the truth, couldn't you have put it more tactfully?

Nangong Zhao: "What's your basis? I've never actually fought Jiang Qingyue. What makes you so sure I'll be the one to die?"

"Two points," Jiang Qingtian said. "First, given your ambition, Captain, the fact that you're still stuck in Quanshui City and haven't gone to bigger places shows that you don't think you're strong enough."

"Secondly, our base's ironclad rule is that no one is allowed to investigate the whereabouts of Jiang Qingyue and Long Jiuxing. This shows that the captain doesn't want to cause any misunderstandings, and indirectly proves that the captain believes his strength is inferior to my cousin's."

"..."

Everyone looked up at the sky and down at the ground, none of them daring to look at Captain Nangong Zhao's expression.

Nangong Zhao stared at Jiang Qingtian for three seconds, then sighed, "The truth is indeed hard to hear."

isn't it?

The captain actually admitted it?

The subordinates were completely distraught.

You should know that Jiang Qingyue and the others are right next door. Although they dare not inquire about their whereabouts, Jiang Qingyue really doesn't try to hide anything.

Looking out from the city to the suburbs, the trees on the mountains disappear one by one every day.

They've already gone to great lengths to play dumb.

Now that their own captain has admitted that he is not as good as Jiang Qingyue, doesn't that mean that if Jiang Qingyue ever decides not to maintain a friendly relationship, they will be doomed?

Nangong Zhao then asked, "So, according to you, she didn't want to kill me, but she didn't want me to be close to her, so she would definitely drive me away?"

"That's right," Jiang Qingtian said. "My cousin is extremely strong in combat, and with Long Jiuxing's help, she's miles ahead of us in high-level combat."

"The only thing she lacks is her subordinates. Currently, she is short of second-tier crystal cores and special items."

"Given enough time, we can produce ten, twenty, or even more than one hundred thousand powerful warriors."

"My cousin's team has fewer people, so everyone's fighting strength will be the same. But if we have more people, she will be at a disadvantage and even in danger."

"If I were her, I would never allow such a thing to happen."

"It would be necessary to kill or drive away the powerful neighbor, the captain, beforehand. Since my cousin didn't kill him, her purpose must have been to drive us away."

"She didn't come in person, but buying zombies can also achieve the purpose of driving them away, because as long as she has enough zombies, we won't have an advantage in numbers."

"By then, this Spring City will be full of zombies she raises, and whether we like it or not, we will have no choice but to leave."

Nangong Zhao pondered for a moment: "What if I just don't leave?"

Jiang Qingtian gritted her teeth: "Then I'll die with the captain."

Nangong Zhao rolled her eyes in exasperation: "The way you're so ready to die for your cause makes it seem like I'm getting a huge advantage by dying with you."

"..." Jiang Qingtian remained silent.

She couldn't think of any other way.

Did he run away on his own?

Impossible, the captain had shown her great kindness.

He attacked his cousin?

That's impossible. If it weren't for the cabbage her cousin gave her, she wouldn't even have survived, let alone gotten to where she is today.

She's begging her cousin on her knees for the sake of the captain, morally blackmailing her cousin? She doesn't have that right.

The only thing she could do was remain neutral.

"Alright, go back to sleep." Nangong Zhao waved his hand.

Somewhat speechless, he opened his personal computer, opened the chat window with Jiang Qingyue, hesitated for a long time, and then closed it.

Looking annoyed: "What's the rush? Honestly."

Didn't she say she was only staying in Quanshui City temporarily?

She'll leave sooner or later, so what's wrong with giving her more time to prepare?

Wearing sky-high heels, I clattered my way to the basement. As soon as I opened the door, a stench filled the air.

Nangong Zhao walked in expressionlessly. When the group of corpse kings, large and small, saw her, they all covered their heads and tried their best to shrink into the corner.

"I really can't bear to part with him," Nangong Zhao sighed.

These are high-level crystal cores that she has reserved for herself, and she is reluctant to mine even a single one.

I was thinking of nurturing it for a longer time, since high-level crystal cores are even rarer, but it seems I don't have the time now.

Nangong Zhao calculated that even after digging them all out, there were only a little over 500 second-order crystal cores, 50 third-order crystal cores, 10 fourth-order crystal cores, and one fifth-order crystal core.

Nangong Zhao opened his personal panel.

Nangong Zhao:

Health stat: 89/100

Satiety level: 91/100

Moisture content: 90/100

Trading currency: 1350000

Space backpack: 1/1 cubic meter

Overall Index: 99998+

This is her first panel, just like everyone else's.

Click on her name again, and a second panel will pop up. This one is unique and belongs only to her.

Nangong Zhao:

Combat power: 100000

Abilities: Concealment, appearance equals strength, invisibility.

Nangong Zhao looked at her second panel. This second panel was actually a special item, the only one of its kind in the entire Eighth District. She was lucky enough to get it.

Later, she acquired many special items, some of which she used to win over Li Tiege's underlings, who have now become her core group. She kept very few for herself.

One reason is that she is hidden, which is why Liu Yuyao said that although she felt that her strength was very strong, she did not appear on the list.

This skill can conceal your own stats; they cannot be modified, but you can choose to hide them.

Looks equal strength; simply put, the prettier you are, the stronger you are.

She has always worn this invisibility cloak, which she can choose to activate or deactivate; so far, she has only tested it.

Her combat power has reached 100,000 using level one crystal cores, a day earlier than Jiang Qingyue on the leaderboard.

She simply concealed her combat strength, wanting to keep a low profile for a while.

It has to be said that Jiang Qingyue timed this perfectly; both Jiang Qingyue and Long Jiuxing now have a combat power of 100,000.

Two against one, and Jiang Qingtian was right, she really couldn't win.

The timing was so perfect that Nangong Zhao couldn't help but wonder if Jiang Qingyue knew she already had 100,000 combat power and was afraid she would train several more subordinates with 100,000 combat power, so he deliberately timed it this way to drive her away.

But then I thought it was impossible. After all, she had kept the fact that she had 100,000 combat power a secret all along. Jiang Qingyue wasn't a reincarnated person, so how could she possibly know?

Sigh, it seems even the main god is on Jiang Qingyue's side.

In fact, besides dealing with the possible zombie horde, she had been trying to find a way to obtain a second-tier crystal core during this period.

According to information obtained from Liu Yuyao, accumulating combat power from 100,000 to 200,000 is another major hurdle.

Even if all of these are used, it's impossible to get her to 200,000 combat power.

If she continues to be raised here, Jiang Qingyue won't give her any time.

Taking it with you for a transfer would be even more troublesome.

If you calculate it that way, it would be better not to mine the crystal cores at all, but to sell them directly to Jiang Qingyue in exchange for some life-saving items, such as the essence of Plant Doctor.

Each crystal core is equivalent to a life. It's worthwhile to have more lives and maintain a good relationship with Jiang Qingyue.

"Men, tie them all up. Have Jiang Qingyue send her steward to pick them up at dawn."