"We can barely protect ourselves right now!" Jack finally shook his head and said slowly, "Our team is small, with only a little over ten people. You have to understand that the survival rate in an apocalypse for a team of ten versus a team of twenty is significantly different, especially since we are basically surrounded here. If we want to leave, we have to fight desperately. If you follow us, it's impossible not to lose half or more of your people, and it might even lead to our complete annihilation!"
"But we can't just wait here to die, can we? The food here will eventually run out!" Yue Yunfei frowned slightly, looking quite serious as he asked.
"My suggestion is that after we leave, you can come up with a plan to escape!" Jack exhaled a long puff of smoke and said, "Tomorrow, I will find a way to draw away a group of zombies. Once we leave, there will definitely be another group of zombies chasing us, and at that time, your chances of survival will be much greater. Why not take advantage of that?"
Yue Yunfei furrowed his brows deeply, forming a pronounced crease above his nose. He crossed his hands and rested them against his mouth, remaining silent for a long time as he seemed to carefully consider Jack's answer. After a moment, he finally lowered his hands and nodded, saying, "Alright, your survival experience is richer than ours, and maybe you're right. However, after dinner, I hope you can help us devise an escape plan. We know nothing about the situation around here!"
"No problem!" Jack nodded lightly and agreed without hesitation. In fact, in his planned strategy, bringing a few more or fewer people made no difference. They certainly couldn't run out of here on foot; the only viable means of escape had to be vehicles. The reason he refused was solely because of Yue Yunfei himself.
Yes, Yue Yunfei gave Jack a very different impression compared to Hu Laoda from back then or the recent Thomas Xu and Gao Chujing. To put it bluntly, Hu Laoda was just a cowardly bandit who rose to power by luck, while Thomas Xu, though capable, was still a person with principles and boundaries. As for Gao Chujing, he was simply an ordinary person.
But Yue Yunfei was much harder to figure out. He was a man with almost the potential of a warlord. Jack had his own plans and had to be responsible for the people around him. A person who was fundamentally uncontrollable was like a ticking time bomb; you never knew when he might turn the tables. So no matter how many reasons there were, Jack would never take him along.
"Mr. Yue, are we having dinner here tonight?"
A calm yet pleasant voice sounded behind Lin Yue and the others. They both turned to look, and saw Ding Jie walking over in a white long dress, with Ding Lili following her closely like a little tail. Yue Yunfei stood up, smiled brightly, and said, "We'll eat here tonight. Little Dingdong, hurry down and tell your Uncle Ryan to make dinner as grand as possible. I have an important announcement to make to everyone later!"
"Hey!" Ding Lili responded cheerfully and turned around to run away, while Ding Jie walked over slowly, smoothing her long hair at the temples, and asked lightly, "Are you leaving here?"
"Haha~ Our Mayor Ding is indeed exceptionally wise!" Yue Yunfei nodded directly and gave Ding Jie a thumbs up. Ding Jie, who received the compliment, only smiled faintly without showing much happiness, and then they heard Yue Yunfei sigh, "Staying here any longer is not a solution; we have to leave, but all of this still depends on Brother Lin. Without his guidance, everything is just talk!"
"Mr. Lin, thank you for your help!" Ding Jie slightly bent her body to thank Jack, her soft and delicate voice sweeping over people's hearts like a small brush, making them feel a tingling sensation. Jack smiled politely in response, "It's just a small effort!"
As night slowly fell, the last rays of the setting sun finally disappeared from the earth. At the third-floor poolside of the Hilton Hotel, four piles of firewood were lit in large iron pots, ensuring brightness around and dispelling the surrounding cold.
Plates of hot and cold dishes were brought in by two tall girls like a flowing stream. Although most of them were vacuum-packed meat dishes, there were also canned vegetables and fruits like corn and pineapple. Ryan Lin, although the deputy general manager of a five-star hotel, surprisingly had excellent cooking skills. After putting in considerable effort to arrange the dishes, it could barely be considered a rare feast amidst the apocalypse.
Perhaps sensing the unusual atmosphere of the night, it was certainly more than just a simple dinner for Jack and the others. Coupled with Yue Yunfei's mention of announcing a significant decision, everyone vaguely guessed that this might be one of the last few meals eaten in the hotel. Therefore, the hotel staff all dressed up in their finest attire, and even Ding Jie quietly tidied herself up, appearing even more radiant and charming, exuding an alluring mature woman's grace.
When the food and drinks were almost ready, Aisha Bova finally helped her husband out. Bova's face remained as cold as frost, showing no good expression to anyone. However, the new black fitted dress added a touch of femininity to her, covering some flaws of her athletic figure. The pair of ample breasts from Alaska seemed to be like two missiles, precariously perched on her chest, as if they could launch at any moment towards the men.
Juan, like Thomas Xu, although he had changed into clean clothes, still had a very pale face. This man, as strong as a black bear, fixed his gaze on Jack as soon as he sat down and said in a deep voice, "American, if it's not with a gun, you definitely aren't my match in a one-on-one fight!"
"Maybe!" Jack shrugged indifferently, showing no interest in this meaningless banter. Moreover, although Juan was tall and strong, he was already over fifty and had gained some weight, with a thick layer of fat around his belly. If he were ten or twenty years younger, he might have had the qualifications to say such things to Jack.
"Haha~ Juan is just like that, wanting to compare whose fists are harder with everyone he meets!"
Yue Yunfei timely stepped in to smooth things over. He didn't want the Juan couple to ruin the atmosphere he had worked so hard to create. He exaggeratedly praised Thomas, standing up and bending over to pat Juan's uninjured right arm, saying in a familiar tone, "Do you see this arm? These two used to be the best athletes, champions in the sports world. Jack, can you guess what type of athlete Juan used to be?"
"Boxer!" Jack revealed Juan's identity with a single phrase, leaving Juan and his wife momentarily stunned. Juan, more suspicious, asked, "How do you know? Have you seen my old photos?"
"No, I just deduced it from your appearance!" Jack gently shook his head, pointing at the hands he had placed on the table and said, "Your hands are flat and thick, even somewhat deformed, clearly a result of long-term punching bags. Your nose bridge and brow bone also bear old injuries from being hit by fists. Most importantly, when you just said you could defeat me, your arms instinctively assumed a boxing stance; that's almost a reflex of your body, so your identity as a boxer is obvious!"
"Hahaha…" Juan suddenly burst into hearty laughter, excitedly slapping the table and shouting, "Hey! Kid, if you can tell me which of my fists is stronger, I'll be completely convinced!"
"That's even easier to guess!" Jack also laughed at Juan's bold personality, pointing at his injured left arm and said, "You're clearly a lefty; your stance with your left fist back just gave you away!"
"Look, look, finally someone who understands boxing! My Lava Fist, Juan's left jab, is well-known; any opponent who gets kissed by my left fist is guaranteed to be KO'd!"
Juan was now completely excited, disregarding his gunshot wound, and began to swing his fists, but accidentally aggravated his gruesome injury. He cried out in pain but still enthusiastically gestured to Jack with one hand, saying, "Let me tell you, in my prime, if five eggs fell from the sky at the same time, I could smash each one before they hit the ground. I'm telling you, five, that's a full five!"
"Alright, dear, be careful with your gruesome wound!" Upon seeing Juan's excited expression, the frost on Bova's face instantly melted away, and she playfully pushed him with a look of mock reproach.
"Ha! What's this little injury compared to that? Have you forgotten the time I had my jaw broken? That was much worse!" Juan hugged Bova and gave her a big kiss, then affectionately patted her on the backside and said, "My blonde beauty, go pour your bear Juan a glass of vodka, oh, I miss that taste so much!"
"No, are you joking with your life? That's not happening, absolutely not!" Bova shook her head like a rattle drum, her attitude very firm, but Juan showed a sickeningly cute expression, pushing Bova and acting spoiled, "Oh, baby, just let me have a little, even just a tiny bit. Your big bear wants to make love to you tonight, and after drinking, the big bear will make you feel heavenly!"
"Oh, fuck, can you not be so straightforward? You really should learn from Yunfei and those Americans to be a bit more subtle, okay? You're making me so embarrassed!" Bova's little face turned red, and she slapped Juan playfully but still got up to pour him a small glass of vodka, nagging him with a long list of warnings.