"This is the path I will walk in this life. If you want to follow me, then join my team and we’ll see this through together. This is the shelter I’ve prepared for you, a base where you can live with the same dignity you had before the apocalypse."
"If you don’t agree with my path and don’t want to follow me, you can leave now. I’ll give you some food and weapons, and I wish you all the best. If we meet again, we’ll still be friends."
"Now, the choice is yours."
CLICK.
At their first official meeting, Yu Dong needed to get everyone on the same page.
"You’ll really let me go? There’s no catch, is there? Like, whoever says they want to leave gets taken out?"
A construction worker watched Yu Dong warily, his eyes filled with distrust.
"You want to leave? If so, you can go gather your things. Zhuoyu, take him to the storeroom to get some supplies."
The construction worker hesitated for a moment, then followed Jiang Zhuoyu.
’He really didn’t want to stay here. This kid who hadn’t even started shaving was spouting nonsense about being a ’reincarnator’... It was like a pyramid scheme, just complete bullshit. He’d be better off finding a house and holing up by himself.’
’There were several villa communities nearby. He could just take over one of them. Wouldn’t that be better than staying here and getting bossed around?’
’And if he needed food, he could just loot a supermarket.’
Soon, the man walked out, carrying a machete and a bag filled with portable food like canned goods and compressed biscuits.
When he reached the door and heard the sound of zombies pounding on it from outside, he hesitated...
"Lv Sheng, go clear out the zombies at the door."
"Yes, Commander!"
Lv Sheng pulled out a pistol and attached a silencer.
He opened the firing port on the main door...
PFFT PFFT PFFT.
Every shot was a headshot. Standing inside, he dealt with all the zombies at the door.
Lv Sheng opened the main door. The man hesitated for a moment, and after confirming there was no trap... he quickly left.
Yu Dong asked the people in front of him, "Does anyone else want to leave?"
Soon, another four men from the group of construction workers stepped forward, took their supplies, and left.
An electrician raised his hand.
Yu Dong said, "You can’t. I need your skills. Only you guys can handle the power systems. Consider yourselves temporarily requisitioned. Once we’ve finished the initial upgrades to the power grid, you’ll be free to go wherever you please."
"Until then... you won’t be required to kill zombies or go out on dangerous runs. You just need to handle the electrical maintenance and upgrades. You’ll be safe here. And if you have any surviving family members nearby, I’ll help you bring them back."
Hearing this, the electricians thought it over. ’The deal is actually pretty good,’ they realized. ’We get protected, and he’ll even help rescue our families. We could never manage that on our own.’
Sun Shan looked particularly wistful. "It would be perfect if we could keep it to an eight-hour workday and get weekends off."
A frail-looking female student asked, "I don’t want to leave, but... I’m really weak. I’m too scared to kill zombies..."
"That’s fine. Not everyone needs to be a fighter. We won’t force anyone who isn’t suited for combat. We need plenty of people for support roles, and the base itself needs to be maintained. There will be other jobs for you."
At this, many people were relieved.
The women from the secretarial department also breathed a sigh of relief. They had their own... very useful skills.
’This leader...’ they thought, ’...is a young man, too. He must have... significant needs.’
After five construction workers left, no one else departed.
Yu Dong also punished the members of the secretarial department, who had been summoned by Lin Mo and had trickled in late, by making them run laps.
"Huh? But we’re women..."
"We were only a little late..."
"I’m wearing high heels. I can’t run."
"Come on, Boss, be generous~ I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night."
Yu Dong’s gaze swept over the gaggle of chattering women. He said flatly:
"Either do as you’re told, or leave."
CLICK.
At this, all the late secretaries exchanged glances. After a moment’s hesitation, they started running, one after another.
’They knew that leaving this place... meant death.’
"Anyone else want to go?"
No one else moved. Yu Dong gave a signal to Lv Sheng, who sealed the main door.
"Good. Since you’ve decided to stay, you’ve accepted my vision and become part of my team. Now, I’m going to lay out our team’s three most fundamental rules."
"First: The team has only one supreme leader. Me, Yu Dong."
"Second: It doesn’t matter what your job, education, or social status was before. From now on, we are all partners in this team. We will respect and help one another."
"Third: If you have any opinions or suggestions about any of my strategies, everyone is free to voice them."
"Understood?"
CLICK.
Yu Dong looked down at them authoritatively, his gaze sweeping across the entire group. No one voiced any objections.
"Alright. Next, I’ll assign some temporary management positions. Lin Mo, you’re in charge of logistics and internal affairs. Jiang Zhuoyu, you’ll be my—"
"I object!"
A bearded, middle-aged man with fierce eyes and a lean, powerful build stepped out from the group of construction workers.
Yu Dong nodded at him, indicating that he could speak.
"My name is Xu Yi, and I’m the representative our workers elected. Seeing as we’re the largest group in this team now, I think I... should have a management position. To be a voice for us workers, to protect our rights. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there, Leader? You wouldn’t want people to think you’re only appointing your own cronies, would you? How would that be fair?"
He stepped out from among the construction workers, and it was clear the others respected him. He had obviously held a position of authority among them before.
Yu Dong nodded slightly. "Alright, Xu Yi. Come to the front."