Chapter 240 - On The Edge Of The Abyss
It was absolutely impossible to establish a base without having an organization first. Even if it was a poor structure without much planning, the person or persons in charge definitely needed rules and personnel to work in specific areas.
Similar to a company where the CEO was the highest authority, if all the work of the company went into the hands of the CEO then he or she would die of burnout, and the company would go bankrupt. That was precisely why there were different positions for different areas and different purposes in particular.
With the North Camp it was exactly the same.
While Kang Rong and Lu Yan were undoubtedly the two men with the most power inside the base as the most firepower was under the control of the two of them. However, below them there were definitely people working in other areas.
Government, civil security, public order, distribution of goods and logistics, etc. There were simply too many jobs and positions to fill. Therefore, although Bai Zemin's group did not know specifically who held what position within the north base, Kang Rong and Lu Yan should have chosen some people with certain ability or trustworthiness to occupy a place in a government cabinet.
Even if these people were not part of the government before, inside this base they were basically petty kings.
After a month with no sign of the central government or the Chinese army, it was impossible for those with real power not to start having their own selfish thoughts. Even less so with the Lower Leader subclass choosing all those faction leaders who exceeded a thousand survivors.
What reasons would Kang Rong and Lu Yan have for not starting their own faction and aiming high to become true rulers? Why would they have to follow a government that had already fallen? Naturally both men had their own thoughts.
People would rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of a dragon; this was an undeniable reality.
Bai Zemin's group of four had been busy for two days in which they could not even sleep comfortably as they rushed northward practically non-stop. Therefore, they were currently quite hungry.
"I'll be right back." Bai Zemin said as he walked towards the door of the building they were staying in.
Before the others had a chance to say anything, his body blurred and in the next second he was nowhere to be seen.
He had vanished like a ghost.
"Where... Oh, I get it." Nangong Yi was going to ask where he was going but soon seemed to think of something and smiled knowingly.
Shangguan Bing Xue turned around and walked towards the place where the kitchen was supposed to be and began to look to see if in the furniture attached to the walls she could find anything that would be of use.
In the meantime, the two Nangong siblings began to rack their brains thinking of something that might be of use in this situation. Although they had been at the base for about half a month before, the two spent most of their time out on missions so they were not too familiar with many people; this was precisely one of the reasons why even now no one had recognized them.
About five minutes later, the wind whistled softly and Bai Zemin appeared in front of everyone again.
"Done?" Shangguan Bing Xue asked.
"Done." Bai Zemin smiled faintly as he walked to a corner and carefully put down some items on the floor.
If one looked carefully one would notice that these barely five centimeter items were in the shape of armor, shoulder pads, swords, scabbards, cloak, etc.
"Although there were a few armed men around, they didn't even notice when I sneaked in." Bai Zemin said as he grabbed some trash and used it to cover the miniature objects.
Shangguan Bing Xue rolled her eyes as she thought to herself that if he was found by a group of normal people then he might as well retreat and go take a nap.
"Let's go." Bai Zemin stood up and wiped his hands. "Let's go get some cooking utensils. On the way I saw several hawkers around, similar to a market. Who knows, maybe we'll find something good."
"I think it will be better if we stay here." Nangong Yi shook his head and pointed, "My sister and I worked here in the past. Although the chances of us being discovered are not high considering this is the western part of the base, better safe than sorry."
Nangong Lingxin as well nodded and apologized, to which Bai Zemin shook his head and told her it was okay.
"You're right." Bai Zemin nodded towards Nangong Yi before calmly saying, "Then, you and Nangong Lingxin wait here. We'll be back soon."
"Have a good trip."
"Good luck."
Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue said goodbye to the two Nangong siblings and left the small building.
Although they had not been able to appreciate it well before, now that they were calmer and had more time, they both finally noticed that the situation in this area was really bad. It could even be said to be worse than what Wen Ru had told Bai Zemin earlier. In fact, the house they were currently staying in was a mansion compared to the makeshift wooden shacks that were everywhere.
As they walked through the streets, Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue saw many people lying on the ground or resting with their backs leaning against the wall of some old house. All of them were wearing dirty clothes in poor condition while the putrid smell coming from their bodies was practically unbearable, which signaled that they did not even have access to a proper shower.
The eyes of these people did not even sparkle and they seemed to have lost all hope as they awaited the arrival of death.
"What a horrible situation..." Bai Zemin could not help but frown.
Although he might not care about these people as an individual, as a human it was impossible not to feel bad for his own race in general. Even if humans were despicable by nature, for better or worse, Bai Zemin was part of them.
With most of her head covered to avoid unnecessary disturbance and with only her blue eyes uncovered, Shangguan Bing Xue observed everything with a seemingly indifferent gaze. However, only she knew if her inner heart was as calm as her outer one.
Women of her age who should be enjoying a beautiful and fun college life while forming unforgettable memories were selling their bodies. But in fact, the condition of these women was a paradise compared to the men... Because she could sell herself to get at least a piece of bread, while the men could only eat their own fingernails.
Old men who should be peacefully enjoying their final years at this point were as thin as a toothpick while looking up at the sky as if asking what they had done wrong.
Just a glance at the miserable state of these people would make anyone realize that they had not eaten properly for a long, long time, and were barely surviving with an existence as weak as a candle flame in the middle of a storm.
Unconsciously, Bai Zemin clenched his fist and thought aloud, "If anyone dares to betray me... If anyone dares to cause chaos... I will definitely turn them into miserable slaves and make their lives a living hell!"
Bai Zemin did not feel pity at this sight. Nor did he feel the pride he thought he would feel at the sight of this base's administration being infinitely inferior to his own. What he felt was anger; anger that threatened to burst into a raging flare at any moment.
In Beginning Village, even the lowest citizen enjoyed three meals a day, an old house but with the necessary comforts to live in, and were even given the opportunity to work for a better living.
Compared to these survivors, the lives of the people in Bai Zemin's faction lived on the ninth cloud!
This was all thanks to him and the other soul evolvers risking their lives to give them safety! So, if anyone dared to stab him in the back or if anyone dared to cause disturbances that threatened the peace, Bai Zemin would definitely make those people regret ever being born!
"... I think the slavery system might not be so bad after all." Shangguan Bing Xue suddenly said.
"While there are people here who would give anything to live the life that the people in the village currently live, if any of them complain then they are worse than beasts." Bai Zemin stated coldly.
In the north base, people were starving to death; but they were not causing trouble despite how miserable their lives were. Even though they would be happy to work, no one gave them such an opportunity.
In Beginning Village, even the slackers enjoyed three bowls of gruel each day. Although they had the opportunity to work, to contribute a small grain of sand to build a better future together, all they did was NOTHING.
Many believed that the slavery system was not good. But seeing the situation in the northern base, Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue accepted that sometimes, human beings would only learn the lesson when they were on the edge of the abyss.
Even the two of them were not much different in that sense.
Before the apocalypse broke out and the world changed, Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue saw food as something natural. For both of them, eating was as normal as breathing and waking up the next day was something they took for granted.
However, it was only now that everything had changed that they realized how valuable these seemingly insignificant and small things were.
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