Chapter 39: Subduing Feng Kun, They Are All So Succulent!

"Pledge your allegiance to my boss, or die!"

Meng Kui stood tall and proud. Although he had not fully recovered his strength, Feng Kun had been crippled by Ao Xin, and the others were too terrified by the Conqueror's Haki to move. Even without using his Devil Fruit ability, he could kill every single one of them right now.

Since Ao Xin had not killed them outright but left them for him to deal with, it was clear that Ao Xin intended to recruit them. Meng Kui speculated on his boss’s intentions.

Feng Kun felt a deep sense of unwillingness, yet the vast gap in strength between them left him in despair. His arrogance had been shattered by Ao Xin.

"I am willing to acknowledge the Azure Dragon as my boss." Feng Kun looked back at his subordinates, who were paralyzed with fear. "What about you? Are you willing to follow me and submit to the Azure Dragon?"

The subordinates did not have the slightest shred of hesitation; they were all pleasantly surprised. As for the dozen comrades who had been killed? What did that have to do with them? These people were capable of abandoning their own families; they were just fellow laborers—why would they seek revenge for them? Furthermore, Ao Xin was clearly a much more powerful figure than Feng Kun. Following Ao Xin would surely be more promising than staying with Feng Kun!

Previously, when they learned that the Azure Dragon was also from Bian City, they had toyed with the idea of betraying Feng Kun to defect to Ao Xin. However, they didn't know his exact address, it was difficult to traverse a city infested with zombies, and they feared being discovered and killed by Feng Kun. Finally, even if they found him, there was no guarantee he would take them in. Now that the other side was actively coming to recruit them, it was exactly what they wanted!

"We are willing! We are willing!"
"From now on, we are the Azure Dragon's men!"
"Big Brother, what is your name? We need a way to address you!"

Some subordinates immediately stepped forward to curry favor with Meng Kui, a sight that made Feng Kun’s heart turn cold. He cursed them internally for being profit-driven and disloyal, but with the situation being what it was, he could do nothing.

"My name is Meng Kui. My boss’s name is Ao Xin," Meng Kui said, looking with satisfaction at the workers kneeling before him. "But you must not call my boss by his name casually; you must use a respectful title! Do you understand?"

The workers nodded repeatedly, saying they understood.

As they spoke, zombies wandering in the distance were attracted by the gathering crowd and began to swarm toward them. Meng Kui glanced at them, lifted his notched and chipped blade, and looked into the distance.

"The zombies are coming. Let’s keep fighting!" Meng Kui turned to Feng Kun and asked, "Can you still fight?"

Feng Kun’s face was bleeding, and his shoulder was wounded as well. His facial bones were fractured, and his scapula had been pierced by a steel whip; his injuries were severe. Had it not been for the extraordinary stamina granted by his Zoan-type ability, he would likely have fallen unconscious by now.

"I can!" Gritting his teeth, Feng Kun decided he could not afford to be looked down upon. Even if he had to serve Ao Xin, the future would inevitably be determined by one's capability.

With one arm hanging limp, he held his blade with his remaining hand and stood at the forefront of the workers, acting as the vanguard. Meng Kui stood at the rear of the formation, clearing out the zombies pursuing them.

Although these men were not highly educated, they were resourceful. Leveraging their numerical advantage, they had discovered a simple method to combat zombies. This method was quite effective in the early stages. In truth, the military would have been the best suited for this type of combat, with their superior physical conditioning, teamwork, combat experience, and courage. However, at that time, the military had chosen to use large-scale heavy weaponry to eliminate the zombie crisis as quickly as possible. As a result, the zombies evolved, and the brave soldiers suffered heavy casualties.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, one man let out a shriek. A zombie had bitten his arm. The excruciating pain caused cold sweat to stream down his face, but his fellow workers immediately and decisively killed him. This was the rule they had established when they first formed their group: whoever was bitten by a zombie had to be killed immediately by those around them. This was the reason this small faction had been able to grow and become one of the four major powers in Bian City.

Meng Kui, standing at the rear, witnessed this and was astonished. Honestly, the level of organization in this group of migrant workers was not low at all! He acknowledged that if the coaches and students from his own fighting club had organized themselves, they would never have possessed such efficiency. No wonder the boss wanted to keep them; these people were truly remarkable.

They were already in the western part of the city, quite close to the villa district they occupied. Half an hour later, they arrived at the villas. During the journey, one more person was bitten by a zombie and, of course, was killed on the spot.

"Brother Meng, this is the safe base we have built."

A tall young man approached Meng Kui, eager to introduce everything to him. Feng Kun felt deeply dissatisfied seeing this, but he dared not say a word, nor even grunt; he could only follow silently behind Meng Kui.

Seeing the young man take the lead, the others refused to be outdone and swarmed forward. "Brother Meng, let me tell you..." "Brother Meng..."

The noisy clamor of the crowd began to grate on Meng Kui's nerves. He let out a cold snort: "Shut up!"

The crowd shrank back, quietly lowering their heads and stepping back two paces. Meng Kui pointed at the young man who had spoken to him first. "You, continue."

The young man was overjoyed and quickly added an introduction: "Brother Meng, my name is Zhou Xiang. You can just call me Little Zhou! Here, we have..."

Zhou Xiang provided a detailed introduction of their background, from their individual jobs to how they gathered and seized this residential area—everything was explained in great detail.

"You are all migrant workers?" Upon learning their history, Meng Kui faintly understood why Ao Xin had kept them. But did the boss know beforehand that this was a group of migrant workers? He couldn't figure it out. However, looking at the tall concrete walls around the villa area and the various building materials piled up inside the complex, he had to admit that these people were indeed talented.

"Brother Meng, why not bring our boss here as well? This is a high-end villa district; it is only fitting that our most noble boss should reside here!"

"Besides," Zhou Xiang’s small eyes darted around as he leaned in close to Meng Kui, "Brother Meng, we have quite a few good things here!"

Good things? Meng Kui was skeptical. While he admired these workers' organizational skills and construction ability, what could they possibly have that was valuable? Could anything be better than a Devil Fruit?

Seeing his disbelief, Zhou Xiang said with a fawning smile, "Brother Meng, come into our room and take a look. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!"

Seeing the young man's confident expression, Meng Kui’s curiosity was piqued, and he followed him into the villa. The moment he stepped inside, he saw many disheveled women, and he instantly understood what Zhou Xiang meant by "good things."

Though these women looked somewhat haggard, they had fair skin and delicate figures. While they weren't exactly world-shaking beauties, they were certainly attractive in the eyes of an ordinary person.

"Brother Meng, these women are very compliant, and they are all yours now!"