Chapter 22 – Consolidation (Bonus Chapter Seeking Favorites)

Liu Hao and the others felt much more at ease after hearing Cheng Yang’s words. They weren’t worried that Cheng Yang would use this as leverage against them.

Cheng Yang continued, “What Old Yu said earlier aligns with my thoughts. In the teams you form, you must gather a group of trusted followers. This is essential for our survival in this apocalyptic world. However, in the short term, most people still hold onto hope for military rescue, believing the army can eliminate all the demonic creatures and restore peace. This mindset will make your recruitment efforts more challenging. We can’t rush this; it must be done step by step. For true confidants, we don’t need quantity, but absolute trustworthiness.”

Yu Kai responded, “Don’t worry, we understand the importance. Honestly, if we didn’t know you wouldn’t deceive us, we might not believe that the old society is gone forever. For those who aren’t fully committed to our cause, we’ll treat them as ordinary members, not confidants.”

Cheng Yang nodded, “That puts my mind at ease. Additionally, as future team leaders, you’ll need both intelligence and strength – with strength being more crucial. You already possess the talent to become powerful; what’s left is diligent cultivation. Try to earn as much spiritual energy as possible daily for double-speed cultivation. This is the only way to widen the gap. Once you accumulate over 1,000 points of spiritual energy, you can unlock quadruple cultivation speed. So, our top priority now is earning spiritual energy.”

This statement made Yu Kai and the others exchange puzzled looks. After a long pause, Yu Kai said with a bitter smile, “Cheng Yang, spiritual energy is too hard to obtain. We only get one point for killing a monster, and that has to be divided among several people. I stayed at the base all day today, and even after killing all the respawned monsters nearby, I only got about fifty points – and that’s with the advantage of ranged attacks. While this might cover daily double cultivation, how long will it take to accumulate 1,000 points?”

Cheng Yang smiled calmly, “No need to rush. Think about it – almost no one else has been able to change classes yet, while we’ve already started cultivating. If we use this advantage well, it can be infinitely magnified.”

Liu Hao and the others immediately nodded in agreement. If others hadn’t yet changed classes, their advantage was indeed significant.

After another half-hour of detailed discussion about specific arrangements, Cheng Yang and his group finally left the house.

For modern people, nighttime was usually leisure time, but now no one was in the mood for entertainment. The pressure of survival weighed heavily on everyone’s hearts.

Nearly everyone had gathered around a massive bonfire at the southern end of Luofeng Village. The flames cast a red glow on the surrounding area, illuminating faces filled with fear and unease.

Cheng Yang understood their feelings. Hadn’t he felt the same during those long three days in Xiangcheng City? But these people were luckier than he had been – at least they didn’t have to worry about demonic beast attacks here.

Cheng Yang walked straight to the bonfire and raised his hands, signaling for silence. “Everyone, you must have many questions in your hearts, right?”

“Yes…”

“What’s happening to the world?”

“How did you get those powers?”

A cacophony of voices erupted from the crowd. Cheng Yang didn’t answer each question individually, instead saying, “I can’t answer many of your questions because I’m just as confused. But I want to ask you one thing: do you want to survive in this world?”

“Yes!” No one hesitated. Even ants cling to life, let alone humans.

Cheng Yang continued, “Good. If you want to survive, then follow my arrangements. You’ve all eaten the roasted meat, right? That meat didn’t appear out of thin air – my companions risked their lives to kill those monsters. They’re not obligated to keep providing for you, and I won’t support a group of useless people. To survive, you must fight and struggle. Do you understand?”

“But can we gain the same abilities you’ve shown? If we can, we’re willing to fight alongside you. If not, fighting those monsters would be suicide,” a voice called out from the crowd.

Cheng Yang looked over and recognized the speaker as Hu Yang, whom he’d interacted with earlier that day. Frowning slightly but showing no outward reaction, Cheng Yang replied directly, “Of course you can. But this base belongs to me, and I need people who will follow my commands, not oppose me. Those willing to stand with me will have the chance to become strong.”

“Why should this place belong to you? Everything should belong to the nation. This base must be under national control,” a discordant voice emerged from the crowd, its provocative tone immediately sparking murmurs among the people. Though Cheng Yang couldn’t see the speaker, he recognized the voice but chose not to expose the person.

Cheng Yang said, “Alright, I admit you have a point. But who here can represent the nation? We’re all part of this country. If someone who can truly represent the nation appears in the future, I won’t hesitate to hand over this base. But for now, since I’ve occupied this base, I’m its master. Therefore, you must follow my arrangements.”

*Represent the nation?* Cheng Yang sneered inwardly. In this world now, who could represent the nation? To survive, everyone had become selfish – a truth that the apocalypse had laid bare.

After speaking, Cheng Yang raised his withered wooden staff. A magic missile instantly formed and shot into the dark night sky.

The murmuring crowd fell silent. They seemed to realize that Cheng Yang wasn’t just an ordinary student but someone with combat abilities beyond human limits. Moreover, he had saved their lives – did they really have any room to bargain?

Seeing this, Cheng Yang smiled with satisfaction. He didn’t expect these people to willingly follow his commands immediately. In the early stages of the apocalypse, he had to use forceful methods to make them obey. When they truly understood the cruelty of this new world, they would make the right choice. And Cheng Yang believed that time wasn’t far off.

“Now it’s time to make your choice. Those willing to follow my commands, please move to the village altar. I’ll select fifty people from among you who will gain the ability to fight monsters. The rest will still have the right to stay in Luofeng Village, and you’ll be prioritized when more class-change opportunities become available,” Cheng Yang announced loudly.

As soon as Cheng Yang finished speaking, most of the crowd surged toward the altar. The few who hesitated briefly soon followed. In moments, not a single person remained by the bonfire.

Li Wanshan and others watching from the outskirts felt profoundly grateful. Their early encounter with Cheng Yang had allowed them to change classes first. Without that, they might be scrambling for class-change opportunities like these people or hiding in some dark cave.

This realization gave them a sense of superiority, making them feel like true members of Luofeng Village. Though many might not realize it yet, as their identification with the village grew stronger, they would gradually become its backbone.

Within seconds, everyone had gathered around the altar where Liu Hao and two others were already waiting.

Cheng Yang quickly approached and stood before the altar, scanning the crowd. Spotting Li Wanshan at the edge, he called out, “Old Li, come here.”

Li Wanshan was momentarily surprised but didn’t question the order, simply moving to stand beside Cheng Yang with Liu Hao and the others.

Cheng Yang then said, “Old Li, you and Old Yu will each select ten people who will become your subordinates. The 25 people who’ve already changed classes will be evenly distributed among the teams. They have some combat experience and can help train the newcomers.”

Li Wanshan’s heart stirred. Cheng Yang’s meaning was clear – he was now part of the management team. If Luofeng Village prospered, his status would rise accordingly.

Li Wanshan had no intention of refusing. Aside from the personal benefits, being part of Cheng Yang’s management team would greatly aid his efforts to rescue his family and give him more influence in decision-making.

The selection process began, with Cheng Yang having first pick. However, this privilege wasn’t particularly significant since all the rescued survivors were between 15 and 45 years old – the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled had largely been eliminated during the day’s disasters, a stark reminder of the apocalypse’s cruelty. As for the survivors’ talents, those would only become apparent after they changed classes.

Cheng Yang’s selections were predominantly male, with only two women chosen – both around thirty years old. Cheng Yang knew that while combat ability wasn’t gender-dependent, in such disasters, most men could adjust their mentality faster and adapt to the environment more quickly than women.

After Cheng Yang, Yu Kai and Liu Hao made their selections. When Li Wanshan chose his final subordinate, the remaining people let out a collective sigh. Though they didn’t yet understand how Cheng Yang would empower the chosen ones to fight demonic beasts, they knew they’d missed an important opportunity.