Even Albalo was not optimistic about Wen Qing's great ambition, but he took the opportunity to say, [You want to rebuild Ningcheng? Come to me! With my help, you can definitely achieve twice the result with half the effort!]
Wen Qing's mind stirred. She had no use for things like gene modification liquid or interstellar body forging techniques, but she could give them to others! She casually said, "Oh, tell me how you can help me."
Albalo was delighted, feeling that he had a way in. His player had always been resistant to his attempts to persuade or manipulate her. While others' players had already fallen in line through threats or temptations, his own player still refused to be convinced by him. Could he not be anxious? But his player was not acting according to common sense at all. The things he could offer her did not interest her, and threats...ha, he was completely powerless to harm this woman!
[Rebuilding a city requires talented people, right? I can provide you with all kinds of interstellar potions to attract talent. Without food, you can't survive, right? A nutrient can provide two days' worth of energy! And you can't do without weapons! The system store has particle laser cannons, x-ray laser guns, and all sorts of advanced weapons for you to choose from! And there are maps of water sources, warships, and zombie distribution...anything you can think of, I can do it!]
"Then, can you make me a plate of scrambled eggs? Can you do that?"
[...]
How could he forget that this woman never played by the rules?
"So, don't make promises you can't keep. But as for your proposal, I'm willing to give it a try."
The sudden reversal made Albalo ecstatic. He thought he wouldn't be able to persuade her this time, but he didn't expect her to agree! Was there anything more frustrating than the system begging players to do tasks?
[Okay, okay, let me simplify the task for you. You can get 1 point for killing a regular zombie, 10 points for killing a tier-one zombie, and so on. Points can be redeemed for items in the system store, or can be converted into experience points at a rate of 1:1. Every time you level up, you will receive an upgrade package…]
Afraid that Wen Qing would change her mind, Albalo quickly explained the rules to her, even skipping the part where he had to release the task, in order to provide her with the most convenient and intuitive player experience.
However, Wen Qing did not feel his good intentions. She watched as the four men cleaned up the zombies at the door and said to them, "Well done, congratulations. You've taken the first step in surviving the end of the world."
The four people who were recognized were overjoyed, not only because they were acknowledged by Wen Qing, but also because they had overcome their fear and successfully transformed from a passive evader to an active attacker.
Wen Qing opened the door of the supermarket and walked in for the first time, followed by the four guys. The people inside looked at her expressionless face and felt a little intimidated. After all, they had seen Wen Qing's martial arts skills and knew that they had no chance against her.
But Wen Qing did not trouble them and calmly said, "You can leave now."
Everyone was pleased and quickly began to pack their things to leave.
"Wait," Wen Qing stopped them and pointed to the food and water they were about to take with them, asking, "Is this supermarket yours?"
Everyone looked at each other and said, "No..."
"If it's not yours, why do you take these things for granted? Taking without asking is stealing!"
Everyone blushed at first, then looked a bit ugly. Did that mean they couldn't take the food? But in this world, how could they survive without food?
Wen Qing saw their expressions and sneered in her heart, but said, "You can take it, but you should know the principle of buying things and paying for them. The owner is not here, so leave something of equal value at the checkout. Otherwise, nobody can take away a bottle of water!"
Their faces looked a little better now. Although they had to pay, they still felt that they had taken advantage. After all, in the end of the world, money was useless, and food was the most valuable thing. If they could buy food with money, they should be grateful. However, when they went to search their pockets, they realized that they had left their wallets behind in their haste to leave.
Wen Qing reminded, "Equivalent things can also be paid with gold, silver, and jewels."
At this moment, nothing was more important than life, so despite the reluctance in their heart, people estimated the power gap between themselves and Wen Qing and obediently followed her words.
Finally, when these people left, Wen Qing looked at the expressions of the four guys who seemed hesitant to speak and said with a smile, "Are you wondering why I made them pay before they could take the food away?"
The four nodded. To be honest, they didn't understand the purpose of her doing this. If she wanted to be a good person, she could have just let them take the food away. Now, not only did she let them take the things away, but she also offended them, only to exchange for a pile of useless wealth. In their eyes, this wealth was not worth even a piece of bread.
Wen Qing took in the expressions of the four and smiled slightly, "Because what we want to maintain is an order."
"Buying things and paying for them is a matter of course. Why shouldn't we follow this order in the apocalypse? If everything can be taken and used at will, and daily necessities must be obtained by force, then even without the apocalypse, the world will be chaotic. Therefore, to rebuild Ningcheng, our first priority is to restore order."
"Whether by force or other methods, we must let everyone know that they must pay to gain something, and there is no shortcut to get something for nothing!"
Wen Qing had a convincing aura. Although the four guys didn't quite understand what she was saying, they instinctively chose to believe her once they accepted her as their leader. After all, they had no other way out since they had made that decision.
Wen Qing didn't say much. There would be plenty of time to get to know each other in the future. "Now, let's introduce ourselves to each other."
They remembered that they hadn't introduced themselves yet. Then the chubby man grinned, "My name is Liao Tao, but everyone calls me Fatty."
"I'm Lin Zhanyuan."
"Wang Xin."
"Song Qingshan."
The four of them reported their names one by one, and then the chubby one summarized, "We're all students from S University, and we happen to live in the same dormitory. On the day of the apocalypse, we were having a meal nearby and woke up to find ourselves here at the supermarket."
Wen Qing nodded. From the short time they spent together, she had roughly figured out the personalities of the group. Liao Tao was outgoing and talked the most. Lin Zhanyuan was the calmest and had the most silent moments, but it was obvious that he was the one who made decisions among the four. Wang Xin and Song Qingshan were the opposite of each other, with one being impatient and the other being slow-paced. It was surprising how four people with such different personalities could get along so well.
Moreover, these four people were really lucky. None of them turned into zombies, and they happened to avoid the school, which is the most densely populated place. They immediately hid in the supermarket upon waking up, and now they were fortunate enough to meet her... Luck is also a part of strength!
"I'm Lin Wenqing, a cultivator," she introduced her identity like that.
"A cultivator?! Like those cultivators in novels who can ride swords and become a flying fairy?" one of them exclaimed.
Wen Qing smiled. "Flying fairy might not be possible, but riding swords is still possible." She had already built the foundation and could ride a sword now.
The chubby one and his friends were excited. "So there really are cultivators! We thought all the novels were lies!" After the excitement died down, the chubby one asked eagerly, "Boss, do you think we can cultivate with you?"
Just like how young people who were once addicted to martial arts novels had a martial arts dream, now, under the influence of fantasy novels, which young person didn't have a cultivation dream? The chubby one and his friends were still young, and they had read plenty of fantasy novels. They had never encountered a cultivator until now, and they couldn't help but be moved by someone who could fly.
Wen Qing saw their eagerness but shook her head. "No, it's not possible. The Earth has undergone a second evolution, and the energy system has changed. Cultivation requires spiritual energy, which the Earth's current energy is no longer suitable for." This was half true and half false. The Earth did undergo a second evolution, and the energy system did change, but this planet could never cultivate. She cultivated because of the space, but it was not easy to explain the situation to them, so she could only say this.
Upon hearing that they could no longer cultivate immortality, they felt disappointed. Then, Wen Qing said, "Don't be discouraged. The current energy system can evolve into superpowers. Cultivating superpowers to the extreme is another way of cultivating immortality."
Upon hearing this, the group became energized again. "That's right. I saw a supernatural being yesterday who could release fireballs. One fireball could turn a zombie into ashes. He looked very powerful!"
Lin Zhanyuan asked the question that everyone was most concerned about. "Is it difficult to evolve superpowers? I have only seen two supernatural beings until now. None of the twenty-plus people in the supermarket earlier were supernatural beings. Is the awakening rate very low?"
Wen Qing thought back to the introduction of the story and said, "In the early days of the apocalypse, one-third of the population consisted of awakeners, ordinary people, and zombies each. The awakening rate was not low. One out of every three people was an awakener. However, not many could directly sense and activate their superpowers. Most of them needed a trigger. As far as I know, the easiest way to trigger superpowers is during a crisis."
Upon hearing this, Liao Tao was eager to try. "Shall I let the zombies surround me and see if I can trigger my superpowers?"
Wen Qing quickly said, "Don't be impulsive. If you don't have the awakening ability, you will be turned into a corpse if you are bitten by a zombie. Even if you have awakened superpowers, it's not 100% immune. I have a safer method. Don't rush."
Now, all four of them looked at her with fiery and bright eyes. "Boss, you are mighty!"
"Indeed, follow the boss to eat the meat!"
However, the audience in the interstellar world was confused:
"Did I miss something? I have been following this livestream since the beginning, but I don't understand a word she is saying."
"What are cultivators? Flying swords, turning into a flying fairy? It seems like there is a lot of information in her words!"
"From what she said, could it be that they had a cultivation system before the apocalypse? And it was a higher level than supernatural powers?"
"How is that possible? Supernatural powers are the highest known form of cultivation for humans!"
"She's very familiar with the apocalypse. Did Captain Albalo reveal this to her? It is said that Albalo is the operator of her system."
"Huh? Wait, what's that?!"
On the screen, a black metal wristband suddenly appeared and landed in Wen Qing's hand.