Chapter 55 - 52: Those Who Obey Live, Those Who Defy Die!

Chapter 55: Chapter 52: Those Who Obey Live, Those Who Defy Die!

Liu Zimo’s gaze swept over the dozen or so people seated before him. Aside from Liang Luojun, Zhou Yiren, and Zhao Shijie, who had green locks hovering over their heads, the remaining thirteen all bore glowing gold.

Not a single Red Shadow Lock?

Liu Zimo could not help but feel a twinge of disappointment. Among so many Iron Bone realm Martial Artists, not a single one possessed the potential or aptitude to rival Yang Sisi, who stood by the door.

"Never mind. Having them is better than nothing. Thirteen it is. Let’s just bind them first!" Liu Zimo sighed inwardly.

When quality was lacking, he could only make up for it with quantity.

Although the Golden Shadow Locks left much to be desired, as long as there were enough of them, the benefits should still be decent. It was far better than leaving the slots empty. After breaking through to the Fetal Breath realm, his binding capacity had expanded once again, bringing his total slots to fifty.

If this pattern held, the limit would undoubtedly increase again upon his next breakthrough. He had no need to worry about running out of slots when he encountered better prospects later.

[Binding successful! Your Good Brother Cai Jianghong is now online. Current bindable targets: (11/50)]

[Binding successful! Your Good Brother Lan Tianbao is now online. Current bindable targets: (12/50)]

[...]

[Binding successful! Your Good Brother Sun Hao is now online. Current bindable targets: (23/50)]

In a single thought, all thirteen attendees bearing Golden Shadow Locks were successfully bound to Liu Zimo, becoming his "Good Brothers" and "besties."

"Mister... how should we address you?"

Seeing that Liu Zimo had remained silent for quite some time, only sweeping his sharp gaze over them as if ready to devour them alive, the host, Liang Luojun, finally could not hold back. He spoke up first, his tone heavy with probing inquiry.

"I would like to know, for what purpose have you gathered all of us here today?"

SMACK!

Liu Zimo did not answer. Instead, he tossed a pre-prepared ID onto the table in front of Liang Luojun. At the same time, he flipped open his jacket, revealing the Advisor Badge pinned to his chest.

SWISH!

The moment the Martial Arts Consultant Badge was revealed, before Liang Luojun—the head of the Luozhou Military Staff Department—could even react, the three Inner Guards of the Military Staff Department seated further down stood up in unison.

"Inner Guard Sun Hao of the Military Staff Department Special Training Battalion greets Advisor Liu!"

"Inner Guard Liu Guangsheng of the Military Staff Department Special Training Battalion greets Advisor Liu!"

"Inner Guard Yuan Bin of the Military Staff Department Special Training Battalion greets Advisor Liu!"

Standing straight as arrows, the trio announced their identities with booming voices, their eyes fixed on Liu Zimo with burning reverence and fanaticism.

Liu Zimo slowly turned his gaze toward them. With a casual wave of his hand, he severed the ropes binding the three men.

"One intermediate Iron Bone realm, two early Iron Bone realm. Not bad," he said flatly. "Since you’re our own people, return to the ranks. Until you report back to Military Staff Headquarters, you will answer directly to me!"

Wasting no time on idle chatter, Liu Zimo immediately issued his orders, taking the three under his command.

The fact that these three had instantly recognized his status as an advisor and identified his surname from the engravings on his Advisor Badge meant they were incredibly familiar with it. They were undoubtedly personnel from Military Staff Headquarters.

Moreover, Liu Zimo had heard of the Military Staff Department’s Inner Guards during his previous life in Shangjing City. As Wu Songyang had once said, the loyalty of the Inner Guards was absolute; one could completely entrust their back to any one of them to protect.

"Yes, sir!"

Sun Hao and the other two stood tall to accept the order. After raising their hands in a crisp salute, they swiftly stepped out of line and stood behind Liu Zimo with utmost respect, the excitement and joy in their eyes self-evident.

As Inner Guards of the Special Training Battalion, no one knew better than they did what level of martial prowess was required to become a Special Martial Arts Consultant for the Military Staff Department. The impossibly young Advisor Liu standing before them must have possessed the strength of the Golden Body realm even before the Cataclysm, just like Elder Hong!

This perfectly explained why the three of them hadn’t been able to last a single exchange against him earlier, left completely powerless to fight back. To serve directly under such an incredibly powerful advisor was a dream come true for any Inner Guard!

As for why they had never heard of or met this Advisor Liu before, that was none of their concern. As long as they were certain the Advisor Badge wasn’t a forgery, their only duty was to follow orders!

"Special Martial Arts Consultant of the Military Staff Department... Rank: Upper Advisor?!!"

At that moment, Liang Luojun finally opened the ID card on the table. When he read the words "Upper Advisor" in the rank column, his voice pitched up involuntarily.

Was this a joke?!

A brat barely in his twenties already held the rank of an Upper Advisor?!

This sent a crushing wave of dismay through Liang Luojun, who had toiled in the military staff system for half his life. He was pushing fifty, yet he was still only a Junior Advisor. Even if it was an honorary title, an Upper Advisor was second only to the Chief Advisor!

Seeing the official seal of the Military Staff Department stamped on the ID, along with the handwritten name "Wu Songyang" in the signatory section at the bottom, Liang Luojun knew the document was genuine! The seal could potentially be forged, but Chief Wu’s signature wasn’t something just anyone could replicate. Furthermore, non-insiders of the military staff would unlikely even know Chief Wu’s full name.

SWISH!

Liang Luojun stood up ramrod straight. He raised his hand in a salute and reported, "Junior Advisor Liang Luojun of the Luozhou Military Staff Department greets Advisor Liu!"

"Deputy Advisor Zhou Yiren of the Luozhou Military Staff Department greets Advisor Liu!"

"Thirteenth Legion Commander Zhao Shijie greets Advisor Liu!"

"..."

Following Liang Luojun, Deputy Advisor Zhou Yiren, Thirteenth Legion Commander Zhao Shijie, and Director of the Police Bureau Lan Tianbao also stood up simultaneously, saluting Liu Zimo.

In principle, they all belonged to the military staff faction, and their ranks were all beneath Liu Zimo’s "Upper Advisor" status. Standing to salute him was perfectly in line with protocol. Even if they had all previously harbored ulterior motives of monopolizing Luozhou City and crowning themselves kings, their only way out now was submission.

Facing an entity like Liu Zimo—whose strength was overwhelmingly tyrannical and whose rank far exceeded theirs—capitulation was their only viable path. Otherwise, under the wartime special statutes, Liu Zimo could execute them on the spot without bearing any responsibility.

At this moment, anyone with half a brain among those present had likely already guessed the truth. The mysterious powerhouse who had slain Jing Yong and Xuanqing, hanging their corpses from the downtown commercial building, was almost certainly the Advisor Liu standing before them.

He hadn’t hesitated to mercilessly kill and publicly display the bodies of Dragon Tiger Mountain’s disciples. If he could do that to them, he wouldn’t bat an eye at doing the same to anyone else in the room.

Thus, seeing the top brass of the military staff faction—Liang Luojun, Lan Tianbao, and Zhao Shijie—submit at the very first opportunity, the leaders of the other factions felt a collective shudder run through their hearts. They knew that with the appearance of Advisor Liu, the ruling powers of Luozhou City had fundamentally shifted!

Noticing Liu Zimo’s gaze slowly drifting toward them, Cai Jianghong was the first to stand and declare his allegiance. "From this day forward, everyone at the Jiang Hong Martial Arts Hall will follow Advisor Liu’s lead! If you have any tasks for us in the future, just give the word!"

"The Mountain and River Gang feels the same. We will follow Advisor Liu’s lead! We are willing to go through fire and water for you without hesitation!"

"The Cyan Robe Society as well..."

A wise man adapts to his circumstances. They were already damn prisoners—what was the point of saving face? Keeping their lives was what mattered! Thus, led by Cai Jianghong, a Martial Arts Master, everyone present bowed their heads and submitted one after another.

From beginning to end, before Liu Zimo even had the chance to utter a single threat, he had already seized actual control of all the factions in Luozhou!

He was not at all surprised by this. In the Post-Apocalypse, strength was king! As long as one was powerful enough, suppressing a city single-handedly—or even ruling a nation—was entirely within the realm of possibility.

"Starting today, Luozhou City is under wartime special statutes. Military Merit takes priority. All resources and personnel are now under the control of the Military Staff Department!

"Within one hour, I want you to purge every last Demon Beast in the city!

"Before dawn tomorrow, I want to see the outer defensive lines basically formed. Never again will a single Demon Beast be allowed to waltz freely into the city!"

Liu Zimo didn’t waste time mincing words with them; he cut straight to the chase and issued his orders.

SMACK!

With a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed a pre-marked map onto the conference table and spoke coolly.

"This map indicates the areas each of you are responsible for.

"If time runs out and you haven’t completed the two tasks I just outlined, I will find someone else to take your place!

"Furthermore, I will personally settle the score with you for everything you’ve done in this city up until now!

"Remember! For those who feign compliance, disobey the law, or act recklessly, the fate of Jing Yong and Xuanqing serves as your best example!"

A collective chill ran through everyone’s hearts as they chorused their acknowledgment.

They understood Liu Zimo’s words loud and clear. It all boiled down to one simple rule: Obey and live, or defy and die!

If they didn’t want to end up like Jing Yong and Xuanqing, they had better put their heads down, do the work, and cast aside any petty schemes.