Chapter 479: Boiling

One tells ten, ten tells a hundred.

Unlike others posting information, who can only mobilize hundreds or even thousands to send messages simultaneously, for fear their message gets drowned out in the scrolling chat channel.

When the first player who saw the Long An insignia and Lin An ID stared at it in disbelief several times, the entire Huaxia War Zone exploded.

"Look... look... channel!"

Stammering, an Awakened One from the Huaxia South War Zone crouched in a supermarket searching for supplies, with a look of having seen a ghost, frantically patted the companion beside them:

"Lin An! Lin An has appeared!"

"What!?"

In a mess-filled supermarket, a survivor about to tear open a package suddenly widened their eyes.

"Plop"

The bagged roast chicken fell to the ground.

He didn't have time to blame his companion for shouting so loudly; wasn't he afraid of attracting zombie attention?

When he opened the chat channel, he wished he could stuff his eyes into the screen.

At the same time, all players in the Huaxia War Zone, notified each other, hurriedly opened the channel.

He had no time for his current tasks, nor for anything else.

As Lin An, who had occupied the hottest topic shortly after the apocalypse began, he had always been the subject of everyone's repeated discussion.

Whether they previously mocked and opposed him, resented his never appearing, or were disappointed in him.

At this moment, they all had only one thought.

Lin An, what on earth does he want to say!?

Why did he appear now!?

Strange, a spontaneous cessation of message sending.

Originally the chat channel that scrolled tens of thousands of times per second was now silent, as if a faucet had been turned off.

Looking at that brief sentence in the channel, all survivors in the Huaxia War Zone couldn't help but become tense.

"I am Lin An, the person in charge of Long'an Base, Lin An."

Below this message, aside from a few messages sent by Awakened Ones who didn't notice this was from Lin An, the entire light screen fell into stillness.

They feared the message would be sent, so they scrolled Lin An's message away.

Steel City Gathering Place.

Wu Yu had just finished ordering his subordinates to routinely mock Lin An, claiming he would immediately attack Long'an Base and capture Lin An alive.

Just as he was pondering how many troops to mobilize for a surprise attack, shocked shouts rang out:

"Boss!"

"Quickly look at the chat channel! Lin An has appeared!"

"What!?"

Wu Yu, astonished, put down his map and hastily opened the channel.

Lin An isn't seriously injured and unconscious, is he!?

How could he suddenly appear.

For no reason, a vague unease spread.

They didn't wait long.

Amid the speculation and doubt of billions of survivors, Lin An's second message was quickly sent:

"Effective immediately, Long'an Base will recruit Awakened Ones externally and rescue survivors."

"Currently, Long'an Base has ample food supplies and implements a non-discriminatory management system."

"The eligible participants for this recruitment are unlimited."

"Whether you are an ordinary person or an Awakened One, Long'an Base will treat everyone equally, without discrimination!"

"The expected number of survivors to be taken in this time is 3.5 million!"

"Furthermore, Long'an Base will be independent of the Huaxia War Zone."

"Anyone who hinders survivors from joining Long'an Base or slanders our forces will be considered hostile to Long'an by default!"

"Current coordinates: Linjiang War Zone-78-1921-641... (Linjiang Academy)"

The narration was plain, with nothing special in the wording.

But seeing those conspicuous words recruiting survivors in the channel, everyone couldn't help but start discussing.

What's going on, how did Long'an Base suddenly pop up!?

3.5 million? Recruiting that many all at once!?

Wasn't everyone saying Lin An was a cowardly weakling? Hiding away to become a petty emperor, saving no one?

At this very moment, the entire Huaxia War Zone erupted in a huge uproar after Lin An released the message.

A small minority who had always believed Long'an Base would appear, but had stayed silent for reasons, were now so excited they almost jumped up.

"I said it! I said the one who could first build a safe zone couldn't possibly be a coward!"

"Lord Lin An must be thinking to let everyone join after securing the city! A bunch of villains, only knowing how to slander!"

"If they can't build a safe zone themselves, they'll just turn sour!"

Instantly, it exploded.

Previously, players who liked to mock Lin An to boost themselves now resembled ducks with their necks wrung.

No one spoke up to refute.

But they had seen that sentence in the message.

Anyone who hinders survivors from joining... slanders Long An, will be regarded as an enemy by Long An...

Not knowing anything about Long An, they didn't dare to be the first to step forward, even in the short term.

Contains: Long An (Faction: Long An). Also maybe "they" not a name.

Many people around the Linjiang war zone felt a strong sense of unease.

Lin An...

They won't settle scores later, will they?

This tone, no matter how you listen, it sounds hostile.

A few messages questioning why Lin An didn't appear earlier were also drowned out by the rising anger.

Unlike other factions that either only recruit awakeners or require strong bodies or special skills,

the standards for survivors to join Long An Base are incredibly lenient.

Treating everyone equally, without discrimination?

The ordinary players, who make up the largest number of survivors, are now so excited they can't contain themselves.

For these weaklings, trying to join a force made up of awakeners is nearly impossible.

Let alone the high‑tier forces of the safe zone.

Even if they got in, they'd just be cannon fodder, treated like beasts of burden and oppressed.

Almost as soon as they finished reading the information, players near Linjiang burst into cheers.

They, who are not part of the faction's upper echelon and are merely struggling to survive the apocalypse, now feel a sense of hope.

Unlike ambitious people who would see Long An Base as a rival or a stepping stone,

their thoughts are simple.

Long An Base is willing to take them in and treat them fairly.

They believe the words spoken by Lin An in his position as the first person.

As for the term "self‑reliance," they didn't realize what it meant...

In a grain station somewhere around Linjiang, a man holding an iron shovel excitedly slammed it down onto the ground.

It turns out that the Long An Base everyone wanted to know the location of is right nearby!

Linjiang Academy, his son studies there!

The man looked around, raised his neck, and shouted:

"Brothers! Who wants to go with me to Long An?!"

"I don't want to be a dog here anymore!"

"Here! There's no way to survive!"

He raised his arms and shouted loudly.

Although it's a grain station, after being occupied by a team of about a hundred awakeners, all supplies are treated as their own.

The food distributed daily to the survivors in the gathering area is only a small amount of rice porridge.

The labor is grueling, and the food shortage is just the beginning.

The faction occupying this place hardly treats them as human.

Want to eat? Want to work less?

Sure, if you have a wife and kids you can offer them up; if not, you can serve those above, and maybe they'll throw you a bone.

Every day, countless survivors collapse from exhaustion or lack of strength.

"You dare! Damn it! Whoever tries to run, I'll kill them!"

The awakener in charge of supervision, somewhat panicked, shouted loudly and instinctively cursed at them.

What are we to do!?

Everything happened too suddenly.

Seeing the crowd glaring angrily after his rebuke, the awakeners, who usually strut around arrogantly, found it hard to swallow.

"Do you want to rebel!?"

"Get back to work quickly!"

How could this be? Why would Long An Base suddenly start recruiting?

He couldn't think much; he only knew one fact.

Long An Base has started accepting survivors—who would still stay with them!?

The man who first shouted defiance, looking at his wounded companions behind him, took a deep breath:

"Do you dare to stop us!?"

"Lord Lin An said! Whoever dares to block someone is the enemy!"

"Brothers! Bring your families, let's go to Long An Base together!"

For a moment, the awakener overseeing the grain station stood frozen, not daring to speak up to stop them.

The news that Long An Base had just successfully defended the city was recent, and he also feared that if he really tried to stop them, Long An Base might come attacking—what then?

Such a large force, and Long An Base is right nearby!

The same scene played out repeatedly.

Like a zombie tide attacking, huge numbers of "black points" densely gathered in groups, preparing to rush to Long An.

But this time it's a person.