164: City of Hope

Half an hour later, the city wall was finally fully generated.

The city wall was about three kilometers long on each side, not only enclosing Jingcui Garden but also several nearby teams.

Everyone was incredibly surprised by the sudden appearance of the city wall, rushing to touch and examine it.

"It's amazing, four city walls appeared out of nowhere!"

"This must have been done by our Group Leader and the others; I'm so glad I joined the Panshi Battle Group."

"With this city wall, what does the apocalypse matter? No matter how many zombies come, they'll just be live targets for us."

After the apocalypse, everyone constantly felt a sense of impending crisis.

The city wall created by Qin Shilei, however, allowed everyone's taut nerves to relax a little and also fostered a greater sense of belonging to the Panshi Battle Group.

Just then, Zhang Cheng hurried over: "Shi Lei, you made this city wall, didn't you?"

Qin Shilei nodded and replied, "Yes, I made it."

"This is truly great," Zhang Cheng said excitedly. "With this city wall, our safety will have even greater assurance. It's just that this city wall has enclosed the camps of more than a dozen teams, and they've already come looking for us because of it."

Qin Shilei followed Zhang Cheng to the Panshi Battle Group's office and found more than ten people sitting inside.

"Group Leader Qin, you made this city wall, didn't you? Could you open the city gates to let us in and out?" a middle-aged man in his thirties spoke up.

"Indeed, I made it."

Qin Shilei said calmly, "I was just about to discuss something with everyone. I'm claiming this area; you all should find another place for your camps. For this, I will also compensate everyone appropriately."

Upon hearing that Qin Shilei wanted them to leave, everyone in the room immediately voiced their objections.

"Group Leader Qin, we're living perfectly fine; suddenly asking us to move might not be appropriate."

"Group Leader Qin, the area enclosed by the wall is so large; the small place we live in won't affect you. Why make us leave?"

"Group Leader Qin, it's livelier when more people live together. Even if zombies attack, we can still contribute."

Qin Shilei frowned and said, "I made the city wall, and most of the surrounding area was cleared by us. It's not too much to ask you to move out now, is it?"

"Tell me where you want to go, and I'll have people clear that area out for you, ensuring you can move there easily."

Everyone looked at each other, unsure what to say.

The place they lived in was indeed cleared by Qin Shilei and his team.

Choosing to set up a small camp nearby was precisely with the intention of relying on the Panshi Battle Group as a strong backing.

Now, with the protection of the massive city wall around them, they were even more reluctant to move.

"Group Leader Qin, now that there's a city wall, why don't you become the City Lord? I'm willing to be your subject," someone suddenly suggested.

After he spoke, everyone's eyes lit up, and four or five people immediately echoed, "Yes, Group Leader Qin, you should be the City Lord, like the City Lords in ancient times."

"City Lord?" Qin Shilei thought to himself, "The military also promised that whoever takes down territory gets to keep it. Now that this place is enclosed by my wall, becoming a City Lord is not out of the question."

Zhang Cheng also spoke up to persuade him, "Shi Lei, this place completely belongs to us. It's only natural for you to be the City Lord."

"Good, from now on, this place will be called Hope City, and I, Qin Shilei, will be the City Lord of Hope City," Qin Shilei suddenly declared with great spirit.

He paused, then added, "If you wish to live here, it's not impossible, but you must abide by the rules I set."

"First, no committing crimes."

"Second, if zombies or mutated beasts besiege the city, you must follow arrangements for defense."

"Third, you need to purchase residency qualifications. Given that you already live here, this time only one-fifth of the price will be charged."

Qin Shilei temporarily set the price for residency qualifications at two crystals.

"Still need to collect crystals?" Zhang Xingrong, the leader of the Wolf Fang Gang, showed a hint of displeasure.

His Wolf Fang Gang had nearly four hundred people, and even at one-fifth of the price, it would still cost one hundred and sixty crystals.

Qin Shilei said calmly, "Whether you want to live here is entirely voluntary; we will never force anyone."

Zhang Xingrong ultimately couldn't bear to part with those one hundred and sixty crystals.

He thought to himself, "I can perfectly well find a residential area in a place without zombies; why waste precious crystals?"

For the sake of a mere hundred-plus crystals, he made a decision he would regret for a long time.

In the end, nine teams chose to purchase residency qualifications, while four teams prepared to move elsewhere.

Those nine teams, including their families, totaled nearly five thousand people, becoming Qin Shilei's first batch of subjects.

Subsequently, many other teams who heard the news came knocking, including several people Qin Shilei was familiar with.

Xie Xingjian exclaimed, "Brother Qin, you truly keep creating miracles."

Qin Shilei humbly replied, "Brother Xie, you flatter me."

Xie Xingjian tentatively asked, "I wonder what conditions my Feixing Society needs to meet to reside here?"

Qin Shilei smiled and replied, "You need to abide by the rules of Hope City and also purchase residency qualifications, two crystals per person. For the sake of our friendship, I'll only charge you one crystal per person."

He then briefly explained the rules of Hope City.

Xie Xingjian pondered for a moment, "Alright, I want to purchase six thousand seven hundred and fifty-six residency qualifications."

Xia Yunyan, who was next to him, immediately interjected, "Qin Dage, what about me? Shouldn't I also get a discount?"

Qin Shilei nodded, "Alright, it's also one crystal per person."

Xia Yunyan's team, including family members, also had over five thousand people, bringing in over ten thousand crystals at once. Qin Shilei suddenly felt that being City Lord wasn't bad at all.

Xie Xingjian and Xia Yunyan both felt the money was well spent.

That tall, thick city wall instantly brought a sense of security.

They had come from He Shan District to kill zombies here, and their established strongholds had been besieged by zombies multiple times, suffering many losses.

Now, with the protection of the thick city wall, they had no more worries and could simply focus on killing zombies to their heart's content.

With the two major forces, Feixing Society and Yunyan Pavilion, settling into Hope City, more and more teams moved in with their families.

In less than two days, Hope City became a small city with over eighty thousand people.

Qin Shilei also sold over seventy thousand crystals worth of residency qualifications.

Although Hope City now had a diverse population, the safety of Jingcui Garden did not decline in the slightest.

This was because his group of ants had finally been brought back and were settled in the small park next to Jingcui Garden.

The massive number of ants surrounded the entire residential area; if anyone tried to sneak in through the wall, they would be swarmed and devoured by the ants.

Given the large population in Hope City now, Qin Shilei also planned a street to serve as a trading market.

He opened a shopping mall and a restaurant there.

Teams also successively rented shops there and started various businesses.

For a time, Hope City gained a touch of prosperity.

It was also on this day that Commander Kong came knocking.