Volume 1, Chapter 46: What? Seek Refuge with You?

"Brother Lei, that's because you haven't seen that kid's mecha. Giving it to him is just a waste. It would be much better for Brother Lei to use it yourself. Even before it evolved, the mecha he piloted was already seventeen meters tall."

Han Xu knew what could appeal to Brother Lei.

Surviving in this apocalyptic world meant that strength was paramount. The more massive the initial mecha, the stronger its combat power.

Han Xu could see Brother Lei's ambition. Brother Lei wanted to dominate Chuan City, or even a much larger territory, and that required formidable personal strength.

Only then could he inspire stronger cohesion among his subordinates.

If the boss wasn't strong enough, why would anyone follow him?

"Moreover, he also possesses an excellent weapon—a great scythe over ten meters long. I saw it with my own eyes."

Han Xu added fuel to Brother Lei's fire.

He refused to believe that Brother Lei wouldn't be tempted after hearing this.

"Really?" Upon hearing this, Brother Lei was indeed tempted.

Mainly because Zhang Tao didn't have that many men under him; how could a few dozen mechas compare to his hundreds?

By then, they wouldn't even need to fight themselves. Just having this massive group of mechas line up at the entrance of Zhang Tao's house would probably scare that wet-behind-the-ears punk right into wetting his pants.

Besides, Brother Lei possessed considerable combat power himself. His mecha had already undergone its first evolution, reaching level fifteen, and he had mastered a special skill, acquired by chance from an initial source crystal.

"Of course. Besides, that place is an affluent district and hasn't suffered much destruction. The mecha I'm using was looted from there, and there are still many more mechas left. If those rich folks aren't willing to join us, we can just seize their mechas. By then, won't all of that property belong to you, Brother Lei?"

Honestly, Han Xu's pitch was extremely tempting.

A seventeen-meter mecha, weapons, and a large number of mechas just waiting for him to harvest.

"Alright, then let's go take him down. We'll muster the men and make our move tomorrow morning," Brother Lei decided immediately.

Originally, Han Xu wanted to urge Brother Lei to make a move tonight, but after thinking about it, he dismissed the idea. Constantly contradicting Brother Lei might displease him, and that was not what Han Xu wanted.

Han Xu was not content with merely being a lackey; he wanted greater prospects for himself. So buttering up Brother Lei now and asking for a few mechas later wasn't too much to ask, right?

As long as he had enough mechas in his own hands, finding people to pilot them would be easy, and wouldn't he then be able to set himself up as an independent king?

That night, Brother Lei slept blissfully with two beautiful women in his arms. He felt that life in the apocalypse was much more comfortable than it had been before the end of the world.

At least for now, that was the case.

Early the next morning, Brother Lei summoned all his subordinates. Including various models of all sizes, nearly four hundred mechas stood together, a truly spectacular sight.

Brother Lei gave a pre-battle mobilization speech to these four hundred people.

He promised some rewards and issued a few threats.

Of course, the primary reason these people obeyed was fear.

Who didn't have family?

Most of those who owned mechas had families. If anyone dared to disobey, their entire family would face Brother Lei's retaliation.

Therefore, the vast majority of these nearly four hundred people dared not defy him.

The procession of four hundred mechas marched imposingly toward the villa district.

Along the way, no blind fool dared to step out and block their path, and mechanical beasts scattered far away upon seeing them.

Even some smaller gangs were trembling with fear, each terrified that Brother Lei was coming to cause trouble for them.

Fortunately, Brother Lei did not make a move against them.

Half an hour later, Brother Lei led his men into the villa district.

"You have to admit, this villa district is different. If you ask me, why don't we just stay here and take this place over? Wouldn't that be nice?" Brother Lei took one look and fell in love with the villa district.

There was no helping it; compared to this villa district, his territory in the west of the city looked like a dog kennel.

"Of course it's fine! Whatever Brother Lei says goes anyway. Who would dare utter a word of dissent?" Han Xu fawned over him by his side.

Han Xu's flattery drew the disgust of several veterans who had originally followed Brother Lei. Han Xu was acting as if he was second-in-command right below Brother Lei, which greatly annoyed the old followers.

"Heh, you're a good kid." Brother Lei patted Han Xu on the shoulder, highly pleased.

"What are you guys doing? Get lost!" A furious shout rang out.

It was a security guard on patrol, accompanied by two others. While the other two didn't speak, they had already assumed combat stances.

Brother Lei was momentarily stunned.

Whenever others saw them mobilizing so many mechas together, who didn't shake with terror?

What was wrong with these three fellows?

Not only were they unafraid, but they even ran out to block the road. And what kind of tone was that just now?

"Brother Lei, these three fellows are all subordinates of Zhang Tao," Han Xu reminded Brother Lei from the side.

"They certainly look nice, all medium-sized mechas," Brother Lei nodded in satisfaction.

He wasn't very fond of the people piloting them, but he was extremely pleased with the mechas themselves.

They were all ten-meter-tall medium mechas, the exact same model as his own.

"Where is Zhang Tao?" Brother Lei displayed his demeanor and didn't bother arguing with the three opposing guards. As a boss, arguing with someone else's underlings beneath his dignity.

The three bodyguards were all momentarily stunned upon hearing this.

What on earth was going on here?

Why did someone come to make trouble every single day at the crack of dawn?

If it was going to be like this every day from now on, it would be way too thrilling.

Still, stunned was stunned; the situation here definitely needed to be reported.

Very quickly, Zhang Tao received the news. He quickly got up and rushed straight to the scene of the incident.

Through his intimacy with Zhang Wei, Zhang Tao had also developed the good habit of not disengaging from his mecha—safety first.

The only thing Zhang Tao couldn't figure out was that he was certain he hadn't provoked anyone yesterday, and hadn't even seen anyone. How could someone be coming to cause trouble again?

Regardless of his confusion, he still had to go take a look.

When Zhang Tao arrived, Brother Lei's eyes were practically glowing.

Han Xu was right; Zhang Tao's mecha was terrifyingly majestic.

After its first evolution, Zhang Tao's mecha had reached a height of twenty meters, nearly double the size of his own.

Such an imposing and domineering mecha ought to belong to him, Brother Lei.

"You must be Zhang Tao?" Brother Lei's tone was extremely arrogant.

Zhang Tao didn't fly into a rage immediately; he asked calmly, "And you are?"

"Me? West City, Brother Lei."

"That logistics guy from West City?" Zhang Tao asked uncertainly.

In Zhang Tao's memory, there indeed was such a person. His family's business was inseparable from the logistics industry, and whenever transport capacity fell short, they would indeed seek out Brother Lei.

Brother Lei nodded at Zhang Tao and said, "It's me."

"Did you come here to pledge your loyalty to me?" Zhang Tao asked as if it were only natural.

"What? Pledge my loyalty to you?"