29: Captain Wei Heshang

After Lord Pan gave his instructions, he returned to the second floor alone, waiting for Cheng Xiao to call Wei Monk.

Upon reaching his room, he first took out three cans of iced cola. He drank one himself and left the other two for Cheng Xiao and Wei Monk.

Less than 5 minutes later, the two arrived. Cheng Xiao gave a brief explanation, then went to guard the door.

"Sit," Lord Pan said to Wei Monk, pointing to a chair.

"I won't sit. With Lord Pan present, I only have the right to stand," Wei Monk shook his head repeatedly.

"If I tell you to sit, then sit. Obey orders."

"Yes!" Wei Monk replied loudly and sat down.

"Drink the cola."

"Thank you, Lord Pan." Wei Monk awkwardly opened the cola and took a small sip.

"Is it good?"

"It's really good."

"Today, I saw all of your performance, and it was excellent. This strange cola is your reward."

"Lord Pan jests. I am Lord Pan's slave; how could I not give my full effort?"

"Good lad! Well said. Here, have a cigarette." Lord Pan handed Wei Monk another cigarette.

"Lord Pan, you are truly generous; you even have cigarettes."

"That's nothing. Here, this whole pack is yours." With that, Lord Pan gave him both the cigarettes and a lighter.

Wei Monk took the cigarettes and couldn't help but sniff them. He then quickly helped Lord Pan light one before lighting one for himself.

Lord Pan said nothing, allowing Wei Monk to satisfy his nicotine craving first.

Wei Monk took two deep drags, slowly exhaled smoke rings, his eyes becoming somewhat hazy, clearly intoxicated.

"Haha, how long has it been since you last touched a cigarette, lad?"

"To be honest, Lord Pan, it must have been about 5 years."

"Come, tell me about your past."

At the door, Cheng Xiao drank her cola, vigilantly listening to the movements inside the room, her pistol chambered and ready to be drawn at any moment.

"Lord Pan, where would you like me to begin?"

"Hmm, you said everyone calls you Wei Monk. Just tell me why you're called that."

"As you command, Lord Pan. I was an orphan from a young age, grew up in a temple, and joined the warrior monk troupe at ten, training until I was 20. Later, I went out to perform and compete in arenas with my master for another 2 years, then the apocalypse descended." Wei Monk said this, his cigarette already out, which he stomped out on the ground with his foot.

Lord Pan gestured for him to light another, and Wei Monk's eyes showed gratitude.

A puff of smoke rose, and Wei Monk slowly began again: "When the apocalypse first arrived, the temple quickly fell. I escaped and wandered. I have no family, and my fellow disciples all died, so I was alone. I also joined a base before, but it was later overrun by mutated beasts, and I became a complete refugee."

"To survive, I often took on mercenary tasks. Oh, that's right, it was while I was a mercenary that I once captured a level one mutated zombie."

"But in this world, without influence, one will eventually become a slave. I couldn't resist fate, and coming to you, Lord Pan, is my second time being a slave."

"So, you really are a Shaolin warrior monk, then?"

"Without a doubt. That's also why everyone calls me Wei Monk."

"So, do you know someone named Xie Baoqing?"

"No, I don't. Why, Lord Pan?"

"Nothing, just a reminder to stay away from Xie Baoqing."

"Oh..." Wei Monk's mind was a bit muddled, unsure of Lord Pan's intention.

"How long have you known the other 31 people?" Lord Pan ignored him and continued to ask.

"Not long. Some time ago, I was fighting a mutated beast, got injured and fainted, and when I woke up, I was in the slave camp. I must have been picked up by slave traders. These people, I only met them at the slave camp. All in all, it's only been about ten days."

"I see your skill and courage are both good. I plan to promote you to Squad Leader, to assist Qin Laoda and them in managing the slaves. Do you have any objections?" Lord Pan stated his intention.

"Ah? Lord Pan, this..."

"Don't 'this' and 'that'. Here, we believe in promoting the capable, with clear rewards and punishments. Whoever has the ability will rise."

"Lord Pan, we just arrived, and you're not familiar with everyone. Perhaps you should observe us more?" Wei Monk somewhat tried to decline.

"Ordinary slaves receive 800 grams of food daily. A Squad Leader can get 1000 grams daily."

"Thank you for your appreciation, Lord Pan. Squad Leader, I'll do it!"

When Wei Monk heard that a Squad Leader could eat 200 grams more food, how could he refuse? He quickly agreed.

"Haha, you lad! That's the spirit! Our base will expand sooner or later, and I will focus on investigating promising young people like you," Lord Pan said.

"That's for sure. Just with the supplies Lord Pan has, sweeping across our Dragon Nation wouldn't be a problem." Who said monks don't flatter? Isn't he quite skilled at it?

"You lad, stop playing word games with me. I'm telling you, there are requirements for you to be a Squad Leader."

"Lord Pan, just say the word. I, Heshang, am willing to go through fire and water."

"This group of yours is all strong laborers, so first and foremost, you need to supervise everyone's work. Our base's walls are not stable and need to be reinforced quickly. Once the walls are up, then we'll need to train everyone in shooting and combat."

"Understood! Lord Pan, you can leave these matters to me."

"You should also be able to tell that the recent wave of attacks wasn't simple, right?"

"Yes, Lord Pan, it was clearly arranged by someone," Wei Monk said, frowning.

"Right, so we don't have much time left." Lord Pan stood up and patted Wei Monk's shoulder.

Wei Monk quickly stood up, looked at Lord Pan, and said, "Understood, Lord Pan."

"Good, let's go out. It's time for dinner. For these two days, you all eat your fill first, and then you'll have the strength to work."

After speaking, Lord Pan pulled open the door and called Cheng Xiao to head straight to the first floor.

"You take Wei Monk to the slaves and announce that Wei Monk is now the Squad Leader. Everyone will temporarily be under his management. Once that's done, come back for dinner," Lord Pan said to Cheng Xiao.

"Understood, Lord Pan." Cheng Xiao accepted the order and left with Wei Monk.

Qin Zhong saw Lord Pan and them coming down and immediately went to greet them. Lord Pan then told Qin Zhong about the recent appointment.

After the battle just now, Qin Zhong also highly regarded Wei Monk, so he naturally had no objection to him becoming Squad Leader.

The two chatted about the battle for a while, and then Second Sister called everyone for dinner.

The battle today was intense, and everyone had expended a lot of energy. So dinner was very rich, with stewed meat, rice, vegetables, and they even specially opened a few cans of fruit.

Lord Pan and the seven members of Dawn Squad ate and chatted, and the atmosphere was quite lively.

Suddenly, Lord Pan remembered something, told everyone to keep eating, and ran up to the second floor.

After entering the room, he took out 2 bottles of baijiu and a bottle of whiskey from his spatial storage.

"Look, what's this?"

When everyone saw the alcohol Lord Pan took out from behind his back, they all erupted in excitement.

In the apocalypse, there wasn't even enough food, let alone extra to brew alcohol. These three bottles of alcohol could be said to be the most premium supplies.

"My goodness, Lord Pan actually has whiskey!" Old Six excitedly held the whiskey and started doing a hip-swaying dance.

"Tonight, everyone drink to your heart's content!" Lord Pan waved his hand.

Everyone applauded enthusiastically and quickly went to find their respective cups.