Chapter 425: A Great Good Thing

"What's the commotion outside? I took a look just now; it's all people, packed tight like ants!"

"I saw it too. It's like everyone outside the city has poured out of their nests!"

"You're telling me. They've blocked the city gate completely. Forget about getting out; even getting close to the gate is a struggle. These people from outside the city are such a nuisance!"

"Exactly. They're like a stubborn plaster, living outside the city. And look at that road outside—it's filthy beyond belief. Every time I pass by, I have to pinch my nose and clutch my wallet tight, terrified of being robbed."

"Really? Are those people outside that bad?"

"You bet. There are tons of thieves and swindlers, and some even dare to rob people in broad daylight! Not to mention women, even a grown man has to be on edge if he goes in there alone during the day."

"I really don't get why the City Lord and the others allow those people to stay outside. If it were me, I would have driven them away long ago."

"Exactly." The others nodded in agreement one after another.

"President, isn't what these people are saying a bit too much?" Kang Yuan clenched his fists in anger.

He himself had only arrived at Yongan City after many twists and turns. At first, he also lived outside the city, and it was only after reaching the Force Entering realm that he finally managed to obtain a quota to live inside the city.

The Zhai outside the city were indeed inferior to the city in terms of living conditions and public security, but they were far from as unbearable as those people described.

What made him the most furious was that many of those who now held strong prejudices against the people outside the city were actually people who had originally lived outside the city themselves.

Song Tian shook his head helplessly and said, "This is human nature. It's just that the outbreak of the apocalypse has magnified the ugly side of human nature. We don't need to pay them any mind."

"The President is right." Chang Lei, who was to the side, nodded. Then, a look of confusion appeared in his eyes as he said, "However, I really don't know what that group from the Awakened Association is planning by gathering all the people from outside the city."

"Yeah." Jiang Yao also asked curiously, "President, do you know why this is?"

The rest of the group also cast their gazes toward Song Tian, expecting him to provide an answer.

Song Tian shook his head and said, "I don't know much about this matter either, but I do know one piece of news."

"What news?" everyone asked in unison.

"After Qi Yuangu went missing, the Awakened Association invited an Awakened to serve as their new president."

"A new president!" Kang Yuan and the others looked at each other, all showing expressions of surprise.

They hadn't expected the Awakened Association to act so quickly.

But thinking about it carefully, it was within reason; after all, a country cannot go a day without a ruler, and the Association cannot go a day without a president.

"President, what's the background of their new president?"

"I'm not too sure either. I only know that this new president is a very formidable character with considerable strength; many C-rank Awakened are quite afraid of him."

"That powerful?" Everyone was somewhat amazed.

"I hope this new president isn't too aggressive. Otherwise, I'm afraid life for our Martial Arts Association will be even harder."

"Yeah. Wait?" Jiang Yao seemed to have suddenly thought of something; her eyes widened all at once, and she said, "President, could there be a possibility that what happened this morning is related to that new president of the Awakened Association?"

"Jiang Yao, are you saying that it was that new president who had the people outside the city gather at the gate early this morning?"

"Exactly." Jiang Yao looked at the others and explained, "As the saying goes, a new official applies three fires. Since that person is new here, perhaps they just want to show off their presence in front of everyone and throw their weight around."

Hearing this, Chang Lei and the others nodded one after another.

They felt that this possibility was quite high.

After all, for a newly appointed president, wanting to establish their authority and using this method to demonstrate their means was quite plausible.

Thinking of this, a trace of disdain appeared in the eyes of several of them, more or less.

A dignified president of the Awakened Association actually caring about such empty fame and running in front of a group of ordinary people to show off was truly a bit ridiculous.

However, Song Tian frowned. He always felt that this matter wasn't that simple.

If the other party was just trying to show off, why didn't they come to find him, the president of the Martial Arts Association Branch, instead of choosing to gather a large group of ordinary people?

What exactly was this guy named Su Luo planning?

His heart was filled with doubts, and a sense of unease was gradually rising in the bottom of his heart.

Unknowingly, a quarter of an hour was about to pass.

Below the city tower, it was already a surging, overcrowded sea of people.

Let alone a bird, even if a fly wanted to fly in from here, it would be like a pipe dream.

That nearly thirty-meter-high city wall stood before everyone's eyes, causing many people to look up until their necks were almost stiff.

Even so, people in the crowd still glanced at the city wall from time to time, full of anticipation for when the main character would appear.

Suddenly, the originally noisy and clamorous sounds disappeared without a trace.

It turned out that several figures had quietly appeared on top of the city gate at some unknown time.

They were positioned among the uniformed guards, appearing particularly striking.

"It's, it's the Awakened lords!" someone in the crowd shouted first.

In an instant, with a rustling sound, the crowd knelt down in swathes like wheat blown over by the wind.

In less than three seconds, forty or fifty thousand people knelt on the ground in unison, their eyes fixed tightly on the ground below, not daring to make even the slightest sound.

Even a three or four-year-old child, in such a tense and solemn atmosphere, obediently knelt down with the adults, not daring to have the slightest defiance.

The few D-rank Awakened on the city wall looked at this scene, exchanged glances, and expressions of complacency appeared in their eyes simultaneously.

In the eyes of these ordinary people, they were gods high above, possessing awe-inspiring power.

The person in the lead was none other than Hai Qiong.

He looked down at the tens of thousands of people kneeling on the ground, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of floating.

This was the privilege of the Awakened; to ordinary people, they held the power of life and death.

It is no exaggeration to say that even if he were to kill hundreds or thousands of people in front of these people right now, the others would not dare to offer any resistance to him.

However, when Su Luo's stern, unsmiling face appeared in his mind, he shivered all over, and waves of chill surged from the bottom of his heart.

He had a vague premonition in his heart that if he acted recklessly, Su Luo would definitely not let him off easily after receiving the news.

"Ahem." Hai Qiong coughed lightly, breaking the oppressive silence, and said, "Everyone, get up."

The crowd below was stunned upon hearing these words, expressions of confusion appearing on their faces as if they hadn't heard clearly, or perhaps they had, but their hearts were filled with such fear that they dared not rise easily.

"Are you all deaf? The President told you to get up!" an Awakened behind them roared loudly upon seeing this.

This voice was like a great bell, spreading across the entire venue. Only then did the crowd tremble as they stood up, looking at the few people on the city wall with uneasy faces, their eyes full of awe and anxiety.

"I have called you all here today to announce something. For you, this is a great piece of good news."

The crowd below looked at one another, their faces written over with suspicion.

In their daily lives, they felt mostly fear toward the Awakened, and they dared not even hope to receive any benefits from the hands of the Awakened.

In their view, as long as those Awakened in the city did not come to cause them trouble, they would already be thanking the heavens.

Therefore, regarding the "great good news" from the mouth of this President on the city wall, their hearts were filled with doubt, and they did not believe it would truly be anything good.

"Before I speak of this matter, I want all of you to first remember one person; he is President Su of our Awakened Association. Have you remembered?"

The venue was quiet for a moment, and then sparse voices rang out.

"Re, remembered, President Su."

"Pre, President Su."

"It doesn't matter if you haven't remembered, because in a moment, you will remember him from the bottom of your hearts." Hai Qiong's gaze swept slowly across everyone from left to right.

Under his majestic gaze, whether man, woman, old, or young, everyone could not help but shiver involuntarily, and even Liu Yong and the others were no exception.