CH 55

TL: Moonlit

Mo Jing walked slowly toward Wen Qingling and handed him the gathered nuclei. Wen Qingling did not refuse and accepted them.

Teacher Gao said, “Consider these nuclei borrowed from you. I will return them in the future.”

Another infected person, a middle-aged man, dressed ordinarily but had a handsome appearance. His injuries were severe, with multiple bite wounds, and his clothes were stained with blood.

He trembled and said, “I… I don’t have that many nuclei. I only have this much. Can… can you save me with this?”

The middle-aged man held out a dozen or so nuclei in his hand, shaking, and presented them to Wen Qingling.

Everyone held their breath, wanting to see how Wen Qingling would respond. It was like a signal: if Wen Qingling agreed, it would mean there was room for negotiation regarding the treatment fee; if Wen Qingling refused, it would mean he was a person who only recognized nuclei and not people.

From the current situation, Wen Qingling seemed to be someone who only recognized nuclei. He even charged his own teacher a treatment fee. Wasn’t that proof enough?

Wen Qingling stared at him for a while and asked, “What’s your name?”

The middle-aged man hesitated and then said, “Luo Zhi.”

Wen Qingling said, “Do you know Luo Feng?”

The middle-aged man became excited and reached out to grab Wen Qingling, but realized his hands were covered in blood, so he had to withdraw them. “Have… have you seen Luo Feng? Is he still alive?”

Wen Qingling replied, “I’ve seen him. He was alive before, but I don’t know about now.”

The middle-aged man suddenly covered his face and cried in pain. “I… I’ve been looking for him for a long time. I thought… I thought he was dead. I didn’t expect him to be alive. He’s still alive…”

Wen Qingling extended his hand and said, “Give me the nuclei. I allow you to have a credit. Repay me next time.”

Luo Zhi hastily handed over all the nuclei to Wen Qingling. Now that he knew his son was alive, he had to survive. He had to live to see his son. He absolutely couldn’t die.

Wen Qingling took Luo Zhi to the driver’s seat of a large truck and used blood anemone to treat him. By the time Luo Zhi returned, his injuries had completely healed.

This was a favor Wen Qingling extended to acquaintances, treating their wounds without charging an additional fee.

Everyone witnessed this miracle with their own eyes. It was hard not to believe. The few classmates who doubted Wen Qingling for showing off felt a bit embarrassed. Fang Zi tentatively asked, “In Lingcheng, do you really have a base?”

Wen Qingling glanced at him but didn’t answer.

Was it interesting to keep repeating the same question?

Feng Tongtong proudly put her hands on her hips. “Of course, we have a base. Our base is huge, much better than yours.”

Everyone: “…”

Were these words spoken by a child the truth?

Fang Zi forced a smile and said, “How many people are in your base?”

Feng Tongtong thought for a moment and said, “A lot, a lot of people.”

Fang Zi: “…”

Ning Ning chimed in, “Several thousand people.”

Fang Zi: “…”

Everyone: “…”

If it was truly several thousand people, that was indeed larger than their base.

Jiang Lan adjusted her hair and maintained an elegant posture. “Don’t take a child’s words seriously.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Nowadays, a base with several thousand people could be considered a large base.

Jiang Lan said, “Actually, there are only tens of thousands of people, and there may be more in the future.”

Everyone: “…”

Everyone: “……………”

Everyone: “………………….”

This… was unbelievable.

Ji Rong looked at Xiao Hen, who was lost in thought.

They had witnessed the expansion of the civilized base, but they had only seen a section of the city wall on the outskirts of the civilized base.

Wen Qingling wouldn’t be so crazy as to turn the entire Ling City into a base, right?

Xiao Hen felt it was very likely!

Now, Wen Qingling was the leader of Ling City, the boss. If he wanted to turn Ling City into a base, no one, not even zombies, would dare to stop him. He could do whatever he pleased.

Mo Jing was also quite surprised. “Is this true?”

Wen Qingling replied, “Yes.”

Even though the number of civilized zombies hadn’t reached tens of thousands yet, they were heading in that direction. They treated many civilized zombies every day, so it wouldn’t take long to reach that number.

Mo Jing’s lips moved, but he didn’t say what was on his mind.

The sound of car engines roared as several pickup trucks sped in. A group of people jumped out of the vehicles.

A strong bald man got out of the car and immediately noticed the head-splattered He San, as well as the few subordinates, held as hostages. He was enraged. “You really have the guts to kill even Uncle Xiong’s people, Mo Jing! Are you trying to ruin your prospects in the Nan Yan Base?!”

Wen Qingling: “…”

Wen Qingling was completely ignored, and he felt a little unhappy.

Wen Qingling: “Baldy, I’m the one who killed him, not Mo Jing.”

Xiong Shu’s gaze finally fell on Wen Qingling, taking in his pale and weak appearance. He looked like a typical weakling. “It was you?”

Wen Qingling: “It was me.”

Xiong Shu angrily said, “So what if it was you? Aren’t you still under Mo Jing? This account will be settled with Mo Jing!”

Mo Jing understood clearly. Xiong Shu intended to use this opportunity to completely eliminate them, the foreign survivors.

Mo Jing pulled Wen Qingling, but it was like pulling a pillar. He didn’t budge.

Mo Jing: “…”

Wen Qingling: “I’m not a member of your base. If you want to fight or kill me, I can’t stop you. However, did you bring the 100 crystal nuclei?”

Xiong Shu exploded, “To hell with your ancestors!”

Xiong Shu waved his hand, “Bite them to death!”

Suddenly, a corpse wolf leaped down from the pickup truck. Its flesh was rotting, emitting a foul stench, and it roared as it pounced on the group of people at the entrance of the base. The survivors screamed and ran towards the residential area, and Mo Jing and the others retreated as well.

Mo Jing shouted, “He’s a summoner with summoning abilities. He can summon corpse wolves! Run!”

For a while, everyone except Wen Qingling and his group had fled.

The imposing corpse wolf charged forward, and a hint of Wen Qingling’s tightly locked aura leaked out. The running corpse wolf suddenly stumbled, tumbled on the ground a few times, and then pricked its ears, tucked its tail, and instantly turned into a timid puppy. It whimpered and quickly fled.

Xiong Shu: “…”

Underlings: “…”

Xiong Shu shouted, “Come back! Come back to me!”

The corpse wolf didn’t look back and escaped, regardless of how Xiong Shu tried to control it with his abilities.

Xiong Shu’s killer weapon, the corpse wolf, had escaped during the battle, creating an awkward scene.

Everyone: “…”

Xiong Shu desperately tried to save face, “Attack together! Cut them down!”

The sound of loaded guns echoed as four automatic rifles and two shotguns were simultaneously aimed at them.

Xiong Shu and his underlings: “…”

Xiong Shu looked at his old shotgun in his hand, then at the new rifles in the hands of the others. Suddenly, a sense of sorrow overwhelmed him. The world was so vast, yet he had become a frog at the bottom of a well. The supernatural abilities he had always been proud of, along with the intimidating shotgun, were useless in front of these outsiders.

Wen Qingling: “Do you want to live or die?”

Xiong Shu dryly laughed twice, “I want to live, of course, living is better.”

Wen Qingling: “Crystal nuclei.”

Xiong Shu hurriedly gathered the crystal nuclei and handed them over with both hands.

Wen Qingling jiggled the bag of crystal nuclei in his hand and asked, “Whose person am I?”

Xiong Shu honestly replied, “You’re nobody’s person. From now on, you’re my boss, Xiong Shu’s boss. If you have any requests, I’ll make sure they’re taken care of properly.”

Wen Qingling extended his hand to his birth mother.

Jiang Lan understood and took off the brand-new automatic rifle hanging on her body, handing it to her son.

Wen Qingling casually threw the rifle to Xiong Shu, who caught it, looking puzzled.

Wen Qingling said, “Feng Bin, give him a box of ammunition.”

Feng Bin went back to the car and effortlessly brought down a box of ammunition, placing it at Wen Qingling’s feet.

Xiong Shu realized something and was so excited he almost knelt down before Wen Qingling.

Wen Qingling said, “Xiong Shu, I’ll give you two more corpse wolves. Keep this area secure for me.”

The three corpse wolves obediently sat by Xiong Shu’s side, behaving like three puppies. Xiong Shu felt weak in the legs. Who the hell was this big shot that appeared out of nowhere? He could even control corpse wolves. Was he also a summoner? He didn’t seem like one at all.

Xiong Shu didn’t know whether to be excited or scared. He had just been shouting and cursing at such a big shot, insulting his ancestors and even calling himself “Laozi”. Wouldn’t he be wiped out?

Wen Qingling: “Don’t want to?”

Xiong Shu hastily shook his head, “No, no, I… I will definitely handle things for you. You can trust me.”

Mo Jing and a few classmates walked over, glancing at the rifle and bullets in Xiong Shu’s hands, as well as the three obedient corpse wolves. They remained silent.

Mo Jing could hold back his words, but that didn’t mean others could. Fang Zi was the first one to feel displeased, “Wen Qingling, what do you mean? You know that we don’t get along with Xiong Shu and his group, yet you armed them. Are you trying to have them wipe us out?”

Wen Qingling said, “People from the same base should get along well during peaceful times.”

Xiong Shu said, “Yes, boss.”

Someone sneered, “Whoever has the stronger fist calls the shots. Wen Qingling, do you think that by giving them the gun, bullets, and three corpse wolves, they will listen to you and get along well with us?”

No one was a fool for surviving until now in the apocalypse, and Xiong Shu was the savviest. Wen Qingling’s intention wasn’t to reward Xiong Shu but rather to tell him that his wealth and power were enough to crush him. Therefore, Xiong Shu already had a choice.

Wen Qingling could easily see through the sincerity of one’s words. No one could deceive him.

Wen Qingling: “Xiong Shu will get along well with you all, but the same can’t be said for you.”

“What do you mean, Wen Qingling?!” a classmate protested, but was stopped by Mo Jing.

Mo Jing said, “Do you really think Xiong Shu will get along well with us?”

Wen Qingling: “He will.”

Mo Jing: “Are you so sure?”

Wen Qingling stared at him, having already seen through his thoughts. “You want to be the boss of Nan Yan Base, right? Fine, Xiong Shu won’t compete with you anymore, and you shouldn’t target them either. I need them to do things for me.”

Xiong Shu said, “As long as you treat everyone equally, I won’t compete for the position of boss with you. However, before you make decisions, you should also listen to others’ opinions. Don’t make everything revolve around just a few of your classmates. Other people are also part of the base and have the right to participate.”

Mo Jing indeed wanted to be the boss of Nan Yan Base. He didn’t expect Wen Qingling to see through him with a single glance.

Wen Qingling said, “Now is a dangerous time. Many zombies have been spotted outside Ling City, especially the evolved ones. Sooner or later, they will come here. If you want the base to survive, you shouldn’t have internal conflicts. You should present a united front externally, or else destruction is only a matter of time.”

Xiao Hen raised an eyebrow. He saw a hint of “humanity” in Wen Qingling’s words. With Wen Qingling’s indifference, whether the human base lived or died had nothing to do with him. But the fact that he said a few more words already proved that he wasn’t completely heartless about the past.