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墨書 Inktalez
Time seemed to freeze in that moment; the killing intent vanished, the attacks ceased, and even inertia seemed to disappear.
Zheng Yifan sheathed his spear and slowly walked towards Ruiguan.
The door to Ruiguan creaked open, and countless cheers erupted from within.
Their leader had returned, the center of attention, their leader—the man who could be called a miracle.
Outside, they cared little for Zhou Tie's fate. Their leader was back; with victory, the Gathering Place would continue. Without it, there would be no reason for the Gathering Place to exist.
"What happened? Has Zhou Tie's poison been cured?" Old Wang, hiding in the tent, peeked out to closely observe Zhou Tie in the distance.
He was a formidable figure, one who should have held a place among all the Gathering Places nearby.
The reason he had become such a fool was entirely due to his Superpower; his poison had transformed Zhou Tie into what he was now. In the past, Zhou Tie would never have listened to him.
Ever since he gained the ability to use poison as his Superpower and concocted many slow-acting toxins, Zhou Tie had gradually become more accepting of him.
Now, Zhou Tie was surprisingly indifferent to his enemies, failing to break through that detestable barrier.
It was truly heartbreaking.
"Someone! Tell me what's wrong with Zhou Tie! Why is he just standing there?" Boss Wang growled fiercely.
His trusted subordinates surrounded the camp; there wasn't even one person among them who could be of use to Zhou Tie.
Now Boss Wang could naturally control everyone here.
"Yes!" The man replied and turned to leave. However, he started off running but gradually slowed down. Eventually, he stood there dumbfounded, staring ahead.
Before him, their war god—Zhou Tie, who was thought to be unbeatable—watched as the hammer in his hand slowly turned to dust. It scattered with the wind, followed by his arms. Finally, his body seemed to vanish into thin air.
In the end, there were hardly any traces left. Only when his head turned to dust did a Crystal appear in midair; it resembled a Zombie Crystal but was definitely not one. Its energy was calm and entirely beneficial for human absorption.
Zheng Yifan almost instantly stopped in his tracks, as if he were a traveler in the desert who had just spotted an oasis. He rushed forward and seized Crystal, pulling her into his Storage Space. He then strode into the gates of Ruiguan like a victorious general.
The people outside looked at Zheng Yifan with awe and fear. They had no idea what this harbinger of death would do next, but they knew they were free now. However, they also realized that what awaited them was likely the terrifying leader of the Hope Gathering Place, someone even more formidable than Zhou Tie.
"Let's go! We should go complain to that leader. As long as they need people, we might have a chance to survive. Surviving means we can gain power," Boss Wang said, though he muttered the last part so quietly it was barely audible.
In almost no time, everyone below Ruiguan who had been fighting surrendered their weapons. The Left Guard within Ruiguan organized the Flame Legion members to take them in and settle them outside Ruiguan. Their submission was even more forced than that of the Suicide Squad, as they were clearly intimidated by Zheng Yifan's overwhelming strength.
However, among these people, there would be some who genuinely surrendered. As for the others, as long as Zheng Yifan held onto his formidable power, he would not give them any chances.
Zheng Yifan no longer cared about the aftermath; he left those matters to the warriors of the Flame Legion.
His main objective now was to quickly take away the Supercomputer and then hurry with everyone to the Han Sui City Gathering Place.
He knew that news of him potentially being killed by the Night Demon could easily spread within the Han Sui City Gathering Place. At that point, Hope Mall would be in jeopardy. Without Zheng Yifan's presence there, Li Ning, Wu Yingzhou, and Tian Ye would lack strong military power.
This time around, Li Ning and Wu Yingzhou would have to use Second-Stage Evolution Essence. As for Tian Ye, he needed further evaluation; after all, this resource was incredibly precious and required careful selection of personnel. Especially since neither of the Two Major Legions had any truly high-end forces yet. The Left Guard and Pu Qiang had undergone enough trials over this long period for Zheng Yifan to take decisive action next time.
After all, he was still halfway from obtaining the Zombie Crystal needed for his next advancement, and investing in those two might allow them to adapt to their Superpowers early on—perhaps even evolve sooner.
This way, they could trade with other Gathering Places or even wage war on Hansui City. Whether it would be profitable or not remained uncertain.
He switched to the most advanced vehicle available at the Gathering Place—equivalent to a 1.6 car in the real world—and sped down the highway. In areas where the Hope Gathering Place was located, Winter Wheat had already been planted; its growth was thriving, especially thanks to the efforts of members from the Explorer Alliance who had successfully harvested Zombie bodily fluids to combat the cold winter.
Now, one could see agricultural vehicles plowing through fields. These machines had consumed most of the Second Tier or higher Zombie Crystal s from the Gathering Place. Zheng Yifan himself hesitated to use those precious Second Tier resources and instead allocated them for Agricultural Machinery operations.
With a shortage of manpower, they relied on technological advancement; while others still used manual labor for farming, they employed Agricultural Machinery instead—one machine could easily replace two or three hundred workers and sometimes even thousands in labor-intensive tasks. Other Gathering Places lacked even oxen for plowing; their people could only stare helplessly as they worked by hand.
They did not grow many cash crops; it was all about food supplies. In this era, simply having enough to eat was a blessing.
This batch of food would be the first self-produced grain from Hope Gathering Place and would provide a strong guarantee for their ability to operate independently from Zheng Yifan for an extended period.
After all, the Gathering Place was developing rapidly, and its territory was expanding more and more. Relying solely on Zheng Yifan would be a path to self-destruction.
As he traveled across the endless Wheat Field, his heart was filled with hopes for the future. Of course, he hadn't forgotten to exchange the Essence from Left Guard and Pu Qiang in advance.
Due to the Time-Space Barrier merging to create its own Character Card this time, Zheng Yifan's Time-Space Barrier also devoured that gem. The extraction rate for SS Rank Essence increased to 80%, while the success rate for S-Class became 100%.
The two were completely different, and Zheng Yifan was fortunate enough to succeed without failure this time, obtaining two SS-Level Essences. Naturally, the Zombie Crystal also decreased by two hundred thousand. The remaining Essence Fruits were all exchanged for A-Level Essences.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to exchange for S-Class; rather, A-Level Essence was sufficient. As long as he possessed Superpower, it would be fine. If High-Level Superpower were to proliferate, it would lead to chaos in the management of the legion.
Even those who used Low-Level Essence Fruits to become Superpowered Individuals would gradually be absorbed into the Two Major Legions, becoming part of the lower ranks.
As for the current total of four hundred people in both legions, Zheng Yifan treated them as an Ace unit. In the future, they would all use A-Class or higher Essences, while captains and above would be allowed to exchange for S-Class Essences.
Naturally, this made their management much more convenient.
After a long journey, Zheng Yifan finally arrived at Hope Gathering Place. The current Hope Gathering Place was completely different from when they had just moved in; it had transformed into a bustling town. People were busy doing more things, and the Messenger had already reported back about the recent victories on the front lines. The Gathering Place had settled down. Many people stepped out of their rooms, ready to celebrate in grand style.
Buying a piece of frozen meat at the supermarket was the best way to celebrate. They still hadn't begun living in a Post-Apocalypse world.
There was no way around it; Zheng Yifan couldn't just stay here running their meat supply for them.
However, he had already made plans. When his merchant fleet expanded again, he would purchase live livestock from various Gathering Places for breeding.
After all, not all beasts became fierce after the apocalypse. Many Post-Apocalypse livestock had consumed too many hormones and could not even merge with Vital Energy; they only slightly enhanced their physical condition.
Their life potential had been completely exhausted. Evolution could not be guaranteed. These livestock were Zheng Yifan's targets.
Walking into the core of Hope Gathering Place, he found himself in front of Hercules Building, the tallest structure around.
Zheng Yifan was immediately attracted by this place—completely modernized equipment. Communication Equipment was fully equipped, and as soon as he entered the first floor, he saw lines drawn on the walls by Formation Masters. However, every time he looked at the hexagonal pattern at the center of those line nodes, his heart would ache because there always seemed to be a Second-Stage Soul Crystal right in the middle.
He was unsure how many Second-Stage Soul Crystals he possessed. However, it was likely not many, considering the extravagant use of them throughout the entire building.
Inside the building, a beautiful girl stood at the front desk, registering others and directing them to their respective floors. The entire structure had been renovated before the apocalypse; the first floor was originally meant to be filled with stores, but under Han Rui's management, it had been transformed into an office building. All the partitioned shops had been dismantled, and even the escalators had been removed. The whole place had become an office complex.
Aside from the central elevator, the first floor had turned into a dining area filled with various cuisines. Anyone in the Gathering Place could come in and enjoy the food, but to enter through the main entrance, only members of the Gathering Place's Management Team were allowed.
Others could only enter through the back door if they wanted to eat.
Between the two areas, a large glass wall separated them. Zheng Yifan had no idea where Han Rui had sourced these materials, but after her redefinition and the designs from other architects, he felt he was experiencing the true technological capabilities of an Apocalyptic World.
It was undoubtedly far beyond what existed in reality. Even the girl sitting at the service desk on the first floor was surrounded by enormous screens displaying the rise and fall of the entire Gathering Place, detailing every event meticulously. There were even many relics and photographs from battles.
These were precious videos preserved by soldiers who had undertaken reconnaissance missions during battles; many of those who filmed them had lost their lives.
The scenes of combat were shocking; although they were rare, they always struck a chord. Zheng Yifan felt a pang in his heart as he watched, for many of those battles featured him. Looking back now, he could see how those warriors who died beside him fought valiantly for their lives, showcasing humanity's resilience over thousands of years. He also recalled the dangers he and his comrades faced during those fights.
Some footage even made him tremble with fear despite being the protagonist; if he hadn't been bitten by a Zombie back then, he feared he might not be standing here today to reminisce about it.
Guided by the girl at the front desk, whose eyes sparkled like stars, Zheng Yifan stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the seventh floor.
In that instant, at least five cameras extended from within the elevator shaft, observing Zheng Yifan from nearly every angle before swiftly ascending.
There was no sensation of weightlessness; in less than a minute, they reached the seventh floor.
Zheng Yifan nodded subtly as he noticed that this button was bright red. Upon entering, four soldiers immediately approached to check him. Even leaders of the Gathering Place were not exempt from this scrutiny because it was undeniable that some Superpowered Individuals possessed deceptive abilities.
After undergoing several layers of inspection, Zheng Yifan officially entered the seventh floor.
"Welcome back, Leader," several soldiers saluted him before returning to their posts to await the next arrival.
Zheng Yifan nodded silently. He was not like those who merely sought to flaunt their authority. Unlike certain officials who visited schools and made all students clean up while they walked out amidst flower petals and slogans—one might think an emperor was on tour.
It was disgusting. If Han Rui really did that, Zheng Yifan would have to give him a stern reprimand.
The seventh floor was less like a floor and more like a passageway, a gateway to a new world. The star player's Ecological Village was supported by these high-rise buildings along with the strength of the Hercules Building below, allowing it to be constructed in mid-air.
When they were clearing this area, they put in quite a bit of effort, fearing that they might damage the nearby Transparent Sphere.
Later on, they realized their worries were unfounded; the glass was over ten meters thick. Although it appeared transparent, it was actually made of a new type of high-strength, low-weight material that was still in the trial phase and had not yet been applied to everyday life before the apocalypse arrived.
Now, Zheng Yifan finally saw where the Management Team of Hope Gathering Place actually worked.
They were surprisingly operating out of the Shopping Mall in Ecological Village. As for the villas in other areas, those were their residences. Each person's status determined their living arrangements; the size and decor clearly reflected the hierarchy.
Zheng Yifan's villa was situated in the best location within Ecological Village. It was at the environmental hub of the entire Ecological Village, offering views of the Artificial Waterfall, a large Natural Swimming Pool, and even an Aerial Cloud-Shaped Hover Vehicle.
This vehicle was made from an ultra-soft transparent plastic and was equipped with floating devices that allowed it to drift freely within magnetic traction zones. Although it could only bear zero weight and was expensive, it was one of the most luxurious items in the Apocalyptic World.
There were no more than a few of these vehicles in the entire Hope Gathering Place. Only one could support zero weight; others could manage at most one pound, making it impossible for anyone slightly overweight to ride. To be continued.
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