Doomsday Lord Ch. 22 | Making Teams

“Open threat.” Niú Bīng replied. “I’m glad that you have that kind of trump card.”

Liú Hào and Yú Kǎi nodded in agreement. Despite hearing that Chéng Yáng could strip their status as a Player, all they felt was relief. Not one of them believed that he might use that power on them.

“Open threat it is.” Chéng Yáng nodded, “After we create the teams, try to get to know everyone and listen to their issues. We’ve got the plans in place to entice them to stay for benefits, but it costs us nothing if they want to stay because they like the people here. They’ll also fight hard to protect you and each other if they care about you. Also, try to dethrone the reputation of the military in their mind. Don’t push the idea to hard, but if they still hold delusions that the military is the only real authority it will cause problems for us in the future.”

“Rest assured, we’ll make sure to follow your plans.” Yú Kǎi said, “I doubt anyone would believe that the military can return the world to normal after seeing the things they have. It shouldn’t take too much pushing to show them that strength as Players in the only authority in this world.”

“Good.” Chéng Yáng nodded, “Although being likeable can help you lead people, there’s only one thing that will make everyone respect you: strength. As a Player, you only have two options to increase your strength above the others in the Settlement: cultivation, and gathering equipment. Using the second method will generate more envy than respect, so the only option is to cultivate. Two times cultivation speed might make you above average compared to those in a Safe Zone, but who wasn’t able to use two times cultivation speed yesterday? In order to truly surpass the others, you need to unlock four times cultivation speed. This means maintaining a surplus of a hundred Soul Fragments, and absorbing thirty to forty each day.”

“Easier said that done.” Liú Hào derisively snorted, “That’s easier said than done Yoko. Experience Fragments are just too hard to get. Each monster only gives one and if too many people participate you may not get one at all. I spent the entire day patrolling the wall and killing monsters but didn’t even get fifty Experience Fragments and that was using ranged attacks to kill a monster on my own! I don’t think it will be a problem getting enough to use two times training speed but getting that many Experience Fragments every day is just too hard!”

“Then what about if you only had to save up twenty-five each? It’s possible to give your Soul Fragments to another person, so if you save up, it shouldn’t be difficult to save a hundred Soul Fragments between the three of you and Old Lǐ. You just have to make sure to cultivate at different times. This can also be considered something of a test for Old Lǐ. If he refuses to give back the Soul Fragments once he gets them, we can pick someone else to be a team leader and threaten to kick him out of the Settlement to get them back.”

Liú Hào and the others nodded with understanding. It would indeed be simple to gather the necessary Soul Fragments if they split the work.

Once they had finished, Chéng Yáng brought his friends out to put the plan into motion. He would have preferred to take some time to hang out like they usually did, but time was short and the apocalypse waited for no man.

The citizens of Huìmín were sitting in clustered groups. They emanated an aura of anxiety and fear, but this was already better than the despair they had felt earlier.

Chéng Yáng walked over to the Territory Altar and climbed on top, and fired a Magic Missile into the air to draw their attention.

“Attention, everyone.” He shouted, “I have an announcement to make.”

Before he could say another word, the crowd rushed towards him and bombarded him with questions.

“What happened to the world?” “How did you get your powers?” “A you sure we’re safe?” “What is this place?” “Who are you?”

Chéng Yáng stayed silent and waited for the crowd to realize that he wasn’t going to answer them.

“Let me answer your questions, with another question.” Chéng Yáng began, “Do you want to live?”

There was some scattered affirmation, but the crowd had mostly stayed silent.

“I said: Do. You. Want. To. Live!?”

“Yes!” This time the cry was resounding as hundreds of people voiced their desires.

“Good! Since you want to live, listen carefully to what I have to say. Do you remember that pork you ate? It didn’t appear out of thin air. My companions had to risk their lives to kill vicious monsters in order for you to fill your bellies. ‘He who does not work, neither does he eat.’ I’m sure you’ve all heard this quote before.

“How can you expect us to fight monsters? We’re not powerful like you are.” A voice shouted from the crowd. Soon after dozens of others joined in.

“I will not force you to fight monsters.” Chéng Yáng said once the crowd had calmed down. “But that is not the only thing that needs to be done around here. Monsters need to be butchered. Food needs to be cooked. With so many people this area will need frequent cleaning. Anyone who does not contribute towards will not be welcome in the Settlement.”

“So we would be your slaves?!” An angry voice burst out as a man forced himself to the front of the crowd. “Just because you’re powerful you think that we must serve you?!”

Chéng Yáng looked down and saw Hú Jūn. The arrogant man from earlier was making a fuss again. Before he could agitate the crowd further, Chéng Yáng quickly cried out.

“You too can be powerful like me!” Chéng Yáng quickly cried out before the crowd was agitated by Hú Jūn’s words. “I plan to share this power with those who are willing to fight against the monsters to protect everyone else. However, I will only share it with those who are willing to follow my orders.”

“Why should we have to follow you to get power? Why should you get to decide how others live? Everything belongs to the state, this place included!” Hú Jūn had climbed up onto the Territory Altar with Chéng Yáng.

“That’s true, but who here can represent the state?” Chéng Yáng asked, making sure his voice reached everyone in the crowd. “Since the state is not here, whats more important: the state, or its people? I am committed to saving its people, and making sure that all of you survive this disaster. However, this Settlement belongs to me, so until the state is here to instruct me, I have the right to use it how I please.”

Chéng Yáng suppressed a sneer. When the state arrives? How many years in the future would that be? Outside of Běijīng, the state had ceased to exist.

Hú Jūn jabbed his finger and opened his mouth to retort, but Chéng Yáng simply waved his hand at him, as if he were wiping away a stain. Then, in front of the everyone, Hú Jūn vanished.

The crowd became deathly silent when they remembered that the person in front of them wasn’t an ordinary youth. He was someone that could easily kill a monster, someone that had transcended the limits of humanity.

Chéng Yáng watched their reactions with a satisfied smile. He’d never expected the crowd to accept having to submit to him, so it was necessary to do some non-lethal intimidation. Once the stick was visible, they would consider taking the carrot. It wouldn’t be long before they realized just how terrible this new world was. When they did, they would be happy to obey his every command.

“Now then. Who here wants to become a super human? I don’t have the ability to provide this privilege to everyone, but for now, a hundred people will be selected. If you are unwilling to submit to me and follow my instructions, you can leave now. Even if you aren’t chosen today, there will be more opportunities in the future.”

The vast majority of people stayed put and only a small number made a point of leaving. After all, there was no harm in staying to see what happened.

As Old Lee watched the scene from the edge of the crowd, he couldn’t help but feel grateful that he’d met Chéng Yáng when he had. He and his employees already had the power they needed to survive in this world, but if they hadn’t come here to make a delivery, they might have already died.

He also developed a faint sense of superiority over the people present. Not only was he a Player, but he was one of the original Players in the Settlement. It wasn’t just him that felt this way, his employees did too. Without them consciously realizing it, they had tied their fate to Phoenix Village’s.

While he was thinking, Lǐ Wànshān heard a voice.

“Old Lǐ, you too, come over here.”

Chéng Yáng had brought his three friends over to the Territory Altar and was waving him over as well. Although he was confused, Lǐ Wànshān walked over to Chéng Yáng’s side.

“Old Lǐ, since we’re expanding our forces, I’m going to divide us into five teams. Me and my friends will each lead one, and I want you to lead one as well.” Chéng Yáng then switched to address his friends as well. ” Each of us will pick twenty people from the crowd that will join our teams. We’ll also split the people who are already Players between ourselves. We can’t make everyone we pick a Player right now, but you may need extras if too many people have the same aptitude.”

Lǐ Wànshān felt his heart skip a beat. If he led one of the teams, wouldn’t he become an important figure in the Settlement in the future? He wasn’t interested in power, the only thing on his mind was saving his family, but he couldn’t help but feel that it was still a good thing. After all, once his family was saved, having a strong position in the Settlement meant he could provide them with a good life. He would also have some amount of influence over Chéng Yáng. At the very least, if he had something to say, Chéng Yáng would have to listen.

Chéng Yáng gave himself first pick of the citizens of Huìmín. Since there was no way to check someone’s Innate Ability before they became a Player, there wasn’t any real advantage to picking first, but it was a mark of prestige to do so.

When a person became a Player, any underlying conditions they had would be cured. Even the elderly were filled with renewed vigor. Since that was the case, the only real factor when selecting a candidate was their mindset. Chéng Yáng picked out twenty people that had left an impression on him during the day, most of whom were people that had been willing to risk their life for food, or that had survived under horrible conditions that proved their tenacity.

Once Chéng Yáng had made his selection, the other four made theirs. When the last slot had been filled, the crowd let out a sigh. Although they weren’t totally sure what Chéng Yáng intended to do, they knew that they had missed out on an important opportunity.

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