After some thought, Zhang Yi came to a satisfying conclusion.
As long as he stayed in the 25th building and didn't leave, relying on his firepower and the strength of his safe house, even if the people from the other 29 buildings united, they wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
To put it simply, in a situation where food was extremely scarce and the temperature was unbearably cold, just walking outside for a few steps against the fierce wind was an immense struggle for anyone.
Even twenty people couldn't do the amount of work that one person could in the past.
"My personal safety is not an issue. If worse comes to worst, I can ride my snowmobile and break through the siege. Using my weapons, I can wage guerrilla warfare and slowly wear them down," Zhang Yi mused. "But doing that would be too troublesome. How long would I have to keep killing everyone from the 29 buildings?"
"But if I don't kill them, they will definitely attack me."
Zhang Yi pondered deeply in his mind.
Should he spend some time and effort eliminating the people who posed a threat to him in the complex, or should he try another approach?
In the short term, Zhang Yi hadn't made up his mind.
He glanced at his phone and decided to chat with Li Jian. He needed to see if all the building leaders thought this way.
Zhang Yi opened the chat window with Li Jian.
He didn't make the first move, but Li Jian eagerly started introducing their situation.
"Mr. Zhang, I'm here with sincerity and hope to cooperate with you in building a harmonious homeland, a post-apocalyptic utopia."
"Our 18th building has only lost five elderly people, all due to complications from the extreme cold."
"Everyone has been living in harmony, thanks to a reasonable distribution of resources."
"I believe this is the best way to survive in the apocalypse, preserving the spark of human civilization. It will also aid in the post-snow disaster reconstruction work."
"Right now, we lack an effective source of food. We wish to cooperate with you. In exchange, we can provide manpower and resources to meet your requirements as best we can."
"And we can help coordinate relationships with other buildings to avoid conflicts."
After reading Li Jian's introduction, Zhang Yi felt much more comfortable.
As expected of a financial director from a large group—his emotional intelligence was far higher than that of Chen Lingyu, who ran a micro-business.
His points were clear, his arguments concise, and his tone neither servile nor overbearing.
But what Zhang Yi cared about the most was the mention of a "harmonious homeland."
It had been more than 20 days since the apocalypse began, and no one from their building had died due to conflict!
Zhang Yi turned to Zhou Ke'er, who was giving him a soothing massage. "Ke'er, do you know anything about the situation in the 18th building?"
Zhou Ke'er thought for a moment and replied, "I've heard a little. I heard the building leader there is a very charismatic person. After the apocalypse started, he united all the residents and implemented a unified distribution of resources, allowing most people to survive."
Zhang Yi remarked, "No wonder he's the financial director. Managing accountants not only requires knowing how to manage but also how to maximize benefits."
In fact, Li Jian's approach was the most reasonable.
Other buildings, like Zhang Yi's 25th building, had wasted large amounts of resources due to internal conflicts.
Theoretically, if a person doesn't engage in physical activity (including mental work), the energy consumed each day is minimal, and one meal a day is enough.
"Li Jian is quite talented," Zhang Yi remarked with admiration, but then added, "However, even with this approach, survival in the long run is still impossible."
Li Jian's ability lay in establishing order. Using his influence in the 18th building, he united everyone early on.
But what would happen when faced with an external attack?
The people who had become used to comfort would likely be slaughtered by thugs like Tian He Bang or Chen Zhenghao.
This was like how ancient Central Plains civilizations had been defeated multiple times by nomadic civilizations.
Without military protection, all stability and harmony were illusory.
Zhang Yi asked, "If I refuse, what will you do?"
Li Jian took a long time to think and then replied.
"We adhere to a spirit of friendly cooperation and extend our invitation to you."
"If you refuse, I'll deeply regret it. But that doesn't mean your thoughts won't change in the future, and I still look forward to the next opportunity for cooperation."
Zhang Yi chuckled. Such an official response made him feel quite at ease.
"So, you don't plan on attacking our 25th building? Or when others attack, you won't join in?" Zhang Yi asked.
Li Jian's reply was equally candid.
"Our military force is only for self-defense. We won't initiate an attack on others."
"It's not that we lack strength; it's that pointless internal conflict leads to mutual destruction in the end."
Zhang Yi almost applauded him.
Look at him—he's clearly being cowardly but manages to say it so righteous.
That said, the harmonious homeland in the 18th building had indeed lasted half a month without any fighting, meaning they lacked the courage to engage in conflict.
Li Jian was a smart man.
He knew that if Zhang Yi really fought with others, even if they joined in, they wouldn't gain much.
It was better to watch from the sidelines.
If Zhang Yi lost and his snowmobile fell into someone else's hands, he could always seek cooperation elsewhere.
"Let me think about it," Zhang Yi sent the message, then went through his friend request list to find others.
Previously, there were so many people trying to add him for supplies, he had ignored all friend requests.
But now it seemed like everyone from the entire complex wanted to talk to him and have him help gather supplies.
As expected, Zhang Yi added several other building leaders.
Their messages were almost identical to those from Chen Lingyu and Li Jian.
They all wanted to cooperate with Zhang Yi and requested his help in gathering supplies to ensure their survival.
However, the conditions they could offer were extremely limited.
Only manpower, women, and promises not to stab him in the back during conflicts.
The only difference was in their attitudes—some were better, some worse.
Zhang Yi lay back on the sofa, gazing at the ceiling, softly muttering to himself, "Now, there are only two options—fight or cooperate."
"Fight means killing all the people who pose a threat to me. It's not impossible, but it would take too much time and ammunition."
"Killing all the people from the 30 buildings in the entire complex would drain all the ammunition I've stored. I only got a little more than a thousand rounds from the police station."
"That's considering the best case. If they attack me, I could wipe them out, but if they hide in the buildings and don't come out, I can't risk going in after them."
"Moreover, although I have no psychological issues with killing, I'm not some psychopath."
"Most people in the complex don't have much of a grudge against me. If I kill them all, I might feel some reluctance."
"Damn, I might even end up with mental problems myself."
Zhang Yi rubbed his temples, realizing that killing everyone in the complex wasn't a good option.
It was just too troublesome.