Chapter 34

Chen Haiping stepped forward. “Every second in the apocalypse is precious, so I’ll keep it short. Regardless of what choice each survivor takes, the shelter will always be a barrier that protects humans from demonized beasts. Right now, I hope that everyone will get in a line. Whether you wish to become a resident or a wanderer, everyone needs to come up so that some basic information on you can be recorded.

“As the information is being recorded, if you wish to become a resident, then you may apply to posts based on your personal desires and abilities. The shelter will shortly carry out a simple assessment for applicants…”

Once Chen Haiping was done, the square fell quiet, and survivors began to step up and form into a line.

Suddenly!

An indignant voice rang out from the crowd, its owner sounding like they had been greatly wronged.

“The announcement said that those who become residents have to comply with the shelter’s work assignments, but how do we know that your shelter won’t assign us suicidal work!?”

The survivors who were preparing to get in line froze.

It wasn’t everyone that trusted the shelter. Even those survivors who had been rescued by the shelter might not be very grateful.

This was human nature.

These words just so happened to express their concerns.

Chen Haiping’s face darkened as he scanned the crowd, but he did not see the speaker.

Obviously…

This was someone who had come prepared and had concealed themselves in the crowd while waiting for the right moment.

Chen Haiping had known that today wouldn’t go that smoothly, but he hadn’t expected the troublemakers to be in such a rush that they would start sowing discord before the registration had even started.

What were these people trying?!

His face turned grim. “The shelter will not assign anyone work that is suicidal or cannot be completed. If you are suspicious, in disbelief, or cannot accept the restrictions of the rules, you may remain at the shelter as a wanderer.”

“Heh, it sounds nice, but if we don’t become residents and obey your orders, you’ll reduce our food, and you also want to drive us out of the shelter! Is this really a choice?!” That sharp voice rang out once more.

The crowd grew restless, the survivors softly whispering to each other. The situation seemed to be trending out of his control.

Chen Haiping’s gaze became stern.

This time, he had found the owner of the voice.

It was an Awakened, one of the ones he had been watching.

Just when he was about to say something…

An indifferent voice drifted out.

“This is a shelter.

“Here, the rules must be obeyed. If you cannot, please leave.

“It is now registration time. The announcement was very clear. You have the right to make a choice, but here, I must say one thing more…

“You do not have the right to ask questions.”

It was like a gentle breeze caressing their cheeks.

But it was chilling to the bone.

The survivors stopped breathing.

Turning in the direction of the voice, they saw three people walk out of the villa area.

Their leader was a young man in exercise clothes, and behind him were a muscular man and a cloaked girl.

“It’s Ironface Roger!”

“And also the Ice Goddess!”

Roger was the one the survivors saw most frequently, and his constantly stiff and rigid face had eventually earned him this nickname.

Yilian… The survivors had yet to see Yilian take action, but she had a cold demeanor, and past her hood, one could barely make out her beautiful face. For survivors, she was an existence that could not be touched or looked up.

This was a nickname that survivors used among each other. Naturally, no one dared to call her this in front of her face.

With the dwindling number of demonized beasts around the shelter, the majority of survivors had never seen these two take action.

Only those who had come to the shelter first had experienced their frightening strength, and they were filled with sincere admiration for Yilian and Roger.

As for Tang Yu, who walked in front of them, many of the survivors had never seen him before, but they could guess that he was the chief of the shelter.

Ding Qiang’s gaze turned grave.

This was his first time seeing the mysterious shelter chief so close.

He had never underestimated this shelter, and for this day, he had prepared multiple plans.

Suddenly, he froze.

“Why doesn’t he have Awakened energy? Chief Tang is just an ordinary person?!”

He almost didn’t want to believe it. How could an ordinary person become a shelter chief?

And then he smiled.

If one of the ‘three powers’ of the shelter, Chief Tang, was just an ordinary person, then their chances of success rose from ninety percent to one hundred.

A sure thing!

Elsewhere, several people were observing the proceedings.

“Old Third, when that fellow Ding Qiang came to find us, why did you directly reject him?”

That young man with glasses called Old Third adjusted his glasses. “What else was there? Join those idiots in trying to negotiate with the shelter?”

The large man next to him had a somewhat regretful tone. “At least we shouldn’t have refused him so firmly. What if they succeed? Then we’ll be losing out.”

The young man with glasses shook his head. “If our indecisiveness causes the shelter to group us together with Ding Qiang, then…”

He said no more.

They certainly weren’t happy being captives, but the young man with glasses remained rational. The shelter definitely had more power than it was showing. Those majestic walls and the automatons were proof enough of the shelter’s resources.

Even if this was the work of an ability user, then this ability user had to be frighteningly powerful.

…

At this time, order was restored to the crowd.

The survivors began to come forward to register, and a rather long line emerged in front of the writing desk.

Ding Qiang frowned.

He had believed that his rabble-rousing would be able to stir up discontent among the survivors, but to his surprise, many survivors still chose to trust the shelter.

As an Awakened, he had no idea how hard it was for ordinary people to survive. Having arrived at a shelter that treated them very well, these survivors would choose to stay without hesitation, casting aside their doubts.

It was for no other reason than to fill their stomachs.

Though he was a little surprised, he was not discouraged.

Having the survivors lose trust in the shelter was just a preliminary plan.

Success would save him a little trouble, but even with failure, he was confident that he had planted the seed of doubt in the hearts of many survivors.

And he also had a Plan A, B, and C!

His many years of experience in planning had caused him to create multiple plans so that he could guarantee success.

Ding Qiang secretively smiled.

He slowly walked out, with several other Awakened following him.

He loudly called out, “Wait a second! I have an objection.

“I don’t care what rules your shelter has, but if you think that a few words can make us Awakened sell our bodies, then you’re lacking a little too much in good faith.

“We don’t ask for much. Using other shelters as a reference, as Awakened, we at least need a post similar to an honored guest, with all the courtesy that entails… In normal times, our activities cannot be restricted, and we must be provided with ample food and a residence. Of course, we will contribute our strength, whether it is in supervising the survivors or fending off demonized beasts.”

Supervising survivors? This was hardly work for them. On the contrary, it gave them a chance to squeeze the survivors.

As for fending off the demonized beasts? Ding Qiang had always planned on this. In any case, they just needed to put in a halfhearted effort. If the shelter couldn’t hold, he would immediately abandon ship.

He was far too familiar with this routine.

He had once stayed in a small shelter, and while demonized beasts were butchering survivors, he had already fled with the shelter’s food stores.

Once Ding Qiang was done, the other Awakened voiced their agreement.

“Right! We need better benefits. For example, you need to provide two to three times more food to us than you do now.”

“And also the residences. We’re Awakened, so each of us getting a villa isn’t too much of a demand. Without Awakened like us to protect the shelter, how could it be safe?”

Ding Qiang felt like victory was in his grasp, and all he was waiting for was the shelter’s reply.

The survivors standing in line instantly turned to look.

Quite a few people realized that this Ding Qiang was probably that person who had initially objected.

In their view, they were using this opportunity to negotiate with the shelter—or perhaps it would be better to call it ‘threatening the shelter’. But the majority of survivors still hoped that Chief Tang would agree.

While Ding Qiang’s demands were somewhat excessive, they weren’t entirely unreasonable.

If Chief Tang didn’t agree, how could the shelter withstand the demonized beasts without a sufficient number of Awakened?

What was most important to a shelter was still a safe environment, and the foundation of safety was none other than Awakened!