Chapter 33: Urgency

As Blood General and Chen Chong left the scene, more than ten minutes passed. In the cleared-out open space, a large group of lackeys grew restless and agitated out of sheer boredom while waiting.

“That kid’s got guts. Do you think the General will slaughter him?”

“Who knows? But since there’s been no movement for so long, maybe that kid actually knows something.”

“Shut up. This isn’t something we should be discussing. Just focus on which of these Scavengers will be the final winner.”

“Right. Damn, if only there were a woman among these Scavengers, maybe we could have some fun.”

“Idiot. Even if there were a woman, would it be our turn?”

“Not necessarily. The General has high standards. He’s not interested in ugly women, so maybe they ’d be left for us, right? I’m not picky, hehehe.”

…

Amid all these malicious, agitated voices, the eight Scavengers from Dawn Gathering Place stood rooted to the spot, their faces deathly pale. Every day felt like a year, and they felt every minute and every second dragging on endlessly.

Qiao Jun, who had suffered an attack from the Bloodline Gu earlier, had also recovered. He stood leaning against a wall at the edge of the crowd, cold sweat covering his forehead, looking at his terrified and helpless former teammates surrounded by the gang of thugs. His eyes were about to split from rage, and he nearly ground his teeth to dust.

He and these teammates had faced life and death together for years, having long established an unshakable trust among themselves. No matter the situation, they could unconditionally entrust their backs to one another; it was a friendship forged through life-and-death trials. Even though none of his teammates were Awakeners, this trust, where he never had to worry about his back, was undoubtedly more precious than anything in this dark world full of deceit, betrayal, and slaughter!

However, at this very moment, even as an Awakener with considerable seniority, he was utterly powerless.

Beside him, the bald-headed leader Tie Shan wore a malicious grin.

“Qiao Jun, was that kid your underling? He’s quite bold! But what news could he have that you, his captain, don’t know?”

Qiao Jun was anxious internally and ignored him.

Clap clap!

Right then, the crisp sound of clapping suddenly rang out. Everyone turned their heads in unison and saw Blood General and Chen Chong emerging from the distant shadows, one behind the other, under the moonlight.

Tie Shan immediately went up to greet them, his gaze sweeping implicitly over the expressionless Chen Chong. He asked Blood General respectfully,

“General, can the gladiator fight continue now?”

Looking around at his subordinates eagerly anticipating a spectacle of blood and slaughter, Blood General’s sinister face bore a pleased smile. He said,

“Alright, this gladiator fight is no longer necessary. Tie all these people up. Everyone will rest here for the night, and tomorrow morning, we’ll bring them all back together!”

The expectant expressions of the lackeys froze, and they looked at each other, not understanding why Blood General’s attitude had changed so drastically.

Tie Shan was even more stunned. “But General, the vehicles are already…”

Blood General glanced at him and spoke unhurriedly, “Just throw away some of the least valuable items. Do I really need to teach you this?”

Cold sweat beaded on Tie Shan’s forehead as he hastily nodded in agreement.

Hearing that they wouldn’t have to kill each other, Qiao Jun and the Scavengers in the field were immediately overjoyed. The taut heartstrings of their minds loosened, and their entire bodies felt as if they had collapsed from exhaustion, a sense of relief from having survived a disaster rising in their hearts.

Although they didn’t understand why Blood General had changed his mind, this shift was clearly related to Chen Chong. Regardless, for them, even being laborers or menial workers in Blood General’s Territory was much better than being forced to kill each other as before!

“One more thing.”

Then, under the puzzled gazes of the numerous lackeys, Blood General patted the shoulder of Chen Chong beside him and said to Tie Shan,

“His name is Chen Chong. From now on, he is one of us. Arrange a place for him to live once we return to the Territory. He has the right to freely choose his work, and give him resource allocation equivalent to a squad leader’s level, requiring no contributions. You are to arrange all this; don’t let any problems arise.”

Freely choose his work? Squad leader-level resource allocation without contributions?

Hearing Blood General’s words, the lackeys present immediately widened their eyes, their faces full of disbelief.

Within the Crimson Territory, Blood General was the absolute dictator, the undisputed uncrowned king. Under his bloody rule, except for his direct troops, all value created and resources collected by survivors were taxed at over seventy percent, then distributed by him personally based on contributions.

So-called resource distribution was actually just the low-quality food and water needed to barely survive. However, groups like Scavenger squads and hunter squads, who often faced life-and-death situations, received a much higher allocation quota than ordinary survivors. Squad leader-level figures even received artificially cultivated Spiritual Fruit as part of their allocation—things that were practically a luxury for ordinary people struggling to fill their stomachs.

No idlers were tolerated in the Territory. Every survivor either worked for Blood General to exchange for food, or ventured out into the Wilderness to risk their lives; otherwise, they could only starve to death waiting in the Territory. These lackeys realized that the resource allocation and freedom to choose work Blood General mentioned almost meant treating Chen Chong as a kept idler. This was undoubtedly as incredibly unbelievable as a butcher, whose hands were soaked in blood, suddenly turning into a devout vegetarian.

Why would the General give such preferential treatment? What kind of dumb luck did this kid stumble into?

For a moment, the jealousy in the eyes of all the lackeys almost drowned Chen Chong, who stood beside Blood General. Even Tie Shan, a leader himself, looked Chen Chong up and down with a skeptical and uncertain expression.

Blood General was indifferent to the reactions of his underlings. He crooked a finger at Qiao Jun, who was standing to the side. “You, come with me.”

Qiao Jun took a deep breath, glanced at Chen Chong, and followed Blood General away. After Blood General had walked far off, the group of lackeys immediately began whispering among themselves, staring at Chen Chong from time to time.

Chen Chong ignored the gazes cast his way, freely found a stone step, and sat down.

“Kid, seems you’ve got a slick tongue.”

Just as Chen Chong sat down, Tie Shan’s powerfully oppressive, robust figure appeared before him. Looking down from above, he asked,

“What did you say to the General? Why is he treating you so favorably?”

Not even raising his head, Chen Chong chuckled dryly. “Naturally, a piece of news that could cost someone’s life. Are you sure you want to know?”

Tie Shan’s expression immediately changed slightly. Thinking of Blood General’s fearsome might, he gave Chen Chong a deep look, forcefully suppressed his curiosity, and turned to leave.

The eight Scavengers from Dawn Gathering Place had already been tied up tightly. Aside from Tie Shan, no other troublesome lackey dared to harass Chen Chong, knowing he had somehow ingratiated himself with Blood General. Surrounded by wolves and tigers, Chen Chong sat alone in a corner, deep in thought.

“Bloodline Gu…”

Thinking of the strange Gu worm Blood General used to control Qiao Jun, Chen Chong mused to himself.

Based on Blood General’s display when using the Bloodline Gu and what leader Tie Shan had said to Qiao Jun, he had already realized that the Bloodline Gu, besides controlling Awakeners, could also help the host enhance their Life Field. It was extremely precious and rare, seeming to require a significant amount of Blood General’s own strength to use and was not something easily deployed casually.

Using the power of other forces to counterattack and retaliate against the base was a plan he had long held. The hellish torment of over a hundred days and nights was etched into his very bones, and he naturally couldn’t just pretend nothing had happened. However, Blood General’s appearance had truly been unexpected. Moreover, since Qiao Jun, controlled by the Bloodline Gu, already knew he had escaped from the base, it was hard to guarantee Blood General wouldn’t find out. Thus, he had no choice but to take the initiative, go with the flow, and take a gamble.

Although he had won this bet, it made Chen Chong even more vigilant internally. Compared to dying directly, being completely controlled by another, with life and death beyond his own grasp, was undoubtedly more terrifying.

For Chen Chong, from the moment Dawn Gathering Place learned of the base’s information to planning, preparing, and mustering their forces, it would likely take a considerable amount of time. No matter how brutal Blood General was, even if he wanted to discard him after using him, it was only possible after the base was destroyed.

Therefore, during this time, he had to seize the power to protect himself as quickly as possible!

Chen Chong’s contemplation didn’t last long. A moment later, his heart stirred, and he turned his head to see Blood General, a smile playing on his lips, returning to the field with a pale-faced Qiao Jun. At the same time, Blood General cast a look toward his direction that said everything was under control.

“A good harvest today. All you little bastards present, a pound of meat for each when we return!”

His gaze sweeping over his underlings one by one, Blood General laughed heartily in high spirits.

“Once day breaks, we head back immediately!”