Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 219: Month-End Summary

What the hell?

That dish was seriously impressive.

And without the Autocrat Aura, cultivating Two-Star straw mushrooms and the dish itself would have been worth 200 Contribution points outright.

So why hadn't the new Second Aunt waited until next month to donate it?

With this month's earnings added on top, she'd have become a full camp member immediately.

Was she really being that generous?

"Or... is she afraid I might sweep her out the door no matter what, so she'd rather use this enormous benefit to convince me — rather than gamble on it? This new Second Aunt really doesn't leave anything to chance."

Li Wei couldn't help but admire it. He'd already decided not to drive her away, yet here she was adding a second layer of insurance. He had no idea which department she represented.

Was this overkill?

"No — because I can't resist a temptation like this."Li Wei let out a sigh. He genuinely needed a skilled cook like her. Next month, food would run short again, and without someone this capable in the kitchen, he feared things would spiral into chaos.

This month, the new Second Aunt had been extraordinary. Digging wild greens, hunting field mice, catching grasshoppers and caterpillars, shooting birds and collecting eggs — she'd scoured every corner within ten kilometers of the town in a frantic search for food, all while managing three meals a day, tending the mushroom crop, and domesticating wild legume plants.

She worked sixteen hours a day. A true master of the art — those skilled in war have no illustrious fame.

By contrast, his fragile little sister had done little of note this month beyond advising Zhao Xuanxuan on iron smelting. Not that she wasn't working — fourteen hours a day was the baseline — but Li Yue rarely showed her hand.

She carried herself with a kind of composed restraint, as if everything were already within her control, as if she could read the situation at a glance and manage it all at will. Quite interesting, all things considered.

And there was one other interesting detail: Li Yue seemed to have earned Adai's goodwill as well. What that implied went without saying.

"So next month, we'll definitely need to head out and do some looting. If we can find a survivor camp to trade with, even better." A rough plan was already taking shape in Li Wei's mind.

The days slipped by. Once the cement wall had cured to full strength and the heavy cast-iron gate had been mounted onto its embedded fixtures, the perimeter wall — 120 meters per side, three meters tall, thirty centimeters thick — was officially complete. It marked the perfect close of the month's work.

【Under your leadership, the camp has constructed a Two-Star quality perimeter wall. While it falls far short of a true city wall, it will provide a tremendous sense of security. This will serve as an important line of defense for the Scavenger Camp, effectively deterring sporadic raids and attacks by mutated creatures. The camp's fixed assets have increased again. The maximum Contribution available has reached 6,000 points.】

【Due to the Autocrat Camp Buff, you have received 200 Contribution points. Current total: 1,800 points (including the monthly main quest reward).】

【All other participants have received 20 Contribution points each.】

【The household camp has leveled up to Tier 3. Total population +1.】

—

There was still some time before dinner.

Everyone was still busy.

The new Second Aunt was cooking on the fourth floor.

Leon, Thomas, Zhao Xuanxuan, Li Yue, and Li Wei were installing bulletproof glass on the fourth floor. The third and fifth floors would have to make do with standard glass.

The fourth floor housed the living supplies depot and could double as a dining area. It wasn't chosen arbitrarily — the original layout was ideal. It had likely been a senior executive's office, perhaps the general manager's, with reinforced concrete partitions and a security door.

A shame none of that had mattered when the apocalyptic mutation arrived.

The third and fifth floors served as the two living quarters. Women on the third floor, men on the fifth. Honestly, once the glass was installed, everyone's mood brightened considerably. It wasn't exactly safe — any ranged aerial mutant could shatter it in an instant — but if iron was plentiful, they could always add exterior security bars or sliding iron panels later.

As the sun dipped below the horizon and night fell, candles were lit on the fourth floor. The flickering light cast wavering shadows across everyone's faces.

No one spoke. They simply settled around the dining table and watched as Liang Yuzhi brought out four small dishes. The main course was mushroom meat broth. Food was nearly gone — though at least salt was plentiful.

When everyone had quietly finished eating, the familiar lines of text arrived on schedule.

【This has been a grueling and exhausting month. Under the leadership of Head of Household Li Wei and through the efforts of all members, the camp has achieved tremendous development. The clearing of the site, the cultivation of farmland, the construction of the perimeter wall, the mushroom field harvest, and the molten iron from the blast furnace — all of it bears witness to the new life surging through this Scavenger Camp.】

【This month, the Scavenger Camp led by Head of Household Li Wei earned a total of 54 Pioneering Points. Current cumulative total: 112 points. Current ranking: 7th.】

【Head of Household Li Wei led by example this month and organized all tasks effectively. He has received an additional 8% Clearance Evaluation bonus. Cumulative Contribution earned: 1,800 points.】

【Provisional camp members Leon, Thomas, and Zhao Xuanxuan have fully completed the main quest and actively participated in other work. Cumulative Contribution earned: 100 points.】

【Provisional camp member Liang Yuzhi has fully completed the main quest and actively participated in other work. Cumulative Contribution earned: 120 points.】

【Provisional camp member Li Yue has actively participated in other work. Cumulative Contribution earned: 50 points.】

【Within the next twenty-four hours, Zhang Jinjun — a former colleague of Head of Household Li Wei — will escape from another survivor camp and make his way here to seek refuge.】

【Head of Household Li Wei continues in office. The Autocrat Buff has expired, but its lingering authority remains. This month, all members' Contribution earnings will be reduced to 50% of normal.】

—

As the last line of text drifted past, a gust of wind came from nowhere, carrying a yellowed A4 sheet — still bearing a fresh drop of blood — and depositing it directly in front of Li Wei. It was the same sheet from a month ago, still marked with Li Wei's own traces.

In that moment, every pair of eyes converged on it, fixed on the fifteen ranked names. It seemed that all pioneering branches had entered a stable development phase this month — no one had been eliminated.

But in four more months, the second wave of eliminations would arrive.

The top spot on the Pioneering Points leaderboard still belonged to Zhao Kewu of the Tactics Department — cumulative total of 138 points, with 60 earned this month. That was only 6 more than Li Wei's camp, which showed that during a stable development phase, the gap was difficult to widen dramatically.

Socrates from the Resource Department held second place — cumulative total of 134 points, also with 60 this month.

Witch Hathaway remained third — cumulative total of 130 points, with 59 this month.

Knight Ron from the Logistics Department sat in fourth — cumulative total of 128 points, with 58 this month.

Scar Glenn from the Commerce Department held fifth — cumulative total of 120 points, with 55 this month.

And then there was Little John, who had surged out of nowhere to claim sixth place — cumulative total of 115 points, with a stunning 65 points this month.

Damn. What had Little John done this month? His Pioneering Points had actually beaten first-place Zhao Kewu. Had he killed another Four-Star mutated creature?

Li Wei was genuinely surprised — though Little John was a friendly, so there was nothing to say about it.

Looking at the rest of the rankings, the Pioneering Points were mostly clustered between 50 and 55.

No one was doing particularly badly.

This further confirmed that when it came to development and growth, everyone was roughly on the same level. Which raised the question — did every pioneering branch have a supply warehouse nearby waiting to be discovered?

Quite possible.

Also worth noting: the Ministry of Internal Affairs' pioneering ranking had continued to climb this month, moving from a tie for first to sole first place. The situation was looking very favorable.

"Hah."

Another gust swept through, carrying the yellowed A4 sheet away.

The candlelight swayed, casting everyone's faces in shifting, distorted shadows — as if some half-glimpsed demon lurked within the flickering light and dark.

Even everyone's expressions had grown unreadable.

Because what came next was a special moment: Li Wei still held the authority to sweep someone out the door. As long as he could find a pretext, he could find one.

But Li Wei's mind was on something else entirely. What should this month's development focus be?

Without question, the food crisis had to be addressed first — and this was almost certainly a challenge every pioneering branch would face.

Because donations had a hard limit. If Li Wei's side was short on food, there was no reason to think everyone else was flush. They all started from the same position — what made them so special?

Besides, the distance between branches was only a few hundred kilometers. Everyone would inevitably send out scouting parties to loot the surrounding area. The people left behind at home would be fewer, defenses would weaken, and it wasn't out of the question that some bold, reckless player might stage a forced march and raid someone else's base.

So, back to the original question: should he trigger another sweep-out-the-door plot?

He could gamble on whether Liang Yuzhi still had a second Five-Star Change of Heart card, or whether Li Yue had a similar item card.

None of that really mattered.

What mattered was this: once he swept them out, there would be no replacing them this month. The incoming roster was already fixed — no additions possible.

'I'd wager that Liang Yuzhi or Li Yue will deliberately make some kind of mistake next, just to hand me a pretext for sweeping them out.'

Li Wei couldn't help thinking it.

'Damn, who came up with these rules? What a headache.'

He grumbled internally, but his mind was already made up: maintain the status quo, no sweeping anyone out. This month's priority was heading out to loot and scavenge. Being short-handed would make that brutally difficult.

And even if Liang Yuzhi or Li Yue deliberately made a mistake, it still had to follow the logic of the story. Something like accidentally knocking over a candle and burning the entire building down — that would just be cheating.

"Second Aunt, how long can our food hold out?"

After a long silence, Li Wei finally spoke.

"Little Wei — at most ten days, if we stretch it. But summer's here now, wild greens will be more plentiful, and the mushroom yield is increasing. If we supplement with daily hunting, we can probably hold on until the end of the month. But no matter what, we need a supply of grain."

Liang Yuzhi chose her words carefully. She had truly given everything she had these past days.