After Blood General and Chen Chong left the scene, more than ten minutes passed. In the empty space that had been cleared, a group of lackeys waited boredly and became restless:
"That kid has guts. Do you think he'll be killed by the general?"
"Who knows. But since there has been no movement for such a long time, maybe that kid really knows something."
"Shut up! This is not something we can discuss. Let's focus on who will be the last winner among these scavengers."
"You're right. Damn it, it would be great if there were women among these scavengers. Maybe there's a chance to have some fun."
"Fool, even if there are women, do you think we can have a turn?"
"Not necessarily. The general has high standards and he's not interested in ugly women. Maybe we can benefit from it? I'm not picky."
...
Amidst the malicious restlessness, the eight scavengers from the Dawn Gathering were pale and stood in place, feeling like every minute and every second was excruciatingly long.
Qiao Jun, who had previously been affected by the bloodline gu, had recovered as well. He leaned against the wall, sweat dripping down his forehead, looking at his bewildered former teammates who were surrounded by the thugs. His eyes were filled with anger, his teeth almost grinding to pieces.
He and his teammates had been through life and death together, establishing an incredibly strong trust between them. Regardless of the situation, they could always rely on each other unconditionally. It can be said that they had a profound bond. Even though his teammates were not awakened, they never had to worry about the trust behind their backs. In this dark world filled with deceit, betrayal, and killing, this trust was undoubtedly more valuable than anything else!
However, at this moment, even though he was an experienced awakened, Qiao Jun was powerless. Standing next to him, Iron Mountain, the bald leader, had a malicious smile on his face:
"Qiao Jun, is that kid your lackey? He's quite bold! But what information does he know that even you, as the captain, don't know?"
Qiao Jun felt anxious in his heart and ignored him.
Clap! Clap!
Soon, crisp applause rang out, and everyone turned their heads to see Blood General and Chen Chong walking out from the shadows, one after the other, under the moonlight.
Iron Mountain immediately greeted them, and his gaze swept over Chen Chong, who had no expression on his face. He respectfully said to Blood General:
"General, can the duel continue now?"
Blood General, with a sinister smile on his face, looked around at the thugs eagerly waiting to witness a bloody fight and said:
"Alright, there's no need to continue the duel. Tie up these people and let them rest for the night. We'll take them back in the morning!"
The eager expressions of the lackeys froze as they didn't understand why Blood General's attitude had suddenly changed so drastically.
Iron Mountain was also taken aback. "But General, the car..."
Blood General glanced at him and calmly said, "Just throw away the least valuable things. Do I need to teach you this?"
Iron Mountain sweated on his forehead and hurriedly agreed.
Upon hearing that they didn't have to kill each other, Qiao Jun and the scavengers in the field were filled with joy and relieved. They felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Although they didn't understand why Blood General had changed his mind, it was obviously related to Chen Chong. For them, even if they had to work as laborers for Blood General in his territory, it was much better than being forced to kill each other!
"There's one more thing."
As everyone puzzled over Blood General's words, he patted Chen Chong's shoulder and said to Iron Mountain:
"His name is Chen Chong. From now on, he is one of us. Arrange a place for him when we return to the territory. He has the right to choose his work freely, and you should provide him with resources at the level of a squad leader without requiring contributions. Make sure there are no problems."
The right to choose work freely? Resources at the level of a squad leader without requiring contributions?
Upon hearing Blood General's words, the lackeys present widened their eyes in disbelief. In the Scarlet Territory, Blood General was an absolute ruler, the undisputed king without a crown. Under his bloody rule, apart from his own loyal followers, everything of value created by the surviving individuals, and all the resources collected, would be taken away by him, leaving only less than thirty percent for redistribution based on contributions.
Though it was called resource allocation, it actually amounted to providing basic necessities such as low-quality food and water for survival. However, for groups like scavenging teams and hunting teams that constantly risked their lives, the allocation was higher than that of ordinary survivors. People at the level of squad leaders even received artificially grown spiritual fruit, which was already considered a luxury for those who were barely fed.
Idlers were not tolerated in the territory. Each survivor either worked for Blood General in exchange for food or went out into the wasteland to struggle. Otherwise, staying in the territory meant starving to death. The lackeys realized that the resource allocation and the right to choose work freely that Blood General mentioned were almost like raising Chen Chong as an idle person. It was as incredible as a butcher drenched in blood suddenly becoming a vegetarian filled with kindness.
Why did the general give such preferential treatment? What kind of luck did this kid have?
For a moment, all the lackeys' eyes were almost overwhelmed by envy, almost drowning out Chen Chong beside Blood General. Even Iron Mountain, as the leader, looked at Chen Chong with an uncertain expression.
Blood General didn't care about his subordinates' reactions and gestured to Qiao Jun, "You, come with me."
Qiao Jun took a deep breath, glanced at Chen Chong, and followed Blood General. After Blood General had walked far away, the lackeys began to whisper among themselves and kept glancing at Chen Chong.
Ignoring the gazes that fell upon him, Chen Chong confidently found a stone step and sat down.
"Kid, it seems you're quite eloquent with words," Iron Mountain's imposing figure appeared in front of Chen Chong, looking down on him and asked, "What did you say to the General? Why did he treat you so well?"
Without lifting his head, Chen Chong sneered, "Of course, I gave him some life-threatening information. Are you sure you want to know?"
Iron Mountain's face changed instantly, thinking of Blood General's ferocity. He gave Chen Chong a deep look and forcibly suppressed his curiosity, turning around and leaving.
The eight scavengers from the Dawn Gathering had been tied up, except for Iron Mountain. They knew that Chen Chong had somehow managed to establish a relationship with Blood General, but no foolish lackey dared to disturb Chen Chong in the presence of the lurking danger. Chen Chong sat alone in a corner, lost in thought.
"Bloodline gu..."
Thinking of the bizarre gu parasite that controlled Qiao Jun, Chen Chong pondered deeply. Based on Blood General's behavior when using the bloodline gu and the words Iron Mountain said to Qiao Jun, he realized that the bloodline gu could not only control awakened individuals but also help the host enhance their life field, making it extremely precious and strange. It seemed to consume a considerable amount of Blood General's own power and could not be easily used.
Using the power of other forces to retaliate against the base was his plan long ago. The hundred days and nights of hellish torment were truly unforgettable, so he naturally couldn't pretend that nothing had happened. However, Blood General's appearance was unexpected, and now that Qiao Jun, who was controlled by the bloodline gu, already knew about his escape from the base, there was no guarantee that Blood General wouldn't find out. Thus, he had to take advantage of the situation and take a gamble.
Although this time he made the right bet, it made Chen Chong more vigilant. Being completely controlled, with no control over his own life and death, was undoubtedly more terrifying than direct death.
For Chen Chong, it should have taken a considerable amount of time from when the Dawn Gathering learned about the base to their preparation and mobilization of forces. No matter how cruel Blood General was, he would only have the possibility to retaliate after the base was destroyed. Therefore, during this period, he must quickly grasp the power to protect himself!
Chen Chong's contemplation didn't last long. After a moment, he sensed something and turned his head, only to see Blood General, with a smile on his face, bringing back Qiao Jun, whose face had turned pale. At the same time, Blood General's gaze fell upon Chen Chong with a sense of control.
"Not bad today. All you guys here will be rewarded with one kilogram of meat when we return!"
As his gaze swept over each subordinate, Blood General was in a good mood and laughed heartily:
"At daybreak, we will immediately return!"
The sky was gloomy, with thick dark clouds pressing down, blocking all sunlight.
On the desolate wilderness, six rusty off-road vehicles, without roofs and covered in patches, decorated with various bone ornaments, formed a convoy and roared forward in the thunderous engine noise, raising a long trail of dust along the way.
Almost every vehicle had seven or eight prisoners sitting or standing inside, howling like wild beasts without restraint, filled with a sick excitement and madness.
In the leading and most intact off-road vehicle, Blood General sat in the back seat with his arms crossed, his eyes closed. Iron Mountain seemed to want to say something several times but hesitated.
"Iron Mountain, you have been with me for a long time, are you afraid to speak now?"
Amidst the roaring and bumping, Blood General opened his eyes and smiled mockingly, "Do you think I treat Chen Chong specially because he tricked me with some kind of soup?"
Iron Mountain stammered, "General, how could you be deceived by him? I'm just a little curious."
Blood General looked out of the car window at the quickly retreating vast scenery and chuckled, "This kid has brought me quite a surprise indeed. Iron Mountain, theoretically, you should know the situation since you've been with me for so long. But it's a major issue, so let's talk about it in detail when we return to the territory."
Iron Mountain was slightly surprised, not expecting Blood General to be so cautious. He couldn't help but ask, "Since this matter is so important, what about that kid..."
"That kid is quite clever and ambitious, he won't do anything foolish, nor would he dare to," Blood General replied. The memory of Chen Chong's unyielding posture in front of him made Blood General smile playfully, "The Bloodline Gu has just been consumed and needs to be replenished with my own blood essence, so I can't use it for now. He seems to be a beginner, but still has some potential. Unfortunately, he is still too weak. We'll observe him for a while, and if he is still alive after this matter is settled, I'll reward him with something..."
Iron Mountain chuckled, "I believe this kid will be grateful to the General when the time comes."
...
Unaware of the conversation between Blood General and Iron Mountain in the leading vehicle, Chen Chong was squeezed into the back seat of the second off-road vehicle, playing with the tactical knife he had retrieved.
The lackeys in the car still maintained a certain level of wariness towards Chen Chong due to Blood General's transformation last night, or perhaps they just didn't want any trouble. No one took the initiative to talk to him because everyone was tired from staying up all night.
Ignoring the violent criminals beside him, Chen Chong looked through the car window at the seemingly perpetual cloudy sky.
"Such heavy clouds... Could it be because of nuclear winter?"
Now he knew that the world had become like this due to the Catastrophic Event and global nuclear explosions, which led him to associate with the current situation.
As soon as dawn broke, he set off with Blood General and his gang towards the Crimson Territory 100 kilometers northwest. The eight scavengers from Dawn Gathering were stuffed into the cars behind him.
As for Qiao Jun, the captain of the scavengers, he had disappeared at dawn and was probably sent back to Dawn Gathering by Blood General to serve as a hidden informant.
During the journey, with the vast and uninhabited land, it seemed like the convoy was taking a relatively safe route. At the beginning, they encountered several waves of wolf-like radiation creatures chasing them, but after the fierce shooting from the criminals in the car, these creatures scattered and retreated.
"Indeed, the power of a team is much stronger than an individual, as long as the individual's strength is not at a certain level."
Witnessing this scene in the car, Chen Chong couldn't help but sigh. In a situation like just now, if he were alone walking on the wilderness, encountering these groups of radiation creatures, he would most likely become their breakfast. However, Blood General's men relied on the convenience of vehicles and their fierce firepower to easily drive these radiation creatures away without any damage.
"It seems that the gathering points are established where there are fewer radiation creatures and no powerful ones."
As the convoy advanced, they encountered fewer and fewer radiation creatures along the way. This thought arose in Chen Chong's mind.
The resting point was about 100 kilometers away from Blood General's Crimson Territory. After eighteen years since the Catastrophe, most of the wilderness around the gathering points had been scavenged by the scavengers, so the closer to the gathering points, the safer it seemed.
While Chen Chong was contemplating, one of the lackeys driving suddenly cheered, "We're almost there! Damn, I've come back alive once again, hahaha!"
Chen Chong's heart moved, and he immediately leaned out of the car window to look ahead.
At the end of his sight, a wasteland appeared, with the outlines of intact buildings faintly visible amidst the ruins, and several moderately tall chimneys could be seen emitting dense black smoke.
Blood General's Crimson Territory had arrived!
A thought sparked in Chen Chong's mind. With the deviation from his original plan, he finally had the conditions to cultivate.
After the two-day escape from the base, he fully experienced the cruel and dark side of this world. His desire for power had already reached its peak!
Chen Chong was eager to begin cultivating the ultimate Qi Gong, the Indestructible Diamond Technique, and the Pneumatic Cannon Fist.