Chapter 140 – The Settlement

Chapter 140 – The Settlement

Perhaps this could truly be considered a form of divine favor towards humanity. Otherwise, given the strength of the mutated beasts in this wilderness area, humans would have no chance of survival.

“Who are you?” Cheng Yang and his two companions had just finished slaying a group of mutated beasts. Following Cheng Yang’s instructions, Liu Xiyue rode off on her white tiger to scout the left side, while Cheng Yang and Niu Bing continued forward.

They hadn’t walked more than a hundred meters when several figures emerged from behind a broken wall to their right.

These people were dressed in tattered clothes, their faces dirty and hair unkempt, looking even more wretched than war refugees. Their eyes held a deep wariness.

Cheng Yang’s heart leapt with joy. He hadn’t expected to encounter survivors so quickly, saving them the trouble of searching. Most importantly, among this group was someone he recognized from his past life – a man who had been somewhat famous in the area around Xiangcheng City. Though in that previous life, the man hadn’t known Cheng Yang.

“We’re just passing through,” Cheng Yang said, trying to keep his tone friendly. After more than twenty days living in this apocalyptic atmosphere, people’s nerves were stretched thin. He didn’t want any unnecessary conflicts. “Are you survivors from Yicheng?”

A burly man in his forties eyed them suspiciously. “If by survivors you mean humans who’ve managed to stay alive, then yes, we are. With monsters everywhere, where did you come from? You’re not from the settlement, are you?”

“Settlement?” Cheng Yang couldn’t recall when he’d last heard that term. In his past life, he’d only occasionally heard about it from survivors who came to the main city from smaller towns. These so-called settlements were just temporary gathering places for those who couldn’t undergo the class change. Once those survivors reached the main city, the settlements became history.

Now, there were only about ten days left before these survivors would be transported to the main city. When the first month of the apocalypse arrived, the divine rules would teleport all those who hadn’t undergone the class change to the main city. This could be considered the gods’ second screening – the first being the earthquake, and the second being survival for thirty days in this apocalyptic world.

Hearing Cheng Yang’s confusion, the burly man explained, “You don’t know about the settlements? In the cities, there are a few places where those monsters rarely appear, so most humans gather there.”

“Do you live in a settlement too?” Cheng Yang asked immediately.

The burly man shook his head angrily. “The nearest settlement to here has been taken over by some scum. They force others to search for food while they reap the benefits. We didn’t want to be exploited, so we found another place to hide. As long as we’re careful when searching for food, it’s not too dangerous.”

Cheng Yang could tell this man was honest. Otherwise, his persistent questioning would have aroused suspicion long ago.

“How many people are in this settlement?” Cheng Yang asked.

Just as the burly man was about to answer, someone beside him pulled at his sleeve, giving him a meaningful look.

“Why are you asking this? Who are you really?” The burly man seemed to suddenly realize something.

Cheng Yang inwardly sighed. This guy was really slow on the uptake.

Niu Bing spoke up, “Didn’t you say the settlement was taken over by scum? What’s the harm in telling us what you know?”

The burly man shook his head, “No, even though we hate those managers, they haven’t made it impossible for other survivors to live. But if you have bad intentions, telling you about the settlement might endanger those innocent survivors.”

At that moment, Liu Xiyue came galloping back on her white tiger, arriving before the group in an instant.

“Monster!” One of the men saw the tiger first and nearly jumped out of his skin, his face turning pale and his legs trembling.

The others soon noticed the massive beast as well, but before they could flee, the tiger was already upon them. Even the burly man’s legs turned to jelly. Running was out of the question – they could barely stand.

A tiger of that size was undeniably terrifying.

“Don’t be afraid, it’s my pet,” Cheng Yang reassured them.

After the initial shock wore off, they noticed the tiger showed no signs of aggression. Moreover, a stunningly beautiful girl sat astride it, lending credence to Cheng Yang’s claim that it was a trained pet.

“It… it really doesn’t eat people?” The burly man stood up shakily, still eyeing the massive tiger warily.

Cheng Yang nodded seriously, “It won’t attack without my command. Isn’t that right, Little White?”

The tiger immediately nodded, fearing any delay might lead to punishment.

“Just who are you people?” The burly man’s fear of the tiger gradually subsided, but his wariness of Cheng Yang increased. Cheng Yang’s words made it clear that if he ordered the tiger to attack, it wouldn’t hesitate.

Cheng Yang said, “I’m sure you’ve heard the three announcements from the sky since the apocalypse began?”

The group nodded, their expressions showing they’d been puzzled by those events.

“We came from Xiangcheng City,” Cheng Yang explained. “This disaster has swept the entire world, turning it into a game-like reality. People can change their classes at profession statues, which only appear in certain cities. Xiangcheng happens to have one such statue.”

“Are you saying… you’re class-changed individuals?” A man in his thirties asked incredulously.

Cheng Yang nodded, “We are, though we didn’t change our classes in Xiangcheng.” He then briefly explained about the wilderness strongholds, seeing no need to hide this information since he planned to bring these people back to the He Mountain Village stronghold.

The group listened with growing excitement. One of them exclaimed, “So we can become like those superheroes on TV?”

Cheng Yang smiled, “As long as you level up, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

The man clenched his fists, “Good! Once I become a class-changed individual, I’ll wipe out all the mutated beasts in the world!”

Ignoring the daydreamer, Cheng Yang turned to the burly man, “So, can you tell us about the settlement now?”

Instead of answering directly, the man asked, “Can you take us to Xiangcheng’s main city or your territory?”

Cheng Yang smiled, “You don’t need to go to Xiangcheng. As for my territory, I just recently occupied a territory altar not far from Yicheng’s outskirts. You can change your classes there. We can also bring people from the settlement, though the scum you mentioned are excluded.”

“We need to discuss this,” the group said, moving aside to whisper among themselves.

Cheng Yang, standing about seven or eight meters away, nearly laughed out loud. Though they spoke softly, his enhanced hearing caught every word.

From their conversation, Cheng Yang learned they were indeed concerned about endangering the settlement, but there was another reason – they weren’t the only ones who had left the settlement. About a hundred others were hiding in a nearby basement. They hadn’t revealed this earlier because they weren’t sure of Cheng Yang’s intentions.

After some discussion, they decided to first verify the existence of the territory altar and profession statue Cheng Yang mentioned. If such a place truly existed, they would tell Cheng Yang about the settlement and bring their group to the stronghold. Understandably, they still harbored some distrust, especially towards the intimidating white tiger.

Cheng Yang, however, had little patience for their cautious approach. The only reason he’d explained so much was partly because it didn’t take much time, and partly because he saw potential in the burly man. Otherwise, he would have simply told them to take it or leave it.

So when they turned back to voice their decision, Cheng Yang cut them off, “I heard your discussion earlier. I won’t explain further. Go bring your people and come with us to the stronghold. Currently, the stronghold is only level one and can only accommodate eighty class changes. That’s the limit of how many we can save right now. If you’re not willing, I’ll find others in Yicheng who are.”

The group panicked, not questioning how Cheng Yang had overheard them. The burly man immediately said, “Sir, I’ll go bring them out right now, and we’ll all go to the territory altar.”

Without waiting for Cheng Yang’s response, he pulled the others away. Though some seemed to want to say more, a look from the burly man silenced them.

Liu Xiyue, who hadn’t had a chance to speak, finally asked, “Lord, what’s going on with those people?”

Cheng Yang explained the situation.

Liu Xiyue frowned, “Lord, why did you let them all go? What if they don’t come back?”

Cheng Yang smiled confidently, “Don’t worry. They’ll be back.”

(To be continued…)