Chapter 131 - Taking Control
With the new and unexpected acquisition of the Lower Leader subclass, to say that in front of Bai Zemin a new world with infinite doors representing countless possibilities had appeared was not an exaggeration in the least.
The power that the Lower Leader subclass provided him at the moment was truly pitiful and could practically be easily ignored. However, this was so at this moment only because Bai Zemin had a total of just over 1000 people under his control.
But what would happen when that number grew? What if at some point Bai Zemin came to control the entire Yangqing District? How about all of Beijing?
How about all of China? Even more terrifying... How about the whole planet Earth?
Bai Zemin's subclass was currently at the lowest possible point, but when he had ten thousand survivors under his rule the subclass would evolve to the next level and the power provided would probably increase by a notch... But the real increase in power was with the survivors!
For every 1000 survivors, Bai Zemin's power would increase by 0.1%! Such an amount might not be too much, but if at some point he could once again unite all of China's surviving inhabitants under his flag, the increase in power would undoubtedly be massive!
Bai Zemin shuddered at the thought of such terrifying entities as the various leaders of the Higher Existences. They already had their own armies with hundreds of thousands and even millions of terrifying beings and at the same time received a great boost of power due to their positions as leaders and rulers.
Seeing that time passed and he still remained silent, Shangguan Bing Xue and the rest who were standing on the stage a short distance away frowned wondering if there was something wrong.
Forget it... Let's focus on what we can fix and leave what is beyond our control for later. Bai Zemin sighed secretly and shook his head slightly before turning his attention to the survivors who were still staring at him waiting for his words.
These people, as useless as some might be, were now a treasure in Bai Zemin's eyes. If he wanted to help Lilith and achieve his own ever-higher ambitions, he needed power; and the survivors were the fuel that could give him power just by being there.
"My name is Bai Zemin and I am the strongest person in this place." He began his monologue with a deep voice and a cold gaze, "I have already taken care of killing the four previous leaders of this place and now my people and I are claiming this village as our temporary base."
Hearing that the previous village leaders had been killed, the survivors muttered under their breath but did not seem too surprised. After all, the battle between Bai Zemin and the militants as well as Ye Qigang had been heard by all.
The gunshots and explosions had made it clear that there was a terrifying battle raging and since the unknown young man was on the stage but none of the previous bosses were anywhere to be seen, it was easy to assume what had happened in the end.
"Starting from today, each of you will receive relief rations consisting of 3 bowls of gruel per day. If you want to eat better or if you want to be able to eat your fill, then you will have to work to earn it!" Bai Zemin declared coldly and narrowed his eyes, "I won't let anyone starve, but I hate leeches... At the slightest case of disobedience, social disorder, rape, street violence, or homicide... That person will be executed without mercy!"
Although the survivors were a treasure to him, firm rules were needed and this was even more so in a world that was filled with chaos as Earth currently was. Therefore, Bai Zemin could not afford to waver with his attitude even if he had acquired a subclass.
Although his words were somewhat cruel, none of the survivors seemed upset; on the contrary, they all had glints of joy in their eyes. After all, before they could barely eat a bowl of gruel under the rule of Ye Qigang and the other three bosses, but now that Bai Zemin was taking over they could all eat much more!
"If anyone is dissatisfied, you can take your personal belongings and leave the village at will." Bai Zemin pointed out indifferently. "If you live under my protection and eat my food, then you will obey my orders! ... Now, you may all disperse and return to your homes. Tomorrow at sunrise all those who are interested in getting a job or becoming part of the new army troops should congregate at this very place."
Leaving those words behind, Bai Zemin ignored the applause and even exclamations of joy and walked off the stage; everyone was ecstatic! Especially when they heard that everyone could get jobs to eat better and even had the opportunity to join the army troops of the village and get some firearms!
In this new world, firearms were the easiest and most efficient source of protection for the survivors. Therefore, Bai Zemin's words had tempted hundreds of men and women.
* * *
Under the leadership of his new housekeeper, Qin Ming, Bai Zemin was guided to the main village.
On the other hand, Shangguan Bing Xue, Wu Yijun, Gao Min, Li Na, and Fan Wu, would be sharing Du Meng's villa. As friends, it was natural to live together and since the villa was large enough to accommodate a dozen people there would be no problem.
As for Chen He, he had Lei Su's villa to himself.
Different women had been prearranged as maids for the different villas. These women who had been forced by the different bosses or used and then thrown aside were delighted as they would not only be safer living under the same roof as strong people, but they could also receive better treatment and eat better food than the rest of the survivors.
Because Luo Cheng and Luo Ning's house had been destroyed by the militants who had raided during the night, a house closer to the center of the village had been quickly arranged for both of them.
The girl had easily entered Bai Zemin's heart as her innocence and purity reminded him of his younger sister Meng Qi. It was also for this reason that he wanted her to be closer to his grasp and fortunately the girl had been sleeping until now, so she was not too aware of the disaster or else who knows what her reaction would be.
"Why didn't you name me your housekeeper?" Lilith asked with an adorable pout as she bounced up and down on the comfy sprung bed. She had already returned to her original form and her overwhelming charm along with her two moving mountains was simply irresistible.
Bai Zemin couldn't help but let his eyes wander to her breast for a moment before returning to her face and saying through gritted teeth, "You little minx! If I had appointed you my housekeeper wouldn't you send me to my own death? What is all this 'master' bullshit?!"
Just imagining the seductive Lilith calling him 'master' made his blood burn to the brim!