Chapter 148: Women's Troupe

The one responsible for negotiating with the others was still the same young woman from the performing arts department, Ouyang Ting. The opposing side had already accepted her as the temporary leader of their small seven-person team, completely ignoring the other members. Especially Fang Xia and the other two men—they hadn’t even glanced at them properly.

A team of seven with four women and three men, and the leader was a young woman; it was clear just how weak those three men must be. Their survival was likely just a matter of luck.

It was getting late, and after they gathered the upgrade crystals, they planned to head back, taking Fang Xia and his group along.

Along the way, Ouyang Ting and the opposing team leader hit it off so well it was almost like they had sworn brotherhood. Meanwhile, Fang Xia gained a rough understanding of their strength.

Their female group had over 4,700 members, including more than 1,000 fighters. Among them, there were over a hundred second-tier fighters, and their leader was a powerful third-tier fighter—that was the foundation of their foothold in Chen City.

Besides their group, Chen City also had another faction called the Blood Battle Group, whose leader was also the city lord. From the tone in Ouyang Ting’s voice, it was clear they harbored hostility toward that group.

It made sense—two tigers cannot share one mountain, unless one is a male and the other a female. Though that was the case here, the female group seemed to have little regard for the Blood Battle Group.

“Hmph, that Blood Battle leader doesn’t even know his place, daring to chase after our leader? Dream on,” Ouyang Ting scoffed. “Besides, he already has eleven wives—a scumbag.”

Sure enough, Fang Xia’s guess was correct. With only two factions and open hostility between them, it was a wonder how Chen City managed to hold out.

As they spoke, the group of about twenty had already returned to Chen City.

The city’s defenses were far simpler than those of Yan City—almost non-existent. It made sense, as most zombies here were first-tier; as long as they stayed indoors at night, danger was minimal.

“Tingting, why don’t you join our female group? With Sister Ke around, no one in Chen City dares to bully us,” the opposing team leader said. “Your other sisters can join too. Traveling all the way from Yong County, you must all be fighters, right?”

The other leader was thoroughly enjoying chatting with Ouyang Ting and seemed reluctant to part ways.

Ouyang Ting glanced at Fang Xia discreetly, but he gave no indication. It was clear she could act as she pleased.

“It’s like this: the few of us have braved many dangers to reach Chen City, mainly because we have close relatives here. I want to search for them first. If we can’t find anyone, then I’ll come to join you,” Ouyang Ting explained.

Hearing this, the other party’s face showed a hint of reluctance. But since she had to find her own kin, they couldn’t stop her.

“Alright then, Tingting, it’s late tonight and finding a place to sleep will be tough. I’ll tell Sister Ke to prepare a place for you to stay overnight. You can continue searching tomorrow.”

She seemed increasingly convinced by this plan and smiled brightly, running ahead without waiting for Ouyang Ting’s reply to inform their leader.

Once she left, Ouyang Ting returned to Fang Xia, looking at him innocently.

“You did well. Our main goal was to help you find your relatives. If we can leverage their support, that wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Fang Xia said. “But we only have three days at most. After that, we have to move on. What you do beyond that is up to you.”

Inside the city, Fang Xia had no concrete targets. Helping them find their kin was one reason; another was the inspiration he had received from Xiao Qiang.

There might be special ability fighters hidden in cities like this, and Fang Xia was intrigued by them.

But after seeing Chen City’s strength, his interest waned. In Yan City, there were still dozens of third-tier fighters.

Yet, from the young woman’s tone earlier, Chen City might not even have ten third-tier fighters. Finding a special ability fighter among so few was a slim hope.

With that objective unlikely, only the first goal remained. Since they themselves weren’t searching for relatives and the main force hadn’t entered the city, how things proceeded was their own matter.

One thing was certain: no wanton killing.

Soon, the young woman who had gone in earlier returned, her face brimming with excitement—it seemed their leader had agreed.

“Tingting, Sister Ke is quite interested in meeting you all. She’s agreed to arrange a place for you to stay tonight,” she said. “When the time comes, tell Sister Ke your story. She might be able to help find your relatives.”

Survivors who had journeyed all the way from the county were precious fresh blood for Chen City; it wasn’t unreasonable for them to want to learn more about the outside world.

“Thank you very much,” Ouyang Ting replied.

Under her guidance, the seven entered the female group’s territory—a pre-apocalypse residential complex.

The environment was decent, mostly elevator buildings; in the innermost part was a small villa area where their leader lived.

“Sister Ke, they’ve arrived,” someone announced.

The villa gate was open, and inside sat a young woman sipping tea alone, with four women standing behind her.

She carried herself with an impressive air.

Fang Xia glanced over but wasn’t particularly interested.

This woman could be called beautiful by appearance alone, and even within Fang Xia’s team, filled with beauties, she would hold her own.

More importantly, it was her aura.

No matter what she had done before the apocalypse, after it, she had managed to build a team of thousands and become one of the strongest locally. Naturally, she exuded great authority.

Her leather jacket and pants only enhanced her queenly presence.

Looking at the expressions of the two men beside Fang Xia, it was clear why the Blood Battle leader was chasing her—it must be very gratifying to “train” her.

Wang Ke cast a hostile glance their way; the two men’s gazes annoyed her.

But the man walking between them didn’t even glance at her, instead lazily surveying the surroundings, which irritated Wang Ke even more.

“What are you looking at?” she snapped.

Before she could speak, a woman behind her interjected.

Sister Ke was their goddess; they wouldn’t allow these filthy men to look around at will.

As for the man in the middle, who hypocritically began inspecting Sister Ke’s residence—such disrespect was unheard of in Chen City.

Thinking this, the woman stepped forward, ready to teach those men a lesson.