After careful consideration, Zhang Yi arrived at a satisfactory conclusion. As long as he remained in Building 25, utilizing his firepower and the strength of the secure shelter, even if people from the other 29 buildings united, they wouldn't be able to do anything to him. Simply put, in the current situation of extreme food scarcity and freezing temperatures, going out for just a few steps in the biting cold was a tremendous ordeal.
Twenty people combined couldn't match the strength he had as a lone individual in the past.
"My personal safety is not an issue. At worst, I can ride the motorcycle, break through their siege, and use my weapons to engage in guerrilla warfare, slowly wearing them down."
"But doing so is too troublesome. How long do I have to keep killing people from Building 29?"
"However, if I don't kill them, they will definitely come to attack me."
Zhang Yi pondered deeply.
Should he spend some time and effort eliminating people in the community who posed a threat to him, or should he consider other options?
For the time being, Zhang Yi hadn't made up his mind. He glanced at his phone and decided to have a chat with Li Jian.
He needed to see if all the building leaders shared the same mindset.
Zhang Yi opened the chat with Li Jian, ignoring him for now. However, Li Jian was actively introducing their situation.
"Mr. Zhang, I approach you with sincerity, hoping to cooperate in building a harmonious home, a post-apocalyptic utopia."
"In Building 18, only five elderly people have died so far due to complications caused by the extreme cold."
"We have achieved harmonious coexistence through rational planning and distribution of resources."
"I believe this is the best way to survive in the apocalypse, preserving the flame of human civilization. It also benefits the reconstruction work after the snow disaster."
"Now, we lack an effective source of food. As a gesture of cooperation, we can provide manpower and resources to meet your various demands."
"We can also coordinate relations with other building units to avoid conflicts."
After reading Li Jian's introduction, Zhang Yi felt more comfortable. Indeed, as the financial director of a large corporation, Li Jian's emotional intelligence was much higher than Chen Lingyu, who was involved in MLM schemes.
Clear organization, concise presentation of interests, and a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant.
However, what Zhang Yi cared most about was Li Jian's mention of building a harmonious home. In the past twenty days since the apocalypse, not a single person in their building had died in conflicts!
Zhang Yi looked at Zhou Keren, who was diligently massaging his feet. "Keren, do you know the situation in Building 18?"
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Keren said, "I've heard some things. It's said that the head of their building is a very charismatic person. After the apocalypse, he united all the residents, adopting a method of unified resource distribution, allowing the majority of people to survive until now."
Zhang Yi sighed, "Indeed, it's commendable. Managing accounting not only requires knowing how to manage but also understanding how to maximize benefits."
In reality, Li Jian's approach was the most rational one. Other buildings, such as Building 25 where Zhang Yi was located, wasted a lot of resources due to conflicts and internal strife.
Theoretically, if a person doesn't move much (including mental activity), they consume very little energy in a day. Eating only one meal would be sufficient.
"Li Jian is a talented individual."
Zhang Yi exclaimed. However, he added, "But thinking about long-term survival in the apocalypse like this is still impossible."
Li Jian's ability lay in establishing order. Through his influence in Building 18, he united everyone early on.
However, what if they faced an external attack?
Those people accustomed to comfort, when encountering villains like Tianhe Bang or Chen Zhenghao, might only end up being slaughtered.
This was similar to the ancient Central Plains civilizations repeatedly losing to nomadic civilizations.
Without the protection of force, all stability and harmony were illusory.
Zhang Yi asked, "If I disagree, what will you do?"
Li Jian pondered for a long time before replying with a message, "We approach this with a spirit of friendly cooperation and extend an invitation to collaborate with you."
"If you refuse, I will feel regret. However, it does not mean that your thoughts cannot change in the future. I still look forward to the opportunity for future cooperation."
Zhang Yi smiled. This official response was quite pleasing.
"Well, do you not choose to attack Building 25? Or when other building units attack, won't you choose to join in?"
Li Jian's reply was also very frank.
"Our military force is only used for self-defense and will not actively attack others."
"It's not that we lack the strength, but useless internal strife will only result in mutual harm."
Zhang Yi wanted to give him a round of applause.
Look at this guy, clearly being timid but making it sound so righteous.
On the other hand, he understood that the group in Building 18, having enjoyed peace in a harmonious home for half a month, likely lacked the courage to engage in conflicts with others.
Li Jian was a sensible person.
He also understood that if Zhang Yi really fought with others, even if they went over, they wouldn't get much benefit.
It was better to sit back and watch the show.
In case Zhang Yi lost, and the snowmobile fell into the hands of others, Li Jian could find other people to cooperate with.
"Wait for my reply."
After sending this message, Zhang Yi went to the friend request list and added several other building leaders.
Because there were too many people asking him to add them as friends to ask for supplies, he had directly ignored all friend requests before.
But now it seemed that everyone in the community, from every building, wanted to talk to him and ask for help in collecting supplies.
Sure enough, Zhang Yi added several other responsible individuals from different buildings.
Their expressions of intent were almost identical to those of Chen Lingyu and Li Jian.
They all hoped to cooperate with Zhang Yi, asking him to help collect supplies to keep them alive.
However, the conditions they could offer were extremely limited.
Only manpower, women, and a promise not to take advantage during conflicts.
The only difference was their attitude, whether it was good or bad, that was all.
Zhang Yi lay on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling, and muttered softly, "Now there are only two choices, fight or cooperate."
"If I choose to fight, I have to kill all those who threaten me. This is not impossible, but it takes too much time and ammunition."
"To kill a large number of residents from all 30 buildings in the community would deplete the ammunition I stored. The reserves I obtained from the police station were not that much, just over a thousand rounds."
"This is still under ideal conditions. If they come to attack me and I kill them all, but they hide in the building and I dare not take the risk of going in..."
"Moreover, although I don't have much psychological burden about killing people, I'm not a crazy butcher either."
"Most people in the community don't have much grudge against me. If I kill them all, I would feel a bit reluctant."
"Damn, maybe I'll even end up with some psychological problems."
Zhang Yi rubbed his temples. Killing everyone in the entire community was not a good option. It was too troublesome.