Chapter 17

"Ethan, why are you here? Where's your mother?" Greg saw Lin Ethan talking to the priest and felt a little worried, afraid that the child might say something wrong. Over the past month, Ethan has been strict, especially after the people from the refuge came. They didn't want to work and just wanted to lie around, so Ethan made an example of them. He believed that useless people were unnecessary. If one person didn't want to work, he would be punished. If ten people didn't want to work, they would be punished. If a thousand people didn't want to work, they would be punished. There was no exception for the masses. This rule made the refugees work obediently. Fortunately, most people were willing to work in exchange for rewards, so there was little resistance to Ethan's leadership. It was much better than the hopeless conditions in the refuge.

"Uncle Greg, my mother is still cooking in the cafeteria, so I made a bun for the priest."

Lin Ethan didn't want to see Greg because his presence meant that his mother wouldn't be with him as much.

"Do you two know each other?" Ethan chuckled, sensing there was a story here.

"Haha, his mother and I are close. It's not easy for a woman to take care of a child alone," Greg replied, smiling awkwardly.

"That's good. If you have more children in the future, they will all contribute to rebuilding humanity," Ethan encouraged. It was important to encourage families to grow. A couple having five or six children could lead to a population explosion in just one generation.

"Clara, issue a notice encouraging people to form families. Every family member can receive the blessing of the gods!" Ethan decided to promote this idea to strengthen the community's sense of belonging to the refuge.

"No problem!" Clara was pleased to see this happen.

Supplies were no longer an issue. The granaries in the city could feed millions of people for one or two years, and with only a few thousand people in the refuge, they could last for decades.

Greg hadn't expected Ethan to take this step and admired him even more for it.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the surgery on Professor Martin was successful.

Ethan could finally learn something about the New Church from him.

In the operating room, Martin hadn't expected to survive the operation. But it was clear that the magical tumor had been removed from him, which meant he was no longer protected from the zombies.

"Professor Martin, you seem energetic. It looks like you've recovered well. Now, can you tell me about the New Church?"

Ethan sat down, crossed his legs, and waited for Martin to explain.

Martin, now resigned to his fate, began: "The New Church is a vast organization. They have members all over the world, including wealthy individuals and government officials. They all have one thing in common: they are on the brink of death."

"I've never met the Pope of the New Church. It's said that he has the power to grant eternal life and can bestow it upon others. As for why he spread the zombie virus across the world, I have no idea. The church claims it's an oracle."

Ethan was intrigued. The power to grant eternal life was something beyond human reach. From beggars to emperors, who wouldn't want to live forever?

"Which god do you believe in?"

"The God of Hope and Redemption! It's said that this god can bring new life and strength to believers," Martin replied, a bit embarrassed. The god's name and actions seemed completely unrelated.

"What a coincidence. I am the messenger of the God of Killing and Destruction. It seems there's bound to be a clash between me and the New Church," Ethan said with a smile. If he could defeat the New Church, perhaps the system would recognize it as a completed special mission.

Martin looked at Ethan in disbelief. He had thought the gods were a myth, but here was a powerful messenger of another god standing right in front of him. Could it be that the New Church wasn't lying? Did the God of Hope and Redemption really exist?

"Alas, I don't know much about the affairs of the gods. I'm just a researcher who was forced to implant a brain tumor. The wealthy and the officials are likely still enjoying themselves in their fortresses, leaving many behind to serve them," Martin said bitterly. Billions had died worldwide because of a so-called oracle from a god. How absurd.

"Don't worry. No matter what their true intentions are, I will ensure they are judged," Ethan promised. 

"Do you know the locations of other bases?"

"Sorry, I don't. My rank was low; I was just a researcher slightly above the guards," Martin replied helplessly.

"It doesn't matter. You'll help me study the tumor next. It produces a substance that repels zombies and can also make people immune to the virus. This is humanity's hope for defeating the zombie virus," Ethan said, trusting in Martin's abilities. He had been studying the virus for a long time.

"I'll do my best. It's also a way to atone for what I've done," Martin said. He thought he would never see revenge on the New Church, but with Ethan's power, perhaps it was possible.

Another month passed quickly.

The refuge's wall was finally completed. The 180-kilometer wall required a lot of manpower and materials. While not as strong as ancient fortifications, it could still fend off attacks from the infected.

Moreover, in the past month, Martin had fulfilled his promise and created a substance that could repel zombies. Named the Zombie Expulsion Agent, it made zombies physically uncomfortable, forcing them to retreat from the city walls.

Ethan stood atop the wall, looking out at the desolate landscape, filled with emotion.

Over the past month, Ethan had sent his fighters to search the city for more survivors. By luck, they had found over a thousand more people, bringing the refuge's population to five thousand.

However, it had been five months since the world ended, and there were likely very few survivors left outside, except perhaps at the New Church bases where humans were hoarded as test subjects.

Ethan summoned the refuge's leaders to a meeting in the conference room of the mall.

Everyone looked at Ethan, noticing his heavy expression, but no one dared to speak.

"I will be leaving the refuge for a while. Clara will manage things in my absence," Ethan said in a deep voice. He couldn't protect this place forever. After all, this world belonged to them, not to him.

Clara had anticipated this and wasn't surprised.

Greg, Matt, and Kyle, however, were caught off guard.

"Why are you leaving, Father?" Matt asked, feeling less secure without Ethan around.

"I'm going to cause trouble for the New Church and increase the population of the refuge," Ethan explained, wanting to reassure them that he would return.