12: Chapter 12 Establishing Authority! Those Who Break the Rules Will Be Fed to the Monsters

"Boom—!"

Southwest of the Fortress, about five kilometers away in the ruins of a half-collapsed shopping mall, a dull explosion suddenly rang out, mingled with shrill, non-human shrieks and the chilling sound of bones shattering.

Amidst the swirling dust, several figures clad in tattered black robes with twisted greasepaint on their faces scrambled out of the ruins in a panic. Behind them were four Yin Soldier Centurions, standing like black iron towers, the spectral halberds in their hands still dripping with a thick, foul-smelling black liquid.

One of the black-robed men held a writhing, eerie statue cobbled together from flesh and bone, chanting under his breath as if trying to complete some sort of ritual.

But in the next instant, a Yin Soldier Centurion raised his hand and hurled his halberd!

"Puchi!"

The halberd, like black lightning, accurately pierced the black-robed man's chest, pinning him firmly to the broken wall behind him. The flesh-and-blood statue in his hand dropped to the ground with a thud, quickly shriveling and rotting into a pool of purulent blood.

"Desecrators... die..." In the Yin Soldier Centurion's hollow eye sockets, nether flames flickered as he let out a raspy whisper.

The remaining black-robed men were scared out of their wits, fleeing away from the Fortress in a state of utter terror, disappearing into the thick fog and ruins in the blink of an eye. The Yin Soldiers did not pursue; they simply pulled out their halberds in silence, like tools that had completed their task, and their figures slowly merged into the shadows, vanishing from sight.

...

This scene was clearly observed from a hidden vantage point on the outer wall of the Fortress.

"Did... did you see that? Those people in black..." A young survivor on lookout duty turned pale, his teeth chattering.

"They're... they're the lunatics from the Thousand Faces Cult! They were performing an evil god sacrifice!" his companion beside him said with a trembling voice. "If it weren't for the Master's Yin Soldiers... heaven knows what kind of monstrosity they would have summoned!"

The news spread through the Fortress as if it had grown wings. Panic spread like a silent plague among some of the newly joined survivors. They had originally thought they would be safe after hiding in the Fortress, but they hadn't expected the external threats to be so bizarre and so close.

And this panic escalated into a commotion at the resource rationing point.

"Why do they get an extra piece of compressed biscuit?! We don't do any less work than them!" A man with a scarred face and fierce eyes shoved aside an elderly woman waiting in line, shouting at the veteran Fortress employee responsible for distributing food. Several other burly men with equally hostile expressions followed behind him.

They were survivors who had only been brought back by the search and rescue team a few days ago. They had previously occupied a small supermarket and survived through sheer ruthlessness, still carrying the savage habits of the apocalypse.

"Exactly! And the water! Why do they get clean water while we only get filtered?!" another accomplice shouted, banging on the table, spit flying everywhere.

"What's all the noise about!" Zhang Hao arrived upon hearing the news, his bone whip creaking in his grip, his eyes fierce. "Rules are rules! Those who work hard and follow management naturally get better treatment! If you don't want to follow the rules, then get lost!"

The scarred man was clearly defiant, his neck stiffening. "Bah! What bullshit rules! When I was out there killing people, you lot were still playing house! Hand over the food and water, or don't blame me for being impolite!" The men behind him also brandished sharpened rebar and machetes, looking aggressive.

Relying on their numbers and seeing that Zhang Hao was just a foreman (they didn't know who the Yin Soldiers took orders from), they actually intended to take it by force!

The scene instantly became tense! The survivors lining up for supplies retreated in fear.

"You're revolting!" Zhang Hao was furious and was about to step forward with his whip.

"Stop."

A calm voice rang out, yet it carried an invisible pressure.

The crowd automatically parted to make a path, and Lin Chen walked over slowly. He didn't even look at the troublemakers; he first nodded to the trembling veteran employee, signaling her to continue the distribution.

Then, his gaze finally fell upon the scarred man and his group.

His gaze was very light, devoid of anger or threat, as if he were looking at a few pieces of inconsequential junk.

But it was this very gaze that made the previously arrogant scarred man and his group instantly feel a chill rush from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads! It was as if they were being stared at by something extremely dangerous.

"You... you're the one in charge here?" The scarred man mustered his courage, shouting with false bravado, "Let me tell you, I don't accept your rules! Hand over the supplies, or else..."

"Or else what?" Lin Chen interrupted him, his tone still flat.

"Or else I'll..." The scarred man brandished his machete, but before he could finish his sentence—

Lin Chen moved.

His movements were faster than the eye could track; everyone only saw a blur.

In the next second, the scarred man was sent flying backward as if hit by an invisible truck, his body arched as he slammed violently into the hard wall over ten meters away!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud was accompanied by the clear sound of bones snapping. The scarred man slid to the ground like a pile of limp mud, blood oozing from his mouth and nose, clearly not going to survive.

silence!

Dead silence!

Everyone was stunned by this sudden and unprovoked display of ruthless force. The scarred man's accomplices were frozen in place, their weapons clattering to the ground as the color drained from their faces.

Lin Chen didn't even look at the corpse; his gaze turned to the remaining troublemakers who were frozen in fear.

"The Fortress has only one rule," he spoke, his voice carrying clearly to everyone's ears. "My rule."

He raised his hand and pointed toward the heavy gate of the Fortress, which was inscribed with eerie runes.

"Follow the rules, and live."

"Don't follow the rules..."

Before his words even faded, the troublemakers felt an irresistible, massive force seize them, lifting them like chicks and throwing them toward the slowly opening Fortress gate!

"No—! Mercy! We'll follow the rules! We'll follow the rules!" Several of them let out pig-like screams, struggling desperately, but to no avail.

They were accurately thrown out of the Fortress's protected range, landing heavily on the cold ground.

Almost the moment they hit the ground, hair-raising rustling and low growls immediately echoed from the surrounding mist!

"Roar—!"

Several twisted, incredibly fast dark shadows pounced from the fog! They were 'Aberrations' with distorted limbs and covered in tumors, and they lunged crazily at the survivors who had just landed.

"Ah!! Help—!"

The shrill, inhuman screams came to an abrupt halt, replaced by the sickening sounds of chewing and tearing. Blood and shredded flesh splattered in the mist.

The Fortress gate slowly closed, sealing off the hellish scene outside.

Inside, all the survivors, whether new or old, were as quiet as cicadas in winter, not daring to breathe loudly. They looked at Lin Chen standing in the center, his expression as calm as ever, their eyes filled with unprecedented fear and awe.

Su Qingyu stood not far away, looking at the closed gate, her face slightly pale and her stomach churning. She knew Lin Chen was decisive and ruthless, but throwing people out directly to feed the ghosts was a visual and mental shock that was simply too strong.

Lin Chen's gaze swept across the area, and everyone he looked at involuntarily lowered their heads.

"Now," he spoke flatly, "is there anyone else who doesn't accept my rules?"

The entire area was deathly silent, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.