Before Zhao Qingxuan stood a pale beauty, about 1.7 meters tall, with a ponytail, clutching her arm.
Her name was Li Junru, and she was the leader of these dozen or so people. They weren't any particular faction, just a small group of a dozen survivors who had banded together after the outbreak. Originally, there were many more, dozens even, but some had turned into zombies.
"What happened to your arm?" Zhao Qingxuan asked Li Junru.
"Injured by a powerful zombie!"
Zhao Qingxuan's eyes narrowed, and she tightened her grip on the wolf-tooth club in her hand. She had heard from Wang Luo that being scratched by a zombie could lead to infection and eventually turning into one.
"Let me see your wound!" Zhao Qingxuan said. If the other party was truly infected, she would not hesitate to eliminate them.
Li Junru pulled up her sleeve, revealing a fair arm. However, a portion of it was tinged blue, as if from a severe blow.
"I wasn't scratched, I was slapped by a zombie!" Li Junru said calmly. She had encountered a powerful zombie, and a single exchange had injured her. Among their group of a dozen, she was the strongest. Now that she was injured and her strength greatly diminished, the lives of the others were even more precarious. Most of them were ordinary people, and joining a team was their only hope of survival.
Zhao Qingxuan looked at the group and asked, "Who among you are awakened?"
The dozen or so people looked confused. What was an awakened?
"Uh, it's someone whose body suddenly developed anomalies, and their physical strength dramatically increased!" Zhao Qingxuan finished.
Three people stepped forward: two men and one woman. She then inquired about the awakening time of these individuals. She learned that besides Li Junru, who was an S-class ice element awakened, the other three were one C-class and two D-class.
Zhao Qingxuan then asked again, "Besides these four awakened individuals, does anyone else have a specialized skill? Step forward!"
At this, a man in electrician's attire, in his thirties, stepped forward. "Me, my name is Sun Dahai... I was responsible for the power maintenance in this mall, an electrician!"
"I'm a game streamer..."
"I worked in sales..."
"I'm a programmer..."
"I... I'm a spa technician!"
"..."
The dozen or so people stated their professions, a diverse mix of everything.
"The electrician and the technician, step out!" Zhao Qingxuan said.
The others paled. Would she not accept them after all? They were all ordinary people; staying here meant certain death! All of them turned pleading gazes towards Li Junru. Just as she was about to intercede, Zhao Qingxuan asked Li Junru and the others, "Do any of these people have family among you?"
"No!" They all shook their heads.
Zhao Qingxuan nodded. "I can let all of you stay, but..."
"I can tell you clearly, our faction is not a charity. The food we have stored is limited. Therefore, within the faction we are forming, we will distinguish between awakened individuals and ordinary people."
"Among ordinary people, there will be those with specialized skills and those who can do nothing at all."
"Depending on the classification, the treatment we provide will differ."
"So, if you can't do anything and you're still picky about lao gan ma mixed with rice, then don't bother coming!"
"Your presence will only affect the team's morale!" Zhao Qingxuan looked at everyone. This was a general strategy she and Yang Shu had discussed for a long time. Although it wasn't fully refined, it would have to do for now.
Awakened individuals, needless to say, would be responsible for the base's security and their status would naturally be incomparable to ordinary people. As for ordinary people with specialized skills, take the electrician for example; the paralyzed power system in the villa area would still require someone like him. As for the spa technician... Zhao Qingxuan glanced at her. She was quite pretty and had a slender figure. If her skills were good, she might be assigned as Wang Luo's personal technician. After all, he was the Supreme Elder, so his treatment would naturally be different!
"I have said my piece. Who agrees? Who opposes?"
"If you oppose, you don't need to follow us!" Zhao Qingxuan clasped her hands behind her back, holding the wolf-tooth club, looking composed. She didn't care about the number of people in her faction; she didn't want to be a queen, nor did she ever plan to conquer Anluo City! All she wanted was to provide a safe haven for these people. As for whether they wanted to eat meat, that depended on their own abilities.
The remaining less than ten ordinary people felt bitter. Before the apocalypse, they were, in a sense, members of the upper-middle class. Now, in the apocalypse, were they not even as useful as an electrician or a spa technician?
"Alas, this damned apocalypse!" Someone cursed under their breath.
But so be it! Lao gan ma mixed with rice, then lao gan ma mixed with rice! As long as there was a safe living environment, that was good enough. However, some were already planning to learn a trade later on, to advance from being a useless ordinary person to a skilled craftsman.
The dozen or so people didn't leave. Where else could they go if they left? At worst, if they didn't like it later, they could seek a new path.
Boom!
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed! Zhao Qingxuan and Yang Shu's expressions changed. The direction of the sound seemed to be where Wang Luo was collecting supplies.
"He's fighting zombies!" Zhao Qingxuan and the others hurried towards that direction.
Li Junru's face changed drastically. "There's a very powerful zombie there! My arm was injured when it grazed me."
Zhao Qingxuan snorted. "Someone who can injure you is likely at Black Iron rank!" Li Junru was an S-class awakened; ordinary zombies couldn't possibly harm her.
"That must be a Devourer!" Yang Shu said in a low voice. Wang Luo had educated them on zombie classifications. At this point in time, the only zombie variant that could evolve to Black Iron rank was the Devourer!
As they had expected, Wang Luo had indeed encountered a Black Iron rank Devourer! It was a zombie even larger than an ordinary Devourer, about 2.5 meters tall. The diameter of its head alone was likely around one meter, looking somewhat grotesque. The two were already engaged in combat.
Whoosh!
The Devourer's long tongue, like a python, coiled towards Wang Luo. The tongue was covered in a sticky mucus. If it entangled an awakened individual, it would sap their strength, rendering them as helpless as an ordinary person, ready to be slaughtered. In his past life, some people had researched this peculiar power, but with little success.
"Slash!" Wang Luo wielded Hei Yuan, a green light emanating from the long saber. It was the D-class异术 (Yi Shu - exotic skill/technique) Palm Blade!
Screech! He swung Hei Yuan at the Devourer's outstretched tongue. However, Wang Luo's strike did not sever its tongue. Instead, it produced a crisp collision sound, as if he had struck something as hard as stone.
"As expected of Black Iron rank!" Wang Luo chuckled, gripping his saber and retreating. This was within his expectations. The Palm Blade was a wind-elemental Yi Shu, and its execution was based on an S-class wind elemental ability, not the divine-level Azure Dragon ability. Therefore, Wang Luo's strike was equivalent to the power of an S-class awakened using a D-class Yi Shu. The power of a D-class Yi Shu was not strong, and it was normal for it to be unable to injure a Black Iron rank boss. For boss-level Black Iron rank zombies like the Devourer, only awakened individuals of equivalent or higher rank, specifically double S-class or above, could defeat them.