You were supposed to hoard supplies, why the heck did you hoard zombies!

"Will they definitely not come to the urban area?"

"Not necessarily."

Zhang Ye had been silent all along, quietly observing the expressions on everyone's faces, including the possible consequences of the company's actions being discovered by government people, which were being vehemently discussed at the moment.

Everyone present was on his list of human employees.

Their loyalty to the company was naturally not in question.

But that didn't mean they were like the zombies working themselves to death in the workshops, mere puppets controlled by him, the company's chairman.

Observations over the past half-year had shown that the registered humans hadn't actually changed in personality.

In other words, each person had their own thoughts and style of doing things.

This even included the intricacies of private human interactions.

The only difference from the past was that from the moment they were registered on the employee list, they held an incomparable trust in Zhang Ye.

And this was the one commonality among all the company department heads present.

That was their loyalty to Zhang Ye and the company.

But under this premise, when these people faced the same issue, they would come up with different approaches due to their individual characters and thoughts.

Just like the scene unfolding before them now.

The argument continued.

Leading the conservative faction, including Zhao Dechu, who now controlled the convenience and canned food factories, was of one mind in not seeking out the military survivors.

In their opinion, it was a gamble in itself.

A failure could mean losing everything.

The company already had over a thousand survivors, and this number was growing daily. If this trend continued, reaching five thousand or even ten thousand in the future was not out of the question.

And with the increase in population came a rapid expansion of overall strength.

Only then should they consider making contact with the government.

For now, they needed to lie low.

As the old saying goes, build high walls, stockpile grain, and bide your time before becoming king!

By then, even if the government truly disapproved of them and wanted to act against the company, it's doubtful they could do much against this strong, large-scale settlement.

However, Zhou Hongbing, Du Chao, and others at the forefront of the military-industrial faction didn't see it that way.

In their view, now was the government's weakest moment.

There's a saying: attack while your enemy is sick.

Not taking advantage of this opportunity to acquire cutting-edge technology and equipment to bolster the company's strength would be foolish. Once the government regained its footing and recovered, the company would certainly not be a match for this behemoth.@@novelbin@@

A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse, let alone the Shen Zhou government that had ruled this land for hundreds of years.

And besides, who can guarantee that if those soldiers fail, no one else will come?

It's quite possible that a second wave is already on its way.

Military personnel are known for their unity.

If even one person from that unit on the highway survives and any nearby troops receive a signal, they will rush to the location immediately.

Once they discover the company's existence, how would the company's current strength stand up against professional soldiers?

It's obvious that we'd be no match for them.

So we must take risks.

Find more to read on My Virtual Library Empire

Send someone to find those military survivors and get as much intelligence about the government and military as possible from them, preferably the location of their military base.

If they could appear on the highway, it means that this unit must have been stationed somewhere nearby on a regular basis.

Now that the unit has suffered heavy casualties under the siege of zombies, it's time to attack while they are weak.

Take over the base.

If something goes wrong in the urban area later and the company must evacuate, at least we'd have this base as a retreat, right?

The two factions each had their own argument, yet each made sense in its own way.

But there was one person who was silent all the while.

That was Xu Lin.

The Shen Zhou Guard Bureau is subordinate to the Army's Civil Order Department.

Strictly speaking, these police superintendents were actually members of the army, with the only difference being their distinct professions and tasks.

From this angle, it should have been Xu Lin who was arguing with the others at this moment.

But he didn't do that.

He just lowered his head.

It seemed as though he was asleep.

Yet, if one's gaze had traveled down to his eyes filled with a complex expression, they would know that this former police superintendent's heart was anything but as tranquil as his face appeared.

Zhang Ye's gaze also lingered continuously on the face of his Combat Department director.

At this point, it carried a touch of curiosity.

"Xu Lin,"

"What is your opinion?"

Zhang Ye eventually asked directly.

The two arguing factions at the conference table immediately fell silent, and everyone's gaze uniformly turned toward the Combat Department director who had always been deeply trusted by the company's chairman.

After undergoing expansion for half a year, the entire Combat Department had become the department with the most personnel in the company.

All kinds of guards, security, and sentries belonging to different operational groups were under his command.

To others, this was already somewhat incomprehensible.

The power of the Combat Department director was indeed too great.

So great that it was somewhat frightening.

"I think..."

Xu Lin finally spoke up.

His voice, as always, was steady and slightly husky, always giving people a feeling that he was very trustworthy.

Everyone pricked up their ears to listen carefully to what he was about to say.

"We should still send someone to search the several exits near the highway."

As soon as these words came out, some people immediately showed a look that said, "as expected."

After all, he came from a military background.

There was no surprise.

If it was any other time, few would contradict Xu Lin, at least not so directly that they wouldn't give face to Zhang Ye's number one subordinate.

But today's topic was obviously a bit special, and Zhang Ye was also present.

Someone quickly looked at him with evident skepticism and said:

"Director Xu,"

"You're not suggesting we send more supplies to support them, are you?"

This statement immediately made many people's eyes turn somewhat strange as they subconsciously looked toward Wang Hu, who was staring intently at Xu Lin.

Wang Hu, as the original transport team leader, had now become the general manager of a separate branch company.

He had over two hundred people under him, counting both employees and zombies.

In charge of the entire company's transport business.

And most were armed.

After all, these days were not like the past.

Driving on the road meant one wouldn't just encounter traffic jams, but mutant beasts that could rush out and block the way at any time, or hordes of zombies suddenly gathering at an intersection.

Without some guts and ability, one truly could not drive trucks loaded with soldiers or supplies.

His strength in the company was second only to Xu Lin.

And it was precisely because of this that Wang Hu didn't care about the potential impact his words could have on the relationship between the two parties, but instead plainly expressed his distrust of Xu Lin.

Anyone who wanted to harm Zhang Ye and the company's interests was his enemy.

Even if they were currently colleagues.