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

"Factory, factory manager?"

"Why are you here?"

The man who had just stepped out of the workshop immediately saw Zhou Hongbing smoking at the door.

There were also four security guards who should have been on guard outside.

"Director Dong."

"What's that in your hand?"

Zhou Hongbing didn't respond to the man's surprise but directly asked about the bag in his hand.

A nervous expression immediately appeared on Director Dong's oil-stained face, yet he still forced out a smile and said, "Factory manager, I left something behind and wanted to come back to get it."

"Left something behind?"

Zhou Hongbing suddenly began to laugh.

He shook his head and then a mocking look appeared in his eyes as he said:

"Director Dong, are you taking me for a fool?"

"If I remember correctly, the apartment the company assigned you is at least a mile away from our factory, isn't it?"

"Coming back alone in the middle of the night?"

"Aren't you afraid of dying?"

As soon as he heard this, Director Dong became even more tense, his face showing his extreme embarrassment. He was just about to explain when it seemed like someone else pushed open the gate and came in.

They were all wearing the same uniform, and at first glance, one might think they were from the Security Bureau.

But Director Dong knew that these people were from the Combat Department.

When he saw the man being escorted in the middle, his defenses finally collapsed, and he fell to his knees with a thump.

"Factory, factory manager!"

"Spare me, factory manager!"

"It was this kid who forced me, he forced me!"

Zhou Hongbing sighed and nodded at the security guards next to him. They immediately rushed over and grabbed Director Dong, who was kowtowing on the ground.
Your journey continues on empire

The contents of the bag were dumped out on the ground with a clatter.

What spilled out were three company-manufactured machetes.

Commonly known as crooked knives.

They were also explicitly banned by the company, and anyone who dared to manufacture or sell them privately had to be handed over to the Combat Department for punishment.

The young man who had been caught was the one who had initially approached Director Dong.

He had come to get the goods.

The crooked knives priced at fifty per blade could be sold for at least seventy once taken out of the factory.

For those survivors who often ventured outside, they could be lifesaving.

Worth every coupon spent.

Unfortunately, he would no longer have the chance to spend those coupons.

The following morning, the two were taken by Zhou Hongbing and the Combat Department's personnel to the company base, where they were executed under Zhang Ye's supervision.

Hundreds of survivors in the safe zone were called to the plaza inside the base.

They would witness with their own eyes as a dozen zombies tore the two men to pieces.

At the same time, the company's regulations would be repeated.

"Resident of Zone 2, Zhou Limin, a senior mechanic at the munitions factory, for violating company regulations by manufacturing controlled weapons, is hereby sentenced to death."

"Resident of Zone 2, Zhu Qing, for violating company regulations by bribing company employees and illegally trading in weapons, is hereby sentenced to death."

"Let this be a lesson to others."

There was dead silence among the audience.

Surrounding them were four fully armed security teams.

Their fragile bodies were encased in thick layers of iron armor.

At first glance, one might think of the Iron Man from the movies, but they were actually more reminiscent of the plate armored knights of the medieval period.

In this time with no hot weapons used by enemies, this seemingly cumbersome equipment gave the zombie security guards an unimaginable fighting strength.

With the iron armor's support, their already incredible strength and inexhaustible bodies were effectively human tanks.

Even machine gun fire would struggle to kill them outright.

Coupled with the specially crafted crooked knives from the factory.

Their deterrent power was extremely formidable.

The survivors watched tentatively as the two men inside the cage were dismembered, their faces expressing bitterness amidst their fear.

Although the company had cleared out a large safe zone, it had also taken away all the resources.

This led directly to one outcome.

There was nothing to eat.

Although working for the company meant you'd get enough food to survive, jobs were extremely limited.

Among hundreds of survivors, only a third had a formal position.

The rest were unemployed vagrants.

What to do when hungry?

Figure it out yourself.

So, pretty soon, people started eyeing the less dangerous areas around the safe zones, beginning their lives of scavenging from morning till night.

But even in less dangerous areas, there were enemies to face.

Naturally, that called for weapons.

But those useful weapons were almost all damn prohibited from trading and manufacturing!

Without weapons, were they expected to kill zombies with bricks?

What the hell were those above thinking?

————

Honestly, Zhang Ye had never considered this problem.

The reason for the prohibition was simple, to guarantee the safety of the company and the order within it.

Now, the Monitoring Department had caught red-handed some factory employees smuggling weapons. Zhou Hongbing, the head of the armament factory, not only did not admit his mistake to him but also brought up the recent phenomenon.

Many people were secretly trying to buy and sell the company's knives and shields.

Some even approached him to buy guns.

He refused them.

Zhang Ye was initially somewhat puzzled.

But as he listened, he suddenly remembered something Xu Lin had mentioned before, and he quickly turned his head and asked:

"Xu Lin, I remember you once said,"

"Some of the Combat Department's tasks are now outsourced, correct?"

By his side, Xu Lin heard this and immediately nodded, saying, "Yes, sometimes the combat team is too busy."

"So I outsourced some of the less dangerous tasks to some teams."

"But weapons and equipment are not provided by us; they come with their own."

"So..."

He spoke and then his mood suddenly dropped, continuing, "Deaths and injuries are common occurrences."

Zhou Hongbing sighed upon hearing this.

There were plenty of weapons in the storeroom.

With the current needs of the combat team, they wouldn't run out.

Even the previously scarce three shotguns were now being used by nearly half of the personnel, with the rest wielding bows, crossbows, and other weapons.

Seeing Zhou Hongbing's hesitant demeanor, Zhang Ye immediately said:

"Old Zhou,"

"Just speak your mind."

"You've been with me for so long, have I ever been the type to forbid subordinates from speaking?"

Everyone laughed upon hearing this, while Zhou Hongbing looked seriously at Zhang Ye and said:

"Boss,"

"Why don't we just open up the sales?"

"If the company doesn't sell, they'll just trade amongst themselves anyway."

"The storeroom is already full of stuff; letting it sit there is a waste, and we could also get some exchange coupons back."

Zhang Ye had guessed he would say this but still hesitated somewhat.

There's a saying that goes well.

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.

If everyone below had weapons, could the company still stand above them as it does now?

Especially in these chaotic times.

As he was contemplating, he heard the slightly magnetic voice of Ai Bing:

"Zhang Ye,"

"I think we can open up for sales."

"But there has to be restrictions; guns are definitely a no-go."

"Those knives and shields and such, as long as they're registered and assessed, selling a bit of them is not a problem at all."