Chapter 85: The Ledger

When the Blood General’s corpse was hanged at the highest point of the Territory, the laborers working in the factories learned of the Blood General’s death from the announcements of the various Supervisor Squad minions. The entire Territory experienced nothing less than an earthquake, as panic spread and swept through the Territory like a virus.

However, Chen Chong, having already anticipated this situation, had arranged for Gu Jun and others to send men to guard key factory locations. At the same time, he announced his new decrees. A thirty percent increase in food rations, coupled with the benefit of one hour less work time, immediately soothed the panicked emotions of over a thousand laborers. After the shock, they accepted the fact that Chen Chong had replaced the Blood General as the new leader without any obstacle, and the budding chaos was thoroughly nipped in the bud.

After half a day of busy work, the situation was completely stabilized. The five Awakeners, Gu Jun, Zhang Long, Qian Xu, Sun Yimao, and Wang Qianlie, rushed to the mansion without delay to report the situation to Chen Chong.

In the spacious and bright living room, the five waited respectfully. In front of them, the sound of flipping pages was continuous. Chen Chong sat on the tiger-skin chair that the Blood General had adored, with a thick pile of ledgers laid out on the table before him, using them to understand the specific situation of the Territory.

After thoroughly cleansing the estate, Chen Chong interrogated the Steward, servants, cooks, and gardeners in the mansion before allowing them to return to their original posts. These people were familiar with everything in the mansion, and Chen Chong could not be bothered to replace them. For this, the servants were naturally extremely grateful.

As for the four alluring beauties, Chen Chong had no time to deal with them for the moment and temporarily had them locked in a room. Afterward, through the Steward, he dug out these crucial account ledgers from the Blood General’s study.

These ledgers covered the output and consumption lists for all aspects, including plantations, manual greenhouses, the munitions factory, the chemical factory, the Hunting Squad, and the gathering squad, giving Chen Chong a comprehensive understanding of the Crimson Territory’s situation.

Over seventy percent of the daily food consumption for the Territory’s more than a thousand people came from a crop similar to sweet potatoes in the plantations. This crop was artificially cultivated after the Cataclysm. Its characteristics were drought resistance, a short growth cycle, and high yield. Although it lacked nutrients, it was sufficient as food.

As for vegetables, fruits, oaks, Spiritual Plants, and the like, they were all grown in the manual greenhouses. However, these things had no connection to ninety-nine percent of the people in the Territory; they were rare items the Blood General used for his own enjoyment or to reward his subordinates.

There were a total of eight intact, usable vehicles in the Territory. The fuel they used was not gasoline, but a type of fuel mixed and concocted from plant oils and Radiation Species oils invented by the chemical factory.

Besides that, the chemical factory also produced gunpowder and homemade explosives. However, these highly destructive items were strictly controlled by the Blood General. Except for ammunition for homemade guns, all homemade explosives were sent to the estate for storage and could only be retrieved and used with his approval.

For a Transcendent like the Blood General who had unlocked the Gene Lock, homemade guns with a range of only twenty to thirty meters were basically useless against him. But if used properly, powerful homemade explosives could pose a fatal threat to him, so they naturally required strict control.

Fortunate for Chen Chong was that the Blood General strictly controlled the homemade explosives. Otherwise, if the minions had used them in the previous battle, it would have likely caused him great trouble, and his subsequent pacification of the Territory might not have gone so smoothly.

As he listened to the reports of Gu Jun and the other four, while quickly scanning through this information to gain a more detailed understanding of the Territory’s operations, Chen Chong raised his head to look at the five Awakeners who had been waiting for a long time:

“After the Blood General died, do you feel anything unusual with your bodies?”

Although they had been left waiting for half an hour, no one dared to show a hint of impatience. Hearing Chen Chong’s inquiry, Gu Jun and the others understood what he meant and replied with a wry smile:

“We’ve all checked. Although the Blood General is dead, the Bloodline Gu hasn’t been lifted with his death. It seems to still be lingering near our hearts. We don’t know what’s going on.”

In fact, the first thing they did after the Blood General’s death was to carefully examine their own bodies, only to find that the Bloodline Gu was still inside them, vigorous as ever, and had not disappeared because of the Blood General’s death.

Chen Chong touched his chin: “Oh? So does this mean the Bloodline Gu is a completely independent life form? The Blood General could only control it, but the death of one party cannot affect the other?”

Gu Jun and the other four’s faces turned grim, and they nodded.

No one would feel good with a time bomb implanted in their body. No one knew what the Bloodline Gu would eventually develop into as it continued to grow inside them, but they had absolutely no way to think of a solution.

“Alright, I’ll try to find a way to deal with the Bloodline Gu matter for you.”

Chen Chong closed the ledger and offered an enticing promise:

“Without the Blood General’s control, the Bloodline Gu shouldn’t cause any problems in the short term. I will find a solution as quickly as possible so you don’t have to live in fear.”

For a moment, regardless of whether they believed it in their hearts, the five Awakeners all put on expressions of tearful gratitude: “Thank you, Leader!”

Next, he inquired again about the five men’s respective duties in the Territory and learned that Gu Jun was responsible for material coordination and distribution, essentially acting as half a Steward for the Territory. Zhang Long, Sun Yimao, Wang Qianlie, and the deceased Li Bao were respectively part of the Hunting Squad, gathering squad, and scavenging squad. Qian Xu, like Yin Hu, was a Supervisor Squad captain for the eastern district. Finally, Tie Shan was equivalent to a commander, reporting directly to the Blood General.

There were only eight Awakeners in the entire Crimson Territory, and Chen Chong had killed three of them in one go. If he could not quickly find people to fill the vacant positions, it might considerably impact the Territory’s functioning.

Considering this, Chen Chong instructed the five to temporarily share the responsibilities before dismissing them.

After the five left, in the empty living room, Chen Chong rested his head on his hand and pondered:

“Since the Bloodline Gu in Gu Jun and the others hasn’t changed, Qiao Jun probably won’t know that the Blood General is dead.”

“According to Tie Shan, the Blood General and Qiao Jun just met yesterday. The people from Dawn Gathering Place will formally attack after determining the route, so I should still have a few days to prepare.”

Qiao Jun’s ignorance of the Blood General’s death saved Chen Chong a lot of trouble. If the other party learned of it, there was a risk of betrayal, which would also make Chen Chong’s subsequent plans difficult to sustain.

The strength of the Transcendent Diris was unknown, and his combat squad was well-trained and well-equipped. Even with his recent feat of killing the Blood General, Chen Chong would not underestimate them in the slightest. Using the people from Dawn Gathering Place to spearhead was undoubtedly the best way to probe them.

“Regardless, the top priority is to enhance my own strength first. Steward!”

Chen Chong stood up and summoned the Steward.

The estate’s Steward, surnamed Li, was an old man nearing sixty. His face was full of wrinkles, but his hair and attire were impeccably neat. He had been waiting outside the living room for Chen Chong’s orders and hurriedly entered upon hearing the call.

Chen Chong picked up the ledger: “Take me to the estate’s storage room!”