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墨書 Inktalez
The sparse crowd gradually gathered; they were the main warriors of the Howling Wind Gathering Place, the old guard of Howling Wind, now revealing a hint of their iron-blooded nature.
They wanted to showcase themselves, much like in a job interview, promoting their worth and proving their usefulness, while also demonstrating their willingness to obey management in the future.
As for Howling Wind, he had long blended into the crowd. He didn’t want to stand out; after all, the most troublesome part of recruiting a team was dealing with the leaders. They would inevitably try to seize power or eliminate them at the first opportunity.
In the apocalypse, choices were straightforward. Just eliminate them without any hesitation.
Moreover, Howling Wind was not a Superpowered Individual. Despite having control over the entire Howling Wind Gathering Place, he still hadn’t discovered any Essence Fruit, whether due to bad luck or some other reason.
This had always puzzled him. Until recently, there had only been one Lucky One in the vicinity of the Gathering Place who managed to obtain an Essence Fruit.
He had known about this miraculous item for a long time and had even ventured out to search for it, but his territory was too vast to explore completely.
However, if Zheng Yifan knew about this, he would surely laugh until he bled because the area of Howling Wind Gathering Place was entirely occupied by that underground vine-like Mutated Plants. That was his inherent territory, naturally preventing other Mutated Plants from growing. The only Lucky One was hidden within the crevices of water channels, surviving amidst a skeleton of reinforced concrete.
The wars among Mutated Plants lacked bloodshed but were far more brutal than those among humans—there were no direct killings, only invasions.
To survive successfully meant life; failure meant death. If Howling Wind could obtain an Essence Fruit, it would truly be a miracle.
Anyway, Zheng Yifan couldn’t concern himself with that much. As long as he occupied that Mutated Plant, Essence Fruits would be produced like eggs from a hen.
It was a risk-free venture with high returns. Occasionally, there would be unexpected surprises; it felt as if Zheng Yifan won a lottery every few days, which lifted his spirits immensely.
The Survivors under Ruiguan were gradually increasing in number, but Ruiguan remained closed because behind it lay countless Zombies. In their hiding place stood buildings constructed by members of the Suicide Squad years ago. Now these refugee survivors had taken shelter within them.
Yes, they could only be considered refugees. They couldn’t even call themselves Survivors anymore since they temporarily had no belonging; they were merely wandering refugees.
However, the supplies and beautiful women that had been offered up were already collected by Hope Gathering Place using Baskets.
Along with that came a large amount of resources and Currency from Hope Gathering Place. Naturally, there were also numerous promissory notes—if one contributed supplies and gained recognition, they would receive a promissory note stating that as long as they survived, they could obtain certification as civilians of Hope Gathering Place. This included a six-month probationary period and a year-long temporary residency period. During this time, if they contributed resources or battle achievements that met evaluation standards to the Gathering Place, they could gain ordinary resident rights ahead of schedule.
However, entering key departments required even stricter examinations.
Entering the Hope Gathering Place ahead of time was a privilege in itself, allowing individuals to enjoy all the resources it had to offer. This, in turn, laid a more prosperous foundation for the Hope Gathering Place.
For those wishing to join the Hope Gathering Place again, the barriers had become significantly higher, and these thresholds would only increase. This was necessary to ensure that people would take better care of the Hope Gathering Place.
The resources were hard-earned, possibly representing all their wealth. To protect their riches, even a mere mouse would bite. Moreover, what about a person?
Even if they became Superpowered Individuals in the future, possessing immense power, they would be unwilling to give up their advantages.
This was yet another method of attracting talent, akin to the immigration policies adopted by powerful nations in a post-apocalyptic world, drawing in exceptional individuals from around the globe to solidify their foundations.
It would only grow more prosperous; this was an unchanging truth throughout history.
As the population gradually concentrated, this task was swiftly completed during the night. The subordinates of Howling Wind unconditionally executed orders because they had exchanged useless Zombie Crystal s for a substantial amount of food and currency.
Two hundred sixty thousand Zombie Crystal s—this was all that Howling Wind had brought along, representing all the cash within the Howling Wind Gathering Place.
During the prosperous times of the Gathering Place, most Zombie Crystal s were still in the form of Credit Currency and were not in such large quantities; these were considered all available reserves. As for the ratio, there was no calculation; Howling Wind had almost absolute authority—he issued as many as he wanted, as long as he didn’t turn Currency into worthless paper.
Now, these Zombie Crystal s finally found their purpose—not only did they provide food for his subordinates to prevent rebellion, but they also exchanged for a bottle of A-Level Essence, which guaranteed an upgrade to Superpowered Individual status.
Of course, this bottle of A-Level Essence was rumored to be black market goods within the military and was strictly prohibited from being sold outside the Hope Gathering Place. Its price was a staggering 100,000 Zombie Crystal s, nearly exhausting all of Howling Wind's Zombie Crystal s.
Yet he had no regrets; once he became a Superpowered Individual, he would possess the power to shape his own destiny. He cared little whether it came from black market goods or items stained with blood.
Superpowered Individuals represented the strongest rule in this apocalypse—a realization he had from the moment that first Superpowered Individual appeared in the Gathering Place.
Unfortunately for them, they were unaware that the path to self-improvement as a Superpowered Individual was far more daunting now. A First-Level Esper was nothing at all; a Second-Stage Esper barely qualified as an entry-level individual and could only be likened to high-level cannon fodder among Zombies.
Just Second-Level Zombies.
The night passed without incident. Within Ruiguan, troops were being mobilized. Wu Yingzhou strode confidently onto the battlefield with his three hundred assembled students. A large group of explorer team members also arrived here to take advantage of the situation; there were plenty of Zombies around.
This meant Zombie Crystal s were ripe for the taking, especially with wartime regulations in place—the benefits of killing Zombies were numerous!
They were already filled with fighting spirit, now struggling to contain their madness.
At that moment, the women entered the Hope Gathering Place, having been traded as commodities to this location. Their ownership belonged to individuals, although there were no legal slaves in the Hope Gathering Place.
However, their status was still similar. They were akin to servants, lacking personal rights unless they redeemed themselves and returned to their rightful status.
A total of over a hundred flamboyantly dressed women entered the Hope Gathering Place, bringing with them a fragrant breeze.
Their appearances made many of the Chad members nearly lose control with desire, exuding a unique charm.
What drove these men even crazier was that many of these women had familiar faces.
"Look! Isn't that international superstar Fan Bing? I didn't expect her to be even more beautiful in person than in the movies. How is she now part of the Flame Legion? Could it be that she's the private property of that Fellow from the Left Guard?" A Superpowered Individual from the Explorer Alliance gazed at the beauties before him with shining eyes. These women were rare treasures in the Gathering Place.
In this post-apocalyptic world, the number of surviving women was significantly lower than that of men. Moreover, beautiful women often meant being pampered; although not absolute, when true disaster struck, their overly slim bodies could hardly withstand the battles of this harsh reality.
Moreover, their opponents were Zombies, who were often more robust than men. Even men needed weapons to defeat them.
Not every woman was named Li Li, nor did they possess that violent girl’s superpower.
Even so, Li Li initially relied on others to survive until she became a Superpowered Individual. Then she was abandoned and had to fend for herself.
Currently, the gender ratio in the Hope Gathering Place was nearing 5:1. This was a dangerous number; men's energy was vigorous. Fortunately, Zombies outside constantly attracted their attention, and more ordinary women exchanged their beauty for rewards, providing an outlet for their energy.
Of course, this situation was gradually improving as strong and beautiful women slowly joined the Hope Gathering Place, which served as a sanctuary for them.
The crowd of men watching naturally made those women feel anxious.
Fan Bing was one of them. She had countless fans in the Post-Apocalypse; her song "The Kindest" earned her the title of goddess. Now walking on the land of the Hope Gathering Place, she heard everything about it. Along the way, people began explaining things about the Hope Gathering Place until they met up with those from the Howling Wind Gathering Place among the Mudbugs, feeling a slight sense of pride.
These Mudbugs didn’t even know what the Hope Gathering Place or Hope Chamber was; they needed to ask for a long time just to understand how Superpowered Individuals were classified. However, there was no doubt that their combat strength among ordinary people was still quite formidable. Although their weapons were battered, they dared to confront scattered Zombies.
Unfortunately, they did not know how to cherish their resources; aside from Zombie Crystal s, they had no other supplies. It should be noted that the resources needed by the Hope Gathering Place were diverse; while Zombie Crystal s offered great value for money, even mosquito legs are meat!
She had her own set of jewelry, which she had exchanged for dozens of pounds of food—food that was precious in the post-apocalyptic world. This jewelry was her favorite set, a treasure kept safely in her home safe, and she carried it with her even when the apocalypse struck. It was all that remained.
Fortunately, at the beginning of the apocalypse, she was taken under the wing of Brother Tao, who protected her and never violated her trust.
Brother Tao understood that only by keeping Fan Bing relatively pure could he sell her for a good price at a critical moment.
He didn't sell her when the Han Sui City Gathering Place was thriving because he knew Fan Bing wouldn't fetch a good price there.
When the Hope Gathering Place emerged, he still didn't sell her, as he couldn't guarantee she wouldn't be devoured by others.
Unfortunately, now he had no choice but to sell; his bargaining chips were gone, and he had reached a dead end.
Fan Bing did not disappoint him and was directly taken by the Left Guard.
The Left Guard wasn't acting for themselves but for Zheng Yifan, the leader of the Gathering Place who had the right to enjoy such beauties. As for the other hundred or so people, they were looking for benefits for the contributors of the Gathering Place. Who doesn't like beautiful women? Almost everyone with power in the Gathering Place had found their partners, while others were still on the lookout.
These women were certainly worth a significant amount of military merit or other resources.
After going through several rounds of checks, they handed her over to Old Hou. The Left Guard no longer had any worries; their next focus was on battling the zombies. The zombies were expected to crash against the city walls by morning, necessitating greater offensive strength.
The strongest two-hundred-meter-long city wall stood firm at the front. The fuel behind it had been checked multiple times, and various accelerants were ready to be added at any moment—everything was prepared except for a favorable wind.
The Bloodbath Legion couldn't come to help; they were dealing with a large number of zombies on their side as well.
This time, it seemed they would face attacks from both sides; all combat forces in the Gathering Place had been mobilized.
As for leaving the city walls to intercept, the Left Guard had no such plans, and Zheng Yifan certainly didn't want to seek out trouble.
The sheer number of zombies would spell disaster for anyone daring enough to entertain such thoughts.
Zheng Yifan himself was already on the edge while executing sniper missions. If it weren't for encountering just that one Lightning Zombie or only having that one in front of him, it was uncertain how many from the Guard Camp would make it back.
That creature was fast and deadly; what made it even more terrifying was that once their numbers reached a certain point, almost no one in the Guard Camp could match their speed.
Even if they managed to restrain them, they would still be besieged by countless Zombies, who would eliminate them all.
Fortunately, Zheng Yifan had returned; this was an unchangeable outcome, and he had perfectly completed the planned gathering.
On the city walls, members of the Flame Legion eagerly awaited the arrival of the Zombies, their eyes shining with anticipation. They were warriors who had already become Second-Stage Espers. With Zombies coming, there would be Military Merit to gain, and with Military Merit, they could forge their own Psychic Weapons.
That was what they yearned for most; everyone hoped to possess a Psychic Weapon.
Among them, the most fervent were those Superpowered Individuals wielding Firearms. They were the closest to upgrading to a Psychic Weapon. All they needed to do was first exchange for a Machine Gun and then gradually replace each component until they finally assembled one.
It was akin to upgrading equipment in an online game. While others had to swap out entire sets at once, they could change one piece at a time, ensuring that eventually, one of them would achieve greatness.
However, they were already enjoying the benefits of superior equipment, enhancing their strength and gaining formidable lethality ahead of time.
In this regard, they were quite pleased; within the Gathering Place, they were the group with the highest collective killing power. The number of bullets fired from a Machine Gun in one minute far exceeded the attack frequency of others, resulting in greater kill capability. Even though resource consumption was somewhat negligible since their primary energy source relied on Zombie Crystal s.
The Zombies they shot down dropped Zombie Crystal s. Although this battle's Military Merit was distributed evenly among each defensive line by groups, there would still be supplementary Superpowered Individuals assisting in calculations.
The surveillance cameras in mid-air could record nearly every Zombie that was taken down by their bullets.
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