When Things Don't Sit Right, Fight; When They Refuse to Submit... Fight!

The festive couplets and slightly playful words, though far from being perfectly matched, made Su Mo silently pound his heart as he stood under the archway.

All good things must come to an end.

No one wanted to leave, and no one wanted to say goodbye. Su Mo knew that the villagers didn't want to make today and tomorrow's atmosphere too somber.

They wanted to leave with peace of mind, and they also wanted to make their penultimate night in this low-lying area a little happier.

Su Mo appreciates the villagers' good intentions!

"Good morning, Director!"

Seeing the two militiamen standing under the archway first give a military salute and then come forward with fervent expressions, Su Mo smiled and nodded.

Amidst the militiamen's adoring gazes, Su Mo stepped through the archway and resolutely ascended step by step.

The mountain path that usually takes four or five minutes to reach the top was now being traversed by Su Mo with extreme slowness, as if he wanted to etch this place into his mind.

Touching the still somewhat rough walls after they were carved out, I measured each of the large platforms that had been carved out with my feet.

Su Mo felt a sense of relief at this subtle change.

Everything is getting better, everything is moving in a healthy direction. Since moving here, it seems that everyone is rushing forward under the crushing force of the trend.

But if you look closely and think carefully, you can see the efforts of everyone who refused to give in to their fate in the face of natural disaster! "Big Brother Su, you're here. The villagers are all in place, and the site is all set up. Shall we go down now?"

The overall shape of Iron Stone Mountain is a cone. Although there is a platform specially made by Su Mo on top, it is still a bit crowded to accommodate hundreds of people.

Therefore, today's venue was set up on a specially carved platform on the back side of the mountain.

On ordinary days, this place can be used as a training base or a good place to hold village meetings.

In wartime, it can also be transformed into a sniper platform to avoid the possibility of being attacked from both sides by the enemy.

"Alright, let's go!"

"Oh, right, have someone drive up the Earth Tiger I parked at the foot of the mountain. There are weapons I want to leave for the village in the trunk. Find someone you can trust!"

Patting Chen Shen on the shoulder, Chen Shen Su Mo saw that despite his joy, he couldn't hide the sadness of parting. His smile remained unchanged as he strode forward.

Today, nobody wants to bring negative emotions here.

Similarly, Su Mo was willing to put aside all his emotions and show his best self to the villagers and his subordinates who were waiting for him on the "lonely mountain"!

Following the mountain road down, along the light strip, the descent was much faster this time.

Soon, as we rounded a corner, the view became brighter.

Two spotlights hung high up, illuminating the platform below like the sun, revealing every detail.

All the villagers sat on their homemade wooden stools, lined up in rows. Although there were whispers among them, in the empty wasteland night, it made the place less desolate and more lively.

In the civilized world, Su Mo was a typical solitary person and a typical "drifter" in a big city.

In a big city like Mo Du, like ordinary people, Su Mo rejected all pointless social interactions and spent most of his time locked in his room or following his own plans, doing things he liked.

But after arriving in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, he experienced a month of true "loneliness".

Su Mo really likes "popularity".

Su Mo's smile deepened when he saw that all 145 people in Hope Village were sitting there waiting for him.

In front of all the villagers was a stage about one meter higher than the platform. The "carpet" on the stage was still the red cloth that was hung on the handrail during the last ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Hope Ship.

On the stage, there was a row of handmade tables and chairs.

In the center of the table, Su Mo saw his identity plaque with his name on it.

"That's right. Although we Hope Village will become prosperous now, I hope that this prosperity will ensure everyone's comfortable life, rather than being spent on frivolous things."

"The benefits of opening these boxes will eventually expire. Each of these modern items is a valuable prototype; don't waste them."

Chen Shen, who was standing to the side, immediately nodded. "Yes, Big Brother Su, I understand that, don't worry!"

Su Mo dislikes extravagance and waste, a fact known not only to Chen Shen but also to all the management of the shelter.

However, they also knew that Su Mo was not a pedantic person.

Just like the flashy light strips that Su Mo slowly collected and pieced together from the market today, he wouldn't have any objections; on the contrary, he would be very happy.

Seeing that Pei Shao, Hong Kangcheng, Chen Yi, Qi Qin and other management members were already waiting on the right side of the stage, and looking at the venue that had begun to quiet down because of his arrival, he realized that he was a very important person.

Taking a deep breath, Su Mo strode along the previously planned passage towards the stage.

Su Mo walked steadily, step by step.

Everyone's eyes, including the management, were glued to it.

Of course, no one dared to look directly at Su Mo's face or meet Su Mo gaze at such a moment, but that did not stop them from focusing their attention on his footsteps.

At this moment, as he looked at the red, festive stage that was getting closer and closer, Su Mo's memories of the civilized era began to blur with the wasteland.

Unlike his younger sister Su Chan, Su Mo spent his first eighteen years in the ancient capital of Chang'an before university.

Here, aside from occasionally winning awards for "My CEO Dad" and stepping onto the stage to receive a bright red "Three Good Student" certificate, Su Mo has very few opportunities to walk the red carpet.

Most of the time, including his university graduation, Su Mo sat in his seat in the auditorium, just like any other ordinary person, watching those high achievers perform on stage.

But today, as the true "protagonist," he strode onto the stage and sat in the center seat, he could clearly see the anticipation, tension, and trepidation on the faces of the villagers below.

In the past, at such a special moment, Su Mo would have chosen to remove the stage directly, trying to maintain the same height as the villagers so that they wouldn't have to look up at him.

On Earth, all people are born equal, and human rights are paramount.

In the wasteland, he was unwilling to make his dictatorship so "obvious," and even less willing to convey to all the villagers the important message that he could control their lives.

But now, after truly understanding that only by showing such a tough stance will the villagers feel more at ease.

Su Mo has "changed".

As Su Mo sat down, the remaining management team members began to take their seats on the stage in an orderly fashion, evenly distributed on both sides of Su Mo, instantly enlivening the atmosphere of the conference.

"Today is February 22nd in the Doomsday Wasteland Calendar, and I am honored to announce..."

"Hope Village, the Second Village Assembly is officially convened!"

As Chen Shen finished speaking, a noisy applause broke out from below the stage, and it was clear that the villagers were not at peace.

"Today marks the 53rd day since we humans, from Earth, from China, from every city and every corner, arrived in this post-apocalyptic wasteland."

"I know that you may have had many identities in the past, such as chef, white-collar worker, factory worker, and student, but I believe that you have now accepted this new identity."

"As members of Hope Village, at this moment, I ask you to applaud yourselves again, applaud the shelter, and applaud the director!"

Clap clap clap clap clap. Another round of applause rang out, but this time it was much better than before, and all the villagers' emotions were stirred up by Chen Shen's words.

"Now, let's invite our supplies manager, Hong Kangcheng, to give a progress report!"

With all the management now possessing rapidly improving business skills, even the previously honest Hong Kangcheng has changed a lot, and he no longer shows any timidity when taking the microphone.

Although he took out a blank sheet of paper with written notes instead of the others' impromptu speeches, no one found it strange considering that it was a report on supplies.

"Hello everyone, I'm Hong Kangcheng. I'm very happy to be here with you and the director to give a progress report."

"I believe that through the changes in our lives, everyone can feel how our material reserves have changed during this period of time, in these two months!"

"Yes, from the very beginning when we ate tree bark, dug up grass roots, and ate dirt, to now having big white steamed buns, pickled vegetables, and occasionally even meat, this is the result of all of our hard work, the fruit of our sweat, and the glorious achievement under the leadership of our director."

"Let me start with the thing everyone is most concerned about. Food is number one among the necessities of life. After our amazing operation a day ago, we have now harvested enough supplies to support the 145 of us here for three years and seven months in this wasteland!"

When Hong Kangcheng said this, the entire room fell silent for a moment, and then erupted in uproar.

Sitting in their seats, many people were so excited that they trembled uncontrollably.

Many people even buckled at the knees and fell to the ground on the spot, making the scene chaotic.

This scene is like you working hard to earn money, but your father suddenly calls you over and says, "Son, we've struck it rich! We've got fifty million!"

In fact, considering the need to build a base and purchase other things to continue improving the level of power, these resources are not enough to last for such a long time; a year and a half should be the limit.

But this did not diminish the excitement that all the villagers felt from the bottom of their hearts at that moment! Then, Hong Kangcheng gave a detailed report on other aspects of the supplies, not only to the villagers but also to Su Mo, who was sitting in the center.

With the help of the manuscript, Hong Kangcheng spoke for a full ten minutes. After pausing, Chen Shen handed the microphone to Qi Qin to report on the militia's training.

Currently, Hope Village has a total of 18 formal militia members and 22 reserve militia members, for a total of 40 people.

The regular militia members do not need to do any work every day; they only need to guard Iron Stone Mountain and patrol and clean up any potential dangers in the low-lying areas on a regular basis.

The reserve militia would train, develop, and instill combat knowledge on their weekly rest days.

Of course, these reserve militia members not only had no complaints about using their rest time for training, but were even enthusiastic about it.

No one understands the importance of power in the apocalypse better than them.

No one knows better than them how hard-won such an opportunity is.

In terms of weaponry, Hope Village currently has a total of four pistols, 80 rounds of ammunition, 50 sharp standard iron spears, 30 standard machetes, five standard crossbows, and several homemade traps.

If a real fight breaks out, although it can't compare to a large shelter, it's not a problem to handle a battle with fewer than 200 alien races!

As for the disaster relief facilities that all villagers are most concerned about, Hope Village did not hide them after making a fortune this time.

Tomorrow, the triple safe house on the mountaintop, along with Energy Absorption Gel, can be quickly set up. With four sturdy drainage pipes, hiding in its own cave, it will be completely safe from the Waterfall Rainstorm!

After explaining the Defense Facilities, Qi Qin finished speaking, leaving only the management personnel present, all of whom held positions.

Under Chen Shen's coordination, everyone began to speak in turn.

The reports were presented in an orderly manner, covering virtually every aspect of Hope Village without any blind spots.

Listening to these people's reports, Su Mo, sitting in the middle, frowned at times and smiled at others, just like the ordinary villagers.

But overall, in the past twenty-odd days, compared to the Candlelight Village era, Hope Village's strength at all levels has increased at least a hundredfold! Seeing that everyone had finished speaking, the villagers below began to make noise again, whispering among themselves.

Before Chen Shen, Su Mo took the microphone and pressed his hands down, silencing the entire room once again.

"I'm sure you're all tired of listening to reports for over an hour, right? You've already said everything that I, the director, have to say!"

Su Mo was in a good mood, and the villagers below and the management team next to him also breathed a sigh of relief and laughed heartily in unison.

"Since everyone's speaking skills have reached a new level, I won't embarrass myself with these old clichés. Let's bring the presentations up!"

Speeches are only useful when you lack the necessary skills and need to persuade people.

Su Mo knew that the villagers' excitement threshold had been raised to a very high level by the previous speeches of the management.

But looking at the five militiamen waiting in the shadows of the stage, already itching to get started, Su Mo was confident that he could get everyone's emotions going.

As soon as the words were spoken, the militiamen began to go up on stage one by one, and as they waved their hands toward the air, weapons gleaming with the cold light of steel began to appear on the stage.

Twenty Type 80 General Purpose Machine Gun were stacked together like a human pyramid, their muzzles pointed at all the villagers.

Thirty M-1 Rifle and sixty K-1 Handgun, like the model toys in small shops in Yiwu, were simply placed on the ground.

Boxes of fixed bullets were neatly arranged and placed in rows, making the stage creak under their weight.

Two flat lifeboats placed on top of the ammunition box attracted everyone's attention.

Just like possessing magic, the noise that could be heard before began to slowly disappear, replaced by the faint whistling sound of the cool night wind blowing in the wasteland.

Everyone held their breath, staring at the steel weapons on the platform that symbolized "death" and "rebirth".

Although they knew that Su Mo would leave behind weapons for the village's defense before he left, people were willing to live with hope until the dust settled, but they couldn't help feeling uneasy.

Now, the promise has been kept.

And it's far more terrifying than they imagined! "These things will remain in the village after I leave. I have only one requirement for using them."

"If you're unhappy, fight; if you're not convinced, fight; if you don't submit, fight."

"Whoever dares to infringe upon our interests, whoever dares to challenge our position, I hope you will use these weapons to teach them a lesson."

"Might makes me awesome!"

The crude language, devoid of refined rhetoric, produced a sensational result.

Seeing that the crowd below was about to erupt in commotion again, Su Mo pressed his hand down once more:

"I hereby announce that, starting from this morning, all production duties are suspended. You will be spending your first long vacation in the wasteland until I return to collect you."

"During this period, aside from necessary security duties, I have only one request for you:"

"Study!"

"Go learn how to acquire stronger combat skills, how to unlock higher levels of the Technology Tree, how to restore the glory of humanity on Earth, and how to better develop shelters in the wasteland."

"I hope that when I come back to pick you up, I will see a brand new Hope Village, and you will have evolved!"

After announcing these things, Su Mo suddenly stood up and walked straight down the side of the stage.

He didn't want to sit here and enjoy the cheers.

He wanted to give these villagers a space where they could release their inner excitement.

Behind them, apart from Chen Shen, who quickly caught up after realizing what had happened, everyone else remained seated, still trying to process the information bombardment Su Mo had just delivered.

We walked along the Mountain Road and then climbed to the top of the mountain.

When Su Mo finally returned to where he had gone, the platform where the meeting was held erupted in cheers.

"I can sleep in tomorrow!"

"Roar!"

"I can finally find time to renovate my cave tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow morning I'm going to pay out of my own pocket to get a brand new quilt."

"Hehe, I've discovered that there are many different plants in the wasteland. I'm going to try learning some potion science!"

"Now that you mention it, I want to go too! I've wanted to go for a long time to analyze why these equipment and items have such amazing attributes!"

"Thank you, Director!"

"Su God is awesome!!"

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