TL: Moonlit

Wen Qingling did not go to the Core City and instead met Yuan Chen at the clinic. There was not even a single bodyguard by his side, and the clinic was empty, with only Wen Qingling alone. It could be said that he had no airs and no facade at all.

Yuan Chen couldn’t gauge Wen Qingling’s depth and felt that the rumored Lord of Civilization was too young and seemed lacking in sophistication.

Yuan Chen cautiously introduced himself and then asked Wen Qingling the reason he sought him out.

Throughout the conversation, Yuan Chen kept staring into Wen Qingling’s eyes. Similarly, Wen Qingling liked to look into people’s eyes when speaking because that was the only way to better understand the other person’s thoughts and intentions.

Wen Qingling said, “I want to ask you how you persuaded your cousin to give you control of the Yue County Base.”

Yuan Chen smiled and said, “My brother and I have had a good relationship since we were young. After graduating from college, we went our separate ways and were busy with our own careers. In the post-apocalyptic world, we thought there were no more relatives left, but unexpectedly, we were able to see each other alive.”

“I also heard about the situation in Ling City. That’s why I brought the people from the base to seek refuge here. However, too many people came over, and Xiang County and Xu County are already overcrowded. Housing is extremely tight. When we passed by Yue County, we discovered a base there, so we decided to settle there first and make further plans.”

“Later, Yuan Li suddenly approached us. We didn’t know he was still alive, and we were extremely happy. We talked about the situation here, and he invited me to live in the Civilization City. Due to the regulations of the Civilization City, only I could come, and the survivors who came with me couldn’t. I couldn’t just abandon them. After discussing with Yuan Li, we decided to establish Yue County Base so that we can accommodate more survivors.”

Yuan Chen sighed, “This is also thanks to Yuan Li. I didn’t know he had the ability to control the zombie horde. He’s truly amazing.”

Yuan Chen looked into Wen Qingling’s eyes and smiled, “Now that the Yue County Base has been established, it’s okay if I’m not there occasionally. I promised them that one day we would live in the Civilization City. Now that you’re back, I wonder if we can move and live there?”

Ji Rong: “…”

Is this person out of his mind?

The rules state that outsiders cannot live in the Civilization City, and Wen Qingling himself established those rules. How can he have the audacity to ask Wen Qingling to change them for him?

Wen Qingling remained expressionless, seemingly lost in thought. Ji Rong’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be? Is the boss really considering this?!

Wen Qingling said, “How many people do you have? Where do you want to live?”

Yuan Chen’s smile was warm. “The leadership team will definitely move in, around a hundred or so people. As for the place to live, it would be best to be closer to the Core City. It depends on your arrangements, Lord.”

Wen Qingling said, “Currently, the population in the Civilization City is still scarce, and there’s plenty of space available. You can choose where you want to live.”

Ji Rong: “…”

What’s going on? Has Wen Qingling been bewitched?!

Yuan Chen politely said, “What do you think of the inner city?”

Wen Qingling nodded, “It’s fine. Let me know where you want to live, and I’ll arrange it for you as soon as possible…”“Hold on!” Ji Rong felt increasingly suspicious. “City Lord, outsiders are not allowed into the civilized city. It’s a rule.”

Wen Qingling replied, “I made the rules, and now I allow them to live here.”

Yuan Chen looked into Ji Rong’s eyes, “Master Ji, from now on, we are on the same side. I am not an outsider.”

Ji Rong was momentarily dazed, but when he regained his senses, he had a favorable impression of Yuan Chen. He smiled and said, “That’s right, we are on the same side. It’s only natural for us to move to the civilized city.”

Yuan Chen smiled, “City Lord, I am more skilled in governance. I heard that the management team in the civilized city is severely lacking talent. I wonder if there’s a position for me?”

Wen Qingling asked, “What position do you want?”

Yuan Chen replied, “I think the position of Deputy City Lord would be good enough.”

Wen Qingling slowly curled his lips and said, “Isn’t Deputy City Lord too low? Should I give you the position of City Lord instead?”

Yuan Chen was taken aback and looked at Wen Qingling strangely. He was very confident in his hypnosis ability. Since awakening his powers, except when facing opponents whose strength surpassed his, he had to be cautious. Since reaching Grade D, his hypnosis had become more than a hundred times stronger, almost invincible. No one had been able to escape his hypnosis and brainwashing.

Yuan Chen was confident that this young City Lord would be no exception.

However, he knew when to stop. If his demands were too excessive, it would trigger a strong resistance in the person under hypnosis, leading to a high risk of control failure. He didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes and end up being hunted down again.

Being cautious like steering a ship for thousands of years, Yuan Chen smirked and said, “City Lord, don’t joke with me. At best, my abilities only qualify me as Deputy City Lord. The position of City Lord belongs to you, and I would never dare to compete with you.”

Wen Qingling asked, “If I want to give it to you, would you dare to take it?”

Yuan Chen continued to gaze at Wen Qingling, using his strongest mental power. He saw Wen Qingling’s gaze momentarily lose focus, and only then did he feel relieved and smiled, “If you don’t want to be the City Lord, I would be more than happy to take the position.”

“Slap!”

Yuan Chen was slapped and fell to the ground.

The force of this slap was not small. Yuan Chen felt like his brain was shaken, lying on the ground unable to get up for a while. His mouth was filled with a metallic taste as he spits out two teeth. Half of his face immediately swelled up.

Wen Qingling said in a low voice, “Psychic ability, hypnosis. Are you controlling and brainwashing people with this?”

Yuan Chen couldn’t believe it and looked at him, “It’s impossible, how did you…”

“Why wasn’t I hypnotized by you?” Wen Qingling swept his mental power over Ji Rong, causing him to regain his clarity. “Before you laid a hand on me, did you bother to find out what my ability is?”

Yuan Chen sat dazed on the ground, “Wood element and psychic element…”

He had long learned about Wen Qingling’s abilities from the Blood Corpse… that is, from Yuan Li’s mouth. Dual elemental abilities sounded formidable, and Yuan Chen was a bit worried. That’s why he tested the waters at the beginning, only to discover that Wen Qingling seemed unaware. So he slightly increased the intensity of his hypnosis. He wanted to see if he could control Wen Qingling. If successful, he would strike it rich, gaining control over the entire civilized city, Xiang County, Xu County, and Yue County Base. He would become the ultimate winner in life. Even if there was a risk of failure, he was willing to try.

He asked Yuan Li about the nature of Wen Qingling’s psychic abilities. Within each major elemental ability, there are many sub-abilities. For example, Yuan Chen himself possessed a hypnotic ability, which was a branch of the psychic elemental ability called “hypnosis.” Hypnosis could control a person’s behavior by inducing a hypnotic state. At an advanced level, it could even modify or erase the target’s memories, which was incredibly powerful.

Based on the information he received from Yuan Li, Wen Qingling liked to use his psychic power to explore the outside world. Yuan Chen assumed that Wen Qingling’s psychic power belonged to this category of abilities. As long as his hypnosis was effective, he believed he could control Wen Qingling.Little did Yuan Chen know that Wen Qingling possessed both wood elemental and psychic elemental abilities. And he wasn’t just proficient in specific branches of these abilities; he had mastery over the entire elemental spectrum of both elements. Although there were many unexplored branches within these abilities, Wen Qingling’s true potential had been underestimated.

Wen Qingling had never used his hypnosis ability and hadn’t even thought about developing it. He considered such abilities beneath him. He believed that there was nothing that couldn’t be solved through force. If necessary, he would resort to violence instead of manipulating others. He had no patience for that.

Ji Rong regained his senses and realized how foolish he had been to admit that Yuan Chen was on his side. He became angry and grabbed Yuan Chen, delivering a beating to vent his frustration.

Yuan Chen was shocked to see that Ji Rong, a major general, had no restraint and freely beat him, making him cry out in pain. With a swollen face and bloodied visage, he begged for mercy.

Ji Rong threw the cowardly Yuan Chen to the ground but still felt unsatisfied. He kicked him again and said, “You’re quite something, being able to mesmerize someone with just a glance. Were you the one behind Chang Boheng and the people from Yue County Base?”

There was no need to ask; the truth was that Yuan Chen was behind it all.

Terrified and in pain, Yuan Chen remained silent.

Ji Rong, not satisfied with his silence, continued to punch him.

Wen Qingling intervened, “Enough beating. I still have questions for him.”

Yuan Chen, lying on the ground with a face full of blood, resembled a pig’s head. He pleaded, “I… I really can’t take it anymore… Please stop…”

Ji Rong sneered, “You’re not even close to reaching your limit. Now, it’s me beating you. The City Lord will have a turn, and with a single punch, you’ll be done for.”

Yuan Chen remained silent.

Yuan Chen was terrified and burst into tears, “Wh-what does the City Lord want to ask? I… I will definitely… definitely tell the truth…”

Wen Qingling coldly looked at him, “You learned something from the Blood Corpse, didn’t you?”

Yuan Chen’s swollen eyes squinted, “What… what Blood Corpse? I don’t know anything about it. I don’t even know who Blood Corpse is…”

Wen Qingling had been observing him all along and knew he wasn’t lying. Yuan Chen genuinely had no knowledge of the Blood Corpse’s identity.

Wen Qingling said, “Do you know the criteria for living in the civilized city?”

Yuan Chen cried, “If I knew, I would never have risked hypnotizing you, City Lord…”

Ji Rong didn’t believe him, “Did you ask your… cousin?”

Yuan Chen replied, “I did. He said only non-humans can live in the civilized city. The civilized city is not a place for humans… I asked him several times, and that’s what he always said. I thought he was indirectly insulting me…”

Ji Rong fell silent.

Indeed, that was not an insult. The civilized city was indeed not meant for humans.

Wen Qingling banged the table, “You should consider yourself fortunate for having a less intelligent brain. Otherwise, you and your cousin would be dead by now.”

Yuan Chen was indeed talented, but he missed the most critical secret due to his twisted thoughts, focusing on the construction of Yue County and the plan to attack the civilized city. He never expected that his cousin would be capable of controlling a horde of zombies.

Upon further reflection, it was understandable. With the emergence of various extraordinary abilities, it wasn’t surprising to encounter someone with the ability to control zombies. It could be said that Yuan Chen’s ambitions were quite audacious.

In reality, if he had known that the civilized city was inhabited by zombies, he would never have dared to enter.

Wen Qingling didn’t kill Yuan Chen. Similar to the Blood Corpse, he bound Yuan Chen and hung him on the city wall. He wanted everyone to witness the consequences of causing trouble in the civilized city and its affiliated bases.