After all, he is the big brother, can we show some respect?

When Lu Luo and his two companions spoke, it was either with a "hee hee hee" or a "giggle."

There wasn't the slightest intention to pay respect to the local big brother, leaving him with alternating shades of green and red on his face—an awkward situation, to say the least.

Moreover, the three behaved this way in front of hundreds of people.

Still fearless, this was what truly made the big brother's heart start pounding.

Having just survived the cleansing of the Exotic Species, those who were still alive had essentially passed through a round of selection.

At this moment, those who could become leaders or gang bosses were pretty much cunning folks.

Their strength might not have been strong enough—Second Tier level, which was almost entirely due to mutations from the Fourth Ring and the accumulation of Dark Energy over time.

These Second Tiers did not have any good Cultivation Techniques, nor did they possess combat skills.

It was just like the difference in strength between a Second Tier vagabond and a Second Tier Hunter—day and night.

It was already quite good that they managed to progress to the Second Tier without any deformities!

Although there might be substantial differences in strength, the gap in wits wasn't quite as clear-cut.

When this big brother saw the fearlessness of Lu Luo's trio, he immediately realized that these three might not be easy to handle.

Hence, the big brother switched his tactics to a crowd strategy.

"It's not very nice for you three to speak like that. We are just a group of brothers without a home, huddling together for warmth.

We're not strong, but we're not weak either. Your words seem to belittle everyone.

We're all out in the world trying to make a living. Everyone here just wants to have a stable life as ordinary people.

At this crucial junction in the chaos of the Fourth Ring, what you're doing isn't right; at least, it's not ethical."

"You're actually pinning a label on me? Not bad!"

Lu Luo put away his smile and glanced at the people gathered here.

With the powerful information-gathering capabilities of the Observer, he realized that these gathered individuals were not as kind-hearted as the big brother in front of him claimed.

Here, there were mostly men, with women being a minority.

Even if there were women, these women tended to be fierce, either carrying weapons or being sturdy in build.

And in the Wasteland, the number of women far exceeded that of men, so these people were far from the 'ordinary people' the big brother spoke of.

These people were probably all enforcers.

If they were united, the most likely scenario would be gang vendettas and mutual robbery of resources.

Then a good number of the abducted women would become playthings for them—a very primitive situation.

This was not what Lu Luo wanted to see, nor was it what Ludie wanted.

Lu Luo always believed that the Wasteland is the Wasteland, and the end times are the end times.

The current Alliance is of the Wasteland Era, not the apocalypse.

The apocalypse represents chaos, disorder, the struggle of human desires, deception for a bit of resources for survival, and killing each other.

But the Wasteland Era is different; the Wasteland signifies that disaster has passed, and new hope has dawned.

If the leaders of the Inner Ring acted even slightly human, the Wasteland Era could become a thriving era.

Despite the external pressure from Exotic Species and limited living space, the Wasteland Alliance had still inherited much from previous eras.

For example, in terms of food, even with significant population pressure, the food supply within the Alliance has always been very plentiful.

What's lacking is just clean water.

Lu Luo is no saint; he cannot save the world.

But he didn't want to see the Fourth Ring deteriorate from the Wasteland Era directly into the apocalypse.

So at this moment, he had already made a decision that seemed quite foolish!

He wanted to gather as many refugees of the Wasteland as possible.

Maybe he couldn't establish a new order, but he hoped that the people of the Fourth Ring could maintain the existing one.

Thinking of this, Lu Luo felt a little sentimental.

"Restoring the glory of the Fourth Ring is an unshirkable duty for us all!"

The big brother opposite him was slightly stunned, not quite understanding the sudden outpouring of sentiment from Lu Luo.

Just as he thought that Lu Luo had been intimidated by his numbers.

Lu Luo was already striding towards him, with Gu Fangyi and Zhou Kai following behind him.

"This friend... UGH!"

"Sit down."

The big brother was pushed aside by Lu Luo and ended up sitting directly in the chair.

The huge strength of the frail-looking young man in front of him instilled a sense of fear in him.

Irresistible! Not on the same level at all.

It would be all too easy for Lu Luo to kill him.

At this time, Lu Luo stood in the center of the crowd and began his speech.

"Hello everyone, my name is Lu Luo.

I know I may seem a bit young to many of you.

But in the Wasteland Era, what matters is strength, not age.

I also understand that the current environment of the Fourth Ring, with its Exotic Species and the other humans around you, makes you feel threatened.

The increase of Dark Energy has given you strength, and with strength comes the desire to destroy, loot, and kill.

But I do not wish for this; the Fourth Ring is your home.

Some of your ideas will not make the Fourth Ring better but only worse.

Honestly speaking, your power is weak. I alone could kill everyone here, but I won't do that.

Because the Fourth Ring is my home too, and I want to make my home better.

So let's not talk about establishing a beautiful era or anything like that.

At the very least, I hope that we can maintain the existing order of the Fourth Ring together.

You won't gain more, but at least you can keep your existing families from suffering looting and coercion.

You don't have to worry about the safety of your wives and daughters, nor about food and medical care.

This is the promise I, Lu Luo, can make to you, and this promise will last until the Hunters re-establish the order of the Fourth Ring.

In my territory, you are safe!"

Lu Luo spoke calmly yet forcefully, and many people showed a moved expression.

After all, many did not want to live a life constantly on the edge.

They had their own families, wives, and children, joining gangs purely for the protection of their own families and property.

Because not joining a gang meant being looted by others, they had to join, and indeed, they felt they must join.

But there were also those who quietly mocked Lu Luo; the nature of these people was more complicated.

Many of them were dissatisfied with the existing society: street rats, troublemakers, a variety of unusual individuals.

They wanted to break the order, to unleash their desires.

Murder, arson, looting, rape, and kidnapping were all things they wanted to do.

Especially after Awakening Transcendent talent and some Sequences, their desires became even stronger.

For such situations, Lu Luo's solution was also very simple!

That is to use violence to suppress violence.

Of course, before using violence, he needed to weed out some of these unstable elements.

After all, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.

"Alright, I've said my piece. If anyone has any comments, please speak up!

Let's discuss this properly."

No one knew what Lu Luo meant by "discuss," but seeing him maintain the appearance of wanting a peaceful negotiation, someone couldn't help but speak up.

"Who do you think you are? Our gang has more than 100 people, and counting the women and children at the stronghold, we number over 300.

We have one Second Tier and ten First Tiers. What can't we loot with this strength?

Women? Resources? These are all riches. What do you know?

With the strength of our gang, why should we listen to you?"

In every era, throughout history, there are such people—ignorant and pitiful. And their final outcome is always tragic!

Hearing this person's speech, Lu Luo sighed softly in his heart.

Such gangs that display primitive desires pose the greatest danger to society.

Their emergence and actions can completely destroy a stable social structure.

They might have even done some outrageous acts and benefited from them, which is why they are so unscrupulous and greedy.

Therefore, eradicating evil is something Lu Luo is truly determined to see through.

Lu Luo tilted his head and gave Gu Fangyi a look.

"Gu."

Gu Fangyi immediately nodded, drawing a pistol from his bosom without hesitation.

BANG!

The speaking man's head was blown off instantly; his gang members were at first stunned, then quickly realized what was happening and tried to retaliate against Gu Fangyi.

But just as Lu Luo had said before, a frog at the bottom of a well is always a frog.

They didn't understand just how vast the gap in strength between Transcenders can be!

Trash-tier Second Tier, Vagabond Second Tier, Mercenary Second Tier, Hunter Second Tier, Constitution Guard Corps Second Tier, Knights Group Second Tier, Believer of Light Second Tier, Lu Luo Second Tier.

The hierarchy is roughly like this. Even if everyone is Second Tier, there are huge divisions.

So before these people could fire, Gu Fangyi and Zhou Kai had already made their move.

They were faster, stronger, and more accurate.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Everyone in that area who raised a gun was pinpointed and killed by Gu and Kai.

They showed no hesitation or mercy, nor did they ask any questions.

In extraordinary times, drastic measures are called for.

This was the tone Lu Luo had set even before arriving.

Of course, their actions naturally caused panic and unease among others.

Lu Luo had been prepared for this as well!

He moved to a slightly higher spot, steam rising vigorously from his body as his core throbbed intensely.

THUMP!

The throb quieted everyone present.

Then, a violent wave of energy burst forth from Lu Luo.

BANG! All the glass in the stronghold shattered at once, and the refugees looked on in horror at Lu Luo; such power was simply too overwhelming for them!

Lu Luo reined in his aura and said very calmly,

"Alright, everyone, please follow us now."

"How are you different from those gangs with what you're doing?"

That big brother wasn't dead yet! Even out of indignation, he dared to argue with Lu Luo at this moment.

"Of course, there's a difference. My demands are work, compensation, construction, harvest.

They only plunder, whereas my force is sufficient to protect you from harm.

As for the choices after restoring order to the Fourth Ring, I'm not interested!"

And just like that, under Lu Luo's threat and inducement, this gathering of over 800 gang members was inexplicably dispersed.

Including their families, their numbers swelled to a full 2,000!

Leading the mighty throng, Lu Luo returned to the base in the slum area.

「...」

Outside the Fourth Ring Wasteland Security Bureau, the Hunter teams were at work.

The main task of the Hunters was still clearing out the Exotic Species, especially those cunning and dispersed ones, which were particularly troublesome to deal with.

Moreover, they had no way to deal with many of the Exotic Species that were hiding; after all, they were too short-staffed.

They could only clear out Exotic Species while gathering civilians.

As for restoring order, that was out of the question for now.

"Boss! There's a woman up ahead who killed a lot of Exotic Species and rounded up many civilians.

Should we approach them now, since these people seem to be of good intent?"

Yang Liya slightly furrowed her brows, then shook her head.

As a woman, she was acutely aware of how sensitive women were during this period.

Women were already more vulnerable to abusive treatment amidst the chaos.

If a male combat team approached, it was very likely that a conflict would erupt.

So the correct choice would be for her to go over herself.

"Forget it, I'll go myself. You all follow."

"Yes!"

Yang Liya walked into the shop that wasn't too severely damaged.

Inside stood a woman with narrow eyes, green pupils, and peacock feathers adorning her head.

She was Tong Meng!

The arrival of Yang Liya put a great deal of pressure on Tong Meng.

This woman is so strong. In some ways, she has reached the level of strength of Lord Qiu Guling.

While Tong Meng observed Yang Liya, Yang Liya was also examining Tong Meng.

Upon meeting, Yang Liya raised her hand in a gesture of goodwill.

"Hello, ma'am, I am Captain Yang Liya of Hunter Squad 2.

We are currently organizing civilians, arranging for the wounded, medical care, and the reconstruction and recovery work of the Fourth Ring.

I'm grateful for the help you've provided these people. You are safe now. Can you trust me?"

This woman is Yang Liya!

Tong Meng was quite familiar with some Hunter profiles because Nightmare Demon had made them study them in detail beforehand.

Yang Liya was not only Ludie's former teammate but also Qiu Guling's comrade.

She was also a very formidable and independent woman, known for her unique way of doing things and distinct personal style.

The original plan was to find an opportunity to approach Yang Liya, so running into her here saved a lot of effort and time.

Now that the plan to make contact with the Hunters was progressing smoothly, the next step was to integrate with them.

Looking at Yang Liya, Tong Meng made a hesitant expression.

"Captain Yang Liya, could you show me your credentials, please?"

Upon hearing this request, Yang Liya's expression relaxed a bit, and she felt a sense of relief inside.

The request signified that the people of the Fourth Ring still had trust in the Hunters.

"Of course!"

Yang Liya produced her credentials, which Tong Meng scrutinized carefully before finally lowering her guard.

She said wearily,

"You've finally arrived."

"Yes, we're late."

Yang Liya also felt a bit sad. It was the first time she felt that the Fourth Ring should have its own will.

They shouldn't continue to be manipulated by the Inner Ring.

The people of the Fourth Ring defeated the Nightmare Demon. They cleaned up the aftermath, and they are the ones rebuilding.

Why should the Fourth Ring do all that and yet still follow the orders of the Inner Ring?

Given the current Dark Energy Level of the Fourth Ring, did they still need to follow the Inner Ring's orders if they stabilized?

This question, like a seed, took root and began to germinate in Yang Liya's heart.

In truth, Yang Liya was exhausted, both physically and mentally, but she knew she couldn't stop.

Not just her, all the Hunters had to keep going because they saw an opportunity, a chance to break away from the Inner Ring!

In the current situation, they didn't need to follow orders from the Inner Ring anymore; they only needed to implement their own will.

But, should they really break away from the Inner Ring?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.