New Rules

Xia Hong had never been someone who compromised easily.

Just like in his previous life, when he sensed that he was about to lose all ability to move in the late stages of ALS and become completely useless, he had chosen to end his own life.

If one could live without a shred of dignity, it was better to die a glorious death.

But in this perilous Endless Winter, achieving that goal was extraordinarily difficult.

Hunger, cold, daylight, Frost Beasts, monsters...

Any one of these could claim countless lives.

Relying on one person alone was impossible.

Only by uniting and gathering the strength of more people could they achieve that goal as quickly and effectively as possible. That was the deepest realization Xia Hong had reached since arriving in this world.

Xia Hong believed that, as human beings, everyone ultimately yearned for a decent life with dignity. It was the simplest and most fundamental desire in the human heart, with no exceptions.

He was like that, and so were Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, and the others.

The other people in Great Xia Camp were the same.

And Frost Beast Meat was the ticket to that kind of dignified life.

Before they could get any Frost Beast Meat, every time Xia Hong returned, the camp would be lifeless. Aside from the few people who had Frost Beast Meat and could cultivate, practically everyone else simply lay listlessly beside the bonfire.

But ever since Xia Hong had brought out Frost Beast Meat to distribute, they had changed.

Almost everyone, after eating their fill, would look for opportunities to train, hoping to increase their strength, enter the Lumber Team reserve, and receive a share of Frost Beast Meat.

The vitality that suddenly bloomed in these people made Xia Hong realize that everyone in the camp longed for change. As long as they were given an opportunity, anyone could unleash tremendous energy.

When countless individuals who had unleashed tremendous energy formed a group and advanced toward the same goal, no difficulty could stop them.

There was truth in the saying that many hands made light work; it was never empty talk.

The size of a camp being distinguished by its population was proof enough.

Every camp knew that increasing its population was the way to become stronger.

But restricted by resources and strength, they could not do it.

Now, however, Great Xia Camp could take an unorthodox path with Small Torches and accomplish it.

Xia Hong naturally could not continue clinging stubbornly to the old rules.

Setting aside personal gains and losses, distributing part of the Frost Beast Meat so that the camp's vital forces grew larger, accepting more people, expanding the camp, and repeating the cycle—this was the best route for developing the camp.

Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and the others were not fools, but limited by their past knowledge and experiences, their vision could not help but be short-sighted.

Besides, personal interests had moved people's hearts since ancient times.

Setting aside personal gains and losses had never been a simple matter.

Fortunately, Xia Hong had led the way and set an example for them.

When Xia Ding and the Lumber Team had first encountered disaster, Xia Hong had brought back Frost Beast Meat and distributed it to them.

That was why Xia Hong now had the confidence to ask them to do the same.

In reality, Xia Hong could have made all the decisions himself. He believed that under his forceful orders, neither Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, nor any of the other people in the camp would oppose him.

With his current prestige, he was fully capable of doing so.

But he had not. Instead, he had chosen to lay out the facts and reason with Xia Chuan and the others.

Abolishing an old system and establishing a new one was simple.

But making everyone understand the reasoning behind it, allowing the system to truly function, and even having everyone become people who jointly upheld it was not so easy.

The purpose of any system was to regulate and develop an organization.

If implementing the new system caused Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and the others to develop grievances against the rest of the camp, or even triggered conflict, it would run counter to that purpose.

The main reason was that some time ago, Xia Hong had already clearly sensed that Xia Chuan and the others who had been the first to break through into the Lumbering Realm truly had grievances against the rest of the camp, and that things were genuinely developing toward conflict.

That was why Xia Hong had patiently explained why he wanted to do this.

What benefits it would bring them and the camp.

After Xia Hong had laid out all the pros and cons, he saw that Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and the others had fallen into thought. He did not disturb them, merely remaining silent as he waited for everyone to think through his words.

After a long while, Yuan Cheng was the first to raise his head.

"Chief, I understand now. Only when everyone becomes stronger can we truly stop fearing those Frost Beasts and prevent another tragedy like the one before. I'm willing to listen to you. We'll continue distributing the meat at a three-five-two ratio."

"No matter how strong an individual is, they can't change the overall situation of our camp. Chief, you're right. Only when everyone plays their part can we live better and live longer. I agree as well. The meat-distribution rules won't change."

"That's right. We can hunt now, and we have more Frost Beast Meat than before. It's enough to cultivate more Lumbering Realm fighters. If we still cling to the old rules, at best Great Xia will return to how it was before. I also support the chief's opinion. The meat-distribution rules remain unchanged."

Yue Feng, Lin Kai, and the other five people also voiced their support one after another. Clearly, they had not only listened to Xia Hong's words but had truly understood them.

"Prioritizing the cultivation of more Lumbering Realm fighters is indeed more important right now!"

Unexpectedly, the last person to understand was his younger brother, Xia Chuan.

Seeing the sincerity on everyone's faces and knowing that they genuinely approved, Xia Hong felt relieved, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

This matter was not huge, but it definitely could not be considered minor either.

The distribution of benefits had been an age-old problem since time immemorial.

Whether individuals or the collective should be prioritized had never had a definitive answer.

But one thing was certain: Great Xia should absolutely prioritize the collective for now.

A group of people without strength, who could not even venture out at night, would not only be of no help to the camp but would also drag down the Lumbering Realm fighters among them.

Even gathering Crystal Fruits carried a certain degree of risk.

Abandoning them was naturally impossible, but endlessly gathering Crystal Fruits to keep them fed was even less advisable.

As the old saying went, it was better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Xia Hong deeply agreed.

Helping them become stronger and improving their ability to survive was the proper path.

Moreover, as everyone in the camp grew stronger, resources would accumulate faster and faster. With more resources, they could support a larger population. Through this endless cycle, the future of Great Xia Camp would be limitless.

Of course, more importantly, they now had a source for the resources needed to upgrade the Camp System.

Although the system currently had only unlocked the Small Bonfire, judging from its upgrade requirements and the conditions for unlocking other buildings, the resources Xia Hong would need in the future would certainly amount to an astronomical figure.

Without a stable and sizable camp population to support him, Xia Hong alone would definitely be unable to obtain so many resources. He had to rely on more people.

Establishing the new rules was Xia Hong's challenge to this world's ingrained beliefs, as well as his first practical attempt at putting his development philosophy for Great Xia Camp into practice.

Fortunately, relying on the prestige he had accumulated in the early stages and a great deal of hard-won persuasion, everyone had listened to him.

"After all, we're only a ramshackle group of a hundred-plus people. We can take it slowly. Once there's a first time, there'll be a second. The day we get on the right track isn't far away!"

With the new rules established and everyone's knots untied, Xia Hong stopped dwelling on it.

"It'll be dark soon. Get ready to head out."

The others nodded when they heard him and turned to retrieve their weapons.

Only Xu Ning, who had just broken through and knew that he would soon be going out for the first time, was the most excited. He touched the Stone Axe already hanging at his waist.