Chapter 41: Chapter 37: Entry Refresh Chang Sanheng’s lips twisted into a bitter smile: "We might as well let them come and take over us, at least we could get hold of the resources of the Level 5 Safe House sooner." This is where the awkward situation lies. Their village is far from Yun Village, with a vast perilous wilderness in between, equivalent to the width of a city before the apocalypse. Yun Village is unlikely to risk crossing the encirclement to annex them. However, once Yun Village successfully ascends, the rules governing the same wilderness area will act like an invisible giant hand, forcibly dragging their entire camp over to serve as "material" to fill the township’s population base. The changes brought by camp ascension are disruptive. The most basic include location reset and map upgrade, where they will face an entirely new, crisis-ridden wilderness, and the wandering mutant beasts will no longer be just Tier Zero mutants. What’s worse is that those people forcibly dragged over, their equipment and strength mostly still stay at past levels. Facing unfamiliar terrains, stronger enemies, and the greatly intensified nocturnal beast tides without sufficient firearms, ammunition, and new tools, the fate for most people is almost certain death. Zhong Wubin asserted that Black Scale Village "has no choice" because of this. Many in Black Scale Village have unlocked the Tendon Lock, but not a single one has saturated Qi and Blood enough to break through to the Bone Lock realm. Without relying on Zhong Wubin, Black Scale Village itself simply cannot cope with the massive changes after Yun Village’s ascension, and the outcome would be even more tragic. As for whether Zhong Wubin will share the resources of the Level 5 Safe House as agreed when the time comes? That, naturally, is another level of contest. "The situation is indeed as precarious as an egg on the edge of a cliff, I understand your decision, Commander." A sharp determination flashed in Chang Sanheng’s eyes as he made up his mind: "Old Su Can is stubborn and rigid, there’s no way he will agree to merge with Black Scale Village. Only by completely stripping his authority in the village can we push the plan forward. "When he fails the Hunting Lord mission at the end of the month, whether dead or alive, we will put all the blame on him! "When the time comes, you rally to propose joining forces with Black Scale Village to hunt the Lord, which can solve the urgent crisis and win the villagers’ trust, thus accomplishing the plan! "Once the two villages merge, I and the hunting team, plus the forces of the second team willing to follow you in the future, can form a new core power. "As for the remaining... ’burden’, it can just serve as a ’greeting gift’ for Black Scale Village." "Indeed." Zhong Wubin nodded satisfactorily. Merging villages requires the approval of more than half the villagers, and also avoiding too much population loss; otherwise, with too low a number, the rules will randomly merge them into an unknown camp. Now that Yun Village’s ascension is a foregone conclusion, their only way out is to quickly push Zhong Wubin’s ascension and then concentrate resources to storm the Level 5 Safe House, manufacture firearms, and stockpile ammunition to prepare for the harsh challenges of the new wilderness. If they can survive the initial chaotic period, they can swiftly grow stronger with the resources of the new wilderness, gaining a much better life than now, maybe even... more opportunities to hunt for Treasure Meat. Chang Sanheng licked his chapped lips and put on a regretful look: "What a pity for that young widow of the Su Family, Black Scale Village’s Zhang Shuo has been eyeing her for a long time." Zhong Wubin, hearing this, revealed a meaningful smile: "If you’re interested, once I’ve completed the Level 5 Safe House upgrade and fully armed the team, you can go ask Zhang Shuo for her, I’m sure he wouldn’t dare refuse. Oh, right, doesn’t that useless grandson of Su Can also have a nice young wife? I’ll get them for you too, so you can enjoy the pleasure of sisters-in-law on the same bed, how about it?" Chang Sanheng immediately laughed too, pretending to clasp his hands in gratitude: "Then thank you, Commander, for your kindness, I accept this ’reward’ with humble gratitude." "Consider it compensation for your injuries this time." Zhong Wubin patted Chang Sanheng’s shoulder, gave a few more words of comfort, and then turned and left the room. As night fell, though Chang Sanheng’s wounds hadn’t healed, his house’s traps were quite powerful, and he had a group of desperate roomers guarding it, so he safely passed the night of beast tide. ... The next day. At Su Lin’s house. After hastily finishing breakfast, Su Lin sat on the sofa, a bit restless. He suppressed his excitement, occasionally glancing at the clock on the wall. Today! Finally, the second week has arrived! The second entry is about to refresh! Su Tongxi, who was clearing the tableware, felt a bit weak and boneless, as Su Lin was overly excited last night, making it so she hardly slept as well. Seeing Su Lin unusually not go to practice but sit on the sofa daydreaming, Su Tongxi couldn’t help but ask concernedly: "Brother Kirin, are you tired and want to rest? You didn’t sleep well last night, how about going upstairs to lie down for a while?" "No need, I’m just... thinking about something." Su Lin waved his hand, his gaze still fixed on the clock. "Oh..." Su Tongxi’s small face showed confusion, but she still nodded obediently. She turned around, picked up the tableware to go to the kitchen, but suddenly remembered something, turned back with a cloudy face: "Right, Brother Kirin, the meat... we finished it all this morning, there’s nothing left at home." This meant a cut-off in nutrition, making further practice difficult. "..." Su Lin pinched his brow, a heavy pressure hit him, and he sighed deeply: "Okay, I know." He had already prepared that "Slaughter Saber", tomorrow no matter what, he must venture into the wilderness to try it out. Just then! Buzz— A familiar warm current suddenly surged into his mind! In an instant, three mysterious runes glowing with silvery brilliance lit up in the depths of his consciousness, shining brilliantly! [Big Brother’s Protection!: When teamed up with an ally with strength far exceeding yours (at least twice yours), you gain 40% damage reduction. Gain "Crisis Shelter" once daily; when you face lethal danger, the ally will timely aid you, within their capability.] [——Where’s the team, where’s the team, save me!] [Refresh Conversion: Allows repetitive entry acquisition, with three chances to refresh entries next week, cumulative.] [——The next will always be better.] [Precise Shooting: When you focus on aiming, your base hit rate doubles. Hit bonus increases as aiming time sustains, reaching up to 500% of the base value after aiming for ten seconds.] [——Bullet in chamber, trigger whispers, it’s our time to shine.] "It worked!" Su Lin clenched his fist suddenly, making a "squeak" sound of flesh tightening. The intense excitement instantly dispelled the gloom of the meat running out. He immediately looked up to confirm the time: nine o’clock in the morning. "This is the exact time!" Su Lin understood clearly, memorizing this as the precise moment for the weekly entry refresh. Sweeping quickly over the three new entries, Su Lin’s mind raced to analyze. The second option [Refresh Conversion] was almost immediately ruled out by him. The reason is very simple. What he needs most now is to acquire entries with immediate combat power, rather than betting on an "opportunity" to refresh for potentially better entries. In this crisis-ridden, day-to-day living apocalypse, having tangible power in hand is the foundation for survival!