All the heavens, starting as the ruler of the universe

Chapter 80 Winning Hearts and Minds

When Zhang Jingyuan returned to Hurricane City, it was just getting dark.

He found an empty warehouse in the city and opened the storage bag.

Potatoes, radishes, cabbages, and corn poured out, piling up like a small mountain.

There were also several large bags of wheat and rice, packed in burlap sacks.

Lilith emerged from the shadows of the city walls.

Her black and red skirt fluttered gently in the night breeze. She glanced down at the pile of grain, then looked up at Zhang Jingyuan.

"How is it?"

"The food problem has been basically solved." Zhang Jingyuan squatted down and picked up the few scattered potatoes.

"The weapons will arrive soon as well."

Lilith strolled over slowly, glanced at the various types of food on the ground, and then at Zhang Jingyuan.

"Why would the forces behind you possibly take a liking to someone like you?"

"What's wrong with me? I'm not bad either." Zhang Jingyuan emptied his storage bag, preparing to store the remaining food at the base.

"You?" Lilith's lips curved slightly, her smile particularly striking in the night.

She turned and walked away, her black and red skirt swaying cleanly at her ankles.

Zhang Jingyuan stood there, his expression shifting between "being recognized" and "being ridiculed" for several seconds.

His strength is indeed not that great; among the awakened beings in this wasteland world, there is a long list of people stronger than him.

He chased after him.

"Don't go! We have food and weapons. What's the next step?"

Lilith didn't even turn her head.

"Since you have the power to back you up, then use the simplest method: register the population, distribute food, and then organize people to work, so they don't have to be idle."

Zhang Jingyuan quickly made a mental note of these words.

"Now is the best time for you to win people's hearts. As long as you have food and weapons, you can build your own team."

Lilith turned around. "I really don't understand why you care so much about these commoners."

Zhang Jingyuan shook his head.

"You don't understand. The education I received from childhood taught me that they are human beings, not tools. You would never understand the weight of the words 'people-oriented'."

He bent down, picked up a potato that had rolled to his feet, wiped off the dirt with his fingers, and put it back on the grain pile.

Lilith did not speak.

Her dark red pupils stared at him quietly, as if she were re-examining something she thought she had figured out.

She hadn't known Zhang Jingyuan for long, but she had always been curious about the power behind him.

"Whatever you want." Lilith withdrew her gaze, the hem of her black and red skirt fluttering gently as she turned. "Anyway, you're the one who brought in the supplies, so it's up to you how you want to use them."

She took a few steps, then stopped without looking back. "When registering the population, remember to make a list by household. Each household should provide one able-bodied person. Those who don't contribute will not receive grain."

"But I still have to remind you," Lilith's figure stood in the darkness, "the food and weapons you brought are enough to maintain order in the city, but not enough to deal with the Gray Tide."

Zhang Jingyuan finished stacking the last potato, patted the dirt off his hands, and said, "It's okay. Once I become stronger, these won't be problems."

"Become stronger?" Lilith turned around, her dark red pupils staring at him in the night, a half-smile playing on her lips. "Then you'd better hurry up. Your current strength is less than one percent of what I used to have."

"And what about you now?" Zhang Jingyuan asked casually.

Lilith's expression froze on her face; the slight smile on her lips vanished instantly, and her face turned cold.

She didn't answer, turned and walked away, her black and red skirt whipping in the night wind in an even faster arc than before.

"Where are you going?" Zhang Jingyuan took two steps forward to chase after him.

Lilith snorted and quickened her pace.

—Divider line The next morning, Zhang Jingyuan had someone spread the news.

He didn't use any fancy methods; he simply used a little food to send a few people to notify everyone to gather at the entrance of the abandoned warehouse in the east of the city in the morning, as there were new superhumans who wanted to speak.

The survivors of Hurricane City couldn't believe their eyes when they heard the news; they couldn't believe that someone with superpowers would still be willing to come here under these circumstances.

After all, they wanted to run away, but the chances of an ordinary person surviving in the wilderness of this wasteland were too low.

More than 300 people were standing in the open space in front of the warehouse.

The rest were either lying in their tents unable to get up, or still observing.

Zhang Jingyuan stood on the steps at the entrance of the warehouse, with Lilith, who looked like a little girl, beside him, and the warehouse full of grain behind him.

He took a deep breath.

Then he stretched out his hand, and the skin on his arm surged, instantly deforming and reorganizing, transforming from flesh and blood into a futuristic energy cannon.

The cannon's muzzle glowed with a blue-white light, energy gathering within it, before it fired with a deafening roar. A distant area of ​​ruins was struck, sending debris flying and creating a large, charred crater in the ground that was still smoking.

The crowd instinctively shrank back.

Several children had their eyes covered by adults, and an old man dropped his wooden stick on the ground.

Then, staring at the still-smoking crater, the fear in his eyes slowly turned into excitement, and then into disbelief.

A short man was the first to react. He turned around and waved to the others, shouting, "A superhuman! A superhuman! We're saved!"

A noisy cheer erupted from the crowd.

Zhang Jingyuan withdrew his arm, which then returned to its original flesh and blood form.

He stood on the steps for a few seconds, then raised his hand and pressed it down.

"The warehouse behind me is filled with food, not dried mutated beast meat, not rotten meat of unknown origin, but vegetables, rice and noodles, and more food will be delivered continuously."

"Then what do you need us to do?" someone in the crowd asked.

"I need you to restore order to this city and get it running again," Zhang Jingyuan's words reached everyone's ears.

The person who asked the question was someone he had arranged to meet the night before; his name was Lao Li.

Old Li stepped forward, his voice booming: "But we are homeless people, and the city won't let us go."

"Now I'm in charge." Zhang Jingyuan stood on the steps, his gaze sweeping over the silent crowd below.

"I have no vagrants or inner-city dwellers here. From today onwards, everyone is welcome to enter the city, as long as you do not cause damage and maintain order."

A buzz of discussion arose from the crowd.

A tall, thin young man pulled his hand out of his pocket, opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

There was still a lingering distrust in his eyes; after all, the former city lord had just left, and they had become accustomed to this way of life.

"Is there anything you want to ask?" Zhang Jingyuan saw the young man who seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

"Could you give us something to eat first?" the tall, thin young man said in a low voice.