Resurrection Empire

Chapter 712 267: Asking the Vast Land, Who Decides the Fate_3

If it were before, the moment Ren Zhong took out this contract, it would have immediately attracted the attention of the "Web", with his rebellion index exploding.

But now, Ren Zhong has the endorsement of the Tanggu Group and the Promotion Association from above, the background of corporate warfare information leakage from the middle, and the cunning capitalist persona of the "Starfire Town Emperor" from below, the "Web" took no action.

He easily passed the threshold.

Furthermore, this was not Ren Zhong's ultimate goal.

By evening, Ren Zhong had Shi Xuan send back intelligence from spies dispatched in advance to nine other towns in Yangsheng City.

The Mengdu Group launched frantic actions.

Led by the Yangsheng City branch, with the branches of Liao Yuan County, Chongyi County, and West Lake County as auxiliaries, the full force of the guards was mobilized, openly and brazenly capturing wild outcasts in broad daylight under the guise of volunteer recruitment in Chongyi County and West Lake County.

With a little thought, Ren Zhong decided to openly confront the Mengdu Group.

Through the convenience brought by the wrist watch information system, by the afternoon, fifty thousand contracts had been efficiently processed in Starfire Town and Chromium Carbon Town.

Wang Zhaofu and Zheng Tian were recruiting members at lightning speed, while Ju Qingmeng and all the employees of the Military Weapon Store were working full tilt to upgrade the equipment of the scavengers whose equipment levels had not yet met standards.

"Pass the word, the number of official employees is expanded to 120,000. Reorganize the first group of fifty thousand from the afternoon into the first..."

Wang Zhaofu: "What?"

"Organize them into the Starfire Army. After reorganization, first conduct a seven-day training. The training project is a full-scale operation, active in the Liao Yuan County, preemptively bringing in the outcasts heading towards Starfire Town. After completing the training, break them into small units, send them to various regions worldwide to engage in Ruined Beast hunting, allowing them to hone their physical abilities and skills through real combat. Additionally, all professionals must enter virtual reality training every night."

Wang Zhaofu: "Oh, okay, got it."

"The scavengers who defected from Chongyi County and West Lake County, organize them into the Yangsheng Army. I estimate it will take about a week to recruit enough people. For this group, first a seven-day training, then using a random selection mechanism, break them into small teams, then have these small teams follow the Starfire Army teams to various regions globally, coordinating and cooperating in actual hunting."

Wang Zhaofu: "Huh? Isn't that pointless? The overall strength of the people in the Yangsheng Army surely is lower, they'll undermine the Starfire Army hunters, leading to much less profit, right?"

Ren Zhong shook his head, "I don't care about the hunting yields; no matter how much I earn from hunting, it will never surpass what I make from stock trading."

Wang Zhaofu: "Uh..."

"I want the experienced to guide the new, allowing the newcomers to quickly feel our atmosphere, and at the same time, these people will quickly improve under the seasoned veterans' mentorship."

Wang Zhaofu: "Understood."

"Mm, go ahead."

In the following days, the main theme in Yangsheng City was just four words - "escape from life and death".

Team after team of tribal outcasts emerged from their hiding places, traveling by foot or driving across the wilderness.

The Mengdu Group noticed Ren Zhong's small actions and further intensified their hunting efforts.

The outcasts engaged in wits and courage against the Mengdu Group.

They rested at sunrise and moved at sunset.

The outcasts tapped into ancient wisdom.

They divided into groups of three and made carts.

At night, one person would push the cart forward, while the other two slept on the cart.

During the day, the other two pushed the cart, while the one who stayed up the previous night caught up on sleep.

At night, they would switch again, with another taking the cart while the two rested.

On the evening of the 136th day, Ren Zhong sat cross-legged on the city walls, watching the horizon below.

At that time, various vehicles of the outcasts in Starfire Town were quickly coming and going in all directions, bringing exhausted or wounded tribal outcasts into the high walls.

Time passed slowly, and it was unknowingly nine o'clock at night.

After being busy for days, Shi Xuan arrived behind Ren Zhong in a dusty state and said, "President Ren, you should go rest. There probably... won't be any more outcasts coming."

Ren Zhong: "What are the statistics?"

"There are about 380,000 tribal outcasts within the boundaries of Chongyi County and West Lake County. Around 110,000 of them were captured by the Mengdu Group. Among the remaining 220,000, about 80,000 adults died on the way, and about 30,000 of them died sudden death from staying up, while 50,000 died from other causes."

"What specific causes?"

"Resisting the pursuit of the Mengdu Group to cover loved ones, resisting Ruined Beast assaults, accidents like falling."

Ren Zhong nodded, "Hmm, continue."

Shi Xuan: "Several thousand more died after entering the town due to exhaustion and fatigue. A total of 140,000 made it safely and survived in Starfire Town, including over 110,000 adults and 30,000 minors."

Ren Zhong's eyebrows furrowed, "The numbers don't add up. You just said there are 380,000 outcasts in the two counties?"

Shi Xuan: "There's almost no survivors among the elderly. These elderlies either all died while holding the rear or died on the way. During the journey, all elderlies were on the outer layer, young adults in the second layer, with women and children in the middle."

Ren Zhong nodded lightly, in an undisturbed tone, "I understand. Summon all the tribal leaders for me, to explain the rules of Starfire Town. I... I won't make an appearance."

"Okay, President Ren."

After Shi Xuan left, Ren Zhong quietly took off his sleeve and wrapped it around his wrist watch.

He turned back around.

Ahead, under the twin moons, a floating motorboat came speeding in.

Suddenly, the person sitting at the back of the motorboat sagged sideways, falling off.

The young man on the motorboat quickly leaped down and firmly caught the person who fell.

The anti-gravity suit on the young man activated, lifting both the youth and the fallen person slightly off the ground.

The youth's back scraped a long track on the ground.

The unmanned motorboat corrected itself, flew several hundred meters forward, then turned back towards the young man.

The young man lowered his head to observe the person in his arms and shook his head.

He gently laid the person down and mounted the motorboat alone, returning to Starfire Town.

In the distance, the Hunters were approaching with a loud rumble.

Ren Zhong shifted his gaze away from the direction of the Hunters and glanced askew at the sky.

He had tried his best.

He and his Starfire Town had done their best.

He recalled debates with some classmates who prepared to study abroad and never return before the deep freeze.

The other passionately extolled the virtues of an absolutely free market economy.

Even then, Ren Zhong knew, the other was merely finding various self-serving reasons to justify their decision.

In a world completely ruled by profit-driven capital, so-called "human rights" and "political correctness" are no more than self-deceptive beautiful facades.

This is the world where the value of life can be quantified.

The world I seek to change.

Ren Zhong took a deep breath, feeling a slight sting in his nose.

Although he had long been prepared mentally.

He knew there would inevitably be deaths, just like the "one in ten" world Ma Dafu had once described to him.

This time, he had done quite well, yet the death toll still reached 130,000.

And yet, the mistake wasn't his.

All he could feel was melancholy.

Suddenly, a line of poetry came to his mind.

"Alas, immense as the skies, who holds sway over the earth?"

In his heart, he added a matching counter-line in a bittersweet poem.

"Regrets in life, with much helplessness, how can one relax?"

[Monthly Ticket] [Recommendation Ticket]