novelraw Chapter 245: Choices
Chapter 245: Choices
"Little Wei... Little Wei..."
Liang Yuzhi's voice was faint and calling. She was truly a half-dead powerhouse now — blood pouring from her thigh, face ashen, too weak to even stand. Damn it, if she'd just worn a set of armor, it wouldn't have come to this.
Li Wei didn't hesitate for a second. Gritting his teeth, he ran over and picked her up. She could not die.
Because this month, he'd assigned her as transport team captain — a critical role. If she died, Li Yue could use the month-end summary to launch an Impeachment against him. And beyond that, they'd already made a deal. Li Wei took that kind of thing seriously.
He carried the barely-breathing Liang Yuzhi to the Universal Gold Card. Instantly, a flood of brilliant golden light like sunrise clouds poured into her body, and she recovered before his eyes — that was the power of the Universal Gold Card.
However, the card — which had been roughly five-star quality — dimmed significantly in moments, ultimately becoming an ordinary four-star Universal Gold Card.
He set Liang Yuzhi down and turned to check on the others. The Gold Card could save lives.
"Don't worry about the others. Nothing serious — just mental shock."
Liang Yuzhi spoke calmly, but her gaze carried layers of meaning as she watched him. She was genuinely curious whether Li Wei would use this Gold Card — and equally curious whether he wouldn't. Rookies this impressive were rare these days.
Either way, she was stable now. She no longer had a Five-Star Retention Card, so competing for Head of Household was off the table. But if the difficulty went up, the rewards during the monster siege would increase dramatically. And in normal circumstances, without a Pioneering Card present, Universal Gold Cards wouldn't drop — but during the siege, no one would have time to worry about that.In short: if Li Wei was willing to bleed a little and buy her cooperation, she was quite willing to help backstab Li Yue. But the condition was that this kid had to show genuine sincerity.
Ah. The world was expensive, competition fierce, and survival was never easy. Without careful management and frugality, the only outcome was getting crushed.
She was a widow. Was it easy for her?
Li Wei wasn't fully reassured. He quickly swept his gaze across the group — and indeed, no one was seriously hurt. Most had just temporarily lost consciousness.
He stepped forward and picked up the Universal Gold Card. Immediately, information about the battle surfaced.
["You led some family members and Freemen in a sweep and clearance operation against Valley Town. After a somewhat harrowing battle, you achieved victory and successfully claimed this resource point. Your Scavenger Camp has discovered a two-star coal mine and a one-star iron mine here. You will need to station a guard team at this location and assign at least one family member as captain with full authority — otherwise, within fifteen days, there is a high probability that wandering mutated creatures will reclaim this area."]
["The Scavenger Camp's Pioneering Points have increased. The family's maximum earnable Contribution cap has increased to 16,000 points."]
["Total Contribution from this mission: 2,000 points."]
["Based on combat performance, Contribution is distributed as follows:"]
["Li Wei: 40% share. +10% for initiating the Random Clearance Quest as Head of Household. +10% for cooperating with Liang Yuzhi to bait the Spider Demoness's targeting ability and successfully countering it. +20% for landing a lethal strike on the Spider Demoness's second life core."]
["Liang Yuzhi: 35% share. +5% for command. +10% for vanguard. +5% for identifying the Spider Demoness's targeting ability. +15% for using the tower shield to bait the Spider Demoness into attacking, pinning it in place and creating the critical opening for Zhao Xuanxuan's heavy strike."]
["Zhao Xuanxuan: 15% share. +5% for supporting the vanguard. +10% for coordinating with Liang Yuzhi to land the heavy strike that destroyed the Spider Demoness's first life core."]
["Xavier, Santiago, and three other Freemen: 10% share. +5% for supporting the vanguard. +5% for providing cover. Per the rules, their Contribution is merged into the Head of Household's earnings, to be distributed as additional rewards by the Head of Household at an appropriate time."]
["Head of Household Li Wei has received 1,000 Contribution points. Cumulative total: 8,700."]
["Family Member Liang Yuzhi has received 700 Contribution points. Cumulative total: 1,500. She has officially been promoted to Family Elder."]
["Family Member Zhao Xuanxuan has received 300 Contribution points. Cumulative total: 587. She has officially become a Family Member."]
["Current total accumulated family Contribution: 13,184 points."]
["You are required to pay 500 Territory Contribution points — 5 copper coins — to the five Freemen at an appropriate time. (This information is visible to you only.)"]
["You have received one Universal Gold Card. You may decide its allocation based on combat contribution. Final interpretation rights belong to you. If anyone harbors resentment or dissatisfaction over the allocation, you are responsible for resolving it."]
—
The information flashed past. Li Wei didn't read it carefully — he immediately made his choice: redeem a Black Iron Clearance Token.
Yes. Things had come to this point, and there was no longer any way to develop cautiously. He needed this territory — especially now that they had Freemen. His understanding of that had only grown clearer.
If before his thinking had been to spare no effort in pleasing Night Owl, his direct superior, then now it was to spare no effort in claiming this pioneering territory. Though in terms of outcome, those two goals weren't really different.
Beyond that, there was another important reason: his scouting experience was nearly at 500 points. His Scout Card was about to appear. If not now, when?
["You have used the Universal Gold Card to redeem one Black Iron quality Clearance Token. You may now advance your first Profession Card — Farmer — to four stars. You may also gain a fourth Profession Card."]
["Warning: The current Pioneering branch mission's extra difficulty has increased to 120%. The average difficulty is now four-star minus. This may bring some unpredictable consequences!"]
["Friendly reminder: The maximum extra difficulty for the current Pioneering branch is 180%, i.e., four-star plus. Once the maximum is reached, it will not increase further. However, there is a small chance this could trigger a special magical radiation storm — proceed at your own risk."]
["Friendly reminder: After you and your Scavenger Camp survive one magical radiation storm (which typically lasts about one month), the extra difficulty will reset to zero."]
—
With a thought, the Black Iron Token stored itself away. This was clearly not the right time or place for an upgrade.
Li Wei looked back at Liang Yuzhi. She had already resumed her usual appearance of a plain, unassuming country woman.
"Auntie, did you bring any food?"
"No. I didn't expect it to be this bad. That big spider — was it possessed or something? Good lord. Thank goodness you came through, Little Wei."
Liang Yuzhi chattered on, then walked over and hoisted Zhao Xuanxuan onto her back and headed out.
Li Wei had no choice but to follow, carrying Santiago, Xavier, and the others out one by one.
Outside, a breath of fresh air, and all six gradually came around — though their faces were still pale. They probably had some lingering aftereffects.
Liang Yuzhi had already driven the electric bus into the town. Once everyone was aboard, she floored it — wind in their faces, spirits lifted. She was fearless now.
By the time they got back to the camp building, it wasn't even nine in the morning. The whole thing had taken less than an hour round trip.
"Little Wei, Xavier and the others need a few hours of rest. I'm thinking we leave after lunch. I'll use the time to brew some Blood Resistance Potions. Oh, and Little Wei — would you like some mushroom broth? Auntie will make it for you at noon."
Liang Yuzhi said it warmly and considerately. But in the time it took to blink, she had already donated three recipes in rapid succession.
["Family Member Liang Yuzhi has donated one-star recipes — White Bread, Mushroom Broth, and Pan-Fried Salted Fish. Given the current camp's food supply situation, this donation yields no bonus. She has received 60 Family Contribution points. Cumulative total: 1,560."]
["Friendly reminder: Since the camp already has new cooks handling daily meals, all donated recipes must be taught to the new cooks — otherwise the Contribution will be revoked."]
Liang Yuzhi had already seamlessly integrated herself with the cook aunties. The Scavenger Camp now had four star-rated recipes. Given the current overall environment and food supply capacity, this was essentially the limit — any more recipes would be wasteful excess.
Her intent was simple: grind every available point of Contribution, and leave nothing for others to grind.
Li Wei didn't particularly mind. He sent Zhao Xuanxuan off to rest, while Santiago, Xavier, and the others were helped back to the second floor by Nelson and the others. Their condition caused some stir among the Freemen — but more than anything, there was anticipation. Anticipation for Li Wei to hand out rewards and pay to Xavier and the others.
Because this was the first time Freemen had participated in a mission directly initiated and led by Li Wei himself. Before, it had always been Li Yue and Liang Yuzhi running things as team captains — like contractors.
Li Wei had told both of them to each take five people, but he hadn't gotten involved or specified who.
So many Freemen were waiting for a result.
In a sense, this would determine their future in this camp — or at least their expectations for it.
But Li Wei didn't rush to lay his cards on the table. He didn't want to tell the Freemen the real truth. Maintaining a friendly fiction was important.
He could be open with the players. But with the Freemen, he needed to be more deliberate.
And that would require the right medium and the right moment.
So rather than seeking out Santiago, Xavier, and the other five to talk and distribute rewards, he picked up a hoe and went to weed the farmland.
The soil was fertile, and the weeds were almost supernaturally vigorous — especially after two heavy rainstorms this month. They grew back rampantly.
You'd clear a patch a few days ago and it would already be thick with new growth. Relentless.
He worked straight through until around ten, finishing the weeding on Farmland No. 5, then moved to the vegetable garden in the Central Green Park.
"Good morning, my lord!"
Two cook aunties picking fresh vegetables in the garden bowed respectfully. With food supplies now plentiful, they had room to show their skills — providing three meals a day as standard, and even cooking special dishes for Li Wei regularly. They were among the more progressive members of the Freemen.
Crucially, while they didn't represent the Freemen's inner circle, they had connections to virtually every Freeman. That was just the nature of cook aunties — those who understood, understood.
Li Wei had been watching for a long time. Even this seemingly casual encounter in the vegetable garden was seamless — he hadn't even changed out of his Noble Crest Armor after returning from the northern town. That was deliberate too.
"Please, a moment."
Li Wei suddenly spoke, stopping the two aunties in their tracks. They nearly jumped with excitement, convinced that their daily cooking for the NPC had finally maxed out his affection meter.
Of course, Li Wei wasn't going to explain anything. The locals could say whatever they liked, interpret things however they wanted — they'd never be wrong, and he'd never need to correct them. But Li Wei himself couldn't afford that luxury.
"Respected lord, is there something we can help with?" one of the aunties — Ellen — asked with an eager expression. This was exactly the sentence Li Wei had been carefully cultivating, through all his patient maneuvering, to hear.
The kind worth recording in the territory's development annals.
Because it was a question-and-answer exchange — logical, rule-compliant, and appropriately ceremonial.
Over the past month and more, the Freemen had been working hard, nearly fully integrated into the Scavenger Camp.
But Li Wei had never once formally said to any Freeman: "Can you do something for me?" or "You — go do this."
Not once.
It had always been the Freemen volunteering, and him asking obliquely — like Nelson the old man proactively contributing the wall blueprints.
And the Freemen had never formally and proactively asked: "My lord, may we do this? May we do that?"
Never.
Even when Nelson had started expanding the basement, Li Wei had "happened" to walk by after work had already begun, and only then did Nelson enthusiastically explain his plans.
They were like a group of frenzied players who'd discovered a new world — frantically exploring the Scavenger Camp, grinding quests and experience, hunting for exploits, like a pack of clever mice.
They genuinely treated Li Wei like the old village chief from a game's story.
Was that reasonable?
For now, yes. But what about later? As the Freemen grew stronger? As they gained control over most of the camp's critical resources? Could they not, in turn, hollow out Li Wei's authority?
Because at their core, they were also a group of players.
Players like Li Wei were bound by the rules of the All-Heavens Lord Alliance. But how do you control these Freemen?
You couldn't just post a list of rules on a keyboard and call it done.
Even in the real world, getting a village to do anything was incredibly difficult.
Let alone these Freemen, who had survived fifteen years in the apocalypse — who had seen more than enough scheming and life-or-death struggles to last a lifetime?
To say nothing of Nelson the old man, who was absolutely probing the Scavenger Camp's operating rules with his inner circle, step by step.
They could treat Li Wei as a scripted NPC. But if Li Wei played along with that — he'd be setting his own house on fire.
Wheat had ripened five thousand times, and lords had been strung up from lampposts. He wouldn't be the first.
So Li Wei had been stalling — delaying as long as possible.
His decision to approach Liang Yuzhi this time had been partly because he genuinely couldn't hold out any longer — and partly because he judged the moment was right. He'd been secretly listening to the Freemen's conversations every day. Did he think he'd admit that?
Who was purer than whom? He'd been forced into it too.
In this moment, Li Wei let a faint expression of thoughtful concern cross his face, and spoke slowly.
"Yes. While I've been weeding the farmland and vegetable garden lately, I've found myself thinking about something. It's the height of summer now — we have plenty of sunlight and abundant food. But when winter comes, when snow seals the mountains and everything withers, what then? Shouldn't we find a way to preserve some vegetables?"
The aunties weren't naive. They'd already started picking excess vegetables to dry and had actually stored quite a lot. After fifteen years in the apocalypse, their life experience put Li Wei to shame.
But the point wasn't the task itself. Li Wei wanted a standard, rule-compliant task format.
In other words: only when things follow this format will I issue tasks and give rewards.
Everything else — whatever information they received, whatever they chose to do — was their own business.
He was the one who decided.
Because up to this point, all the Freemen — aside from gaining profession experience, leveling their Profession Cards, and having free use of weapons and free room and board — had not yet received any actual wages.