My Post-Apocalyptic Territory

That night, all was silent.

An indescribable atmosphere suddenly filled the entire shelter.

It looks like a storm is brewing!

Suddenly, a gust of wind rustled through the treetops, lifting the fallen leaves high into the air before they plummeted back down.

Inside a relatively intact villa, the dim lighting illuminated several even more sinister faces.

Ding Qiang took a deep breath and spoke first, "I believe everyone has seen the notice at the shelter, right? I wonder what your thoughts are?"

"What else could they be thinking? A shelter with only a few Awakened Ones wants to order us around? Is that even possible? I believe everyone here shares the same thought as me."

"Yes! How could we possibly be employed by the shelter? What kind of bullshit patrol team are we, ordering us out to search for supplies and expecting us to obey orders? Are they sending us to our deaths? We finally made it to this area where demonic beasts are scarce, and we'd better never see one again in our lives. Having food and drink every day is good enough. Asking me to fight demonic beasts? No way!"

"Don't even think about getting me into the patrol team, or even a regular transport crew. We're Awakened Ones, treated like royalty wherever we go. It's already a miracle we're even here; you expect us to do anything? Ha!"

"But according to the notice, if we don't become permanent residents of the shelter, we won't have as much food in the future, and even housing will be prioritized for those who join. Hmph, are they going to kick us out of this villa too?!"

Under the flickering firelight.

The men looked gloomy.

They naturally assumed that all of this belonged to them.

Anyone who tries to take their things away is an enemy of them!

Seeing the united front of everyone before him, Ding Qiang couldn't help but smile.

These people are all Awakened Ones, and they have always stood on the same side as him. He used to worry that some of them were not firm enough in their beliefs, but now it seems that these people are very dissatisfied with the shelter.

His confidence had risen from 50% to 70%.

"So, gentlemen, if we don't want to lose what we have now, then we need to talk to the shelter about terms."

"Negotiate terms? How can we negotiate? No matter what, it's a shelter..."

"A shelter? No, it's just a small organization with a few awakened individuals."

If it were a real shelter, even a small one, it would be something they couldn't afford to mess with. They were initially intimidated by the name of the shelter.

Soon, someone realized that Ding Qiang was right. This so-called shelter was a misnomer. The management team consisted of only a few people. Even if they were all Awakened, so what? Aren't they Awakened too? In terms of numbers, they might not be fewer than the other side!

"Old Ding is right. They're just a few Awakened Ones. We're Awakened Ones too. No matter which organization or team we join, we're always treated well. This lousy organization makes us move things, fine, but now they're even trying to take away our share of food. They'll have to ask this knife in my hand first. It's been used to kill demonized beasts!"

These words immediately drew envy from those around them.

Not all Awakened Ones have killed demonized beasts. Most Awakened Ones were just ordinary people before the apocalypse. Many of them had never even killed a chicken. To fight demonized beasts? That's a joke!

It's no secret that killing demonic beasts allows you to absorb soul power and become stronger. However, reality is not a game. Everyone only has one chance at life. It's not a simple matter of fighting monsters and leveling up. You have to gamble with your own life.

If you win the bet, your career will soar to great heights.

If you lose the bet, you'll turn into a pile of bones.

Many more awakened individuals chose to flee. The demonized beasts were too terrifying. In any case, with their physical constitution, they could run much faster than ordinary people and were more likely to survive. So why risk their lives to fight the demonized beasts?

Just to become stronger? That's too unrealistic!

They used to know that they should study hard so that they could improve themselves every day after they started working, but how many people can actually do that!

Several awakened individuals present did not have the courage. However, upon closer inspection, they realized that one of their companions had slain a demonized beast, which was truly remarkable. With such a teammate, why should they be afraid of those few awakened individuals in the shelter?

This is a formidable person who has killed demonic beasts!

"That's right, we are entitled to negotiate with the shelter! If the shelter gives us sufficient status and supplies, then so be it; but if the shelter doesn't, don't blame us for being impolite!"

"Well said! This shelter is a real pain. What kind of ridiculous system is this? They won't even let us touch the ordinary survivors. I've been holding back for days, so don't blame me for being impolite. I'm going to have some fun today!"

The crowd was in a frenzy!

However, some of the more composed Awakened spoke up, "But we can't be careless. After all, they're the ones who dared to build a sanctuary here. I'm afraid those Awakened have killed demonic beasts before. We still need to be careful."

Seeing that the time was right, Ding Qiang spoke again, "That's right, we can't let our guard down, but we don't need to overestimate the other side either. I've already investigated the combat strength of the shelter, please take a look."

He threw out three cards with three names written on them.

Chen Haiping.

Captain Luo.

Director Tang.

"These three are the ones we need to pay close attention to."

Ding Qiang picked up the card with Chen Haiping written on it. "I believe many of you have seen this person before. You are all Awakened Ones, capable of sensing auras, so you naturally know the strength of this person's aura."

"Indeed." Someone said solemnly, "Chen Haiping's aura is very strong. To be honest, I'm afraid none of us can compare to him. He is probably the number one expert in the shelter."

"Chen Haiping's aura is indeed the strongest among the awakened ones in the shelter, but the other two should not be underestimated."

He picked up a card that read "Captain Luo". "Captain Luo, real name unknown. Although this person's aura is not as strong as Chen Haiping's, his presence is terrifying. You know what presence is, right? The presence of someone who has killed someone is vastly different from someone who hasn't. This Captain Luo is probably a ruthless person. In addition, the fact that he dared to go out to search for supplies means that his strength should not be underestimated."

"Finally, there's the mysterious Director Tang. I've only seen him from afar. He looks quite ordinary and doesn't have the aura of a strong person, but we can't be careless. I suspect that those puppets in the shelter were created by Director Tang."

"Is he/she an ability user?"

Someone said it softly.

Many people have had this suspicion in their hearts.

The scene immediately fell silent.

What does it mean to be a person with special abilities? Some people may not understand, but the few people present all believed they had some understanding.

In their battle, one could only fight with straightforward attacks, while the other possessed mysterious and powerful abilities; the outcome was obvious. In the apocalypse, if Awakened Ones were considered experts by ordinary people, then those with special abilities were considered experts by Awakened Ones!

A master blessed by the heavens!

"If Director Tang is an ability user, what should we do? Those puppets look rather troublesome. If there are too many of them, it will be difficult to handle."

Ding Qiang chuckled softly, a smile that conveyed a sense of ease and control over everything.

"Ability users are indeed difficult to deal with, but we're not without ability users on our side either."

The group looked at each other, somewhat puzzled.

If any of them are capable, why would they need to sit here and discuss things that can't be brought to light?

"None of us have any special abilities, but a man named Peng Bo came to the shelter today. He is an ability user. As for whether he will help us, I believe you'll understand once you meet Peng Bo..."

Ding Qiang said with certainty, "He is the same kind of person as us."

…………

Let's go back to the afternoon.

Peng Bo walked along the road, shaking his head, and all the survivors he encountered avoided him from a distance.

He was quite exasperated. It was just a scar on his head that made him look a little fierce—was it really worth all this fuss? Was there any trust left between people?

For survivors living in a post-apocalyptic world, there is certainly no trust between people, let alone someone like Peng Bo who looks menacing. It is said that some people deliberately get tattoos and scars to make themselves look more ferocious. This slightly chubby man in front of me is probably one of those people, and an Awakened one at that. I really dare not mess with him.

The survivors had already heard about it, so they quickly lowered their heads and hurried away.