Chapter 135: Joint Pressure

Chapter 135: Collective Pressure

It was universally known that Charles had gone mad, completely unreasonable. Since no one could reason with a madman, the world had no choice but to shift this pressure onto the Capital Base, hoping that the relatively rational and communicative side would make concessions.

That’s just how the world worked.

Yet Gu Jinsheng had never been one to yield to external pressure. Once he made a decision, nothing—not even the end of the world—could change his mind.

As for Ji An, in his previous life, he had suffered and died precisely because he cared too much about the bigger picture. Now that he had a second chance, he refused to compromise himself again.

Both men held their ground, and the subordinates of the Capital Base followed their lead, utterly disregarding outside pressure.

With preparations in place and the precise coordinates of the missile launch from the M Base, the Research Institute once again successfully intercepted the missile outside China's borders.

Considering that the H Base was now uninhabited, the Research Institute chose to destroy the M Base's missile over the H Base this time, preventing further destruction. Even so, the incident sent shockwaves through the other bases.

Those bases at risk of being affected could no longer stay on the sidelines. They took the initiative to contact the M Base.

"Commander-in-Chief Charles, hello. We are reaching out to you for the sake of humanity's peaceful development. In these apocalyptic times, when survival is at stake, infighting is the last thing we need. Whatever grievances we’ve held, we must set them aside and unite to overcome this crisis."

Charles had lost an eye in the previous siege and hadn’t had the chance to replace it yet. Now, he sported a black eyepatch, which made him appear even more sinister and volatile.

"Take those words to Gu Jinsheng. Why tell me? He’s the one unwilling to unite humanity. I’m just a humble Commander-in-Chief, begging for survival for my people."

Though everyone knew Charles was spouting lies—far from the truth—no one dared to challenge him. The negotiators feared provoking him further, in case he snapped completely and launched indiscriminate attacks.

They could only speak softly, even humoring him like a child: "We understand that Gu Jinsheng is the one acting unreasonably. Since he’s developed an artificial planet for human survival, he should open it to all humanity at this critical juncture, not keep it to himself."

This condemnation resonated with Charles, who was visibly pleased.

Seeing his expression soften, they cautiously asked, "We will jointly condemn the Capital Base, but what conditions would you require for peaceful coexistence?"

Though they were technically equals, Charles acted like he was above them, as though he held the power of life and death over those on the other side of the screen.

Charles replied, "I’m very reasonable. All I ask is for Gu Jinsheng to allow my people to migrate to that artificial planet and guarantee that, after the migration, I will be elected president of the new world."

At first, the Commander-in-Chief of the Y Base didn’t grasp the implications of Charles’ words and agreed without thinking, even surprised at how accommodating Charles seemed this time.

It wasn’t until his assistant discreetly nudged him and whispered a few words that it clicked. His pupils dilated in shock, almost making him blurt out.

The assistant swiftly muted their microphone.

"The man’s lost it. He wants to rule the entire world."

The assistant said, "If it were just about convincing Gu Jinsheng to allow mass migration, a united front from all bases might work. But if it’s about making Gu Jinsheng accept Charles ruling over humanity? That’s impossible."

"Not just Gu Jinsheng—I wouldn’t agree either. Look at how deranged Charles has become. He doesn’t even spare his own people. If he became president of all humanity, who knows what atrocities he’d commit?"

"What do we do, then?"

"Actually, Charles’ demand plays into our hands. We’ll relay his terms to Gu Jinsheng first. Gu Jinsheng will never agree to something so absurd. Then, we can fall back to demanding just mass migration—it’ll be easier to negotiate."

If they had led with mass migration, Gu Jinsheng might have refused outright. But by starting with an outrageous demand and then compromising, even the revised request would seem more acceptable by comparison.

Having figured this out, the Y Base representatives pretended to agree, then turned to pressure the Capital Base.

When Ji An heard their "serious" demands, he almost scoffed. Only Gu Jinsheng could keep a straight face in the face of such absurdity.

"Impossible," Gu Jinsheng replied with just three words.

The representatives on the video call didn't expect Gu Jinsheng to take such a stance.

"You must understand Charles has gone mad—he can't be reasoned with. If you don't agree, he will initiate nuclear warfare against the Jingshi Base."

Gu Jinsheng was well aware of their hidden agendas. They claimed to act in the Jingshi Base's best interest, but in truth, they were only pushing their own agendas.

"If this is all you have to say, then I must excuse myself—I have urgent matters to attend to." Gu Jinsheng delivered this ultimatum and was about to end the video conference, causing the panicked commanders on the other side to scramble to stop him.

"Wait! We know it's hard for you to accept Charles as the president of the new planet. Fine, we’ll apply maximum pressure to Charles—just agree to permit universal human migration."

The representatives assumed their concession would force Gu Jinsheng to compromise.

Yet, Gu Jinsheng remained resolute. "I will only authorize immigration for residents with Chinese nationality."

"Gu Jinsheng, you can't possibly be this selfish. That planet doesn’t belong to you alone—it belongs to all of humanity."

"China developed it autonomously, so it belongs to China," Ji An interjected.

Seeing Ji An's displeasure, Gu Jinsheng cut the connection without hesitation.

The representatives were stunned by the outcome, looking at each other in stunned silence.

"This Gu Jinsheng is just as unreasonable as Charles."

"They’ve all gone mad, completely mad."

"They dare wage war only because they have economic strength. What about us, whose economies never fully recovered post-collapse?"

"Let’s contact Charles and see if he’s willing to compromise."

"Unlikely."

Charles didn’t even let them finish before hanging up.

He didn’t care whether his people could migrate—his sole ambition was to rule mankind.

"How can they be so shameless?" Kong Zhongcheng cursed angrily after the meeting.

"They didn't invest a single resource when we were building the artificial planet. Now that we’ve succeeded, they claim it’s theirs? How?" Wan Xueying was equally indignant.

"The most absurd part is Charles. On Earth, he’s just a base’s Commander-in-Chief. Now he wants to be president of all humanity on *our* planet? The sheer gall—expecting everything to fall into his lap."

Ji An said, "Sheer fantasy. Still, we must prepare early."

Gu Jinsheng asked, "How’s the planet’s completion status progressing?"

"Soil and water sources are still insufficient. Time is tight—the superpowered are pushing themselves to the limit purifying. Many have been hospitalized from power depletion, but we still need more time."

"Order them to stand down," Gu Jinsheng instructed.

"I’ve already forced them to."

The European representatives made no headway with Charles or Gu Jinsheng, leaving them frustrated.

Realizing Charles might descend into full-blown madness if pushed further—possibly triggering global annihilation—they shifted their demands to the Jingshi Base.

Several bases released a unified ultimatum: if the Jingshi Base refused to open the artificial planet to all humanity, they would unite and launch a Nuclear War against it.

"Commander, what are your orders?"

"Isn't this compromise just too bitter to swallow?"

"We built that planet with our own hands. Why should they come and seize the fruits of our labor in the end?"

Owen worriedly said, "What really worries me is that even if we accept them, once on the new planet without the zombie crisis, they might not peacefully develop. If they turn against us later, attacking us Chinese on the planet we built, wouldn't that make us total pushovers?"

"No compromises," Gu Jinsheng said flatly.

"Survival means swearing allegiance to China. The artificial planet is ours, and only our citizens can live there," Ji An also refused to yield.

"We'll loosen the immigration rules this round. Anyone without a criminal record, who is not anti-China and acknowledges the artificial planet belongs solely to China, can apply for Chinese citizenship," Ji An added.

"Works for me."

Just as the European and American bases were rallying their residents to unite against China, Beijing Base announced its latest immigration policy.

This time, there were no economic restrictions—only the requirement to acknowledge the artificial planet as exclusively Chinese. Nearly every foreigner was sold on the idea.

As for obtaining Chinese citizenship, China was currently the most developed among all bases. Who in their right mind would say no? There was no reason for rejection.

A few sharp superpowered foreigners, upon hearing the news, quickly packed their belongings and used zombie hunts as cover to bolt.

By the time the base leaders realized what was happening, most of their residents had already fled.

The base brass hit the panic button and went scorched-earth: anyone caught fleeing to China would be executed on the spot, along with their families, no questions asked.

Their intention was to intimidate residents from negotiating, but it backfired—instead, it poured gasoline on the fire and let the rats exploit the chaos.

"Oh no, my son didn’t run away! He just went out to hunt zombies!" A mother desperately explained her son’s whereabouts to the questioning superpowered officers.

"His dad and I got messed up on the last zombie run. The cupboard's bare. If he doesn’t go out to hunt for supplies, our whole family will starve!"

"Bullshit! Clearly, he’s making a break for Beijing Base. He’s a traitor to M Base, and your whole family knew but didn’t report it. You're sheltering a traitor—that's a death sentence!"

"We didn’t! If you don’t believe us, you can monitor our home. He promised before leaving that no matter whether he could hunt zombies or find food, he'd check back in three days tops."

"It’s been two days. At the latest, he’ll be back tomorrow. Just wait one more day—just one! If he doesn’t return by then, we’ll take our own lives—no need for you to do it."

"You’re clearly stalling for time!" The superpowered cop blew off their begging and went straight for the kill.

Unwilling to die without a fight, the couple resisted but were ultimately outnumbered and killed.

One squad member shifted uncomfortably at the sight of the couple’s lifeless bodies, saying, "Captain, it’s just one day. We could’ve waited..."

The captain glared. "If their son really escaped to Beijing Base and colluded with them, what if he returns tomorrow with a hovercar to take his family—and even the neighbors—away? You want that on your conscience?"

The teammate shuddered—she definitely couldn’t.

At that moment, the son returned from his zombie hunt. He had successfully killed a high-level zombie and traded its Zombie Core for enough water and food.

Excited to reunite with his parents, he came running home—and got hit with that copper stench of blood at the doorstep.

When he saw superpowered officers in patrol uniforms standing at his door, his gut twisted.

"Mom! Dad!" The son stormed inside like a man possessed—only to find his parents butchered in their own home.

"What did you do to them?! I was just out hunting zombies for food—I didn’t defect! Why did you kill them?! I'll make sure the whole world knows what you did!"

The captain raised his gun and put a round between the kid's eyes.

The team member couldn't bear to watch and said, "Captain, we killed the wrong people. Why make things worse?"

"What else can we do? Wait for him to file a complaint and get us punished? If any of you think this is too cruel, you're welcome to turn yourselves in. I won’t stop you."

The team members fell silent, none willing to confess.

The captain turned away, a slight smirk forming on his lips. He had known all along that the son had merely gone out to hunt zombies.

He had deliberately wanted the entire family dead—they'd messed with him before, and he’d been waiting for a chance to retaliate. Now that this perfect opportunity had come his way, who cared if he was abusing his power for personal vengeance?

Similar cases of wrongful convictions and unjust deaths occurred across various bases, leaving many innocent lives lost.

This only deepened the fear and unrest among the residents. Even those who had never considered immigration before now began looking for ways to relocate to the Jing City Base.