Chapter 17
This Situation Has Stabilized and the Divine Runemasters Are Causing Trouble
Time passed quickly, and in just a blink of an eye, a month had passed.
During this time, the situation in the country finally stabilized.
The population of the Nine Region Empire was close to 1.4 billion, but it had decreased to less than 700 million. 700 million people were gathered in the twelve cities that were covered by the nuclear fusion net. There were about 58 million people in each city so one could only imagine how crowded each city was. The government made use of all the buildings and placed people in them. There was not much privacy at all.
The most important thing was food. Almost all the granaries in the country had been destroyed by mutant beasts so everyone did not have enough to eat.
Fortunately, many nuclear power plants were protected.
At this time, there were many things to do. If they did not farm, there would be no food to eat. Fortunately, the energy in the essence of crystal cores could stimulate the growth of plants. However, it still would not be able to supply food to so many people in a short time. In the future, there would definitely be people who died from starvation. There was nothing the officials could do about it.
Outside the cover of the nuclear fusion net, the mutant beasts ran amok and the cities were in ruins. After a month of evolution, even the weakest mutant beasts were in tier two or tier three. There were rarely tier-one mutant beasts anymore.
This was especially true for coastal cities. Octopi as tall as 100 meters circled the cities while mutant fish that had grown limbs rampaged in the cities. Sharks that were hundreds of meters tall wreaked havoc everywhere. The delicious seafood that humans once ate was no longer something humans could afford to provoke.
In the early stages, the speed of evolution was very fast, but it would gradually slow down.
After the situation stabilized, the status of Divine Runemasters grew even higher. Many of them joined forces and opened meat processing factories. The meat from the mutant beasts needed to be processed and stored. They exploited ordinary people, and on top of two meals a day, they were only given a can of meat a day for their work.
There was no unified currency yet so what could money do now? The most important thing now was to fill one’s stomach.
The true dark age for ordinary people finally arrived. In his previous life, Gu Changqing had struggled to live like this. He worked himself to the bones for more than ten hours every day just to have a meal and keep himself from starving to death.
Most of the Divine Runemasters did not care for ordinary people at all. They only treated ordinary people as low-level laborers. Those who disobeyed them were killed, and they would not be punished.
In his previous life, Gu Changqing had contradicted a Divine Runemaster, and he was killed the next day.
The government needed the Divine Runemasters, and the people needed the Divine Runemasters. If things got out of hand, the government would only reprimand them at most. The government would not take any actual action at all against the Divine Runemasters.
…
In the conference hall in the capital.
Xuanyuan Wang Rui, Huang Mengguo, and Long Zhanguo sat across from each other, looking haggard.
“We need to form an alliance of Divine Runemasters soon,” Long Zhanguo said in a deep voice, “Since Gu Changqing isn’t willing to become the leader of the alliance, we’ll have to find someone else to do it.”
Xuanyuan Wang Rui nodded with a grim expression on his face. “Yes. The majority of the Divine Runemasters are too arrogant. We need to find someone who can intimidate them.”
Although the 72 Divine Runemasters of the Dragon Emperor Organization were strong, there were still Divine Runemasters who were stronger than them. What they needed was someone extremely powerful.
“Did you hear about the Divine Runemaster called Lin Chen? He has the Fire Dragon divine rune and the Emperor divine rune. He’s been killing the mutant beasts in a frenzy recently. He’s definitely one of the strongest Divine Runemasters. Two members of the Dragon Emperor Organization challenged him previously, but they were easily defeated by his Emperor divine rune,” Huang Mengguo said as he played Lin Chen’s battle using the Emperor divine rune on the screen, “This child is the young master of the Lin family and has always been willing to serve the country. I don’t think he’ll refuse us.”
This was similar to Gu Changqing’s previous life. In his previous life, Lin Chen was the leader of the Divine Runemaster Alliance. His Emperor divine rune was so strong that only a few people could compete with him. Alas, even after he became the leader of the alliance, the situation did not change. He would shield the Divine Runemasters who committed crimes, turning a blind eye to them. He would be obsessed with power. Perhaps it was fine now, but once he became the leader of the Divine Runemaster Alliance, he would be blinded by his power.
“I was just about to recommend this kid as well. The strength he displayed during this period of time has garnered him more than 300 Divine Runemaster fans on the Dragon Net. Not counting Gu Changqing who was not included in the poll, Lin Chen has the most fans.”
Long Zhanguo knew Gu Changqing was very influential. If Gu Changqing was included in the poll on the Dragon Net, it was likely 60% to 70% of the Divine Runemasters in the Nine Region Empire would become his fans. During this time, who knew how many Divine Runemasters had gone to seek refuge with Gu Changqing? However, only very few were accepted by him.
“Alright. I’ll contact him now.” Xuanyuan Wang Rui nodded before dialing the numbers.
…
In the rundown city of Wulong in Xicheng Province.
There were many mutant beasts in this city that was adjacent to the mountain.
Boom!
At this moment, Lin Chen was fighting three tier-4 mutant wolves the size of a truck with fur that stood on end like needles. He looked domineering in his Emperor Armor. He held the Aurora Sword in one hand and the Emperor’s Halberd in the other. His speed was fast, and his movements were powerful as he struck the three fierce mutant wolves, inflicting bloody wounds on their bodies. After more than ten rounds, their heads were pierced by the Emperor’s Halberd, and they died.
After three mutant wolves died, Lin Chen’s three followers who were watching the battle on a building nearby flew over. They were dressed in divine rune armor as well.
One of them laughed and said, “Big Brother, you’re awesome!”
Lin Chen flicked the blood of the wolves off the Emperor’s Halberd as he ordered, “Get the truck over here, and move these carcasses.”
Currently, Lin Chen had over a hundred Divine Runemasters under his command. He also opened a large meat-processing plant and exploited ordinary people. He knew that the government would soon come out with a unified currency. The more food he had, the more money he would earn later.
Lin Chen came from a wealthy family and was quite capable. He was very proud and naturally did not think about the ordinary people.
“Alright!”
The three men quickly left to carry out Lin Chen’s order.
At this moment, Lin Chen’s phone that had been integrated into his Emperor Armor rang.
“Who is it?” Lin Chen asked.
“Lin Chen, I’m Xuanyuan Wang Rui, one of the three decision-makers of the Nine Region Empire. I intend to establish the Divine Runemaster Alliance. I wonder if you’re interested in becoming the leader of the alliance?” Xuanyuan Wang Rui asked bluntly. He was confident that Lin Chen would not refuse him.
“Are you sure? Do you think I’m qualified?” Lin Chen asked.
Xuanyuan Wang Rui knew that Lin Chen had bitten the bait. He said, “If you’re willing, we’ll announce the establishment of the alliance and invite Divine Runemasters to join the alliance.”
Lin Chen’s heart burned with excitement upon hearing this. If he became the leader of the alliance, he would also be an official. With this in mind, he did not hesitate at all as he said, “Alright. If you think I have the ability to lead the alliance, I won’t refuse.”
“You definitely have the ability to do so. I’ll take this as you accepting the invitation.”
“Yes, I’ll come back immediately.”
“Good. We need to hold a press conference tomorrow to announce the establishment of the Divine Runemaster Alliance.”