Apocalypse: Launching a Counterattack Against the Villainess

Page 34

As they were talking, a commotion suddenly broke out in the lecture hall.

Suddenly, Liu Zhenyu stepped onto the table, using a stool as a stepping stone. He glanced at everyone and loudly proclaimed:

"I have a few words to say before the second vote."

The students looked over curiously, then turned to Qin Hehuan's location.

After a while, seeing that Qin Hehuan didn't stop him, Liu Zhenyu smiled and picked up the bag of food at his feet:

"As you can see, this is the food I brought back last time."

"And on this mission, I will bring back more food than this, enough to last everyone for at least three days."

"Of course, what I'm talking about is only the part that's handed over to the student council."

"And the portion that I keep for myself can be distributed among you."

"From now on, anyone who agrees to this operation, regardless of whether they participate in the mission or not, will receive a portion of the food I bring back."

"You will receive twice the daily food ration from the student council."

Upon hearing this, the audience erupted in uproar.

"What? You get food for voting?"

"is this real?"

Cheng Yuqiu disregarded everything else and stomped her feet, shouting loudly at Qin Hehuan:

"That's bribery! It's unfair!"

Qin Hehuan crossed her arms noncommittally and looked at Liu Zhenyu, seemingly waiting for his explanation.

Seeing this, Liu Zhenyu understood. If Qin Hehuan gave him a chance to explain, it meant she was clearly maintaining absolute neutrality. So he chuckled and shrugged, saying:

"This isn't a bribe..."

"This is bribery!" Cheng Yuqiu exclaimed angrily, her cheeks puffing out.

Liu Zhenyu's face was full of confidence. He turned around, looked at everyone present, and said in a firm voice:

"Generally speaking, bribery is only considered to be providing benefits to a single individual in private."

"If the goal is to achieve the overall long-term interests of all members by offering greater promises of benefits to all members in order to gain more desired public support, then, from a macro perspective..."

"It's called strategy."

"strategy?"

Everyone repeated the same sentence in unison, each with a different expression.

Liu Zhenyu looked at Qin Hehuan in the center of the podium and calmly said:

"In many countries, election candidates also make appealing promises to voters to win their votes, right?"

"Didn't President Qin do the same thing during his election campaign?"

Qin Hehuan remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"The people are confused," Liu Zhenyu suddenly raised his voice:

"I don't know how to make the right choice when faced with a problem."

"As capable individuals, we have an obligation to propose reasonable methods to guide the public in the right direction."

"That's why we've been able to survive until now under Chairman Qin's leadership."

"And what I have done is to ensure everyone's common safety and future life."

Cheng Yuqiu was speechless for a moment, her face flushed, not knowing what to do.

"Wonderful!"

Just then, Nie Qingyun's voice echoed in her mind again, and she could even hear him clapping. Cheng Yuqiu was furious.

"You, you're my bodyguard, and you're clapping for him!"

"Think of a solution quickly!"

"How about... I abstain from voting this time too?"

"At least my cousin doesn't want me to die out there."

“It’s no use.” Nie Qingyun, who was running in the corridor of the main building, suddenly stopped and looked up at the lecture hall in front of him.

This is the very classroom where Liu Zhenyu hid the food.

"Qin Hehuan will not stand up for you this time no matter what."

"Why?" Cheng Yuqiu asked instinctively.

"Haven't you noticed yet?" Nie Qingyun flung open the door to the lecture hall and continued:

"The first thing Qin Hehuan said was, 'Raise your hand if you agree to this action.'"

"And during the second vote, they said, 'Raise your hand if you disagree with this action.'"

"Is there any difference?" Cheng Yuqiu felt her brain couldn't keep up.

“Of course they’re different,” Nie Qingyun said, raising an eyebrow.

“These people have long been accustomed to silence, accustomed to hiding themselves among the ‘majority’.”

"The result of the first vote was directly related to the voting method specified by Qin Hehuan."

"And now, she's using you as bait."

"Then, what should I do?" Cheng Yuqiu didn't even realize that she had gotten used to relying on Nie Qingyun.

Nie Qingyun walked into the lecture hall, his brows furrowed tightly. After pausing for a moment, he walked to the window, ripped off the curtain, and covered the naked female corpse with it. His gaze suddenly turned sharp.

"Liu Zhenyu..."

"Since he likes to play dirty tricks so much, I'll just keep him company for a bit."

Chapter 47: The Substitute Behind Cheng Baobao

The atmosphere in the lecture hall grew increasingly tense. Liu Zhenyu's promise undoubtedly swayed those who were initially undecided.

Furthermore, the voting method involved "those who disagree with the action raising their hands," resulting in very few people daring to raise their hands in opposition.

Cheng Yuqiu bit her pink lips, her gaze sweeping over the crowd.

The situation was exactly as Nie Qingyun had described. Ordinary people are often confused and, when they are wavering, they easily choose to hide themselves among the "majority".

The current situation is very unfavorable.

How to do?

Should we continue to follow his instructions?

Cheng Yuqiu's forehead was already beaded with sweat from the intense tension.

Voting time was limited, and seeing that most of the remaining people were not going to raise their hands to vote, Cheng Yuqiu suddenly gritted her teeth and raised her hand.

"I'll provide four times the food!"

The loud syllables lingered in the empty room for a long time before dissipating.

Liu Zhenyu thought victory was assured, but Cheng Yuqiu unexpectedly jumped out again, leaving him momentarily stunned. He instinctively blurted out:

"What do you mean?"

Cheng Yuqiu composed herself. Now that she had made up her mind to follow Nie Qingyun's instructions, she should trust him even more.

"If you can campaign for votes, why can't I?"

"Listen up, everyone! I'll repeat myself: anyone who chooses 'disagree with this action' will receive four times the student council's daily food ration!"

This time, everyone heard it clearly. When they heard that the food supply was four times the normal amount, their eyes lit up. Their first thought was that with food, they wouldn't have to be assigned to resource gathering tasks for the time being.

But then they discovered the problem.

"Where did you get so much food?"

"Yup!"

Seeing Cheng Yuqiu's dirty and disheveled appearance, someone immediately started to mock him.

"Do you still think you're some pampered heiress from the Linjiangtai Security Bureau? That you can just open your mouth and get whatever you want?"

"You can't even fill your own stomach, yet you say you want to give us food?"

The questioning was not without merit. Although the student council's daily food rations were barely enough to fill their stomachs, there were more than twenty people present who participated in the vote.

Even if only half of the votes are against it, that would still require several large bags of food.

Even if Cheng Yuqiu never ate a single meal, it would be impossible for him to accumulate so much food.

This is clearly a worthless promise.

Even the student council, which was supposed to favor Cheng Yuqiu in principle, couldn't stand it anymore. One girl immediately spoke up in a cold voice to warn:

"Cheng Yuqiu, do you know what you're saying?"

"Now is not the time to joke around."

“If you fail to deliver on your promise after the vote, you will be ‘exiled’ according to the rules.”

Cheng Yuqiu's heart tightened; she understood what the other person meant by "exile."

In reality, they were forced out as bait, just like Nie Qingyun back then, used as a tool to attract zombies at crucial moments.

However, faced with the questions from the students and the warnings from the student council, Cheng Yuqiu did not back down. She stepped forward and shouted:

"Of course I know that if this is the condition for punishment."

"Then I'll agree to your terms."

"You!" Liu Zhenyu glared at Cheng Yuqiu, his face turning pale with anger.

In his view, the other party's behavior was tantamount to making a final act of resistance by "committing suicide".

The more this happened, the angrier Liu Zhenyu became.

But he soon calmed down.

There are 25 people with voting rights present, and so far, including Cheng Yuqiu, only 7 people have voted against it.

They still hold an absolute advantage.

As long as the final voting results remain unchanged, Cheng Yuqiu will have to go on the mission with him.

Thinking of this, Liu Zhenyu deliberately remained calm and composed, saying:

"Since you've put it that way, at least do what I've done and show everyone the food, okay?"

"Otherwise, no one will believe your empty promises."

"Why can't you take it out?"

As he spoke, Liu Zhenyu changed his tone and raised his voice, looking at the people nearby:

"See? She's just bluffing!"

"As long as you continue to support me, I can give you the food in front of me in advance!"

However, at that moment, someone suddenly interrupted Liu Zhenyu's speech.

Two boys, one tall and one short, stepped out of the crowd and slowly raised their hands.

"We oppose this action."

"Wang He, Xu Zhichao!" Liu Zhenyu instantly looked at the two men, his face contorted with rage.

"You two just agreed to this operation..."

"Why are you going back on your word now!"

"Are you two stupid?"

"Do you really think that woman can produce food?"

Wang He and Xu Zhichao stood frozen with their hands raised, their faces expressionless, but they were actually drenched in cold sweat from fright.

Neither of them cared about taking any action; they had no desire to get involved in such matters.

Unfortunately, Nie Qingyun had already injected something strange into his body.