Even without cheats, we must survive the apocalypse

"If you oppose cooperation with the Lobelin family, then we will immediately terminate our contact with them." An Suxin looked at Chu Xiao and put the decision-making power in his hands.

Chu Xiao just waved his hand. He just felt a little guilty about Anna's existence, but he didn't feel disgusted with cooperating with the Lobelin family.

"This matter... everyone knows about it except me?" Chu Xiao asked.

"I, I, I!" Yun Duoer raised her hands high, "I don't know either!"

Chu Xiao rolled his eyes, picked up a piece of sashimi, dipped it in a large piece of mustard, and stuffed it into Yun Duoer's little mouth. Looking at the tears welling up in the little girl's eyes, and her flailing and screaming, he felt a lot more relieved - he always felt that his status had dropped to the same level as Yun Duoer.

It was impossible for An Suxin and Chu Yan to make a decision on a whim to contact the Lobelin family. The girls had discussed the feasibility of this matter while Chu Xiao was recuperating. And how to get along with the Lobelin family was an unavoidable problem from the very beginning.

Whether it is the existence of Eta or Chu Bai in Chu Xiao's body, plus the friendship between Chu Xiao, Ruan Mengmeng and Anna, they cannot ignore the existence of such a behemoth.

After finishing his fight with Yun Duo'er, Chu Xiao tapped his fingers lightly on the table. Since the secretary had already placed the final decision in front of him, he naturally couldn't just be a hands-off boss and not consider anything.

"Sister Ke, what do you think about this matter?" Chu Xiao's gaze fell on Gu Ke's face. Among everyone, he was most worried about Gu Ke's opinion on this matter.

"Me?" Gu Ke leaned back on the back of the chair, smiled and shook his head, "Don't worry about me. In this matter, I voted to abstain."

Abstaining from voting means that she disagrees, but does not object either.

The reason why Chu Xiao specifically asked Gu Ke about her thoughts was because she was the person with the most bottom line and the most sense of justice among this group of people. Almost all of her former companions died at the hands of the madman Sun Baishi, and behind Sun Baishi was the behemoth "Cult".

Not to mention, the world is coming to an end so abruptly, and the "Cult" has played an indispensable role in this!

"I don't like those people. They destroyed the world I live in and made me lose everything. I wish I could blow all those lunatics' heads off!" Gu Ke said with hatred, his tone slightly changed. "But, I know what situation we are facing now. Besides, isn't the leader of the Lobelin clan dead? I've also seen that little girl Anna. I like her very much. If she is in charge of the Lobelin clan, then this 'cooperation' is not completely unacceptable."

"I'm not the kind of person who ignores the actual situation. My personal emotions are not important in this situation. You don't need to worry that I'm unhappy. Although I'm a little unhappy, I also know the necessity of contacting the Lobelin family, so I abstain from voting on this matter."

Chu Xiao knew Gu Ke very well. For this girl with a strong sense of justice, making such a concession was already a very difficult choice.

"I understand." Chu Xiao looked at Gu Ke deeply, and he realized that this seemingly careless "sister" actually had a delicate side. She was not as unrealistic and "naive" as Anna, but after recognizing the reality, she still insisted on the "bottom line".

Gu Ke is actually the "conscience" of their small team, as well as a rein that ensures that they will not be assimilated into inhuman beasts in the crazy doomsday wasteland.

An Suxin listened to Gu Ke's words with a meaningful smile on her face, but did not refute him out loud.

If it were her in the past, she might have directly sneered at Gu Ke’s “declaration of justice”. Now, because of Chu Xiao’s existence, the secretary’s heart has softened a little, but it does not mean that she, An Suxin, has become a good person.

After all, she was a woman who was once only one step away from falling into the abyss. Even if she had tender feelings in her heart, she had already given them to the man she loved.

During these days, Chu Xiao lived like a god, so he had no idea how bad the situation of the once very powerful Lobelin family was now.

Through An Suxin and Chu Yan's retelling, Chu Xiao learned that due to the death of Blake Lobelin and the sinking of the costly Nibelungen, the Lobelin family was severely damaged. In addition, the knight's successor was still a young girl. Therefore, as a faction of the cult, the Lobelin family could be said to be in a precarious state.

Fortunately, Mrs. Sophia stabilized the situation, and Angelo returned in time with the survivors, so their situation did not deteriorate further.

But even so, the severely damaged Lobelin faction has become the prey in the eyes of many other bishops, who are eyeing and preparing to tear a piece of meat from the Lobelin faction.

What Chu Xiao could not have expected was that this contact was actually initiated by the Lobelin family.

"...the other party has proposed some bargaining chips that are difficult for us to refuse." An Suxin completely returned to her role as a secretary. She held a notebook in her hand and calmly analyzed the situation to Chu Xiao. "The most critical bargaining chip is you."

"Me?" Chu Xiao pointed at himself, somewhat confused.

"Although everything is normal so far, the monster has merged into your body, and no one knows if anything unusual will happen in the future." An Suxin said, "We need the technology of the Lobelin family to ensure that the monster in your body will not cause any trouble."

Although the girls never mentioned it, they thought Chu Bai's existence was a big hidden danger. And no one had a better say than the Lobelin family about something beyond the ordinary understanding of [God's Avatar].

——He is injured now and lurking in Chu Xiao's body. Who knows what kind of trouble he will cause when she recovers?

Although Chu Xiao himself didn't think Chu Bai would harm him, he also knew that this kind of intuitive thing would not be able to convince his sisters.

"Of course, in addition to this key reason, the Lobelin family can provide us with the necessary supplies and technical strength for survival, including the maintenance of Etta. Madam Sophia saw that you valued Etta, and they offered to help repair some of Etta's defects, such as her lack of taste."

"For us, in this chaotic world, it is a good choice to have the support of a powerful force..."

"It sounds really exciting." Chu Xiao said, "It can't be a free lunch. Those people won't be so kind."

"Of course, this cooperation is essentially a transaction." The person who spoke was Chu Yan, because she was in charge of today's "negotiation". "The Lobelin family has lost a lot of power now. Sir Lobelin's crazy deification action has almost overdrawn the faction's foundation, so they now need all the power they can use to help them stabilize the situation."

"...So they found us?" Chu Xiao couldn't help but curse. He wasn't really stupid. He knew that this was not a good thing. "Do these guys want to drag us into the internal power struggle of the cult?"

This is like a group of elephants fighting, and the injured one actually wants to pull a group of fleeing ants to help!

“But, brother, in the eyes of the cult, we may no longer be ants.” Chu Yan said softly, pointing out a reality that Chu Xiao had overlooked, “The [God] they believe in is now in our hands…”

(ps: I have revised it several times, and I think there should be no problem with the logic...)

Chapter 15 Decision

The fact pointed out by Chu Yan made Chu Xiao fall into silence.

Chu Xiao was not a member of the cult, and he subconsciously treated Chu Bai as his sister, so he did not realize how great the significance of the incarnation of God was to the cult.

And the power Chu Bai possesses...

Chu Xiao thought back to the huge sense of presence he felt when he first met Chu Bai - Chu Bai showed an adorable image of a cute little sister in front of him, but in the eyes of others, Chu Bai was an absolute terrifying monster.

"What happened on the Nibelungen cannot be concealed. The cult obviously already knows about Chu Bai's existence." Chu Yan shrugged helplessly, "Now in the eyes of the cult, we are just a group of terrorists running around with 'nuclear bombs'."

Chu Xiao felt that the delicious lunch in his mouth had lost its taste. When he thought of the huge monster he was about to face, he had the urge to build a boat and hide on the sea for the rest of his life.

However, reason told him that facing a terrifying force like the cult that had emerged from the shadows and had its tentacles spread all over the world, as long as they still had to come into contact with human groups, they would not be able to completely escape the other party's pursuit.

Moreover, the last piece of advice Chu Bai left in his dream last night made Chu Xiao feel deeply uneasy.

The true self of God hidden deep in the ocean of human consciousness has "seen" itself.

Chu Xiao, who was not a member of the cult, would not regard the gaze of the evil god as a grace. With such a person in it, Chu Xiao had reason to believe that those crazy people in the cult would most likely go crazy looking for him.

"That is to say... the possibility of staying out of it is basically gone..." Chu Xiao grabbed his hair in distress.

"So, cooperation with the Lobelin family is actually a very good choice for us. After all, a lean camel is bigger than a horse." An Suxin's analysis was very organized, which was something she had always been very good at. Moreover, she probably also understood why the arrogant Ms. Sophia would take the initiative to contact them.

Chu Bai's existence is both an unknown risk and a huge bargaining chip for Chu Xiao and others.

For the Lobelin family, once they successfully reach a cooperation with Chu Xiao and others, in addition to the extraordinary combat power of this small team being able to be used by the family, it also means that the [God] that the family has overdrawn its resources and created with great effort will be brought back under the "control" of the Lobelin family. In this way, even if the strength is greatly damaged, the Lobelin family can still have enough "voice" within the cult, relying on the deterrence and righteousness of the [God] clone, so that the family power will not be swallowed up by the evil wolves of other factions.

In An Suxin's eyes, the cooperation with the Lobelin family not only helps them resist the prying of other factions of the cult and gain a stable and strong enough rear, but she also has a rather secret and bold consideration. The new helmsman of the Lobelin family is the little girl named Anna, a naive and overprotected princess.

By chance, Chu Xiao and Meng Meng established a very good personal relationship with the princess of the Lobelin family.

If... their man could "sleep" that innocent and pitiful little princess, does that mean that the huge Lobelin family could also become a force in their hands?

Regarding this idea, it seems that there is room for operation at present, but it is still a bit far away for the time being. An Suxin looked at her man with a gentle face and did not say this idea out loud.

All the real situations and analyses had been laid out in front of him by his sister and the secretary. Chu Xiao remained silent, and all the girls were staring at his face, waiting for his final decision.

"Let's cooperate. But we can't be led by that group of people. We must retain a certain degree of freedom. Cooperation is cooperation. We can't become a vassal of Lobelin." Chu Xiao made up his mind. The girls said this, and Chu Xiao knew that there was actually no choice in this matter. "I trust Anna, but forget about the others."

"Of course. But there's no need to worry about this. After all, in the eyes of those people, we have more than one God in our hands," An Suxin glanced at Yun Duo'er, who was yawning out of boredom, "and there's another Yun Duo'er who is strong enough to oppose the will of God. These two factors are enough to ensure that some people in the Lobelin faction won't have any inappropriate thoughts."

Many people witnessed the scene on the boat when Yun Duoer stood up to fight against the [God].

When the little girl heard her name, she blinked her cute big eyes. There were still tears in her eyes because of the yawn just now.

As for why Yun Duoer was able to fight against the gods, no one knew the reason better than Chu Xiao. However, that kind of power was probably not something that could be easily produced. The situation at that time was more like Yun Duoer's stress reaction to the power of the [God]. In fact, it could not be expected to become a deterrent at present.

However, no one except themselves knows about this matter, so it's okay to scare people.

"Yeah." Chu Xiao nodded, and the matter was finalized.

He slumped back in the chair, feeling that using his brain was more tiring than fighting his way through the zombie horde a few times.

"...That Sophia...did she mention how Anna is doing now?" Chu Xiao finally couldn't help but ask.

She lost her father, but welcomed back her mad mother after she was resurrected. At such a young age, she has to shoulder the burden of the entire family... Chu Xiao didn't dare to imagine what kind of life that little girl has been leading these days.

"Ah, I was wondering how long my brother would wait before asking this question." Chu Yan took over the conversation, smiling, "Are you starting to miss your little blonde beauty?"

"Let me make it clear in advance that I really don't have any improper thoughts about Anna!" Chu Xiao quickly explained to his sister.

"Brother, you have lost your credibility in this regard." Chu Yan snorted softly, then straightened her expression. "Regarding Miss Anna's recent situation, you will have to ask her in person this afternoon. Miss Anna has not appeared in our contacts these days. I have already agreed with Mrs. Sophia on a time for negotiations this afternoon. Since we have decided to cooperate, the next step should be some specific matters of cooperation."

Chu Xiao nodded, feeling a little nervous at the thought of possibly seeing the blonde girl on the screen.

"Brother Xiao..." Ruan Mengmeng, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke up, seeming a little conflicted. After some hesitation, she finally made up her mind, "I'll go with you in the afternoon. I also want to see Anna."

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and her expression became firm: "No matter what, she is my friend after all. Whether she scolds me or breaks up with me, I have to face it!"

(ps: Although it is not a battle of wits, this kind of plot is really a bit brain-intensive... My brain is overloaded... I feel like I am going to lose my hair again...)

Chapter 16 Anna

The video call with the Lobelin family started on time that afternoon.

When Mrs. Sophia's cold and serious face appeared on the big screen in the captain's room, Chu Xiao found that his mind was unusually calm.

"It seems that you have made a decision." Seeing Chu Xiao appear on the screen, Mrs. Sophia raised her eyebrows slightly, and a not-so-obvious smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.

"It's been a while since we last met, Mrs. Sophia." Chu Xiao sat in the captain's chair and greeted the other party politely.

This lady still has an air of pride and coldness, but she is no longer dressed in a maid outfit. After not seeing her for a while, Chu Xiao has discovered that this beautiful lady has become a little older. One can imagine what kind of pressure she has been under during this period of time.

"Mr. Chu, I must admit that you have a very good assistant." Madam Sophia, who took off her maid outfit, naturally revealed the majesty of someone who had been in a superior position for a long time. In the past many years, although she was nominally the head maid of the Lobelin family, she was also the highest-ranking female official in the family. Many gossipers even secretly regarded her as the "second Madam Lobelin."

Madam Sophia rubbed her temples, her eyes swept over An Suxin and Chu Yan who were standing behind Chu Xiao: "These days, I have lost a lot of brain cells because of these two beautiful girls. If you are willing to let these two girls temporarily come to the main island of the Lobelin family to help, I will be very grateful to you."

Chu Xiao smiled and held the hands of the two girls respectively: "Sorry, don't even think about it."

Of course, Mrs. Sophia was just talking casually. She could see how important these girls were to the man in front of her, so she didn't dwell on this topic and started talking about business seriously.

After Chu Xiao expressed his agreement to cooperate with the Lobelin family, the specific cooperation method was handed over to An Suxin to discuss, and the two sides implemented the cooperation on the level of specific matters. Of course, Chu Xiao and others are not a large-scale force, but just a somewhat "special" team, so the details of the cooperation are not very complicated.

Because the cooperative relationship between the two parties has been confirmed, the subsequent negotiations did not take very long.

"Mr. Chu, now we can be considered as one family." After the dust settled, Madam Sophia smiled bitterly and said, "Miss An, based on the last words of Sir and the personal relationship between Mr. Chu and the eldest lady, you don't need to be so cautious. Of course, personally, I appreciate your caution."

In response, An Suxin did not say anything, but just maintained a polite smile - she naturally would not agree with Mrs. Sophia's sentiments. In her opinion, the underlying logic of the world has never been based on unreliable things such as "last words" and "human feelings".

Although a cooperative relationship has been reached between the two parties, for the time being, Lady Sophia does not require them to go to the main island of the Lobelin family.

Because the family is currently busy dealing with the funeral of Sir Lobelin, although there are undercurrents in the dark, on the surface, several other factions of the cult have sent special people to attend the funeral. In addition to the funeral, everyone knows that another important purpose of that group of people is to find out the whereabouts of the [God] clone. If Chu Xiao and others land on the island at this time, that group of people will definitely try every means to take Chu Xiao and his sister away.

"The family is currently helping to cover up your whereabouts. Before the situation stabilizes, please do not contact other factions of the cult." Ms. Sophia advised, "I don't think you want to deal with those crazy people. They are more or less different from our faction."

"Of course," Chu Xiao said, "Agreeing to cooperate with Lobelin does not mean that we will agree with the cult. Excuse me, if we 'accidentally' kill the top leaders of other factions in the cult, will it cause trouble for you?"

Ms. Sophia raised her eyebrows but smiled: "Is there a better gift than this?"

Chu Xiao nodded slightly, already understanding the attitude of the Lobelin family towards other factions of the church.

"Okay, let's get down to business." Madam Sophia rubbed her temples and smiled tiredly. "If you have anything else to say, you can ask me now. The next time we contact you regularly, someone will be in charge. I probably won't show up."

She was not in a hurry to interrupt the video. Instead, she looked at Chu Xiao across the screen as if she was waiting for something.

Chu Xiao felt Ruan Mengmeng secretly pulling his clothes twice from behind.

The young man understood what the girl meant, and he also had this plan.

"Anna...how is she now?" Chu Xiao asked, "Can I see her?"

"The young lady... hasn't been feeling well lately." Sophia was not surprised by this request. "Please wait a moment."

The large screen in the cab dimmed temporarily, but communication was not interrupted.

Chu Yan and An Suxin looked at each other, and consciously left the captain's room, leaving this space to Chu Xiao and Ruan Mengmeng temporarily.

Miss Ruan, who was fearless, actually seemed a little nervous. She held Chu Xiao's hand tightly, and sweat oozed from her palms.

In fact, like Anna, for Miss Ruan, there are very few people who can be called "friends". Due to family factors and her own personality, most of her peers would choose to stay away from her. If it weren't for her childhood sweetheart Su Muhe and Chu Yan, who is actually more twisted and weird, Miss Ruan's adolescence would be even more lonely.

Perhaps because of these factors, she cares a lot about Anna, her new "friend".

Their wait didn't take too long. A few minutes later, the screen lit up again, and a haggard-looking blonde girl appeared on the screen.

"Chu Xiao, and Meng Meng," Anna smiled, "It's great to see that you are safe and sound."

The girl's voice was very hoarse, and her golden hair, which was as bright as flowing gold, became as dull and lifeless as a dead branch. Even her smile at this moment seemed a little unreal.

"Anna, how are you doing lately?" Chu Xiao asked the girl on the screen with concern.

"Well, everything went well. With the help of Sofia and the others, the situation has completely stabilized. I am now the head of the Lobelin family..." Anna seemed to be deliberately showing a proud expression, but Chu Xiao knew very well that this little girl was just pretending.