40: Chapter 40 Beautiful Kun

Fortress Survival World, Day 3.

Chen Ze was woken up by the sheer heat. He opened his eyes groggily to find two scorching suns already hanging high in the sky, his entire body drenched in sticky sweat.

"This cursed weather!"

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and cursed to himself.

He opened the system and checked the time; it was already past 9 o'clock. By his count, he had slept for a full ten hours or so.

"These past two days have been just too exhausting!"

Ever since he transmigrated into this Fortress Survival World, Chen Ze hadn't had a moment of peace; he was busier than when he used to deliver food. At least now, he finally had some ability to protect himself.

He moved his shoulders and realized that the spot where he had been stung by the flying ant yesterday was no longer sore, and even the bruise had mostly faded.

He wondered to himself whether this was because his overall attributes had significantly increased after transmigration, which also boosted his body's recovery ability, or if it was for some other reason. Regardless, being able to recover quickly was always a good thing.

The e-rank water purifier was right beside his bed. Chen Ze turned his head to glance at it; about three liters of pure water had already accumulated in the container.

"Glug! Glug!"

A few mouthfuls of sweet e-rank pure water slid down his throat, and the heat and thirst were instantly wiped away. He didn't put it down until the "slowly increasing" entry appeared on his attribute panel.

"Ah! That's refreshing!"

He opened the system panel. Regional Chat Channel. Region 11332, current population (22938 / 100000).

"Damn, how did so many people die?"

Only twenty thousand left? One had to know that the Jinxiu Longwan residential complex alone had thousands of permanent residents back then. Now, didn't that mean the entire region only had the population of three or four large residential complexes left?

In two days, the regional population had dropped by a full 80%. Chen Ze remembered that half of the survivors were still alive yesterday. How did so many die overnight?

I Am A Minotaur: "Family, did you cramp up during the zombie attack yesterday? Why did the number increase so much? My Fortress almost blew up!"

Smoking Cigarettes and Xuanhemen: "Yeah, the first day there were a dozen or so. Yesterday, it doubled for me to thirty. Isn't this trying to kill me?"

Weight of the Great Orange: "Killing zombies is just the basics of survival. In this cursed weather, all my food has grown mold. From last night until now, I haven't eaten a single bite! Any big shots have extra food? Please spare some for me."

Looking at the messages constantly refreshing in the chat channel, Chen Ze finally fully understood.

He had been able to hold his ground during last night's zombie siege entirely thanks to the Blockhouse attached to his Fortress and the handy weapons in his possession.

Ordinary survivors didn't have such reliance. Although it was unlikely they would encounter e-rank mutated zombies, even just an increase in the number of ordinary zombies was impossible to resist with only common kitchen knives and iron rods.

Furthermore, the food stored by the average household was limited. In two days, most people's food supplies had been exhausted.

Just then, a region-wide announcement suddenly appeared.

[Congratulations to survivor Jinxiu Longwan Liang Kun for successfully upgrading his Fortress to Level 2! Rewards have been issued!]

[System Prompt: 14 hours and 12 minutes remaining until the end of the novice protection period. More regions will be opened then. We hope all survivors will continue to work hard and strive to improve!]

Jiahao Is Jiahao: "Another big shot has upgraded! The big shot is awesome!"

Super Savage: "Awesome is awesome, but compared to the big shot Li Yunlong, he's still lacking."

Maruko Loves Fishing: "That's for sure. The big shot Li Yunlong is the best!"

Chen Ze smiled. This Maruko Loves Fishing was quite interesting. In his memory, this wasn't the first time the other party had praised him in the chat channel.

The messages in the chat channel continued to scroll.

Hajimi's Motorist: "Brother Kun, are you there? Looking at your name, we should be in the same residential complex. As long as you take me in, I have quite a few materials here that I can give to you."

Sunflower Seeds Must Be Sipped: "Brother, you are truly wishful thinking. The big shot Li Yunlong upgraded yesterday; have you seen him take anyone in? It's not that easy to cling to a big shot!"

Several more people spoke up, basically all mocking that person's naivety. But as he looked further down, an unexpected scene appeared.

Jinxiu Longwan Liang Kun: "In order for all the brothers to survive, the Hongxing Society is officially established today. As long as you trust me, Liang Kun, you can come and join. My coordinates are 129, 250, with a black dragon flag standing there! If you're a brother, come find me!"

As soon as this message appeared, the channel instantly exploded.

Cui Niubi: "Wow, the big shot really came. Brother Kun is just different; he's so much better than that Li Yunlong!"

Two-Character European and American One-Character Madman: "Exactly. Look at Brother Kun; he just upgraded and immediately thought of us ordinary people. Look at that Li Yunlong; I remember that guy selling some tomatoes for 400 survival coins each yesterday. He's simply treating us like fools!"

Jinxiu Longwan Li Shuai: "People have their differences; Li Yunlong just happened to be lucky and took a step ahead. Once our Hongxing Society develops, he won't even be fit to carry Brother Kun's shoes!"

Chen Ze had originally just been reading the messages with the mindset of a spectator, but seeing this, his brows couldn't help but furrow slightly.

"It's one thing for this Liang Kun to recruit people so high-profilely, but why is he stepping on my toes?"

Chen Ze didn't speak up for himself. After all, the other boss hadn't said anything yet. If he rushed into the fray now, no matter what he did, he would lose his standing.

He wanted to see what exactly this Liang Kun was trying to do.

Sprite Plus MSG: "Exactly. Brother Kun clearly has the bearing of a great general. That Li Yunlong is just a small fry; how can he compare to Brother Kun? I want to join Hung Hing Society!"

Fatty is the Coolest: "You're talking complete nonsense! What did the big shot Li Yunlong ever do to you? How dare you badmouth him like that? Don't let me catch you, or I'll feed you until you're full of shit!"

Er Gouzi: "Brothers, keep your eyes open. Be careful that it's a kidney-harvesting operation from Northern Myanmar!"

Maruko Loves Fishing: "Isn't it just that the big shot Li Yunlong didn't establish a faction? Is it necessary to be like this? Don't forget, he told us quite a bit of information before!"

Jinxiu Longwan Li Shuai: "So what if he shared some information? Without his hints, we could have figured that information out ourselves. Is it worth mentioning such small favors?"

For a time, the regional channel was in complete chaos. Some sided with the Hongxing Society and joined in the rampant slander.

There were also those who had received favors or couldn't stand the baseless smearing who stood up to defend Chen Ze. Both sides exchanged sharp words, and the messages scrolled by rapidly.

Just then, the instigator, Liang Kun, finally stepped out to speak himself.

Jinxiu Longwan Liang Kun: "Brothers, family! People are different. I don't know what that Li Yunlong is thinking; he clearly has the ability to help everyone, yet he only cares about taking care of himself, watching coldly from the sidelines."

"I'm different. I'm a man of sentiment; I can't bear to see those around me suffer, and I can't bear to watch my compatriots starve to death or die in the mouths of zombies. So today, I officially establish the Hongxing Society."

"In a word, with me, Liang Kun, here, I want to protect all the survivors in our region. Those willing to come and join, I open my doors to accept. From now on, let's huddle together for warmth and survive in this other world together!"

These words were spoken with genuine emotion, deliberately creating an image of righteousness and benevolence.

The channel was instantly filled with sounds of agreement. Many wavering survivors were moved by this rhetoric and expressed their intention to go find that so-called black dragon flag.

Chen Ze looked at the text on the screen, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold arc.

Every word of the other party seemed righteous, but in reality, every word was using him as a comparison, using the act of belittling him to elevate their own reputation and win over people's hearts.

"Very well, very well. Liang Kun, is it? You're a rival who knows how to play games!"