<h4>Chapter 19: Strike First, Setting Traps</h4>


    Not until he went out hunting zombies alone did he realize how strong Ethan''s team really was!


    Seeing his reaction, Ava continued, "Although we lost nearly half of our people while clearing out the zombie horde in the vi area before, we will continue to grow ande back stronger."


    "In the future, we can easily be a dominant force in the region."


    "By then, every member of the team will be able to enjoy immense benefits..."


    After hearing Ava out, Alex raised an eyebrow.


    "Is that all?" he asked.


    Ava hesitated for a moment, unable to fully grasp his expression.


    "Yes, that''s all," she replied.


    At this, Alex grinned.


    "So, this is your idea of recruiting me? You might as well forget about it!"


    "You should know, since I can single-handedly provide thousands of essential supplies to purchase the barrier wall, and even offer precious food and drinks to entertain you, do you think I need to join your team?"


    Ava was left speechless.


    "So, don''t waste your time on me."


    "For now, let''s consider ourselves neighbors. Please ept this small gift. If there''s nothing else, please go back."


    Alex took out one hundred portions of essential supplies from his backpack and handed them to Ava.


    Ava stared at the extra one hundred portions of supplies in disbelief.


    She hadn''t expected Alex to be so generous.


    One hundred portions of essential supplies, casually given to a stranger he just met.


    Ava''s eyes flickered as she sat down beside Alex, intentionally or unintentionally rubbing against his arm with a shy expression.


    "Little brother, you''re so generous. How about, let Ava keep youpany..."


    Ava reached out her hand, tentatively moving downward.


    However, Alex quickly grabbed her hand, smiling as he said, "Honestly, I''m not very interested in you. Please don''t force me to get angry, okay?"


    Ava looked at Alex, who was smiling warmly, and couldn''t sense any hostility.


    But she had a strong feeling.


    If she continued to provoke him, she might really lose her life.


    Ava withdrew her hand and sat up straight.


    "Little brother, don''t be angry. I''m just joking with you."


    Alex moved her hand away and chuckled, "It''s nothing. Please go back. I hope we can live harmoniously as neighbors."


    After escorting Ava out of thepound, Mia came downstairs.


    Mia looked puzzled and said, "Alex, why did you still give them supplies? Even if we have plenty, we shouldn''t waste them like this!"


    Alex chuckled lightly and replied, "You don''t understand. Believe it or not, by tomorrow at thetest, maybe even tonight, their team won''t be able to resist taking action against us!"


    Mia eximed in surprise, then muttered, "So you gave them supplies, which will only expose our reserves more and make them want to raid us even more?"


    "Exactly!" Alex guessed Mia would have such doubts and patiently exined, "Before, when they saw that we, just two people, could obtain a gold-tier blueprint, they definitely had ulterior motives but couldn''t be sure of our exact situation, so they didn''t dare to act rashly."


    "By sending this woman today to recruit us, it was a pretense. The real intention was to probe our situation!"


    Seeing Mia lost in thought, Alex continued, "By giving them supplies, I let them know that we have plenty, tempting them beyond their restraint, and then we''ll turn the tables on them. Also, I can be sure that they haven''t exposed my information. They see us as easy prey and won''t involve others."


    Mia nodded understandingly and asked, "So what''s your n?"


    Alex took outbat supplies from his backpack.


    Molotov cocktails, iron traps, plenty of crossbow arrows, daggers, P92 pistols...


    After organizing them, Alex said, "I n to set up various traps inside thepound. When theye, they''ll be caught off guard!"


    "Hehe, daring to covet us, they must be tired of living."


    Seeing Alex in full control, Mia couldn''t help but smile.


    "So, is there anything I can help with?" Mia asked.


    Alex handed her a few traps and instructed, "Since Dr.Mia volunteered, you can take these traps and ce them in the corners of the wall, covering them with something. This will be our appetizer for them."


    Mia took them obediently and said, "Okay, I''ll go set them up now."


    After speaking, she walked into the courtyard of the vi and carefully arranged the traps in the corners of the wall.


    Meanwhile,


    Ava had already returned to her shelter, handed over the supplies, and informed Ethan of the information she gathered.


    Ethan sat on the sofa in the living room of the vi, his chin resting on his hand, his eyes gleaming with excitement.


    He hadn''t expected that this "10086" had so many supplies.


    It seemed that his foundation was quite solid, and he had no survival worries after participating in the auction.


    Ethan could no longer contain his restless heart and wanted to raid tonight, seizing all of Alex''s supplies, including the gold-tier barricade.


    As if on the same wavelength, one of his men beside him spoke up, "Boss, there''s no need to hesitate!"


    "You also heard the intelligence Ava just reported. The supplies from this 10086 wouldst our team for a long time! And if we wait a few more days, who knows when another group mighte to our vi area."


    Other teammates echoed in agreement.


    "Yeah, Boss. This 10086 even gave us one hundred portions of supplies for free, and he must have at least a few hundred more on him!"


    Ava chimed in, "Ethan, time is of the essence. Let''s strike tonight while they let their guard down. We''ll catch them off guard!"


    Ethan mmed a crossbow bolt onto the table and said fiercely, "Let''s do it! Tonight, we''ll go straight to 10086''sir!"


    The crowd began to cheer.


    "Boss is mighty!!"


    Ethan also began to imagine the fruits of victory tonight,ughing heartily.


    ...


    Alex wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked at the traps set up inside and outside the vi courtyard. With his hands on his hips, he sneered, "This time, let''s just wait here patiently."


    In the apocalypse, human nature was the most terrifying.


    It wasn''t that Alex was cruel, but in this apocalyptic world, having such a huge threat around made it difficult to sleep peacefully.


    In certain desperate moments, that group of people could easily be a dagger aimed at him.


    So, when Alex sensed their treacherous intentions, he had to strike first and eliminate thempletely!