Author: Xevinaly

Cheng Yang knew this policy would inevitably make it harder for Adventurers to level up, but he still chose to implement it. Even so, nobody would blame him for doing so. Everyone understood that the army was entirely under his control, so he would choose the army when he was forced to choose between the army and the Adventurers.

At the same time, Cheng Yang spread rumors that the army would expand soon and that interested Adventurers would sign up at the barracks.

For many Adventurers in the territory, their first choice would have been to join the army. However, the army wasn’t hiring, so they had no choice but to become an Adventurer instead. Once they had the chance, they would abandon their current lifestyle to become soldiers.

Cheng Yang didn’t pay too much attention to those people since he planned to enlist everyone that performed a class change ceremony in his territories into the army eventually. If they wanted to enjoy the stat boosts associated with his domain, they would need to serve him. If anyone refused to join, he would use his authority to strip them of their powers.

Cheng Yang had no reason to worry about the consequences of his authoritarian stance. Experiences in his past life had proved that only the strong could afford to debate morality. As a Lord, his word was law. So long as he never went too far, he wouldn’t face any consequences.

After making his arrangements at the Bank, Cheng Yang cleared the Blood-Soaked Cathedral, then visited Joyous River village.

Yesterday, Cheng Yang was too busy to check on Joyous River village’s state, but he wasn’t worried. With Liu Hao’s strength, even if the territory encountered problems, it wouldn’t take long for a messenger to inform Phoenix Village of the situation. Since a messenger had never arrived, it meant Liu Hao could handle it on his own.

When he arrived, Cheng Yang found out that a hundred thousand refugees had arrived the day before but had already been successfully integrated into the territory.

Joyous River village was similar to Silkworm Mountain. There weren’t many residents, so adding a hundred thousand people didn’t make it feel crowded.

Cheng Yang found Liu Hao, received a short briefing on the events of the day before, and then borrowed a Priest to clear the Abandoned Citadel. Between the two instance dungeons, his only significant gain was a piece of Purple Silver equipment.

Cheng Yang also intended to visit The Forgotten Grave, but his schedule for the day wouldn’t allow that.

Cheng Yang retrieved the Imitation Training Cube from Liu Hau before leaving the village. Once he had, Cheng Yang rode Enlai towards Yicheng.

Although it had been less than ten days since Cheng Yang had returned from Yicheng and his level hadn’t increased, the journey was far more manageable this time. His fighting capabilities had significantly improved, and the changes to the gods’ rules allowed his battle style to become more flexible.

Since he was able to control the amount of strength he used when attacking, he was able to maximize his DPS in a battle. In the past, a single attack would deal more damage than necessary to kill a target, but now, even though it still only took one attack, Cheng Yang saved the extra Mana giving him greater endurance.

It took Cheng Yang nearly two hours to reach Crane Summit. At the time, he hadn’t realized where he was until the Professionals nearby tried to attack Enlai out of ignorance.

Fortunately, many people in the village were familiar with Cheng Yang, so nothing major happened.

Unfortunately, Cheng Yang had arrived at an inopportune time. Liu Wei was currently absent. According to the Vice Governor, she had left to clear the powerful monsters that had spawned the day before.

“After the gods’ announcement yesterday, Governor Liu spent the entire afternoon fighting but couldn’t kill every High-Grade monster. To ensure the safety of both the villagers and the soldiers, she went out early this morning to continue hunting.” Hu Zhuang explained.

Cheng Yang nodded.

“Send someone to tell her to come back. At the same time, tell all of the soldiers who have gone out to return as well.”

Hu Zhuang was confused but turned around and relayed Cheng Yang’s orders nonetheless.

After Hu Zhuang left, Cheng Yang took a stroll around the village. Crane Summit had become a High-Grade village since he was here last, and the layout had changed drastically.

Crane Summit was separated into an Inner and Outer Village, the same as the other villages Cheng Yang controlled. The Inner Village contained a large number of buildings in addition to the Class Change Statues, the majority of which were Low-Grade Meditation Halls.

Hu Zhuang’s city planning skills were nothing impressive, but they were reasonable. He had left plenty of space between the Meditation Halls to accommodate their growth in the future when they leveled up.

Although their average level was lower, Crane Summit had far more Mediation Halls than Phoenix Village. The reason for this was quite simple: Crane Summit didn’t need to rush to create a large number of Farms and a High-Grade Wall. Naturally, the wood they harvested all went into Meditation Halls.

Even if only a few of the soldiers were Loggers, as long as they spend some time each day cutting wood, it was more than enough to build several Meditation Halls.

Crane Summit’s Outer Village looked the same as every area where many people gathered during the apocalypse. There were numerous makeshift tents with people milling about between them. There were over a hundred thousand people, so even though the Crane Summit soldiers brought back as many blankets tents as possible, most people had no choice but to sleep on the ground.

Fortunately, after a month of living in fear, no one would complain about having a safe place to sleep. At least not for a while.

“My Lord, when did you arrive?” A charming voice asked from behind Cheng Yang.

When he turned around, Liu Wei’s smiling face entered his vision. For a moment, Cheng Yang was lost in her beauty, but he quickly sobered up.

“I just got here. What about you? Have you been doing well here?”

When Liu Wei heard the concern in Cheng Yang’s voice, a faint feeling stirred in her heart. So faint that she hadn’t noticed it.

“I have.” Liu Wei replied. “Although it’s challenging to deal with High-Grade monsters, as long as you’re careful, there won’t be casualties. Also, as you can see, we’ve built many Meditation Halls, enough for every soldier! We’re planning to have each one reach the Standard-Grade next which will benefit our soldiers greatly. If I had to name a problem, it would be that there are too many people in the village and not enough transfer slots in the Class Change Statues.”

“There’s no need to worry about allowing everyone to become a Professional. For now, focus on finding people that are averse to fighting and have them become Farmers. Farmers will be an indispensable resource to your territory, so it’s best to cultivate them as soon as possible.”

Liu Wei listened intently, but after Cheng Yang finished talking, she had a bewildered look on her face.

“My Lord, you didn’t come all the way here just to say that, did you?”

“Of course not.” Cheng Yang said. “I have something important for you to do. Take a look at this item’s system pane first.”

Cheng Yang took the Imitation Training Cube out and passed it to Liu Wei.

She was a smart girl, so she naturally understood why Cheng Yang was here after reading the item’s description.

“My Lord, this is great! Since you’ve brought it here, do you intend to use it in Crane Summit or Copper Tomb Village? Or is it possible that we can use it in both?”

Instead of giving a direct answer, Cheng Yang asked Liu Wei a question.

“How much lang have you cleared around the village?”

“My Lord, we have limited personnel.” Liu Wei said, ” We’ve cleared less than a six-kilometer radius around each village. It’s our current limit, and we’ll need to upgrade the Class Change Statues before we can handle any more.”

“Six kilometers is too small. Phoenix Village currently has more than fifteen. Although it’s only twice as far, the total area we have cleared is at least five or six times more than yours. I plan to use the Imitation Training Cube to expedite the process. With the walls in place, your soldiers will be able to handle even a massive horde.”

Liu Wei smiled brightly.

“What a treasure! With it, we can not only efficiently kill monsters but increase the territory’s Experience Fragment reserves. It’s killing two birds with one stone.”

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Cheng Yang couldn’t help but smile as he walked out the gate. He couldn’t help but be happy that Yuan Jianzhe showed up in a timely manner and saw him and Lu Chenguang together.

Although Lu Chenguang was Yuan Jianzhe’s subordinate in name, none of the militia captains could be considered loyal. After seeing one of his captains meet with his most hated enemy, Yuan Jianzhe would be forced to consider if Lu Chenguang had betrayed him.

Cheng Yang wasn’t concerned about how Lu Chenguang would talk her way out of this predicament. The bigger a headache she had, the better he would feel. If she fell out of Yuan Jianzhe’s favor, it saved Cheng Yang the trouble of dealing with her in the future.

Lu Chenguang was the first person to make him suffer a loss in this life, so he wouldn’t forget to pay her back. However, he knew his soldiers weren’t the same as him. There would be many casualties in a protracted war, so there wasn’t a reason to go all out against Lu Chenguang until he had an absolute advantage. If he saw her outside the safe zone, though, he wouldn’t hesitate to settle their grudge.

With his task completed, Cheng Yang retrieved Enlai from the rented room and rode him out of the safe zone with Tan Yun. Along the way, Cheng Yang took the opportunity to get closer to the child and extract information.

Lu Chenguang had found him on the streets some time ago. When she did, she sheltered him and gave him delicious food, so it was understandable that the child had latched onto her, especially after experiencing the trauma of the apocalypse. Today, Lu Chenguang had released him back onto the streets for a few minutes to keep up appearances and then brought him back inside.

Cheng Yang rode Enlai to Silkworm Mountain quickly arrived at the village.

When Tan Chao saw the child in Cheng Yang’s arms, he couldn’t help but try to jump to his feet even though his limbs were bound.

“Dad!” Tan Yun also reacted strongly to their reunion.

With a glance, Cheng Yang signaled for the guards to cut Tan Chao loose. After all, any child would be upset to see their parent imprisoned. It would be awkward if Tan Yun started crying. Luckily, the child had experienced a lot in the last few weeks and was able to hold in his tears.

After Tan Chao spent a few minutes crying and holding his son, he stood up and bowed deeply to Cheng Yang.

“Thank you, Lord Cheng! I, Tan Chao, will not hesitate to go through fire and water in the future so that I can be of use to you!”

“Don’t be so formal. You’re one of my subordinates now, so there’s no need for you to worry.” Said Cheng Yang with a smile. “Now that Xiao Yun has been rescued, can you tell me what you know?”

“My Lord, please don’t take my previous hesitation personally. I didn’t dare to say anything since I believed I would be silenced once I was of no use. Then, once Lu Chenguang found out, she wouldn’t have a use for my son anymore…” Tan Chao avoided saying anything that would upset his son. “Now that I know my son is safe in your care, I can tell you everything.”

“Stop sucking up and just tell me.”

“It’s a long story, but I’ll try to make it short. My son and I escaped the initial disaster because we entered the safe zone before the monsters arrived and became Professionals. Later, I told a good friend from before the apocalypse about my Innate Abilities. He sold me out that very day! I was too trusting.” Tan Chao spat. “Lu Chenguang then seized my son and had me handle all her dirty work. She didn’t hide much from me, so I know a few secrets, such as her collusion with Ding Ming to overthrow Yuan Jianzhe and her various plans for dealing with you. The attack suffered by this village was meant for your main base in the South. Thankfully every time I came close, a terrifying man would track me down. If not for my skill, I would have died.”

At this point, Tan Chao paused to observe Cheng Yang’s reaction. He wanted to ask who the person was and how he was tracked but ultimately decided not to.

“Did you tell Lu Chenguang about that?” Cheng Yang suddenly asked.

“I only said that you had a way to detect infiltration, but since I didn’t know the specifics, how could I have told Lu Chenguang?”

“You said that Lu Chenguang’s been working with Ding Ming to overthrow Yuan Jianzhe, right? Someone planted a bomb near one of my villages. Was it their doing?”

“I wasn’t the one who did it, so I’m not sure. However, it sounds like something Lu Chenguang would do.”

“What else do you know about her work with Ding Ming?”

“Their main goal is to cause conflict between you and Yuan Jianzhe. They’re hoping to take over both the safe zone and one of your villages in the chaos.”

This wasn’t surprising to Cheng Yang. After all, Lu Chenguang had tried the same thing in his previous life and had half succeeded.

Since Tan Chao had nothing else that was vitally important to say, Cheng Yang decided to take him to Phoenix Village. Although his Innate Ability was game-breaking, he would be useless if he didn’t level up. Without a solid foundation, there would be no way for Tan Chao to do something like strike a fatal blow and then escape to thousands of miles away.

On the way there, Cheng Yang explained the village’s situation and what he knew about the apocalypse to Tan Chao. He especially emphasized that Tan Chao should take out a Bank loan to increase his training speed.

Cheng Yang had considered giving Tan Chao the necessary Experience Fragments to unlock a high training speed himself but decided against it. Although Cheng Yang was certain Tan Chao wouldn’t defect and join someone another group, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t simply take his son and disappear. It would be better to give those Experience Fragments to someone loyal instead.

Once they arrived, Cheng Yang arranged for Tan Chao and his son to move into a Mediation Hall, then went to the Barracks to grind skill proficiency. His Sacrificial Blood Cloud skill’s proficiency had reached 70%, so Cheng Yang was working hard .to increase the skill’s level quickly.

That night, the first month of the apocalypse came to a close as the second started. By this time, most people had adapted to their new environment, especially those who became professionals. Going out to kill monsters had become a regular part of their daily routine.

Since it was now impossible for Professionals to trade Experience Fragments directly, the Phoenix Village Bank filled that role. As a result, the Bank’s initially large surplus of Experience Fragments dried up overnight.

When Cheng Yang heard the news in the morning, there was a moment of surprise, followed by an immediate self-deprecating reaction.

Although Cheng Yang made unprecedented profits from selling potions and Stones of Return, most of it was used t develop either himself or his elites. His liquid capital only amounted to around three million Experience Fragments if he scaped it all together.

Three million Experience Fragments wasn’t a lot for Phoenix Village. Even if all of it were loaned out, it would only be enough for three thousand Professionals. Even if Cheng Yang diverted all the military revenue and the territory’s automatic collection, over seven thousand Professionals lived in Phoenix Village. There were far too few Experience Fragments to allow each of them to unlock four times training speed.

To protect the village’s interests, Cheng Yang ordered the bank manager to give soldiers priority when granting loans and to reduce their interest rates to 0.8%. Although the reduced rates weren’t much cheaper, it was still a discount that would make the soldiers feel a sense of belonging.

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“Chi Cheng, Lord Cheng is my guest. Do you get a say in what he can and cannot do? Why haven’t you apologized yet?” Lu Chenguang turned her head and shouted.

“Captain…” The Professional had a look of reluctance on his face. He couldn’t understand why Lu Chenguang allowed Cheng Yang to disrespect her.

“Apologize!”

After seeing his captain’s cold face, Chi Cheng no longer dared to disobey.

“I’m sorry, Lord Cheng. I was out of line.”

“It’s nothing. I don’t mind.” Cheng Yang said. “Miss Lu, about what I asked…”

Lu Chenguang smiled.

“Lord Cheng, you’re a little forceful right now. I really don’t know anyone named Tan Chao.”

“You’re right, and I’m going to force the issue.” Cheng Yang snorted. Did Lu Chenguang think she had a way out of this?

Lu Chenguang finally frowned.

“Lord Cheng, I’m afraid this won’t work between us. I admit that you’re power is immense, but when compared to our numbers-“

“I’ve never heard that a group of sheep is capable of eating a dragon. What’s more, in my eyes, you aren’t even equivalent to sheep.” Cheng Yang said without waiting for her to finish.

“That…” Lu Chenguang didn’t expect Cheng Yang to give her so little face. If he’d arranged a private meeting, she wouldn’t be willing to force his hand, but every other power in the safe zone knew he’d visited. If she conceded so readily, it would ruin her image.

Cheng Yang glanced at his watch.

“The hour started six minutes ago. If I were you, I’d hurry up and fetch the child.”

Lu Chenguang’s mind turned to electricity as she thought about how to handle this.

Yesterday, the day after Yan Chao went to Silkworm Mountain, Lu Chenguang deemed Tan Chao either a dead man or a traitor, so she had his son moved somewhere else just in case. She was familiar with the kind of person Tan Chao was and knew that if he were given the opportunity, he’d betray her in a heartbeat if it meant getting his son back.

Since Cheng Yang was here asking for his son, that meant Tan Chao was captured and left alive long enough to betray her during an interrogation. As for whether he was still alive, that depended on Cheng Yang’s bottom line.

If Tan Chao was still alive, then Cheng Yang’s intentions were clear: he wanted to control Tan Chao just like she had. If Tan Chao was dead, there wasn’t a problem giving the child to Cheng Yang. Without Tan Chao, the child was worthless and certainly not something to offend Cheng Yang over.

Lu Chenguang took a deep breath.

“Lord Cheng, may I know why you’re looking for Tan Chao’s child?”

Cheng Yang was ready to reject the question, but then he thought about the consequences. His goal was to rescue Tan Chao’s son, not get revenge on Lu Chenguang. Although she owed him for the deaths caused in Silkworm Mountain, it was a minor incident. In Cheng Yang’s eyes, Tan Chao was more important, so if he were too forceful and made Lu Chenguang do something drastic, he would regret it.

After a moment of thought, Cheng Yang said: “I’m just fulfilling a promise made to a dead man. You should know who I’m talking about. Of course, if you force me to, I might as well ask Commander Yuan to listen to a few things that man said before he died.”

Lu Chenguang’s eyebrows twitched. What a blatant lie! When had that monster ever treated his enemies well? Either way, if Cheng Yang was planning to pull Yuan Jianzhe into this, she needed to reassess the situation.

Although Cheng Yang was powerful, she didn’t believe she would be helpless in front of him. Moreover, the safe zone’s numbers advantage was only growing. Soon even if they couldn’t defeat him, they could defend against him. As long as she was in the safe zone, Cheng Yang couldn’t hurt her.

Yuan Jianzhe was different. The other militia leaders would protest if she were dismissed from her position without reason, but if the secrets Tan Chao knew were revealed, they would clamor for her removal.

“That’s not necessary. Since it’s to comfort the dead, I’ll try my best to find the boy. As for whether I can, I can’t say for sure.”

Cheng Yang’s only response was to glance at his watch.

Lu Chenguang clearly understood the threat. Cheng Yang would only care about success or failure when the hour ended, not excuses. Fortunately, Tan Chao’s son was already in the building. It wouldn’t take more than a few minutes to bring him over.

“Lord Cheng, wait here for a while. I’ll go down to direct my subordinates and find the child as soon as possible.”

Lu Chenguang didn’t ask Cheng Yang to describe the child. At this point, they both knew she knew where he was, so there was no point in keeping up an act.

“Li Yushan.” Lu Chenguang called out to one of her subordinates. “Entertain Lord Cheng until the child is found.”

After that, she turned and left. Since it had come to this, she had no qualms handing Tan Chao’s son over. She had confirmed that Cheng Yang wanted to use him as a bargaining chip and that he wouldn’t needlessly spill her secrets. That was enough.

After she left, Li Yushan stayed in the room with Cheng Yang to drink tea and chat. She did her best to carry a conversation on her own since Cheng Yang was silent most of the time.

Less than half an hour later, Lu Chenguang returned with a child in her arms. Although Cheng Yang had never met Tan Chao’s son, there were enough similarities between the two that Cheng Yang recognized him.

“Lord Cheng, I was rather lucky today. I sent people out to search, and one of them found this little guy on the streets nearby. He was pretty miserable back then, so I brought him back for a quick bath and a change of clothes.” Lu Chenguang said with a joyful smile. “Xiao Yun, tell this uncle, do you like the clothes I gave you?”

“Like it.” The child was frightened by the strangers around him, but after hearing Lu Chenguang’s encouragement, he whispered his agreement.

Cheng Yang wasn’t sure why she bothered to put on an act at this point. I couldn’t be to prove to Cheng Yang that she found the child on the streets, so maybe she was trying to convince her subordinates?

Cheng Yang didn’t care about that at all. He just stood up, walked over to Lu Chenguang, and held out his arms to receive the child.

When he did, the Tan Yun flinched away from him and looked up at Lu Chenguang with fear.

“Don’t be afraid, Xiao Yun. This uncle is a good man. He’ll be taking care of you from now on.”

Tan Yun looked at Cheng Yang with a timid face, then after being transferred to his arms, looked back at Lu Chenguang with a sorrowful one.

Cheng Yang’s eyebrows twitched. Why did this feel like he was a child abductor? What kind of tricks had Lu Chenguang pulled to make her, the actual child abductor, seem like a hero in this kid’s eyes?

“Miss Lu, that’s all for today.” Cheng Yang said coldly before walking towards the villa’s gate.

As he did, he heard the crisp sound of boots on concrete. At the same time as he reached the gate to leave, Yuan Jianzhe walked in.

Yuan Jianzhe’s sudden visit startled Lu Chenguang. She was worried that Cheng Yang would take the opportunity to share her secrets. However, on the surface, she smiled as if nothing was amiss.

“Commander Yuan, sorry for not announcing my visit but every time I show up, I bother you to run here and there for me. It makes my heart uneasy about troubling you every time!”

“Lord Cheng, since you visited my city, as the owner and your friend, how could I not come to meet you. Wouldn’t it be rude if I hadn’t?” Yuan Jianzhe could tell that Cheng Yang was mocking his inability to control him, but he wasn’t someone so easily baited. “What matter brings you here today, Lord Cheng? If necessary, I can provide assistance.”

“It’s nothing. A friend of mine passed away and entrusted his child to me. Captain Lu already helped me find him, so I was about to leave.”

“Oh? As soon as Lord Cheng sees me, he’s ready to leave? Am I so unpopular as an old man?”

Cheng Yang frowned slightly. What kind of trick was Yuan Jianzhe up to? Although they knew each other well, their relationship wasn’t the kind where they would amicably chat after seeing each other.

“It’s not you, Commander Yuan, I’m just in a hurry to get back. Next time I have a chance, I’ll be sure to visit you.” Even though he had his doubts, Cheng Yang didn’t reveal them.

Yuan Jianzhe laughed.

“I shall be looking forward to it.”

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“Hey, you! Halt!”

Although Cheng Yang had changed back into his ordinary outfit, the guards hadn’t recognized who he was.

“Me?” Cheng Yang asked with a confident smile without stopping. “Why can’t I walk down this street?”

“Don’t you see where you are? Do you think any random cat or dog can walk over?” The guard sneered. “Now scram, or you won’t even know how you died.”

“Oh? Can you kill people in the safe zone again? I must have missed the announcement.” Cheng Yang laughed. “In that case, I’d like to know how you plan to kill me? Even if I stood still, someone like you isn’t enough.”

“Don’t blame me for this.” The guard said as he blew a whistle.

At that time, seven other guards rushed over from their positions.

They were all either Warriors or Summoners, so they had absolute confidence in beating a lone Mage. Attacks were useless here, but as long as they could overpower the other party, dragging them outside the barrier wasn’t impossible. Even if they didn’t do that, it was easy to starve a person to death without anyone knowing by locking them in one of the countless rooms in the city. Moreover, since attacks couldn’t deal damage, torture was actually possible in the safe zone.

In the eyes of the guards, Cheng Yang had become meat on the chopping block.

“Maybe if you kowtow a few times and beg for forgiveness, we’ll let you go with just a beating. Otherwise yo-“

Before the guard could finish speaking, he saw Cheng Yang rush towards him with blinding speed, and before he could even react, he found himself on the ground. All he could remember was a crispt smacking sound followed by burning pain.

“That slap is to teach you how to talk. If someone less forgiving heard you say something so inelegant, it wouldn’t have ended there.” Cheng Yang calmly returned to the middle of their encirclement.

“Fuck! Let’s take this guy outside the barrier and bury him alive!” At that moment, the guard let his emotions get the better of him and spoke without thinking.

Two of the other guards realized what had happened, but the others were already rushing Cheng Yang. They had always been able to act as tyrants within the safe zone, so why would they feel fear?

Right as they reached him, Cheng Yang slipped out of a gap like a wisp of smoke. Then, he delivered two swift kicks to the backs of the guards next to him.

With his status as a Pinnacle-Grade Apprentice, it wasn’t a problem for him to fling them several feet. Even if it were a direct contest of strength, he would be able to crush those Low-Grade Warriors.

After that, Cheng Yang knocked the rest down, one after another. With his speed, they weren’t even able to catch his shadow before kissing the ground.

Every time they tried to stand up, Cheng Yang would deliver a vicious punch to their heads. If it weren’t for the rules of the safe zone, they would have long since died. Only once all of them had either passed out or given up did he stop.

During this entire process, the other two guards nearby and the rest on the street turned a blind eye, lest Cheng Yang focus his attention on them next.

“Well? Have you learned your lesson?” Cheng Yang asked while squatting next to the original guard.

Although the safe zone’s unique nature healed his wounds, blood covered the guard’s face, and his teeth littered the ground. At that time, a single name popped into his mind. A name associated with the strongest human in Cloud City. A monstrous existence who could face an entire battalion on his own and win. Other than Cheng Yang, who else could beat him up so viciously?

Once he realized what was happening, the rage in his eyes began to mix with fear. Even if Cheng Yang decided to drag him out of the safe zone and murder him, who would dare to stand against him? Even Commander Yuan would turn a blind eye.

“Are you Cheng Yang?” He asked with a tentative and raspy voice.

When he saw Cheng Yang nod, he felt like his body had been submerged in ice.

“I’m going to ask you a question. If you answer truthfully, I’ll forget about this matter. I can’t guarantee you’ll survive lying.” Cheng Yang said calmly. “Where is Lu Chenguang?”

“Captain Lu is in her quarters right now.” The guard said while pointing a trembling finger towards one of the buildings. He wasn’t one of Lu Chenguang’s subordinates, so he didn’t hesitate to sell her out.

Cheng Yang didn’t care if the guard was lying since he could always follow up on his threat if he had. He turned around and walked towards Lu Chenguang’s house.

When Cheng Yang reached the door to Lu Chenguang’s villa, he loudly declared: “Cheng Yang, the Lord of Phoenix Village, has come to visit Captain Lu Chenguang.”

Less than thirty seconds later, the villa’s door opened to reveal several people, including Lu Chenguang.

“Greetings, Lord Cheng! When we last met, you were a loner, but now your title is grandiose. How domineering!” Lu Chengunag greeted Cheng Yang as if he were an old friend.

Cheng Yang gazed into her eyes and couldn’t find a hint of insincerity. The level of her acting was superb. It was at the level that Cheng Yang started to doubt that they were enemies.

“Captain Lu, I specially visited you today because I need you to do something for me. Can I come in?”

Of course! Since Lord Cheng thinks highly of me, I’ll have to treat you well. We can talk in the parlor.” Lu Chenguang laughed warmly as she led Cheng Yang inside.

If not for the memories from his previous life, Cheng Yang would believe her if Lu Chenguang claimed Tan Chao was setting her up.

Regardless, Cheng Yang subconsciously allowed Lu Chenguang to take the initiative to lead him to the parlor on the second floor.

Once Lu Chenguang was seated, Cheng Yang began talking.

“Captain Lu, I’m afraid I’ll need to trouble you to help me with something.”

“I’ll gladly help you anytime, Lord Cheng. In the future, there’s no need to visit someone as lowly as me personally. Just send a messenger, and I’ll do my best to support you.”

“I’m hoping you can help me find a person, specifically a child.” Cheng Yang ignored Lu Chenguang’s flattery. “His father’s name is Tan Chao. I have reason to believe you know where the child is.”

Cheng Yang carefully monitored Lu Chenguang’s reaction when he mentioned Tan Chao’s name, but there wasn’t so much as a ripple of emotion.

“Lord Cheng, I’ll do my best, but I’m afraid I may not accomplish this task in a short amount of time. There are thousands of children in the safe zone, and I don’t know anyone named Tan Chao, so I’ll ne-“

“Captain Lu, I didn’t come to request your help but to demand it. ” Cheng Yang checked his watch. “In an hour, I expect to see the child standing before me. Otherwise, I’ll beat you to a pulp.”

Lu Chenguang’s eyebrows twitched. Despite her attitude, Cheng Yang hadn’t given her any leeway.

“How dare you? Even if it’s you, when Captain Lu shows you so much respect, it’s basic courtesy to do the same!” The Professional behind Lu Chenguang shouted with a face full of anger.

“Does this man speak for you, Captain Lu?” Cheng Yang ignored the Professional and directly addressed Lu Chenguang.

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To the safe zone’s Professionals, Cheng Yang was both a person they were intimately familiar with and someone completely unknown. He was familiar because each of them had heard his name so many times that they could write a book about him. He was unknown because only a few dozen had ever seen his face.

If Cheng Yang tried to enter the safe zone, he’d be stopped by the guards. Even if he told them who he was, they would still block his path unless he demonstrated his strength. However, Cheng Yang had his methods. Even if they didn’t recognize him, there was someone whose appearance they would absolutely recognize: Enlai.

Therefore, he directed Enlai to rush right over to the barrier. When the guards noticed Enlai, they assumed it was another monster attack since they hadn’t seen the person on its back. Since a monster like that couldn’t possibly be weak, a formless pressure descended on them.

It wasn’t until they finally noticed the person on its back that they realized what was happening. Right now, there was only one person that was able to ride a monster like that: that humanoid monster named Cheng Yang.

The guard at the front made a split-second decision and jumped out of the Enlai’s path. The other Professionals quickly followed suit lest they be the one to try and block that indomitable charge. No one dared to think of the consequences of taking a direct hit from that white tiger.

With extreme speed and a huge hop, Enlai stopped on a dime in front of two professionals. This terrified them since if they were to piss Cheng Yang off, he’d slaughter them like livestock.

“You move pretty quick!” Cheng Yang said with a playful grin. “No need to notify Commander Yuan of my arrival. I’m not here for him today.”

After saying that, Cheng Yang squeezed into the safe zone, leaving behind a crowd of Professionals looking at each other in dismay. They didn’t know what Cheng Yang was planning to do after rushing into the safe zone, nor what they could do to stop him.

The refugees were even more confused. They had no clue who the man on the white tiger was, but since those powerful guards didn’t dare to let out a sound when he was around, he must be a big shot. Many swore in their hearts that they would survive and become like that one day.

Cheng Yang didn’t care what those people thought since he was already in a dilemma.

Ideally, he would have entered the safe zone without many people noticing, but it was better to charge in since that wasn’t possible quickly.

Now he was faced with a choice. He could go straight to where Tan Chao’s son was held or attempt to conceal his purpose. To do so, he’d need to find a place to shrink Enlai and then disappear.

Cheng Yang would prefer to take the second approach, but it wouldn’t be easy to find a place to disappear.

After some quick reflection, Cheng Yang realized there was an easy solution. Even if the streets were crowded, access to the buildings was heavily restricted.

Cheng Yang rode Enlai onto a crowded street, then entered a relatively high-class apartment building.

The interior wasn’t that different from that of an apartment building from before the apocalypse. It even had an elevator to provide quick access to each of the thirty floors. Of course, strictly speaking, it wasn’t an elevator but a magic item that used the Experience Fragments collected as rent to function.

The elevator was wide enough for Enlai to enter, without any discomfort. The only other person in the elevator ran out in fright, leaving Cheng Yang alone. It wasn’t surprising for only one other person to be in the lobby at the moment. Although the safe zone had a massive population, most of them couldn’t afford to live in an apartment like this. At most, twenty-percent of the rooms were filled.

Cheng Yang ordered Enlai to shrink the moment the doors closed, then he clocked on a few random floors and waited for the elevator to reach its destination.

In this way, even if someone were watching from the lobby, they wouldn’t know what floor he’d exited on.

On the twenty-first floor, which had six studio apartments, Cheng Yang stepped out of the elevator. He walked over to one of the unclaimed apartments and opened its system pane.

The apartment he chose was a little over twenty square meters for a hundred Experience Fragments a month. It was pretty cheap.

Cheng Yang paid the fee and entered the room.

Once inside, he fished out a change of clothes to disguise himself as a sorcerer and put it on. Although doing so would make him considerably weaker, nothing in the safe zone could threaten him even without it.

Cheng Yang ordered Enlai to wait in the apartment, then opened the door and left. Since he owned the room for a month, no one else would be able to enter without his permission. So, he didn’t need to worry about leaving Enlai here.

Cheng Yang got back into the elevator and quickly exited the building. When he did, he noticed several people watching the building.

Although he attracted a small amount of attention, it quickly dissipated. After all, there was no lack of unknown Professionals in the city, and Cheng Yang’s equipment was as ordinary as it could be.

For the next few minutes, Cheng Yang leisurely wandered the safe zone. This way, he would be able to tell if anyone was still following him.

Half an hour later, once Cheng Yang was sure no one was tailing him, he began to search for the building Tan Chao specified.

It would not be easy to find the Grocer in this urban jungle if it was your first time visiting the safe zone, but Cheng Yang knew its layout like the back of his hand.

A few minutes later, Cheng Yang arrived at the Grocery and spotted the building Tan Chao had described.

Cheng Yang entered the building and walked up to the fourth floor. Once he arrived, his expression soured. Room 401 was currently unowned.

“Tch. Lu Chenguang is too cautious. It’s possible Tan Chao’s son was never even here.”

Cheng Yang was unsure how to proceed from here. Even if he bought the room, there wasn’t a way to gather clues. Once an apartment was vacated, everything inside would reset. This was one of the gods’ rules.

At the very least, it was unlikely that Lu Chenguang had disposed of Tan Chao’s son. More than likely, she had switched his location.

“It seems I won’t be able to keep a low profile.”

The reason Cheng Yang had hoped to rescue Tan Chao’s son in secret was that if people knew you had a skilled assassin, they would be much more vigilant.

Unfortunately, his only choice at this point was to find Lu Chenguang and force her to hand over Tan Chao’s son. No matter how reluctant she was, Cheng Yang had ways to make her submit.

When he left the building, Cheng Yang headed towards the central square.

As can be expected, Lu Chenguang hadn’t settled for living in a shared building. She hadn’t in his previous life, and there was no way she changed her habits in this one.

Soon Cheng Yang came to a street lined by ordinary villas. Layer after layer of Professional guards lined the road, creating an imposing scene.

This was the center of power in the safe zone. Every influential individual lived here, including Yuan Jianzhe.

It’s not that they didn’t want to live in the top-tier villas, they just couldn’t afford them yet. So, they could only live here and guard the street heavily.

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If he’d had that Innate Ability when he entered the mystery gate, he’d be swimming in Experience Gems! The final chamber only had High-Grade Experience Gems, and each one was worth a hundred thousand Experience Fragments! So long as you could sneak past those vile rodents, wouldn’t you be able to take as many as you could carry?

Naturally, this was just Cheng Yang’s wishful thinking. Innate Abilities aren’t something you can get just cause you want them. Each one was preordained, and although Cheng Yang was able to upgrade one of his for being the first to receive a unique subclass, opportunities like that were rare. No one had found a stable method of changing one’s Innate Ability in his previous life, so Cheng Yang didn’t have any expectations.

Cheng Yang quickly tossed those distracting thoughts to the side.

After taking another look at Dong Sizhou’s system pane, Cheng Yang’s mouth twitched into a slight smile.

“Dong Sizhou, don’t you have something you want to tell me? Like, say, your real name?”

In place of his name, Dong Sizhou’s system pane showed a string of question marks. Cheng Yang had an acute understanding of the Identify skill’s effects, and this was a phenomenon that occurred when you didn’t know the other person’s name. This was definitely the same person as before, so the only explanation was that “Dong Sizhou” had lied about his name!

“Dong Sizhou’s” eyes darted around the room. Ever since he noticed the appearance of the Identify skill, he’d been panicking since he had no way of knowing if he was the only person to receive the skill or if everyone had. Since it had appeared at the same time as the change in the gods’ rules, he could only assume everyone had it.

So, when he saw Cheng Yang open the door to enter, his heart nearly jumped out of this ribcage. After hearing Cheng Yang’s words, his complexion became sickly. He wasn’t a fool. It was apparent Cheng Yang had used Identify on him.

He’d tried using the skill on Cheng Yang so he’d know what his opponent could see, but it had failed! The only thing he learned was that Cheng Yang was vastly stronger than him.

“I apologize. My real name is Tan Chao.” Since he didn’t know what information Identify could reveal, Tan Chao had no choice but to come clean. “I only lied earlier because I was worried you would inform the safe zone of my captivity and betrayal. If Lu Chenguang knew I had betrayed her, she wouldn’t let me off easily.”

Cheng Yang glanced at the system pane. Where there had previously been a string of question marks was the name Tan Chao. It would seem he hadn’t lied this time.

“Good, if it was only to that extent, I could still consider you to be an honest person.” Cheng Yang said with an unfathomable smile. “However, you also said that you were able to sneak in because the guards were slacking. I think that statement ought to give you a moment of concern, don’t you?”

“This…” For a moment, Tan Chao was unsure how he ought to answer.

“Since you don’t want to admit it, I’ll say it. You’re trying to hide your stealth skill so you can find an opportunity to escape, right?”

At that moment, Tan Chao’s eyes flashed with despair. Previously, he hoped that Cheng Yang wouldn’t see his Innate Ability while using Identify. Was the difference in strength between them so high? Had every one of his secrets been exposed in an instant?

“Since everything else you said was a lie, it would seem that your so-called fears are probably a lie too.” Cheng Yang said without giving Tan Chao time to explain himself. “Yu Kai, I don’t think our friend enjoyed your special service enough last time. Skin him again.”

Tan Chao’s face turned deathly pale. That was something he never wanted to experience ever again. Now that his lies were exposed, what could he do? Was there anything he could say that would prevent Cheng Yang from torturing him?

Seeing Yu Kai pull out his tools, Tan Chao broke.

“Wait! Please wait! I’ll talk!”

Cheng Yang stretched out his arm to block Yu Kai.

“Then speak.”

Seeing their faces, Tan Chao grit his teeth.

“Only if you accept my condition. If you do, I’ll tell you everything I know from beginning to end. Otherwise, I- I’ll never speak even if it kills me!”

“Let’s hear it.”

“My son. They took my son. If you can save my son, I’ll tell you everything.” Tan Chao said, holding back tears. “Moreover, if you think highly of me, I’m willing to become your dog!”

“Oh?” Tan Chao’s words triggered a memory of Cheng Yang’s past life. Memories of a rumor about a man with abilities very similar to Tan Chao’s.

In that timeline, Joyous River Village was under the control of Lu Chenguang, the second militia head. Supposedly, she had an extremely formidable assassin under her control that could arrive without a shadow and leave without footprints. However, she could only control that assassin because she had their weakness grasped within her hands.

That assassin was only ever rumored. No one could confirm them, and Lu Chenguang always denied them.

However, Tan Chao’s existence confirmed those rumors! With the Erase Presence skill, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he could arrive without a shadow and leave without footprints.

Although he wasn’t originally going to agree to Tan Chao’s request, he couldn’t resist the temptation of obtaining a powerful subordinate.

“Do you know where your son is being held?” Cheng Yang asked tentatively.

“I do, but that place has dozens of guards. Even though I can get in using my skills, it’s impossible to bring my son out with me without being noticed. If I tried and failed, who knows what they’d do.” Tan Chao said with a forced smile. “Also, I can’t guarantee that the location hasn’t been changed. After all, I’ve been imprisoned for quite a while.”

Cheng Yang wrinkled his brows. That would be a problem.

“Just let me know where he was before you left. If he’s still there, I have complete certainty that I’ll be able to rescue him. Otherwise, I can only promise that I’ll try my best. Also, tell me how old he is and any distinguishing characteristics he has.”

“He’s being kept in room 401 of the apartment building behind the Grocery.” Tan Chao said with a profound sigh. “He’s eight, and other than a mole the size of a currant on the back of his head, he doesn’t have any distinguishing features.”

“Good. Stay here. I’ll take a look at the situation. Then we can talk more.”

After saying that, Cheng Yang left the room, and Yu Kai followed him out.

“My Lord, do you actually believe anything that guy said?” Yu Kai asked after they’d walked an appropriate distance away.

“Yu Kai, when you used Identify on Tan Chao, what did you see?” Instead of answering his friend, Cheng Yang posed a question.

“Everything except his Innate Abilities and Skills.”

“I could see his entire system pane. His name was hidden in the beginning, but after he gave us the name ‘Tan Chao,’ I was able to see it. So, at the very least, he has that much sincerity towards us. Even if the stuff about his son is a lie, my visions can verify that it’s close enough to the truth.” Cheng Yang said. “Alright, you need to stay here and deal with the refugees. I’m going to go to a safe zone and investigate. Since Tan Chao can be considered someone talented, I’ll take the opportunity to do a good deed and force him into service under me. Don’t you think I’m too nice?”

Yu Kai chuckled. Tan Chao must have a really powerful skill if his friend was acting like this.

It didn’t take long for Cheng Yang to reach the safe zone after leaving Silkworm Mountain.

Seeing the chaos, he couldn’t help but laugh. Previously he’d vowed not to bother with the safe zone during this period, but now he had no choice but to join the fray.

He hoped that Lu Chenguang hadn’t moved Tan Chao’s son to a different location. Either way, he would have to hurry.

At the moment, the safe zone was still in lockdown with a Professional standing guard every meter or so. Even Cheng Yang had no choice but to admire that show of force. At least a hundred thousand people were guarding the barrier!

As one could expect, there was a dense crowd of refugees in front of the guards. Although a few hundred thousand people had rushed in earlier, over a million were still waiting outside, and they would keep waiting until Yuan Jianzhe pacified the one’s that had already gotten inside.

Even though there were over a million refugees, the Professionals’ presence was a strong enough deterrent force to prevent a riot. After all, the corpses of particularly rowdy refugees already littered the ground.

Fortunately, Yuan Jianzhe was a considerate man. Even though he prevented the refugees from entering, he recalled the soldiers hunting monsters in the city to come to protect them from any monsters that spawned nearby.

Naturally, this wasn’t an easy task.

Although newly spawned monsters were usually at the Low-Grade level and were killed instantly, too many people gathered here, which attracted monsters from deeper in the city. Among those, there was no shortage of Standard-Grade monsters, and the occasional High-Grade or Elite monster would appear. At those times, loss of life was inevitable.

Even though there were thousands, Yuan Jianzhe could turn a blind eye to the scattered groups of civilians still struggling in ruins. However, it was impossible to ignore the lives of over a million people.

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Old Lee promptly acknowledged Cheng Yang’s command. Although it was essential to create a comprehensive system, it wasn’t an easy task. After all, it would involve monitoring tens of thousands of Adventurers. However, so long as he could find some people with managerial experience, it wouldn’t take long.

“Old Lee, I want you to arrange for normal people to become farmers.” Cheng Yang said soon after. “Afterwards, have the soldiers clean up the monsters outside the wall so the Farmers can begin constructing their Farms. The sooner, the better.”
“What about the materials? If we use the wood in the village, I reckon we’ll need to delay construction of the wall again.” Old Lee said.

Surprisingly, Cheng Yang was calm and gave a straightforward reply: “It’s not important since when the number of Professionals in the territory increases, a non-negligible number will become Loggers, increasing our lumber output. As for the wall, it doesn’t matter if it’s construction is delayed a few days since I’m still far from reaching the Low-Grade Scholar level. However, the Farms need to be built outside the range we planned for the High-Grade Wall, so we won’t need to relocate them once that area is needed for residential purposes.”

“I understand,” Old Lee replied, “but I think the Farms ought to be built even further away. After all, Phoenix Village will be our capital in the future, and the population will be enormous. Before the apocalypse, it wouldn’t be a problem for 36 square kilometers of land to house a few million people. After all, at that time, a skyscraper could accommodate over a thousand people. However, the tallest buildings we have access to are the two-story Meditation Halls with a low residential density. Suppose we arrange for each family to live in a Meditation Hall. At most, the village would fit a few hundred thousand people.”

Cheng Yang stated: “That won’t be a problem. The Farms are more like ranches, so the Farmer’s won’t need to leave very often. As for the soldiers, they’ll spend most of their time outside the village anyway. So, in the future, the Inner and Outer Villages’ actual population won’t be that high. The land we have is barely enough.”

Since Cheng Yang was confident, Old Lee didn’t press the issue. The two continued to discuss for a period, but not too long later, Old Lee left to attend to his affairs.

Cheng Yang checked the time. It was only three in the afternoon. After pondering for a while, he left Phoenix Village and made a beeline for Silkworm Mountain.

Following the path, Cheng Yang passed the Cloud City safe zone. He saw that a crowd had gathered outside the barrier as if they had been blocked from entering. Unexpectedly, Cheng Yang knew why.

Yuan Jianzhe had taken similar actions when this happened in Cheng Yang’s previous life. After all, he had a powerful military force at his beck and call, and he could rally support from the other powerful factions in the safe zone. At that time, the number of Professionals in the safe zone had been in the tens of thousands. So, most of, if not all, of the citizens obeyed his orders.

Yuan Jianzhe’s actions were an understandable response to the sudden appearance of a large number of refugees. The safe zone didn’t have a physical barrier like the Wall Phoenix Village has, so nothing stopped the refugees from rushing into the safe zone in that split-second after the gods imparted onto them the knowledge of how to become a Professional.

The safe zone’s light screen barrier had a circumference of barely ten kilometers. As a result, in just that split second, two to three hundred thousand people had rushed into the safe zone because of their advantageous location near the edge of the barrier.

Their arrival caused chaos in the safe zone, and as more people rushed in, it only got worse.
When Yuan Jianzhe heard the news, the refugees had already permeated the majority of the safe zone.

Understandably, Yuan Jianzhe was incredibly perplexed as to where on Earth these people had burrowed out from. How did several hundred thousand people all appear so suddenly? However, when he became aware of the situation outside the barrier, he still didn’t know the actual number of people who hadn’t entered the safe zone yet. In an instant, the safe zone, which had had a semblance of order, descended into a state of unease and disorder.

Fortunately, Yuan Jianzhe was very decisive compared to most people. He knew that if he didn’t appear capable during this crisis, the old and new powers in the safe zone would suppress him. Perhaps in the future, the safe zone would be subjected to a terrible change in management.

Unfortunately, most of Yuan Jianzhe’s soldiers were busy killing monsters in the city. He was forced to inform the safe zone’s several militias as well as a few large regiments of mercenaries under his control using his fastest messengers. As expected, those groups reacted quickly. Immediately after arriving near the barrier, they temporarily blocked the refugees who hadn’t been able to enter the safe zone in time.

At the same time, Yuan Jianzhe sent more than ten thousand Professionals to manage the refugees and their integration into the safe zone. He could not let all those people charge into the safe zone in a disorderly manner. If the refugees incited a large-scale conflict and the original residents were to take part, it would be very troublesome.

But, this is almost a hundred thousand people we’re talking about. It’d impossible to say who will suppress whom. It’s hard to avoid bloodshed during a process like this, and sometimes one must employ violent methods.

It’s only natural that Yuan Jianzhe paid close attention to his orders. Contrary to expectations, he approved for every one of those people who were waiting to enter the safe zone within a few hours. If he hadn’t, because of the grudge both sides would bear, they may end up trying to drive the other out.

To pacify the refugees, Yuan Jianzhe would have to dedicate a lot of time. Then and only then would he be able to prevent these chaotic events from continuing. At that point, however, it would already be two days after the initial event.

Cheng Yang hadn’t paid any attention to the trivial details of the safe zone. Now, he looked forwards to Yuan Jianzhe, once again, being occupied by a few things. By the time Yuan Jianzhe was unoccupied, Cheng Yang would have already settled the subsidiary village’s affairs and would undoubtedly be able to resolve the matter of the safe zone slowly.

If the threat that Yuan Jianzhe represented couldn’t be thoroughly eliminated, Cheng Yang believed that he would probably be cornered. This certainly isn’t an outcome that Cheng Yang wants to see.

Ten minutes later, Cheng Yang had arrived at Silkworm Mountain.

Cheng Yang made a rough guess regarding the village’s state of affairs. Like Phoenix Village, the area surrounding Silkworm Mountain should be teaming with refugees sent there by the gods. However, there should be fewer as compared to Phoenix Village. Maybe only a hundred thousand or so people. Even so, the sudden appearance of a hundred thousand people would bring Yu Kai no small amount of pressure.

Fortunately, Yu Kai didn’t harbor the kinds of suspicions Zhao Chuan had. He thought the refugees were NPCs. After intimidating them with a show of military force, he let them enter the village bit by bit.

So when Cheng Yang arrived, he was the only person outside the wall.

Cheng Yang quickly entered the village. The gate guard recognized him, so he assigned someone to notify Yu Kai after greeting Cheng Yang.

Cheng Yang did not stop this as he needed to see Yu Kai as soon as possible.

A few minutes later, Yu Kai ran over and called out: “My Lord, you came just in time! Earlier, a bunch of people showed up outside the wall, and I don’t know what to do. After questioning them, I learned that these people are survivors from cities and towns in the area, so I let them in. However, I don’t have a clue as to how I should handle them.”

Cheng Yang ran Yu Kai through his plan. It was simply to have the majority of the refugees become Farmers and have the rest go to the safe zone to perform class change ceremonies when the safe zone is stabilized.

Yu Kai didn’t have an opinion, but shortly after, he asked: “My Lord, did you come here just to talk about that?”

“Of course not. Didn’t we arrest someone two days ago? Did that guy have any unusual changes?”

Yu Kai let out a bitter laugh.

“It’s as if this guy accepted his fate. We locked him in a Meditation Hall and haven’t noticed anything unusual.”

“Let’s go and take a look.”

“It’ll be the same as before. Apart from eating and sleeping, that guy doesn’t do anything else.”

Cheng Yang chuckled.

“It seems that you’re busy out of your mind. I reckon you probably haven’t had the time to take a good look at your system pane since the gods changed their rules, right?”

“Oh?” Yu Kai was stunned. He quickly opened his system pane. What he saw gave him a pleasant surprise. It turned out that there was an additional reconnaissance skill!

If Yu Kai still couldn’t understand Cheng Yang’s intentions, he really ought to go look for the village missing its idiot.

“Lord, does everyone have this skill?” Yu Kai asked.

After getting an affirmation from Cheng Yang, Yu Kai smiled devilishly.

“Are you planning to use Identify to see that guy’s attributes? Hehe, considering the difference in strength between you and him, I reckon he won’t be able to hide a single thing?”

“I merely want to see if he was lying.” Cheng Yang neither confirmed nor denied it.

Yu-Kai couldn’t read between the lines of what Cheng Yang said. He thought Cheng Yang was spewing hot air, so he didn’t ask and led Cheng Yang towards the Meditation Hall where Dong Sizhou was being detained.

Soon afterward, they arrived outside the Meditation Hall. Two Professionals were still guarding the door. Both were core members of the Fox Hunting Battalion at the Standard-Grade Apprentice level. Otherwise, Yu-Kai, how could Yu Kai feel assured letting them guard that Dong Sizhuo?

“Did that guy have any abnormal behavior?” Yu Kai softly asked after drawing near

One of the guards hurried forward and said, “My Lord, Commander, that guy has constantly been fidgeting in there ever since the gods’ rules changed at noon. I don’t know what the hell is going on.”

Yu-Kai was baffled at first, but it quickly dawned on him.

“This guy might actually have a secret.” Yu Kai laughed with a mischievous smile. “I reckon he’s discovered the sudden appearance of the Identify skill by now. Hehe, He can’t sit still anymore! My Lord, what should we do now?”

Cheng Yang didn’t immediately answer. Rather, he walked in front of the Meditation Hall and asked another guard to open the door. After skillfully using Identify for the first time on Dong Sizhuo, Cheng Yang instantly perceived that guy’s attributes.

He was merely a Low-Grade Ranger. In Phoenix Village, he would be an average individual who couldn’t be a more ordinary Professional. That’s all. However, there was something that differentiated him from others. It laid with his Innate Abilities.

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Innate Abilities

• King of Shadows (Special Ability): As the King of Shadows you have access to the unique skill Erase Presence. The skill allows you to avoid detection by anything other than a unique skill within the same evolutionary stage or lower.
• Receive 30% higher stat increase in the Movement Speed attribute when you level up

Skills

• Erase Presence (Unique): Negate detection by all mundane and magical means | Cost: 20 MP | Duration: 10 minutes | Cooldown: 1 hour

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That guy’s second Innate Ability was unimpressive, but the first one completely defied the world’s natural order! The skill it provided was challenging to deal with.

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Having so many refugees arrive at his doorstep saved Cheng Yang the trouble of transported them from the Cloud City safe zone himself. Civilians were the backbone of a territory’s agricultural economy. Phoenix Village’s previous population of a hundred thousand civilians wasn’t quite enough to support the entire domain.

That number had suddenly doubled, and although Cheng Yang didn’t know for sure, the other villages should also have experienced explosive population growth. Rather than just satisfying his territory’s needs, Cheng Yang would even be able to export food!

So, Cheng Yang scrapped his plans to obtain laborers from the safe zone. Since he didn’t need it, it wasn’t necessary to risk bringing a spy to the village. A few spies wouldn’t be a huge problem, but it would be a hassle if Yuan Jianzhe tried something.

However, the refugees here would need to visit the safe zone eventually. There weren’t enough quota slots in the village, and it would be wasteful if those refugees were incapable of fighting. To leave a strong impression on them, Cheng Yang planned to force them to switch to the Farmer Profession before going to the safe zone.

That’s why Old Lee and his assistants were registering all of the refugees and current citizens. The registry was more than just a name and an age. The most important part was the individual’s plans for the future. Without a doubt, it was a very time-consuming job.

For those that didn’t want to fight, their only option was to become a farmer or get permission to switch to one of the other Professions. There were many such people. After all, working within the village’s confines guaranteed their safety and livelihood without fighting monsters. They wouldn’t have much, but they’d have clothes, food, and shelter.

Before the apocalypse, most people shied away from manual labor, but now countless people rushed to do it. Even if a soldier’s standard of living is several times higher than a farmer’s, some people will value their lives more. After all, if you weren’t forced to join, who would want to be in the military?

However, there would also be some people that wanted to get ahead. Becoming a soldier was the fastest way to gain power, wealth, and prestige. When the population survey is complete, Cheng Yang planned to take people like that to the safe zone to perform a class change ceremony.

The latest patch also introduced a change in the functionality of class change statues. Two new features were added: Naturalization and Fealty.

Those two functions were designed to allow people who performed their class change ceremony in a safe zone to become a part of a territory officially. The most obvious benefit was that the class change statue research bonuses would affect them.

Of course, there was a difference between Naturalization and Fealty.

Naturalizing an individual consumed a slot from the corresponding class change statue’s and bestowed its full research bonus onto the individual. However, if there weren’t any available slots, Naturalization was impossible.

Fealty allowed an individual to pledge loyalty to a territory and doesn’t require any open slots. The downside is that only half the research bonus will apply. Even so, it was a highly coveted process.

The number of people who could pledge Fealty to territory was also limited to a hundred times the class change statues’ total slots. Presently, Phoenix Village could apply Fealty to a few million people.

Cheng Yang watched Old Lee from a distance until the other man noticed him. When he did, Old Lee dropped what he was doing and walked over.

“My Lord, we have taken all of the refugees into the village for resettlement.” Old Lee said calmly.

“Great. How does it look so far?”

“Our current population is around two hundred seventy thousand, of which we’ve surveyed twenty thousand. Forty percent are willing to become Adventurers while the other sixty percent want to pursue a non-combat career. In general, older people tend towards non-combat positions, and younger people are more willing to fight.”

“That’s about what I expected.” Cheng Yang mused. “In other words, we’ll eventually have over a hundred thousand Adventurers… that’s a lot. Old Lee, come with me back to my place. We need to deliberate on how we want to handle this.”

Old Lee didn’t refuse. At this point, it didn’t matter whether he was here to supervise his assistant or not.

When they arrived at Cheng Yang’s Meditation Hall, they sat down to deliberate.

“Old Lee, our population increased by almost a hundred and sixty thousand people today. It was a surprise, even for me. If all of them performed a class change ceremony, their combat prowess couldn’t be looked down upon. It would increase the territory’s ability to defend itself from monsters, but that many Adventurers will be hard to control with only four thousand official soldiers. Do you have any suggestions?”

Cheng Yang already knew what methods of control worked and which ones led to disaster. The reason he asked Old Lee was to test him. In the future, Old Lee would occupy a vital position in his empire, and he needed to be worthy of it.

“My Lord, this subordinate was pondering on that problem while collecting the survey data. IF you intend to allow every civilian to perform a class change ceremony, we’ll need to expand our military. Otherwise, if there’s an emergency, we will only be able to respond passively.”

“Expansion will be necessary. Anything else?”

“If we examine how the gods’ rules work, you’ll see that Professionals aren’t the only threat to stability. Certain Professions will be an economic danger if they are left to their own devices. Therefore, it will be necessary to strengthen our control of people with Professions.” Old Lee tactfully kept his involvement in military matters to a minimum and focused on how his newly created administrative department could help. “Take Farmers, for example. To better manage them, we can divide them into groups based on their geographic proximity to one another. Managers would be assigned to each group of a hundred farms that we could designate as branches. We could further group these branches into a bureaucratic chain of command leading to you. A similar system could be implemented for other Professions as well. What do you think, my Lord?”

“A hundred is a bit much for a single administrative unit, but it should be fine for Farmers since they only do one thing. The details aren’t important right now, anyway.” Cheng Yang said after a few minutes of rumination. “Which do you think is better: an employment system or a taxation system?”

Old Lee hadn’t thought of that yet, so he needed some time to think about the question.

“My Lord, this subordinate feels it will be better to use an employment system at present. It would give the civilians a greater sense of security and better guarantee that the territory’s interests are addressed. Especially since all of the resources necessary for Farming and the other Professions are provided by us and protected by the military.” Old Lee said. “IF we used a tax system and set the taces too low, the territory will suffer, but if we set them too high, there will be discontent. Better to avoid the situation entirely. Moreover, everything produced, whether it be food, weapons, or other supplies, are strategic war materials. It would be for the best to have the government handle the distribution of those resources.”

Cheng Yang was satisfied when he heard Old Lee’s answer since it coincided with his current plans. A tax system would only be viable once Phoenix Village escaped a state of constant crisis.

“My Lord, how do you plan to handle the Adventurers?” Old Lee asked after seeing Cheng Yang’s expression and knowing his idea had been approved.

“That’s easy. We’ll suppress them with military strength but increasing the quality and quantity of our soldiers. Then, we’ll collect taxes from them. Every transaction they make will be taxed, including their food. We’ll assume people will attempt to evade the taxes and establish a system of punishments. Then, when an Adventuring group breaks the rules, punish them according to the publicized laws.”

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The moment the gate cracked opened, the refugees rushed in like crazy. The ones in the front were pushed in by the ones in the back, and if they were too weak from malnutrition, they were trampled upon. It was a chaotic scene that soon filled the air with screams.

“Stop!” Cheng Yang anxiously roared. If he let this continue, the civilians living in the village would get caught up in it. But, whatever authority Cheng Yang once held in their minds was long gone. Anyone that bothered to listen was pushed to the ground as the other continued to rush forwards.

Forced to make a quick decision, Cheng Yang used his authority to force the gate to shut on its own. Once it had closed, there was nothing the people outside could do to open it. Once they realized that, wails of despair replaced the screams from before.

Cheng Yang surveyed the scene with a horribly cold expression.

The chaos had only lasted a few seconds, but dozens of injured people lay on the ground. Most of them were moaning and crying out in pain, but a few laid perfectly still. If they weren’t dead, they would be soon.

“Restrain everyone who just came in.” As soon as Cheng Yang said the order, his soldiers sprang into action.

Aside from the people on the ground, a hundred or so people had made their way inside the walls. Except for the first dozen or so people who had been at the front, these refugees had forced their way inside and were responsible for the injured individuals on the ground. Now they would have to face the consequences of their actions.

Even as the soldiers rushed towards them, the refugees were congratulating themselves on being fast enough to avoid getting locked out. Once the first couple of them were captured, they panicked and tried to escape. However, the soldiers were too fast.. Without exception, the refugees were subdued and restrained.

The refugees didn’t know why they were being arrested, but even an idiot would realize what they needed to do next. Every one of them started crying out for forgiveness and begging Cheng Yang for mercy.

Cheng Yang didn’t bother listening to the pleas of his captives. He had no sympathy for people like them.

“Lock these ruffians into a Meditation Hall. Except for those that were pushed inside, sentence them to a year of forced labor. Let’s see how unruly they’ll be after that.”

It was a harsh punishment. The only jobs suitable for forced labor were those so dangerous that other civilians couldn’t be paid to do it. Furthermore, there was no way Cheng Yang would let any of them become Professionals.

At first, the detained refugees were relieved that Cheng Yang had spared their lives. However, it didn’t take long for them to realize the implications. Once they did, their relief turned to despair. If they were forced to toil while everyone else performed class change ceremonies, they’d be stuck at the bottom for the rest of their lives.

As the detainees were escorted away, Cheng Yang turned his attention to the mob outside the gate.

“You all seem a little too excited. The gate will remain closed for the next half hour. If you still aren’t calm by then, we’ll repeat the process.”

After making his announcement, Cheng Yang jumped down from the wall. Even though the refugees begged him to let them in, he pretended not to hear them. He didn’t want to make the same mistake again.

“Old Lee, keep an eye on the situation here. Don’t open the gate until their able to enter in an orderly fashion. If they want to enter my village, they’ll need to learn to follow my rules.”

As Cheng Yang walked towards the Inner Village, Old Lee got to work cleaning up the mess. He oversaw the healing of the injured and arranged the burial of those that died in the stampede.

He also divided the two battalions into four groups—one at each gate.

All that remained was to wait.

After a while, the crowd outside the gate settled down. They’d been loud and upset at first, but they came to understand that nothing they did or said would force the people inside to open the gates. So, since they had no other choice, they followed Cheng Yang’s instructions.

Even so, Old Lee didn’t open the gate. Cheng Yang said they’d have to wait at least half an hour. So, Old Lee wouldn’t open it any sooner. It was to uphold Cheng Yang’s authority and make sure the crowd stayed passive.

Once the required time had passed, Old Lee opened the gate. At the same time, the other three gates opened as well.

This would have been impossible in the past since there were only three people in the village capable of controlling the gates. Now, however, the gates were controlled with a lever that anyone could use. Of course, Cheng Yang could still control the gates like before.

There were pros and cons to this new rule. The defense system was much more flexible now since the soldiers didn’t need to wait for an approved individual, but the gates also needed powerful guards.

This time the refugees were much more subdued. To make sure it stayed that way, Old Lee had the soldiers standing in neat lines with their weapons drawn. It sent a clear message.

Under the direction and coordination of Old Lee, the refugees were divided into batches and sent to various places in the outer village. There weren’t any houses, but the walls provided a strong sense of security.

The initially crowded village was starting to feel claustrophobic. There were only nine square kilometers of space but enough people for Phoenix Village to count as a small country. There were no tall buildings to make it worse, so everyone had to huddle together on the ground.

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While Old Lee handled the refugee crisis, Cheng Yang was using the Barracks’ training facilities.

The patch applied by the gods today introduced far more than just Farmers and refugees. It had fundamentally changed the rules of combat.

Previously, the Mana cost and damage of a skill were set in stone. Today’s patch allowed a person to control the amount of Mana used. The maximum limit was the current amount needed to use the skill, but you could use less if you didn’t need your full strength to kill a monster.

Another combat change was the introduction of friendly fire. Now, even if you were running an instance dungeon together or were part of the same Army or Party, if an ally’s attack hit you, it would deal damage.

However, neither of those changes was the reason Cheng Yang was using the training facilities. After all, he was more used to this new style of combat than the old one.

He was here because he had nothing better to do than hone his skills. It wasn’t worth it to hunt monsters anymore since he made so many Experience Fragments from the Auction House, so he might as well spent time training.

From now on, his schedule would consist of training in the Barracks, governing the villages, and clearing Nightmare Difficulty instance dungeons.

Cheng Yang was a bit of a flake before. Even though he was the Lord, he would spend his time farming monsters and running instance dungeons. He spent less than an hour each day supervising the village.

However, if Cheng Yang hadn’t focused so much on his personal growth, the territory wouldn’t have grown either. It was that work that allowed him to comfortably make money from the Stones of Return and his special potions. Now he had time to focus on the village instead of desperately kill monsters.

He had even less reason to go hunting now that his soldiers had matured enough to do that themselves. Whether it was dealing with hordes or cleaning up scraps, the battalions of Phoenix Village could handle it.

Cheng Yang used the training facility for three hours before leaving the Barracks.

He visited the Outer Village and found Old Lee hard at work.

Old Lee was with several soldiers from the army he hoped to bring into his newly formed administrative department. There was no shortage of soldiers, so a few being diverted from active combat. Their main job was to compile statistics about the refugees and their resettlement.

Cheng Yang said he was lax in his administration of the territory because he didn’t pay any attention to the civilians living there. At the time, they weren’t productive and were only a drain on his resources. Even now, he didn’t want to deal with them, so he passed the burden to Old Lee. Something he excused by saying the majority of the territory administration would come from civilians.

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After making Old Lee the Governor, he summoned the head of the Imperial Guard to announce Old Lee’s new authority. At the same time, two Imperial Guard members were assigned the duty of escorting Old Lee and acting as his assistants.

Cheng Yang didn’t plan for Old Lee’s new assistants to stay with him for very long since it was a wasteful use of their abilities. Rather, it was a choice made to discourage the civilians from causing a ruckus. Old Lee was well known among the soldiers, but the Imperial Guard was better known among the civilians since they handled public security.

Finally, Cheng Yang wrote and signed a notice of appointment and had someone hold it outside the Alchemy Tower.

It was funny to see a piece of printer paper taped to the door, but Cheng Yang was helpless when it came to choosing a location. Unless the system built it, structures inside the walls would collapse within an hour.

Thankfully that was another privilege that would be included in the next patch. As long as it was strictly above ground, the gods would allow people in the territories to build their own structures. Of course, they would be far inferior to something made by the system.

One of the plans Cheng Yang made with Old Lee was to set up a few temporary buildings to use for administration. First, an office for the two of them and then other facilities like a Health Department, a Logistics Department, a Construction Department, a Department of Public Security, etc.

Cheng Yang was a layman on those matters. In his previous life, the closest he got to helping build something was fetching the tools people needed. After all, as an Adventurer, he’d never been allowed to enter a Lord’s inner circle. Fortunately, Old Lee was very experienced with construction, allowing Cheng Yang to rest easy and leave it to him.

“My Lord!” Suddenly Zhao Chuan ran up to Cheng Yang and Old Lee. “My Lord, something strange is happening outside. All of a sudden, a large group of people showed up right outside the wall. They’re dressed like humans, but they might be NPCs. You should see for yourself.”

At first, Cheng Yang was shocked, but a moment later, everything made sense.

“Don’t worry. These people aren’t a threat to us. They’re refugees that have been living in the wilderness since the earthquake struck. Let them in and help them get settled.” Cheng Yang said, “Old Lee, I’ll leave this task in your hands.”

Old Lee nodded them turned to Zhao Chuan.

“General Zhao, how many refugees are out there?”

“A lot, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more people out there than in the village.” Zhao Chuan said, trusting in Cheng Yang’s judgment. “I didn’t have time to check everyone with my Inspect skill, but I’m fairly certain no one there is a Professional.”

Cheng Yang already knew about the Inspect skill, but this was Old Lee’s first time hearing about it, so he asked Zhao Chuan to show him the skill’s system pane.

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• Identify (Low-Grade): View another creatures system pane with information redacted based on the relative difference in strength | Cost: 5 MP | Duration: 30 sec | Proficiency: 13.4%

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“What a convenient skill! It’ll be even better in the future.” Old Lee said with an envious sigh. “My Lord, I’ll go take a look, but… I’ll need the help of one of the battalions if I’m going to maintain order among that many civilians.”

“Find Lu Cheng and have the Righteous Avenger’s battalion help you. Zhao Chuan, have your Snow Lepard battalion help out as well.” Cheng Yang said with a grin. “Oh yeah, you probably don’t know yet, but Old Lee stepped down as a general so he could focus on territory management. However, he still has the same level of authority as you.”

Zhao Chuan wanted to say something but held his tongue. If Cheng Yang had agreed to it, the decision was final. There was no reason to argue.

Then, Old Lee and Zhao Chuan left to deal with the refugees.

After they left, Cheng Yang traveled towards the village’s outskirts and reached it a few moments later.

Quite a few people were milling around the base of the wall. A few of them were scattered about the perimeter, but most of them were clustered near the gate, trying to get in.

The sea of people felt even bigger than the sea on monsters he’d fought a few days earlier. If all of the gates were like this, the previous estimate Zhao Chuan gave him would be far too low.

The other thing Cheng Yang noticed was the noise. Tens of thousands of people desperate clamoring for the gate to open. Most of them begged and pleaded, but a few were less polite with their demands.

Cheng Yang had suspected as much, and now he could confirm that these people were the refugees from the cities without safe zones. Moreover, the satellite villages probably had refugees on their doorstep too.

It was unexpected, but it made sense that this would happen. In his previous life, no one had claimed a Territory Altar yet, so naturally, all of the refugees would be sent to the safe zones. Since safe zones and territories were similar existences, of course, some of the refugees would end up here this time around.

Extrapolating from previous population data, we can guess that there would be around seven million people within the range of the Cloud City safe zone before the apocalypse. Assuming two-thirds died, there would still be three million survivors. Excluding the half-million already in the safe zone and rounding down, there would be at least two million refugees arriving today.

Assuming all the villages under Cheng Yang’s control were in a similar situation, there would be five hundred to seven hundred thousand survivors diverted away from Cloud City.

Even so, with over a million people suddenly appearing in the safe zone, Yuan Jianzhe would have a hard time. The chaos wouldn’t last as long as in his previous life, but the safe zone would be inoperable for at least four or five days.

The safe zone had a lot of advantages in keeping order. Killing was forbidden in the safe zone, and since everyone who passed through the screen of light was imprinted with knowledge about the gods’ rules, they wouldn’t be willing to try anything dangerous.

Suddenly Cheng Yang frowned. He wasn’t worried about Pheonix Village’s ability to control the refugees, but the satellite villages wouldn’t know how to handle the matter. It would be especially tricky for the ones near Yicheng.

While he was ruminating, some refugees recognized that Cheng Yang seemed to hold some authority in the village. When they did, they shouted at him to open the door, causing the rest to join in. Inevitably, some of them crossed the line with their words.

It was no wonder why these people were so desperate. What if a monster appeared?

Realizing the situation would spiral out of control if he stayed silent, Cheng Yang addressed the crowd.

“Be quiet. The gate will open for you soon.” Thanks to his high stats, Cheng Yang’s voice was loud enough to drown out the refugees’ squabbling and stun them into silence.

But, that silence only lasted a few moments before someone shouted back at Cheng Yang.

“Why should we wait? What if a monster kills someone? Will you take responsibility?”

“Why should I take responsibility?” Cheng Yang asked with a cold sneer. “I’m letting you in because I am merciful, not because it is my responsibility. If you don’t want to follow my rules, you won’t be allowed in today.”

After that, no one talked back. Even if they were arrogant, no one wanted to be forbidden from entering the village. Especially since they knew Cheng Yang had the power to stop them.

Cheng Yang didn’t know about it since there wasn’t a similar situation in his previous life, but the refugees already knew all about the gods’ rules since they’d experience the same imprinting of knowledge as those teleported to the safe zones. They didn’t know precisely how powerful Cheng Yang was, but they knew he was at least as powerful as a monster, so they knew he could keep them out if he wanted to.

Not only that, but it was evident to them that Cheng Yang wasn’t the only Professional. Everyone else patrolling the wall seemed to have one too.

Seeing that the crowd was still anxious about the possibility of a monster attack, Cheng Yang decided to comfort them.

“You needn’t worry about monsters here. The area under your feet belongs to my Pheonix Village. As long as you are within a kilometer of these walls, monsters will not spawn. Please rest assured.”

Hearing that, the crowd settled down. Although they only took his words with a grain of salt, they’d been here for half an hour already, so if Cheng Yang were lying, they would have been attacked already.

Although the occasional person still threatened him under cover of anonymity, Cheng Yang ignored them. It would be trifling to kill them, but there was no reason to do so even if they were a thorn in his side. He wanted to give the refugees the impression of a stern Lord, not a bloodthirsty one. They would be his subjects in the future, so he didn’t want to alienate them.

In Cheng Yang’s opinion, a Lord who resorted to murdering their citizens would never win their trust. A Lord like that would need to watch their backs at all times. It wasn’t the future Cheng Yang wanted for himself.

A few minutes later, Old Lee arrived accompanied by the soldiers of his old battalion and Zhao Chuan’s battalion. They built a solid human wall inside the wall, and then the gate was opened.

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