159: I am a local tyrant!

"Oh, right, Qin Laoda. How's the recruitment going for you guys now?" Pan Han interjected, asking about other developments.

"Reporting to Commander, we recently bought another 500 slaves. However, we don't plan to buy any more in the future," Qin Zhong reported.

"Why aren't you buying any more?" Pan Han felt there was more to it after hearing that.

"First, I have some good news to report to Commander. The Z Tower organization fled overnight," Qin Zhong said, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Fled?" Pan Han raised an eyebrow. He had previously arranged for people to continue monitoring Z Tower, fearing a sudden attack. He didn't expect them to just flee!

"Yes. Fourth Brother went to stake them out overnight. It turned out they also moved overnight and just ran away. They took everyone with them."

"Why?"

"We're not sure of the specifics, but we did a deduction. We roughly concluded that they were scared and felt they couldn't afford to provoke us. So they simply ran away."

"Good heavens! The Z Tower leader is quite a ruthless person. A base he's managed for so many years, he just abandoned it," Pan Han couldn't help but sigh upon hearing this. If he were in that situation, he probably wouldn't have such resolve.

"Hmm. They still have some abilities. Fourth Brother will continue to track and monitor them."

"Hmm, that's as it should be. But how is their fleeing related to us not needing to buy slaves?"

"The Iron Gang was blown up, Z Tower fled overnight, and the city's second Big Dipper Gang sent a peace treaty a few days ago, stating they wouldn't actively offend us in the future. Now, Z City is basically under our actual control," Qin Zhong analyzed the current situation for Pan Han.

"Commander, many small tribes and nomads are now actively seeking refuge with us," Cheng Xiao added, her words startling.

"There's such a good thing?" Pan Han never expected people to actively seek them out and suddenly felt a surge of emotion. He had truly made a name for himself.

"Yes, we are currently discussing the rules and standards for acceptance. We will still prioritize the construction needs of the surrounding sub-bases."

"Commander, Cheng Xiao. This is what I'm thinking: since there's no threat in Z City currently, we might need to re-plan what so many people will do. After all, we can't just support people for free. So, we need to take people in slowly," Qin Zhong rested his chin on his hands, his gaze serious.

"Actually, the long-term goal has already been set. It's to return to normal life before the apocalypse," Pan Han hadn't forgotten his mission.

"Then we just need to grow food. As long as the food we grow can sustain us, we can slowly recover," Qin Zhong hadn't forgotten that he was also a sub-base manager. If his sub-base was built well, he could start by planting big fruit.

"Hmm, that was the previous plan. But there aren't many foods that can be grown in the apocalypse; it seems there's only big fruit," Cheng Xiao added.

"Just eating big fruit only allows one to survive. I'll find a way for us to grow rice, wheat, corn, potatoes, and the like," Pan Han slapped his thigh, taking on another task.

The soil in the apocalypse had already been destroyed, so he only needed to control arable land and seeds.

He wasn't worried that people in the apocalypse would abandon him once they had food.

Without soil, without seeds, people in the apocalypse couldn't cause any trouble.

You might profit greatly, but I will never lose.

Pan Han couldn't help but laugh out loud at this thought. "Damn, without realizing it, I'm about to become a big landlord."

Qin Laoda's East District base, which was previously planned for only 100,000 square meters, was simply not enough.

There's nothing else here, but there's plenty of space!

At that time, they would directly acquire 10 billion mu, enough to support 600 million people, which would definitely be more than sufficient.

Qin Zhong and Cheng Xiao could probably guess why Pan Han was laughing. Anyway, however he laughed, they would just get things done.

The two exchanged glances, secretly vowing in their hearts: "We must make Commander smile forever!"

"Good, you guys go ahead and do these things first. I'll mainly focus on training and securing supplies. Everyone works together."

"Yes, Commander!" Qin Zhong and Cheng Xiao answered in unison.

"Let's continue discussing training. Besides physical training, shooting, and so on, what else can we do?" Pan Han felt that simple training might not be enough.

"Perhaps cooperation and leadership skills are also needed," Qin Zhong thought for a moment and only came up with one direction.

"Hmm, that idea is good, but it's not easy to train," Pan Han agreed, but it was difficult to implement.

"I feel Commander's leadership is not a problem." Cheng Xiao now looked at Pan Han, seeing him surrounded by a halo. Not only had he united Dawn Base, but he had even unified Z City. If he didn't have leadership skills like that, who else would?

"Not necessarily. The reason you think I have leadership is mainly because I'm quite wealthy," Pan Han shook his head and said cautiously.

"Then use supplies to crush the opponent!" Cheng Xiao blurted out without thinking.

Cheng Xiao's words were like a sudden clap of thunder, startling Pan Han awake!

That's right! I'm a rich man! How could I forget this!

In the entire apocalypse, only I provide food and drink for everyone, and only I keep pets, right? Pan Han pondered to himself.

"Not bad! We can try that." Pan Han opened another bottle of drink for Cheng Xiao as a reward.

"Thank you, Commander." Cheng Xiao took the drink and took a delightful sip.

"Then that's it for now. We'll start physical training this afternoon. I want to test my limits." Pan Han's eyes were firm, and he rubbed his hands together.

...

Four hours later, Pan Han was lying on the ground, panting, his whole body feeling like it was falling apart, his arms completely devoid of strength, and his thighs cramping.

Cheng Xiao was drinking iced soda, sitting in a lazy chair, looking at him with a slight hint of disdain.

Just now, she had made Pan Han do 1000 two-handed push-ups, 1000 one-handed push-ups, 1000 squats, 1000 frog jumps, plus 1000 pull-ups consecutively.

"Commander, such a good physique is being wasted," Cheng Xiao helped Pan Han up.

Pan Han leaned on the chair, gasping for breath, without even the strength to wipe his sweat.

"How could this be?"

"Commander, although you've evolved to the peak of the primary stage, training and not training are still two different things. There's no wasted sweat in this world," Cheng Xiao patted his shoulder, encouraging him.

"Are you sure you can all do these exercises?" Pan Han grimaced, barely managing to squeeze out a few words.

"Commander, with your intelligence, could I fool you?"

"Damn it! Why does that dialogue sound familiar?" Although Pan Han's body was giving out, his mind was still sharp.

"Alright, for the next round, I'll train with you." Cheng Xiao returned to her strong female lead persona. Challenging was impossible; whoever challenged would face her directly.

"Beauty, calm down! Let's talk nicely, don't just resort to this!" Pan Han heard this and thought, "Isn't this the end?"

"Come on, old man! Let this young lady play with you!" Cheng Xiao laughed heartily, becoming even more energetic, insisting on pulling Pan Han up to continue training.

"Let me rest for a bit. Half an hour!" Pan Han refused to get up, his butt seemingly rooted to the ground.

"20 minutes at most! No slacking off." Cheng Xiao pouted her little mouth and held up two fingers.