Chapter 129: A New Beginning

The grouping is complete, just the first step.

Next, we will elect the heads of each village and town.

This process, however, went surprisingly smoothly.

In the newly built "Dong Xing Zhen" of Xuanwu City, on the temporary square of the First Village.

Two thousand new residents, coming from more than ten different shelters and still unfamiliar with each other, sat together in a circle, eyeing their new neighbors with complex expressions.

The atmosphere was somewhat dull and also somewhat awkward.

"Cough cough!"

Just then, a middle-aged man who looked rather prestigious stood up, cleared his throat, and spoke loudly:

"Fellow villagers! Since the City Lord has placed us together, that is fate! From now on, we are all people of the same village! If we want to live a good life here, we must pull together as one rope!"

"Right now, our village has a hundred things awaiting revival; the urgent task is to elect a leader who can lead everyone in work—that is, our village head!"

His words instantly broke the dull atmosphere.

"That's right! We need to elect a village head!"

"But… but we don't know each other, how can we choose?"

Just as everyone was arguing and didn't know what to do,

In the crowd, a loud voice suddenly rang out.

"I recommend Lao Li! Leader Li!"

The crowd followed the sound and saw a burly man pointing at the scar-faced Lao Li sitting silently in the front row.

"Leader Li used to be the chief of our Black Wolf shelter! He is fair, brave and wise, leading several hundred brothers to survive in that damned place of Suchen until now! I'll stake my life on it: as long as Leader Li is here, our First Village will never go hungry!"

The burly man's words instantly caused a commotion.

Many members of the original Black Wolf shelter stood up in agreement.

"That's right! I support Leader Li!"

"If Leader Li becomes village head, I'm completely convinced!"

Although people from other shelters didn't know Lao Li, after hearing his glorious deeds, their looks toward him also gained a hint of admiration.

Being able to lead several hundred people to survive in the apocalypse is itself proof of ability.

Lao Li never expected to be nominated himself.

He stared for a moment, then gave a wry smile, stood up, and waved his hands at the crowd.

"I appreciate your kindness, but now we are all people of Xuanwu City—there's no such thing as leaders or not leaders anymore."

"I'm just an old fool; I don't have the ability to be a village head…"

"Lao Li, don't be modest!"

The burly man who first made the suggestion became anxious,

"In this situation, besides you, who can keep order? If you don't take it, our First Village will surely fall into chaos!"

"Yeah! Lao Li, just take the position!"

"We'll listen to you!"

Seeing the faces of the crowd filled with expectation, a long‑absent fervor surged in Lao Li's heart.

He took a deep breath, and his gaze became resolute.

"Good!"

"Since everyone trusts my Lao Li!"

"Then I'll take the village head position!"

"I can't guarantee everyone will eat delicacies, but I promise you this: as long as I, Lao Li, am here for a single day, no one in our First Village will go to sleep hungry."

"Good!!!"

On the square, a thunderous round of applause and cheers erupted!

……

The leadership team having been set up, what followed was a fervent push to build homes.

Fortunately, when the decision was made to take in these eighty thousand people, Lin Yue had already had Black Tortoise, using the 【All Things Return to the Ruins】 ability, pre‑build the most basic residential area for them.

They were rows of two‑story buildings poured from high‑strength concrete, looking from the outside like dull gray matchboxes, and inside completely empty—no doors or windows.

But for survivors who had never slept soundly in the apocalypse, this was no less than heaven.

"Honey, hurry and look! We… we have our own house now!"

A woman grabbed her husband's hand, gazing at the modest yet extraordinarily sturdy building before her, eyes brimming with hot tears.

"Yeah… we have a house…"

Her husband, a dark‑skinned farmer whose hands were covered in old calluses, his voice also choking up.

He reached out and gently touched the cold, rough wall, as if feeling some priceless treasure.

"Although… although we have nothing now, at least we no longer need to worry about rain leaking in or wind blowing our tents away…"

"Mm! From now on, this is our home!"

Within a day, every newly arrived survivor had a place of their own to shelter from wind and rain.

"Although they are merely the most basic bare‑shell houses, to reach the level of the finely finished homes of Xuanwu City's old residents, they still need to invest considerable time and effort to improve them."

Even so, they were already content.

Under Wang Gongtou's unified coordination and the leadership of each village head, a unprecedented large‑scale construction project for Xuanwu City officially kicked off!

Everyone, regardless of age or gender, who could still work, voluntarily threw themselves into this mighty construction fervor.

……

At the same time, Suchen, the Three Major Shelters.

This massive migration of nearly eighty thousand people caused such a commotion that they could not hide it from their eyes.

Qian Wanjin of the Heavenly God Group merely curled his lips and let out a disdainful snort upon hearing the news.

A bunch of ungrateful white-eyed wolves; better they left, so they wouldn't waste my food staying in Suchen.

In his view, these lower‑class survivors were nothing but a bunch of worthless burdens.

Sun Ba of the Deep Blue Matrix didn't care at all.

All his thoughts were focused on researching Xuanwu City; he couldn't even be bothered to lift an eyelid over the fate of these "ordinary humans."

Only the Supreme Responsible Person of Suchen Refuge, Zhao Weiguo, fell into a long silence upon seeing the drone's footage.

Inside the Command Center, the atmosphere was oppressive to the extreme.

"Commander..."

A young staff officer, seeing his commander's desolate back, couldn't help but speak, wanting to say something but not knowing where to begin.

"I'm fine."

Zhao Weiguo waved his hand, his voice tinged with barely concealed fatigue and hoarseness.

On one hand, he felt genuine joy that over eighty thousand survivors had found a better home.

But on the other hand, his heart was filled with confusion and turmoil.

The emergence of Xuanwu City was like a mirror, revealing all the flaws and inadequacies of the Suchen Refuge he had built.

Can high walls really bring safety?

Can stockpiled food really let people live with dignity?

"Could it be… that I was wrong from the very beginning?"

Zhao Weiguo raised his head, gazing at the ceiling of the Command Center, and for the first time a flicker of wavering appeared in his eyes.

What comes next for the path of Suchen?

PS: New book, please urge updates and collect!