Chapter 595: Recruiting Lie Ming Yi!
Translator: Editor:
Yue Zhong’s brows arched, his eyes flashing with surprise: “Oh! There’s a Novice Village around here? Where exactly?”
The Novice Village had opened only about a month after the world changed. It can only exist if a person were to discover and own it. Other than Lei Jiang City, Yue Zhong only heard of another in the grasp of the Kingdom of God over at Europe. That was how they trained up a large number of soldiers.
As long as one could nurture an ordinary person into a Level 10 Enhancer, they could do a Job Change at the Novice Village and gain the Gun Specialization Skill as an elite soldier. They were much stronger than ordinary soldiers. In Japan, the elite troops of the Kingdom of God holding off over 5,000 soldiers of the Takama-ga-hara had left a deep impression on Yue Zhong.
If Yue Zhong could control a Novice Village, he could mass produce top-notch soldiers. Other than turning people into soldiers, he could groom talents in other fields as well.
In fact, he had considered bringing his troops to conquer Lei Jiang City the first thing once he went back to China. However, he never expected to gain some news on a Novice Village here at Port Fang Cheng.
Lie Ming Yi chuckled lightly: “Ning Xi City! There’s one over there. I had gone through the Job Change there with some friends.”
Yue Zhong frowned: “There should be many zombies over there right?”
Ning Xi City was about 50km away from Port Fang Cheng. Before the apocalypse, there had been a population of over a million.
After the apocalypse, all the major cities suffered the largest number of zombies. The smallest horde had numbered about 500,000. With such a horde, without a strong troop, there was no way of fending them off.
Even if Yue Zhong managed to gather all 5,000 survivors of Port Fang Cheng, he was not blindly arrogant to think that he could use them to eradicate the zombies of Ning Xi City. Even if he added on Lie Ming Yi’s troops, it would be impossible.
Lie Ming Yi replied mildly: “Yea! The horde there is no joke. The hundreds of thousands zombies that used to be here had marched on towards there. There should be over 2 million zombies now.”
“2 million?!” When Yue Zhong heard this figure, he frowned as he tried to do some calculations mentally.
The moment the size of a horde exceeded a million, it would be incredibly difficult to eradicate them fully. Even a faction like Yue Zhong would suffer a terrible price while doing so.
However, he had already obtained Yan Zhou, as one of the heaviest manufacturing industrial city before the apocalypse. After providing a huge supply of manpower, the entire city had produced a large number of ammunition. At the same time, during Yue Zhong’s absence, his people had discovered 3 armories. Now, he possessed enough manpower and equipment to fight against a million zombies.
Yue Zhong’s tone became slightly heavier as he said: “I admire you very much, Lie Ming Yi. Are you interested in joining me?”
By now, Yue Zhong had over a million survivors, and his elite troops numbered more than 20,000. He could be considered one of the biggest warlords.
Although Lie Ming Yi was strong individually, in Yue Zhong’s eyes, he was still barely a local thug leader. He wanted soldiers but there were no soldiers. He needed military fire but lacked them. The only thing that was worth evaluating was his personal strength.
In this world, a single person’s strength was miniscule. Even a Level 81 expert like Yue Zhong could not possibly handle a horde of hundreds of thousands of zombies. The only way was for humanity to work together to form an army. That way, they can eradicate the zombies and restore some form of stability.
When Lie Ming Yi heard Yue Zhong’s proposal, he hesitated before asking: “If I do join you, what kind of treatment will I get?”
By now, the notoriety of the Tyrant Yue Zhong of Guang Xi had spread far and wide. His exploits and defeated enemies were broadcasted everyday. Lie Ming Yi had also gotten word about Yue Zhong from an escaping survivor.
The number of experts under his wing numbered like clouds, his troops numbered over 20,000. It wasn’t a force Lie Ming Yi could hope to contend with. When Yue Zhong proposed recruitment, he really had the thought of relying on him. However, it would depend on the price Yue Zhong was willing to pay.
Yue Zhong immediately offered a position of Major and Battalion Commander to entice him: “ If you join me, you’ll gain the post of a Major rank. Of course, everything of the Tian Yang Gang has to be handed to me. As for your brothers and your own possessions and women, they can be kept.”
Yue Zhong had established his power, and any battalion commander post was extremely precious. It was a post where one could command a large army. Furthermore, with Yue Zhong leading, everyone would ride the wave with him. In the future, they would stand to gain much.
Gui Ning City had attracted numerous Evolvers to join and fight for Yue Zhong’s cause. Even then, they would at most be lieutenants and captains. One could see the worth of a Major.
Lie Ming Yi was tempted. He had been ambitious and tried to raise the Tian Yang Gang, only to feel exhausted as time passed. Even a small gang had its troubles, the various power struggles within the gang itself. There was also the community of survivors that had to be looked after, as well as the problem with issue.
After Lie Ming Yi’s faction had hit 7,000, it was hard to expand further. Just the consumption of ration was a troubling headache for him. Much of the food from Port Fang Cheng had gone bad and the amount he had left was only enough to last for another 3 months. Once he was forced to leave Port Fang Cheng, he might have to abandon some of the survivors.
He was passionate about fame and wealth, and decided to bargain: “Lieutenant Colonel. A Lt. Col. post. I’m a dual-attribute Evolver, and my level is 63. As long as you give me that post, I’ll serve you. Tian Yang Gang will be all yours. These 2 absolute beauties are yours as well.”
Yue Zhong revealed a smile: “Agreed!”
Yue Zhong felt that exchanging a position of a Lieutenant Colonel for the loyalty and service of a powerful dual-Attribute Evolver was worth it. He could offer such a position because his faction had expanded greatly. Furthermore, he had established some form of stability and society, plus his experts were numerous, that was why Lie Ming Yi felt comfortable throwing his weight in with him. If Yue Zhong had been alone, even if he was at Level 100, Lie Ming Yi wouldn’t have chosen to follow him.
“Thank you Commander! No! Leader!!” Lie Ming Yi exclaimed in excitement. He had always wanted to be an officer when growing up, however, since the bureaucracy was too strict before the apocalypse, he didn’t have the chance to even be a civil servant. Now that Yue Zhong was willing to, he was excited.
It must be clear that it was an honor to many Chinese to become officials and ranking officers. From Ancient China till now, it was a dream of countless heroes. Yue Zhong had formed some government in Gui Ning City, and Lie Ming Yi knew he had no chance of fending off Yue Zhong’s army, thus he chose to submit, hoping to gain some merit, and earn some fame and riches for himself.
Lie Ming Yi managed to calm down, and immediately motioned for the 2 ladies beside him: “Xie Jing Yun, Wang Shuang Ru, why aren’t you greeting your master?”
To someone who was excited about fame and riches, women held little allure over him. Compared to women, power was something a man should lust for. In fact, for the sake of a post, many had no qualms presenting their wives to other officials. Xie Jing Yun and Wang Shuang Ru had nothing to do with Lie Ming Yi, that was why he had no qualms giving them to Yue Zhong.
“We greet Master!” Both of them spoke up with a smile to seek favor with Yue Zhong, although not before a look of helplessness and bitterness flash past their eyes.
Humans during chaos could not compare to dogs in peace*. Both these women knew that the world had changed, and they were no longer females that were chased and sought after. If they didn’t face reality, then they would just suffer a worse fate.
“En!” Yue Zhong swept his gaze past them faintly, but did not linger on them. Instead, he continued: “Lie Ming Yi, if you join me, there will be some in your gang that would not agree. What do you plan on doing?”
Lie Ming Yi chuckled in response, his handsome face revealing a slight killing aura: “Leader, rest assured, I’ll handle it well. Those who aren’t willing, will definitely not live to see tomorrow’s sunrise.”
Lie Ming Yi might have been able to converse nicely with Yue Zhong, but for someone like him to establish a gang like the Tian Yang Gang in this apocalyptic world, he wasn’t some pushover as well. He would only speak courteously to Yue Zhong because of his strength. There was no way he could fight back.
He was also a man of actions, as he swiftly returned and announced his decision.
Immediately, chaos ensured. Not everyone was willing to follow, as some prefered their current lifestyles of drinking and eating, toying with women as they liked. They vehemently opposed joining Yue Zhong.
After slaughtering 8 of the dissident voices, the entire Tian Yang Gang swore fealty to Yue Zhong, and assimilated with his troops.
With Lie Ming Yi’s submission, there were no other parties that could stand up against such a force. The smaller factions either chose to leave or join Yue Zhong. Soon, the entire Port of Fang Cheng as well as the city fell into Yue Zhong’s control.
Evening time, Yue Zhong sat on Greenie’s back, as it flew towards the direction of Ning Xi City.
A huge elite army had already set off from Gui Ning City upon Yue Zhong’s orders. Along the way, they managed to clear 300,000 zombies, and camped about 50 km away from Ning Xi City.
Yue Zhong came specially to survey the place, and conduct a recon of his own to better understand the situation.