Beauvais Town.

At the center of the town, there's a temporary military command post, where soldiers led Lin Yi toward.

This place seemed to have been a school before, with many classrooms still furnished with desks and chairs.

Lin Yi followed behind the soldiers, walking through the corridor, and arrived at an office on the second floor.

In the middle of the office stood a large table, on which several laptops cast a faint glow from their screens.

A formidable-looking officer sat confidently behind the table, exuding an undeniable presence.

On either side stood a group of people—specifically, twenty of them; nineteen in military attire and one in civilian clothes.

"Hello, please sit down." The officer in the middle gestured with a firm, deep voice: "Let me introduce myself, I'm Commander Raphael."

Raphael? Red Wine? Red Wine Commander!?

"Lin Yi." After briefly introducing himself, Lin Yi sat in a rather comfortable armchair, reclining leisurely, looking quite relaxed.

"Coffee?" Red Wine Commander offered, with a seemingly friendly smile.

Lin Yi knew well that for people like them, no matter how important things might be, they would never jump straight to the point; there's always some irrelevant pleasantries first.

So, he followed suit by saying, "Of course, if you have any, bring me something to eat too, avoiding sweets; best if it's carbohydrates."

"Haha! I understand, wait a moment." Red Wine Commander laughed heartily and waved his hand, prompting an officer to quickly leave the room.

The room fell silent at that moment.

Red Wine Commander seemed to be waiting for Lin Yi to initiate the conversation, but Lin Yi wasn't buying it.

Instead, he got more comfortable in the chair, gradually half-closed his eyes, appearing almost dozing.

"Hmm... cough!" Red Wine Commander cleared his throat, feeling somewhat impatient.

He broke the ice: "Let's cut to the chase—I need to know the current situation in Paris."

Lin Yi did not adjust his posture, continuing to lazily recline in the chair, only opening his eyes a bit more.

"Were the people who tried to break into Paris earlier today yours?"

Red Wine Commander showed a regretful expression: "Yes… but the progress wasn't as smooth."

The streets at that time had nearly fifty thousand zombies; if tanks hadn't led the charge, crushing through, it would've been impossible to break through.

Those who returned alive were already extremely lucky.

Red Wine Commander pondered for a moment, tapping his fingers on the table: "How many survivors are left in Paris City?"

"…Around 60,000 to 100,000."

"Fewer than we expected… then… the original regional officials?"

"Most of the bureaucrats are at the Louvre, where there are police and the army, the biggest camp in town."

Just then, the officer who left returned with food, including fragrant coffee and fresh bread.

Lin Yi's eyes lit up immediately, he picked up the coffee, took a sip, then took a big bite of the bread, eating with relish, even shaking comfortably.

He continued muddled: "I heard some mysterious individuals control the Louvre, residing on the top floor, and no one has ever seen them."

Upon hearing this, Red Wine Commander's eyes flashed with displeasure, unclear whether annoyed at Lin Yi's eating manner or unhappy with the situation at the Louvre.

"What about the other camps?"

"There are five large camps, three of which you certainly won't like. One is a cult, one anarchists, and the third is a group of fanatical feminists."

The people in the room were evidently surprised to learn there was a camp entirely composed of women; they began discussing animatedly.

Lin Yi shoved the last bit of bread into his mouth, burped contentedly, leaned back comfortably in the chair, and explained to the crowd with a smile.

"That's right. They're made up of female members more robust than men.

They catch men, inject them with lots of strong drugs, then have relations with them until they're overextended and die.

And they also kidnap quite some sexy women, using them as slaves at will."

Lin Yi's words shocked everyone present.

At that moment, many officers began whispering among themselves, not sure what they were discussing.

"Cough!" Red Wine Commander's cough brought the office back to calm.

He looked curiously at Lin Yi, who was lazily reclined in his chair, and asked, "What do you do in the city then?"

The moment had arrived!

Lin Yi smiled while announcing, "I'm a merchant."

"Really? May I ask what kind of business you're in, sir?" an officer asked skeptically, with a hint of cynicism in his tone.

"Food."

Suddenly, the room became as silent as a graveyard; only the sound of Lin Yi adjusting the creases of his T-shirt could be heard.

At this time, in the office.

The only person in civilian clothes spoke.

He asked indignantly, "So you mean, at the beginning of the apocalypse, you managed to take over food storage points, then sold food at high prices to exploit everyone—is that it? Huh? Is it!?"

"Hahaha…" Lin Yi laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Are you a bureaucrat? Politician? Right?"

A hint of anger flashed across the man's face, and his voice rose slightly: "So what if I am?"

No wonder when this guy heard 'food,' his eyes were wide like saucers.

Lin Yi looked at him mockingly: "So what should I have done? Offer food storage to you? Let you exploit for maximal gain? "

"We're for the people! Do you understand what 'non-privatized' resources mean?"

"I understand a bit, but unfortunately, I can quite regretfully inform you my food comes from elsewhere."

"Nonsense! There's no other food source..."

The civilian politician, becoming agitated, spitting saliva, strode in front of Lin Yi, extended his finger, ready to start the typical long-winded accusations.

But naturally, Lin Yi wouldn't give him the chance.

Bang! A dull sound.

Something orange flew towards the civilian politician, hitting him squarely on the forehead.

Most officers instinctively drew their guns upon seeing this, but were immediately stopped by Red Wine Commander.

Red Wine Commander roared: "You fools! Before jumping to conclusions, take a look at what our dear guest has thrown!"

His words were like a thunderclap, making everyone turn to look at the orange object on the floor.

"It must've been some sort of weapon…" the civilian politician muttered while rubbing his aching head.

But nobody in the office was responding to him.

He only heard sounds of people gasping for air.

The civilian politician felt uneasy, swallowed, and looked down, almost as if seeing a ghost.

"This is... this is... impossible!" He gingerly picked up the orange object from the ground...

It was a fresh carrot!

The room erupted in officer chatter.

"A carrot? But how is this possible?"

"Could it be fake?"

The apocalypse couldn't have left fresh vegetables!

Red Wine Commander, with a serious face, grabbed the carrot from the civilian politician's hand and took a bite, nearly eating half.

Immediately, his eyes widened in shock and disbelief:

"This is…real! Fresh!!"

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