Chapter 332: The Rules

“You… what do you mean by that? What do you mean this place belongs to you now?”

Watching Zhang Wenda conjure up all sorts of people as if by magic, the old man’s heart skipped a beat.

Even though his side still had more people, a faint sense of unease crept into his heart.

“Don’t you get it?” Zhang Wenda glanced at the men, then at the conventional weapons in their hands, and spoke with brazen confidence. “You’re all too weak. So I’m taking your territory, I’m taking your business, and I’m taking your people!”

The moment he finished speaking, his people charged, and chaos erupted.

Gunshots rang out. Bullets struck the red creature, only reopening its old wounds without causing any real damage.

When bullets hit the blue rabbit, it easily transferred the gunshot wounds to its enemies.

Meanwhile, the clowns from the Dream Circus subdued the rest of the men with exaggerated, cartoonish fighting styles, like something out of Tom and Jerry.

Some of the Small Circle’s members did have other tricks up their sleeves, like Superpowers or Qi Gong, but these conventional abilities were nothing before Zhang Wenda.

The gunfire had barely lasted a moment before the subway car fell silent once again.

To be honest, for someone of Zhang Wenda’s current caliber, dealing with them was overkill. They weren’t even in the same league. It felt like bullying children.

He had always fought opponents stronger than himself. Only now did Zhang Wenda realize just how much more powerful he was than ordinary people.

In an instant, the sharp scythe in Zhang Wenda’s hand was pressed against the old man’s neck. If he so much as twitched a finger, the man’s head would part from his body. “This is my territory now. You have no objections to abdicating, do you?”

“N-no… none at all,” he said, his voice trembling.

“Good. Now, have all the guards posted outside come here. I’m going to set some new rules.” Zhang Wenda released him.

All of this left Wang Shaojie, who was standing nearby, completely stunned. He had actually thought they were here to make a trade, not to just take the whole place by force.

“Director, aren’t we the Third Line? Isn’t doing this… a bit much?” he asked, his voice laced with apprehension.

Zhang Wenda picked up a gun and shoved it into Wang Shaojie’s hands. “Back when you were living in the Tides of Thought, what was the most important thing?”

“Uh… following the rules?”

“Exactly. And the rule of this world is ‘survival of the fittest.’ I’m just following the rules. I have the power, so why shouldn’t I use it?”

“But…” Wang Shaojie couldn’t articulate why, but he felt something was deeply wrong with this.

“I’m not like them. At a time like this, who cares about moral hang-ups? If I want to rebuild the Third Line, I can’t do it slowly by myself. That’s just too slow.”

If he wanted to rebuild the Third Line, he first needed territory and a certain number of people. Taking them by force was undoubtedly the fastest way.

Zhang Wenda looked at the people he now controlled. They would be his new foundation. ‘Of course, it’s nearly impossible for one person to control a whole group. It’s too easy to be sidelined or have them feign compliance while secretly disobeying.’ But thankfully, Zhang Wenda wasn’t alone.

The Little Black Cats and the clowns seized the weapons and took control of the entire trade subway. The blue rabbit replaced the person collecting tickets at the entrance, while the Hippocampus quickly took inventory of the Small Circle’s supplies and personnel.

When the old man returned from outside, he wore a completely different expression. “Director, look, everyone is here. What are your orders?”

Just then, the Hippocampus floated down and reported its findings to Zhang Wenda. “The Small Circle has 128 members. Most of their weapons are conventional. They have some items from the Tides of Thought, but they’re no use to you. There’s a decent amount of food in stock, though the quality varies. It’s enough to last about two months.”

Zhang Wenda wasn’t surprised. The place looked average, so he hadn’t expected them to have anything good. If they really had any skills, they wouldn’t have been taken over so easily.

Even with a territory like this, supporting so many people meant living on a tight budget.

After clearing his throat twice, Zhang Wenda addressed his new subordinates. “Everyone, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Director. From now on, the Small Circle is mine. If anyone is unhappy about that, you can speak up now.”

Seeing the ferocious red creature beside Zhang Wenda, the unidentifiable monster floating in the air, and recalling the powers he had just displayed, no one was foolish enough to stick their neck out.

Most of them looked at Zhang Wenda with a mixture of vigilance and awe. Even those who had other ideas averted their gaze, careful not to reveal their thoughts.

“Very good. Does anyone want to leave? If you say so now, you can walk away at any time. I won’t make things difficult for you.”

Not one of the hundred-plus people stepped forward. They had banded together for warmth in the first place; if they left now, who could guarantee they’d survive out there?

Zhang Wenda walked over to the man whose fingers had been cut off earlier. He took the severed digits from a Little Black Cat, pressed them against the stumps, and transferred the wound to the man’s arm. The fingers instantly reattached.

“I know you won’t accept this overnight, but think about it. In a situation like this, who offers a better future? A boss with real power, or an old man?”

His words started to win some of them over. The takeover had been so quick that there were hardly any casualties, which greatly lessened their fear and apprehension.

Zhang Wenda turned to the old man and pointed at the husk of a dead subway creature. “Where did you get this thing?”

Everyone looked at each other until finally, the old man spoke up. “Director, that thing is very hard to deal with. We lost a lot of people capturing it. It wasn’t worth it at all—a complete net loss.”

“Just tell me where to find them.”

Soon, surrounded by the entire group, they arrived at a pool of water the size of three rooms. The water within was pitch-black, like ink.

After finding out the details of the pool and which area the subway creature swam in, Zhang Wenda jumped right in with a SPLASH.

The minutes ticked by. With Zhang Wenda’s intimidating presence gone, the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves. Just as things seemed to be getting out of hand, the surface of the water erupted with a loud WHOOSH.

Having transformed into a scythe monster, Zhang Wenda had impaled a subway creature over ten meters long on a slender red spear, forcibly dragging it out of the water.

Zhang Wenda slammed the subway creature down onto the ceramic floor, sending black water splashing everywhere. He stood atop its corpse, looking down on them all.

“From now on, there will be more than enough food for everyone! As long as I have something to eat, none of you will ever go hungry!”