Chapter 147: If It Has Nothing to Do with Us, We’ll Leave First

This time, the convoy remained out in the field for more than a month before returning little by little.

In truth, they had wanted to come back much sooner. But every time they saw supplies that had just been placed in the convoy’s warehouse being carried away again, they were left speechless.

Filling the warehouse completely was clearly impossible.

The reason they had returned this time was Lin Mu’s summons.

Over the course of a month, Lin Mu had gathered nearly ten thousand people and thirteen hundred vehicles.

Many had joined forces in groups of seven or eight to upgrade a single vehicle in order to survive.

Otherwise, they would have died in this world long ago.

Before they came, Lin Mu had directly ordered Shu Yi to tell them that everyone who arrived was required to wear a restraint collar.

Those unwilling to wear one need not come. Lin Mu had no time to soothe their feelings.

Of course, this message was given only to the people from the Hua Nation. As for those from other countries, he had not even bothered to tell them.

Anyone who refused to wear a collar after arriving was left for Korodo and the others to deal with as they pleased.

As a result, Lin Mu had gained more than three thousand empty vehicles.

Once he obtained a few more convoy upgrade cards, all those vehicles could be incorporated into the convoy. By then, his war machine might stretch for several thousand meters.

Who in this world could possibly stand against a warship several kilometers long?

“Brother Yu, are we still taking in more people?”

Lin Mu shook his head. “This is enough for now. We’ll talk about it again when the convoy has room to spare.”

Too many people were not necessarily a good thing.

Although they had all put on collars, as mentioned before, the collars restricted only their actions toward him. They imposed no such limitation when it came to other people.

Several days later, the more than ten thousand people had split into ten separate circles, precisely as Lin Mu had predicted.

But it was not a serious problem.

In Lin Mu’s vehicle, four squad leaders, including Jiang Han, had gathered.

“Jiang Han, Zhao Jin, and Zhang Qian, your assignments remain the same as before.”

Jiang Han nodded. “Then what about these ten thousand people...?”

“Leave them to Shu Yi.”

Shu Yi stared at Lin Mu in bewilderment. What did he mean, leave them to her?

There were more than ten thousand people divided into over a dozen small factions. How was she supposed to handle them? It was not as though she could kill them all and bring in a new batch.

“You... aren’t you overestimating me a little?”

The others looked at Shu Yi with sympathy.

How pitiful. More than ten thousand people were no easy matter to manage.

“Ahem. If there’s nothing else for us, we’ll be leaving first. We’ve already swept through the nearby cities and villages once. This time, we’re heading somewhere farther away.”

“Yes, yes. We’ll be gone longer this time—probably about two months.”

The three men hurriedly rose and headed outside.

Shu Yi sprang to her feet in alarm. “Wait! Don’t leave yet! This hasn’t been settled...”

Bang!

Zhao Jin was the last to leave. He reached back and shut the door behind him.

The three men exchanged glances and sighed in relief at the same time.

Compared with dealing with those ten thousand people, going out to work was far preferable.

Shu Yi stared at the closed door, utterly despondent.

These people were simply too shameless. They had actually abandoned her just like that.

Shu Xin sat to one side, behaving like a proper lady.

As long as no one looked at her, she had nothing to do with the matter.

“Ahem. Things aren’t as complicated as you think. I merely want you to merge these people into a single group. Of course, I’ll give you authority to act as you see fit. At most, fifty percent of them may die. Just don’t exceed that number.”

After all, Lin Mu had nearly five thousand vehicles. There would be no problem with assigning one vehicle to each person.

Anna’s eyes lit up. “You don’t want those people, do you?”

The corner of Lin Mu’s mouth twitched. One look at her expression was enough to tell him what she was thinking.

Still, those people were going to die eventually anyway. Helping Anna increase her strength would not be a bad idea.

“You may have them. Ask Shu Yi to arrange a house for you.”

Anna licked her lips. “Hee hee hee, Lin Mu, you’re wonderful! I’m going to give you a kiss of love.”

Zzzzt!

A powerful current instantly surged through Anna’s body.

It was stronger than any current she had experienced before.

This time, Anna felt no pleasure—only pain.

“I take it back... Stop it right now!”

Lin Mu lowered his hand. “If you keep showing off in the future, I’ll double the power.”

He had only recently discovered that he could actively amplify the current.

Perhaps because he had survived here for so long, the restraint collar had undergone a mutation.

Anna hurriedly shook her head.

She had not been afraid before because the current had barely felt like anything, and had even been rather pleasant.

But now, she decided she could do without it.

Lin Mu looked toward Shu Yi. “Just hand the people over to her when the time comes. Five thousand should be enough to raise her strength considerably.”

At first, he had not placed much importance on individual strength. After all, with so many weapons at his disposal, what use was personal power?

But for the coming battle for the giant city, they still needed to make proper preparations.

“If we want to help her increase her strength, should we bring over some more people from abroad?” Shu Yi suggested.

Anna hurriedly shook her head. “I’m only an ordinary succubus. Five thousand is already far too many. I’m afraid I won’t be able to finish with them all.”

A succubus did not necessarily need to mate in order to increase her strength. Absorbing an opponent’s vital essence was enough.

Otherwise, with so many people, she would be exhausted before she could even level up.

Besides, they did not have that much time.

Once everything had been arranged, Lin Mu had nothing more to do.

In the days that followed, dozens or even hundreds of people from the group of ten thousand disappeared every day.

At night, corpse after corpse was carried to a large pit outside the city.

A month later, the people finally realized what was happening.

One after another, they transformed into obedient children, doing whatever they were told.

Anna stood inside the house, gazing down at the crowd with an expression of regret.

“Captain, this won’t do. I’ve absorbed fewer than two thousand of them. Look how many people there are. Couldn’t you send me a few more?”

Her strength had indeed increased by a great deal, but far less than she had expected.

The corner of Lin Mu’s mouth twitched. “They’ve all become normal now. If I intervene again, wouldn’t that be breaking the rules? How about this: go find Shu Yi and have her bring you some foreigners. You may do whatever you like with them.”

In any case, all he wanted were the vehicles.

There were still plenty of people left, and the demand for vehicles had risen accordingly.

...

With one month remaining before the battle for the giant city, Zhao Jin and the others returned.

It was impossible to say whether they had discovered some promising location or simply did not want to manage the ten thousand people. This time, they had been gone for more than a month.

The first thing they did upon returning was find Lin Mu and report their gains.

“Our squad cleared three medium-sized cities, twelve towns, and dozens of villages,” Jiang Han announced proudly.

Of the three squads that had gone out, theirs had accomplished the most.

“I cleared one medium-sized city and six towns...”

Lin Mu nodded with satisfaction. “Very good, very good. You won’t need to go out again for the time being. Divide those seven thousand people among yourselves, then teach them our methods of combat.”

Methods of combat?

Wasn’t it simply charging in headfirst?

What was there to teach?