"Not the Commander?"
Chen Dafeng furrowed his brow and asked, "Then who is the Commander? I want to see him!"
He didn't even know who was controlling him. How absurd was that?
"You don't have the privilege to meet the Commander yet."
Jiang Xiaoci's smile was light, but it stung Chen Dafeng's pride.
"What did you say? I don't have the privilege?"
Chen Dafeng's anger turned into a mocking laugh. "Woman, do you even know who I am? Have you ever heard of my name?"
"Of course I know," Jiang Xiaoci responded, her smile unwavering. "You're my defeated subordinate, the Commander's new soldier—one who looks like a formidable vanguard."
Jiang Xiaoci's tone was teasing, but she didn't seem to notice the fury building in Chen Dafeng's eyes.
"Chen Dafeng, you've just joined, so I understand you don't know all the rules. I won't hold it against you this time."
"But you need to understand one thing clearly."
She raised one delicate finger, calm and composed. "Until the Commander gives orders, everything here is under my authority."
"I could overlook your recent killing, but I also have every right to punish you for it."
"I know what you're thinking. You believe that since you've signed the pact, the Commander and you can no longer harm each other. You think you're finally free."
"But you should know better than anyone—your body may be free, but your shelter can't just run off."
"If my methods can destroy your shelter, do you still think you'll be free?"
Jiang Xiaoci's eyes narrowed, her smile gentle but chilling. "Without your shelter, little bear, what would be left of your power?"
"I seem to recall you have quite a few enemies in the city. Without your abilities... can you survive?"
"Are you threatening me?" Chen Dafeng's face darkened. "I've read the terms of the pact. Since you're under the Commander, you can't harm me or my shelter!"
"Oh, really?" Jiang Xiaoci's smile grew even softer. "I think I'll try it out, just to let you see."
"No need," Chen Dafeng interrupted her with a heavy stare. "I'm a man of my word. Now that I've pledged to the Commander, I'll follow the orders."
"But let me make one thing clear: if the Commander harms my interests, I'm not afraid to die."
Chen Dafeng had backed down.
He didn't dare challenge the woman before him. He didn't know her well enough yet.
But judging by the events of tonight, it was clear her methods were not to be underestimated. He didn't want to risk his shelter over a fight with her.
After all, they were both working under the Commander's banner. Fighting each other wouldn't benefit anyone.
But what Chen Dafeng didn't realize was that Jiang Xiaoci was aiming for exactly the attitude he was now showing.
She wanted him to start internalizing the idea of "serving the Commander" and gradually accepting it.
It was a slow process to tame someone like him.
Jiang Xiaoci was patient. She didn't push him further. "It seems you're a smart man. You know we're not enemies."
"As you've guessed, the Commander values your combat ability. Given that, I'll allow you some privileges in the settlement."
"But on the surface, you still need to follow the settlement's rules—that's for the Commander's face."
Jiang Xiaoci had made considerable concessions. Chen Dafeng was satisfied. Although he'd moved to a new place, at least he still had some status.
"Now, let's get down to business. Why did you call me here?"
Chen Dafeng slouched in a nearby chair, idly poking around and observing the interior of the command vehicle.
"Tch, this guy really has money..."
As he examined the vehicle, he muttered with envy, "This car came from the points market, right? Must've cost a few thousand points. He really spared no expense..."
Jiang Xiaoci smiled but didn't respond, diving straight into the matter at hand. "How many people are in your settlement?"
"They're all outside. You can have someone count them."
Chen Dafeng didn't want to bother answering such trivial questions, but after thinking for a moment, he added, "Around ten thousand, though the number fluctuates. I haven't counted carefully. People come and go every day—some join, some die."
"They came because of Little Bear's name. They want me to support them. Mostly useless people, troublemakers. There aren't many good ones."
Chen Dafeng scoffed, clearly unimpressed by the people he was leading.
"Ten thousand... I'll assume you have around eight thousand. How do you support them?"
Jiang Xiaoci asked, her tone businesslike. "How much food and resources do you have? What are your production methods?"
"No real production capabilities. We rely on raiding for supplies. I'm just trying to keep them from starving to death."
Chen Dafeng spoke lazily, then smirked. "I know what you want. You're thinking about taking over new territories and evaluating the resources and profits there."
"But I'm sorry to say, I can't feed so many people. I have a combat-based talent. I can barely take care of myself."
"I'm not even sure how we've survived this long. But my sister's talent is pretty good."
Chen Dafeng didn't hide this fact. He seemed to have an idea of bringing his sister into the new settlement—at least she'd be safe with him.
"My sister's talent is a mysterious one—S rank, called [The Peaceful Nation]. Strange name, right? But the effect is strong."
"As long as she's in the shelter, she can provide basic meals for everyone within a set radius—enough to feed everyone three meals a day."
"Of course, don't expect it to be stored. If they don't eat it that day, it's gone. And it's just enough for one person's daily intake—not very impressive."
"So, before, our settlement had a big shortage of supplies. We had to send people out daily to gather resources."
"Even so, there were still people who went hungry, their faces pale and thin."
Chen Dafeng shrugged. "If the Commander has extra points, you could upgrade my sister's shelter. That would improve her talent, and it would reduce your resource pressure."
It was clear that Chen Dafeng wanted his sister by his side.
Even if the Commander refused, he'd bring her into the new settlement.
"That's a pretty good talent," Jiang Xiaoci nodded in approval. This talent overlapped somewhat with Yi Bai's pact effect, but it had the potential to grow. It would also help alleviate some daily resource consumption.
But clearly, that alone wasn't enough to sustain his settlement.
"Do you have any other survivors with production-type talents?" Jiang Xiaoci asked. "To support this many people without falling apart, you must have several."
"Some," Chen Dafeng answered. "My sister manages them. There are maybe a hundred of them. If they're careful with resources, they can support about two thousand people."
Chen Dafeng glanced at Jiang Xiaoci and suddenly straightened up. Lowering his voice, he asked, "Why? Are you short on food?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Jiang Xiaoci chuckled softly, not hiding her intention. "Do you have a solution?"
"Do you know the guy in the city center?"
Chen Dafeng raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He pointed out the window. "That guy has a lot of food. I've heard there's enough to feed tens of thousands!"
"I know. He's not weak."
Jiang Xiaoci turned her gaze to Chen Dafeng, smiling. "If he weren't strong, you would've already taken his supplies."
"That's true. That guy's tough to deal with."
Chen Dafeng sighed and then spoke again. "I don't know what his talent is, but it's at least S rank. From what I've observed, his talent is probably [Physical Immunity]."
"You know, your tanks and planes..."
Chen Dafeng smirked, shaking his head. "They can intimidate me, but they probably can't hurt him."
"Physical immunity? Does that mean he's immune to gunfire too?"
Jiang Xiaoci rested her chin thoughtfully. If that was true, it would be quite troublesome.
"Of course. Grenades don't do anything to him. Bullets can't hit him. And it's a group immunity effect!"
Chen Dafeng chuckled. "That's how I got this far. That guy kept me under control. Otherwise, I'd be even stronger."
But now, he didn't really care.
"I used to be the boss. I had to worry about all these things. But now that I have a boss, it's his problem. As for me... Sorry, I'm done fighting. You guys can play however you want in this damn apocalypse!"
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