《My Apocalypse Domain》 Chapter 1 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales In the gloom, Tang Yu slowly opened his eyes, his body aching all over. He propped himself up, dust and small rock fragments rustling off his body. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ still alive?¡± He recalled the demonized beasts breaking through the shelter¡¯s defensive line, countless survivors screaming as they died and the world turned blood-red. This was the apocalypse! And it had come one month ago. He had been about to graduate and had even found a job. He had just been waiting for an official offer when calamity struck. Red mist had flowed over the world, and giant cracks had appeared in the earth. The creatures dubbed ¡®demonized beasts¡¯ crawled out of the cracks and began to slaughter humanity. These were abyssal fissures, symbols that the apocalypse had come! On that day, Tang Yu happened to be in school. With his own eyes, he had seen the earth open up and swallow an entire building. The surrounding teachers and students had all been scared out of their wits, and they went down screaming as the demonized beasts tore them to pieces. He had been farther from the abyssal fissure, so he had avoided the demonized beasts¡¯ first massacre. He had been blessed with incredible luck and ran into a group of survivors while fleeing, and after wandering about, he finally arrived at this place, a small shelter. The demonized beasts were endless in number, and not even the army at its full strength was any match. Humanity was pushed back again and again, only barely managing to hold on to some important locations. And shelters were humanity¡¯s last life of defense. This small shelter had been built on top of a vacation villa and had contained several thousand survivors. It was the safest area within the surrounding five to ten kilometers. Though it wasn¡¯t as safe as the large shelters that were protected by the military, this sort of shelter had guns and ammo and strong humans. It had also been set up far away from an abyssal fissure region, and the occasional demonized beast that attacked the shelter would be quickly taken care of. At least, that was what he had thought. Now that he knew that the shelter had been overrun by a flood of demons, he realized that in this apocalypse, this sort of shelter was so¡­ fragile. Tang Yu looked at his surroundings. The collapsed walls on his sides had formed a triangle that had saved him rather than burying him. Reaching out his hand, he saw that it was covered in blood. This wasn¡¯t his blood, but the blood of some poor fellow whose head had been rammed through by a metal pipe, their blood drenching the ground. This was not the only one. Through a crack, Tang Yu could see that the ground outside was littered with corpses, and compared to this poor fellow who had been pierced through by a metal pipe, those people had died even more painful and miserable deaths. Tang Yu was filled with sorrow. He had managed to survive, but there seemed to be little point. He was just an ordinary person without a weapon, not even an Awakened. Even an encounter with the weakest demonized beast would be enough to end his life. ¡°If only I was an Awakened¡­¡± People with good aptitude would naturally awaken, and those with slightly less aptitude would awaken upon encountering some adversity and pressure. These would become the Awakened¡ªthose who had the ability to keep themselves alive in the apocalypse. There were also people with barely passable aptitude who could not awaken on their own. But that was fine, as the shelter had special equipment that could assist in awakening. However, Tang Yu was in a very awkward situation, as he had the worst aptitude and didn¡¯t have the qualities to awaken. People like him were not in the minority. Any encounter with danger was essentially the death penalty for them. ¡°So, I can only stick around and wait for my death?¡± Tang Yu muttered to himself. Though he was somewhat reluctant, he had seemingly accepted his fate. Suddenly, he shivered. ¡°Ding dong! The Apocalypse Overlord System has been activated. Overlord, please erect your Overlord Castle and establish the boundaries of your domain as quickly as possible.¡± What was this?! He had heard something just now. Had he been discovered by a demonized beast, or was he just hallucinating? ¡°Ding dong! Overlord, please quickly erect your Overlord Castle¡­¡± The voice was coming from his mind. This time, Tang Yu was certain that this mysterious voice really existed. It was a very robotic voice, constantly repeating itself in his mind. He soon realized that he could block the voice and also ask the voice questions. Though the information he could obtain was very limited, at least he knew what this thing was. A system! Tang Yu pondered the name ¡®Apocalypse Overlord¡¯. This was a game he had played before the apocalypse to while away the time. He was excited now, as systems were not anything he was entirely unfamiliar with. One could even call him an old hand when it came to such things. He could immediately recall the titles of several hundred novels that had a system. He instantly thought about the plot of these novels, thought about philosophy, and then thought about this game. Apocalypse Overlord was a third-rate strategy game. It had a western fantasy apocalyptic setting where the world had been destroyed and humanity was on the verge of extinction. The castle built by the player would be the last ember for humanity. The player needed to¡­ Tang Yu shook his head. His life was in mortal danger, but he still had the time to think about a game¡¯s plot! ¡°System, since you¡¯re a system, you should be able to awaken me, right?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Give me a few bodyguards, or summon some subordinates?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°¡­ ¡°Then at least you should give me a solution to my current danger!¡± ¡°Ding¡­ Ding dong. When the construction of the Overlord Castle is completed, two bonus automaton guards will be provided to resolve any dangers facing the Overlord.¡± ¡°Then I guess I¡¯ve got no choice. Immediately start constructing the castle!¡± ¡°Ding dong! Construction of the Overlord Castle requires the Overlord to choose a location and pay one hundred units of Origin Crystal. No Origin Crystals have been found on the Overlord, so construction of the Overlord Castle cannot proceed.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He wanted to say something, but he didn¡¯t know if it was allowed! Other people got systems that offered new player gifts, but this awful system didn¡¯t give him anything. He even had to set up his own base, and it wasn¡¯t even free! After playing so many years of strategy games, he had never run into one like this! He was in a pretty pickle now. Where was he going to find one hundred units of Origin Crystal? Origin Crystals were extremely valuable strategic assets. They had a very small chance of forming in the bodies of demonized beasts, and there were also apparently Origin Crystal veins out in the wilderness. None of these were easy to find, and only elite fighters and Awakened could possibly have any. Tang Yu was just a low-class survivor, so let alone own an Origin Crystal, he had never even seen one. In normal circumstances, he would never be able to get one. But now¡­ Tang Yu thought it over and realized that there was a faint sliver of hope¡­ the shelter had fallen, so the area where the Awakened used to live would probably have some Origin Crystals. He didn¡¯t know if his conjecture was right, nor did he know if there would be one hundred units of Origin Crystal left. But he had to take the chance! He took in a deep breath and organized his thoughts. ¡°The Awakened and the upper echelons of the shelter lived in the villa area halfway up the mountain, which is the middle zone of the shelter. When I was fleeing from the attack, I wanted to hide there. Right now, I¡¯m near the central region of the shelter, which isn¡¯t far from the villa area. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage.¡± Tang Yu bitterly chuckled. His body was extremely weak, and he had no weapon on him. These were the worst starting conditions. All he could rely on was that useless system. He slapped his cheeks, his eyes growing determined. The area he had been buried in was not completely sealed off. After searching around and observing the environment outside, he finally found a large gap that he could use to get out. In front of him was a clearing where many tents and simple huts had been built. Of course, it was now a scene of total chaos that was littered with the remnants of corpses. A thick scent of blood assailed his nose. The bodies of demonized beasts were few and far between. Tang Yu knew that the shelter had barely been able to fight back against the demon horde before it had fallen. Holding his breath, he cautiously advanced. After moving forward a little, he would always inspect the area several times. A blazing sun hung high above, and sweat rolled down the tip of his nose and onto the ground, where it quickly evaporated. Tang Yu tried to silence his breathing, and fortunately, the demonized beasts were much fewer than he had imagined. He had seen only one or two demonized beasts, and they had their heads lowered as they ate. Working his way around the ruins and hiding in the bushes, Tang Yu did his utmost to avoid demonized beasts. Moreover, the shelter had just been through a massacre, so the thick scent of blood concealed his scent, depriving the demonized beasts of their greatest pursuit tool. Slowly and surely, he neared the villa area. ¡­ Around the villa area, the situation was even worse, and destroyed buildings could be seen wherever he looked. The black scorch marks from explosions, emptied ammo magazines, and shattered walls all proved that a fierce battle had taken place. Tang Yu saw many corpses, both of human Awakened and of demonized beasts, mixed together in a hellish scene. He cautiously walked over and began to search the corpses. A pungent scent assailed his nose and his hands were drenched in blood, but Tang Yu didn¡¯t care. One Type 54 Pistol. And two ammo magazines. Together with the dagger he had found making his way here, these constituted the usable weapons he had been able to find. He also knew that these weapons wouldn¡¯t be very effective against demonized beasts, but the cold sensation of the pistol still made Tang Yu feel safer. From a distance, he could see a few other guns in good condition, but they were in a rather open area, so getting them would be more dangerous. Prioritizing caution and the Origin Crystals, Tang Yu didn¡¯t want to take too many risks. Chapter 2 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales ¡°So this is an Origin Crystal.¡± In his hand was a small, glossy, white crystal, seeming like the most beautiful jewel in the world. Before the apocalypse, a crystal like this would have been enough for him to bid farewell to his single life! This was Tang Yu¡¯s first time seeing one, but he was certain that it was an Origin Crystal and not a diamond. As he clenched it tightly, he could feel it radiating warmth. An astonishing energy was contained within it. The system had inspected the Origin Crystal and determined that it contained about one unit of energy. This hadn¡¯t been found on the body of an Awakened, as either the Awakened were poorer than Tang Yu had expected or they didn¡¯t carry these things on them. He had searched the bodies of several Awakened and had found nothing of the sort on them. He had dug the Origin Crystal out of the body of a demonized beast. He had cut open the heads of numerous demonized beast corpses, but he had only found this one crystal. He had, however, become much more skilled in dissection. Tang Yu began to worry that he would be unable to gather one hundred units of Origin Crystal. What if these Awakened really were this poor, or what if they had run away with all the Origin Crystals? He would be doomed! Time continued to drain away. He managed to find some food that he used to fill his stomach before continuing his search. The situation in the villa area was somewhat better. After searching the majority of the area, Tang Yu managed to gather together ten-some Origin Crystals. ¡°How unfortunate¡­ these Origin Crystals are far from enough. I hope that I can find enough Origin Crystals in this last villa.¡± This was a stand-alone villa, larger and more luxurious, and it was the last villa that he could search in the eastern part of the villa area. The villa area was divided into an eastern and western part, and while the westen part was larger, there was some distance between the two parts. If he couldn¡¯t get enough Origin Crystals in the eastern part, he would have to head to the western part, putting himself at much more risk. Tang Yu cautiously walked into the villa¡¯s garden, and suddenly¡ª ¡°Beepbeep! An energy reaction exceeding one hundred units of Origin Crystal has been detected one hundred meters ahead. Please gather it as quickly as possible¡­ Beepbeep! An energy reaction¡­¡± The system¡¯s voice resounded in his mind, causing Tang Yu to almost yelp in surprise¡­ This awful system that didn¡¯t even have an intelligence had actually reacted, and the contents of the message caused his face to glow in joy. ¡°Heaven hasn¡¯t abandoned me!¡± While this villa was large, its level of destruction was also more severe. Craters left by explosions marked the ground, and the plants in the garden had been scorched by flames and turned into ash. Tang Yu walked into the villa through a damaged wall and was greeted with a scene of devastation. In a bedroom, partially concealed by a door, he could see something glimmering within a damaged safe. ¡°Found it!¡± He quickly stepped into the bedroom, but right after stepping in, he froze. His pupils constricted! Inside the bedroom, next to the damaged safe, was a boar-sized demonized beast covered in brown and spiky fur. It had its back to Tang Yu and seemed to be feeding on something. Crack! Crack! All sounds seemed particularly loud in this environment. Tang Yu held his breath and didn¡¯t dare to make a sound. He had instantly recognized this strange creature as a demonized beast! Unlike humans, when animals were affected by the red mist, they became demonized, transforming into a new species. This was a demonized beast that had evolved from an ordinary rat, a Steel Rat! This was one of the lowest class of demonized beasts, but to Tang Yu, it was a lethal threat! He instinctively wanted to retreat, but the Steel Rat had already discovered him. Squeaking, it charged at Tang Yu as a round ball of flesh. The brown ball moved with incredible speed, the spiky fur coldly glinting. After a brief moment of hesitation, Tang Yu understood that there was no escaping! His only hope of survival was killing the Steel Rat and taking the Origin Crystals! This sudden realization actually caused Tang Yu to calm down. He stared at the approaching Steel Rat, his eyes narrowing as it became the only thing that existed to him. Thirty paces, twenty paces, ten paces¡­ Tang Yu held the pistol with both hands, the barrel aimed at the Steel Rat! Bangbangbangbangbangbangbang! Fire spat out of the Type 54 Pistol as the bullets packed with kinetic energy slammed into the Steel Rat. Tang Yu had never practiced shooting, but perhaps because it was too close and he was sufficiently focused, five of his bullets managed to hit. The Steel Rat¡¯s hide was damaged in several places, black-green blood flowing out of the wounds. It had been heavily injured already, and it now squealed in pain. But demonized beasts were very tenacious creatures, and a savage light still gleamed in the Steel Rat¡¯s eyes. It continued to heedlessly charge at Tang Yu! Tang Yu¡¯s vicious streak emerged, and he threw down the emptied pistol, took out his dagger, and fiercely stabbed, his eyes flying open. With one stab after another, blood splattered, painting his chest and arms dark green. But Tang Yu couldn¡¯t feel any of it. His mind was focused solely on stabbing again and again. When he finally came to his senses, he had stabbed with the dagger countless times, and the Steel Rat had collapsed in a pool of blood. Huff! Haa! Tang Yu panted for breath, his arms aching and his clothes in tatters. The steely spikes had left wounds all across his arms, and slightly moving them made him clench his teeth in pain. Before he had time to relax, he suddenly paled. The roar of a demonized beast came from outside. Tang Yu knew that the gunfire just now had drawn over even more demonized beasts. A human-shaped, two-meter-tall demonized beast with gray-black skin and sharp claws on its hands appeared in front of Tang Yu. Right behind it was a massive, fiery red scorpion. There was also a large, black snake that was spewing out some green gas from its body. Tang Yu¡¯s face turned extremely grave. Any one of these three demonized beasts was far above the Steel Rat. He was definitely no match! Tang Yu turned and ran, pushing through the pain and pressing his hand against the Origin Crystal. ¡°Beepbeep! One hundred and twenty-five units of Origin Crystal have been identified. The Overlord now has one hundred and forty-one units of Origin Crystal. Would you like to erect your Overlord Castle?¡± ¡°Erect it! Hurry!¡± The Origin Crystals vanished in points of light, like the dazzling lights of fireflies. Tang Yu felt a hint of heartache. That had been perhaps the most ¡®money¡¯ Tang Yu had ever possessed in his entire life. In a dazzling flash of light, a gust of wind swept past, and his location underwent a momentous transformation. The devastated villa interior disappeared, replaced by a classically decorated room. A red carpet covered the floor and gorgeous lamps hung from the ceiling. On the walls, what wasn¡¯t covered by exquisite murals was studded with large crystals. The tables and the chairs in the room all exuded a wooden fragrance, made of some unknown wood. There was also a wide and soft sofa made of real leather that was perfectly capable of serving as a bed. Several life-like statues stood around the room. A crystal the size of a basketball floated in the center. Tang Yu was struck dumb. Did it have to be this luxurious? It was the end of days, so how could he allow such an extravagant life to wear away at his determination? This was simply¡­ too embarrassing! Although this main hall was truly extravagant, he knew that his first priority was still the threat of the three demonized beasts outside. Tang Yu turned his attention behind him. Where the main door of the villa had been was a large gate that was three meters high and four meters wide. The gate was open, and two automaton guards, wearing blue and white armor with visored helmets, and holding spears, stood guard on the sides. Tang Yu immediately understood that these were the automaton guards the system had spoken of that had come with the construction of the fortress. Beyond the gate, the outside world was still devastated, forming a stark contrast with the luxurious hall. Tang Yu was still rather nervous. These three demonized beasts seemed like they shouldn¡¯t be carelessly provoked, and he didn¡¯t know how strong those two automaton guards were. Could they handle those three demonized beasts? The automaton guards didn¡¯t say a word. One of them took a few steps back to guard the gate. The other automaton guard took on a fighting posture, and when the fastest of the demonized beasts, the red scorpion, got close, it suddenly moved! The automaton shot forward, almost instantly appearing in front of the giant scorpion. The air exploded as the spear pierced through all resistance. Before the fiery red scorpion even had time to react, its shell had been pierced through entirely. From bottom to top, the spear had penetrated right through its shell! The first demonized creature was dead! But it still wasn¡¯t over! After taking care of the giant scorpion, the automaton guard went on the offensive, moving with agility surpassing any demonized beast Tang Yu had seen. It transformed into a blue streak of light, arriving in front of the other two demonized beasts with a few hops. The spear shot forward like a bolt of lightning! The automaton guard¡¯s fighting style was simple and crude, simple swings and thrusts seeming utterly horrifying when matched with its incredible speed and strength. In the blink of an eye, the human-shaped demonized beast¡¯s head had been turned into pulp and the black snake had been run through! Only a few seconds had passed, and these two demonized beasts were still charging forward. Upon death, their bodies rolled forward from their inertia, their variously colored blood leaving long streaks on the ground. The howling gales stirred up by the thrusts of the spear were still ringing in his ear. Tang Yu was dumbfounded. Weren¡¯t these three demonized beasts too weak? But he knew that it wasn¡¯t that the demonized beasts were weak. The automaton guard was truly powerful, much stronger than any Awakened he had seen before. Full points to this automaton guard! Tang Yu felt that his one hundred units of Origin Crystal had been totally worth it. Could he get a few more?! The three bodies of the demonized beasts lay outside the gate of the castle. An invisible ripple came from their bodies. A small part of it dispersed in the air, but the majority drifted in Tang Yu¡¯s direction. Tang Yu¡¯s eyes widened, a hint of excitement on his face. Chapter 3 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales Tang Yu could clearly sense an energy flowing into his body like a bubbling spring. This was the Soul Energy given off by demonized beasts after they died! Absorbing and refining this Soul Energy could make one stronger. But only Awakened could absorb Soul Energy! This was how Awakened continued their evolution and left ordinary people choking in their dust. However, Tang Yu was very clear on his own circumstances. His aptitude was too lacking. Let alone absorb Soul Energy, he couldn¡¯t even awaken when assisted by the awakening equipment. Yet, somehow, he could sense an energy flowing inside him and gathering in a certain part in his body. If this wasn¡¯t Soul Energy, what was it? Tang Yu decided to ask the system. ¡°Ding dong! The Overlord¡¯s aptitude truly is very low, at the E level. But now that the Overlord has been bound to the system, the Overlord can absorb and refine Soul Energy without awakening. ¡°Moreover, automatons are classified as workers of the domain and cannot absorb Soul Energy on their own. So long as the Overlord is in range of the dispersing Soul Energy, this Soul Energy will naturally be absorbed by the Overlord. ¡°In addition, the higher the domain¡¯s level, the faster the Overlord can absorb and refine Soul Energy.¡± Tang Yu had also heard that if Awakened killed demonized beasts from too far away, they wouldn¡¯t be able to absorb Soul Energy. Someone had once wanted to use an extremely powerful heat weapon to kill demonized beasts, but putting aside the high expense, it was basically impossible to gather any Soul Energy through this method. In the long term, many Awakened did not want to use such things unless it was absolutely necessary. Tang Yu sat cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes, his mind entering a trance. Suddenly, he seemed to be in a pitch-black room, solely illuminated by a dim ball of light in the center. This was the essence of Soul Energy! Tang Yu instantly understood that this ball of Soul Energy was made of countless particles of light and radiated a surging fundamental energy. This was his first time directly observing Soul Energy, and it was his first time attempting to refine it. Tang Yu was not at a loss for what to do. With an instinct that he had seemingly been born with, he began to control the ball of Soul Energy with his mind, spinning it and compressing it. Some of the light particles separated from the ball of light and flew into the edges of the pitch-black space, where they were slowly digested and fused with his limbs, torso, and organs. He immediately grew stronger and more energetic. Seizing this feeling, Tang Yu continued to refine the ball of Soul Energy. He grew more proficient as the process continued, and his refinement speed accelerated. The ball of Soul Energy gradually shrank, transforming into tiny particles of light that were absorbed by the cells of his body. After a long while, Tang Yu opened his eyes. He was brimming with energy, his eyes bright and active, and his body strong and vigorous. When he slightly clenched his fists, he could sense a surging energy traveling from his body to his palm. Even the wounds on his arms were slowly beginning to heal. Tang Yu was stunned. It was no wonder they said that refining Soul Energy for the first time had the best effects. These effects were truly a little too astounding. If he had to face that Steel Rat again, he was sure that he could easily defeat it. ¡­ Now that the danger had been resolved, Tang Yu finally had the time to look at his new Overlord Castle. From the outside, the Overlord Castle didn¡¯t seem very large, only a little larger than the villa it had replaced, essentially a miniature castle. The outside wall was silver and had a pointed, dark blue roof. All of it seemed like it was straight out of a fairytale. The inside was divided into two floors. The first floor was the main hall while the second floor was the Overlord¡¯s rest area, containing a bedroom, a study, and a bathroom. He couldn¡¯t tell the brand of the furniture, but he sensed that they were all of extremely high quality. Tang Yu soaked himself in the pool bath, which was even bigger than his old bedroom. The steam rising from the pool carried a fragrant aroma, and soaking in it was so comfortable that he almost wanted to sing. After the apocalypse, he had spent the vast majority of the time sleeping outdoors, occasionally sleeping inside a crude wooden hut or old tent. But now, he had reached the happiness that came after suffering. The one hundred Origin Crystals had been worth it! He also had two utterly devoted automatons and a floating crystal. Those one hundred Origin Crystals had been even more worth it! Tang Yu summoned the crystal, and the basketball-sized sphere floated in front of him. The crystal sphere seemed to be some sort of radar, able to monitor and keep watch on his domain. The domain was currently in its most basic state, and its boundaries weren¡¯t large, but it still managed to encompass the entire eastern villa area and more than half of the western villa area. Any strange activity in this region would be revealed on the crystal sphere. On the crystal sphere, Tang Yu saw several red dots. These were the demonized beasts still hiding out in the eastern villa area. He counted himself lucky that he had not been discovered by these demonized beasts on the way here. The slightest mistake back then would have resulted in his being torn to pieces. Of course, he wasn¡¯t restricted to the crystal sphere. Opening up the system screen, Tang Yu found a map of his territory which also had a few red dots. But the crystal sphere had more detailed information, even including the topography of his domain. Tang Yu immediately got up, grabbed his equipment, and set out with one of the automatons to clear out the surrounding demonized beasts. He had the second automaton remain to guard the castle. ¡°The last one. Number One, stay in reserve.¡± In front of him was a demonized Rotting Wolf, with green eyes and a decaying body. Putting aside its strength, its appearance alone was enough to strike fear into anyone¡¯s heart. But Tang Yu would not be afraid. All of the demonized beasts he had encountered, strong or weak, had not been able to take even one spear thrust from Number One, and he had cast aside his former fear of demonized beasts. After absorbing enough Soul Energy, Tang Yu only wanted to fight demonized beasts now! The Rotting Wolf made a flying leap, its mouth opening wide and letting out a foul breath. Tang Yu gripped his dagger and focused. When the Rotting Wolf was closest, he stomped to the right, and as they brushed past each other, he thrust the dagger into the Rotting Wolf. As he turned around, he swung. Swish! Swish! Swish! After several more swings, the injured Rotting Wolf finally died. He absorbed even more Soul Energy into his body. Huff! Haa! Tang Yu panted for breath. The battle had taken less than a minute, but it had taxed him both physically and mentally. Nevertheless, he felt very accomplished. Ordinary Awakened would receive a boost in strength at the moment of their awakening. He had not been through his process, but by absorbing and refining Soul Energy, his body got stronger and stronger. The fact that he had killed the Rotting Wolf with his dagger proved that he had reached the level of a standard Awakened. Perhaps he was even higher. Tang Yu looked at the bent blade of the dagger and slightly frowned. This dagger was rather small and wasn¡¯t very good for dealing with demonized beasts. With this dagger¡¯s sharpness, it might not even be enough to break the hide of a stronger demonized beast. He needed a better weapon. The sky was beginning to darken, and the roars of demonized beasts began to rise from the distant forests. Farther out was beyond the monitoring range of the crystal sphere, and Tang Yu had no plan to continue cleaning out the area. After working the entire day, he was extremely tired. If not for the fact that his body had gotten stronger, he would probably already be utterly exhausted atop his bed by now. With his spoils of war, Tang Yu returned to the main hall, where Number Two was still loyally standing guard by the gate. He had come away with many spoils, particularly as he had gone searching without fear this time. He had managed to find many items that the Awakened had hidden away. ¡­A Desert Eagle, for example. The Desert Eagle was a very famous pistol that boasted incredible firepower, but in truth, it wasn¡¯t practical to use. Firstly, it was too heavy, and secondly, the recoil was too strong. This was probably the personal treasure of some big boss from before the apocalypse. But now that he had the body of an Awakened, things were different. For him, the recoil of this Desert Eagle was barely anything, and its lethality made it perfect for dealing with demonized beasts. He had also found a great deal of food, particularly tobacco and wine, which were highly valued in the apocalypse. But even more food had been destroyed in the battle¡ªa sight which made Tang Yu¡¯s heart ache. He immediately grabbed some snacks and stuffed them into his mouth. In the apocalypse, unremarkable snacks had become things that only the higher-ups could enjoy. Tang Yu suddenly felt like thanking those demonized beasts. Without that demon horde, he would have never been able to get those one hundred units of Origin Crystal and build this Overlord Castle, and the items in the shelter would not be free for him to grab. ¡­ At night, the stars were bright. Tang Yu felt that the air quality was much improved after the apocalypse. At night, he could see many stars that were difficult to see in the past. He suddenly thought about his parents and wondered if they were doing well. At the start of the apocalypse, when cellphones could still just barely get a signal, Tang Yu had been able to call his distant parents on the phone. He had learned that they were in a somewhat safer location, in a place where the military had planned to establish a shelter. This thought made Tang Yu worry over whether the shelter had been smoothly constructed, over whether his parents were still doing well. He had originally been an ordinary survivor that was barely eking out an existence and had no chance of ever traveling across the dangerous wilderness. The most he could do was pray for their well-being. But things were different now. With the system, Tang Yu felt that there was a sliver of hope. It was still no good now, but he just needed to develop his territory and increase his strength. He was confident that a day would come when he could cross those thousands of kilometers and reach that distant city. And that day was not far off! Tang Yu lay down in his bed. On this night, he had a very peaceful sleep. With Number One and Number Two standing guard, he had no need to worry about waking to screams and wails, no need to be constantly tense and ready to flee at any moment. Chapter 4 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales The most defining attribute of the Apocalypse Overlord game was the many kinds of buildings one could build. Some of these buildings had no apparent use whatsoever. Even by the time of the apocalypse, Tang Yu had not yet constructed the entirety of the available buildings. Tang Yu opened the building menu. The types included core buildings, resource buildings, military buildings, defense buildings, and special buildings. These buildings all required Origin Crystals to construct, along with their corresponding resources, such as wood or stone. Now that he thought about it, he had gotten off rather easy with the building of the Overlord Castle. After all, he hadn¡¯t needed to produce a large pile of materials. If that had really been necessary, Tang Yu would probably be a cold corpse by now. The only building in his domain was the lone Overlord Castle. No other building had been constructed. Tang Yu opened up the core building menu. Core buildings were the most important buildings, and there was no way to have more than one of them. The buildings in other categories didn¡¯t have a limit, but this wasn¡¯t the case for core buildings. No matter how high the level of the domain was or how great its boundaries, there could only ever be one of each core building. There were four kinds of core buildings: the tavern, the market, the workshop, and the research lab. At the tavern, one was able to recruit followers. Construction Cost: 200 units of Origin Crystal, 100 units of Wood. At the market, one could buy resources, blueprints, and rare tools. Construction Cost: 300 units of Origin Crystal, 100 units of Wood. At the workshop, one could produce equipment and tools. Construction Cost: 500 units of Origin Crystal, 100 units of Wood, 100 units of Iron. And in the research lab, one could modify and even develop one¡¯s own blueprints. Construction Cost: 1000 units of Origin Crystal, 100 units of Wood, 100 units of Stone, 100 units of Iron. While the research lab was a core building, as a prerequisite, it required that the domain be at Level 2, which meant that the castle needed to be upgraded a level. Of course, when Tang Yu saw the price, he immediately lost his desire to construct anything. Although the other resource costs were rather cheap, he only had 100 units of Origin Crystal on hand, not even enough to build the cheapest building. This wasn¡¯t very friendly to him. Tang Yu felt a great sense of urgency. The shelter had just suffered from the attack of a demon horde, proving that though this place was located far away from an abyssal fissure, it still couldn¡¯t be considered safe. There was no telling when the next demon flood would come. Currently, he didn¡¯t even have a defense line. No matter how strong Number One and Number Two were, Tang Yu still felt in danger. Developing his domain was an urgent task! The sky was gloomy and overcast, as if it had been covered in a layer of silver-white gauze. Suddenly, a marble-white smear of light appeared on the horizon, illuminating half the sky. An orange-red glow spread across the world, and as he looked around, all he could see was devastation and ruin. ¡­This was just too terrible! As he walked out, Tang Yu didn¡¯t dare to call himself an Overlord. ¡°Let¡¯s set a minor objective first. I should at least develop my domain into a small town first.¡± After a night of good sleep, Tang Yu was at peak energy and strength. He went off with Number One to clear the area of demonized beasts. In the space of a single night, several more demonized beasts had appeared in his domain, all wandering over from the surrounding region. When waking up this morning, Tang Yu had even discovered the body of a demonized beast outside the gate. The demonized beasts in the domain were very easy to deal with. Regardless of size or how skilled they were in concealment, they couldn¡¯t hide from the system¡¯s map. Number One swiftly took care of them. Tang Yu had found a scenic tour map. This place had originally been a vacation villa, and even after it had been made into a shelter, it had kept its basic form. Tang Yu turned his gaze toward the central square of the scenic area. There was a hotel here, and before the apocalypse, it had been a rather good hotel. Before the apocalypse, this hotel had a freezer. When the shelter was built, the hotel became the food storage center for it. Even though Tang Yu had never gone into this hotel before, when he had just arrived at the shelter, he had heard many people talk about it. The greatest desire of those people, who also belonged to the lowest class of survivors, was to go in and see if the freezer was as the legends said, piled high with mountains of food. Tang Yu didn¡¯t believe it, but he was sure that the hotel had food! Tang Yu made this hotel one of his search areas so that he could stockpile more food. Even if there were no more survivors in the shelter to fight with him over it, he couldn¡¯t just leave it be. What if it were destroyed by demonized beasts? Much of the food he had found before this had been spoiled by the demonized beasts, the thought of which made Tang Yu¡¯s heart ache. ¡­ At this time, in the hotel¡¯s underground freezer¡­ Several survivors who had escaped the demon flood were here, their faces stricken with fear. The one standing at the front was holding a gun in each hand and firing away, but he had a bitter expression on his face. His target was a demonized beast, scarlet red all over, two meters long and standing on six feet. It had a corpse in its mouth that it was slowly gnawing away at. When the bullets struck the red demonized beast¡¯s fur, they actually bounced off, unable to wound the demonized beast in the slightest. In fact, the scarlet red demonized beast was still eating and completely ignoring this group of survivors. This sight pushed Chen Haiping to the edge of despair. The survivors behind him were shivering, their faces paling. Just now, one of them had broken under the pressure and made a break for it. This survivor had been bitten in half and was now being slowly gnawed on by that demonized beast, so the others didn¡¯t dare to move. Chen Haiping was in a somewhat better state. After all, he was an Awakened and had fought demonized beasts before. He was able to keep his cool, but no matter how much he thought, he couldn¡¯t see any way out of this situation. This scarlet demonized beast was simply too frightening. A pistol¡¯s bullets had relatively low killing power, yet he had never seen something like this, where the bullets simply bounced off. The demonized beast didn¡¯t move, and Chen Haiping did not dare to strike first. Whether it was the burst of speed the demonized beast had displayed when lunging at the survivor or the brute strength it had used to tear open the doors to the freezer, everything Chen Haiping had seen so far made him well aware that this demonized beast was far stronger than he was. Even the strongest Awakened of the shelter probably wasn¡¯t a match for this demonized beast. He didn¡¯t move, other than tossing away his emptied handguns for a military machete, its blade sharp and cold. Even though he knew that he was no match, Chen Haiping didn¡¯t want to just wait to die. Even if he died, he wanted to take a piece of his enemy with him! The scarlet demonized beast swallowed the meat in its mouth, and its eyes shone with a bloodthirsty light. Chen Haiping clenched his teeth and raised the machete. Suddenly, boom! A fierce vibration came from overhead, causing dust to shower down. Chen Haiping was shocked, but a moment later, he saw the scarlet demonized beast turn around and run out of the freezer in a red streak. ¡°It¡­ it left?¡± They didn¡¯t understand what was going on, but they all felt as if they had survived a disaster. Some of the survivors¡¯ legs wobbled, and they dropped to their knees. Chapter 5 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales As Tang Yu made his way down the path that ran along the middle of the mountain, he was extremely careful. He was beyond the area monitored by his territory, and from time to time, a demonized beast would lunge out¡­ and be smashed into meat paste by Number One. There was a large clearing in front of the hotel. Before this, a large number of temporary sheds had taken up more than half of the plaza, but now, these sheds had all collapsed. Number One killed demonized beasts that had been attracted by the noise, and Tang Yu followed and cut open their heads to see if there were any Origin Crystals. It wasn¡¯t long before he had several bright and shining Origin Crystals in hand. ¡°I feel like I get more Origin Crystals from killing monsters than from searching the rooms of the Awakened.¡± Tang Yu just didn¡¯t get it. How were these Awakened so poor? Searching the entire villa area had only been able to get him a hundred-some units of Origin Crystal. That was too sad. Once the surrounding demonized beasts had been cleared out, Tang Yu ordered Number One into the hotel, with Tang Yu right behind. Suddenly, a black silhouette descended from the ceiling, and before he could react, boom! There was an intense shudder. As the dust settled, he saw the pulverized body of a demonized beast. Tang Yu swallowed. It was hard to say if he was more frightened by the demonized beast or by Number One¡¯s explosive strength¡­ Number One, if you keep this up, what will you do if you bring the entire hotel down? Suddenly, Number One gripped its spear with both hands and pointed it into the distance, its tip angled slightly upward. Tang Yu instantly grew vigilant. This was Number One¡¯s vigilant stance. That it had entered this state meant that Number One was ready to unleash its full might. This was a sign that danger was approaching! After all, back when Number One had been facing those three seemingly formidable demonized beasts, it had not taken this stance and had clearly been holding back its full strength. As he looked in the direction that Number One was pointing, he soon saw a red silhouette expanding in his field of vision. ¡­ In the freezer, the survivors panted for breath as they blessed their good fortune. ¡°We¡¯re¡­ we¡¯re saved?¡± ¡°Wonderful!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get out of this place!¡± ¡°But could that demonized beast still be outside¡ª¡± Boom! Another massive boom came from overhead, and the shuddering was even more intense, as if there was a demolition team working above them. Some of the survivors staggered and fell onto the floor. This boom was only the beginning. The sounds of tearing and collisions rang out incessantly, and the survivors paled as they felt the ground beneath them quake. It felt like the entire hotel was going to collapse. What was going on? What had happened? What should they do? The survivors didn¡¯t know. Chen Haiping¡¯s face was grim. He had some conjectures, but he found it hard to believe them. But it wasn¡¯t long before the shuddering died down. The survivors looked at each other in consternation. They had just spoken about leaving, but none of them could manage to say it now. They were all afraid of that demonized beast returning. At this moment, there was movement from the torn-open doors, and the survivors stared and waited with bated breath. ¡­ On the battlefield, blue and red streaks constantly intersected, toppling walls and fracturing the floor wherever they went. Tang Yu kept a close eye on the battlefield, and just when he was ready to call over Number Two to help, he realized that the blue streak had the upper hand. Although he didn¡¯t have the eyes to keep up with their movements, he could tell from the blood showering the battlefield that the demonized beast was injured! As a high-class automaton that was made for fighting, Number One had a formidable battle instinct. Seizing the moment, it began to spin around its spear, stirring dust into the air. The surrounding air seemed almost tangible as it was swirled up in a miniature tornado. A moment later, the wind stopped. As Number One drew back its spear, the scarlet demonized beast had already collapsed on the ground with bright red blood gushing from a large hole in its head. ¡°It¡¯s finally over.¡± Tang Yu sighed in relief as he looked around at the devastation, so many holes punched in the hotel that it was now on the verge of condemnation. This scarlet demonized beast could be considered the strongest demonized beast he had yet met. Fortunately, Number One had put on a good show. Tang Yu could tell that the demonized beast hadn¡¯t been much slower than Number One, but as an automaton, Number One boasted a heaven-defying endurance and defense. In these two aspects, it completely crushed that scarlet demonized beast. Proceeding down the stairs, Tang Yu arrived at the underground freezer. Here was where all the shelter¡¯s food had been stockpiled. At this time, the freezer¡¯s doors had already been destroyed. A large pile of miscellaneous objects had been piled up behind the doors like trash, all of the items smashed and crushed. In the darkness, Tang Yu could hear heavy breathing. It was people! Survivors! Tang Yu was instantly struck dumb. ¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a human! Not a demonized beast!¡± When they realized that the newcomer was a human, the survivors exhaled in relief. Chen Haiping noticed somewhat more. One of these people was an excessively clean youth wearing casual clothes, while the other was a man completely encased in armor. His face wasn¡¯t visible, and all Chen Haiping could see was that the man¡¯s armor was covered in blood. He had conjectured that the noise upstairs had been so loud that someone had to be fighting with the demonized beast. The moment he saw these two, he immediately guessed that someone had dealt with that frightening demonized beast. It was an absurd conjecture, as in his estimation, only heavy weaponry could take down that demonized beast. But based on the current situation, this was the most likely scenario. However, the sight of this pair shook Chen Haiping¡¯s confidence. Whether it was that youth with clean clothes or that warrior in bloodstained armor, he could sense none of the energy of an Awakened on them. Since they weren¡¯t Awakened and didn¡¯t have heavy weaponry, how could the two of them have been any match for that demonized beast? Was it because the demonized beast had happened to leave and they hadn¡¯t run into it? He voiced his doubts. Tang Yu heard this and frowned. ¡°Terrifying demonized beast? Are you talking about the one outside? It¡¯s dead, of course.¡± Dead? The ordinary survivors gasped, and then they felt an irrepressible joy. Chen Haiping ran out of the freezer and to the first floor. He was cautious at first, but when he arrived at the lobby, he saw the body of the scarlet demonized beast, devoid of life and covered in wounds. His eyes went round, and words failed him. He recalled that the mysterious, armored warrior had a spear on its back, its tip stained with blood. Wasn¡¯t that spear an exact match for the fatal wound in the center of the demonized beast¡¯s head?! ¡°Did they really manage to kill it?¡± He took in the destruction around him, the cracked floor and fallen walls. If not for the fact that the supporting pillars were still standing, he truly would have feared the imminent collapse of the hotel. It was no wonder the shaking had been so intense. From the aftermath alone, Chen Haiping could tell that the scarlet demonized beast had been far stronger than he had imagined. He no longer believed that Tang Yu and Number One were ordinary people. How could ordinary people possess this kind of strength?! Chen Haiping was well aware of the various divisions of strength between Awakened. To be more precise, when Awakened reached a certain threshold in the amount of Soul Energy absorbed and refined, and then broke through, their bodies would receive a relatively large boost in strength. Chen Haiping was around the middle of the Awakened belonging to the shelter, but he was still only a Tier 1 Awakened. This meant that while he was somewhat stronger than ordinary Awakened, he had still yet to reach that threshold. But he knew that the strongest Awakened of the shelter had already broken through two thresholds and reached the third. In this entire shelter, he had only ever heard of that one Awakened reaching the Tier 3 threshold. And that person had already lost their life in the demon flood. Even then, Chen Haiping had seen that person attack before, and their damage had never reached this level. So, those two were even stronger Awakened? Chen Haiping was frightened by his own conjectures. Only this possibility could explain it. The gap in strength between him and the pair had to be so great that he simply couldn¡¯t sense their Awakened energy, thus leading him to mistakenly believe that they were ordinary people. If they weren¡¯t super experts, how could that young man¡¯s clothes be so clean? Only super experts could cross the wilderness and still be completely clean. That had to be it! Chapter 6 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales A man and an automaton had left, but they returned with several survivors in tow. These people were carrying large cloth bags filled with food. This food had been found within the freezer and other parts of the hotel. For what had been a population of several thousand survivors, it was a small amount of food indeed. But Tang Yu knew that the majority of the food had been destroyed in the demon flood. Tang Yu naturally took it all. He had originally believed that the survivors would covet this food. After all, they had been the first to discover the food in the freezer. But in truth, he was overthinking it. This food had no owner, like fruits one would pick out in the wilderness. Although there was truly a ¡®first come, first served¡¯ principle, if Tang Yu hadn¡¯t arrived, these survivors would all be dead. Even if he had taken it by force, nobody would have said anything. This was no longer the initial stage of the apocalypse, where some people believed that laws and virtue could restrain the strong. Such naive people would never have survived until now. The only people that could restrain the strong were stronger people or their own bottom lines. Even so, Tang Yu still gave these survivors a lot of food as payment for helping him transport it, which immediately made the survivors much more enthusiastic. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh. This was one of the advantages of having people to order around. Number One was powerful, but it wasn¡¯t that useful when it came to transporting things. After all, the food wasn¡¯t ready-packed into boxes, but scattered around. No matter how strong Number One was, it couldn¡¯t take much with one trip. In contrast, the several survivors working together and using a few tools could work with greater efficiency. They chatted as they walked, and Tang Yu quickly developed an understanding of this group. These people had basically the same status as him, people who had managed to survive the annihilation of the shelter in the demon flood. Their leader was a middle-aged man called Chen Haiping. This man was an Awakened, and from him, Tang Yu managed to learn how the shelter had been wiped out. He only knew that the shelter had been wiped out by the demon flood, but not the actual process. As an Awakened, Chen Haiping had to know more, and in order to develop his domain, Tang Yu felt that it was best to get an understanding of the situation. Chen Haiping didn¡¯t have as many considerations. In his mind, Tang Yu and his companion were experts from some other area and had saved them, so he naturally answered all the questions. He bitterly smiled. ¡°There was a shelter here, but two days ago, it fell to a demon flood. The survivors were almost completely wiped out. There probably aren¡¯t many other survivors besides us.¡± ¡°A demon flood! How frightening! But this is such a large shelter. Even if you couldn¡¯t stop the demon flood, you should have been able to retreat, right?¡± Chen Haiping¡¯s face turned even more bitter. ¡°Retreat? Sir, do you know how long the shelter¡¯s defense line was able to hold out against the demon flood? ¡°Three minutes.¡± He raised three fingers. ¡°Only three minutes! Let alone retreat, some survivors were suddenly killed by demonized beasts before they even knew what was going on.¡± Tang Yu was stunned. This was not feigned. He had believed that the shelter had fallen after a gruesome battle, but now, it seemed like this hadn¡¯t been the case at all. ¡°I was originally a captain in the shelter. When the demon flood arrived, I was resting in my quarters. I heard the warning siren and immediately headed to the defense line, but before I could get there, the demonized beasts were already pouring in.¡± Chen Haiping began to recollect the events and continued, ¡°The shelter wasn¡¯t lacking in defense. Even though it was originally a small shelter, our strongest Awakened had awakened to Tier 3. Moreover, that one had been so lucky as to awaken to a special ability. Even in a large shelter, this level of strength would make one an expert, and in the small shelters around us, they were renowned. ¡°With the defense line¡¯s machine guns, explosive charges, and other weapons, while we still wouldn¡¯t have been able to hold back the demonized beasts, we wouldn¡¯t have almost instantly fallen.¡± Chen Haiping paused for breath, anger appearing on his face. ¡°The reason this happened was that the shelter chief, Wang Tai, saw that the situation was getting bad and immediately abandoned the shelter. ¡°Not only that, Wang Tai fled with the defenders loyal to him and a great deal of our guns and ammo. These guns and ammo were given to us by the Lindong Army to reinforce our shelter and were surplus military supplies. But that Wang fellow took more than half. As a result, when the demon flood arrived, our defense was full of holes, and instantly collapsed. ¡°Even that strongest Awakened died to an ambush from the demonized beasts. I was lucky and managed to escape, but besides Wang Tai¡¯s group, there¡¯s probably no one left from the shelter except us.¡± Selfishness could be considered a part of human nature, and it had only become more obvious during the apocalypse. Before coming to the shelter, Tang Yu had been in a group of several hundred survivors, but when the group arrived at the shelter, it had dwindled to less than one hundred survivors. Many of them had died in the mouths of demonized beasts, but even more had been directly or indirectly killed by other humans. He didn¡¯t have the right to say anything. He had been a cold bystander to many of the incidents, which was one of the reasons he had survived until now. He also didn¡¯t have the right to criticize Wang Tai. Facing the imminent destruction of the shelter, Wang Tai couldn¡¯t be said to have made the wrong choice. But for those people who had been abandoned, anger and hatred were inevitable. As one of those abandoned. Tang Yu felt a little anger, but not as much as he had expected. Perhaps it was because he had survived and activated the system, or perhaps anger was something only the weak required. What he wanted more was control over his own fate. After saying everything, Chen Haiping felt like he had lifted a great weight off his chest. He stopped thinking about the past, as he now needed to consider how he would survive. After dropping the food, he joined Tang Yu on several more trips, and soon, all the food in the hotel had been moved to the villa area. But after these trips, Chen Haiping felt that something wasn¡¯t right. He had believed that Tang Yu and his companion were experts from a large shelter who happened to be passing by and might leave soon. But gradually, through the conversations, he discovered that the two of them had no plans to leave. This youth in clean clothes was planning to build a shelter here! Build a shelter? He thought the youth was joking at first, but after bringing over all the food, the youth had hired them to transport some stone and wood. Though Chen Haiping couldn¡¯t tell what he wanted with it all, he could tell that these two experts were serious! He had just talked about how the shelter had been wiped out by a demon flood, but¡­ It seemed that all of his good intentions had been wasted! Chapter 7 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales It was night, and all was quiet. In a somewhat undamaged villa, several survivors sat together, the area illuminated by a dim fire. ¡°Do you guys think those two are really trying to build a shelter?¡± ¡°Stop joking around. Shelters aren¡¯t that easy to build, and it¡¯s only the two of them. No matter how strong you are, shelters aren¡¯t something you can build with sheer strength.¡± ¡°Forget about those two. Let¡¯s think about our own situation first. What do we do? This place is no longer safe. Why don¡¯t we head to the Lindong shelter? That¡¯s a large shelter with a military garrison. If we go there, we won¡¯t have to worry about demonized beast attacks.¡± The others weren¡¯t very optimistic about this proposal. ¡°The Lindong shelter is a good place, but how do we get there? That place is sixty kilometers away, and that¡¯s only as the crow flies. If it were that easy to get to the Lindong shelter, we wouldn¡¯t have chosen to remain at this small shelter.¡± The others felt dejected at these words. They had believed themselves safe in the underground freezer, but in the end, they had almost been killed by a demonized beast. If not for those two experts passing by¡­ Someone suddenly said, ¡°If only those two experts were heading to the Lindong shelter, then we could just follow them.¡± ¡°Hmph, they plan on building a shelter, so why would they head to Lindong? Even if they went, there¡¯s no guarantee they would bring us along. In my view, it would be better to head to one of the closer small shelters.¡± ¡°But why can¡¯t we stay here? Those two experts said that so long as we stay in the villa area, he can guarantee our safety.¡± But nobody believed these words. In their minds, there were only two people in Tang Yu¡¯s group, and they were nowhere to be seen. There was no telling if those two experts would come to save them if they actually encountered danger, and even if they did, there was certainly no guarantee that they would come in time. They weren¡¯t optimistic about the chances of building a shelter because they had too few people. No matter how powerful they were, the two of them could not possibly handle everything on their own. Deep down, they also understood that as there was no camaraderie between them, they had no basis on which to ask for protection from others. However, though they rationally understood, emotionally, they hoped that someone would save them when they ran into danger. This was simply the human instinct for survival. In the end, it was Chen Haiping who ended the conversation. ¡°Rather than thinking about these things, it would be better to practice shooting guns and swinging swords. Even if you¡¯re not Awakened, you should at least give yourself a better chance to survive.¡± The dim candle on the table flickered and swayed. Chen Haiping wiped down his weapons. Just when he was about to say something more, he suddenly paled. ¡°Watch out!¡± Chen Haiping immediately grabbed the handle of his machete and grimly looked out the villa¡¯s french window. Two dark green lights appeared, a terrifying vision in the darkness. ¡°It¡¯s a demonized beast!¡± someone yelped in fear. ¡°Didn¡¯t they say that they had wiped out all the demonized beasts in the area?!¡± someone yelled in confusion. ¡°I knew it! It was just the two of them, so how could they keep out all the demonized beasts? Demonized beasts wander around everywhere, and without sturdy walls and a complete defense line, it¡¯s impossible to have a safe resting area!¡± Chen Haiping said nothing, only waved his hand for the others to retreat. He knew that a thin French window would never be able to keep out a demonized beast. Suddenly¡­ boom! The entire villa shook, and the candle thumped to the ground. Some of the survivors were baffled and others cried out in panic. Only Chen Haiping, who was staring at the demonized beast this whole time, was barely able to make out a humanoid figure descending from the sky and stomping the demonized beast into the ground. Chen Haiping was finally able to make out that it was the mysterious armored expert from that afternoon. With one stomp, it had crushed the demonized beast to death. The others gasped. They had not seen the process, but the result¡­ that frightening demonized beast had been stomped to death like a bug. They all had complicated looks on their faces. They hadn¡¯t believed in Tang Yu and had even been badmouthing him, believing that he had just been using them as labor and didn¡¯t care about them. But just now¡­ The moment the demonized beast had appeared, that armored expert had stomped it to death. They couldn¡¯t see the armored expert¡¯s face, but the image of his back was engraved into their minds. Number Two, who was in charge of guarding the domain, did not leave its spot, but it took the spear from its back and thrust it into a nearby bush. A thrust as fast as lightning! Abnormal ferocity! Before the people inside the villa could react, they saw a small demonized beast skewered on the tip of the spear. A demonized beast had been hiding in there! The hearts of the survivors thumped in fear. They did not know what sort of demonized beast this was, only that this world was too dangerous. But when Chen Haiping looked over, his eyes immediately flew open! It was a spiked worm! The so-called Assassin in the Night! Chen Haiping knew about it because the strongest Awakened of the shelter had died to a surprise attack from a spiked worm. If that Awakened had not unleashed their ability before dying and brought the spiked worm down with them, the spiked worm alone would have been able to throw the defense line into complete disarray. But this spiked worm had been skewered on the spear without the slightest chance to resist. Chen Haiping¡¯s breathing turned ragged and his eyes went round. He had experienced more shock in a single day than he had in a month. With the spiked worm still on the spear, Number Two vanished into the night, leaving the survivors wide-eyed and speechless. It took several minutes until they finally came back to their senses. ¡°We¡­ lived?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Someone turned in Number Two¡¯s direction, an ashamed look on his face. ¡°Perhaps¡­ we shouldn¡¯t have doubted them. Don¡¯t you remember them saying that as long as we stayed here and worked for them, they would guarantee our safety and even provide us food? I¡¯m thinking that it¡¯s fine to stay here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. With the world ended, every place is the same. If we stay here, at least we¡¯ll be safe.¡± ¡­¡­ On the domain map, two red dots dissipated, while the yellow dots that indicated neutrality flashed before finally turning green. Green did not mean that those people would trust him without reservation. Trust between survivors in the apocalypse did not come so easily. But this sort of conversion meant that they had acknowledged him to a certain level. This was enough! Tang Yu went over to a clearing behind the castle. At his side was a pile of waste wood that he had asked the survivors to bring over after they had finishing transporting the food. After the survivors brought it to the villa, he had asked Number One and Number Two to bring it here. ¡°I can finally build the first building of my domain.¡± The Overlord Castle did not count as a true domain building, but was the core of the domain that was linked to the domain¡¯s level. This was the second day since he had received the system, and only now did he have the resources to build his first building. Tang Yu felt that this was far too slow. And this was thanks to the survivors. Otherwise, he would have had to use the time during which Number One and Number Two were hunting down demonized beasts to move over materials, and only the heavens knew how long that would delay him. He opened the building menu and selected the tavern. Construct! ¡°Ding dong! Constructing the tavern costs two hundred units of Origin Crystal and one hundred units of Wood.¡± An invisible energy pulled the wood on the ground into the air and set it up into the frame for the tavern. Afterward, the Origin Crystals in his pocket turned into points of light and fused into the frame. Just like when the Overlord Castle had been built, the frame suddenly transformed into an old-fashioned tavern. Tang Yu impatiently walked into the tavern. The tavern wasn¡¯t large, only one floor, and it covered an area of fifty to sixty square meters. The tavern had a few tables and chairs, and Tang Yu could see that the shelf behind the counter was displaying many kinds of alcohol. It was like a real, ordinary tavern. It wasn¡¯t as luxurious as the Overlord Castle, but this was just a representation. The true ability of the tavern was to recruit adventurers. This was Tang Yu¡¯s most dire need. So long as he paid a certain price, he could sign a contract with an adventurer and gain their loyalty. Whether to develop his domain or realize any other plans, he needed sufficient manpower. In this aspect, it was especially important to have people that he could trust. Chapter 8 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales Once the tavern was built, an exclamation point appeared on the tavern¡¯s icon, and above it was an explanation of the tavern¡¯s ability. He had built the tavern in the game, but this was reality. Tang Yu was worried that the rules would be different, and just when he was getting concerned, he noticed the ability explanation. Without hesitation, Tang Yu opened up the explanation. [In the tavern, the Overlord has the ability to summon an adventurer for free once per day. Once the free summon is used, summoning another adventurer will cost five hundred units of Origin Crystal. Adventurers summoned can be divided into the grades of D, C, B, A, and A+. The higher the grade, the higher the growth trait of the adventurer. However, the higher the grade of the adventurer, the lower the chance of summoning them. Upgrading the tavern will increase the chances of summoning a higher-grade adventurer. Adventurers have five basic professions: Fighter, Wizard, Priest, Assassin, and Gunman. The strengths of summoned adventurers are not fixed. A Level 1 tavern can summon a Tier 5 Awakened at most. Upgrading the tavern can increase the upper limit of an adventurer¡¯s strength. Once an adventurer has been summoned, the Overlord can choose to recruit the adventurer as needed and sign a contract. A Level 1 tavern is limited to three contracted followers. Upgrading a tavern can increase the number of followers with which one can sign a contract. On the first summon, an Overlord is guaranteed to summon a B-grade or higher adventurer.] The rules were basically the same as in the game, and Tang Yu was able to relax. He had chosen to build the tavern first precisely because it would help him the most at present! This was particularly true when it came to the first summoning blessing. Just the thought of the guaranteed summoning of a B-grade adventurer made him excited. Tang Yu knew the awful nature of gacha games. When they said ¡®B or above¡¯, one would never be able to summon an A or S grade. But a B-grade adventurer would already be enough to greatly assist him. While B grade sounded average, he recalled how in the game, he had gone nearly a month without seeing a A-grade adventurer. From this, one could see how low the chances were. This was even more so now that the game system had become reality. Tang Yu speculated that the grading system was the same as how humans graded themselves. However, the assessment methods in reality were somewhat behind and could barely give rough estimates. They could not make clear partitions. He originally had the Awakened aptitude of E, and the majority of Awakened had an aptitude of D. Perhaps only those incredibly talented Awakened in the early stages of the apocalypse could have an aptitude of B. Moreover, adventurers had professions, and professions meant skills and a complete profession system. It was completely superior to those Awakened in reality who didn¡¯t understand what was going on and relied completely on ordinary attacks. Tang Yu cast aside his complicated thoughts and placed his focus on the summoning process. ¡°Come on, then!¡± Tang Yu took a deep breath, opened the menu, and selected ¡®summon¡¯. A large, circular formation appeared in the center of the tavern, its surface covered in numerous symbols. The symbols were like pointers, constantly spinning and combining. Dazzling light emerged from the formation. This light formed a halo that slowly began to constrict. It was coming. The profession of the adventurer that was about to be summoned, the adventurer¡¯s strength¡ªit was all unknown! Tang Yu held his breath! The halo constricted to its smallest, and purple light burst out from it. Purple? Purple light! Tang Yu¡¯s heart suddenly rapidly thumped twice. He couldn¡¯t help but silently count down¡­ White light represented D grade. Green light represented C grade. Blue light represented B grade. Then purple light¡­ This definitely had to be good! The purple light coalesced into a human figure. This adventurer wore a tattered cloak that obscured their face. Upon inspecting the person closely for a while, Tang Yu realized that this was most likely a female adventurer. ¡°Ding dong! Adventurer Yilian; Grade A; Profession: Wizard. Does the Overlord wish to sign a follower contract?¡± Do you even need to ask¡­ ¡°Confirm!!¡± ¡­ In a shabby wooden hut, an individual in a cloak was seated on an equally shabby bed, holding a ragged book and reading it with great focus. This utterly impoverished home was Yilian¡¯s. She had lived this sort of life for many years. Though she was initially hesitant, Yilian had become very used to this lifestyle. For her, the conditions of her residence would never be as important as the book in her hand. This was a book on basic magic. She had found it underneath the bed. Besides the mementos left by her parents, this was the only object in her home. Phweeee! A sharp whistle of warning resounded through the city. Yilian was surprised at first, and then sorrow appeared on her face. This was the warning sound indicating that the black flood was coming. She was so familiar with the sound that it had basically been branded into her soul. Three years ago, the same warning signal had rung out, the black flood had attacked, and her parents, who had been working outside the city, had failed to return. That year, she became an orphan, and it was also at that moment that her somewhat happy home gradually began to decay. In her sorrow, Yilian awakened. She came to comprehend the power of the elements. To her shock, she discovered that she could harness the power of ice. This was a power that Wizards possessed. Wizards were powerful and revered, and their status was far above ordinary warriors. But the ability to control ice was only a prerequisite for becoming a Wizard. Yilian had never studied the path of magic. In this city, the only place she knew of that had books on magic was the house of the city lord. These books were incredibly precious, and Yilian knew that she would never be able to get her hands on them unless she pledged her loyalty to the city lord. But the city lord was an extremist aristocrat, always believing that only those of noble blood could possess the power of magic. Shaking her head, Yilian could only struggle to live in the slums. Alone, young, and without a steady source of income, Yilian lived an extremely hard life in the dog-eat-dog slums. Fortunately, she had awakened, so her strength and senses were above those of ordinary people. This was what enabled her to eke out a living in the slums. But one day, she found a ragged magic book beneath the cracked floorboards of her bed. The contents of the magic book were fragmentary, and Yilian had no knowledge of magic fundamentals. But through her own understanding of magic, she still advanced with leaps and bounds, learning spell after spell. Whew! Yilian exhaled and walked out of her little wooden hut. She put on her hood, her cloak completely concealing her body. After living in the slums for several years, Yilian had developed this habit. The slums had all kinds of people, and for a girl living here alone, it was best to conceal her identity. The slums were located on the outermost edge of the city. She could see shabby houses as far as the eye could see, and on the towering walls in the distance, Yilian saw many soldiers running toward their assigned positions. The sky outside the city was gray and hazy. As long as she could remember, this had always been the color of the world. Besides that most important book she was carrying, Yilian had no other worthwhile possessions in her home. After thinking about it, she decided to see what was going on. Because of the warning signal, there were many people running around in a blind panic. Suddenly! Boom! There was a blinding burst of fire, and thick clouds of smoke rose into the air. Finally, with a crash, the towering walls collapsed! Yilian¡¯s eyes filled with shock. In her mind, this wall had always been impenetrable and unbreakable. Even in that gruesome siege three years ago, the wall had never collapsed. Yet in this black flood, the wall had collapsed at the very beginning. Chapter 9 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales ¡°No!¡± ¡°Save me!¡± The special traits of the slums were its numerous people and narrow streets. The moment the walls fell, everyone began to run around like headless flies. Numerous monsters rushed in through the gap, so densely packed that they were like a black flood. In the blink of an eye, numerous residents died to the monsters. The outer city was no longer safe. Some of the smarter people planned to flee to the inner city, which still had intact walls and was protected by high-level professionals. But Yilian had no plans on heading to the inner city. Normally, only nobles and wealthy merchants could go inside, and in this crisis, it would be impossible for slum dwellers to be allowed inside. The best method was to find a place and defend. Yilian was very familiar with the slums, and she quickly found a good place to defend. She had her back to the city wall, and she was surrounded by somewhat sturdier houses. There was also some distance between this place and the gap in the wall. This was the best place she could find to defend in the short time available to her. The monster horde entered her field of vision. Yilian had heard her parents talk about it when she was young, but this was her first time seeing these monsters. They had a variety of appearances, and the only commonality was that they were all savage and grotesque, exuding a horrifying energy. It was said that these were creatures of darkness that the evil god had sent to invade the world. A group of spiders lunged at her. They were the size of infant humans, their bodies purplish-black and corrosive liquid dripping from their mouths as they hissed. These were the lowest class of monsters, demon spiders, but they were still frightening. Their venom was intensely corrosive, and many warriors had been heavily injured by it in moments of carelessness. Information on common creatures of darkness appeared in Yilian¡¯s mind as she extended her hands and gathered the surrounding ice element into them. This was the first time she had ever truly used her abilities since her awakening. The temperature of the surroundings instantly plunged as an icicle formed in her palm. Bang! Thump! The icicle pierced through the body of a demon spider and shattered, the flying ice shards freezing several more demon spiders to the ground. A Wizard like her had an advantage against weak but numerous creatures of darkness like this. But there were far too many demon spiders, a constant stream. From time to time, she heard the screams of humans in her ears. One minute. Two minutes. Five minutes¡­ With her back to the city wall, in a somewhat safer location, she did not encounter any of the more frightening monsters of the black flood. However, just dealing with these demon spiders left Yilian¡¯s face pale and her mana almost completely exhausted. But the situation showed no signs of taking a good turn. She could see that almost all the soldiers on the walls had been slain. Misery! Three years ago, she had only heard of the terror of the black flood. Only now did she fully experience this sort of helplessness¡­ In the distance, the flames of war could still be seen rising from the inner city, but the outer city had long ago ceased to have any activity. Yilian didn¡¯t know how many survivors were left in the outer city, but she knew that she could not release a single spell more. She would soon join the rest of the devoured dead. She didn¡¯t want this¡­ If she had not awakened three years ago, she might have been dead long ago, yet¡­ A demon spider lunged at her, its venom corroding her cloak and dripping onto her skin, sending intense jolts of pain through her nerves. But Yilian had grown calm¡­ Ding! Ripples appeared in her calm eyes. ¡°¡­Do you wish to become the Overlord¡¯s follower? Yes/No?¡± A golden parchment unrolled in front of her, seeming to drive away the endless darkness. The world around her shifted. Yilian¡¯s vision went white, and when she could see again, the black flood was no more, and the sounds of fighting and screaming had disappeared. What was in front of her was a tavern. ¡°I¡­¡± To her shock, she realized that she felt no pain. Though her clothes were still in tatters, her skin was whole and intact, all of her injuries healed. She even discovered that all her mana had been instantly restored fully. Am I dreaming? Yilian pinched herself and quickly understood that this was all real. This place wasn¡¯t heaven or hell. Just as the contract had said, this was a different world. Here, as a follower, she could start everything from the beginning. Orange lanterns gave off a warm light, and all was quiet. Yilian raised her head and ultimately rested her gaze nearby¡­ on a young man with a genial smile on his face. After a momentary daze, she came forward and got down on one knee. ¡­ The illusory human figure on the array of symbols turned real. The girl¡¯s clothes were in tatters, the spacious cloak now nothing more than a set of loosely connected cloth strips, and her body was covered in green blood. Tang Yu saw that the girl was still in a daze. He was just about to step forward, but at that moment, his foot froze in mid-air. As an Overlord, what should he say to his first follower, a woman at that? Tang Yu was somewhat frustrated that he hadn¡¯t prepared a speech, and it wasn¡¯t as if he could ask Baidu. What about¡­ ¡®Comrade, are you well?¡¯ ¡®Comrade, thank you for the trouble¡¯? Hmm, doesn¡¯t seem great. He suddenly spotted the alcohol on the shelf behind the counter out of the corner of his eyes. His eyes brightening, he grabbed a bottle and offered it. ¡°Do you want a bottle?¡± It was at this exact moment that Yilian came forward and got down on one knee. The mood became incredibly awkward¡­ Several minutes later, Yilian blindly followed behind her Overlord, still feeling like she was dreaming. First, she had escaped from death, and then, she had been summoned to another world. The power of the contract poured information into her mind¡ªa sensation that she did not find uncomfortable. This world¡¯s language, common sense, and all other kinds of things became part of her normal life. This was precisely why she was so surprised. And now, led by her Overlord, she arrived at the castle. As a child who had grown up in the slums, Yilian had never seen this sort of thing. The castle was luxurious and resplendent, but she was covered in filth. By walking inside, she felt like she was marring some beautiful painting. She did not dare to enter, but the Overlord pulled her inside. She left a trail of black footprints on the floor as she was taken to a large and bright room. ¡°This is the bathroom¡­ The clothes are on the shelf over there. It¡¯s possible that none of them will fit you, so just take one and put it on¡­ As for food, I¡¯ll get some ready. It should be done by the time you get out¡­¡± With a clack, the door was closed. The words of her Overlord resounded in her mind, and before her eyes was a gorgeous room. Still in a daze, she recalled that ever since her parents had died, her life had been plunged into the darkness. She had been bullied and excluded, and she had been surrounded by people with ill intentions. But today, she felt warmth once more. Yilian blinked, tears welling up in her eyes. She took off her clothes and entered the warm pool. As the water covered her knees, the image of her Overlord¡¯s genial smile appeared in her mind. Gradually, Yilian sat down, allowing the water to go past her shoulders and wash away the filth. She closed her eyes, a new belief taking hold in her mind. ¡­ Tang Yu hummed a tune as he busied himself in the kitchen. He didn¡¯t know how to cook. At most, he could boil some noodles. Fortunately, the castle had various very modern kitchen tools. After messing around a little, he had managed to make a few things. Upon returning to the bathroom on the second floor and hearing the splashing of water from behind the closed door, Tang Yu felt himself getting a little frisky. While Yilian¡¯s cloak had been tattered, she had looked like she had been dipped in mud, so covered in filth she was. He actually hadn¡¯t gotten to see how Yilian looked, but he had found her voice incredibly crisp and pleasant. He had believed that Yilian would need more time in the bathroom, but soon, the door opened, and dense mist wafted out. Tang Yu suddenly felt somewhat expectant. A fair, white leg appeared in his vision, like a most exquisite tusk of ivory, and as he moved his gaze upward¡­ Tang Yu couldn¡¯t help but swallow. At this moment, Yilian was like a fairy that had walked out of a painting. She had sky-blue hair that almost reached her waist, still dripping with beads of water that had not been dried. Her small face was flushed red, and her skin was smooth and as bright as crystal. The large male jacket Yilian was wearing concealed her delicate body, but her white legs were almost completely exposed and seemed to be uneasily shifting. Tang Yu¡¯s blood roiled, and he felt like he needed to get in some more nutrients. Chapter 10 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales The next day, the weather was clear and fine. Tang Yu stretched and walked out of the castle. There was another guest in the castle last night, and the castle seemed much more lived in. After breakfast, Tang Yu and Yilian came to the small garden in front of the castle. Yilian was wearing a rice-yellow dress with a long skirt. The long skirt lightly drifted in the wind, imbued with the energy of a young maiden in spring. Tang Yu had found the clothes after searching all night. After all, he was no expert in women¡¯s clothes, and the castle naturally didn¡¯t have any clothes that women normally wore. After taking a bath, Yilian had only been able to find a jacket to wear on the shelf, and even now, Tang Yu couldn¡¯t get that image from last night out of his mind. Though the summoning result had taken him by surprise, Tang Yu had not forgotten why he had summoned Yilian in the first place. This was his first follower, an ally that would provide him the greatest assistance. An A-grade Wizard! ¡°Did you rest well last night?¡± Yilian softly grunted. She would have never been able to imagine such a life in the past. By now, she was ready for anything. Soon, Yilian complied with her Overlord¡¯s order and displayed her abilities. She had learned a total of two spells from that ragged magic book. One was Icicle and the other was Hailstorm. As she raised her hand, an icicle formed in her hand and shot out, punching through a distant tree trunk. Icy blue frost crept out from the wound and quickly turned the entire tree into ice. Tang Yu observed. Yilian¡¯s current level of strength was at about the peak of a Tier 2 Awakened, which was incredibly rare. And from the contract, Tang Yu had also obtained a simple description of Yilian and knew that she had lived a hard life. Although she had awakened three years ago, Yilian had never been taught magic in a systematic way. Moreover, the world she had lived in did not have anything like leveling up by killing monsters. Strength was obtained through meditation. Tang Yu had no idea how difficult it would be to reach this level of strength through a meditation method she had developed all on her own, but he knew that it was difficult. This strength naturally couldn¡¯t compare to that of Number One or Number Two, but Wizards had their own advantages. After all, Number One and Number Two were automatons, and no matter how intelligent they were, they could still only be used as weapons. But Yilian was a living human with A-grade aptitude. She had limitless potential. Tang Yu speculated that it was precisely because of Yilian¡¯s high aptitude that she had such an affinity with the ice element, that her skin did not have the roughness and tanning from living a hard life. On the contrary, the elements had constantly improved her condition, making her skin as smooth and translucent as crystal. ¡­ On the other side, Chen Haiping¡¯s group had woken up early in the morning and were getting ready to make some porridge. In the apocalypse, for ordinary survivors, waking up early was quite a luxury. In any case, ordinary survivors were never able to eat their fill, and there was no such thing as breakfast. Rather than dealing with their hunger, it would be better to sleep a little longer. After all, while in their dreams, they wouldn¡¯t feel their hunger. But today, they all woke up early with drooling mouths. It was because Tang Yu had given them a lot of food yesterday, and of many different kinds. They could eat porridge and even have it with some dried meat and pickled vegetables. This was a true blessing! While they had been previously hiding in the freezer where food had been stockpiled, only ordinary rice had been stored there. Moreover, they had rushed to hide inside there without any sort of tools, so it had been quite a feat that they hadn¡¯t starved to death. But today¡­ they could have a bowl of rice porridge. One of the survivors patted his belly, a satisfied look on his face. ¡°It¡¯s just a bowl of rice porridge, so why do I feel so content?¡± ¡°¡®Cause you¡¯re fat,¡± one of his companions said, a look of disdain in his eyes. ¡°Fat people are easily satisfied.¡± ¡°Nonsense! Just who was the one who almost shoved their face into the bowl while eating!?¡± The group began to argue, but none of them seemed angry. Only those with energy had the leisure to joke around. As for the Awakened, Chen Haiping, though he had been able to eat his fill, the fact that he wasn¡¯t a close subordinate of Chief Wang Tai meant that the food he had been able to eat every day couldn¡¯t compare to what he was having now. With something to compare against, they realized just how precious this sort of life was. Chen Haiping led the survivors to Villa No. 3. Farther ahead was a forbidden zone. Tang Yu had warned them yesterday that the innermost area was forbidden from entry. They naturally wouldn¡¯t be driven by curiosity to explore it. In the apocalypse, it was a truth that curiosity was lethal. ¡°Mister Tang still isn¡¯t here?¡± ¡°What Mister Tang? Call him ¡®Chief Tang¡¯! Starting today, we¡¯re working for Chief Tang. If we work a little harder, given how generous Chief Tang is, he¡¯ll definitely treat us well. If Chief Tang really can build up a shelter, then we¡¯ll even be the founding members.¡± Last night, Tang Yu had already discussed with them what work they would do. It would just be transporting materials, and while it was physical labor, there was no danger, so there was no better job in the apocalypse. The rewards had also been brought up yesterday. Besides food, he would also provide necessary items for daily life. This was already very generous. They had previously been hesitant, but they had made up their minds now. If they worked hard under Tang Yu, their lives would completely change. Although they still felt that the hope of building a shelter was minimal, no one was saying that Tang Yu was overestimating himself. In any case, they couldn¡¯t leave this place, and if the shelter were actually built, Tang Yu was so generous that they would certainly live better lives than they were living now. With this thought in mind, they were anxious to get to work. ¡°Chief Tang is coming!¡± someone shouted. They saw Tang Yu approaching, wearing exercise clothes and carrying a dagger on his waist. Behind him was Number One, which looked the same as it did yesterday. Suddenly, they spotted Yilian following right behind Tang Yu and froze. Yilian was wearing the rice-yellow dress and that loose-fitting jacket with a hood. Something like ¡®too hot¡¯ didn¡¯t exist for Yilian. On the contrary, living in the slums had made her accustomed to concealing herself, but not even that jacket could completely conceal her. The survivors were struck dumb, and instantly lowered their heads. They might have regarded the delicate Yilian as a fragile flower vase, but Chen Haiping could sense some mysterious energy on her. This energy was similar to an Awakened¡¯s, but it was also somewhat different. Chen Haiping shook his head and put the matter aside. He came forward to discuss the plans for today. Plush! Whoosh! Chen Haiping heard a strange sound and looked up in surprise. A dark cloud was approaching out of the blue sky. Focusing his vision, he realized that it wasn¡¯t a dark cloud, but countless flying demonized beasts gathered together in a frightening horde. ¡°Demonized Sparrows!¡± Chen Haiping blurted out. These creatures were sparrows native to Earth that had been demonized by the red mist. They were some of the lowest demonized beasts, even weaker than Steel Rats. But he turned even more nervous. While Demonized Sparrows were individually weak, they would travel together in massive flocks. At a glance, Chen Haiping estimated that there could be as many as one hundred in that flock. More importantly, these demonized beasts could fly! This was what Chen Haiping was worried about. While the armored expert was powerful, he couldn¡¯t fly and he didn¡¯t have any large-scale killing techniques. He wouldn¡¯t be able to exert much of his strength against this flock of Demonized Sparrows. This was very dangerous. In the blink of an eye, the flock of Demonized Sparrows had arrived over the villa area. They had already noticed the humans and plunged downward as a black cloud. Only fleeing into a sturdy room could escape this, but the flying demonized beasts moved so quickly that escape was impossible. ¡°Is there really nothing to be done¡­¡± Chen Haiping used his pistol to kill two of the Demonized Sparrows, but it did negligible damage to the flock, and his heart sank. Tang Yu noticed this, and his eyes shone. He had already arranged the moving team¡¯s work for the day. Together with Yilian as a key member of his force, the domain would undoubtedly develop much more quickly. However, the key to building the second core building today was still Origin Crystals. And now, these Demonized Sparrows had delivered themselves to his doorstep. So cute! These Demonized Sparrows were making an enormous contribution to his domain, and he would engrave their deeds on his heart. Behind him, Yilian stretched out a fair hand, and white mist began to congeal into frost. Chapter 11 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales The sky seemed to change color, and a moment later, the dark cloud overhead seemed to be tinged with a layer of blue ice crystals. No¡ªnot just tinged¡­ Chen Haiping felt a harsh and frigid air blasting against his face, and right in front of his eyes, a blue light erupted from the center of the pitch-black flock of sparrows. In a flash, almost ten of the Demonized Sparrows were frozen solid, and the rest of them swayed in the air, affected by the cold. Nearby, Yilian had a solemn expression as she raised both of her hands into the air. A blue arrow made of ice and as thick as her arm coalesced, and then it shot into the air, leaving ripples in its wake. The icicle shot into the sparrow flock and exploded, spewing ice shards and frigid air in every direction¡­ It was an ice-type ability! Chen Haiping had never imagined that such a delicate girl would be one of the rare Awakened with special abilities! Not even one in a hundred Awakened was guaranteed to have a special ability! This was something ordained by heaven, and Chen Haiping was filled with envy. Meanwhile, Yilian¡¯s strength continued to surprise him. Chen Haiping had originally felt Yilian to be a rather weak Awakened, but he was now witnessing Yilian swing her hand again and again, creating icicle after icicle and exterminating the Demonized Sparrows without even breathing hard. His mind was left reeling with indescribable shock. If this were someone who had just awakened to an ability, using the ability once or twice would be their absolute limit. He had seen the number one Awakened of the shelter use their power to create explosions, and while its power had been immense, it had not been able to last for long. In comparison, Yilian was completely relaxed. Whether it was condensing cold air into icicles or controlling the area in which they exploded, it was clear that this girl was holding back! Chen Haiping would probably find it very hard to understand things like the profession system, spells, or high-level automatons, and he couldn¡¯t be blamed for this. After all, even Tang Yu only had a surface understanding of these things. ¡­ Yilian left out a light breath, calming the surging mana in her body. While Chen Haiping was stunned and reeling, she¡­ was rather happy. Each person would have a different definition of happiness. Some people felt happiness when eating gourmet foods, some people felt happiness from acing the enemy team, and for Yilian, happiness was proving her worth and helping her Overlord. Once the flock of Demonized Sparrows had been killed, invisible ripples radiated out and began to converge and flow into her body. Yilian¡¯s crystalline eyes flew open. This was¡­ She had awakened three years ago, but before finding that ragged magic book, she had never had a way to improve her strength. Even though she could sense a strange energy around her, her control over the power of ice remained extremely weak. Upon finding the magic book, she had learned of a Wizard¡¯s most basic ability: meditation. Meditation was the most fundamental way to increase one¡¯s strength, and Yilian had heard that other professions had similar methods. But the pure energy flowing into her from the Demonized Sparrows she had killed was nothing but a fairytale to her past self. This energy was far too pure! By just refining it a little, she could make this power her own. This was many times faster than meditating, and it came with no side effects. Over the last three years, she had managed to bring her strength to a peak Tier 2 Awakened. If she continued with her normal meditation pace, she would have probably needed half a year to successfully break into Tier 3. But now¡­ Yilian felt that she simply needed to refine a little more of this kind of energy to reach Awakened Tier 3. This speed almost felt like a fantasy. Yilian recalled her Overlord saying that there would be a pleasant surprise once she killed demonized beasts, called Soul Energy. So this¡­ was Soul Energy? ¡­ Tang Yu was rather happy once those Demonized Sparrows had been slain. These demonized beasts were weak, and the chances of them having Origin Crystals was low, but there were also a lot of them. Tang Yu happily prepared himself to start digging for crystals. But on second thought, he realized that he was no longer alone. He had his first small moving team, and it was best put to use digging out crystals. As for Yilian, she had seemed so timid, and just yesterday, she had appeared so lost and confused, even tiptoeing on the smooth floors of the castle¡­ but now, in front of the Demonized Sparrows, Yilian didn¡¯t seem panicked at all. After thinking about it a little, Tang Yu understood. Though Yilian was young and lacked fighting experience, she had just been through a difficult defensive battle. These Demonized Sparrows paled by comparison. With this good start, Tang Yu continued on his original plan, continuing to clear out demonized beasts region by region while searching for anything useful left behind from the shelter. It was dusk by the time Tang Yu returned to the villa area. Counting the Origin Crystals in his pocket, Tang Yu smiled. That most exciting moment where he could start building had come¡ªthe moment where he opened his wallet. Coincidentally, several survivors arrived, pushing a cart. A large pile of miscellaneous items had been piled up in the center of the villa area, almost like a mountain of trash. These were all the remnants of buildings, like cement slabs with rebar sticking out of them, and also many damaged goods. Whether before the apocalypse or in the present, these were things that nobody wanted, but Tang Yu had a dire need for them. ¡°Move all these things in front of Villa No. 3.¡± Tang Yu pointed at Villa No. 3, located in the inner part of the villa area. Farther inside were Villa No. 2 and the castle. The castle was some distance from the cliff. This barren clearing was perfect for Tang Yu¡¯s purposes, as it was the safest place to put his core buildings. Tang Yu already had plans to make this a forbidden zone. So long as he blocked the opening up ahead, he could seal the area tight. Even though people couldn¡¯t enter the core buildings without Tang Yu¡¯s permission, in order to avoid unnecessary problems, it was better to isolate these buildings away from the survivors. It wasn¡¯t long before the survivors had left a large pile of materials in front of Villa No. 3. Villa No. 3 was already in terrible condition, littered with bullet holes, claw marks, and even the scorched craters left by explosions. In front of this villa, the pile of material seemed even more like a garbage heap. This was no good¡­ Tang Yu gave a slight shake of his head. Once he built up his core buildings, he needed to clean up his domain. If he wanted to develop this place into a shelter, he had to make a good impression. Moreover, when he walked out of his castle every day, he had no desire to see this sort of mood-ruining scene. Once he had sent away the survivors while making them leave the cart, Tang Yu called over Number One and Number Two to take this valuable ¡®trash¡¯ to the clearing behind the castle. Chapter 12 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales By the time Tang Yu was done, the sky had gone completely dark. ¡°Beepbeep! Two hundred and thirteen units of usable Wood have been detected. ¡°Five hundred and forty-nine units of usable Stone have been detected. ¡°One hundred and ninety-eight units of usable Iron have been detected. ¡°Five hundred and thirty-five units of Origin Crystal have been detected.¡± Tang Yu smiled. With these resources, he could choose to build either the workshop or the market. He would have half of the four core buildings. Standing in the clearing behind the castle, he could see the lights from the nearby castle shining brightly in the darkness. But no demonized beasts were drawn over, as all of the demonized beasts in the surrounding area had been cleaned out over the last two days. There were few demonized beasts left across the entire vacation villa, and he hadn¡¯t seen a red dot on his domain map the entire day. After some thought, Tang Yu decided to build the workshop first. Both the market and workshop were extremely useful, but only the workshop could be immediately useful once it was built. As for the market¡­ Tang Yu would venture to guess that with the paltry number of Origin Crystals he had, he didn¡¯t have the money to build a market! Opening the building menu and browsing to the core building menu, he chose to build the workshop. ¡°Ding dong! Constructing the workshop costs five hundred units of Origin Crystal, one hundred units of Stone, and one hundred units of Iron. Confirm, Yes/No?¡± ¡°Confirm!¡± Countless materials flew up from the piles of trash around him, floating in the air. The Origin Crystals in his pocket dissolved into dim lights, a dragon made of fireflies that strung together all of the various materials. Soon, a building that was five meters high and covered an area of two hundred square meters appeared before Tang Yu. Though this was his second time witnessing such a thing, Tang Yu still couldn¡¯t help but sigh in wonder at this incomparable power. Where had this system come from? While this thing could speak into his mind, he couldn¡¯t truly communicate with it. He mostly owed the lack of many hindrances with using it to his experience playing the game before the apocalypse. But the system in reality still had to differ from the system in the game. With the tavern, Tang Yu had already noticed something different from the game. In the future, he could no longer blindly rely on past experience, and there were also some buildings that he had never built in the game. When the time came, he would be completely in the dark. He shook his head. These things were too far off in the future. Developing a domain was far more difficult in reality than in a game. At the very least, obtaining resources and Origin Crystals in the game was much faster than in reality. And it wasn¡¯t like he had anything to be unhappy about. There was nothing special about the workshop from the outside. It appeared like an ordinary workshop from before the apocalypse. Just like the tavern, it was very ordinary, not particularly shabby but also not as luxurious as the castle. It was like everything had been downgraded. Tang Yu curiously walked into the workshop. The workshop was entirely closed off, without any windows. It was only when he opened the door and walked inside that he realized that the workshop was lit. The walls and floor were all the same color, and the place was completely empty save for a giant black box in the center. The black box was square and appeared to be wrapped in a black outer shell. There were openings on the two ends of the box, and after walking around it, Tang Yu finally found an operation panel. ¡­Probably. Tang Yu inspected the workshop¡¯s description. It was much simpler than the tavern¡¯s. One simply needed to place materials in the feeding inlet, use the operation panel, and then take the equipment from the outlet. A Level 1 workshop had the most basic of blueprints, including the basic weapons for the various professions: the basic sword, the basic wand, the basic gun, the basic dagger, and the basic hammer. With regards to defensive equipment, there was light armor, heavy armor, leather armor, and robes. Besides weaponry and armor, the most important category was the rune category. Runes were special symbols. Once engraved with Origin Energy, they could be imbued with special powers. Even the most ordinary sharpening rune, when engraved on an ordinary sword, could allow the sword to slice through iron like it was mud. While the blueprints the Level 1 workshop came with were rather ordinary, it allowed the ability to engrave a single rune, significantly boosting the power of a set of equipment. In addition, the basic blueprints provided by the Level 1 workshop included several of the most basic runes. ? A basic sharpening rune that could give a minor boost to a weapon¡¯s sharpness. ? A basic magic rune that could give a minor boost to a magic user¡¯s power. ? A basic armor rune that could give a minor boost to an equipment¡¯s defensive abilities. There weren¡¯t many blueprints, but all the essentials were there. So long as he had enough material, he could produce a complete set of equipment. Even though this was just the basic new-player equipment in the game, Tang Yu felt that in reality, it would leave things like alloy weapons and stab-resistant armor in the dust. The material it took to construct equipment was basically the same as the materials needed for constructing buildings: Iron and Origin Crystals. If producing armor, some Fur would be needed, like the fur from demonized beasts. There happened to be some building materials left, and he had also collected quite a lot of demonized beast fur over the last few days. With no place to use them, they had been placed together in a rather foul-smelling pile. Tang Yu placed the materials in the inlet and used the operation panel to select the equipment he wanted. Operation was mindless and simple. [Producing a basic sharpening rune costs five units of Origin Crystal.] [Producing a basic magic rune costs five units of Origin Crystal.] [Producing a basic sword costs five units of Iron, five units of Origin Crystal, and one basic sharpening rune.] [Producing a basic wand costs five units of Wood, five units of Origin Crystal, and one basic magic rune.] [Producing a basic armor rune¡­] [¡­] ¡­ Small shelters would go totally dark at night, but in the Lindong Shelter, many places were still lit up. Wang Tai, dressed as an ordinary survivor, was watching people walk past, some of them Awakened with excellent equipment, and he internally convulsed with reluctance. He had once been a shelter chief with several dozen Awakened under his command and countless resources. But now? He couldn¡¯t even compare to some of the mercenaries of the Lindong Shelter! Just fleeing from the demon flood had lost him more than half of the ten-some subordinates he had fled with. By the time he had stumbled into Lindong, he only had two subordinates left. The other elite mercenary teams had five or six Awakened, all of them with guns and other weapons. He couldn¡¯t get men or weapons even if he wanted them, and as for the Origin Crystals that were extremely valuable in Lindong and often used as currency, in his haste, he had left them back at the shelter. The shelter had already been wiped out by the demon flood, and he was incapable of setting up another shelter. But if he could get his hands on those Origin Crystals he had hidden in the villa, he still had an opportunity to stage a comeback. However, having just been through the dangers of the wilderness, Wang Tai knew that he and his two subordinates would probably die before they made it back to the vacation villa. Moreover, now that they were in Lindong, if he became destitute, even his two remaining subordinates might leave him. Wang Tai¡¯s face shifted between a variety of emotions. At this moment, a middle-aged man with a very ordinary face walked over, upon which a flattering smile immediately appeared on Wang Tai¡¯s face. The middle-aged man was emotionless as he indifferently said, ¡°The boss has agreed to your proposal. We set out tomorrow at daybreak. I will lead the team. I hope that what you say is true, or else¡­ I am sure you know what will happen.¡± Rather than displeased, Wang Tai was delighted to hear this. ¡°Of course, of course. How would I dare to deceive Chief Lin? But I will have to rely on Captain Han tomorrow.¡± Han Jing glanced at him. ¡°No problem.¡± He left. As Wang Tai watched Han Jing leave, he unclenched his balled fist. With his strength, he would never make it back to the vacation villa. But if he had someone else to rely on, the situation would be different. Fortunately, in escaping, he had made an important discovery. With this intelligence report, he had been able to establish a small relationship with Chief Lin, who was a big boss that was in the top three of the power hierarchy of Lindong! This time, in order to verify the intelligence report, Chief Lin had dispatched Han Jing, who was a Tier 3 Awakened, almost at Tier 4, and his team of experts. With this team, getting to the vacation villa was almost a sure thing. No matter how many demonized beasts still lingered there after the demon flood had passed, or what sort of special situations they encountered along the road, they would all be crushed with absolute strength. Once the intelligence report was verified, he would finally be able to establish friendly relations with Chief Lin, which would give him a backer in Lindong. Moreover, on his return to the vacation villa, he could secretly take the Origin Crystals he had hidden and use them as his start-up capital in Lindong. He still had a chance to stage a comeback! Chapter 13 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales The next day, the sky was hazy, a dim golden light penetrating through the clouds to cast its resplendence across the world. Tang Yu, seated cross-legged on his bed, slowly opened his eyes. He had spent the first half of the night asleep. Within and without the castle seemed like two separate worlds. Outside was a blasted and devastated world, the ground covered in a variety of corpses that were beginning to stink. Even though he had already grown used to this life, he still found it uncomfortable. Inside the castle was different. The air here was abnormally fresh and clean. It was comparable to the fresh air in a lush forest, seeping into one¡¯s soul. The temperature was also very comfortable. It was the middle of summer outside, and it was unbearably muggy, even at night. But it felt nothing like that inside the castle, refreshing and clean. He also had a big, comfortable bed. All of this made Tang Yu sleep incredibly well. Coupled with the formidable recovery power of Awakened, he was able to wash away a day of exhaustion with just four or five hours of sleep. He spent the latter half of the night cultivating. ¡­In other words, refining Soul Energy. Soul Energy was refined very quickly, but even so, Tang Yu had absorbed a little too much Soul Energy yesterday. Soul Energy clearly had no substance, but he inexplicably felt full. This had caused him to use quite a bit of time to completely refine the Soul Energy and make it his own power. ¡°I¡¯ve already reached the strength of a peak Tier 1 Awakened. I just need to absorb some more Soul Energy to break through and enter Tier 2. Even those high-aptitude Awakened might not be able to match this speed.¡± This was expected. No matter how great the aptitude of others was, they needed to increase their strength through their own efforts. As for him, he was basically cheating, walking around with the equivalent of Tier 5 Awakened, and one that couldn¡¯t even fight over Soul Energy with him. Was it even possible for him to not advance quickly? After breakfast, Tang Yu equipped the equipment that had recently been finished in the workshop: a bright iron sword and a black one-piece fighting suit with red stripes. The fighting suit was leather armor, but it wasn¡¯t that sort of leather armor that would only cover half his body. And this was reality, not a game, so equipping the armor didn¡¯t suddenly grant increased defensive capability. If he wore that sort of video game armor that only covered critical parts and went to fight demonized beasts, there would be nothing left of Tang Yu. This fighting suit was extremely comfortable. He had initially believed that wearing clothes like this in this weather might be a little hot, but it seemed that the workshop had access to some sort of secret technology. The fighting suit was light and breathable, and when he moved around his body, it moved very smoothly and naturally. Moreover, this suit had been made using the hide of that scarlet demonized beast, so it boasted impressive defenses. Even his iron sword would take some effort to cut open a tiny hole in this fighting suit¡­ This was the difference in material. After all, this basic sword was made of ordinary Iron. Tang Yu went back to the castle and looked at himself in the mirror. He found himself very happy with the fighting suit. ¡°It just seems a little too casual.¡± ¡­ The survivors all woke up very early. After getting a little taste of the abundant food they could get in exchange for their labor, they were all delighted. Yesterday, the food they had received had even included two cans of meat. Some of the survivors even wept tears of happiness, so long had it been since they had tasted meat. ¡°It¡¯s Chief Tang!¡± someone yelled as he rubbed his eyes. The ones walking over were those three familiar figures, Tang Yu leading the way, followed by the armored expert and the girl they had seen yesterday. But they had almost failed to realize that the two with the armored expert were Chief Tang and the girl who was capable of firing icicles! Chief Tang was wearing a black and red fighting suit and carrying a sword at his waist, its blade flashing in the sunlight. Behind Chief Tang, the armored expert was like a faithful guard, silently following with its spear. On the other side, Yilian was wearing a black wizard robe with red stripes, the hood of the robe concealing her face and her small body completely enclosed in the robes. Gripped in her fair hand was a screw-shaped tree branch, a wand! The three of them leisurely walked over. Around them were deceased demonized beasts that had yet to be cleared away, dried pools of blood, and damaged buildings. The blazing sun seemed to rise from behind them. At this time, the entire world seemed to lose color, and the only thing left were those three people slowly walking over. Gulp. Someone couldn¡¯t help but swallow. These clothes made them seem like cosplayers, incredibly garish in the middle of the apocalypse. These clothes should have appeared very awkward, but when the survivors looked at Chief Tang, they felt as if everything was in harmony, that this was how things should be. Chief Tang¡¯s group of three appeared like a group of victorious warriors walking out of a sea of corpses. ¡­ Though they were somewhat disconcerted by the clothes, the survivors knew their place and understood what they should and shouldn¡¯t ask. They quickly accepted their tasks and departed. Chen Haiping did not leave. The moving team¡¯s work received good payment, but Chen Haiping didn¡¯t want to sit around and wait to die. He had become an Awakened rather late, but he had firmly and steadily grown stronger and stronger. Among the Awakened of the shelter, he had been above average, but in the attack of the demon flood, the shelter had been wiped out. This made him understand how weak he was and how truly helpless he was in the face of a true calamity. After witnessing the strength of Chief Tang and his subordinates, Chen Haiping was anxious to get stronger. He wanted to hunt down demonized beasts! He also hoped that he could contribute a little to the construction of the shelter! He hoped that the shelter could be built, but he also understood that a shelter could not rely on a small number of experts. He might not have been very strong, but as a fighter, he could at least contribute a little more than he could by transporting some stone. Chen Haiping voiced his thoughts and waited for Chief Tang¡¯s reply. Tang Yu turned pensive. He had not had so many ideas at first. After all, a few days ago, he had been a low-class survivor that had been struggling to survive in the apocalypse. He had built the castle only to save his life. However, developing a domain required a detailed plan. Even if he had the system to help him, buying and building would not get him a complete domain. Chen Haiping¡¯s argument was reasonable. The domain map could warn him about any demonized beasts attacking, but he couldn¡¯t rely on Number One, Number Two, and his followers to deal with them every time. Experts needed to be the trump card of his domain, not a power that was commonly used. Moreover, Tang Yu hoped that in the future, his followers would have the time to boost their own strength. Moreover, if he wanted to develop the domain, he needed survivors to participate in the process. In the future, when he had many survivors, he would need trustworthy subordinates to manage both defense and administration. The domain needed a patrol team to serve as a conventional force. After two days of observation, he had developed a certain understanding of Chen Haiping. This man had been a soldier before, so he was good with a gun and possessed decent combat skills. As a person, he had a sense of right and wrong and wasn¡¯t some stickler for the rules. Most importantly, on the domain map, the dot representing Chen Haiping was green. This was enough. ¡°I agree to your request. The shelter is not built yet, so there are no specific duties to assign. It¡¯s just patrolling the area and defending against demonized beast attacks, increasing your strength along the way. After all, you¡¯re only a Tier 1 Awakened, so you can only deal with the most ordinary of demonized beasts.¡± Chen Haiping bitterly smiled, unable to argue, until he heard Chief Tang say, ¡°Why don¡¯t we do this? I¡¯ll find an expert that you can learn skills for dealing with demonized beasts from.¡± An expert? He was confused. Was it the armored expert? If he learned from the armored expert, there was no doubt that he would rapidly grow stronger. A moment later, he saw an iron tower of a man approaching from the distance. Chapter 14 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales ¡°Roger.¡± ¡°Lord, I am here.¡± The voice was deep and powerful, and as it rang out, the iron tower of a man walked over. His steps seemed slow, but he was actually moving swiftly, and it wasn¡¯t long before he had walked up behind Chief Tang and bowed. The man was two meters tall and had a head of short brown hair. He wore a suit of black armor with a giant sword on his back, and held his helmet in his hand. As the man got closer, Chen Haiping felt an enormous pressure on his heart. Chen Haiping¡¯s pupils constricted. This sort of pressure did not come from energy. He could sense only a weak energy from Roger, but this pressure came from the way the man carried himself. This was the awe-inspiring and imposing attitude of someone who had fought their way out of a mountain of corpses. It was a suffocating and fiendish pressure that impacted against his nerves and made his blood run cold. He recalled his years in the military and those special-forces soldiers he had run into. These were soldiers who had truly been on the battlefield and killed people. Chen Haiping had felt the same fiendish energy on them, and compared to them, it was even more obvious on this iron tower of a man! This was undoubtedly a super expert! ¡­ The tavern allowed him to make one free summon per day, which could be made at any time in the day. Yesterday, Tang Yu had summoned an ordinary D-grade adventurer, so he had not signed a contract. But this morning, he had summoned Roger. With the precedent of an A-grade, the C-grade Roger wasn¡¯t that impressive, but what Tang Yu cared about was Roger¡¯s strength. Not even he knew how many tiers there were to Awakened. He only knew that Awakened were basically divided into three levels. The first level was the Foundation Level, extending from Tier 1 Awakened to Tier 5 Awakened. This was the level of followers that could be summoned in the tavern. The second level was the Body Molding Level. Roger had once been a peak Body Molding Level expert. Normally, Tang Yu would have never been able to summon him. But when on a campaign against the black flood, Roger had been heavily injured, and his strength fell to Awakened Tier 5. He had also been left with a disability that ensured that he would never go onto the battlefield again. But when he was summoned, the contract¡¯s power healed all of Roger¡¯s injuries. Though he remained at the peak of the Foundation Level, it would be extremely simple for him to reach the Body Molding Level again. Many years of injuries had been cured in a single day, and Roger¡¯s imposing aura had erupted. As Tang Yu had the contract, he didn¡¯t find it uncomfortable, but Chen Haiping took on the direct impact. His face turned pale, but his eyes were excited, and there was a hint of anticipation and impatience on his face. He was probably anxious to start learning skills to deal with demonized beasts, right? ¡­ A convoy stopped outside the entrance to the vacation villa. It consisted of two off-road vehicles and one minibus. The car doors opened, and numerous people got out. They had excellent equipment, holding guns and wearing bulletproof vests. These people immediately spread out and began to warily inspect their surroundings. Wang Tai came out of the car, and behind him were his two subordinates. As he looked at the nearby ruins of the vacation villa, Wang Tai once more felt his heart ache. Before the apocalypse, he had been a big boss, and this Green Shade Vacation Villa had been his property. When the apocalypse took place, he had been nearby. With his personal guns and a group of loyal men, Wang Tai quickly managed to form a group and gradually develop the vacation villa into a shelter. But with one demon flood, it had been completely wiped out! Fortunately, he still had a chance for a resurgence¡­ Wang Tai walked up to the middle-aged man and smiled. ¡°Captain Han, we¡¯re close to the Origin Crystal vein now, but it¡¯s all mountain roads from here that aren¡¯t easy to traverse. Should we stay and rest a little here?¡± Han Jing narrowed his eyes and examined his surroundings. Just as Wang Tai had said, this place had come under attack by a demon flood, and the entire shelter had been annihilated. But this was not what he cared about. What he wanted was only one thing: to verify the existence of the Origin Crystal vein. This Origin Crystal vein was the primary concern of the intelligence report provided by Wang Tai. After the apocalypse, the Earth had changed dramatically, and many new products had appeared. Origin Crystal veins were one of these. An ore vein containing numerous Origin Crystals, even if excavated only a little, would produce far more Origin Crystals than killing thousands of demonized beasts. This was a temptation that Lin Wei could not resist. As Lin Wei¡¯s close aide, Han Jing had worked for the man for ten-some years and was well aware of what his boss was thinking. ¡°Team Two, scout in the nine o¡¯clock direction. Team Three, scout in the three o¡¯clock direction. The rest, stay here and wait for orders.¡± The remaining men spread out around the cars and stood guard. Wang Tai looked into the distance, his eyes glinting. He naturally understood the value of an Origin Crystal vein. If the shelter had still been around, he would have never offered this Origin Crystal vein to anyone! Fortunately, he had been able to trade it for something else. Wang Tai looked around and began to think about how he would secretly make his way to the villa to get the items he had hidden. At this time, Team Three, which had only been gone a short while, came back, two of them escorting two panicked survivors. ¡°What¡¯s going on? How can there still be survivors here?¡± Han Jing asked. Wang Tai shook his head to indicate that he didn¡¯t know. He was also flabbergasted! ¡­ Wang Zhou and another survivor looked at the men around them and trembled in fear. They had simply come out to see if they could find any useful resources left behind by the demon flood. Why had all these savage-faced men with guns suddenly come out of nowhere? The two of them didn¡¯t dare to resist and were instantly captured. One of the men pointed his gun at the two and shouted, ¡°Talk! Who are you? Why are you here? What were you doing? Tell me the truth and nothing but the truth, you hear!?¡± Wang Zhou paled while the other survivor was struck dumb, his eyes growing wide and his hands and feet nervously twitching. It seemed that he had been scared silly. ¡°He¡­ hehe¡­ hehehe.¡± Seeing that the man was about to fire, Wang Zhou summoned his courage and instantly knocked his companion unconscious. ¡°Wait, wait, wait! I¡¯ll talk! He¡¯s an idiot while I¡¯m normal. Let me talk.¡± He calmed himself down and hastily began to speak. ¡°We¡¯re survivors from the Green Shade Shelter¨C¡± ¡°Survivors? I told you to tell the truth! The Green Shade Shelter was already wiped out by the demon flood!¡± Wang Zhou was so frightened that his face twisted up like a wrinkled shirt, and he was on the verge of tears, but he had no way of voicing his miseries. ¡°We¡¯re really survivors from Green Shade Shelter¡ªwait! Wait¡­ Let me finish. When the demon flood happened, we hid in the underground storage and managed to survive.¡± Wang Tai frowned and came forward to ask, ¡°The underground storage? How long were you hiding there? Why is it that you didn¡¯t run into any demonized beasts when you came out?!¡± ¡°We¡­ we hid for about two or three days. When we were so hungry that we couldn¡¯t take it anymore, we ran out. As for the demonized beasts, I don¡¯t know either. When we came out, the outside was like this,¡± Wang Zhou stammered. The man with the gun was clearly no ordinary survivor, and with his unkind face and their rough demeanor¡­ Wang Zhou knew that even if he told the truth, his chances of survival weren¡¯t great. It would be better to conceal key information and wait for Chief Tang to save him. Not even he was sure if Chief Tang would save them. In the apocalypse, ordinary survivors were the most worthless of all. But it was better to believe in Chief Tang than believe that these armed men would let him go. After all, Chief Tang had treated them rather well in the last few days. Han Jing stood on the side and listened to the interrogation continue, then he turned to Wang Tai. ¡°They¡¯re all survivors from your shelter. Do you not have any impression of them?¡± Wang Tai shook his head. ¡°They¡¯re just ordinary survivors, so I have no idea. If they were Awakened, I might be able to recognize a few.¡± Han Jing turned pensive. From this interrogation, it seemed that there were more survivors than just these two. There were also other people, but they weren¡¯t strong and didn¡¯t represent much of a threat. But out of caution, he ordered, ¡°Bring these two people with us. Since there are other survivors, we¡¯ll capture all the mice first.¡± ¡­ After doing a few rounds of the area and finding no demonized beasts, Tang Yu returned, alone, to the clearing outside the castle. As the number of demonized beasts dwindled, hunting demonized beasts became less and less efficient. At first, he could run into many demonized beasts in the first few minutes, but now, he could search for half an hour without finding one. Rather than accompanying the hunting team, he decided to return to the castle and find a place to train. Awakened also needed to train, particularly when they had big boosts in strength. In order to better control his power, Tang Yu needed to spend some time on training. At this time, his body was contorted into an extremely awkward position. This was a training method that Roger had taught him this morning. It was a battle warm-up exercise. At this time, a notification appeared in his mind. ¡°Ding! Your domain residents are in danger. Please note¡­¡± ¡°Ding!¡­¡± ¡°Ding!¡­¡± Tang Yu was struck dumb. Chapter 15 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales The system had this ability? Why didn¡¯t I ever know about it? But this was no time to think about such things. Tang Yu opened up the system menu, and as expected, he found a more detailed record in the log. He saw the names of the two survivors in danger, and after some thought, he realized that it was the two survivors he had sent to the eastern part of the vacation villa to search for resources. But they were now in danger? The system did not give a more detailed explanation. Tang Yu tried to ask the system, but all he got in reply was the same repeated phrases. He speculated that this definitely wasn¡¯t some sort of demonized beast. Putting aside the fact that all the demonized beasts in the vacation villa had been wiped out, if the two of them had run into demonized beasts, they would have been dead already, not in some endangered state. Either these two were injured or they were being threatened. Tang Yu hurriedly used the power of the contract to send a message to Yilian and Roger, and then he called over Number Two and immediately set out. ¡­ Han Jing led a team into the vacation villa. As they advanced, they truly could see many signs of human activity. He did not entirely believe Wang Zhou¡¯s words¡­ The boss hadn¡¯t sent him on this mission because he was the strongest, but because he had worked for the boss for many years and was deeply trusted. For this reason, Han Jing was very cautious. He wanted to eliminate all factors that could possibly disrupt his mission. His observations made Han Jing mentally sneer. There were many demonized beast corpses in the vacation villa. Many of them had been left behind from when the humans had attempted to defend the shelter from the demon flood. However, Han Jing¡¯s sharp eyes allowed him to see that some of the demonized beasts had only been killed recently, not on the day of the demon flood. This meant that the survivors of the demon flood were not ordinary survivors as Wang Zhou had claimed. Perhaps these two were hoping that the Awakened in their group would save them? Han Jing found this idea very interesting. His group had two Tier 3 Awakened besides him, and five Tier 2 Awakened. Moreover, they had a variety of ammunition and even some heavy firepower. It would be no exaggeration to say they could even take on a small shelter. This was the difference between a big power and a small power. Ordinary survivors, with their narrow vision of the world, had no means of understanding it. But that was fine. If those people wished to deliver themselves to his doorstep, it would save him the effort. No mistakes could be permitted in this mission, and any person who could possibly leak information would meet only one end. From the very beginning, Han Jing had passed the death penalty on these survivors. Even though they knew that these survivors actually had no relationship to the Origin Crystal vein, alas, they needed to keep this mission a secret. Considering that this Origin Crystal vein was too close to this place, in order to prevent the Origin Crystal vein from being discovered, Han Jing needed to put an end to all accidents. If they needed someone to blame, these survivors could only blame their bad luck, and this included¡­ He glanced furtively at Wang Tai, a cold glint in his eyes. ¡°Captain, ahead of us is the villa area, the center of the vacation villa. We haven¡¯t encountered any other survivors on our way here, so the rest of them are probably over there.¡± Wang Tai had no idea what Han Jing was thinking. He was just thinking about how once he got his hands on some resources and had a connection to that big boss, he would be able to rise again in Lindong. Han Jing lightly grunted, walked to the front of the group, and then suddenly sensed something and looked up. Over there, two figures stood halfway up the mountain, the sun at their backs as they coldly observed them. Han Jing laughed. He had overestimated these survivors. There was only one Awakened. If those two could sense their energies, would they be scared out of their wits? ¡°Captain, look at what they¡¯re wearing. They must think they¡¯re something else.¡± One of his team members chuckled and jeered. Han Jing was also rather disdainful. A man and a woman stood at the midway point of the mountain, one of them wearing a fighting suit and the other wearing a magic robe. But did they think that just putting on a Gold Cloth could make them Knights of the Zodiac? Truly good equipment focused on practicality. He wore a gray fighting suit, a combat vest, armguards, combat boots, a helmet, shoulder guards, and other equipment. Though they seemed unremarkable, they were the product of the Lindong Shelter¡¯s technological research. This was true life-saving equipment, and it wasn¡¯t all about outward appearance! Han Jing waved his hand. ¡°Some of you, go up and capture those two.¡± Several Awakened began to fly up the steps. This distance wasn¡¯t very far for Awakened. On the clearing at the middle of the mountain, Tang Yu shook his head, indicating that Yilian shouldn¡¯t strike just yet. The Awakened got closer and closer. In their eyes, he could see that these men thought that they were already fish on the chopping board. Really? Tang Yu laughed. He could naturally tell that these people weren¡¯t to be lightly provoked. Whether it was in terms of energy or number, they were particularly powerful. This was the most powerful Awakened team he had seen in the apocalypse. This group probably had some unusual background. Perhaps they had some objective that they couldn¡¯t divulge. But none of this was important. What was important was that he had spotted his two ¡®domain inhabitants¡¯ that were in danger. Han Jing looked at Tang Yu and his companion, watching for their reaction. His team members had already covered two thirds of the distance, and those two were still standing there, neither attacking nor running¡­ Had they been scared silly? Or were they in despair? Boom! A building to the right suddenly exploded, sending debris everywhere. A human figure charged out like a cannonball! This human silhouette moved with incredible speed. The team member closest to it had his attention focused entirely on the pair midway up the mountain. Before he had any chance to react, he flew out like he had been struck by a truck, blood flowing from his shattered chest. Han Jing was flabbergasted. He was the strongest of his team, but even so, his reaction was too slow! The human silhouette had been so fast that all he could see was that it wore blue and white armor. Armor? Han Jing wondered if he was seeing things! The human silhouette collided with two other members before reaching the two tied-up survivors. He could see clearly now that this was a man in blue and white armor. He had a long spear in hand, and with a swoosh, he cut apart the ropes binding the survivors while leaving them entirely unscathed. Han Jing instantly concluded that this was an expert. It was no wonder those survivors were so confident. He had no intention of going forward to exchange blows with this man. Humans, no matter how strong they were, were not immune to the threat of hot weapons. Experts might be able to dodge a few bullets, but once the bullets became a barrage, the threat level soared. And this wasn¡¯t even considering the two ordinary survivors. He loved seeing this sort of thing, when someone who had gone through great efforts was about to succeed and was then pushed into the abyss. ¡°Fire!¡± Chapter 16 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales Following Han Jing¡¯s order, his team members were about to raise their guns. Boom! A human silhouette shot into the group behind, and because they were standing close to each other, a sweep of the spear instantly sent several of them flying backward. The scene instantly fell into chaos. Han Jing felt like his eyes were going to burst out of their sockets. The small mishap from just now was something he could accept. But now, with a cursory glance, he could tell that quite a few members of his team were dead or injured. How could these survivors living out in the wild possess this level of strength? And how could they move so secretively? He could not sense any Awakened energy from them. Tang Yu would not answer him. Number One and Number Two weren¡¯t Awakened. He stood there to intentionally draw their attention, not because he wanted to strike a pose. He had already ordered Number One and Number Two to sneak over. Down below was chaos and disarray. The two survivors rushed over, feeling fortunate that they had survived. No one was paying attention to them now. ¡°You can go now.¡± The Awakened charging up had also noticed that something had gone wrong down below. Instead of stopping, they accelerated. Yilian gripped her wand and extended her hand. At the top of the wand, three icicles formed, arranged in an upside-down triangle. The icicles shot forward, their trailing snowflakes. Their surfaces reflected the panic and fear within the eyes of the Awakened. These people reacted quickly, rolling or lunging, doing their best to dodge, but Yilian had exceptional control over her icicles. Not only could she control when they detonated, she could control their direction within a certain range. Pa! Pa! Pa! The icicles exploded, and while the Awakened had dodged in time to avoid fatal wounds, they were frozen by the frigid air, their hands and feet covered in white frost. And before they could relax, several more icicles flew out. Their faces turned even more panicked, but their bodies were growing increasingly stiff. After just a few seconds, they had all been slain or frozen into statues. Down below¡­ Han Jing¡¯s men were an elite group, and they quickly managed to stabilize the situation. ¡°Teams Two and Three, covering fire.¡± Dadada! Han Jing finally exhaled. He was well aware that given the power of those two, even if he joined the fray, it would be difficult to deal with them. His greatest advantage was his firepower. Perhaps Awakened had limitless potential, but at this time, human gunfire still had a major advantage, particularly against humans and their rather fragile flesh. Han Jing¡¯s face suddenly went stiff. The two armored fellows didn¡¯t try to avoid the bullets, but a moment later, the bullets struck the armor and bounced off! B-bounced off? Han Jing didn¡¯t dare to believe his eyes. Were these two wearing real suits of armor? No, not even actual armor would be able to stop bullets. Moreover, the bullets hadn¡¯t left a single mark on the armor! What sort of armor was this?! Han Jing had worked for his boss for many years and seen countless bizarre things. Moreover, after the apocalypse, his boss had wielded enormous authority in Lindong and was even able to get his hands on things from the Academy of Sciences. But not even the Academy of Sciences had armor that could be completely unscathed after being struck by bullets, right? As his mind rapidly whirred, one of the armored figures approached. The air exploded as the spear swung. Han Jing instantly felt his blood run cold. He could feel that death was close! Relying on his abundant fighting experience, Han Jing moved his foot and shifted his body, barely dodging the attack. The spear pounded into the ground, fracturing the earth. Han Jing had no idea what sort of person he was facing. This person was far stronger than he had imagined! Fear crept into his heart. His boss¡¯s mission was important, but if they all died, there would be no mission to speak of. The mission to find the Origin Crystal vein actually had no relation to them. For the first time in his life, Han Jing felt some regret. He threw down a smoke grenade and began to slink away. Using his team member as bait, he shook off Number One and madly ran into the distance. If that was how Han Jing acted, the rest of his team would be even worse off. If their captain was running, why were they still fighting? Moreover, they could see that the Tier 3 Awakened deputy captain had been pierced through by a spear like a meat skewer. Their courage broke, and their will to fight completely dispersed. ¡°Monster!!!¡± Someone made a break for it. But others realized that they couldn¡¯t run, and their faces turned crazed. One of them raised a rocket launcher and roared, ¡°Die!¡± The rocket shot out in a trail of flames. The fleeing Han Jing smiled. The armor might be able to stop a bullet, but there was no way it could stop a rocket! He couldn¡¯t help but cheer for his team members, but that didn¡¯t mean he would stop running. The rocket had been fired at just the right moment. Automaton Number Two had no time to dodge. A moment later, the automaton stood firm. Boom!!! Dust plumed. It gradually settled. A figure still stood before them. The only difference was that the upper half of his spear was a little blackened. Han Jing had lost all hope. This was no wild Awakened! Wild Awakened didn¡¯t have this level of strength or this sort of equipment! He was now speculating that these people had been dispatched by some other big boss, and it also had to be for the Origin Crystal vein! They had miscalculated! Fortunately, the rocket had finally managed to create a small problem for this man. In addition, the other monster had gone after the others. He still had a chance to run. As long as he could get to where they had parked the cars, he could start a car and get far away. Not even those two monsters would be able to catch up. Even if the mission had failed, he had to inform his boss about the situation here. Han Jing looked around. Besides himself, another one of the more quick-witted team members and Wang Tai had fled with him. A team of around twenty-some people had dwindled to three escapees. It was simply tragic. For a moment, he cursed Wang Tai. If he didn¡¯t know that Wang Tai still had some use, he would have killed him first. He could already see the cars they had parked at the entrance to the vacation villa. Han Jing sighed in relief. The other team member and Wang Tai, who were somewhat behind him, quickly ran up with the light of hope in their eyes. ¡°The Lord has spoken. Those up there, halt.¡± Two people emerged from behind a car. One was dressed as an ordinary survivor, and the other wore heavy black armor. Heavy and imposing. Wang Tai recognized one of them as an Awakened of his shelter, but the other one left him frightened. Not only was he wearing armor, he had a bloody and fiendish energy, seeming like a yawning abyss. Wang Tai felt like he was a tiny boat being tossed about by the waves, and his face turned ghastly pale. Roger¡¯s Tier 5 Awakened Energy was fully unleashed. The fiendish energy that came from a lifetime of battle and the energy of an even higher Awakened tier were unleashed with it. Even the wind seemed to stop blowing. Han Jing had also gone ghastly pale. Even in Lindong, this level of strength could be matched by the tiny number of experts at the very top. Which big boss had sent these people? Han Jing didn¡¯t know, but he wasn¡¯t willing to just sit around and wait for death. Taking his dagger in both hands, he readied himself to fight to the death. Chapter 17 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales The battle was very short. A minute ago, the air had been ringing with gunfire, but now, everything grew calm. Wang Zhou and the other survivor panted for breath, considering themselves lucky for surviving. The other survivors had been somewhat more fortunate and had not gone as far. Once they had heard the news, they had immediately retreated back to the villa area. At this time, they were listening to the pair recount their harrowing experience. It was mostly Wang Zhou that was talking. While his companion had recovered, his complexion was still pale. As for Wang Zhou, though he had been on the verge of tears a few moments ago, he was now so excited that the others were looking at him like he was a weirdo. ¡°¡­You guys don¡¯t know. Those people had savage expressions, guns pointed at our heads. But me, I was fearless, my face composed. ¡°At the time, that expert appeared like a gust of wind. Whoosh! He appeared at our side and cut the ropes tying us. Those enemies blocking the road were instantly mowed down¡­¡± Wang Zhou suddenly paused here. ¡°It seems like there were two experts! Were they twins? No, they both wore helmets so I couldn¡¯t tell. But those experts were truly formidable. That group seemed powerful, but they were paper tigers in front of the experts, not even able to take a single blow¡­¡± Wang Zhou grew more animated the more he talked, and the others were entranced by his story. They hadn¡¯t seen it transpire, but they could imagine the power of those two experts. How many guns had these people had? The sound of gunfire alone had made them pale. But those experts were able to freely navigate that barrage of bullets. The shelter was truly too lucky to have experts like these! ¡­ Tang Yu held his face in his hands as he pondered. This battle had come very suddenly. Although he had routed the enemy, he was considering his deficiencies in this battle. His vigilance was lacking. If the enemy hadn¡¯t left the survivors thinking they still had some use, the two domain inhabitants might already be dead. He had not expected to suddenly encounter this group of outsider Awakened. In the apocalypse, when out in the wilderness, groups of survivors would often be wary of each other, but they wouldn¡¯t be enemies. Not everyone was evil and wicked. Even if they were all looking out for their own benefit. they had to consider whether it was worth it. Once they attacked, losses would be difficult to avoid. But these people had attacked with barely a word¨C oh, no, they hadn¡¯t even said anything, and so they had all died. For him, the moral of this story was that one needed to be careful and inconspicuous when doing things, and not get too arrogant. Tang Yu found this very reasonable. He had always been very inconspicuous. ¡°The construction of the domain needs to be accelerated, particularly in terms of defense. The enemy managed to get all the way to the border of the domain this time. There¡¯s no sense of safety like this.¡± He considered, ¡°This group has to have some sort of backing. If they all disappear here, it will probably cause a problem. Fortunately, it¡¯s not all bad. I got a lot out of this.¡± Han Jing¡¯s group had all been killed or injured in this battle. The majority of them had been killed by Number One and Number Two. These automatons struck with ferocity, and those struck directly by their strength essentially had no chance of survival. Tang Yu had also taken action, shooting at an Awakened that had been charging at him like a madman. This was the first person he had killed. But he didn¡¯t find anything uncomfortable about the experience. He had heard people say that killing people would cause nausea, would make one go weak at the knees and vomit on the ground. But he realized that this wasn¡¯t the case. After living a month in the apocalypse, he had witnessed all sorts of gruesome scenes. All he lacked was the final practical exercise. Roger had extracted intelligence from the ones who still lived. ¡°An Origin Crystal vein! No wonder¡­¡± Tang Yu also coveted this Origin Crystal vein. He was more aware of the importance of Origin Crystals than anyone else. If he could mine that vein, the domain would be able to enter a state of high-speed development. It was a beautiful thought, but reality was cruel. The domain was severely lacking in manpower, and there was barely enough for a moving team. But mining? Impossible! Moreover, while the Origin Crystal vein was close, only three or four kilometers away, it was still out in the wilderness, in the forests. This environment was extremely dangerous. ¡°So I can only look at this Origin Crystal vein, not mine it?¡± Tang Yu was sullen. Wait¡­ He suddenly recalled Wang Tai. Chen Haiping had managed to recognize this former shelter chief. But Wang Tai had been a rather decisive person. Recognizing that he had no chance of surviving, he had committed suicide before he could be interrogated. However, Wang Tai¡¯s two subordinates had lacked his resolve. Roger had immediately kept a close eye on them and given them no opportunity to commit suicide. Afterward, through his adept interrogation skills, he had even been able to make these two subordinates confess the color of their underwear. He had also learned that Wang Tai had another reason for guiding Han Jing here, his own personal objective besides the Origin Crystal vein. He apparently wanted to get some important resources. The two of them hadn¡¯t known much. Most of it was conjectures they had developed from observing Wang Tai¡¯s conduct and habits. Wang Tai had always had a habit of hiding resources. Tang Yu felt that the likelihood of this being true was rather high. Fleeing in panic, Wang Tai would have never had the time to run away with these resources. His two subordinates were further proof of this. After these people had been squeezed of all their value, Tang Yu left them to Roger to handle. They couldn¡¯t be let go. This group was far too dangerous. As for that Lindong boss that backed them, Tang Yu wasn¡¯t worried. He was currently considering Wang Tai¡¯s hidden stash. ¡°Where would he have hidden it?¡± ¡­ Compared to the eastern part, the western villa area was the true core of the vacation villa. Wang Tai had previously dwelled in Villa No. 1 of the western villa area. Tang Yu had searched this part before, but he hadn¡¯t found anything of value. Now that he thought about it, that was very strange. How could Wang Tai¡¯s residence not have anything of value? He hadn¡¯t had time to pack before running! From his own perspective, Tang Yu also had a habit of hiding things in his home. For example, in the castle, there was a little storehouse where he had placed all the Origin Crystals he had gathered. Wang Tai had definitely hid his possessions in his villa, but it definitely wasn¡¯t in an obvious place. The villa covered a rather large area, and after going around it, Tang Yu determined that there were two possible locations. It was either in the villa¡¯s small front garden or in the basement. The basement was empty at this time. He had already taken all of the food that had been stored there. ¡°Number One!¡± The automaton guard appeared at Tang Yu¡¯s side. He pointed at the walls of the basement around him. ¡°Break the wall here. Remember to not collapse this place.¡± Boom! Number One became a human-shaped bulldozer, instantly turning the rather clean basement into a ruin. The place looked even worse than the ruins left by the demonized beasts. In the ruins was a large, particularly obvious hole. ¡°As expected! There was a deeper basement!¡± This basement had an even smaller area, but he could see that it was piled high with resources. Not only was there food, there were also luxury goods like alcohol and tobacco, even guns. Treasures were spread out before him¡­ ¡°I¡¯m rich!¡± There was a lot of food in the basement, and Tang Yu also spotted a freezer. It was connected to a diesel generator and still working. In the freezer, Tang Yu discovered a number of vegetables and meat. At this point, it didn¡¯t matter how long the meat had been frozen or how fresh it was. The abundance of food could be compared to pre-apocalypse times! This guy Wang Tai really knew how to enjoy himself. It was all thanks to him. Tang Yu felt like he had to thank Mister Wang Tai for his selfless contribution. The food took up a large part of the refrigerator. A small part of the basement stored some items for daily use, and the rest of it was taken up by guns. Tang Yu no longer felt anything special about ordinary pistols and rifles, but he still managed to find a pleasant surprise among the guns and ammo: two light machine guns. These would be a great boost to his shelter¡¯s defense line. Of course, his domain didn¡¯t even have a defense line yet. ¡°However¡­ this stuff alone wouldn¡¯t be worth Wang Tai¡¯s efforts. He would have to take these things with him, and they take up so much space. If Wang Tai wanted to not draw Han Jing¡¯s attention, he wouldn¡¯t be able to take that much with him. ¡°The most valuable thing should be¡­¡± Tang Yu looked at a safe in the corner. A secret basement with a safe¡ªTang Yu didn¡¯t even need to use his brain to know that there was something valuable inside. And it seemed like a very high-class safe with formidable defensive capabilities. But that was before the apocalypse. Now, it could easily be smashed open. In front of him was a dazzling pile of Origin Crystals. Tang Yu held his breath. This was the first time he had ever seen so many Origin Crystals. How many were there? One thousand units? Two thousand units? More? ¡°Five thousand, two hundred and fifty-five units of Origin Crystal have been detected.¡± The system¡¯s cold voice rang out in his mind like music to Tang Yu¡¯s ears. Today, he was a man with money¡­ no, with Origin Crystals. Thank you, Wang Tai. Besides Origin Crystals, there were also high-class demonized beast materials, like sharp claws or thick hides. Some of these were special products that had become available only after the apocalypse, and he had momentarily been unable to recognize them. For example, there was a white and transparent crystal the size of a basketball. There was also a brick of some unknown metal. Tang Yu inspected these materials one by one and then placed them back in the safe. He decided that it would be best to just take the entire safe with him. Chapter 18 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales In the main hall of the castle, Tang Yu was lying on the sofa and stretching, his body almost sinking into the fabric. ¡°What a degenerate lifestyle¡­¡± With the Origin Crystal shortage resolved, Tang Yu felt much more relaxed. Getting resources from killing monsters was growing less and less useful. Every time he went out hunting for demonized beasts, he had to spend a large amount of time searching for them. It was very awkward. Others wanted to keep as far away from the demonized beasts as possible, but Tang Yu wanted nothing more than to run into one. He was now coming to understand why this place was said to be located somewhat farther away from the abyssal fissures. Outside of mishaps like the demon flood, this place truly didn¡¯t have many demonized beasts. He now turned the focus of his work to searching for resources in the wilderness. He no longer had much hope of finding demonized beasts. In his mind, Roger used the contract to send him a message. Chen Haiping was looking for him. After a momentary daze, he realized that he had ordered Chen Haiping to count the guns and ammo that Han Jing¡¯s group had left behind. He had gained so much from this incident that he had completely forgotten about this matter. ¡°Then¡­¡± After thinking for about two seconds, Tang Yu said, ¡°Bring him to the castle.¡± ¡­ ¡°Go to Villa No. 1?¡± Chen Haiping was rather surprised. Villa No. 1 had always been forbidden ground, and only Chief Tang and his comrades had the right to go in. He knew that he was far inferior to those experts, but it was impossible to say that he didn¡¯t feel envious. He now had the right? In the former shelter, precisely because he had not been one of Wang Tai¡¯s close subordinates, he had been excluded. But now, in the space of a few days, he had received Chief Tang¡¯s trust. Chen Haiping was rather moved. At the same time, he was rather curious to see what was in Villa No. 1 that made it a forbidden zone. Following Roger, Chen Haiping walked past Villa No. 3, Villa No. 2¡­ ¡°There¡¯s nothing weird about the surroundings. If I had to say something, it¡¯s just a little cleaner¡­¡± As he wondered, Chen Haiping suddenly felt like his mind had crashed. ¡°Am I seeing things?¡± Nearby, where Villa No. 1 had been, was a castle. This castle wasn¡¯t large, somewhat larger than the stand-alone villa it had replaced. But the villas of this place all shared the same style, so when Chen Haiping saw that one had been replaced by a castle, he thought that he was seeing things. This hadn¡¯t been here before! As he got closer, he was able to make out more details of the castle. It had a silver-white outer walls and pointed, dark blue roofs. None of it seemed real. After a moment of hesitation, Chen Haiping knocked on the outer wall. It was rather tough and sturdy¡­ The gates to the castle were wide open. He followed Roger inside. As he stepped through the gates, he felt like he was entering another world. It was a torrid summer outside, and even the light breeze carried an irritating heat that made one want to lash out. Stepping into the castle was like stepping over the boundary line between two worlds. It was an entirely different feeling! All of the dry heat had disappeared, replaced by an extremely comfortable temperature, like he was bathing in a stream, a cool breeze caressing his cheeks. The air was even steeped with a relaxing fragrance. Chen Haiping felt like all of his pores had been opened, and the fatigue that had built up over the last few days dissipated significantly. Of course, he thought that this was an illusion. After all, this environment was simply too comfortable. Is there an air conditioner installed here? But not even an air conditioner¡¯s temperature control could be this comfortable¡­ As he thought to himself, he realized that the sensation underfoot also wasn¡¯t right. The red carpeting, the fragrant wooden furniture, the crystalline lights embedded in the walls¡­ Chen Haiping was beginning to wonder if he was still alive. ¡­ ¡°Chief, I have finished counting the guns and ammo left. There are twenty-three pistols of various types, fifteen automatic rifles of various kinds, one rocket launcher, and five rockets. There are also a few grenades and more than one thousand clips of ammo.¡± As he spoke of these weapons, Chen Haiping smiled. ¡°With this many guns, it will be much easier to set up a defense line for the shelter.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. And not only that, I have two light machine guns and automatic rifles, and also something else pretty nice¡­¡± ¡°Something nice?¡± Chen Haiping was confused as he saw Tang Yu take a long object out from beneath the table. ¡°This is¡­ a sniper rifle! An M99 semi-automatic sniper rifle! Where did you find this? With this weapon, we can even snipe dangerous demonized beasts from a long distance!¡± This sort of gun was lethal to humans and highly damaging to demonized beasts. If it were used properly, they would have many more options open to them in battle. ¡°Correct.¡± Tang Yu nodded. ¡°So, starting from today, this sniper rifle is yours.¡± ¡°M-mine? This is too valuable.¡± Chen Haiping didn¡¯t dare to believe it. Tang Yu pushed the sniper rifle over. ¡°Your shooting¡¯s not bad, and only in your hands will this sniper rifle maximize its value. If you feel like you don¡¯t deserve it, consider it a loan. If it¡¯s not used to snipe demonized beasts, its value will be lost¡­¡± At his side, this sniper rifle would just be a decoration. As for Roger and Yilian, not only could they not use it, they didn¡¯t need this sort of weapon. A weapon that couldn¡¯t show its worth was simply an ornament. Fortunately, among his people, Chen Haiping excelled at shooting, and Tang Yu had seen him use a pistol to shoot down demonized beasts before. ¡°Alright.¡± Chen Haiping took in a deep breath. ¡°Chief, I will not let you down. I will definitely make sure the value of this sniper rifle is not lost.¡± He solemnly took the sniper rifle, then he thought of something. ¡°Chief, those people from before were sent by some boss from Lindong. As all of those people have now been lost here, that boss might not give up so easily.¡± Concerned, he asked what Tang Yu¡¯s countermeasures were. ¡°Countermeasure? There¡¯s no need to worry. The only worry is that this boss is some senior military official with soldiers under his command. Otherwise, no matter how strong his men are, so long as it¡¯s not a modernized force, they won¡¯t pose any problem. Moreover, since those people have all been lost here, that boss in Lindong will need to waste a lot of time just finding out what happened. In short, there¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡± Chen Haiping was rather concerned, but when he looked at Tang Yu and Roger, he saw that neither of them seemed concerned at all. On the contrary, Roger seemed to be seething with killing intent. He had originally planned to advise a change in the shelter¡¯s location, but he couldn¡¯t say anything now. That boss in Lindong had powerful subordinates, far more than the group they had here. But Chief Tang did not seem to be someone who did something he wasn¡¯t sure about. From the very beginning, he had believed that building a shelter was far too bold of an idea. But after their step-by-step progress here, he had come to trust in Tang Yu¡¯s abilities. Perhaps¡­ Chief Tang still had a trump card that could deal with that Lindong boss? Chen Haiping couldn¡¯t think of anything, but he was willing to believe it. And he had never thought about leaving. If he left, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the Lindong boss, but Chen Haiping didn¡¯t want to continue this sort of life where he struggled to just barely survive. For some things, someone had to just step up and do them. Whether it was for fame, fortune, or his own beliefs, he wanted to try and help Chief Tang set up his shelter. He didn¡¯t fear failure. What he feared was losing his sense of humanity and living life like a walking corpse. Since he couldn¡¯t advise Chief Tang to change locations, Chen Haiping could only do his best in his own way: training the survivors in shooting to increase the defensive strength of the shelter. For the rest, he would just have to look to Chief Tang¡¯s trump card and the will of the heavens. ¡°¡­However, Chief, we have far too few people. We can¡¯t even use all the guns we have.¡± Chapter 19 Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales The dire lack of manpower had been vexing Tang Yu all this time. Not only did it mean he couldn¡¯t effectively use all his guns, more importantly, it also meant that he had too few people to transport things, limiting the speed at which he could gather resources. Tang Yu tapped his finger against the table. ¡°We have to draw survivors to us, not just wait around.¡± Survivors would occasionally arrive at the original shelter. For example, the original group of survivors he had belonged to had learned of the shelter and rushed over. But there was nothing definite about this matter, and with the vacation villa in its current state, it was hard to say if any survivors would still come. Chen Haiping thought about it. ¡°Maybe we can use the broadcast.¡± ¡°Radio? Weren¡¯t the signals cut off later?¡± Chen Haiping organized his thoughts before speaking. ¡°In truth, the signals were never really cut off. However, after the apocalypse, a new substance appeared in the air. This substance seems to make it very difficult for electromagnetic waves to move through the air. This makes it extremely difficult to transmit signals. ¡°In the early stages of the apocalypse, the signal transmissions were already very weak, but it was still possible to barely receive signals. Later on, the interference grew stronger and stronger, until ten-some days ago, the power interfering with the signal grew much stronger, causing almost all the signals to be cut off. ¡°I say ¡®almost¡¯ because it¡¯s very difficult to send signals to other shelters, but it¡¯s still possible to transmit a signal to a certain distance around the shelter. And I recall that there¡¯s a signal tower in the vacation villa.¡± Tang Yu nodded to indicate that he understood. ¡°In the past, the news that there was a shelter here was sent from this signal tower, right?¡± But to his surprise, Chen Haiping shook his head. ¡°The message was sent by the government. In the early days, the government appealed to everyone to set up shelters, even airdropping supplies such as food, guns, and ammo to them. This is what allowed small shelters to resist the demonized beasts. ¡°Accepting survivors was also a demand from the government. Wang Tai only accepted several thousand survivors after bowing to official pressure, but ever since the signals were cut off, the government¡¯s influence has been dwindling, and the food Wang Tai was giving to the survivors was also shrinking¡­¡± Tang Yu hadn¡¯t known about this before. He had not imagined that there had been so many reasons behind the construction of a shelter. The plan was approved, but he still felt that it wasn¡¯t enough. The radio waves couldn¡¯t travel far enough, and one needed a corresponding receiver, such as a radio. Many survivors didn¡¯t have such things. He needed to broaden his channels a little more. ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea. Old Chen, do you recall how there used to be billboards everywhere before the apocalypse? I¡¯m thinking that we can set up a billboard of our own.¡± ¡°A billboard??¡± Chen Haiping was dumbstruck. Roger¡¯s face might as well have been a giant question mark. ¡­ ¡­ There was a very large clearing behind Villa No. 1. It was here that the tavern and workshop had been constructed. This time, Tang Yu planned to build the market next to the tavern. At the market, not only could he purchase resources, he could find rare materials, forging blueprints, skill runes, and other such things. It was one of the three most important buildings in the early construction period of his domain. ¡°Constructing the market costs three hundreds of Origin Crystal and one hundred units of Wood.¡± From the outside, the market appeared like a small kiosk. The inside was about the same. There was a counter which was divided into ten partitions. The contents of each partition would refresh with different products every day. Wood Resource Pack (100 Units), Price: 10 Origin Crystals. Remaining: 10 Stone Resource Pack (100 Units), Price: 20 Origin Crystals. Remaining: 10 Iron Resource Pack (100 Units), Price: 50 Origin Crystals. Remaining: 10 Fire Wolf King¡¯s Pelt, Price: 250 Origin Crystals. Remaining: 1 ¡­ ¡­ Basic Warrior Automaton Blueprint, Price: 600 Origin Crystals. Remaining: 1 ¡°Found it!¡± Tang Yu rejoiced. The chances of getting a basic automaton blueprint weren¡¯t low, but he hadn¡¯t expected to get it on the first try. I truly have some lucky blood in me! With this blueprint, he could use the workshop to build basic warrior automatons. The automatons produced would have the strength of a Tier 1 Awakened. Not only would they have a certain level of battle intelligence, they would be unkillable so long as their cores were not destroyed. Thus, when it came to an actual fight, an automaton would be stronger than an ordinary Awakened. But he cared about this blueprint not because of the automatons¡¯ fighting power. It was more for their labor. These automatons were strong, didn¡¯t complain, and didn¡¯t get tired. Were it not for their lack of intelligence and limited movement, he wouldn¡¯t even need the moving team. The three core buildings that a Level 1 domain could construct had all been built. Tang Yu felt like he needed to carefully plan how he would spend the remaining several thousand Origin Crystals. He didn¡¯t have many resources left and couldn¡¯t build much. He could use this time to make a plan for his domain¡¯s development, choosing which of the many buildings available to him would help out the most before going back to building. ¡­ A small town sat several dozen kilometers from the vacation villa. The small town had only two entrances. The rest of the area was surrounded by a wall made of compacted earth and steel rebar. From a distance, it seemed like some slumbering black beast. People came in and out of the entrances. There were ragged survivors who had come from far away, and there were also fighters with guns or swords on their backs, going out to search for resources or demonized beasts to hunt, or returning. This was the Lindong Shelter, the largest shelter in the Lincheng region! Lanxi Garden, in the Lindong Shelter, had been a high-class residential district of the original Lindong County, and it had now become the living area for Lindong¡¯s officials. Inside a villa beside a gurgling stream, a middle-aged man looked out the window, his brow slightly creased. The evening sun slowly slid down the horizon, already half immersed. In the distance, the survivors who had gone out were on their way back. The wilderness was at its most dangerous at night. All teams would choose to return to the shelter on time rather than spend the night in the wilderness. This included the team he had dispatched. The route between Lindong and the Origin Crystal vein had been rather safe, and for Han Jing¡¯s team, there was basically no threat at all. He had estimated that, whether or not the Origin Crystal vein had been found, his team should have returned to the shelter long ago. But now¡­ ¡°Is there any news?¡± Lin Wei seemed to be talking to himself, but a human figure suddenly appeared behind him, their face indistinct and their voice scratchy. ¡°There is still no word.¡± ¡°Do you think they interfered?¡± The ¡®they¡¯ Lin Wei was talking about were the other big bosses of similar status within Lindong. Only they could draw his attention. The black silhouette behind him hesitated. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem so. Only trustworthy people were sent for this mission, so there is no chance of the news being leaked. Moreover, the wilderness is vast and there are so many routes to pick from. Even if the others wanted to set a trap, it wouldn¡¯t be easy. ¡°But¡­ it is hard to say anything about Wang Tai. He could have leaked the information.¡± Lin Wei coldly laughed. ¡°That fellow wouldn¡¯t dare, nor did he have a chance to leak anything. But he¡¯s got some guts for daring to make demands of me. ¡°Send a search team. Investigate the entire route. I need a thorough report!¡± Lin Wei¡¯s body radiated an imposing pressure. He did not care about whether Han Jing¡¯s group was dead or alive, but as for that Origin Crystal vein, so long as there was even the slightest chance, he wanted to control it! ¡°With this Origin Crystal vein, Old Ghost Lu, I won¡¯t need to see your face anymore!¡± Chapter 20 The sun hung high overhead. In a small village not far from the shelter, several youths panted for breath, fear on their faces. ¡°That¡­ was way too dangerous. I could even smell the decaying stench of that Demonized Wolf. I felt like I would be dead one second later!¡± exclaimed a young man with glasses, his heart still pounding. Next to him, a young girl was seated on the ground, her legs splayed out in front of her. ¡°You¡¯re much better off. I was almost brought to the ground by that foul wolf.¡± This freckled girl had what would be considered average looks, and was filthy, but despite all this, as she panted for breath, her chest rising and falling, she gave off a certain allure. ¡°We owe it to Senior Brother Xiaopeng. You really are an Awakened.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Lu Xiaopeng stroked his messy hair, made a fist, and then struck a pose. ¡°I¡¯m still a natural Awakened, much rarer and stronger than those Awakened who need equipment to awaken! How could ordinary demonized beasts be a match for me¡­¡± ¡°But Senior Brother Xiaopeng wasn¡¯t able to defeat that Demonized Wolf¡­¡± the freckled girl weakly said. Lu Xiaopeng¡¯s face fell. When he had first awakened, he had been brimming with energy and confidence, believing that he could punch Demonized Wolves and kick Demonized Tigers, ascending step by step to the peak of Awakened. But reality had given him a punch to the face. The Demonized Wolf they had run into on the road hadn¡¯t been that strong, but he was incapable of beating it. His eyes were able to keep up with the Demonized Wolf¡¯s speed, but he couldn¡¯t dodge. Even though he had the strong body of an Awakened, his body was covered in wounds. If not for all this, he wouldn¡¯t have had to beat a hasty retreat with the others. Fortunately, after fleeing for a time, they had managed to throw off the Demonized Wolf, and they had not run into any other demonized beasts. After resting for a while, they began to look around. This was a village that was very quiet. It seemed that there weren¡¯t any demonized beasts active in the vicinity, so they finally relaxed a little. ¡°Where should we go now?¡± Everyone became lost and confused at these words. Someone sighed, ¡°That¡¯s right. In the past, we were with the big group, but now that we broke off from it, not only are we lost, we can¡¯t even guarantee our safety. If it wasn¡¯t for Senior Brother Xiaopeng, we would probably still be hiding in that dark place.¡± They didn¡¯t have much food left, so continuing to hide would have just delayed their time of death. But only when they emerged from their hiding spot and headed toward the shelter did they learn how dangerous it really was outside. Putting aside the fact that they didn¡¯t even know how to get to Lindong, the distance of several dozen kilometers alone was enough to make them despair. ¡°Wait; look over there!¡± Their classmate with glasses suddenly pointed into the distance. The rest looked up and saw a single-storey house that didn¡¯t look much different from the other houses, all of them in a state of disrepair and destruction. ¡°There¡¯s nothing¡­¡± Lu Xiaopeng casually glanced over, but then his eyes flew open. Several words had been written in large print on the walls of the house in black paint. ¡°Green Shade Shelter, 3.5 kilometers to the northwest, is a safe place with abundant food. Survivors are welcome,¡± he read. ¡®Green Shade¡¯ had been the name of a vacation villa. After the apocalypse, the majority of shelters had kept their original name. For example, the Lindong Shelter had been established atop Lindong County. Tang Yu had a terrible mind for names, so he naturally chose to use the original name of the shelter. The name wasn¡¯t important. What was important was that he needed to attract survivors. And when compared to names like Hotpot City Shelter, Subway Stop Three Shelter, or Dafafa Supermarket Shelter, Green Shade was actually rather good¡­ As Lu Xiaopeng read the words out loud, the group exchanged glances with each other. ¡°Green Shade Shelter? Is that a nearby shelter?¡± ¡°But how could a shelter¡¯s¡­ road sign be written in a place like this? It doesn¡¯t seem very trustworthy!¡± ¡°The writing is a little ugly, but it should be real. Green Shade¡­ I seem to have heard it before¡­ right! There¡¯s a Green Shade Vacation Villa nearby. That should be the shelter spoken of by this sign.¡± After some discussion, the youths decided to go and see what this so-called Green Shade Shelter was about. Without enough food or strength, they would never make it to Lindong Shelter, so really, they had no choice but to see what Green Shade Shelter was like. The village wasn¡¯t far from the shelter, and they encountered a few demonized beasts on the road. Lu Xiaopeng and his classmates were very experienced at avoiding demonized beasts, and after an experience that was more harrowing than dangerous, they arrived at the gate to the vacation villa. Here, paint had been used to announce in large words, ¡®Green Shade Shelter Welcomes You!¡¯ But. They looked at this vacation villa. The front gate was half-collapsed, and the surrounding walls had seemingly been crushed underfoot by savage beasts so badly that they were hardly recognizable. ¡°Is this really a shelter?!¡± Lu Xiaopeng loudly yelled, feeling like he had been cheated. ¡°Wait.¡± The classmate with glasses noticed something else. ¡°Look over there. There¡¯s barbed wire and destroyed guns. Perhaps there really was a shelter here.¡± The others could hear the implied meaning in their classmate¡¯s words. ¡®Was¡¯ meant that it was here no longer. Considering the tragic scene before them, all of them could envision a certain scene in their minds: the tragedy of the shelter falling to a demonized beast attack. ¡°So are we going or not?¡± The freckled girl was somewhat afraid. She felt that some frightening demonized beast could be hiding in the depths of this vacation villa. In the end, Lu Xiaopeng made up his mind. ¡°Let¡¯s go in and take a look. I feel like the chances of there being some frightening demonized beast inside are very low. Don¡¯t you think that we¡¯ve been encountering fewer and fewer demonized beasts as we got closer and closer to this place?¡± His classmates were only ordinary survivors, so they naturally weren¡¯t so bold. Each time they saw a demonized beast in the distance, they would get so scared that their hearts would momentarily stop. They naturally hadn¡¯t noticed that they had run into far fewer demonized beasts. Lu Xiaopeng was different. He was still an Awakened, and even if he was an Awakened that couldn¡¯t even beat a Demonized Wolf, he still had his strength. He was naturally more composed, and though he had not counted the number of demonized beasts they had run into, he could tell that the frequency at which they had run into demonized beasts had been dwindling. After some thought, his classmate with glasses said, ¡°I also agree with going in to look. Even if the shelter here no longer exists, we have a chance of finding some food.¡± The group walked into the vacation villa. Only the demonized beasts had been cleaned up in the outer ring of the villa. The majority of the place retained its original appearance: collapsed buildings, dried pools of blood, and severed limbs that there had been no time to clean up. The faces of Lu Xiaopeng and his classmates paled. Fortunately, this wasn¡¯t their first time seeing such gruesome sights. They felt¡­ that it was okay! Someone noticed something strange. ¡°Look at that! There are car tracks here. And demonized beast corpses over there! Some parts have been taken away. This place really does have survivors! ¡°And over there are signs that someone has cleaned up. It seems like the shelter managed to weather the crisis, but based on the surroundings, the shelter has clearly suffered bad losses. It might not be that safe any more.¡± They had wanted to find a shelter primarily because they were looking for a place that was safe enough. But this place was basically in ruins. Even if there were survivors, could it still be called a shelter? This place had just suffered from a demon flood. Could that mean that this place would come under attack from an unstoppable demon flood in the future?! All of them instantly had this same thought. Since they were already here, and since there were survivors, they decided to see what the situation was before making their decision. They continued farther into the vacation villa. They saw more signs of human activity, and it was now obvious that the surroundings had been cleaned up. They could see neither the corpses of humans nor demonized beasts. But they still found it strange that they hadn¡¯t seen a single person. ¡°Listen! Sound!¡± Lu Xiaopeng whispered as he pointed at a nearby corner. Truly, an intermittent, strange sound was coming from not far in front of them. Was it a survivor, or a demonized beast? They cautiously advanced, and when they reached the corner, they peeked their heads out. The source of the sound was two unknown ¡®creatures¡¯, their bodies covered in black metallic skin and their torsos large and round like spheres. Their arms were much larger than those of ordinary people, and they seemed bursting with strength. One of the metal monsters swung a sword, somehow slicing a large stone slab in two. Boom! The stone dropped to the ground, but the metal monster continued to swing, slicing the stone slab into smaller and more usable pieces. The entire process was clean and straightforward! That seemingly ordinary sword sliced through the stone without resistance, like it was a divine weapon. Lu Xiaopeng could even see that the area where the stone was cut was as smooth as a mirror! Chapter 21 Lu Xiaopeng and his classmates felt like they were seeing things. ¡°What is this? Is it some strangely shaped demonized beast?!¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a product of underground science? Has the era of robots arrived?!¡± ¡°Can underground science produce such advanced robots? Look at those two iron-skinned monsters! Their movements are so smooth, and there¡¯s no fixed trajectory, and the joints are also very flexible. This is way more advanced than the robots developed before the apocalypse. Even though many new materials have appeared and some technological fields are rapidly advancing, it¡¯s still impossible to produce robots like these¡­ so there can be only one explanation! This should be the ability of some ability user!¡± ¡°Ability user!¡± someone softly cried out. Ability users were incredibly rare, essentially mythical existences. Some survivors hadn¡¯t even heard about ability users before! Ability users had special abilities that could come in all sorts of forms, powerful and bizarre. The existence of these abilities seemed to be meant to break open the coffins of scientists. It seemed like any sort of ability was possible. They found the idea that this was the work of an ability user rather easy to accept. ¡­ The twilight was as calm as water. The vacation villa was undergoing repair. On their way up, Lu Xiaopeng could occasionally see a few survivors working away, but he saw even more of those strange automatons. Upon being noticed by the survivors here and stating who they were, Lu Xiaopeng and his classmates decided to live here. The reason was very simple. Here, one could exchange work for food. In the apocalypse, where food was sorely lacking, it was already good enough to get some return for one¡¯s efforts. And when they learned that they could not only get food for their work, but even some meat if they worked particularly hard, they began to lick their lips, their eyes widening. The last few days had been very difficult, and they had been forced to ration their food so that they weren¡¯t even able to eat their fill. Lu Xiaopeng felt that this had to be the reason he hadn¡¯t been able to defeat that Demonized Wolf. He was intensely looking forward to dinner. He had worked hard for food, not even remembering if he had hauled ten-some or some tens of carts full of stone. He had already made a routine out of it. In the center of the small square in front of the villa area stood the bust of a Greek woman, as tall as a man and carrying the style and curve unique to Greece. But Lu Xiaopeng was focused less on the bust and more on the small mountains of stone slabs piled up in front of the idol. The rather spacious square felt crammed and messy. Lu Xiaopeng spotted another survivor, an ¡®elder¡¯ of the shelter. He greeted him and asked, ¡°Do you know what all the stone we transported will be used for?¡± This survivor, who was pushing a cart full of rubble, shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. In any case, so long as you work, you can eat rather well.¡± He recognized Lu Xiaopeng as the new Awakened who had come today. After some thought, he said, ¡°Perhaps Chief Tang is planning to build something. Who knows? But Chief Tang definitely has a plan.¡± ¡°Maybe he plans to build an earthen wall? That would be pretty good. At least it would make the place feel safer. But an earthen wall won¡¯t be able to stop many demonized beasts. You need a real wall, and I hear that large shelters have real walls and are extremely safe.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The survivor emotionally sighed. ¡°But the walls of large shelters need considerable manpower and resources to build, and also all sorts of heavy-duty equipment. There¡¯s no need for small shelters to even think about building walls like that. All we can do is gather resources and set up a simple defense line at most. ¡°But there¡¯s no need to worry. With Chief Tang and his experts here, ordinary demonized beasts won¡¯t be able to threaten the shelter.¡± He was somehow comforting the Awakened Lu Xiaopeng. ¡°Experts, huh¡­¡± Lu Xiaopeng was rather curious. He had yet to see Chief Tang, but he had met an iron tower of a man who had given off an intense pressure. Apparently, this man was one of Chief Tang¡¯s closest aides, though there was no telling how strong he was. But Lu Xiaopeng was still worried about the shelter¡¯s safety. This place had come under attack from a demon flood, so would it come under another demon flood attack? Could they be endangered while they were sleeping? While Chief Tang¡¯s men might be strong, the shelter itself had no defenses or any sort of warning system. He expressed his concerns, but the survivor laughed. ¡°One night, we were attacked by demonized beasts, but can you guess what happened? An expert dropped from the sky and stomped the demonized beast to death. Even a demonized beast hiding on the side like some hidden assassin was killed by that expert. ¡°Chief Tang once said that as long you stay in the villa area, he can guarantee your safety. I didn¡¯t believe it once, but I do now. Of course, I also hope that the shelter can set up a defense line that can be used to defend against demonized beasts, but with how few people we have in the shelter, we can only slowly work on it.¡± Lu Xiaopeng nodded. This was truly a predicament for the shelter. Right now, all they could hope for was that these stone chunks could be used to build a sturdy earthen wall. At this time, a shout came from the villa area¡¯s entrance. Chen Haiping came out from inside with a megaphone. ¡°Everyone, listen up! Everyone is to withdraw past the yellow line! Again, everyone is to withdraw past the yellow line!¡± Lu Xiaopeng was taken aback, and when he looked at the ground, he saw that there really was a yellow line on the ground, starting from the small square at the entrance of the villa area and extending to the left and right. It seemed like it was meant to encircle the entire villa area. What was going on? ¡­ On the top-floor balcony of the castle, Tang Yu leaned against the railing and allowed the breeze to caress him. Standing here, he could see the entire villa area in the weak glow of the twilight. The castle was no longer that two-floor, pocket-sized affair. Now that it had been upgraded to Level 2, it covered a greater area and was now five floors tall, appearing even more magnificent. Tang Yu cared less about the evolution of the castle and more about the boundaries of the domain. The Level 2 domain, centered on the castle, covered more than half of the vacation villa and reached all the way into the mountains to the north. Through the domain map, Tang Yu could even see the other side of the mountain, where there were many hostile red dots. Those were probably the demonized beasts in the mountains. It was much more dangerous in the mountain forests, and it wasn¡¯t just because of the demonized beasts. Creatures from before the apocalypse had been affected by the red mist and evolved into demonized beasts, but a small number had not been demonized. Rather, in the cruel struggle, they had survived and mutated¡­ the mutants. Besides that, after the apocalypse, plants began to grow like crazy and all sorts of unknown objects began to appear. Tang Yu wouldn¡¯t find it strange if he came upon some strange and dangerous locales, but correspondingly, the more complex and unfathomable the location, the more likely it was to find something good within. The Origin Crystal vein that Wang Tai had discovered was located in this mountain range. He had sent Roger and Yilian to investigate the mountain forest. They had found that there were many more demonized beasts in the forest than outside, and the terrain was also much more complicated. Mining that Origin Crystal vein would be an arduous task. ¡°I should focus on the domain¡¯s development first.¡± The domain currently had a formidable fighting force that was enough to ensure safety under normal circumstances. But it was only a few days ago that the demon flood had struck. Tang Yu was worried that this would happen again. The domain currently had few buildings and more ruins. It was even worse than the worst of the small shelters, let alone the appearance a proper domain should have had. Tang Yu opened the building menu and rested his eyes on the option ¡®Defensive Buildings ¨C Walls¡¯. ¡°It¡¯s time to reveal the tip of the domain¡¯s iceberg.¡± Chapter 22 At the entrance to the villa area, the survivors were chatting with each other. This announcement had come too suddenly, and no one had given an explanation. They couldn¡¯t help but speculate on what was going on. Lu Xiaopeng was also confused. He had a crazy idea, but he quickly shook his head and sighed. Chen Haiping also stood beyond the yellow line, recalling Tang Yu¡¯s words from just now. He was in disbelief! Suddenly, the ground trembled. Stones began to roll off the piles of rock, but they all fell within the yellow line, seemingly pulled by some inexplicable force. The rocks swiftly dissolved and sank into the ground. A moment later, rumble! The quaking intensified, and then black walls slowly began to rise from the ground, shedding small pieces of stone. One meter. Two meters. Five meters. Ten meters! In just a few seconds, a majestic wall had appeared before them! The black wall was a single body, with no sign of any bricks being laid atop each other. It was ten meters tall and four meters thick, heavy and imposing like a lurking black behemoth! Standing in front of the wall, everyone felt puny and insignificant. Chen Haiping, standing next to the gate, was speechless. He knew of Tang Yu¡¯s plans, and after seeing the castle, Chen Haiping was sure that his chief had a special ability that allowed him to construct buildings in a short amount of time. Perhaps it was some mutation of an Earth Element ability, or perhaps it was some unique construction ability. He had been very surprised to hear that Chief Tang was planning to build walls. Despite his abilities, the villa area was huge. It would be a quite arduous task to just construct a small earthen wall around the area. But now! This black, heavy, and imposing wall could not be described as some simple earthen wall. This was a true wall, one that could resist the attacks of demonized beasts! Even the former shelter had only a simple barbed wire fence that served far better as a deterrent than for any actual defensive purpose. This was Chen Haiping¡¯s reaction. The reactions of the other survivors to these imposing walls were so exaggerated that they could be gathered and made into an emote pack. They found it completely impossible to describe what they were feeling! Was this a legendary ability user? But the ability users they had heard of were not so powerful that they could single-handedly mold walls that could enclose the entire villa area. This grandiose feat was a marvel. No, a miracle! The survivors went insane. They had witnessed a miracle! And to their delight, with these walls, was there any need to worry about the shelter¡¯s safety?! Suddenly, a massive roar came from the distance. Drawn by the sound produced by the rising walls, demonized beasts were rushing over. One of them, a green-red silhouette, was moving the fastest and leading the pack. It flew along the mountain slopes, and in the blink of an eye, it reached the entrance to the villa area! The survivors paled. The terror of demonized beasts was a nightmare to ordinary people like them, and their faces became as white as sheets of paper. Lu Xiaopeng looked left and right and realized that he was the only Awakened in this group. If he didn¡¯t step out now, who would?! Wasn¡¯t it just a Demonized Wolf? He had also been facing one last time, and though the result was better left unsaid, now¡­ he would definitely show this Demonized Wolf what an Awakened was! Lu Xiaopeng raised his arms and strode forward. That Demonized Wolf was getting closer and closer! He could see that red flames burned atop its green fur. This demonized beast was far larger than an ordinary Demonized Wolf, the size of a small truck. Lu Xiaopeng froze. This demonized beast¡­ didn¡¯t seem like the one he had previously faced. He glanced at himself. He saw thin arms and legs, without even a real weapon to his name. Was he going to try to punch it to death? The green and red giant wolf drew closer and closer with a terrifying momentum. He almost wanted to cry. Brother Wolf, please don¡¯t come any closer! Lu Xiaopeng wanted to run, but he looked behind him at the survivors, some of which were the classmates he knew¡­ He clenched his teeth. Even if he was no match for this giant wolf, he could at least hold it down for a while! He just needed to fight the giant wolf for a bit and wait for the shelter¡¯s experts to arrive. He was a man who had dealt with a demonized beast before, and he was also someone who had naturally awakened! With this thought in mind, Lu Xiaopeng stepped forward. Just watch this Lu deal with it¡­ ¡°It¡¯s Captain Roger!¡± one of the survivors cried out in joy. Turning in the direction of the voice, Lu Xiaopeng saw an armored man wielding a giant sword walking over. This man had left a very deep impression on Lu Xiaopeng. He had met him upon his arrival at the shelter. Apparently, he was the captain of the shelter¡¯s patrol squad and possessed astounding strength. From the pressure given off by Roger, Lu Xiaopeng could tell that this was an expert that he couldn¡¯t match, but¡­ He looked back at that truck-sized wolf and felt that even a man like Roger seemed rather small. He should be able to deal with it¡­ Roger stepped forward, unperturbed as the large demonized beast got closer and closer. He stomped forward, creating a web of cracks on the stone pavement of the square. A moment later, Roger shot forward like a cannonball, his heavy armor seemingly weightless. Fifty meters¡­ Twenty meters¡­ Ten meters¡­ The survivors waited with bated breath. The bolder ones had their eyes fixed on the battlefield while the more cowardly ones had already closed their eyes. The wolf¡¯s claws were larger than a human torso and were covered in flames, leaving behind scorched earth in their wake. Roger focused as he gripped his sword with both hands. ¡°Dieeee!¡± The giant sword exploded with red light, a thick and concentrated demonic glow! Combat Art ¨C Blood Slash! The red light brushed past the giant wolf¡¯s claws, and as it swept across its torso, Roger had already appeared on the other side of the giant wolf. With a groan, the giant wolf collapsed on the ground. It struggled once or twice before life slowly began to drain out of it. After dealing with the giant, green-red wolf, Roger coldly advanced. The remaining demonized beasts drawn over by the commotion couldn¡¯t compare to the giant wolf. Even when they worked together, they presented no danger to Roger, who quickly managed to slay them. A field of demonized beast corpses was left behind to tell the tale of the¡­ rather intense battle that had taken place. Lu Xiaopeng: ¡°¡­¡± It was over? The strongest demonized beast he had ever seen had been killed in a single strike? Could the gap between Awakened be this huge? After all, he was also a natural Awakened! As he looked at Roger¡¯s somber figure, his heart burned with passion. He then thought about the mysterious Chief Tang of the shelter. When he first heard that Chief Tang wanted to rebuild the shelter, he thought that it was a fantasy. But now, with this wall and a fierce man like Captain Roger¡­ it didn¡¯t seem impossible! Green Shade Shelter was much stronger than he had imagined. Chapter 23 Rubbing his aching head, Tang Yu exhaled. Building the walls had been more troublesome than he had imagined. His past constructions had all involved indicating a location and then using the resources, upon which the building would be automatically constructed. But walls were different. A single wall was made by combining countless ¡®wall units¡¯, and the cost of building a wall was also dependent on the number of ¡®wall units¡¯ built. He had a stockpile of Origin Crystals, but he had used up a massive amount of stone. Fortunately, he had tasked the basic automatons with demolition. Without enough tools and relying purely on survivors, he could probably have spent another week and still not been able to build a wall. However, the most troublesome factor was not the cost, but indicating the location. When he normally built something, Tang Yu simply needed to stand next to the location. But things were different with walls. The wall covered such a large range that, regardless of where he stood, there would always be a place out of his vision. Tang Yu had decided to stand on the top-floor balcony of the castle and use ¡®long distance¡¯ construction for the walls. This was a very strange feeling. It was like he was standing from an even higher viewpoint and observing the domain. In the end¡­ Tang Yu felt a little dizzy. Was it because he lacked mental energy? It seemed that he would have to take things a little easier in the future. ¡­ While Tang Yu built the walls, Roger killed off invading demonized beasts. At this time, Yilian had a grave expression. She had a kitchen knife in her hand and was staring at the ingredients before her. These ingredients were not the batch from Wang Tai¡¯s private stash, but from an ingredient resource pack that Tang Yu had bought. They were all top-class ingredients, and they came in great variety. Avian, aquatic, terrestrial, fruit, vegetables¡ªit was all there. This was her first time working with ingredients like these, and Yilian was rather dumbfounded. Let alone used them, she had not even heard of many of them before. She had heard that the nobles of the inner city would hold feasts with all sorts of foods, but not even a feast would feature so many rich ingredients. She was rather nervous. The Overlord had placed all these precious ingredients under her care. This was her mission. For this task, Yilian was even more serious than when she dealt with demonized beasts. She opened a cookbook next to her. The Overlord had given her several books on cooking. She had spent the last two days reading through them several times, and she found the field wide-ranging and profound. Though she had been self-reliant, no one had ever given her ingredients to cook¡­ She was a very serious and earnest student. In the kitchen, Yilian began to follow the steps in the cookbook. Though this was her first time, her movements were not slow. She very quickly began to place various plates of food on the table. When Tang Yu came downstairs, he saw Yilian wearing a plain t-shirt and shorts, a green kitchen apron in front of her chest, prettily standing next to the table like the nice girl from next door. Compared to their first meeting, Yilian was more cheerful and lively, occasionally flashing a smile. But she was still rather reserved, insisting on waiting for him to sit down before she took her own seat. The food was very rich, and though these were just ordinary dishes, they smelled delicious, and his nose was already twitching. This was the most delicious meal Tang Yu had seen since the apocalypse. He almost couldn¡¯t believe that Yilian, who had only been studying cooking for two days and had cooked for the first time, could cook something so delicious. This talent¡­ capable on both the battlefield and in the kitchen, and she can even occasionally play the part of an air conditioner. Tang Yu felt ashamed that the most he could do was make instant noodles. ¡°Mm, this braised pork is pretty good¡­¡± Tang Yu ate a piece, glanced at Yilian¡¯s thin body, and placed several pieces on her plate. In truth, he also wanted to call Roger over, but Roger was probably the busiest person in the shelter. With his body recovered, he had thrown all his energy into the domain, leaving early in the morning and returning late at night as he battled with demonized beasts. Although Tang Yu had sent Roger food, he probably didn¡¯t care what exactly he was eating. Before the apocalypse, he would have been one of those workaholics that forgot about food and sleep. The two of them were both Awakened, and Awakened needed to eat more than ordinary people. While things were fine for everyday activities, once they got into intense battles, Awakened needed more energy to restore what they had consumed. All the food was quickly consumed. Yilian had a very happy look on her face. Even though she had made the food herself, it was impossible to describe the sensation on her taste buds until she actually tasted it, and she had never imagined that a day would come where she could eat such delicacies. She felt very fortunate that she had been able to come here. Tang Yu also felt very blessed. To live in such a safe castle and feast on such gourmet food was an experience that many small shelter chiefs could not enjoy. ¡­ After finishing the meal, the two of them set about their own tasks. There was no need to go exploring at night, and Yilian fully used the time available to her to improve her strength. Besides refining Soul Energy, she studied that tattered magic book every day. Tang Yu had looked at the book before, but for him, the book was no different from gobbledygook. It wasn¡¯t because he was illiterate. Rather, this sort of magic book wasn¡¯t written with ordinary words, but with words that were imbued with special power. These words were very special and were difficult to copy, causing magic books to be very rare. In addition, reading books written with these words did not require recognizing the characters. What was key was understanding and comprehending the contents. It was clear that Tang Yu didn¡¯t have this talent. He had never placed any hopes on his talent. In any case, if he lacked talent, he could just make up for it with external add-ons. And if he had add-ons, what did he need talent for? Was it edible? Recently, Tang Yu had stopped hunting demonized beasts. In any case, his fighting power in the team was average, so after thinking about it, he had put aside the idea. Going out hunting wasted too much time, and there were a hundred things that he needed to do in the domain. For example, bolstering the shelter¡¯s reserves¡­ The domain had a wall now. Ten meters was enough to keep out the majority of the demonized beasts, and the walls produced by the system were tough enough to hold off even a demon flood. With this, he had a basic defense line. What Tang Yu needed to prepare now was awakening equipment. This item could be considered standard for a shelter. In one aspect, awakening equipment would increase the chances of a survivor awakening and give the shelter more Awakened to work with. Another aspect was that producing awakening equipment wasn¡¯t that difficult for a shelter, but it was very difficult for groups of ordinary survivors. Tang Yu knew how to produce this equipment, for it was no secret. In the early days of the apocalypse, when signals could still be broadcasted, a scientist developed a way to facilitate ordinary people awakening, a method which the government swiftly announced. It was precisely this awakening equipment that allowed many of the small shelters that lacked in defense to survive attack after attack from demonized beasts. This simple awakening equipment was a circlet. Tang Yu took ten Origin Crystals of about the same energy value. This was the first material used in the Awakening Circlet, but gathering just ten Origin Crystals was already a very difficult task for many survivor groups. In order to increase the quality of the circlet, he used Origin Crystals which were the equivalent of two units of Origin Crystal. These only had a chance of forming in demonized beasts that were equivalent to Awakened Tier 2 or higher. One also needed demonized beast blood and bones, which he took from the bodies of high-tier demonized beasts. Tang Yu soaked the Origin Crystals in the blood. He needed to soak them for at least three hours, after which he needed to find a suitable bone that he could sculpt into a circlet, then dig out ten holes in which he could implant the Origin Crystals¡­ He didn¡¯t really know how to sculpt, but it wasn¡¯t like the looks mattered. After working away for quite some time, he looked at the bone that could barely be considered a ring with a great sense of accomplishment. But the process was a little like¡­ some sort of heretical ceremony. Tang Yu understood that human scientists still had a very shallow understanding of demonized beasts and Origin Crystals. For them to produce something usable was already impressive. Caring about the form? That was impossible. This sort of crude awakening equipment had its own flaws. It wasn¡¯t like anyone with the aptitude to awaken would awaken with the help of the Awakening Circlet. It simply increased the chances. From what Tang Yu understood, only sufficiently talented people could naturally awaken without the help of an external force. Perhaps as time passed, more and more survivors would awaken, but it was clear that many people couldn¡¯t wait for that moment. The Awakening Circlet simply reached the goal of awakening by stimulating something. ¡°I can give this circlet to Old Chen and let him decide how to handle it. I¡¯ll just use the rules that most other shelters use. In the end, this consumes Origin Crystals, so survivors can¡¯t just use it for free.¡± For survivors to use the Awakening Circlet, they either had to pay Origin Crystals or sign a contract with the shelter. If they didn¡¯t awaken, then they would remain a low-class survivor, but if they did awaken, they would have to serve the shelter unconditionally. Even so, survivors would still scramble madly to obtain it. Nothing else mattered compared to the temptation of becoming an Awakened. For the sake of getting stronger, since they didn¡¯t have the money, they would just sell their bodies¡­ Once he was done with the Awakening Circlet, Tang Yu readied himself to draft a planning map for his domain, using the domain map as his reference. But he suddenly noticed that something was wrong, and upon close inspection, he discovered several red dots in his domain. These red dots were slowly moving. They had come from the vacation villa¡¯s entrance. They had already mixed in with the green dots. Chapter 24 As the population of the shelter rose, the place gradually grew livelier. Moreover, those survivors who had seen the walls rise from the earth felt shock, but they also felt a sort of honor that they were members of this shelter. In the future, a new shelter would be established here, and more and more survivors would come. They would be the first generation of builders. ¡°This is the place. It seems like there¡¯s a shelter here.¡± Outside the vacation villa, several people appeared. Their clothes were ragged, and they appeared like survivors fleeing a disaster, but their words betrayed the truth. Their leader held an M4 Assault Rifle and a Type 54 Pistol at his waist. Looking up at the vacation villa, he said, ¡°The boss had us searching for a missing team. The investigation revealed that this team¡¯s route would take it past this shelter, and from what we know, Green Shade Shelter has already been wiped out. But it seems¡­¡± He squatted down and inspected the clues around him. ¡°There are clear signs of survivor activity around here, so we might be able to find clues we¡¯re looking for in that shelter.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, captain, but how do we go about investigating? Should we capture some important figure among the survivors and interrogate them?¡± someone proposed, but he himself quickly rejected the idea. There were only four of them, and they weren¡¯t experts. Only two of them were Awakened, and while traveling to here from Lindong, they had lost two of their team members. In comparison, the team that had gone missing had had several Awakened Tier 3 experts in its ranks. If even a team like this had inexplicably gone missing, they felt that they needed to be extremely cautious. This was true, even though they didn¡¯t think that the missing team had anything to do with the survivors of Green Shade Shelter. Everyone turned to Old Third. Old Third was more quick-witted and had always been the brains of the team. He probably had a solution. As expected, Old Third, a man wearing glasses, softly chuckled. ¡°Our objective is to find clues on the missing team, so there¡¯s no need for us to quarrel with the survivors of Green Shade Shelter. In other words, we¡¯re survivors too.¡± Seeing that no one understood what he was saying, Old Third threw aside his rifle and pointed at his tattered clothes. ¡°Look at me. Am I not a fleeing survivor?¡± When fleeing survivors saw a shelter, they would very logically want to go in, and once they were in the shelter, things would get much easier, whether it was interacting with an important individual in the shelter or seeking clues from other survivors. This method of searching for clues had no risk. The others smiled, seemingly already seeing mission completion. Upon entering the shelter, they saw ruins all around. This place truly had been assaulted by a demon flood, proving that their intelligence was correct. This meant that their chances of finding some clue had increased. Everything they saw next appeared to all be within Old Third¡¯s expectations. They had disguised themselves as survivors who had come upon this shelter, and when they found ¡®their kind¡¯, they immediately put on expressions of joy that were tinged with wariness. It wasn¡¯t long before they were guided by a survivor farther inside. The survivor guiding them was Wang Zhou. Having been a witness to the armed group being wiped out and the miracle of the walls, he could be considered an old senior in the shelter, and all of them had a greater sense of belonging toward the shelter. Considering that more and more survivors would be coming to the shelter, Tang Yu reckoned that he needed someone to take on the duty of a guide, someone who could introduce to survivors the rules of the shelter, flaunt a little of the shelter¡¯s power, register the survivors on the books, and other such miscellaneous tasks. Of course, it wasn¡¯t that complicated right now. They simply needed to guide survivors and give them an introduction. But when the shelter got larger, an entire series of regulations and steps needed to be carried out: registration, inquiry of expertise, work arrangements¡­ The current duties already gave Tang Yu a headache. Setting up a detailed process required a specialist, and he hoped that a talented survivor would appear soon. Among the earliest survivors that he had saved along with Chen Haiping, Wang Zhou was more intelligent, more bold, more¡­ capable of boasting. So he had been made the guide. As he led these survivors, he had a smile on his face. Several days of ample food had caused him to gradually gain weight. To use his words, he now had some of his former graceful bearing. Wang Zhou pointed at the buildings around him. ¡°You can see that many of the buildings around us are destroyed. What does this mean? It means that our shelter has been through a fierce battle. It means merit! Just like how the scars on a warrior¡¯s body represent glory, these scars on our shelter are evidence of our power. ¡°You have to realize that it was a demon flood, demonized beasts as far as one could see. But the people of our shelter managed to hold it off. You might not believe me, but the sight of the shelter¡¯s experts charging in and out of the demon flood¡­ tsk, tsk, it really gets the blood boiling. If I were an Awakened, I definitely would have lost my patience and charged into the fray with them.¡± Wang Zhou elegantly spun a tale of utter nonsense. The men behind him glanced at each other in surprise. This was a lot of information to take in! And it was far too different from the information their bosses had given them. Wasn¡¯t it said that the shelter had been wiped out by the demon flood, with its chief Wang Tai fleeing with his men? But now it was several experts charging in and out of the demon flood? And they couldn¡¯t be considered inexperienced. They had seen numerous experts back at Lindong, but were there any that could charge into a pack of demonized beasts? No! But what they didn¡¯t know was that although Wang Zhou was essentially speaking nonsense, deep down, Wang Zhou believed that if Chief Tang and his experts had been present for the demon flood and they had those imposing walls, fending off the demon flood wouldn¡¯t have been impossible. The vacation villa wasn¡¯t very big, and on the way up, Wang Zhou constantly stopped like he was a tour guide explaining the sights. They soon reached the steps leading up to the villa area. Here, they were able to see the majestic walls lurking like some enormous beast. ¡°See that? See that?!¡± Wang Zhou pointed out the walls, his face saying, ¡®You didn¡¯t believe me because you¡¯ve seen too little.¡¯ ¡°This is our shelter¡¯s strongest defense line, the ten-meter walls! This wall completely encloses the villa area. No matter which direction the demonized beasts attack from, they¡¯ll all be blocked by the walls. Not to exaggerate, but our shelter isn¡¯t even afraid of a demon flood!¡± Wang Zhou was bursting with pride. The most terrifying thing about a demon flood was the number of demonized beasts, a dense mass that charged forward. Even if gunfire could deal with them, it couldn¡¯t stop the momentum of the demon flood. A regular defense line wouldn¡¯t be able to last long before being drowned out by the demon flood. But walls were different! Ten meters was even higher than a three-storey building. Without any sort of foothold, the majority of demonized beasts would never be able to climb over walls of this height. Even the small number of terrifying beasts that could leap over the walls were no longer as threatening. So long as the demon flood was kept out by the walls, the remaining survivors could stand on the walls and fire down on them. This way of dealing with the demon flood was much easier. The four team members disguised as survivors had at first felt a sense of superiority over the fact that they had come from a large shelter, but when they saw these walls, they were instantly struck dumb. They stood in a daze, their minds a blur as they stared at the imposing walls. The Lindong Shelter, as a shelter boasting several hundred thousand inhabitants, naturally had walls under construction, but those walls required a significant investment in manpower and resources. But here? Even if these walls covered a smaller area, he found it impossible to imagine how walls of this height could be constructed. The four of them exchanged doubtful glances. With walls like these and some formidable defensive power, fending off a demon flood wasn¡¯t impossible. Moreover, these walls didn¡¯t seem like something that could be constructed quickly. In other words, the information that Green Shade Shelter had been wiped out several days ago had become very dubious. Chapter 25 Harboring their suspicions, the four ¡®survivors¡¯ followed Wang Zhou into the villa area, where they were led to a rather isolated villa. The bodies and miscellaneous debris in this villa had all been cleared away, making the place feel rather empty. The walls were damaged in a few places, adding on a sensation of bleakness and depression. The four team members felt that there was something strange about this environment, but they had no time to think about it. The moment they entered, they were assailed by an intense pressure that had them struggling to breathe. Other than Wang Zhou, who had led them here, there were two other people in the villa. One was a young man in casual clothes. The other was an iron tower of a strongman. On his body, what should have been loose-fitting clothes were stretched taut. The strongman stood behind the youth, radiating a terrifying, fiendish energy. This iron tower of a man was the source of that intense pressure. What was going on? They didn¡¯t understand. They were survivors who were just seeking shelter and fleeing disaster! In normal shelters, even if they weren¡¯t welcoming to survivors, there was no need to make such an impressive show of force on the first meeting. Moreover, there were two Awakened in their number. Any other shelter would have welcomed them with open arms. There was something very wrong. That young man in casual clothes placed his hands behind his back and scanned them. ¡°Talk! What¡¯s your purpose in trying to infiltrate this place?¡± The pupils of the four slightly constricted. How had they managed to expose themselves? Or was it¡­ The oldest of the four put on an ingratiating expression. ¡°Big Brother, we¡¯re survivors from Nanling Town. We¡¯ve been hiding all over this place, and when we saw a sign pointing to this shelter, we went to find it. We¨Cwe don¡¯t have any sort of purpose.¡± Deep down, he was somewhat uneasy, but he was sure that the missing team was connected to the shelter. This was the only explanation for why the shelter was so wary of outside survivors. The eldest did not believe that they had done anything that could expose them. They were originally survivors who had survived out in the wilderness, so disguising themselves as such came naturally. He felt that the shelter was suspicious of them purely because they were on guard and doing a routine inspection. Through the expert¡¯s fiendish pressure, they could unsteady their hearts, upon which a subsequent interrogation might cause the four to accidentally divulge the truth. Fortunately¡­ The eldest considered it fortunate that the four of them had gone through training and originally had determined mindsets, so they had not exposed any sort of flaw. This meant that they were probably safe. With this thought in mind, the eldest maintained his ingratiating expression, but he discovered that the man across from him was expressionless. It was like it didn¡¯t matter what they answered. He heard Tang Yu continue, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not that important if you talk or not. I actually know who all of you are. What I want to know now is this: why did Lin Wei¡¯s group send you? ¡°Mm, you have the right to remain silent, and you can continue remaining silent. In any case¡­¡± Tang Yu spread apart his hands. ¡°We¡¯ve already killed so many people that killing a few more won¡¯t matter.¡± The eldest was tall and strong, and maintaining his ingratiating expression was very difficult for him. At this moment, his flattering smile became a little stiff. Who was Lin Wei? They knew, of course. This was their boss¡¯s boss, the biggest boss of all. But they still clung to a little sliver of hope. Without evidence and only speculation, these two wouldn¡¯t possibly kill them¡­ right? The eldest wasn¡¯t sure, but he had to persist. As for attacking or running, he had never entertained the thought. The pressure of that strongman alone made it difficult for them to move. If it really came to fighting, the four of them wouldn¡¯t even last one move. This was an expert, far more capable than them. At this time, the young man in glasses walked out and bitterly smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll talk.¡± ¡°Old Third, you¡­¡± The eldest stared in disbelief. The young man in glasses had a helpless look in his eyes as he glanced at the others. ¡°Eldest, Second, Little Fifth, what¡¯s the point in struggling on? We¡¯re just employees to the boss. They sent us over to investigate this incident, and we did our best and even sacrificed two of our members. We no longer owe them anything, let alone have to sacrifice our lives for them.¡± He sighed. ¡°You really don¡¯t think that we can safely leave here if we say nothing, do you? Don¡¯t forget¡ªthis is the apocalypse. Human life is the most worthless thing around, and do you think that if we die, we¡¯ll be able to keep the secret? No, even if we die, the bosses will send another team, and today¡¯s events will repeat themselves.¡± Old Third had a very thorough understanding of the situation. After saying all this, he confessed to the people of the shelter their goal, not hiding a single thing. The others fell silent. They couldn¡¯t be considered loyal. They had initially persisted because they had clung to a small hope that they had not been discovered. Even after Tang Yu spoke Lin Wei¡¯s name, they believed that he was just trying to frighten them. Answering was the same as confessing. Even if they didn¡¯t die, they would probably be harshly punished for sneaking into a shelter. But if they insisted that they were fleeing survivors, they had a chance of successfully mingling with the others. This was what they thought. The young man with glasses had initially thought the same, but he was quicker to understand. The other side had spoken those words not merely to scare them. Even without evidence and only suspicion, in this era where people were butchered like chickens, there was no need to hesitate. Only frank confession could win them some chance of survival. But the young man with glasses was still confused. Where had the flaw been? ¡­ This team that had tried to infiltrate the shelter didn¡¯t know much. When it came to knowledge on Lin Wei and his faction, they knew even less than Han Jing¡¯s team. Tang Yu understood. Han Jing had been Lin Wei¡¯s trusted subordinate, whereas this team was one of the many unremarkable teams under Lin Wei¡¯s command. This team naturally didn¡¯t know the secret of the Origin Crystal vein. Their mission was to seek out Han Jing¡¯s missing team. But it was not just the one team that had been given this mission. The young man with glasses had divulged that there were at least seven of these teams who had been sent to investigate different areas. Their team was responsible for investigating this particular region. ¡°In other words, the disappearance of their team is certain to draw Lin Wei¡¯s attention, and the shelter will become his focus sooner or later.¡± In truth, he had long ago expected this situation. By now, Han Jing¡¯s team members had already died in various ways, but Lin Wei cared enough about the Origin Crystal vein that he would definitely send an endless stream of people to investigate. The discovery of the truth was only a matter of time. But for Tang Yu, time was the key. Lin Wei was part of the upper echelons of the Lindong Shelter, and while he couldn¡¯t command the army, he had countless Awakened under his command. From what Tang Yu could tell, Lin Wei definitely commanded more power than his domain. However, transmitting information in the apocalypse was difficult. It wasn¡¯t like one could just send a message through WeChat. Lin Wei would have to be informed of the disappearance of the team Tang Yu had captured, then he would have to send another team to investigate, and this team would have to start investigating¡­ Just coming and going would consume an enormous amount of time. By using this time well, Tang Yu was confident that he could upgrade the buildings of his domain to another level. He also couldn¡¯t waste this team. He could perhaps make them miners. Awakened were much more efficient at hard labor than ordinary people. Tang Yu thought about Han Jing¡¯s people and felt his heart wince. Wouldn¡¯t it have been awesome to have Tier 3 Awakened as laborers? But he understood that making Han Jing¡¯s men into miners was far too dangerous. As the lord of this land, he needed to walk the safe and steady path. He could not afford to be reckless. Chapter 26 ¡°What?! You want to go to the Lindong Shelter? This is too dangerous!¡± When Tang Yu decided to take a trip to the Lindong Shelter, Chen Haiping became very agitated. It was an understandable reaction. They had just provoked a big boss of the Lindong Shelter, and he now wanted to deliver himself to his door. How was this any different from suicide? Tang Yu waved his hands. ¡°Calm down, calm down. It¡¯s not like Lin Wei recognizes me. Even if he finds out that Han Jing went missing around here, at most, he would target our shelter. If I go to the Lindong Shelter, I¡¯ll just be a random survivor and won¡¯t stand out at all. ¡°Moreover, the Lindong Shelter is the only large shelter in the Lincheng region. It should have more information and more resources. Only there can we gain some understanding of how much power Lin Wei has under his command. It¡¯s not like we can just sit around and permit our opponent to freely investigate us, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± Roger had never been much of a talker. Tang Yu shook his head. Roger was a reliable man, but both he and Yilian were not people from this world. Though the contract had endowed them with some common knowledge of this world, they couldn¡¯t compare to ordinary people who had twenty-some years of experience living in this world. Sending them to Lindong to gather information would be getting half the result with twice the effort. However, if it was just gathering information, there was no harm in sending Roger to gather information in Lindong. But Tang Yu didn¡¯t want to go to Lindong purely to gather information on Lin Wei¡¯s faction. This was his secondary goal. What he really wanted was to learn more about developments in the outside world through Lindong. In the early stages of the apocalypse, when radio signals were still present, Tang Yu had been able to get information on the situation throughout the country. But ever since the signal had been cut off, the flow of information had come to a stop. That wasn¡¯t even mentioning that the threat of the demonized beasts had grown greater and greater, with even survival becoming a problem. As an ordinary person, he had been more concerned about other kinds of information. Things were different now. He now had the power to protect himself and wanted to develop. Even if he had the system, he couldn¡¯t just close himself off to the outside world. The system was his advantage, and Tang Yu naturally had to use it well. He certainly wasn¡¯t clinging to some moronic notion of getting stronger on his own. He had a cheat, so why not use it? It was just that he couldn¡¯t put everything on the system. He had learned from the mouths of Han Jing and his team members that Lindong had scientists that had made many important discoveries while researching the new substances that had emerged after the apocalypse. This was the difference between small and large shelters. It was humanity¡¯s intelligence. Combining the system with the logic and intellect of human science was how the domain would develop in the future. Moreover¡­ Tang Yu¡¯s train of thought began to drift into the distance. Lindong was a large shelter, so it might have information from all across the country. In Lindong, he might be able to find information on the shelter where his parents were. He couldn¡¯t entrust this to other people. He was the only person capable of sorting through all the miscellaneous information to find what he wanted. As for safety¡­ Chen Haiping¡¯s worries were understandable, but in the end, Chen Haiping was an outsider. He knew only a smidgen about the domain and the trump cards Tang Yu possessed. This was why he was worried. Tang Yu naturally wasn¡¯t heading to Lindong alone. He would definitely be bringing a bodyguard, and he still needed a few days to prepare equipment. Even if he faced the worst-case scenario, he was confident that he could escape unscathed. ¡­ Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, several days had passed. Over the last few days, the domain continued to steadily develop according to plan. A team under Roger and Yilian had searched through the surrounding towns and villages. Not only had they found several practical items, they had also found several survivors who had been hiding out. All of these survivors were brought back to the domain without question. These were added to some barely capable survivor groups that were living out in the wilderness and who had either happened to pass by the shelter or learned of its existence through other channels. With these dribs and drabs of survivors, the shelter now had nearly one hundred survivors. Over the last few days, Tang Yu had also worked on strengthening his monitoring of the domain. Two days after they had captured that team of four, they had captured another team attempting to infiltrate the shelter. These teams clearly weren¡¯t very efficient, allowing Tang Yu to relax a little. No other teams came after these two. He presumed that these investigating teams had probably marked the area around the shelter as a dangerous region, or perhaps they already had a few clues. When going out, Yilian and Roger had occasionally come upon signs of survivor activity. These might have been left behind by those search teams. ¡°What a pity. I¡¯m still lacking one key item for my trip to Lindong.¡± Tang Yu was so sure that he could escape unscathed no matter what danger he faced because of a certain item. A Town Portal Scroll. This was a very common item in games, and it had a chance of appearing in a Level 1 market and didn¡¯t cost that much¡­ In a game, this item could save some time on the road, but in reality, it was a life-saving divine artifact. He had been waiting all this time, refreshing the market every chance he got. But when he needed it the most, it didn¡¯t appear. Tang Yu refreshed the market again today. A moment later, his eyes widened in glee. It wasn¡¯t that he had spotted the Town Portal Scroll, but in reality, this item would also be considered a divine artifact. Backpack (10 Slots). In the game, the backpack was just an expansion of one¡¯s inventory, and it didn¡¯t even increase the inventory by much. But things were different in reality. This backpack appeared like an ordinary backpack, one of the smaller kinds, but inside was another world. A ten-slot backpack held ten different spaces. Each space was one cubic meter in size. Put together, the backpack could hold ten cubic meters, an absolute necessity for a traveling family, a sniping assassin, or the aspiring roadside bandit. Tang Yu immediately bought the three backpacks available on the market, upon which he realized that he was running out of Origin Crystals. Over the last few days, he had built the market, upgraded the domain castle, built the walls, and also bought a map and the backpacks from the market. But he made only one or two hundred units of Origin Crystal each day. It wasn¡¯t a small amount, but it didn¡¯t match his expenditure at all. Tang Yu looked at his reserve of Origin Crystals and saw that it was on the verge of running out. More importantly, he had built very few buildings. Overlord Tang was very concerned. As he glanced at the spatial backpacks he had bought, his eyes lit up. He had thought of a new source of revenue. ¡­ It was a clear day, the weather hot and steamy, the burning sunlight roasting the shattered earth. The air was pervaded by the smell of¡­ sweat? Avoiding the sweaty laborers, Tang Yu secretly made his way out of the shelter with his two automaton guards. His target was the Origin Crystal vein several kilometers away. He was greedy for this Origin Crystal vein, but he had no way of mining it¡­ There were many demonized beasts in the mountains, and he had never gone inside before. Even before finding the Origin Crystal vein, he would be endlessly pestered by demonized beasts. In this situation, mining the Origin Crystal vein was a fantasy. Yes, sending survivors to routinely mine the vein was unrealistic. But breaking apart the rock and putting the ore containing Origin Crystals into the spatial backpacks seemed plausible. Leaving the vacation villa from the side, one could take a mountain road that circled the mountain behind the vacation villa. Tang Yu proceeded along this winding mountain road. On one side was the steep mountain face, and on the other side was a steep cliff overlooking a small creek. After the apocalypse, the shelter drew most of its water from this creek. Fortunately, the creek hadn¡¯t been polluted much before the apocalypse¡­ At the very least, the creek¡¯s water hadn¡¯t turned red, yellow, or some other strange shade. Number One and Number Two flanked him like two door gods while Tang Yu leisurely observed his surroundings. This road wasn¡¯t very wide, only enough for two cars side by side. At a glance, he could see that nearly half of the road had been overtaken by grass. This grass had grown from the dirt next to the cement road and had experienced frenzied growth. Some of the grass was one or two meters high, and some of the grass had grown through the cracks in the road, cracking the surface. Anyone who had been hiding all this time after the apocalypse and had only chosen to emerge now would perhaps come to realize something. This world had become far too alien. Chapter 27 Tang Yu had learned that the Origin Crystal vein was several kilometers from the vacation villa as the crow flies. This placed it somewhere in the forest located behind the castle. This forest was very large and was brimming with demonized beasts. A few days ago, he had gone over using the public road that went around the mountain. In the middle here was a part of the mountain that was rather level and that he could use to enter the forest¡­ But this detour is too far and a waste of time. Moreover, Number One and Number Two have a limited area in which they can operate, and they can¡¯t go very far from the domain. It¡¯s better to just go straight there. The public road abutted against the side of the mountain forest. It was a steep mountain face that was overgrown with gnarled shrubs and plants. Even an Awakened would need abundant climbing experience to scale this wall. In his mind¡­ Tang Yu gave an order to Number One. In a flash, a web of cracks appeared beneath Number One¡¯s feet, and it shot into the air, ramming a path through the dense shrubbery. Shattered branches and leaves rained down, crashing into the road. Tang Yu¡¯s mouth twitched. As he looked at the path cleared for him and the rope hanging down from the top¡­ as expected, violence was truly the ideal method for resolving problems. ¡­ Outside the forest, the sunlight was swelteringly hot. Inside the forest, things were different. The trees had grown vigorously, their roots intertwined. Their canopies were so lush that it felt like one was walking into a primordial forest. With the sunlight blocked out, everything turned dim and gloomy. Even the temperature dropped several degrees. There was no doubt that this was a transformation that had taken place only after the apocalypse. The trees had seemingly been fed hormones, and where the trees were more thickly concentrated, Tang Yu could see that the tree trunks intersected, hugging each other as if they were part of the same system! Even if some sort of plant spirit evolved, Tang Yu wouldn¡¯t be surprised. It was very quiet in the forest. The only sound was the rustling of the branches blown by the wind. It was no longer possible to hear the calls of insects and birds. Tang Yu was actually quite curious. It seemed like insects had stopped appearing after the apocalypse. He had at least seen demonized birds that had been affected by the red mist, but he truly hadn¡¯t seen any insects. These should have been the most commonplace of creatures, but he truly had never heard of insects mutating. Had they been too weak and all been rendered extinct? Tang Yu didn¡¯t find this possible. The reproductive ability and adaptability of insects was top-class. What he worried about was if insects turned into demonized beasts. Certain mutations would make them even harder to deal with than ordinary demonized beasts. At this time, Number Two to his right suddenly stepped forward, grabbed a green vine, and twisted. Pop! The vine burst apart, splattering a greenish-yellow fluid across the ground. Tang Yu was dumbstruck. ¡°This is¡­ a snake?!¡± He was scared out of his wits. If he had been alone, he would never have had the guts to venture into the forest. On the outside, barring a small number of assassin-type demonized beasts, most demonized beasts weren¡¯t difficult to notice. But in a complicated environment like the mountain forest, this snake, which still maintained the same hunting habits from before it was demonized, was even more dangerous. And this was just a rather weak demonized snake. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you can¡¯t eat the meat of a demonized beast, but it would be different if this were a mutated snake.¡± As if this had been a prelude¡­ As he ventured deeper and deeper into the forest, more and more demonized beasts appeared. The native demonized beasts had maintained their original appearance, but there were also some that had transformed into bizarre and strange beings. There were demonized rabbits that were larger than tigers, demonized squirrels with three tails, and also otherworldly beings that had crawled out from the abyssal fissures, their appearances never seen before and terrifying to behold. He felt that if he had a chance in the future, he would assign these demonized beasts numbers and give them names. Running into them like this and not knowing what to call them made him seem very ignorant. ¡­ The environment in the mountain forest was complicated, and he didn¡¯t know the exact location of the Origin Crystal vein. After walking about for quite some time, he had yet to make any progress. ¡°Was the report fake? But would Wang Tai be so bold as to give a Lindong boss a fake report?¡± Tang Yu pondered. Whether or not the news was fake, this mountain forest was so dangerous that Han Jing¡¯s team probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to last very long, let alone find that Origin Crystal vein. Even Wang Tai¡¯s group had apparently only seen it from a distance while they were running away. He paused. ¡®Seen it¡¯? This mountain forest had a lush canopy that completely blocked out all vision. How was it possible to see it? He felt that the information was fake! Suddenly! Light burst out in front of him, causing Tang Yu to rub his eyes. He was very sure that this was sunlight. ¡°How could there be sunlight in this forest? Have I already come out? But that¡¯s not possible. It¡¯s not possible to move through this forest very quickly, and this position is still near the edge of the forest, far away from the other side. Then¡­¡± He quickly walked forward. Thudding and banging came from his sides as Number One and Number Two attended to some demonized beasts that had been disturbed. The area suddenly opened up in front of him. A pit appeared in his vision, and under the sunlight, he could see flashes of crystal. This was a giant pit, and at the bottom of the crater were glossy white slabs of stone. This was ore that contained Origin Crystals, crystalline ore. If his guess was right, this was an exposed ore vein. From a distance, the Origin Crystal vein was already a stunning sight to behold, particularly the glossy white light reflected by the stone. But Tang Yu¡¯s gaze was drawn to the center of the giant pit. Standing there was a giant tree. It fully deserved the title. The trees of the forest already grew very tall, but they were all inferior to this one. This giant tree occupied the center of the Origin Crystal vein, its gnarled roots like coiled dragons. The branches were covered in leaves, but rather than the green of ordinary trees, these leaves were a translucent white. Tang Yu focused his eyes and seemed to see tiny little veins on these translucent leaves. This giant tree seemed to belong in a fantasy. Even the Origin Crystal vein beneath it seemed to dim in comparison. Tang Yu shook his head, putting aside the question of the giant tree. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything dangerous about the giant tree. As for how it had mutated, that could be a topic of future research. It wasn¡¯t like the giant tree was going to run away. His first priority was to take away some of the crystalline ore. He also didn¡¯t want to get too close to the giant tree. He skirted the edge of the pit, seeking out an area where the ore was more abundant. With Number One and Number Two standing guard at his side, Tang Yu grabbed some spheres from his pocket and threw them out. Basic warrior automatons, I choose you! With a soft crack, the ping-pong-sized balls expanded and transformed into spherical and thick-armed automatons. The moment the automatons hit the ground, Tang Yu had them start mining ore. The basic warrior automatons didn¡¯t have this function, but it was very simple. Just like how they worked stone in the villa, they simply swung their swords without any need to worry about damaging anything. Crystalline ore flew into the air together with ordinary rock. The crystalline ore chunks were each about the size of a head, but they didn¡¯t contain many Origin Crystals. If using an ordinary backpack, one wouldn¡¯t be able to get a lot, but Tang Yu had spatial backpacks. Chunks of ore were placed in the backpack. The commotion the automatons created with their work was the equivalent of kicking a beehive. Countless demonized beasts surged out from beneath the gnarled roots of the giant tree. It was a dense and ferocious flood. Tang Yu frowned. ¡°It¡¯s quite a lot. Fortunately, I don¡¯t need to defeat these demonized beasts, only hold out for a while. Leaving Number Two to guard the area, Number One shot into the pack of demonized beasts like a bolt of lightning. The silver spear in its hand danced like a dragon. Number One had no need to thrust. With simple smashing and swinging, it either left demonized beasts as badly wounded humps of flesh or simply turned their bodies into clouds of blood. None of them could last even a single round. This was the power of an upgraded automaton guard. Each time the domain leveled up, the two automaton guards would also receive a massive upgrade. In terms of strength, they had surpassed the Body-Molding-level Roger. If not for the somewhat limited operational range of the two automatons, Tang Yu would have been so bold as to take them to Lindong to face down the boss. It was somewhat of a pity. As the demonized beasts died, their Soul Energy incessantly flowed into Tang Yu¡¯s body. A single demonized beast¡¯s Soul Energy was like a trickling brook, but this was like a raging river. Even though he had yet to refine this energy, he felt like he was full of vigor and energy. There were simply too many demonized beasts! If he had to hunt them himself, even though he now had the strength of a Tier 2 Awakened, he would still need to be cautious when facing a Tier 1 demonized beast. And after fighting each demonized beast, he would have to rest for a while, and this wasn¡¯t even considering any other dangers he faced in the meantime. He now somewhat understood why people felt that the Awakened had not gotten much stronger. It wasn¡¯t that they weren¡¯t trying, it was just that¡­ they couldn¡¯t beat demonized beasts! Tang Yu smiled. When leveling up, you had to cheat. As expected, this was the true purpose of the automaton guards. Chapter 28 When Tang Yu returned to the domain, the sun was still high in the sky. He hadn¡¯t been out for long. He had come back in time to have a piping hot lunch. At this time¡­ Tang Yu was in a rather sorry state. He wore a fighting uniform made from high-level demonized beast hide, but there was now a deep scratch on his waist. This had been created when he had carelessly allowed a demonized beast to get close and claw at him. This scratch was so deep that it had nearly broken through the fighting uniform. Number Two had almost failed to save its master. There had simply been too many demonized beasts. Number One had only managed to hold down a group, while the rest had continued to charge his way. All he had been able to see was a savage demonized beast. Tang Yu felt like he was in the middle of a demon flood. He had hastily packed crystalline ore into his backpack, and by the time he had finally retreated, the basic warrior automatons he had used as miners had been utterly dismantled. ¡°Too dangerous¡­¡± Tang Yu frowned. The number of demonized beasts was truly surprising. He speculated that the reason was that giant tree with its translucent leaves. As he left, those demonized beasts had withdrawn to the base of the tree rather than continuing their pursuit. ¡°But¡­ I¡¯ll have to put the crystal vein to the side for now. There are probably even more demonized beasts under that giant tree. If they all charge up, even Number One and Number Two might not be able to hold.¡± He was satisfied nonetheless. He looked at the three spatial backpacks with fervent eyes. This crystalline ore contained some amount of Origin Crystals, and he didn¡¯t need to extract the Origin Crystals from them. He took the spatial backpacks straight to a storage room in the castle. Whoosh! The ore was poured out, almost instantly filling up the rather small storage room. The number of Origin Crystals detected on the system menu crazily soared. 2,635. 6,963. 11,596. ¡°18,351.9!!¡± Tang Yu took in a deep breath. He was rich! How many Origin Crystals had Wang Tai accumulated over a month? Around five thousand. That was poverty levels! Perhaps that was why his shelter had been wiped out. Not even the demonized beasts could stand to see it! And even if Wang Tai had Origin Crystals, he didn¡¯t have any way of using them! Everyone knew that Origin Crystals were valuable, and the government had announced long ago that Origin Crystals could form in the bodies of demonized beasts. But for ordinary people, they were little better than jewels that could be placed on rings. Tang Yu would venture to guess that neither middling nor small shelters could use Origin Crystals. It was probably only the large shelters that could research and develop methods of using Origin Crystals, though their methods were probably rather crude. The majority of the Origin Crystals the government collected were probably wasted on research. But he was different! He could pay crystals to summon followers, pay crystals to refresh the market, pay crystals to construct buildings¡­ Not only had he gained a large number of Origin Crystals, his body was brimming with Soul Energy, almost beyond the maximum of what he could take. After that mining trip, Tang Yu¡¯s body was even rejecting Soul Energy. This was akin to being so full after eating that one couldn¡¯t swallow anymore. For the first time, he discovered that there was a limit to absorbing Soul Energy. Once he refined this Soul Energy, Tang Yu was confident that he could rise to a new level. ¡­ As Tang Yu was daydreaming, the castle¡¯s sensor system sounded off. This thing was similar to a doorbell, though it was much more advanced. It could identify people and transmit messages, and it didn¡¯t require any sort of operation, making it very easy to use¡ªso easy that he didn¡¯t even know where this identification system was installed. Tang Yu quickly saw Chen Haiping¡¯s rather glum face. ¡°Chief, if our population continues to rise like this, we¡¯ll run out of food.¡± Though Chen Haiping had been assigned to the patrol team, over the last few days, he had been doing the work of a civil official. This was purely because the domain lacked the appropriate talents and could only work with what it had. The domain didn¡¯t have that many people, and though Chen Haiping was hard-pressed, he still managed to do the job of taking a census of the survivors well. This morning, he had compared the remaining amount of food, the amount of food consumed every day, and the population growth rate, upon which he instantly couldn¡¯t stay still! If the population continued to grow, the shelter¡¯s remaining food wouldn¡¯t be able to last for long! ¡°We¡¯re running out of food? How long will it last?¡± Tang Yu asked. Chen Haiping bitterly smiled as he replied, ¡°Based on our current population, we can probably go half a month, but the population of the shelter is increasing every day. If this continues, it will last ten days at most. ¡°In addition, we¡¯ve already scoured the vacation villa for resources. As for outside of it, we have Captain Roger¡¯s team going out searching every day, but the amount of food they bring back isn¡¯t much, far less than what we consume.¡± Chen Haiping had not said everything. Chief Tang was giving far too much food to the survivors. Not only was he worried about filling their stomachs, but he was also providing them meat and vegetables. While it was far inferior to life before the apocalypse, it would be enough to draw the envy of those living in other shelters. He didn¡¯t think this was bad, but that was under the prerequisite of abundant food. Once the food ran out, Chen Haiping wondered if the shelter would immediately fall apart. ¡°How did the previous shelter get its food?¡± Chen Haiping thought it over. ¡°In the past, most of the food was found by searching outside. However, the apocalypse had just happened at the time, so each time a team went out, it could come back with a rather decent harvest. But now, the surrounding regions have been stripped bare, so each time Captain Roger goes out, he doesn¡¯t get much. ¡°Captain Roger has also hunted quite a few demonized beasts and brought them back, but demonized beasts aren¡¯t like wild beasts. The majority of the meat on their bodies can¡¯t be eaten. And it¡¯s hard to tell which parts of the demonized beast are edible and which are poisonous, so hunting demonized beasts for food also isn¡¯t plausible.¡± He took a breath before continuing. ¡°Originally, Wang Tai had prepared an adequate amount of food, and he was also planning to order people to plant hardy crops with short growth cycles in the valley. I recall that he wanted to plant sweet potatoes, potatoes, and rice. But those crops were destroyed by the demonized beasts, and besides that, much of the food stockpiled in the vacation villa was also spoiled by the demonized beasts, leading to our current shortage. ¡°If we plant crops again, it will probably be too late, even if we start rationing the food¡­¡± He appeared very frustrated. If he had been able to notice the food problem earlier, he might have been able to find a solution, But now, though he racked his brain for ideas, he couldn¡¯t find one. Tang Yu wasn¡¯t that worried after hearing it all. The two biggest problems vexing shelters in the apocalypse were undoubtedly safety and food. He had not paid attention to the shelter¡¯s food problem before not because he wasn¡¯t worried, but because running out of food was impossible. The difference was in the method he used to get food. Having Roger go out with a spatial backpack to find food? That seemed like a hassle. Buying food resource packs from the market? Too expensive! He was scrimpy with every single Origin Crystal he had, and he couldn¡¯t use it on something like this. It was doable just for his personal enjoyment, but it was impossible to feed all the survivors this way. After some thought, he suddenly brightened. ¡°Who said that it¡¯s too late to start farming? There¡¯s definitely still time, and we can even have a rich harvest!¡± Chapter 29 ¡°A rich harvest?¡± Chen Haiping was flabbergasted. Did Chief Tang not understand how agriculture worked, and believe that farming crops was very easy? Not even considering whether the crops would survive or not, by the time they ripened, the entire shelter would be dead from starvation. But Chen Haiping concluded from Tang Yu¡¯s confident expression that this wasn¡¯t the case. When had the chief ever not been sure when he had this sort of face? He felt a little dizzy. ¡°There¡¯s no rush, no rush. Take me to where the crops were planted before.¡± There was a gap between the eastern and western villa areas, and through the small path running down the center of this gap, one could reach a valley. This was where the crops had originally been planted. Other than the entrance, the valley was surrounded by steep mountain walls. Past this barrier of mountains was the mountain forest, but the terrain was so steep that it would be much easier for the demonized beasts to get over the walls than cross the mountains. Thus, so long as the valley entrance was protected, this place was very safe. It was no wonder Wang Tai had wanted to plant crops here. He could see a plowed field, and there were still many crops growing in it. But most of the plants had been crushed by the demonized beasts, and there were signs of chaos and disarray all over the place. Though Chen Haiping had already had someone clean up a little, the area was still a mess. This area didn¡¯t get much sunlight, the soil had been lacking in nutrients, and there had also been no fertilizer. Growing crops here was a trial with these initial conditions, and now that the demonized beasts had been through here, these crops were essentially done for. ¡°There¡¯s truly no saving these crops, but¡­¡± He felt that this was truly an excellent area. A lack of nutrients and sunlight? The crops took too long to grow? None of these were problems. It was fine as long as the location was safe¡ªnot just against demonized beasts, but against survivors as well. In the future, once the crops matured, if they had been planted in some wide open area that was difficult to manage, Tang Yu couldn¡¯t be sure that some survivors would not start harboring other motives. He had never been one to underestimate the wicked nature of humanity. So then¡­ It was now time. Tang Yu chose an area, opened up the system menu, and scrolled down to the resource building list. Chen Haiping followed the entire time with a concerned look on his face. He didn¡¯t understand what Chief Tang was going to do. But the food problem could no longer be put off. Suddenly, he saw Tang Yu¡¯s expression turn grim, his eyes focusing on a messy area as he reached out his hand. What was he¡­? Chen Haiping¡¯s heart trembled as he stared at that area. A moment later, many pieces of wood flew into the air over the clearing, branches that had been scattered about as the demonized beasts ran rampant. Countless pieces of stone also converged, joining with the wood in forming a three-storey building that looked similar to a mill! ¡°This!!¡± Even though this wasn¡¯t his first time seeing this sort of sight, this was completely different from building walls. The sight of walls rising from the ground was majestic, but walls didn¡¯t have any sort of complicated shape. However, this was a mill, and the windmill on top of it was even covered in complicated inscriptions that he couldn¡¯t understand. Chen Haiping glanced at Tang Yu¡¯s outstretched hands. It was like¡­ These two hands¡­ Had transformed into a pair of giant, invisible hands that had sculpted this mill into existence. And with incredible speed! This ability was beyond his imagination. It was a level that he could not even fathom. Things did not stop once the mill had taken form. That pair of giant, invisible hands swept over the ground, ripples spreading out from the mill that caused the soil to seethe. The craters and pockmarks were all smoothed out, and then furrows began to appear across the earth. In just a few moments, this area of land had changed from a disorderly mess into a plowed field. Eight fields with a windmill in the center¡ªthis was the full form of the farm! This development had taken place with the snap of a finger. ¡°The farm has completed construction, consuming 500 units of Origin Crystal, 150 units of Wood, and 50 units of Stone.¡± He had gathered the stone and wood from the area. For the cost of only 500 Origin Crystals, he was able to feed a hundred survivors, perhaps even more. This was for the sake of long-term growth. Overlord Tang felt that this was too cheap. He was a man with more than ten thousand Origin Crystals, and he felt that not building more would be a waste. He built two more farms to fill up the valley. Once the crops had ripened, the sight of that rich harvest would assuredly be magnificent to behold. Habit was a powerful force. After experiencing so many shocking things, Chen Haiping¡¯s resistance to shock had also swelled. Wasn¡¯t it just constructing a building? The world had already ended. Was there anything strange about some cheat ability that could construct buildings? As the steward of the shelter, he was far more concerned with practical problems. ¡°Chief, is there anything special about these fields?¡± ¡°The soil in these fields is infused with a special power. If it¡¯s used to grow crops, they will easily thrive and even grow faster. ¡°As for speed¡­¡± Tang Yu pondered it for a few moments. ¡°It should be ten times to several dozen times the normal rate. The exact speed will depend on the crop planted.¡± In truth, he also didn¡¯t get it and was just making everything up. The farm¡¯s purpose was to rapidly grow crops. As for the principle behind it, the changes to the soil¡­ All he knew was that this wasn¡¯t regular soil and that crops could mature very quickly in it. That was enough. Was the rest important? Tang Yu continued, ¡°Anyway, have some survivors start planting crops here. This place¡¯s soil is brimming with nutrients, so this should be rather easy work. You can assign survivors who have performed rather well.¡± Chen Haiping nodded. Even with his resistance to shock, he had almost been unable to take it. Crops growing at ten to several dozen times their usual rate would be a fantasy before the apocalypse, and even now, it seemed absurd. If this were anyone else, he wouldn¡¯t have believed it. But Chen Haiping had been around here for some time, and he understood that Tang Yu wouldn¡¯t joke about something so important. He was currently estimating how much food these fields could provide to the shelter. He quickly lost count. Even if the growing speed was only ten-some times faster, these fields would provide more than enough food for the nearly one hundred survivors in the shelter. Even ten times the number of survivors wouldn¡¯t present a problem. And in the future, as the shelter grew larger and larger, and more and more survivors gathered, with fields like these, they would never have to worry about a lack of food. If one farm wasn¡¯t enough, they could build two, three, or even more. It was no wonder that Chief Tang had always been confident about building a shelter. In the past, Chen Haiping had only hoped to erect a small shelter, but after seeing Chief Tang easily erect walls and plow fields, he realized that there was even some hope of establishing a medium shelter consisting of tens of thousands of survivors. This place had experts, walls, and food. In these aspects alone, this place far exceeded medium shelters. The food problem that had weighed on his heart had been resolved, and Chen Haiping readied to call over two survivors he trusted to start planting crops. He suddenly thought of something and frowned. ¡°Chief, with more and more survivors gathering in the shelter, managing them has become somewhat problematic. The new Awakened in particular are unruly and difficult to control. If this is allowed to go on, they will inevitably start causing trouble.¡± Chapter 30 ¡°Oh? Has someone already started to cause trouble?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that bad.¡± Chen Haiping shook his head. ¡°But I think that some people are slacking on their work. It¡¯s primarily because we have too many survivors but lack any supervisors, so we can¡¯t get a clear view of the situation. There¡¯s been no big problems so far, but in the long term, this will be very disadvantageous to the development of the shelter. ¡°In addition, during meal time, I suspect that someone is storing away food, causing the amount of food consumed every day to be much greater than anticipated. I only realized it when I was running the numbers on the food stores this morning, but this can¡¯t have been something that¡¯s been going on for one or two days!¡± The shelter¡¯s rules had been extremely simple, or could even be said to not exist. The arrangements made for survivors every day were really just a general guideline for each survivor. There was no auditing of what they did or how much they worked. The same was true for meal times. With the increased number of survivors, food was distributed from a large communal pot that could fill the stomach. The food provided was much better than that provided in the average shelter, but it was clear that some greedy people would never be satisfied or grateful no matter how much they received. Chen Haiping couldn¡¯t do anything about that. In the end, he had been a former soldier, and though he had managed to reach the officer level, he felt great despair when asked to resolve these problems. Tang Yu indicated that he understood. The shelter was in the developing phase and had a pile of problems to take care of. Chen Haiping clearly wanted to prioritize these particular problems first. In the end, they lacked trustworthy people. He, Yilian, and Roger were the core leadership of the domain. Chen Haiping belonged to the next tier of leadership. After that were a small number of trustworthy survivors. These people were mostly assigned to important posts or managerial positions, but there clearly weren¡¯t enough. As the number of survivors in the domain rose, the proportion of trustworthy people dwindled. This was because the shelter¡¯s foundation had essentially been lacking. With other shelters, if they weren¡¯t set up by the government, they were set up by people with large numbers of subordinates. These shelters had started off with population, resources, and rather complete operating systems that allowed them to constantly absorb new survivors. But this domain clearly could not be considered a true shelter, and it lacked the ability to awe and intimidate outside survivors that other shelters had. This was even more problematic with the many untameable and unruly Awakened among the outside survivors. Tang Yu looked at the domain map, at the little dots that represented the survivors. Besides the earliest two batches of survivors, the remaining survivors were mostly yellow sprinkled with green and red. The red stood out. These red dots were not those people Lin Wei had sent to investigate, but certain thorns among the survivors. While these people had yet to do anything that would endanger the shelter, the fact that they were red dots meant that these people were hostile to the domain. Dealing with these people was rather troublesome¡­ no, he would not admit that he hadn¡¯t dealt with them because it was troublesome. It had to be because he was so busy building up the domain that he didn¡¯t have the time. Fortunately, now that he had Origin Crystals, the problem of the Town Portal Scroll would be very quickly solved. Before heading off to Lindong, he would take care of these miscellaneous concerns in one go. ¡°Let¡¯s do this. Old Chen, post an announcement. With the exact wording¡­ just write whatever. After that, find a time to carry out a census of the survivors. There¡¯s no need to make it very soon. Give those people some time to prepare. When the time comes, we can make back our capital and make a little profit. Yeah, that¡¯s about it.¡± Chen Haiping covered his face. He felt that the burden on his shoulders had only grown heavier. ¡­ On the outskirts of the vacation villa, in a small forest¡­ Ding Qiang was seated on a rocking chair and relaxing under the shade of a tree while he slowly snacked on a sausage. ¡°This taste¡­ wonderful. I never realized how tasty sausages were.¡± A rumbling came from the distance: the sound of automatons demolishing stone. This was the time of day in which materials were transported. But Ding Qiang was leisurely relaxing on his rocking chair as if this work had nothing to do with him. He naturally had to reject the shelter¡¯s arrangements. He was a mighty Awakened that would be an honored guest at any other shelter, yet he had been assigned such lowly work. In his view, this place couldn¡¯t even be considered a real shelter. There was nothing much that was special about this shelter. Only that wall seemed incredible. If not for the fact that this place had been generous with the food, he would have never paid this place any mind¡­ Perhaps there really had been a shelter here, but it had been destroyed by a demon flood. This would explain why this place had so much food. But Ding Qiang was still somewhat wary of this place. There was nothing simple about those automatons that were mining stone. They were probably the product of some ability user. Otherwise, he would have never pretended to follow the orders of the shelter. Suddenly, a young man with some facial stubble ran over. ¡°Big¡­ Big Brother, bad news¡­¡± ¡°What are you in such a panic for? At most, the fact that we were secretly seizing food from other survivors was discovered, but that¡¯s nothing to be worried about. Your big brother is an Awakened and isn¡¯t afraid of this so-called shelter,¡± Ding Qiang proudly said as he glared at the young man. The young man panted for breath, a look of admiration on his face. Truly, this was their Awakened big brother, always speaking in this domineering tone. In contrast, he had panicked over that tiny bit of bad news. It was just too shameful. His big brother had already said that there was no need to fear the shelter. Since that was the case, that bad news probably wasn¡¯t a big deal to his big brother. ¡°Big Brother, it¡¯s not about that. It¡¯s the shelter. The shelter has posted an announcement saying that it is reforming the rules, dividing the survivors in the shelter into residents and wanderers. Residents have to follow the work assignments of the shelter, and their food will be distributed in accordance with their accomplishments, and they will also receive greater benefits. But if they violate the work requirements, they will be punished in various ways, like having their remuneration cancelled¡­ ¡°As for wanderers, these people won¡¯t be restricted by the shelter so long as they don¡¯t break the rules. It also said something about the shelter giving out missions at certain intervals, and wanderers could complete these missions in exchange for resources. Apparently, these missions would include searching the surrounding regions, gathering certain items¡­¡± The young man failed to notice that Ding Qiang¡¯s expression was turning darker as he went on, and by the time he reached the end, his face was pitch-black. ¡­ The small square in front of the villa area had always been the most active area in the shelter. Every day, large amounts of wood and stone were transported here by survivors. Besides work, many survivors would also gather here to chat. This was one of the few methods of leisure in the apocalypse. The shelter permitted appropriate breaks. After all, ordinary people couldn¡¯t work from daybreak to nightfall without rest. So long as they weren¡¯t intentionally slacking, Tang Yu didn¡¯t care. In truth, this level of work was something that the vast majority of survivors could bear, and the rewards far surpassed anything they could get from elsewhere. At this time, a survivor pushing over a cart saw an announcement posted on the side of the gate. Something important seemed to be written there, and quite a few survivors had gathered around it. Zhao Xingping hastily pushed the cart of materials to the assigned area, and then he quickly returned to the square to see what was written on the poster. He had come to the shelter two days ago. Unlike many others, he was not an outsider who had come here through his own power, but an ordinary person, and he also hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to join a group with an Awakened. But Zhao Xingping still felt fortunate. He keenly remembered that day. He had been hiding in a dark corner, trying to suppress his hunger as a demonized beast roved around the place he was staying. He had been filled with panic and unease until¡­ Captain Roger appeared and sliced the demonized beasts in half. He was brought to the shelter, where he became an ordinary survivor. He could eat three meals that filled his stomach every day, and they even included both meat and vegetables. It all felt like a dream. He didn¡¯t know how he could repay the shelter¡¯s kindness. All he could do was perform his assigned duties as well as he could. Chapter 31 Squeezing into the crowd, Zhao Xingping was finally able to make out what was written on the poster. [Announcement on the Newest Arrangements for the Shelter¡¯s Survivors Considering the growing number of survivors in the shelter, new arrangements have been made. The survivors of the shelter will be divided into residents and wanderers. Residents will include, but are not limited to, administrative workers, patrol team members, and ordinary workers¡­ Residents must obey the work assignments of the shelter, and they will also enjoy greater benefits, such as assigned housing and guaranteed drugs. Among residents, Awakened and people with sparring or shooting experience may apply for the patrol team. Patrol team members will enjoy even higher benefits¡­ but they must fulfill their obligations¡­ Those with management experience, after application and an interview, can become an administration member, with the remuneration being¡­ The shelter will place no restriction on wanderers, but at the same time, wanderers will not enjoy any sort of benefit. If wanderers wish to obtain resources, they may spend Origin Crystals to purchase them from the shelter or complete missions issued by the shelter at set intervals in exchange for resources¡­] Once Zhao Xingping was done reading, he slowly walked out of the crowd with a pensive look on his face. Many people around him were discussing the announcement. A survivor said with a worried face, ¡°The shelter is no longer going to provide food until we¡¯re full. Does that mean that we won¡¯t be able to fill our stomachs in the future?¡± ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be.¡± The companion who answered him seemed rather hesitant. ¡°Didn¡¯t it say right there that we¡¯ll enjoy even higher benefits if we become residents? We¡¯ll definitely be becoming residents.¡± ¡°While that¡¯s what it says, it never goes into the exact details about the benefits. With the communal pot meals over now, I just don¡¯t feel good.¡± Zhao Xingping came over and called out to the two survivors. They were all laborers in the shelter, and even if they weren¡¯t very familiar with each other, they all knew each other. Zhao Xingping didn¡¯t agree very much with their opinions. ¡°The shelter said that it would provide according to your performance, but if you compare it to how it was calculated before, you¡¯ll discover that we¡¯re getting even more food than before. ¡°Not only that, I saw on there that as long as we work hard, not only can we eat our fill, we can eat even more than before, and there will be more kinds of food and perhaps even some alcohol and tobacco. These were things that we never had before, and just the thought of it makes me excited.¡± After some thought, the other two nodded. From this perspective, the shelter¡¯s reforms were good for them. ¡°But it also said that we had to comply with the work assignments. The shelter won¡¯t make us into cannon fodder, right? Like making us bait to draw over demonized beasts.¡± This survivor seemed to recall some terrifying memory, and shivered. Zhao Xingping laughed. ¡°Take it easy. If the shelter really wanted to make us cannon fodder, it would have done that long ago. It¡¯s not like we could resist. Would there be any need to make up all these procedures? In my view, this institutional reform is because the shelter has so many people and can¡¯t be as easygoing as before.¡± They hadn¡¯t been at the shelter for long, but they had seen for themselves how the shelter had treated survivors. Zhao Xingping continued, ¡°Moreover, just look at what that announcement says. If you become a resident, you¡¯re guaranteed drugs! Medicine! If we survivors get sick, the shelter will actually give us drugs to treat us!¡± His voice was trembling a little. In the apocalypse, many people died not because of demonized beasts or starvation, but because they fell ill and weren¡¯t treated promptly. In this harsh environment, minor illnesses became major ones, and one could only moan in pain as one died. Everyone understood how precious drugs were! They were even more valuable than food! In the wilderness, it wasn¡¯t rare for someone to pay exorbitant prices for a small bottle of medicine, perhaps even their life. Zhao Xingping had never heard of a shelter that would offer medicine to survivors to treat their illnesses. He felt disbelief, and he also felt very¡­ lucky. ¡­ In the villa area, in front of the castle¡¯s garden¡­ ¡°Chief, the rest of it is fine, but will people really join the patrol team?¡± The patrol team offered the most benefits, but it also had the strictest requirements. All shelters had a defensive force like this, but their requirements weren¡¯t so strict. Generally speaking, their duties were to patrol the insides of the shelter and fend off demonized beast attacks. But on the announcement¡­ Chief Tang had requirements like periodic demonized beasts hunts, a certain amount of training completed every week, and even assessments, with those not reaching the standard being asked to resign¡­ Chen Haiping felt that this was all a joke. Fighting demonized beasts? This was extremely dangerous. If these were desperate times, some survivors would choose to join, but in this shelter, so long as one didn¡¯t slack off, one could eat their fill and sleep well. How many people would choose to join the patrol team in these circumstances? Chen Haiping was very doubtful. At present, the patrol team had only four people: Captain Roger, himself, and two ordinary people with passing marksmanship. This was everyone in the patrol team. Moreover, it was normally Captain Roger who would go out alone to search for resources and hunt demonized beasts every day. He would occasionally come along to hunt some demonized beasts. Chen Haiping felt that Awakened were the best fit for the patrol team, as they were the only ones with the ability to resist if they encountered demonized beasts out on the field. Alas, these Awakened were used to power and authority, and had grown incredibly conceited. Given their lack of relationship with the shelter, why would they give their lives for it? At its peak, Wang Tai¡¯s shelter had been able to lay claim to seventy to eighty Awakened, but less than half actually obeyed Wang Tai¡­ Chen Haiping had been watching over the last few days, and among the Awakened that had appeared in the shelter, excluding some Awakened who had extremely good temperaments or had been assisted by the shelter in successfully awakening, the rest were woodworms that would more likely hinder the shelter¡¯s development than not. And in these conditions, Chief Tang had required a certain amount of training, periodic assessments, and the resignation of those that didn¡¯t meet the standard¡­ Chen Haiping felt that this was crazy. ¡°Old Chen, trust me. While we might not have a lot, we at least have a handful of people. This is enough for a small team, and there will naturally be a second, a third¡­ and many more. The patrol team will gradually start growing in scale.¡± ¡°But even the Awakened can choose to join the moving teams. With their innate strength, they can easily obtain enough remuneration. The majority of people won¡¯t do anything if it doesn¡¯t benefit them, so why would they join the patrol team?¡± Roger angrily roared, ¡°These people are no different from cowards! What¡¯s the point in letting them remain?!¡± What was the point? Tang Yu would say that there naturally was a point. Hadn¡¯t he raised these people for so long so that they could serve as an example? The pigs were fat and could be butchered now. Without an example, how could anyone understand the shelter¡¯s power? Tang Yu restrained Roger and turned to Chen Haiping. ¡°The patrol team is a good assignment, and it¡¯s only easy to get in because it¡¯s lacking members. It will be much more difficult to get in in the future¡­ You have to realize that periodic organized hunts and the completion of a certain amount of training have benefits that only the patrol team can enjoy.¡± ¡°Benefits??¡± Chen Haiping was instantly struck dumb. Chapter 32 It was night, and all was quiet. There was an indescribable air lingering in the shelter. ¡­Like a storm was coming! Suddenly, a gust of wind rustled the tree branches, sweeping up leaves and tossing them to the ground. Within a somewhat more intact villa, the dim light of a lantern illuminated several gloomy faces. Ding Qiang took in a deep breath and was the first to speak. ¡°I trust that everyone has seen the shelter¡¯s announcement poster. What is everyone¡¯s opinion?¡± ¡°What is there to say? A shelter with only a few Awakened wants to order us around? Are they for real? I trust that each of you shares the same opinion.¡± ¡°Right! How could we possibly serve the shelter? What blasted patrol team? They want us to search for resources and obey their orders? That¡¯s asking us to kill ourselves! It was such a trial to get here, to a region where demonized beasts were sparse, so I don¡¯t want to see another demonized beast for the rest of my life! Isn¡¯t it good enough that we have enough to eat and drink every day? And they want me to fight demonized beasts? No way in hell!¡± ¡°Let alone the patrol team, don¡¯t think about making me join the moving team either. We¡¯re Awakened that would be honored guests in any other shelter. It¡¯s already good enough that we decided to stick around. Making us work? Pah!¡± ¡°But that announcement said that if we don¡¯t become residents of the shelter, we won¡¯t have as much food, and housing will even prioritize residents over us. Hmph! Do they plan to drive us out of this shelter?!¡± The light of the lantern flickered. Their faces were dark and sinister. They naturally believed that all this was theirs by right. Anyone who tried to take from them was their enemy! Seeing how all of them had a common enemy, Ding Qiang couldn¡¯t help but smile. These people were all Awakened, people who had stood together with him on the same front line. In the past, he had worried that these people might have been lacking in resolve, but it now appeared that they were just as dissatisfied with the shelter as he was. His confidence went from fifty percent to seventy percent. ¡°So, everyone, if we don¡¯t want to lose what we have now, we need to negotiate some conditions with the shelter.¡± ¡°Negotiate? How? It¡¯s still a shelter¡­¡± ¡°A shelter? No, it¡¯s just a small organization with a few Awakened.¡± If it were a real shelter, even a small shelter, they would have never tried to provoke it. They would have been cowed by the prestige of the shelter alone. Upon second thought, these people quickly realized that Ding Qiang was right. This was a shelter in name only. It only had a few administrators, and while they were all Awakened, what did that matter? They were also Awakened, and in terms of numbers, they might even have the advantage! ¡°Old Ding is right. It¡¯s just a few Awakened. We¡¯re also Awakened, and regardless of what organization we join, we¡¯ll receive good treatment. It¡¯s one thing for this shabby organization to make us move around things, but now they want to take away the food that should be ours! They¡¯ll have to ask this old man¡¯s blade if it agrees, and this blade has killed demonized beasts before!¡± These words immediately drew the admiration of the others. Not all Awakened had killed demonized beasts. The majority of Awakened were ordinary people before the apocalypse who had never even killed a chicken. Fighting with demonized beasts? That was a joke! It was true that one could absorb Soul Energy from killing demonized beasts to get stronger. This wasn¡¯t any secret. But this was reality, not some game. Everyone had only one life, and things weren¡¯t as simple as beating up monsters to level up. In each fight, one had to wager their life. A correct bet meant ascending to the heavens. An incorrect bet meant turning into a pile of bones. Most Awakened chose to avoid them. Demonized beasts were just too frightening. In any case, with their bodies, they could run faster than ordinary people and had higher chances of survival. Since that was the case, why did they have to risk their lives by fighting demonized beasts? For the sake of getting stronger? Futile! In the past, they knew that studying and working hard could allow them to advance upward, but how many people were actually capable of such a thing?! The Awakened present here didn¡¯t have this courage, but when they saw that one of their number had killed a demonized beast, they found it just too amazing. With a comrade like this, why did they need to be afraid of the Awakened of the shelter? This was a heroic man who had killed a demonized beast! ¡°That¡¯s right. We have the right to negotiate with the shelter! If the shelter gives us our deserved status and resources, then fine! But if it doesn¡¯t, we won¡¯t be polite!¡± ¡°Hear, hear! This shelter is so annoying, setting up all these dumb rules and regulations, not even letting us hit those ordinary survivors. This old man has been holding back for quite a few days, so I can¡¯t be blamed for being rude! In any case, I¡¯ll be enjoying myself today!¡± They had been whipped into a furor! But a rather coolheaded Awakened said, ¡°But we can¡¯t be careless. In the end, these are people who dared to set up a shelter here. Those Awakened have probably also killed demonized beasts. We have to be cautious.¡± Ding Qiang saw that the time was right, and he spoke once more. ¡°That¡¯s true. We can¡¯t get careless, but we also don¡¯t have to overestimate our foe. I¡¯ve already investigated the shelter¡¯s fighting force. Everyone, please take a look.¡± He threw out three cards. On them, three names had been written. ¡®Chen Haiping¡¯. ¡®Captain Roger¡¯. ¡®Chief Tang¡¯. ¡°These three are the ones we need to pay attention to.¡± Ding Qiang took Chen Haiping¡¯s card. ¡°I¡¯m sure that many of you have seen this man. As we¡¯re all Awakened, we can sense each other¡¯s energies, so we can naturally tell how strong he is.¡± ¡°True,¡± someone gravely said. ¡°This Chen Haiping has very strong energy, and to speak frankly, we¡¯re probably no match for him. He might be the shelter¡¯s number one expert.¡± ¡°Chen Haiping¡¯s energy is truly the highest among the shelter¡¯s Awakened, but we can¡¯t underestimate the other two either.¡± He raised Roger¡¯s card. ¡°Captain Roger, despite not having energy as high as Chen Haiping¡¯s, possesses a frightening demeanor. I¡¯m sure all of you get what I¡¯m talking about. There¡¯s a huge difference between the demeanors of someone who¡¯s killed a person and someone who hasn¡¯t. This Captain Roger is probably a ruthless person, and since he dares to go out to search for resources, his strength can¡¯t be discounted. ¡°Finally, we have the mysterious Chief Tang. I¡¯ve seen this man from a distance, and he seems very ordinary, without the demeanor of some expert. But we can¡¯t be careless. I speculate that he was the one who created those automatons we see around the shelter.¡± ¡°An ability user?¡± someone softly said. Many people had this theory. The villa fell silent. What did an ability user represent? Others might not understand, but everyone present here believed that they did. In a battle, one person could only rely on straightforward attacks, while the other possessed mysterious and powerful abilities. The outcome of this battle was obvious! In the apocalypse, if ordinary people regarded Awakened as experts, ability users were experts to Awakened¡ªexperts that were blessed by the heavens! ¡°If Chief Tang is an ability user, what should we do? Those automatons don¡¯t seem easy to deal with. If there are a lot of them, things will get difficult.¡± Ding Qiang softly chuckled, his smile infused with a relaxed confidence that came from control over everything. ¡°Ability users are truly not easy to deal with, but it¡¯s not like we don¡¯t have an ability user on our side.¡± The rest of them shared glances of confusion. If they had an ability user, why were they sitting around and discussing these things that couldn¡¯t be exposed in the daylight? ¡°Yes, there is no ability user among those of us here, but today, a man called Peng Bo arrived at the shelter. That man is an ability user, and as for if he will help us, you¡¯ll understand once you meet him¡­¡± Ding Qiang assured them, ¡°He is the same as us!¡± ¡­ Returning back to noon¡­ Peng Bo walked along the road, shaking his head. All the survivors he encountered kept their distance. He felt rather helpless. He just had a scar on his head that seemed very savage. Was this really necessary? Could there not be a little trust between fellow humans?! For survivors living in the apocalypse, no such trust existed between fellow humans, much less a savage-looking fellow like Peng Bo. It was said that there were some people that intentionally got tattoos and scars to make themselves look savage. This slightly plump man was probably this sort of person, and he was also an Awakened. No one dared to mess with him! The survivors had all heard rumors like these, and they lowered their heads and quickly walked away. Chapter 33 Peng Bo slapped his head and put the matter to the side. He was already used to this sort of treatment, and habit gradually became nature. This was nothing to be concerned about. He was currently headed to the work site. The man in charge of the shelter had said that so long as he worked hard, he could fill his stomach with food, and he could even eat meat. While he was an Awakened, and an Awakened who had an ability that would allow him to form rock and gravel into a suit of armor, only he understood how miserable his life had been as of late. He had the strength to battle with demonized beasts and had also found a lot of food, but that also meant that he used up a lot of energy! He had always been a gourmand, and after his awakening, his appetite grew. He had yet to eat until he was full, so when he heard that he could eat until he was satisfied and could even get some meat, he almost started drooling. At this time, a survivor came to find him. ¡°What? You have something to talk about with me? If you want to talk, just talk right here! Why do you want me to go to that little forest?!¡± Peng Bo originally didn¡¯t want to go. He wasn¡¯t someone who would head off to that little forest just because he was asked to. But after the survivor whispered something to him, he decided to go over and discuss this big job that would allow him to get even more food. ¡°Help you? And then I can get even more food from the shelter?¡± But the shelter had already promised that he could eat until he was full. ¡°What? You¡¯re a mighty ability user. You can¡¯t just do whatever the shelter tells you¡­ Just see if what I¡¯m saying sounds reasonable.¡± Once the discussion was over¡­ Peng Bo walked out of the forest alone, his head dizzy and his steps uneven. That man had been somewhat reasonable, and he found the food tempting. He couldn¡¯t think of a reason to refuse. But he felt that there was something wrong. Do it? Or don¡¯t? Peng Bo was conflicted. Lost in thought, he walked farther and farther away. Suddenly, a roar brought him back to his senses, causing him to shiver. ¡°A demonized beast?¡± He looked around, his body taking on a wary posture. The surrounding gravel was already beginning to shift, ready at any time to engulf him. Peng Bo heard another roar, and he could tell that the source of the sound wasn¡¯t far. After some thought, he cautiously walked forward, hid behind a building, and then took a peek in the direction of that roar. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± A large demonized beast with a horn on its head, four thick hooves, and protruding ribs appeared before him. This demonized beast was the size of an armored car, and even at this distance, it exuded a pressure that made it difficult for Peng Bo to breathe. ¡°Such a terrifying demonized beast! Even with my gravel armor, I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to take one blow.¡± There was no way he could take on this demonized beast. Though this place wasn¡¯t far from the shelter and the demonized beast might injure other survivors¡­ he knew his own abilities. Rather than delivering his head on a silver platter, it would be better to run back to the shelter and speak to the management. Whether or not they could take care of it would be their problem. Just when Peng Bo was about to run, his eyes focused. He saw that the terrifying demonized beast was seemingly¡­ retreating?! How?! At this time, he noticed that there was an armored warrior carrying a sword in front of the demonized beast. This man had a very imposing body, but he seemed tiny in front of this demonized beast. Yet this tiny human was continuously pushing back this demonized beast. This was the first time he had ever seen a demonized beast retreating! A moment later, the demonized beast seemed enraged! A gale stirred, and the surrounding buildings shuddered as scratches and gouges were left on their walls. Some of the weaker buildings were simply swept up by the gale and crushed to bits like they had been made of tofu! Peng Bo¡¯s eyes widened as he unconsciously stepped back. He had once heard a rumor that there were some demonized beasts that could use special abilities, similar to ability users among the Awakened. This kind of demonized beast was stronger! More bizarre! And more terrifying! This one was clearly a demonized beast that could summon wind blades. Peng Bo stared at the battlefield, his clenched fists drenched with sweat! Soon, he witnessed a jaw-dropping sight. The armored Awakened stood tall in the gale of razor winds, the wind blades not even scratching his black armor. This Awakened seemed to grow tired of waiting, swiftly striding forward and raising his giant sword. The giant sword created a gale that seemed even fiercer than the wind produced by the demonized beast. The howl of the wind alone was deafening. Peng Bo covered his ears as he stared at the battlefield, and he saw¡­ A thin line of blood appeared on the demonized beast¡¯s body, and then blood gushed out with such force that it left small holes in the ground! ¡°This!!!¡± The battle had been extremely intense, even destroying nearby buildings, but it had ended just as quickly as it had come. As Peng Bo headed back, his mind was in even greater disarray. The sight of that armored warrior standing next to the demonized beast with his giant sword was branded in his mind. This was an invincible warrior! Once he came to his senses, he recalled the matter he had been hesitating about. Negotiating with the shelter? Demanding a higher status? An ability user would have to at least be an existence on par with the shelter chief? Screw that! With a fierce man like that, what sort of negotiations could they have? While he was an idio¨C no, he was just a very straightforward person, but he wasn¡¯t a fool. How could he help those people with this nonsense? Negotiate? Better to wash up and go to bed! He didn¡¯t care what plans they had any longer. Rather than wasting time messing around, it was better to work some more so that he could go to bed with a fuller stomach. That was already pretty good. ¡­ In the morning of the next day, the shelter did not assign work to the survivors. In twos and threes, the survivors had gathered in the small square. Many people were so familiar with the contents of the announcement by now that they could recite it backwards. For the majority of the survivors, every point of the announcement could be related to their future chances of survival, and some survivors had already thoroughly analyzed each item. Most of them had already made up their minds. For them, it wasn¡¯t a difficult decision, simply a process. They were simply happy to receive more benefits. But there were a small number of survivors with uncertain looks and seemingly many concerns on their minds. However, their faces would also show moments of excitement, as if they were on the verge of accomplishing some objective. Ding Qiang concealed himself in the crowd, scanning it out of the corner of his eyes. Last night, he and the other Awakened had finished their plan. They made secret gestures to each other and smiled in understanding. Looking around, Ding Qiang spotted Peng Bo in a corner. As expected, there was no one else around him, the other survivors keeping their distance. Ding Qiang saw the savage smile on Peng Bo¡¯s face and mentally nodded in satisfaction. As he had expected, Peng Bo was dissatisfied. Why else would his smile be so savage? With an ability user like Peng Bo to counter the shelter chief, he felt his chance of success rise from seventy percent to ninety percent. It was almost a sure thing! A little while later¡­ Two survivors emerged from the villa area with a writing desk. Thump! They placed the desk at the side of the city gate on which the announcement had been posted. Chen Haiping stood next to the table, a pen and paper in hand as he looked at the nearly one hundred survivors. From just a smattering of people, the shelter could now claim nearly one hundred people, and the devastated vacation villa had basically been cleaned up¡­ Though he had played a minuscule role in all this, Chen Haiping still felt some pride. He had watched this shelter grow up little by little, and it was certain to rise to even greater heights in the future. It would become a true shelter, perhaps even a medium shelter or large shelter. This seemed absurd, but Chen Haiping felt like everything was possible. His confidence did not arise from himself, but from Chief Tang. Clearing out the demonized beasts in the area¡­ Ensuring the shelter¡¯s food supply¡­ And even building majestic walls in a few seconds! On this land which made so many people despair, this shelter was bursting with hope. Chen Haiping considered himself fortunate that he was part of this shelter, that he was one of the founding members, that he had borne witness to its establishment. But he also knew that these were far from the only problems facing the shelter¡¯s development. Besides major problems like the demonized beasts and food, there were also some problems that could not be considered serious but also could not be taken lightly. Right now, he needed to take care of one of these problems. Hopefully, after today¡¯s reforms, some of the woodworms would be purged. Chapter 34 Chen Haiping stepped forward. ¡°Every second in the apocalypse is precious, so I¡¯ll keep it short. Regardless of what choice each survivor takes, the shelter will always be a barrier that protects humans from demonized beasts. Right now, I hope that everyone will get in a line. Whether you wish to become a resident or a wanderer, everyone needs to come up so that some basic information on you can be recorded. ¡°As the information is being recorded, if you wish to become a resident, then you may apply to posts based on your personal desires and abilities. The shelter will shortly carry out a simple assessment for applicants¡­¡± Once Chen Haiping was done, the square fell quiet, and survivors began to step up and form into a line. Suddenly! An indignant voice rang out from the crowd, its owner sounding like they had been greatly wronged. ¡°The announcement said that those who become residents have to comply with the shelter¡¯s work assignments, but how do we know that your shelter won¡¯t assign us suicidal work!?¡± The survivors who were preparing to get in line froze. It wasn¡¯t everyone that trusted the shelter. Even those survivors who had been rescued by the shelter might not be very grateful. This was human nature. These words just so happened to express their concerns. Chen Haiping¡¯s face darkened as he scanned the crowd, but he did not see the speaker. Obviously¡­ This was someone who had come prepared and had concealed themselves in the crowd while waiting for the right moment. Chen Haiping had known that today wouldn¡¯t go that smoothly, but he hadn¡¯t expected the troublemakers to be in such a rush that they would start sowing discord before the registration had even started. What were these people trying?! His face turned grim. ¡°The shelter will not assign anyone work that is suicidal or cannot be completed. If you are suspicious, in disbelief, or cannot accept the restrictions of the rules, you may remain at the shelter as a wanderer.¡± ¡°Heh, it sounds nice, but if we don¡¯t become residents and obey your orders, you¡¯ll reduce our food, and you also want to drive us out of the shelter! Is this really a choice?!¡± That sharp voice rang out once more. The crowd grew restless, the survivors softly whispering to each other. The situation seemed to be trending out of his control. Chen Haiping¡¯s gaze became stern. This time, he had found the owner of the voice. It was an Awakened, one of the ones he had been watching. Just when he was about to say something¡­ An indifferent voice drifted out. ¡°This is a shelter. ¡°Here, the rules must be obeyed. If you cannot, please leave. ¡°It is now registration time. The announcement was very clear. You have the right to make a choice, but here, I must say one thing more¡­ ¡°You do not have the right to ask questions.¡± It was like a gentle breeze caressing their cheeks. But it was chilling to the bone. The survivors stopped breathing. Turning in the direction of the voice, they saw three people walk out of the villa area. Their leader was a young man in exercise clothes, and behind him were a muscular man and a cloaked girl. ¡°It¡¯s Ironface Roger!¡± ¡°And also the Ice Goddess!¡± Roger was the one the survivors saw most frequently, and his constantly stiff and rigid face had eventually earned him this nickname. Yilian¡­ The survivors had yet to see Yilian take action, but she had a cold demeanor, and past her hood, one could barely make out her beautiful face. For survivors, she was an existence that could not be touched or looked up. This was a nickname that survivors used among each other. Naturally, no one dared to call her this in front of her face. With the dwindling number of demonized beasts around the shelter, the majority of survivors had never seen these two take action. Only those who had come to the shelter first had experienced their frightening strength, and they were filled with sincere admiration for Yilian and Roger. As for Tang Yu, who walked in front of them, many of the survivors had never seen him before, but they could guess that he was the chief of the shelter. Ding Qiang¡¯s gaze turned grave. This was his first time seeing the mysterious shelter chief so close. He had never underestimated this shelter, and for this day, he had prepared multiple plans. Suddenly, he froze. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he have Awakened energy? Chief Tang is just an ordinary person?!¡± He almost didn¡¯t want to believe it. How could an ordinary person become a shelter chief? And then he smiled. If one of the ¡®three powers¡¯ of the shelter, Chief Tang, was just an ordinary person, then their chances of success rose from ninety percent to one hundred. A sure thing! Elsewhere, several people were observing the proceedings. ¡°Old Third, when that fellow Ding Qiang came to find us, why did you directly reject him?¡± That young man with glasses called Old Third adjusted his glasses. ¡°What else was there? Join those idiots in trying to negotiate with the shelter?¡± The large man next to him had a somewhat regretful tone. ¡°At least we shouldn¡¯t have refused him so firmly. What if they succeed? Then we¡¯ll be losing out.¡± The young man with glasses shook his head. ¡°If our indecisiveness causes the shelter to group us together with Ding Qiang, then¡­¡± He said no more. They certainly weren¡¯t happy being captives, but the young man with glasses remained rational. The shelter definitely had more power than it was showing. Those majestic walls and the automatons were proof enough of the shelter¡¯s resources. Even if this was the work of an ability user, then this ability user had to be frighteningly powerful. ¡­ At this time, order was restored to the crowd. The survivors began to come forward to register, and a rather long line emerged in front of the writing desk. Ding Qiang frowned. He had believed that his rabble-rousing would be able to stir up discontent among the survivors, but to his surprise, many survivors still chose to trust the shelter. As an Awakened, he had no idea how hard it was for ordinary people to survive. Having arrived at a shelter that treated them very well, these survivors would choose to stay without hesitation, casting aside their doubts. It was for no other reason than to fill their stomachs. Though he was a little surprised, he was not discouraged. Having the survivors lose trust in the shelter was just a preliminary plan. Success would save him a little trouble, but even with failure, he was confident that he had planted the seed of doubt in the hearts of many survivors. And he also had a Plan A, B, and C! His many years of experience in planning had caused him to create multiple plans so that he could guarantee success. Ding Qiang secretively smiled. He slowly walked out, with several other Awakened following him. He loudly called out, ¡°Wait a second! I have an objection. ¡°I don¡¯t care what rules your shelter has, but if you think that a few words can make us Awakened sell our bodies, then you¡¯re lacking a little too much in good faith. ¡°We don¡¯t ask for much. Using other shelters as a reference, as Awakened, we at least need a post similar to an honored guest, with all the courtesy that entails¡­ In normal times, our activities cannot be restricted, and we must be provided with ample food and a residence. Of course, we will contribute our strength, whether it is in supervising the survivors or fending off demonized beasts.¡± Supervising survivors? This was hardly work for them. On the contrary, it gave them a chance to squeeze the survivors. As for fending off the demonized beasts? Ding Qiang had always planned on this. In any case, they just needed to put in a halfhearted effort. If the shelter couldn¡¯t hold, he would immediately abandon ship. He was far too familiar with this routine. He had once stayed in a small shelter, and while demonized beasts were butchering survivors, he had already fled with the shelter¡¯s food stores. Once Ding Qiang was done, the other Awakened voiced their agreement. ¡°Right! We need better benefits. For example, you need to provide two to three times more food to us than you do now.¡± ¡°And also the residences. We¡¯re Awakened, so each of us getting a villa isn¡¯t too much of a demand. Without Awakened like us to protect the shelter, how could it be safe?¡± Ding Qiang felt like victory was in his grasp, and all he was waiting for was the shelter¡¯s reply. The survivors standing in line instantly turned to look. Quite a few people realized that this Ding Qiang was probably that person who had initially objected. In their view, they were using this opportunity to negotiate with the shelter¡ªor perhaps it would be better to call it ¡®threatening the shelter¡¯. But the majority of survivors still hoped that Chief Tang would agree. While Ding Qiang¡¯s demands were somewhat excessive, they weren¡¯t entirely unreasonable. If Chief Tang didn¡¯t agree, how could the shelter withstand the demonized beasts without a sufficient number of Awakened? What was most important to a shelter was still a safe environment, and the foundation of safety was none other than Awakened! Chapter 35 In the eyes of many survivors, Ding Qiang¡¯s words were a sharp blade that had cut right at the shelter¡¯s weakness. Some survivors firmly stood on the shelter¡¯s side, believing that it shouldn¡¯t compromise. But more people were uncertain, and in the shadows, some of Ding Qiang¡¯s subordinates fanned the flames. A heavy weight pressed down on everyone¡¯s hearts. Chen Haiping scowled. He had not expected these people to be so prepared. He wanted to say something, but he didn¡¯t know what to say. At this time¡­ Next to the gate¡­ Tang Yu looked around at these Awakened. Without speaking, he slowly stepped forward. His shoes didn¡¯t make much sound as they struck the stone slabs, but the sound rang out clearly in everyone¡¯s ears. The square instantly fell silent. The only sounds were Tang Yu¡¯s footsteps and the soft breathing of the survivors. Finally, Tang Yu stopped, several meters from the Awakened. There were seven Awakened in all, making up half of the Awakened that had come from outside the shelter. Those groups that were able to eke out a living in the wilderness and get to the shelter through their own power had one or two Awakened, resulting in this shelter having a higher ratio of Awakened to survivors than others. Even so, seven Awakened would be a considerable force in any small shelter. ¡­At least for ordinary shelters. Alas¡­ Tang Yu¡¯s eyes were cold and indifferent. ¡°Who gave you the confidence? ¡°Who gave you the confidence that made you think that the shelter wouldn¡¯t be able to fend off demonized beasts without you? ¡°And who gave you the courage that allowed you to dare to stand in front of me and try to negotiate?¡± Ding Qiang was flabbergasted. He had never predicted a situation like this. Particularly¡­ This voice was indifferent, but it had a suffocating pressure that seemed to clench around their throats. And then he grew angry. This was just an ordinary person, not even an Awakened¡­ Ding Qiang looked out of the corner of his eyes at the Awakened at his side, and then he glanced at the nearby Peng Bo, and his confidence was restored. Since they couldn¡¯t negotiate, he would have everyone in the shelter see that they didn¡¯t merely have the right to negotiate, but the power that was on par with, perhaps even surpassed, this shelter! It just so happened that Peng Bo was walking this way. Ding Qiang smiled. ¡°Chief Tang, you want to know where my confidence came from? I¡¯ll tell you¡­¡± Barely as he had spoken¡­ Peng Bo walked up to Ding Qiang, and then¡­ stepped past him and up to Tang Yu. Was he going straight for a fight? Glancing at the savage look on Peng Bo¡¯s face, Ding Qiang wanted nothing more than for Peng Bo to get to work. But when Peng Bo began to speak, his voice, when compared to his face, seemed rather honest and frank? As Ding Qiang wondered if he was hearing things, he heard Peng Bo say, ¡°Chief, I want to apply for the patrol team. I hear that the patrol team gets the best food. Is that true? I also heard that the missions come with additional rewards! Ah, forget it. Anyway, I¡¯m the first to apply. ¡°Right, is there a reward for being the first to apply?¡± Peng Bo rubbed his hands, appearing a little¡­ cute? Ding Qiang was dumbfounded, his mind completely blank. This script wasn¡¯t right. This ability user, Peng Bo, was his trump card, but what did he hear just now? Peng Bo wanted to join the shelter?! The strongest member of his side had flipped sides in the blink of an eye. Ding Qiang felt so wronged that he felt like vomiting blood. He angrily glared at Peng Bo. In his plan, if his side was just as strong as the shelter, then he would negotiate properly with the shelter, hopefully finding out where the shelter was storing its food so that he could begin making other plans. And if the shelter was weaker, then he would strike and take the shelter for his own. These were Plans A and B. He had been sure of success, but to his surprise, Peng Bo had turned traitor. He couldn¡¯t imagine why Peng Bo would give up such a good deal to stand on the shelter¡¯s side. Wasn¡¯t Peng Bo unhappy with the shelter? But Ding Qiang could already see that his side was on the back foot. It was fine. He still had Plan C. He took in a deep breath and looked at Tang Yu. ¡°Chief Tang, I admit that you outplayed me, secretly recruiting Peng Bo to your side. I can drop my demands a little, but still, we¡¯re Awakened, and we have our dignity. If you simply want us to sacrifice our lives for you, then I, my Awakened brothers, and many other people who cannot acknowledge the shelter will leave this place and find somewhere else!¡± This was his final plan: advance through retreat! Ding Qiang believed that the shelter¡¯s weakness was its dire shortage of Awakened. What did it matter if Peng Bo joined? No matter how strong ability users were, he was just one person and couldn¡¯t be everywhere. Moreover, he had seven Awakened on his side! Without Awakened, what would the shelter use to fend off demonized beasts? Without survivors, what would the shelter use to move around supplies? He had acknowledged that his side was disadvantaged and had lowered his demands, so the shelter had to agree! After all, they had so many Awakened. If a fight started, even if the shelter had the upper hand, it couldn¡¯t guarantee that it wouldn¡¯t suffer any losses! Tang Yu lightly shook his head, almost as if he was sighing. ¡°Is it weakness that limits your imagination? Why don¡¯t we do this? If you can take one attack from Roger, I¡¯ll accept your demands, but if you can¡¯t¡­¡± Ding Qiang was furious. Weakness? He looked at the silent figure of Roger next to Tang Yu. His energy was weak, meaning that he had only recently awakened. No matter how skilled Ironface Roger¡¯s combat arts were and how imposing his demeanor, how could he not take one attack from him? He was being looked down on too much! No, let alone one attack, even if they actually fought, he wasn¡¯t necessarily going to lose! After all, he was someone who had killed three demonized beasts! He had little regard for the average Awakened! This was his true source of confidence, his own strength! Ding Qiang took out his weapon, a sharp machete. ¡°I¡¯ll do it. You¡¯d better not regret this!¡± On the other side, Roger took out his own weapon, a giant sword. Many people found this sword absurd. Even Awakened wouldn¡¯t be able to wield such a heavy sword, and even if they did manage to lift it, could they really use it in battle? Peng Bo took a few steps back, his eyes widening as he observed this legendary ¡®fierce man¡¯. Whoosh! Roger moved, taking a light step forward, his sword swinging down with a gale. Ding Qiang¡¯s eyes flew open. He felt only like a light breeze had passed. It was like¡­ nothing had happened. Suddenly, he felt his body stiffen, his mind begin to grow cold. He looked down and saw a thin red line going from his lower right abdomen all the way to his upper left shoulder. This¡­ His mind was gradually descending into darkness. Only the Awakened standing around him could see that red line expanding, and then exploding with blood. A moment later, Ding Qiang was dead. The remaining Awakened were scared out of their wits. Was this someone who had just awakened? Not even the fiercest Awakened they had met was this fierce! Old Ding had killed demonized beasts before, but he had died in a single hit. Then wouldn¡¯t they suffer the same fate?! Blood was still gushing out from Ding Qiang¡¯s waist, but without a second glance, the Awakened turned and fled, tossing aside their followers. These people split up in different directions. From the square, there were many paths leading down the mountain. They knew that they were no match for Roger and would probably be caught quickly. But there were so many of them. No matter how fierce Ironface Roger was, he couldn¡¯t clone himself. It was all up to luck to see which one Ironface Roger would pick. These people who had schemed together and been calling each other brothers yesterday, believing that victory was in their grasp, had instantly begun to flee for their lives. None of them cared about the lives of the others, even hoping that the others ran slower so that Ironface Roger would chase after them. A bearded Awakened noticed that no one seemed to be chasing him, and rejoiced. Suddenly, a round figure blocked his path. ¡°It¡¯s a mining automaton.¡± The bearded man snorted. A simple automaton used for mining wanted to stop him? He acknowledged that he was no match for Ironface Roger, but he wasn¡¯t afraid of some automaton! The bearded man attacked with all his strength so that he could get rid of the automaton and keep running. He had no desire to see that terrifying Ironface Roger again. He grabbed his axe and made a heavy swing. Fast and strong! The round automaton had no time to react, and the axe struck dead center! The bearded man smiled and prepared to step to the side and around the broken automaton, but he suddenly felt a severe backlash from the axe head that almost broke his grip. Only now did he realize that his sure-kill attack had only left a faint scratch on the mining automaton. It didn¡¯t even constitute damage to this automaton. Chapter 36 Everything had happened so suddenly. Many survivors have believed that the shelter had no better choice than to compromise. But a moment later, they saw those Awakened who had wanted to negotiate with the shelter fleeing for their lives, with one of them already dead. Dead? They were stunned. They hadn¡¯t even been able to tell what had happened. Just when they believed that the shelter would press the attack and get rid of all these people that threatened the shelter in one go, Ironface Roger put away his sword and took his place behind Chief Tang. They were somewhat confused. It was true that they were just ordinary survivors, low-class people wherever they went, but they weren¡¯t stupid. Since the shelter had already taken action and turned hostile against these people, there was no reason to let them go. Just when they thought this¡­ They saw those fleeing Awakened running back in disarray. Their clothes were in tatters and some of them had been heavily injured, vomiting blood as they ran. Each Awakened was followed by a round automaton. The survivors with sharper eyesight noticed that the swords wielded by these automatons were stained with blood. All of them were far too familiar with these automatons. Weren¡¯t these the same automatons that demolished stone and moved around materials each day? Though they had always felt that the weapons wielded by these automatons were very sharp, they had never imagined that these automatons were this strong. From the look of it, the fleeing Awakened had been no match for the automatons. How long had it been? Each Awakened had faced only one automaton, yet in such a short time, they had all lost. But there were many more of these automatons in the shelter. It was no wonder the shelter didn¡¯t care about their threats. They had an expert in Ironface Roger, and if there were too many demonized beasts for Captain Roger to deal with, they had these automatons. As expected, they had been too young and inexperienced. How could anyone who wanted to establish a shelter be that simple? As the survivors watched this farce play out, they couldn¡¯t help but swallow. They were afraid, but none of them felt that the shelter was being cruel. More of them felt that the Awakened had brought this on themselves. In living, they would only waste food. The Awakened who had been escorted back hatefully glared at Tang Yu. The bearded Awakened roared, ¡°Come on! Kill me! A shitty shelter without Awakened can¡¯t escape the fate of being destroyed by demonized beasts! I¡¯ve seen plenty of terrible shelters like this one! Haha, I¡¯ll be waiting for you down below!¡± His laughter was crazed, as if he had finally found an avenue to vent his emotions. Some of the Awakened wept and begged for the shelter to spare them. Tang Yu¡¯s face was emotionless as he waved his hand at Chen Haiping. ¡°Continue the registration. Anyone who wants to join the patrol team should apply with Roger.¡± The bearded man continued to roar, ¡°Patrol team? Heheh, you really think that other Awakened will die for you?!¡± He was certain of this. The other Awakened hadn¡¯t stood at their side, but joining the patrol team, obeying the shelter¡¯s orders, dying for the shelter¡­ other than that Peng Bo, who had been secretly recruited, who would be willing to join? Impossible! Suddenly, a voice came from next to him. ¡°No Awakened will join? Ridiculous! Can you represent all Awakened? And that¡¯s not even considering that I happen to be a natural Awakened!¡± The bearded man turned to look and saw that the speaker was a youth. He had some impression of this boy, and he truly was one of the Awakened of the shelter. But after some small conversation, the bearded man had realized that this youth wasn¡¯t of the same mind as his group, so he had swiftly put the boy aside. He hadn¡¯t expected this youth to step forward at this time. The announcement had clearly stated that anyone joining the patrol team had to go out to hunt demonized beasts, and they also had to obey the commands given by the terrifying Ironface Roger, against which resistance was hopeless. The only choice was to obey, and if they needed to fight against demonized beasts, the patrol team would probably be on the front line and be the first to be endangered. Even so, he wanted to join the patrol team? Was he in his right mind?! It wasn¡¯t just Lu Xiaopeng. The bearded man watched in disbelief as several other survivors applied to join the patrol team¡ªnot just Awakened, but ordinary survivors too. The bearded man didn¡¯t get it. Lu Xiaopeng berated, ¡°A person like you can¡¯t understand the power of Chief Tang and Captain Roger. Demonized beasts? They¡¯re nothing! Only awful Awakened like you would be afraid of them. Forget it! You¡¯re such trash that you wouldn¡¯t understand even if I told you. Better for me to save my energy.¡± The bearded man was speechless. His face had turned dark. I never offended this guy before, right? But this youth had spat all over his face, and he could neither dodge nor resist with that mining automaton still staring at him. His complexion was starting to pale. After so many twists and turns, by the time everything had settled down, the survivors had come to grow more confident in the shelter. At this time, the survivors who had served the traitorous Awakened were trembling in fear. Their masters had been taken care of in the blink of an eye, so what would happen to them? They were filled with both despair and regret. This was Tang Yu¡¯s goal: removing these people harboring ill intentions while squeezing the last bit of value out of them. It was perfect. Of course, he knew that if he wanted to make this place into a real shelter, for the survivors to have a sense of belonging, he still needed to put in some work, but he was in no rush. In any case¡­ there was plenty of time. Without these troublemaking Awakened, the registration process went very smoothly. The majority of survivors chose to become residents, and a small minority did not, perhaps because they lacked trust in the shelter or didn¡¯t like being restricted. However, at least they obediently registered with their name, age, and other basic information. In truth, they had been scared out of their wits. Once the registration was done, the work was assigned. Other than the usual moving team, there was also a construction team and a farming team, which was the smallest of the teams. No matter which work team one was assigned to, the benefits increased, but food was still distributed according to one¡¯s performance. There was currently a lack of administrators. Tang Yu planned to divide the survivors into teams of three to four people, with the performance evaluations carried out per team. The teams weren¡¯t randomly distributed, but based on how the survivors had performed in the past. Diligent workers were placed together with people who liked to slack off. They were better off than the ordinary survivors who had followed Ding Qiang¡¯s group. Tang Yu had used Ding Qiang and his group as examples to cow the others, but there was no need to waste the ordinary survivors. He divided them into three teams. As punishment, these people received greatly reduced benefits. Unless they worked themselves to the bone, they would grow hungry. As for whether or not they would slack off, if they didn¡¯t want to go hungry, they would have to keep a close eye on each other. On the other end¡­ Chen Haiping was just calling up several trustworthy survivors to assign them work. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. Chen Haiping paled. He was far too familiar with this sensation. He had felt it only a few days ago. Tang Yu spoke. ¡°Have the survivors withdraw into the walls.¡± Many of the survivors still didn¡¯t understand what was going on or why they had to withdraw into the walls. The trembling intensified, the debris on the ground began to vibrate, and a rumbling came from the distance. It was a thunderous sound that resounded endlessly. Several survivors went ghastly pale. They could already see countless figures appearing on the horizon. These were bizarre figures in all shapes and sizes, some of them even flying. But all of these monsters shared one thing in common: they were charging straight at the shelter. ¡°It¡¯s a demon flooood!¡± ¡®Demon flood¡¯ was the most terrifying term in the apocalypse. Numerous shelters had been wiped out by demon floods. Quite a few survivors had only heard about demon floods, but never seen one for themselves. At the sight of this surging pack of demonized beasts, they finally understood how puny humans were in the face of this terrifying calamity! The bearded Awakened, who had already grown pale from despair, saw the approaching demon flood and smiled. ¡°Ha! Haha! I didn¡¯t think that your shelter would be finished so soon!¡± He knew that he wouldn¡¯t survive, but it was fine. The sight of all those ghastly pale faces gave him joy. He wasn¡¯t even afraid of death! The bearded man only now realized that he could be so courageous and daring. He raised his head, hoping to see the look on Tang Yu¡¯s face. But he saw that Tang Yu¡¯s face was calm, and in the calm was a hint of joy. Tang Yu tilted his head and looked over with an indescribable smile on his lips. ¡°Heh, you know nothing of power.¡± Chapter 37 Ordinary people and Awakened alike panicked. In the face of this flood of demonized beasts that stretched to the horizon, Awakened were little better off than ordinary people. They were aware of their strength and knew that it wasn¡¯t enough to break through the demon flood. The scene fell into disarray. Fortunately, the gates were wide and the survivors not so numerous, so everyone was able to quickly withdraw into the walls. Some of them leaned against the cold walls, panting for breath, their eyes spiritless. Even though they had these tall walls, no one was sure if they could hold against the attacks of the demon flood. ¡°There are also flying demonized beasts! The walls can¡¯t hold them off!¡± ¡°Even if the walls can hold for now, the demon flood is endless. With the number of Awakened here, even if the demonized beasts just stand around and wait to be killed, it will never end. How can humans stand against something like this?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s over, over! I thought that I could live a safe and quiet life in the shelter, so why? If I had known that this could happen, I would have never come¡­¡± Despair engulfed their hearts. Suddenly, someone realized that they hadn¡¯t seen any sign of Chief Tang or the other higher-ups of the shelter. Had they run? Some of them couldn¡¯t help but doubt. While they didn¡¯t have the ability to break out, the upper echelons, particularly Captain Roger, might have a chance? With this thought, these people grew even more depressed, and they began to feel tendrils of hatred. At this point, someone shouted, ¡°They¡¯re still outside!¡± Some people looked out through the gate while others peeked out from the crenellations. They saw that the demon flood was close to the shelter, and as the demonized beasts charged, those old historical buildings, already somewhat damaged from the first demon flood, were completely crushed. But in this situation, Chief Tang and his subordinates were unflustered. They stood on the small square as if they planned to use their puny bodies of flesh and blood to contend with this demon flood that was tens of thousands of times their size! So awesome! The survivors couldn¡¯t help but feel ashamed. They had wrongly blamed Chief Tang and the upper echelons. They weren¡¯t trying to run, but were going to be on the front line and be the first to fight against the demon flood! But they didn¡¯t understand why Chief Tang and company didn¡¯t withdraw to the walls. Was it because they knew that they were no match and wanted to go out with a bang? The survivors all looked at Tang Yu with admiration. The bearded man who had been escorted here by an automaton and left outside the walls looked at Tang Yu as if he was already dead. Tang Yu stared at the demon flood. It appeared like a dense black wave. The roaring and stomping was enough to make the vast majority of survivors fall apart. Even the Awakened wouldn¡¯t even be able to hold their weapons properly in the face of this demon flood, let alone fight against demonized beasts. This was an apocalyptic disaster that turned all the shelters in its wake into ruins. This was what had happened to the former Green Shade Shelter. No one would not be afraid of a demon flood. But¡­ He had been through a demon flood and survived, getting an achievement: Demon Flood Survivor. This demon flood truly was imposing, and his heart was beating a little faster, but this wasn¡¯t fear. It was excitement, joy. What would other survivors say if they were asked what a demon flood signified? Out of one hundred people, ninety-nine would say that it stood for destruction. The last one would be too scared to speak. But Tang Yu didn¡¯t think so. How could a demon flood represent destruction? It clearly represented piles of money! Even though he was a big boss with more than ten thousand Origin Crystals, Origin Crystals were even more valuable than paper money had been before the apocalypse. No one would think they were bringing in too many Origin Crystals, particularly as he was an Overlord with a domain to run. The sight of the charging demonized beasts almost made him drool. ¡°If there¡¯s a ten percent chance of producing a crystal¡­¡± Tang Yu began to calculate with his fingers, but he discovered that a physical education teacher didn¡¯t have the mathematical knowledge for this calculation. ¡°Old Chen, head back inside. Yilian, you go back as well.¡± Chen Haiping and the survivors who had joined the patrol team were still outside. Perhaps it was because the higher-ups had not withdrawn. Even so, this was still a very rare sight. Tang Yu could see that they were clenching their teeth and just barely managing to stand on their shaking legs. There were ordinary people among them, even though some of the Awakened had been the fastest to charge into the gate. As expected, he could train up this first batch of patrol team members. The gates closed, obstructing the vision of those inside. Some of the survivors shivered as they squatted in the corners of walls, but some people mounted the walls to nervously stare at the demon flood. Chen Haiping distributed guns to the patrol team members, who aimed them into the distance. Even though they wielded guns, the crystallization of humanity¡¯s intelligence, and were positioned on high walls, they still weren¡¯t confident about their chances. Yilian¡¯s robes flapped as she held her wand in front of her chest. Her face was just as the survivors remembered, utterly emotionless, but some people with sharper eyes realized that Yilian had never taken her eyes off Tang Yu. Tang Yu took in a deep breath and looked around, his indifferent yet confident voice resounding through the square. ¡°While our shelter might not have many people and might be very small, we have the confidence and ability to protect every survivor that complies with the rules of the shelter from the demonized beasts!¡± With these words said, Tang Yu looked at the familiar building menu in front of him. Using his mind to scroll the menu down, he reached the page for defensive buildings. ¡°Constructing arrow tower x 4 will cost 800 units of Origin Crystal, 1200 units of Wood, 800 units of Stone, and 400 units of Iron.¡± ¡°Constructing a cannon will cost 1000 units of Origin Crystal, 200 units of Wood, 200 units of Stone, and 500 units of Iron.¡± Tang Yu extended both hands, his palms facing upward as if they were carrying something. ¡°Rise!!!¡± Rumble! The abandoned material in the square flew up, the wood, stone, and metal merging together and transforming. From the base of the tower to the tower top, four towers rose, standing to Tang Yu¡¯s left and right, as if they had been printed from thin air! The black walls of each tower were thick and heavy, and a long black tube extended from the top of the tower, the chilling gleam of a sharp arrow within it. This was an arrow tower, the most basic defensive structure an Overlord could build. Although they were cheap and their appearance similar to ancient arrow towers, their power could not be underestimated. Each arrow fired by an arrow tower was created from energy, solidified and reinforced with runes. In terms of destructive power and piercing power, they were far above ordinary arrows. As the arrow towers formed, an even louder sound came from behind Tang Yu. A pitch-black cannon with a metallic luster, a blue sphere already in its muzzle, also finished construction. The survivors on the walls were speechless. With the wave of a hand, arrow towers and a cannon had been created. The speed and scale of the construction made them feel like they were in a dream! It was like a miracle! The small number of survivors who had seen the walls being constructed were unsurprised. Seizing the survivors next to them, they began to enthusiastically describe the splendor of the walls being constructed, spittle flying from their mouths. These arrow towers and the cannon were nothing at all. Chapter 38 Once the cannon was complete, a red light began to gather in its muzzle. The Awakened present could all sense an enormous energy collecting in the muzzle, and they could tell that if this energy exploded while they were close, they probably wouldn¡¯t even leave behind a corpse. The red light was blinding as it erupted from the muzzle, arced through the sky, and then descended like a comet into the demon flood. The demon flood was already midway up the mountain, about one to two thousand meters from the shelter. As the red light made impact, there was a deafening explosion, and an orange-red flame bloomed in the demon flood, like a flower in lava. It was beautiful, and lethal. The demonized beast in the very center was instantly turned to ash, not even leaving behind a corpse¡­ Tang Yu winced. Materials from demonized beasts were worth money. The high temperature, the shockwave, the flames, and that explosive energy instantly created a large hole in the dense demon flood. The cannon didn¡¯t fire very quickly, but after a few shots, the demon flood was like a tattered cloth. In this state, the survivors who had been so afraid that they could barely breathe no longer found the demon flood as frightening. Of course, the survivors knew that this was a misperception, or perhaps it was because Chief Tang¡¯s ability was too frightening. With a wave of his hand, he could create a cannon that could deal so much damage to the demon flood. Among them¡­ Survivors who had been through a demon flood, like Chen Haiping, understood a little more. Most shelters couldn¡¯t even deal this much damage to the demon flood from the time of the demon flood¡¯s arrival to the moment that the shelter was completely wiped out. The crisis wasn¡¯t over. The demonized beasts had already jumped onto the small square and were only a few hundred meters from Tang Yu, and their numbers were still frightening. A human-shaped demonized beast with horns and red, membranous wings broke out from the pack. It moved incredibly quickly, a single flap of its wings carrying it ten or twenty meters. Ordinary survivors didn¡¯t understand, but the Awakened on the walls had grave expressions. They could sense an extremely domineering energy from this winged demonized beast. This was a demonized beast capable of wiping out an entire team. If a team made up entirely of Awakened encountered a demonized beast of this level, it would be entirely wiped out without a single survivor. All the Awakened, both those that had and had not joined the patrol team, understood that all of them working together would be no match for this demonized beast. And while the cannon possessed immense power, its shots moved very slowly. Given this demonized beast¡¯s speed, it was basically impossible for the cannon to hit. Whoosh! There was a piercing whistle, and the Awakened stared in a daze as a bloody ball of mist appeared in the plaza. Bloody mist? Where had the team-wiping demonized beast gone? What in the world had happened? How had that demonized beast disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only a clump of dissipating bloody mist? Their minds were somewhat broken. At this time, there was a sound, and a sharp-eyed Awakened spotted a black silhouette flying through the air. The black silhouette left a white trail in the air, and at the terminus of this white trail, a rather powerful demonized beast that was charging at the front of the pack exploded into red mist. The black silhouette moved so quickly that even Awakened found it hard to tell what it was. By staring hard at those demonized beasts at the front, some people finally managed to realize what was going on. As an arrow pierced through the head of a demonized beast, the powerful piercing force and extruding force caused the demonized beast to deform momentarily before the extruding force caused it to explode into a cloud of bloody mist. It felt like the demonized beasts were balloons, bursting apart with a single jab! The ordinary survivors were speechless, their mouths wide open. Air flowed through their open mouths and made them cough, but they continued to stare. Never had they imagined that demonized beasts could be so easily dealt with! In front of the wall¡­ Tang Yu¡¯s heart winced in pain again and again. Could they not hold back a little? Could he have a few spoils left to pick up? ¡­ The most terrifying thing about the demon flood was its numbers. The killing power of the arrow towers and the cannon was terrifying, but the demon flood was still creeping up to the walls. Tang Yu retreated to the side of the walls and then chose to build an arrow tower right beneath his feet. As the arrow tower rose, Tang Yu was lifted upward, and with a hop, he jumped onto the wall. Roger jumped onto the wall with his own strength, leaving behind those few Awakened and those basic automatons. The faces of these people had turned ghastly pale. Boom! The demonized beasts flooded over the small square and quickly crashed against the walls. The survivors quivered in fear, worried that the walls wouldn¡¯t hold. Someone snuck a glance from beneath the hands covering their eyes. ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. These walls are thick and sturdy.¡± Hold on!¡± someone with good eyes shouted, causing his companion to jump in fear. This man pointed down below. ¡°The wall isn¡¯t just fine, the demonized beasts are breaking their claws on it!¡± There were so many demonized beasts that they had been worried that the walls couldn¡¯t hold. After all, demonized beasts had sharp claws and strong bodies. They were so powerful that they could topple buildings. These tall and thick walls were not necessarily safe. But to everyone¡¯s surprise, when these demonized beasts crashed into the walls, not only were the walls entirely unharmed, the demonized beasts were injured. Some of them were dazed by the collision and were swiftly stomped by the other demonized beasts. This could probably¡­ be considered a stampede accident. Tang Yu¡¯s heart thumped in fear. It was fortunate that he had come up. Hadn¡¯t he wanted to stay at the front to absorb a little more Soul Energy? As an Overlord, whenever his defensive buildings killed demonized beasts, he could absorb the Soul Energy, though only ten or twenty percent of what could normally be absorbed. Still, this was pretty good. On the walls, Chen Haiping led the patrol team in a counterattack. The guns had been distributed, and while these people were awful shooters, there was no need to aim in this situation. Dadada! Tongues of flame spat out from the muzzles as bullets sprayed down, blood splashing out as the bullets made impact. Lu Xiaopeng was flabbergasted. ¡°I didn¡¯t know these demonized beasts had such thick hides.¡± When he saw the arrow towers exploding the demonized beasts into bloody mist with a single arrow, he had believed that these were weaker demonized beasts, but it turned out that this wasn¡¯t the case at all. When facing a Tier 1 demonized beast, a bullet had to hit a lethal point to be effective. Otherwise, demonized beasts were so tenacious that one could waste an entire magazine on them and still not manage to kill them. As for Tier 2 or Tier 3 demonized beasts, they were even more frightening. Only bullets from a sniper rifle had a high chance of killing them. Lu Xiaopeng glanced to his side and saw that Chen Haiping had a sniper rifle. A bullet shot out, creating a large wound in a stronger demonized beast, but as it was not a fatal wound, this demonized beast struggled on, still persisting. He looked to the other side and saw that the arrow towers were still firing. Each arrow would take down a demonized beast, and while there was the occasional demonized beast that survived, another arrow would take it down. Not only were these arrow towers powerful, they were also accurately aiming at weak points¡­ Lu Xiaopeng didn¡¯t know how to describe it. Were all ability users this abnormal, not giving enemies a single chance? There were also powerful demonized beasts in this demon flood that quickly jumped onto the walls and were on the verge of causing damage. Fortunately, Roger and the two automaton guards stood guard on individual sections of the walls. Whenever a powerful demonized beast jumped onto the wall, it would be quickly targeted and slain. With the defenses of the walls and the firing of the arrow towers and cannon, the shelter-destroying demon flood was gradually cleaned up. The survivors sat with their legs splayed out on the ground, feeling blessed that they had managed to survive. The patrol team members felt their hands and legs go soft. They leaned against the battlements and looked down at the demonized beast corpses covering the ground, still somewhat in disbelief. Just like that, the demon flood had been taken care of. Chapter 39 The demon flood had left just as quickly as it had come, like a dutiful express deliveryman. It had left nothing behind but love and warmth. Fortunately, Origin Crystals, the common currency of the new era, were much tougher than Tang Yu had expected. The unstoppable destructive power of the cannon and arrow towers had left the Origin Crystals unscathed. In fact, the utter obliteration of the demonized beast corpses had made gathering Origin Crystals much easier. This really wasn¡¯t all that bad¡­ like hell! He was still in pain from all those lost materials. Not only could they have been used to make equipment, more importantly, he was about to go to Lindong. Such a big shelter had to have a market, right? Tang Yu was anxious to make some money. Some of the stronger demonized beasts were still rather intact. Tang Yu ordered these materials gathered while he began to take measure of the profits and losses from this battle. The demonized beasts had brought so many Origin Crystals that he had definitely made a profit, but it wasn¡¯t as though he had paid nothing. Putting aside the other building materials, the defensive buildings had cost him two thousand Origin Crystals alone. Not only that, the defensive buildings consumed energy while attacking. Where did this energy come from? From Origin Crystals, of course! Tang Yu had stored some Origin Crystals in the castle¡¯s small storehouse, and these were used to fuel the defensive buildings. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have waited for so long to build them. Tang Yu recalled that there was a building called an ¡®energy atrium¡¯ that became available once he reached a Level 3 domain. This building could absorb free Origin Energy from the air to fuel defensive buildings. Until he built this building, these defensive buildings would continue to devour his crystals. In any case, he had made a profit, and he was in a good mood. With the addition of the Origin Crystals he had gotten from the Origin Crystal vein, he had a significant stockpile that he would have to find a good way to use up before he left for Lindong. The survivors were also in a good mood. It was relief from surviving a disaster. The gate reopened, and some of the bolder survivors walked out to inspect the demonized beast corpses from up close. ¡°Oh my god, they¡¯re huge! And such a large demonized beast is dead!¡± Ordinary survivors never had a chance to get this close to demonized beasts. One of them prodded the body and realized that they really were quite tough. Such terrifying demonized beasts had attacked, but the shelter had successfully handled them¡ªa shelter with less than one hundred people. Who would believe a battle record like this? Although this was mostly due to Chief Tang, this was no problem. These were all things that they could brag about! In the past, many ordinary survivors would just sit around and wait for death, but things were different now. So long as they worked hard each day, they would eat well, and they also now knew that the shelter was so capable that not even a demon flood could do anything to it. In this apocalyptic world, was there any place safer than this besides a large shelter? The survivors unwittingly began to develop a sense of belonging to the shelter, sincerely feeling lucky that they were able to come here. ¡­ Once the demon flood was over, Tang Yu didn¡¯t waste time. Leaving outside matters to Chen Haiping and Roger, he went alone to the clearing behind the castle that he used for constructing system buildings. Of the four core buildings, he had built the tavern, workshop, and market. All that was left was the research lab. Tang Yu had Number One and Number Two bring over resources until he finally fulfilled the building requirement. ¡°Constructing the research lab costs 1,000 units of Origin Crystal, 100 units of Wood, 300 units of Stone, and 300 units of Iron.¡± Just like the last few times, a three-storey building quickly formed in front of Tang Yu. Walking inside¡­ The research lab contained a variety of research equipment. Tang Yu looked around and recognized very few of them. It was only the beakers, like the kind he had used in high school, that he had some impression of¡­ Perhaps it only had a passing resemblance. Anyway, they were all cups. None of this was important. What was important was the research lab¡¯s abilities. As an important utility building, the research lab had an irreplaceable role. Researching blueprints, enhancing blueprints, modifying blueprints¡­ all of these were abilities of the research lab. Theoretically, so long as one had enough knowledge and Origin Crystals, the research lab could research all the blueprints that were available. But that was something for far in the future. Currently, the research lab was at a low level, and Tang Yu wasn¡¯t prepared to invest that many Origin Crystals into it. His primary desire was to modify blueprints. For instance, the basic sword was a blueprint that the workshop had come with. This was very lacking in that kind and caring touch. What if someone wanted to use a saber or some other weapon?! Blueprint modification was the ability to modify the sword blueprint into a saber blueprint. Of course, the level wouldn¡¯t change, and it would still be a basic item with a single rune. This just made things more adaptable. This was not all. A sword blueprint used iron as its basic material, but when modifying the blueprint, one could add materials from demonized beasts, like their claws or bones. While the blueprint level would not change, better materials naturally meant that better weapons could be produced. Tang Yu first modified a saber blueprint, and then he designed a runeless blank shield blueprint and blueprints for guns and bullets. With blueprints, he could use the workshop to produce them in batches. Once he was done with the research lab, he didn¡¯t build anymore, instead heading to the market. He didn¡¯t build any more system buildings not because he didn¡¯t need them, but because he was¡­ afraid. In order to head to the Lindong Shelter, he needed to get the Town Portal Scroll. This thing should have had a very high chance of popping up in the early stages of the game, but he had yet to come upon one. For this purpose, he had upgraded the market to Level 2 last night, doubling the slots in the counter from ten to twenty. But after several refreshes, he had still not found the Town Portal Scroll. Each refresh cost five hundred units of Origin Crystal, and though he was a big boss with more than ten thousand, after spending a few times, he didn¡¯t care to continue. He was no longer spending just crystals, but spending his life¡­ Tang Yu felt like his luck yesterday had been bad, but as he had both gotten rid of the woodworms in the shelter and dealt with a demon flood today, he decided that his luck had to be pretty good today. Once he got the Town Portal Scroll and made a few more preparations, he would be able to start his journey to Lindong. He glanced at the products that had appeared on the daily refresh. The prices were all rather high. If the prices were too high, he couldn¡¯t buy them. There were so many zeros behind the numbers that he felt that he couldn¡¯t even look at them until he was a true big boss with a hundred million Origin Crystals. Otherwise, both his heart and eyes would ache. He couldn¡¯t take that pain. Whoosh! Starting from the first slot, the items began to refresh. Medium-grade Wood Resource Pack (500 Units), Price: 49 Origin Crystals. Remaining: 5 Feilian[1] (Weapon) Blueprint, Price: 3000 Origin Crystals. Remaining: 1 ¡­ ¡­ Otherworldly Fruit, Price: 100 Origin Crystals. Remarks: An extremely tasty fruit. Remaining: 50. Skill Rune Stone (Burn the Heavens and Boil the Seas), Price: 1,000,000 Units of High-Purity Origin Crystal. Remaining: 1 ¡­ As expected, the first refresh was devoid of any Town Portal Scroll. There were some decent things here, like the Feilian weapon blueprint¡­ When it came to blueprints, if he had been rolling in Origin Crystals, Tang Yu would have bought as many as he could get his hands on. He wouldn¡¯t lose out from buying them, they would keep their value, and could even use them in the research lab to create new blueprints. Alas, he was anything but rolling in Origin Crystals. As for some things like the otherworldly fruits, Tang Yu could only say that more and more bizarre products had begun appearing in the market after he leveled it up, but their quality was also much better. That skill rune stone, for example¡­ this was the first skill rune stone he had seen in the market, but Tang Yu very coolly ignored it. One million? And high-purity Origin Crystals? He couldn¡¯t even scrounge up one million, let alone whatever these high-purity Origin Crystals were. He had never even heard of something like this! His first refresh had been a complete wash. Tang Yu took in a deep breath. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, don¡¯t panic. Even something that costs one million has popped up. Perhaps I¡¯m still lucky. I should be able to summon a few Town Portal Scrolls!¡± ¡­ Several minutes later, Tang Yu was pale and panting for breath, beads of sweat rolling down his face. He couldn¡¯t even remember how many times he had refreshed, but those Town Portal Scrolls had refused to appear. Was it because Town Portal Scrolls were of such low value that only those with bad luck could get them? Even more infuriating was that in his many refreshes, he had been able to find quite a few nice things. These items had good prices and were incredibly useful to him at his current stage. To put it bluntly, the temptation had been too great, and¡­ his hand had slipped. After refreshing so many times and buying quite a few items, he had spent more than half of his Origin Crystals in the space of a few minutes. This was even worse than browsing Taobao! But at least on Taobao, he could buy what he wanted. As for this awful market? It was always enticing him with valuable items, but if this went on, he¡¯d be in the poorhouse long before he got a Town Portal Scroll. This was no good! Tang Yu returned to the castle, took a bath, changed clothes, and burned¡­ some paper. He couldn¡¯t find any incense, so he had to use rolled-up paper in its place. He returned to the market. ¡°Three Purities, Lord Buddha, Goddess of Luck, Master of Fortune, Senior White¡­ no matter who you are, please give me the power to pull a Town Portal Scroll!¡± Tang Yu closed his eyes, and then he opened them again. He brought two fingers together into a sword. Whoosh! Starting from the first slot, a white light passed over, and the items available changed. High-grade demonized beast bone. Spring water, infused with powerful vitality. Basic knowledge describing how to use Origin Power. An energy beam gun blueprint. A scroll that increased summoning chances¡­ All of them were superb products! Tang Yu realized to his sorrow that it was once more time to pay up. [1] Feilian is the Chinese god of wind Chapter 40 Tang Yu didn¡¯t know if he was lucky or unlucky. On his final refresh, his prayer had fortunately worked. The Town Portal Scroll had appeared, but it had come with many other tempting items. At least half of the twenty products were superb. Really¡­ Tang Yu had an impulse to just buy, buy, buy. In the end, through his powerful will, he was able to restrain himself. This was mainly¡­ because even if he spent all his remaining Origin Crystals, he wouldn¡¯t be able to buy everything. But there were two items that he decided to clench his teeth and buy. Basic Knowledge of Origin Power, Price: 500 Origin Crystals. Remarks: Describes basic knowledge on Origin Power and how to use it. Remaining: 1 Increased Summoning Chance Scroll, Price: 2,500 Origin Crystals. Remarks: When used in a tavern, it can increase the chances of a high-grade adventurer appearing (Note: There is still a chance of summoning a D-grade adventurer). Remaining: 1 ¡®Basic Knowledge of Origin Power¡¯ was a book. On the surface, it appeared no different from the textbook he had used in ninth grade. This book was very cheap, a measly five hundred Origin Crystals. The description had said that it was a book on Origin Power. In Tang Yu¡¯s view, this was far more important than those items that cost tens of thousands of Origin Crystals. The appearance of abyssal fissures had triggered the apocalypse, but the momentous shifts taking place throughout the world were closely linked to another substance. Origin Gas! Tang Yu had heard one theory that Origin Gas had already begun to appear before the apocalypse. Some scientists had discovered it and even claimed that they had discovered the secret to the creation of all life. But for various reasons, the discovery of Origin Gas was not announced to the public, and it was only after the apocalypse that people gradually came to learn about it. There was another theory: that Origin Gas had come together with the abyssal fissures. To be more precise, abyssal fissures were connected to another world, and Origin Gas traveled through them to spread across the globe. Tang Yu didn¡¯t know which theory was correct¡ªor maybe they were all wrong. But there was no doubt that Origin Power could serve as a kind of power source. However, that was not all. Its potential variations were limitless. Whether it was Awakened humans, Origin Crystal veins, mutated plants, or other developments that had taken place after the apocalypse, they were all connected to Origin Gas. But regrettably, this was a power that was completely distinct from the scientific system of the past. The value of Origin Power was obvious, but humanity¡¯s understanding of it was puny. This was a treasure chest for which they lacked the key, for which they did not even know the contents. Some scientists still doubted the existence of Origin Gas. Instruments could not detect it to prove its existence, and not even Awakened could sense Origin Power. Only ability users could sense some sort of substance floating about that seemed to be a good match for the special energy within their own bodies. Only this could prove Origin Gas and Origin Power. This made ability users even more impressive. Similarly, Origin Crystals were packed with Origin Energy, leading Origin Crystals to become the most valuable currency in this world¡­ Even when Tang Yu had been an ordinary survivor, he had known about Origin Power, but that was the extent of it. Researching how to use Origin Power? Impossible! Medium and small shelters lacked the right conditions, and even ability users had only an instinctive control over the Origin Power in their bodies. Tang Yu had once asked Yilian and Roger about it. They had some understanding of Origin Power, but it wasn¡¯t much. With Yilian, the two spells she had learned from that tattered magic book, Icicle and Hailstorm, were ways of using Origin Power. Though they were only basic ways of using it, it was still much better than relying on instinct. While relying on instinct to use Origin Power sounded impressive, it was actually the result of insufficient practice. It produced little power and consumed energy inefficiently. If Yilian unleashed all the ice energy in her body to freeze her surrounding environment, she would probably be able to keep it up for only a few seconds. That magic book spoke about ways to exploit and use Origin Power. Tang Yu had looked at it before, but it had all been gobbledygook to him. Yilian seemed to read that book with great gusto every day, so why couldn¡¯t he!? Not even high-level mathematics was this bad! The same was true for Roger. Although he had experienced much more than Yilian, Roger wasn¡¯t a Wizard, and the profession of Fighter was akin to an ordinary Awakened. Tang Yu had practiced combat arts with Roger, and though he hadn¡¯t been able to learn any, he had learned that Roger didn¡¯t need to use Origin Power for the combat arts he knew. He could activate them purely using his blood energy. Roger had very little understanding of Origin Power. Holding this book called ¡®Basic Knowledge of Origin Power¡¯, Tang Yu began to slowly flip through it. And then he froze. Each page of this book didn¡¯t have many words, and there were even images, but as he stared with wide eyes, he discovered that the words were wriggly and twisted, the images drawn in some bizarre style. It was clearly something he couldn¡¯t comprehend. Was this like the magic book, something he couldn¡¯t understand no matter what? It even said it was basic! Tang Yu focused on the words, and suddenly, he understood. ¡®Origin is the beginning of all things, the foundation, the most essential force¡­¡¯ So long as he put his focus onto each word, the corresponding information would arise in his mind. The information was directly converted into a form that was easiest for him to understand. Tang Yu completely immersed himself in the pages of the book. Studying makes me happy! ¡­ ¡°You are the first batch of fighters in the patrol team, and Chief Tang has already said everything that needs to be said. I have only two things to say: obey your orders and also¡­ get stronger!¡± A clearing in a valley at the back of the mountain had become the training ground for the patrol team. Roger¡¯s face was cold and aloof as usual as he looked at the tender and naive faces of the recruits before him. There were nine people in total in this first batch of patrol team members: four Awakened and five ordinary people with battle experience. This number was beyond Tang Yu¡¯s expectations. Besides Peng Bo and Lu Xiaopeng, there were two other Awakened who had been survivors that Roger had rescued, and who had subsequently succeeded in awakening through use of the Awakening Circlet. According to the accepted standard, they had been automatically made part of the patrol team, but it did not seem that they were unwilling. Otherwise, they would not have stood outside of the gate during the demon flood. The nine people were all stunned by Roger¡¯s words. It wasn¡¯t because of the training. In other shelters, the patrol team was responsible for keeping the peace and fending off demonized beasts. Training was normally impossible. The shelters didn¡¯t have significant food reserves, and even Awakened normally couldn¡¯t eat their fill every day. Add training onto that? Who would take responsibility for the additional food consumed? Things were different here. The patrol team members knew that they couldn¡¯t regard this shelter like a normal shelter. What shocked them the most¡­ was that Ironface Roger had said so much. This was the first time they had heard so many words from him since they had entered the shelter. They felt extremely flattered. ¡°The foundation of training is to fully exhibit each person¡¯s fighting power. Seeing how slack your posture is, let alone guarding the shelter, could any of you win a one-on-one with a demonized beast?¡± Peng Bo weakly raised a hand. ¡°Two? Three? Or perhaps a Tier 2 demonized beast?!¡± Peng Bo weakly dropped his hand. ¡°But once you go through training, then when you face a demonized beast lacking intelligence, an ordinary Awakened will be able to take on three without a problem, and even an ordinary person will be able to cut off their heads in the melee.¡± The breathing of the patrol team members became heavy. Some of them had joined the patrol team to repay kindness, and some for better benefits, but after witnessing Chief Tang crush the demon flood with a wave of his hand, they were all filled with hope for the future of the shelter. Similarly, as people who had chosen to join the patrol team and live in constant company with death, they were people unsatisfied with their current state. Even those ordinary people who were unable to awaken were unwilling to be like ordinary survivors and wait for death. Lu Xiaopeng was the most affected. He was a natural Awakened, yet he couldn¡¯t even beat an ordinary demonized beast. But once he went through training, he could take on three demonized beasts at once. Didn¡¯t that mean that he could realize his dream of punching demonized wolves and kicking demonized tigers? That was too awesome!