Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 94 The Flame
The little rat's bright eyes darted back and forth across Jetta several times.

After a moment, he bowed slightly and spoke in a humble tone.

"My lord, I'm afraid it will be difficult to convince the people."

"reason."

"There are three reasons."

The Rat Advisor cautiously extended three claws:
"This Jetta brother, although strong and powerful, lacks a bit of prestige. Only the might of the Demon King can convince the masses."

Jetta looked slightly flustered after hearing this, but still stood tall and did not back down.

Zhuang Fan's expression remained calm: "Only a demon king can become the leader of the rat-people?"

"Not absolute, just better."

The Rat Advisor answered flawlessly: "If a Demon King is in charge, the results will be twice as good with half the effort. With a single command, ten thousand rats will submit, and there will be no need to expend energy to integrate or suppress them."

"anything else?"

Secondly, skin color.

The Rat Advisor's gaze lingered for a moment on Jetta's jet-black fur:
"Black rats and brown rats are clearly distinguished by their colors. Although they are both rat-people, if the Jetta brothers were to lead them, it would probably attract a lot of resistance."

The Rat Master put it tactfully, but his meaning was clear: racial discrimination exists everywhere.

"Master."

"Yes, I'm here."

What race are you?

The Rat Advisor paused for a moment: "My lord, I am from the Flowery Rat Clan."

"You, a florid rat-man, hold the position of the Brown Rat Clan's top advisor, second only to the leader and above all other rats. Doesn't this prove that skin color doesn't matter where you come from?"

A cold sweat broke out on the Rat Advisor's brow, and he bowed even lower. "My lord, I was narrow-minded."

"Let me give you the third reason."

"Yes, yes, the third one."

The Rat Advisor nodded quickly and organized his thoughts:

"Thirdly, there's the number. The ratmen in the wasteland number over ten million, and in the north, brown rats are the dominant species, while the black rats are weak and their foundation is unstable..."

"Then let me ask you."

Zhuang Fan interrupted him: "How many Brown Rat Clan members are there near Linhai City?"

"A million people."

"What about Tataji's men?"

"Less than a hundred thousand."

Why so little?

The Rat Advisor's speech quickened, as if he were pouring out long-suppressed bitterness:

“They lack money, food, and even more so, morality! Tataji is cruel by nature and imposes heavy taxes, causing unbearable suffering to his people. As a result, some have fled and others have scattered. Life is unbearable.”

"Is it really just Tataji's problem?"

The Rat Advisor instantly understood, and coughed lightly: "Actually, rats are lazy by nature, and brown rats are even more unwilling to be restrained, disobedient, and idle."

How many Black Ratmen are there nearby?

"Less than ten thousand."

The advisor paused, then added, "The Black Rat People are slightly better, but they are also lazy and difficult to manage."

“Master, I have a question for you.”

"My lord, please tell me."

"I have money, guns, and food. If I give Jetta five hundred elite Black Rat soldiers, will it work?"

"It can happen!"

"Is it safe to manage five thousand Black Rat people with five hundred elite soldiers?"

"safe!"

"What if we use five thousand black ratmen to indirectly control fifty thousand brown ratmen?"

This time, the Rat Advisor hesitated for a moment, then cautiously looked up: "The appeal might be weak."

"What if I let Jeda become the true Demon King?"

"Enough to intimidate!"

Zhuang Fan's tone held a hint of amusement: "Alright, now that King Jetta commands 100,000 Black Ratmen, can it work?"

The strategist glanced at Jetta's retreating figure, quickly weighing the pros and cons in his mind, and ultimately shook his head:
"My lord, it's almost there."

Zhuang Fan's voice was soft, yet it was like a bolt of lightning, shattering all of Rat Master's thoughts.

"What about adding me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a wisp of barely visible dark mist began to swirl around Zhuang Fan's fingertips.

Both Master Rat and Jetta widened their eyes at the same time.

Jetta realized that the Demon General and the Strategist had become one!

The Rat Advisor, on the other hand, figured out many of the doubts.

So that's why the arrogant Tataji is so afraid of this human strategist.
This pure dark mist is definitely a peak existence at the level of a demon general, he was very certain of it!
So, who is the Demon Envoy standing behind the Demon General before us?
He couldn't figure it out, and he didn't dare to guess.

"Master, is it possible?"

"Great, a huge success!"

"Okay, how about raising it to 500,000 ratmen?"

"My lord, you need a strategist who can offer advice and oversee the overall situation."

"What is your opinion, sir?"

Without hesitation, the Rat Advisor knelt down with a thud, burying his head deep in the ground.

"Through fire and water, no matter what!"

Zhuang Fan withdrew the wisp of dark mist, his gaze falling on Master Rat, and gestured for Jetta to help him up.

"Please analyze the current situation, sir."

The Rat Advisor's back was still bent, but his eyes suddenly sharpened, and he quickly switched into the role of an advisor.

"My lord, with Tataji dead, his 100,000 ratmen will surely be thrown into chaos. Demon General Iron Tower, the Apocalypse Cult, and other forces will not let go of this piece of fat meat."

His gaze swept over Zhuang Fan, then fell on Jetta, and his tone became impassioned:
"We must act swiftly and decisively, quickly winning over some, intimidating others, and suppressing the rest."

"Brother Jetta, King Jetta needs to quickly gather the nearby Black Ratmen, expand our own tribe, and form a formidable fighting force. In this way, once our two sides join forces, we can quickly carve out a territory and become invincible!"

Jetta was thrilled. He stepped forward and nodded emphatically, "Thank you for your guidance, Master. I will not let you down."

Zhuang Fan, however, timely cooled things down, his tone becoming serious:
"Jetta, sir, I have only one principle: regardless of the skin color of the rat people, the lazy ones must be disciplined more strictly, while the treacherous and wicked ones must be rejected. We must select the best, and I hope you will put in a lot of effort in the selection process."

The Rat Advisor immediately bowed: "My lord, this is also what I have always advocated: better to have fewer but better quality personnel, and to streamline the administration and reduce bureaucracy."

Unfortunately, Tataji was too extravagant and short-sighted, and his love of grand projects led him to make a mess of the tribe.
The Rat Advisor glanced at his former boss's head on the roof and sighed softly.

"Now that Tataji is dead, the news will probably spread quickly. I'll go back first to stabilize the rear and appease those wavering ratmen."

Zhuang Fan said to him, "I have money, food, and guns here. You can send someone to collect them anytime."

"Thank you, sir!"

As he spoke, he carefully removed a bone chain from Tataji's mangled corpse.

That was the token of the leader of the brown rat tribe.

He bowed deeply to the two men, then hurriedly left.

Jetta looked at Zhuang Fan with a mixture of reverence and confusion, wondering whether he should address him as "Demon General" or "Strategist".
"Don't worry about it, just call me boss from now on."

"Boss!"

Jetta certainly knows the significance of this term.

Currently, only a handful of people, including Watson, are qualified to use this title. This not only represents trust but also signifies that he has officially entered the boss's inner circle.

Zhuang Fan said slowly:

"Tatagi thought it had a lot of scheming and tricks up its sleeve, but the fact that it has lived for so many years is largely thanks to this advisor."

Jetta was puzzled: "Boss, can we really trust the advisor?"

"I can believe it."

Zhuang Fan was certain: "Because the advisor didn't pretend to be confused, he told the truth from beginning to end and didn't lie to me."

Jetta seemed to be deep in thought.

"The advisor is resourceful, but he is too soft-hearted and lacks the strength to be decisive, so he is only suitable for working behind the scenes."

"And you, Jetta, you are tough enough, but lack strategy and management skills. The two of you can complement each other perfectly."

Jetta felt a warmth in his heart; this trust was more exhilarating than any promise.

"Don't worry, boss, I'll definitely handle this well!"

"Strategies and policies can be adjusted later."

Zhuang Fan reminded him again, "But in the early stages of winning over your clansmen, you must be careful in your selection, otherwise even the largest foundation will eventually fall apart."

"Yes, boss!"

Jetta accepted the order, his eyes burning with rage, and turned to stride away.

At this moment, a faint vibration came from the Wasteland Traveler on Zhuang Fan's wrist.

It was a video request from Chu Ningyan.

"woke up?"

"I just woke up not long ago. Thank you for taking care of me these past few days."

"Just a little thing."

Chu Ningyan quickly got down to business.

"The nuclear group has deployed a lot more troops to conduct a comprehensive search outside the city, and I have been hired by the higher-ups to be the leader of one of the search teams."

"I will try my best to mislead their investigation. If there is an emergency, you can contact Pipi. I can't contact you myself."

After listening, Zhuang Fan pondered for a moment: "If I make some noise in the city, will it make the nuclei focus their attention on the city?"

"Don't act rashly. Crow is a difficult person to deal with; he's good at catching the slightest clues."

"Okay, I'll be careful."

"Take care of yourself."

The communication ended, and the light curtain went out.

The recycling center was still a mess.

Hua Xin, carrying the nano-medical kit, had already treated the wounds of all the injured.

As long as severed limbs or broken legs are not reduced to fragments, they can be precisely reattached by nanobots.

The wounded lay on makeshift beds, their faces pale, but their breathing had become much more stable. After another half day of rest, they would be able to move freely again.

Hua Xin and Xiong Er's injuries are quite unique. The nanomedical kit cannot match the mutant's genetic structure, so they can only rely on themselves to recover slowly.

Zhuang Fan closed his eyes to rest, silently absorbing the thin, eerie mist in the air. Afterward, he called Hua Xin over alone and asked her to sit down.

A wisp of pure dark mist overflowed from his palm and slowly covered Hua Xin's back wound.

Soon, Hua Xin felt a warm sensation coming from the wound.

To her even greater surprise, the dark mist did not cause further distortion of her body; instead, it precisely repaired every inch of damaged tissue.

Those gruesome wounds are healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"so amazing"

She murmured to herself, "In the past, we mutants could only slowly heal ourselves under the light fog, and dared not touch even a trace of dark fog, for fear that it would accelerate the mutation."

"Yes, not anymore."

This is one of Zhuang Fan's new abilities after he awakens.

Apart from the black mist, he has completely mastered the intensity and frequency of the dark mist, and the instances of exhaustion have also been greatly reduced.

After Hua Xin's wounds had completely healed, Zhuang Fan called Xiong Er over and treated him in the same way.

"you"

Xiong Er looked at his arm, which had fully recovered, with surprise and doubt.

At the same time, the eerie mist that remained on its body was easily removed by Zhuang Fan.

Xiong Er was completely stunned. He was certain that Zhuang Fan was still a human.

"This is my biggest secret, but I don't mind revealing it to you because I consider you one of my own."

Zhuang Fan's voice was sincere: "Xiong Er, the team is severely understaffed right now, and I hope you will join us."

Although Xiong Er was introverted, he was quick-witted and immediately understood Zhuang Fan's biggest trump card and reliance.

Xiong Er nodded gently: "Okay."

Zhuang Fan was somewhat surprised, not expecting it to go so smoothly. "I will personally talk to Mao Shanwang."

Xiong Er muttered, "Anyway, he'll come in sooner or later."

"what?"

"No."

Xiong Er seemed to remember something and pointed to the warehouse:
"Your Baron is repaired and has been sitting in the warehouse. What do you want to do with it?"

"So fast?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Zhuang Fan's eyes as he followed Xiong Er to the warehouse.

When he saw the six-meter-tall steel behemoth, he was slightly stunned.

Even in the dim light, its metallic body, imbued with a violent aesthetic, still exudes a suffocating sense of oppression.

"But without a core component, it can't operate; everything is pointless, just a pile of scrap metal."

Xiong Er poured cold water on the situation from the side.

"let me try."

"Boss, don't be impulsive!"

Gage rushed over upon hearing the commotion, his face full of tension: "Without core filtering data, if you force it to start, it will really damage your brain!"

Zhuang Fan looked doubtful. He had connected with the Baron once before when he brought him back, and there were no problems.

"You tried it?"

"Boss, we've both tried it."

Hua Sheng pointed at Hua Xin: "Guess why she's wearing a baseball cap? It's because she burned a tuft of hair on her head."

"Hey, stop talking." Hua Xin twitched her cat ears.

"But I've tried it before, and it was fine."

Zhuang Fan patted the Baron mecha and sighed, "Mainly because there won't be a chance to use it for a long time."

"Boss"

Watson wanted to persuade him further, but Zhuang Fan had already entered the cockpit, and the door slowly closed.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats, and Xiong Er was even prepared to cut off the mecha's power supply module.

But the anticipated tragedy did not occur.

With a series of mechanical whirring sounds, the Baron's six mechanical legs slowly extended, lifting his massive body off the ground.

It raises one of its mechanical arms, its five metal fingers flexibly open, and then clench.

As easy as using one's own arm or fingers, it is effortless and free.

"involved"

Xiong Er's mouth was wide open, but he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

Unprotected, driving the Baron bare-handed.

"The boss is still the boss." Watson murmured to himself, his voice full of admiration.

Inside the cockpit, Zhuang Fan felt that familiar yet unfamiliar power.

The expected burning sensation in my brain did not occur; instead, I experienced an unprecedented sense of clarity.

The mecha seemed to be an extension of his body.

After trying it out, Zhuang Fan discovered that the weapon mounting ports on both sides of the mecha were empty.

"Where are the machine gun and bullets?"

Gage explained loudly from outside, "They've all been dismantled and taken to the defense base."

After the experience, Zhuang Fan left the cockpit.

"It's really easy to operate."

Gage rubbed his hands excitedly: "Boss, from now on, this Baron will be our station's prized possession!"

"The station's prized possession is hanging outside. As for this Baron, let's sell it."

"sold?"

Gage was a little taken aback: "Boss, we finally managed to fix it, why are you selling it?"

"We're selling it precisely because it's been repaired."

Zhuang Fan explained the reason.

"The Tataji and the Apocalypse Church, and even the border troops of Linhai City, are all after this Baron. Its practical use in combat is currently limited, so it's better to sell it first and get at least one million gold coins in return."

"Even if we get a million from Tataji, it's still far from enough, because we need to spend money everywhere."

He paused and continued:
"Besides, I can't stay in this recycling center for long. I hope to move out as soon as possible and find a secluded underground shelter, which will cost a lot of money."

Gage looked at him with a face full of reluctance, as if he were watching his own child being sold.

Zhuang Fan patted his shoulder and comforted him with a smile:

"Just consider this Baron as a temporary loan, and most likely it will be taken over by the people of Linhai City. Once they've fixed it for free, what if it falls back into our hands?"

Watson felt a chill run down his spine. He seemed to have caught some kind of plan. After all, the boss always looked one step ahead, two steps ahead, and planned three steps ahead.

Gage asked, puzzled, "The Baron will come back?"

Zhuang Fan left behind an ambiguous statement: "Anything is possible, right?"

A glint of expectation flashed in Hua Xin's cat-like eyes: "Since it's going to be sold anyway, could I..."

"No." Zhuang Fan interrupted her directly.

The warehouse door closed again, and Zhuang Fan tried to contact Mao Shanwang again, only to find that the other party was still offline.

This situation is rare.

Xiong Er wasn't quite sure either: "He might have gone to another city."

Zhuang Fan nodded: "Then we'll have to wait until tomorrow."

The recycling station was basically cleaned up.

Cole was covering the bodies of the three fallen members with clean white sheets.

"They made these instructions before they died."

Cole's voice was low: "If you die, cremate you on the spot. I don't want you to be buried in the ground and eaten by sandworms."

Zhuang Fan asked softly, "Do you have any family?"

Watson shook his head. "No, not at all."

Zhuang Fan didn't say anything more.

Gage dragged a secondhand incinerator from the corner and placed the bodies inside.

Flames rose, illuminating a corner of the darkness.

Everyone stood silently around the incinerator, their faces bathed in the orange-red light.

Zhuang Fan looked at everyone present, scanning their tired faces.

After a long silence, he took the initiative to break it.

"I'm afraid this kind of situation will happen again tonight, or it might even be worse."

"I can't spout nonsense about everything being alright. Next time, it could be me lying there, or it could be any of you. That's just how life is in the wasteland."

“We will face many enemies: large corporations, ratmen, the Apocalypse Cult, greenskins, gangs, and scavenging groups. These hyenas could pounce and tear us apart at any time.”

The flames in the incinerator kept crackling.

"If anyone doesn't want to continue, they can quit now. There's no need to force them. I will give them enough gold and food to leave and go wherever they want."

The scene was deathly silent.

After a long while, a young member silently stepped forward, not daring to look everyone in the eye.

Watson took a backpack from the room, which was filled with food and water, as well as a small stack of gold coins, and handed it to him.

The young man took the backpack, then lowered his head, turned and disappeared into the night.

Zhuang Fan watched the person gradually leave before turning his gaze to the remaining members:

There were Watson and his sister, Gage, Xiong Er, and Cole, as well as ten core members who joined later.

“During the time I was in a coma, you suffered a lot and many things happened. Now that I’m back, there are some accounts that need to be settled.”

“Tataji is dead, but that’s not enough. Whether it’s the Demon General or the Apocalypse Cult, anyone who dares to extend their claws will be made to pay back everything, including interest.”

"My promise to you is to provide you with hot food, clean water, a comfortable bed, and good weapons. Then, I will lead you to a real refuge, build higher walls, and protect our homeland."

As everyone looked at him, a glimmer of light rekindled in their eyes.

Watson clenched his fists, Gage's shoulders relaxed slightly, and even the silent Xiong Er slowly raised his head.

Hua Xin whispered, "What should we call our team, or our future base,?"

Everyone's gaze, filled with weariness and hope, fell upon Zhuang Fan.

Zhuang Fan thought for a long time, then said, "The torch."

Everyone silently recited this word, engraving it into their very bones.

"You are the first members, responsible for lighting the tiny flame until the darkness is completely burned away."

　There will be a free bonus chapter tonight at midnight, titled "Things in the Wasteland," and I'm also asking for your monthly votes at the beginning of the month!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)