23 The Human Heart

Lin Qing had seen many bases like Jiang Cheng's in his previous life. However, most of them wouldn't even survive past a year. The main reasons were that their workers were compensated regardless of their performance and the division of labor wasn't clear. In the end, they had internal strife, and the workers left one by one.

Breathing hard, Jiang Cheng said in a shaky voice, "I've never thought about these things."

Lin Qing patted Jiang Cheng's shoulder. "If you haven't thought about it, then think about it carefully. Also, your personality isn't suitable to be the base leader. Find someone who can manage the base among the ordinary people. You just need to be in charge of fighting usually."

"Mr. Lin, can you tell me what needs to be improved?"

"There are too many! First, you need to conserve electricity and save the fuel of your generators. But with your current usage, the base will collapse in at most a year."

Every household had electricity in their rooms for warmth. This was the first time Lin Qing had seen such a luxurious base.

He had to admit that this was awesome!

"I'll have them improved immediately. They don't need the generators during the day."

"Yes!" Lin Qing nodded. "Other than the necessary departments, no one else should use the generators. Don't turn on the lights at night either, as it will attract steel beasts. It's best to use firewood or coal for warmth…"

Lin Qing told Jiang Cheng about his survival experience after the Cataclysm in his previous life one by one. The lives of countless people had been exchanged for this knowledge.

"Finally, let me give you a suggestion. Leave this place and go to a larger survival base."

Jiang Cheng shook his head slowly as he looked at the dormitory buildings and sighed. "What will happen to them if I leave?"

"Everyone has their own fate. Don't underestimate a person's potential. Those who can live will be able to survive even without you around. As for those who can't live, even if you provide for them every day, it's only a matter of time before they die."

There were many bases in his previous life that didn't depend on Motorbots. Everyone provided for themselves, and they were still able to live well.

Jiang Cheng sighed. "… We'll see. I won't abandon them until the very end."

Jiang Cheng arranged for Lin Qing and Huang Quan to stay beside an experimental building before leaving. There was a temporary rain shed here, which was enough for them to rest under.

Huang Quan lay sprawled out on the floor and yawned. "Damn, this is quite a hard time for me. I used to sleep in big hotels, but now I'm sleeping on the floor every day."

"We're just resting our minds. Is that really necessary?" Lin Qing transformed into the heavy truck and closed his eyes to rest.

After ten years, he had long since broken away from the resting state of a normal human body.

After a while, Huang Quan opened his eyes. "You have a sharp tongue but a soft heart. You clearly want to help them, so why did you use that tone?"

"Because I don't want to get into trouble."

"Haha, why? Are you afraid that they'll make you stay behind as their leader? Actually, it's not bad to be a leader. The feeling of controlling the lives of 100,000 people with a single thought is like being an emperor."

"Ha, once I take over this place, I won't be an emperor enjoying himself but a freaking nanny. It's fine if I help them occasionally, but I'll never build a base for human survivors."

Huang Quan rolled over and blinked as he held his head. "So, what do you want to do?"

"I want to live!" After a few seconds of silence, Lin Qing looked up at the sky. "Also, if possible, I want to go up and see who the hell made the world like this."

Huang Quan chuckled. "What if there are aliens up there?"

"Then I will destroy them."

"How ambitious. I want to go up too, so let's destroy them together."

…

The nights after the Cataclysm could only be described in two words: cold and dark!

At night, the temperature dropped below -10°C, causing the ground to freeze. Furthermore, dark clouds blocked out the light and made it impossible for people to see their fingers in front of them. The darkness gradually swallowed up everyone's courage.

Lin Qing and Huang Quan had gone to bed early. But they were woken up by some noise after dusk.

The soccer field was brightly lit and filled with people. The audience was full of men, women, and children shivering in their coats.

At this moment, several Motorbots led by Jiang Cheng were standing at the rostrum.

"Why is the power cut off? It's such a cold day. If there's no heating, people will freeze to death!"

"It's minus ten degrees Celsius, but we can't even take a hot shower if the electricity is cut. You guys are made of steel, so of course you don't need to take a bath, but we do!"

"There are several gas stations in the city with diesel in there. There's no lack of resources!"

Jiang Cheng froze. He didn't expect these people to show such a strong reaction just because he mentioned that electricity would be restricted. But when he thought of Lin Qing's words, he gritted his teeth and shouted into the microphone, "Not only will electricity be cut, everyone will have to work in the future as well. We will be responsible for sweeping the steel beasts outside, while young people will follow behind to carry the supplies. Meanwhile, the elderly and children will stay at home to knit, make clothes, and do whatever they can."

Whoosh—

Jiang Cheng's words were like a bomb exploding. In an instant, everyone flared up and widened their eyes in disbelief!

An old cell phone smashed against Jiang Cheng. A commotion broke out on the campus as words like human rights, freedom, equality, and so on thundered throughout.

There was also a group of old ladies who rushed onto the stage to fight Jiang Cheng.

In the distance, Lin Qing and Huang Quan were already wide awake. A shocked expression appeared on Huang Quan's face as the two of them watched everything. "I finally understand why you didn't become the leader of the base. This is a living example of the farmer and the viper.

"He didn't ask them to fight with their lives on the line, yet they're already reacting so strongly when asked to do simple tasks. If they were to fight with steel beasts, the graves of their ancestors would need to be overturned."

To be fair, carrying some food behind the Motorbots wasn't a problem at all, let alone doing chores at the base.

Moreover, not being able to take hot showers was even more ridiculous. Since they were about to die, why would they care about regulated showers?

Jiang Cheng probably had more things to say, such as the fact that Motorbots would have preferential treatment. But if he said this, he would be killed.

Looking at Jiang Cheng, who was motionless on the stage, Lin Qing said, "Let's see how he'll suppress the situation now. If he can't even implement what he mentioned today, there's no need to even think about it in the future."

Da da da da da da!!

Finally, Jiang Cheng made his move. He fired shots into the sky with his gun. The entire venue instantly fell silent, and the old ladies on the stage jumped off the stage without any regard for their lives.

"I call the shots here. Those who are willing to work may stay. As for those who are unwilling to work, leave!"

"This is our school. Why should we leave? If anyone should leave, it should be you!"

"That's right. This is our school. You have no right to chase us away."

"Yes, I do!!" Jiang Cheng shouted. "For those who are willing to follow me, gather here tomorrow."

"Get out!"

"Get out!"

"Get out!"

Once one person shouted, there would be a second and a third. Then tens of thousands of people started shouting. All of them wanted Jiang Cheng to scram. In their eyes, they already had a lot of resources and could survive even without Motorbots.

If they were hungry, they would go to the supermarket to get food. If they were thirsty, they would get something to drink. After all, there were so many hotels, supermarkets, convenience stores, and wholesale markets full of food.

"Shit, we've gone too far!" Lin Qing touched his nose awkwardly. "Let's retreat. We don't want someone to burn us with gasoline."

"Yeah, we can't afford to offend them. Let's run!"

Under the moonlight, the two of them left secretly. But they didn't expect to bump into Ye Daying, who was on duty at the school gate.

"Big Boss, Second Boss, wait for me. I'll go with you."

He could hear the loud commotion clearly. Furthermore, he didn't like this place to begin with. If not for Jiang Cheng, he would have left long ago.

Now that Jiang Cheng was leaving, he was also planning to leave.