Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies

Chapter 504: A Desperate Situation

"The more people die, the more she benefits."

"From the very beginning, we were all deceived by her."

Yang Xinxin sighed softly. "Even most of Bai Xue Jiao's followers have been fooled, willingly sacrificing themselves for her."

Zhang Yi raised an eyebrow. "I’d say she has an antisocial personality disorder."

Yang Xinxin looked at him and murmured, "With a past like that, would it be surprising if she turned out this way?"

Zhang Yi took a deep breath.

Yuan Kongye’s experiences were undeniably tragic.

But she wasn’t entirely innocent, either.

Everything that followed could only be seen as karmic retribution.

"I don’t have the energy to pity her right now. What matters is how we deal with the threat she poses."

A heavy weight settled in Zhang Yi’s chest.

A superhuman like Yuan Kongye was like a mountain pressing down on all of Tianhai City.

At this point, no one knew how many abilities she had absorbed.

Just how powerful was she now?

Zhang Yi couldn’t say for sure, but he knew one thing—she was stronger than any superhuman in Tianhai City.

Including himself.

Right now, Yuan Kongye was practically invincible.

And an invincible enemy was almost certainly going to make a move against them.

The Ice Soul she had given them—that was the signal.

She wasn’t asking them to submit.

She was preparing to kill them.

"We need to figure out how to deal with her," Zhang Yi said, exhaling deeply, trying to ease the tension in his chest.

Yang Xinxin lowered her head in thought for a moment before calmly responding,

"We can’t take her on alone."

"First, we have to make sure all the factions in Tianhai City know about her conspiracy."

"And most importantly, we must gain the support of Jiangnan District."

"After the recent battles, every faction in Tianhai City has suffered heavy losses. Even if they join forces, they might not be able to defeat Yuan Kongye."

Zhang Yi nodded.

"I understand, and you’re right. But the problem is—even if I tell them everything I suspect, they may not believe me."

"And as for Jiangnan District… Even if Yuan Kongye has deceived everyone, what does that have to do with them?"

He let out a cold chuckle. "Jiangnan District is the dominant power in this region. Their priority is stability, not justice."

"So even if Yuan Kongye manipulates us, as long as it doesn’t threaten Jiangnan District’s interests, they have no reason to act against her."

"They might even try to recruit her instead."

As he spoke, Zhang Yi felt his heart sink further.

Without Jiangnan District’s support, could they really defeat Yuan Kongye?

A bitter thought crept into his mind—if it came to that, maybe he should just accept Bian Junwu’s offer and take his people to Jiangnan District.

If he couldn’t fight her, couldn’t he just leave?

But… could he really abandon the shelter he had spent so much time and effort building?

Zhang Yi gritted his teeth, his expression twisted with conflict.

He didn’t want to leave.

Here, he was free—free from anyone’s control, free to make his own choices.

But in Jiangnan District, according to Bian Junwu, he’d become nothing more than a cog in the machine of Blizzard City.

Living there required a price.

Just look at Bian Junwu—

Even knowing that using his abilities was shortening his lifespan, he had no choice but to keep pushing forward every day.

Yang Xinxin’s amber eyes studied Zhang Yi. A smile played at her lips as she spoke softly,

"Zhang Yi gege, if you want to drag Jiangnan District into this… maybe there’s a way."

Zhang Yi lifted his head, meeting her gaze.

Yang Xinxin was eerily calm, showing no panic despite the dire situation they faced.

"Xinxin, what are you thinking?"

She smiled faintly. "The world moves for profit. As long as you grasp their core interests, you can make them work for you."

"So… what is Jiangnan District’s greatest concern?"

Zhang Yi answered without hesitation, "That their rule might be challenged."

"That includes the investigation team. The reason they’re here is to prevent the zombie outbreak from spreading into Jiangnan District and causing further chaos."

Yang Xinxin tilted her head playfully.

"In that case, all we need to do is make sure they know that the zombie horde was artificially created by Yuan Kongye."

Zhang Yi let out a short laugh.

"I’d love to. If I had proof, I would’ve already used it. But I don’t."

He had been to the Blood Vine’s location, gathered its leaves, and even smuggled out a dried-up corpse.

But after Zhou Ke’er’s analysis, no traces of the zombie virus were found.

Yang Xinxin smiled mysteriously.

"Gege, sometimes… you don’t need solid proof to take action."

"You just need to make Jiangnan District aware that there’s a possibility."

"If they start suspecting Yuan Kongye, they’ll launch their own investigation. And if she resists, it will confirm that she has something to hide."

"If she doesn’t resist and allows them to investigate, then sooner or later, they’ll find evidence on their own."

Understanding dawned in Zhang Yi’s eyes.

"You’re saying… spread a rumor? Exaggerate Yuan Kongye’s threat so Jiangnan District is forced to intervene?"

"Exactly," Yang Xinxin replied casually.

"As Jiangnan District’s ruling power, they won’t tolerate such an unpredictable factor in their territory."

"Besides, there’s one thing we already know for certain—Yuan Kongye has multiple superhuman abilities."

"If you tell Bian Junwu that, what do you think Jiangnan District will do?"

Her final words struck Zhang Yi like a bolt of lightning.

Of course!

All he needed was to attract Jiangnan District’s attention.

Whether or not Yuan Kongye was truly behind the zombie crisis didn’t matter.

As long as she was exposed and put under scrutiny, she wouldn’t be able to act recklessly.

Hell, Jiangnan District might even decide to take her away themselves.

And if that happened, Tianhai City would be safe.

Zhang Yi felt a surge of excitement.

Resting his chin on his hand, he leaned against the control console, deep in thought.

This idea had merit.

He needed to refine it further, but at the very least, it was a viable backup plan.

A reckless decision could be dangerous, but careful planning… that was a different story.

Seeing Zhang Yi’s contemplation, Yang Xinxin gave a small, satisfied smile.

"Gege, we still have one more file to read."

Author's Note