Those pairs of eyes hadn’t lost their brightness despite their disappointment.
Though they truly weren’t yet capable of bearing the responsibilities of a government, they were still impressive—weren’t they, adults?
It was heartening to see.
Even Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but smile.
—
Tech District, Youth Apartments.
Someone shouted: “Jiang Cheng’s going live!”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and ran to the clubhouse to watch: “Which district is establishing a government this time?”
It was so uplifting, day after day.
“I think it’s Guangxiu District. I heard Xinyan mention it at lunch.”
“Guangxiu is close—it could connect with the Tech District.”
Everyone watched with anticipation, but the broadcast turned out to be different from what they’d expected.
[First: a safe base.]
[Second: a wood-type superpower user to provide a sustainable food supply.]
[The above two are the most basic and essential conditions for establishing a government.]
[After that, a framework must be established as soon as possible. Material management systems and job compensation allocation systems must be clearly defined.]
[Without these, it will be hard to expand a base. As the population grows, all kinds of chaos will emerge.]
[The Tech District’s institutional framework and detailed regulations will be shared with all districts shortly for reference.]
[Over forty groups of survivors were rescued yesterday. Information will be updated shortly.]
“Huh? Why are there suddenly so many requirements? What about Guangxiu District’s new government? I wanted to see what they looked like.”
Everyone buzzed with discussion.
Song Jingshuo guessed: “They must have run into people who didn’t meet the requirements. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have suddenly brought this up.”
There had been no requirements before—if you could do it, go ahead.
[Additionally, it has been confirmed today that no one from the Guangxiu District government survived. Guangxiu District has not yet established a new government body.]
[However.]
Ah, here came the twist.
Everyone perked up.
[However, the high school division of S City No. 14 Middle School on Huoqiying Road in Guangxiu District has been established as a safe zone by the over 300 surviving teachers, students, and parents.]
[The students have successfully rescued over a hundred survivors and, this morning, eliminated all the zombies in the Guangxiu District government building.]
[Currently, the school can provide classrooms and bedding for group accommodation, and food stockpiles are still sufficient.]
[Going forward, they will also receive material support from the Tech District Provisional Government.]
[Homeless survivors may seek shelter there.]
[Survivors who have not yet escaped may also call on the No. 14 High School students for rescue.]
[Below are the contact numbers for the No. 14 High School students…]
A large group of students appeared on screen.
Each one wore shiny silver armor, neat school uniforms, and held a crescent-blade shovel, trying their best to puff out their chests and maintain serious expressions.
Song Jingshuo: “…”
Everyone: “…”
Alright. They understood everything now.
—
Of the sixteen TV station buses, Jiang Cheng and her team had taken six to begin with. Changxing District and Shilong District had taken five more between them, leaving five.
The metal-types had removed all the seats, leaving only the empty cabin.
Since the No. 14 High School kids were so numerous, leaving the seats in would have made it too cramped.
The lower compartments of these buses could be opened, revealing large luggage storage spaces.
The “iron cages” were all collected. The linked bicycles were disconnected and stuffed into the luggage compartments—as many as would fit.
Originally, the adults had said they could just leave the bikes there, but the kids didn’t want to.
Many of them had ridden their own bikes—cherished possessions they couldn’t bear to abandon.
Besides, they were transportation—they might need them again.
The adults did their best to accommodate. Once the compartments were full, Jiang Cheng stored the rest in her spatial storage: “Let’s go.”
They drove the buses to take the kids back to No. 14 High School in Guangxiu District—which was also on the way back to the Tech District.
The teachers and parents had already seen their kids on TV. Their anxious hearts were finally put at ease—they were both furious and proud.
They never expected that “Jiang Cheng” from the TV broadcast would personally bring the children back.
Several teachers and parents came up to shake Jiang Cheng’s hand: “Thank you, thank you—we’re so sorry for the trouble!”
Jiang Cheng briefly communicated with the adults about the agreement they’d already reached with the kids: “Going forward, the Tech District will support this location with material supplies and treat it as a safe base.”
Though they hadn’t been able to establish a government, the kids had still achieved so much—the adults were overcome with mixed emotions.
Jiang Cheng inspected the cafeteria’s stockpile.
The food reserves were indeed still plentiful—it seemed they could last quite a while.
But she noticed that the refugees being sheltered were wandering in and out of the cafeteria freely, casually grabbing two steamed buns from the big steamer and walking off.
No one said anything. Only the cafeteria auntie, annoyed that someone had left the steamer lid crooked, muttered under her breath as she went over to straighten it.
Jiang Cheng didn’t say anything either.
Some kinds of growth couldn’t be taught—you had to learn through experience, through hitting walls.
But she called the four student leaders aside for a private conversation. Then she waved goodbye to everyone, got in the vehicle, and left.
The leaders were two boys and two girls—at that age, boys and girls naturally formed separate groups and competed with each other. Everyone had insisted on equality, so they’d elected two of each as the main student leaders.
These four high schoolers were first and foremost superpower users—and strong ones at that.
In addition, they were all class officers or even student council officers—they had management experience and commanded relatively broad respect.
After the adults from the Tech District had left, the students’ excitement still hadn’t subsided. They crowded around their own adults: “Teacher, do you know what Auntie Jiang’s superpower is?”
“It’s ‘hyperspace’!”
“It’s a concept you only see in sci-fi novels!”
“And it’s not just any hyperspace—it’s one she carries with her personally, can hold tons of stuff.”
“She’s so cool!”
“Super cool!”
“She’d put her hands behind her back and when her eyes looked at you, I straightened up out of pure instinct!”
“Me too!”
Everyone chattered on, buzzing with excitement.
Then someone noticed that the four leaders were unusually quiet, looking a bit dazed.
Someone asked: “What’s wrong with you guys? What did Auntie Jiang say to you privately?”
One of them snapped back to reality: “Oh, nothing.”
“Yeah, yeah—she just told us to do a good job managing things.”
After the curious ones had been sent off, the four boys and girls exchanged glances without speaking.
—
[If any act of violence against women occurs, don’t hesitate. After confirming the crime, kill them.]
[If you really can’t bring yourself to kill, contact me directly. I’ll handle it.]
[Supplies are still sufficient for now, so there shouldn’t be any killings over resource grabbing.]
[So, the collapse of order will definitely start with violence against women.]
[In chaotic times, harsh measures must be used.]
[Maintaining order is hard; breaking it is easy.]
[Keep a close eye on the younger girls—especially those in middle school. They’re too young, too naive—they think everyone is a good person.]
[You’re different—you’re already adults in your senior year of high school.]
[Starting now, learn to be adults.]
The four looked at each other, a bit dazed.
They’d been so naive—they’d actually thought they could be a government.
Only now did they understand—that was really something that only… adults could do.
Being an adult—it sounded terrifying.
—
Tech District.
Xiao Dan had finally started to catch her breath over the past couple of days.
Wu Yan and Tao Xiaoxiao were truly great helpers. They’d gotten a laptop from the youth apartments, set up spreadsheets, and started quantifiably managing everything.
Everything was clear and well-organized.
When you were too busy and exhausted, you didn’t have time to think about anything else. But now that Xiao Dan had recovered a bit, her mind started churning again.
She waited for Auntie Xue and Auntie Qian to finish work.
Auntie Xue and Auntie Qian had daily quotas of work to complete. Once they were done, they could knock off.
But they really liked the atmosphere at the youth apartments—and the coworker they were working alongside was so tall and handsome, with such refined taste and elegant conversation—so delightful.
They often stayed over there for a long time.
Xiao Dan had to wait a long time—it wasn’t until evening that they finally showed up.
The three of them sat down in the community gazebo to talk.
Xiao Dan said: “I was thinking—we should plant some things in our own community too. We don’t need to plant a lot—I don’t want to run you two ragged. But we should at least grow a little—we can’t rely on them for everything.”
Auntie Qian was surprised: “Are we lacking something here? Is there not enough food?”
The basic treatment for Jixiang Jiayuan residents wasn’t as high as that of youth apartment residents, but it wasn’t as low as the refugees’ one-potato-a-day minimum either.
Jixiang Jiayuan residents had quotas for vegetables, meat, and fruit.
Zhou Wang had negotiated all of this. After all, Jixiang Jiayuan had taken on the job of sheltering refugees and providing housing for a large number of them.
The people of Jixiang Jiayuan also felt this treatment was acceptable. There were many elderly residents, and they didn’t contribute as much as the young people at the youth apartments. They were grateful that the youth apartments didn’t look down on them and were willing to take care of them.
But Xiao Dan wasn’t satisfied.
In her mind, things were still like they were during the first disaster—”the youth apartments” were one group, and “Jixiang Jiayuan” was another.
When it came to belonging, she belonged to Jixiang Jiayuan.
And now that she was in charge, she really wanted to fight for more for Jixiang Jiayuan.
“Enough is enough, but just ‘enough’ is so unsatisfying,” she said. “I was thinking—if we had a little something of our own, we’d have more wiggle room. We wouldn’t have to beg them for everything and be at their mercy.”
Auntie Qian and Auntie Xue couldn’t relate at all.
Because their treatment was very high—they were in the top tier.
The young people at the youth apartments were of high caliber too—they treated the two aunties with respect and warmth.
In terms of status, they were like retired experts rehired—ample supplies, high standing.
Xiao Song always spoke to them softly when assigning work—very gentle.
They had absolutely no sense of “begging” or “being at someone’s mercy.”
But Xiao Dan was someone who’d run her own small businesses and sold insurance—she wouldn’t give up or back down easily. She would do her utmost to persuade the other person.
In the end, Auntie Xue couldn’t hold out and was convinced.
She agreed to start a vegetable garden in the community garden. She didn’t have to accelerate growth with the same efficiency as at the youth apartments. She’d just tend it like a normal garden—give it a little boost in the morning before she left and after she came back in the evening, just enough to make it grow a bit faster than normal.
It wouldn’t be too much extra work.
After Xiao Dan left, Auntie Qian said to her: “Aren’t you going against Xiao Song’s arrangements?”
Auntie Xue looked a bit sheepish: “It’s just a few vegetables. You saw I didn’t even agree to fruit. I know—tiered treatment is how you manage people well.”
Song Jingshuo had discussed fruit rationing and tiered treatment with them and the new Master Luo. Both aunties had lived through historical eras in their youth—they understood perfectly well that a communal potluck wouldn’t work. As soon as Song Jingshuo explained it, they understood and supported it.
Auntie Xue said: “I just think Xiao Xiao has it pretty hard too.”
Auntie Xue did open a few vegetable plots in the garden, boosting them morning and night. It was easy, just something she did in passing.
Every day, Xiao Dan watched the vegetables grow a little bigger and was especially happy.
Having supplies she could control herself made her feel more secure and satisfied.
On the evening of the third day, Auntie Xue boosted them again and said: “One more boost tomorrow and they’ll be just about ready.”
Xiao Dan was thrilled.
But her joy was short-lived.
She slept through the night, and when she woke up on the fourth morning, every single vegetable plot had been stripped clean.
Xiao Dan was furious.
When Zhou Wang came back that evening, she chased after him to complain: “Can we get our community surveillance cameras fixed?”
Jixiang Jiayuan’s cameras had been “broken” during the first zombie disaster to cover up certain events.
She said: “If the cameras weren’t broken, I’d be able to find the culprit right now.”
Zhou Wang had seen the vegetable plots these past few days. He just hadn’t said anything.
Sure enough, the expected outcome had occurred.
Hearing Xiao Dan’s complaint, Zhou Wang stopped walking and sighed: “Thank goodness the cameras are broken.”
Xiao Dan was taken aback.
Zhou Wang turned around: “If the cameras weren’t broken and you found out who stole them—what would you do?”
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