"No," Hao Ren frowned slightly, his tone indifferent.
Being doubted, and in such a disrespectful tone, naturally, he wasn't pleased.
However, considering the reputation of the Western Base, he refrained from snapping back.
Not snapping back didn't mean he was without temper.
"If you have doubts about the tally, we can all go outside and count again," he suggested.
At this, Tang Yanchi's face darkened.
He lifted his chin proudly.
"Everyone knows that zombies vary in levels, and the difficulty of dealing with them varies as well.
If the over twenty thousand zombies they killed were all low-level, and all of ours were high-level, how would that be calculated?" Tang Yanchi stared sharply at Hao Ren and Peng Shaowei.
"He's obviously just trying to be unreasonable," someone muttered under their breath.
"Mmm, I think so too. It was agreed beforehand that the competition would be based on the number of zombies killed, and now he's bringing this up, tsk tsk..."
"But I think his concerns are valid too. Dealing with a powerful zombie indeed takes more time, which means fewer zombies killed," Sun Jian, who was already displeased with Yun Xiaoxiao, scoffed.
But someone immediately retorted.
"That's just sophistry. A competition is a competition!
How can you question the fairness of the rules after the results are out?
If it was unfair, why didn't he raise it at the beginning?
I think some people just can't accept losing and keep looking for excuses."
"Since there are objections, why not just dig out the cores and compare the number of high-level cores? That would settle it," Yun Xiaoxiao suggested casually, her hands crossed and her smile breezy.
Her attitude was overly calm.
Peng Shaowei looked at Yun Xiaoxiao appreciatively.
This young girl's maturity and intelligence were indeed beyond many adults.
He signaled to Hao Ren, "Let's do as the young lady suggests."
To avoid further disputes, Hao Ren specifically 'invited' Tang Yanchi to come and watch the process.
Of course, besides Tang Yanchi and Yun Xiaoxiao, people from various bases also came along for the spectacle.
One by one, the cores were dug out from the zombies' heads.
It was somewhat relieving to watch.
Tang Yanchi's group had killed fewer zombies.
So the digging started from their side.
In the end, they counted one third-level core, five hundred and fifty-seven second-level cores, and three thousand four hundred and twenty-nine first-level cores.
Actually, the first-level cores didn't need to be compared.
The main focus was on the number of second-level cores and above.
After collecting from one side, everyone moved to the location where Yun Xiaoxiao and her group had been.
Hao Ren organized the manpower.
Everyone watched intently.
Every time a second-level core was dug out, the crowd's spirits lifted.
"How many second-level cores have been dug out now?" someone excitedly asked their companion.
"It seems like there are about five hundred and fifty now."
"Hahaha, looks like Xiangrui Base is about to be thoroughly embarrassed. We haven't even dug through half of these zombie heads yet, and the number of second-level cores is almost surpassing theirs."
"But it seems that Yun City hasn't unearthed any third-level crystal cores yet."
"What's the rush? There are still so many zombie heads to dig through, maybe I'll find one before I even finish speaking... Oh my, did I jinx it? I just mentioned it and we found one!"
"It's really a third-level crystal core!"
Everyone grew more and more excited.
Digging through zombie heads was just like opening mystery boxes, always filled with surprises.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed.
"Heavens, what did I see?! Everyone, look over there!"
Following the shout, everyone turned to see one of Hao Ren's men, wearing rubber gloves, pulling a blue crystal from a zombie's head.
"A fifth-level crystal core!"
"No way, is it really a fifth-level crystal core?!"
The crowd immediately erupted into excitement.
No wonder everyone was so astonished.
Such high-level zombies usually evolved from areas heavily infested with zombies, places people normally wouldn't venture into.
Moreover, it hasn't even been a year since the apocalypse began, and fifth-level zombies were extremely rare.
It was normal for people to have never seen one.
In fact, this fifth-level crystal core was from the head of the intelligent zombie that had led the attack on the city.
Yun Xiaoxiao had deliberately not taken it, choosing instead to kill it and bring it back to her camp.
After all, it would end up hers in the end.
Whether she took it sooner or later didn't matter.
With the appearance of the fifth-level crystal core, the earlier third-level core instantly lost its luster.
Tang Yanchi's face soured completely.
Because his face had been 'swollen' with defeat.
Now, no excuse would suffice.
Someone had killed a fifth-level zombie, what more could be said?
Tang Yanchi clenched his fists, fuming silently.
Peng Shaowei, although expecting the appearance of the fifth-level core, was still somewhat surprised.
What mattered most was that he seemed to recall that the zombie had been killed by that young girl!
He couldn't help but take another look at Yun Xiaoxiao.
Yun Xiaoxiao gave him a slight smile, as if asking, "Is there something you need?"
Her straightforward gaze made Peng Shaowei feel as if he was the one with something to hide.
Embarrassed, he cleared his throat and turned to the others.
"Now, no one should doubt the strength of Yun City, right?"
Everyone shook their heads.
A joke, how could there be any doubt!
"So, the evolution fluid from Yun City is indeed effective."
Peng Shaowei's eyes grew serious.
"If we truly wish to eradicate the zombies, then the first step is to enhance our own abilities.
That way, we can have the means to kill zombies, instead of just sending ourselves to death.
So, I hope to cooperate with Yun City, for them to provide the evolution fluid to help us improve.
I wonder if our friends from Yun City would be willing to help with this?"
As everyone looked over, Yun Xiaoxiao shrugged.
"I've said this before, we have no problem, as long as you exchange crystal cores for it, we have as much evolution fluid as you need."
"Still need to exchange crystal cores? Since killing zombies is our common goal, can't Yun City sponsor us out of goodwill?"
Yun Xiaoxiao looked at the burly man, Sun Jian, with a half-smile.
"I never thought someone as chubby as you could have such thick skin. Why don't you just share all the supplies from your base with everyone?"
"You!"
Sun Jian was furious.
This girl actually called him fat and mocked his thick skin!
"What do you mean 'you'? Don't think just because you stutter you're in the right."
Yun Xiaoxiao looked around coolly and warned,
"We do have a lot of evolution fluid, but let me kindly advise everyone, we people from Yun City don't have the best tempers.
If anyone thinks about using violence to rob us, don't blame me for not warning you—we really enjoy killing.
Anyone dares to come and rob, we kill on sight!
Don't believe it? Just try..."
