Apocalypse Gachapon - Chapter 2009: Commotion
After the meeting ended, the Thousand-Person Leaders returned to their respective camps. The news immediately spread, causing an uproar throughout the entire Bronze Camp.
That was Red Condensation level equipment!
One piece costs tens of thousands of Moonspan Gold.
This wasn’t just something the Thousand-Person Leaders could obtain; ordinary soldiers also had a chance!
Moreover, even if their overall strength wasn’t top-tier, they might still get a piece of Ke Steel Grade equipment if they had an advantage in a single category.
Even if individual strength was lacking, they could strive to cooperate with the team to achieve a top-three group ranking; that would also yield rewards.
For these poor warriors in the Bronze Camp, who considered even the most ordinary mimetic combat weapon a good thing, the reward regulation announced by Ye Zhongming was like a bomb, completely exploding the stagnant waters of the Bronze Camp.
Not only the ordinary soldiers, but also the Hundred-Person Leaders who received the news and the Thousand-Person Leaders returning from the meeting, were all excited.
Previously, to win these people over, Ye Zhongming pursued a strategy of both carrots and sticks, giving each of them a piece of equipment. It was an entirely wheel technology product, equivalent to purple equipment. That had already made the Thousand-Person Leaders quite happy.
And now, with better Red Condensation level equipment placed right before their eyes, how could they not strive for it?
Among these Thousand-Person Leaders of the Bronze Camp, every single one, without exception, none of them possessed Red Condensation-level equipment!
This news not only exploded within the Bronze Camp but also caused a stir throughout the entire Star-Eye Clan. White Robe and Cheng Liujin both came running over. One said even if you can manufacture equipment of this level, isn’t it good to make it known to the entire clan? The other said that by doing this, you make things very difficult for us; I already feel my subordinates’ eyes are full of resentment. One also said, “Zhongming, if people’s hearts scatter, the team will be hard to lead. The other followed by saying, the two older brothers usually took good care of you…
Finally, Ye Zhongming was truly annoyed beyond endurance. He promised them that he would manufacture two exclusive pieces of equipment for each of them. Apart from that, every thirty days, he would also provide two pieces of Red Condensation-level equipment to the other two teams as assessment rewards.
Only then did the two smile happily and let Ye Zhongming off.
“These, please pass on to the families of the five sacrificed golden-masked warriors. Also, deliver these two pieces of equipment to the surviving one.”
When Cheng Liujin was about to leave, Ye Zhongming stopped him. He handed him 100,000 Moonspan Gold and two pieces of Red Condensation-level equipment. This was his compensation for those six golden-masked warriors.
The Gold Order Leader nodded, did not refuse, patted Ye Zhongming’s shoulder, and left.
The clan would provide pensions for the sacrificed golden-masked warriors. But these were given privately by Ye Zhongming. Cheng Liujin could not refuse, nor was he willing to refuse.
Those were all elite soldiers under his command! Five lost at once! Since Ye Zhongming had the ability, he also wished for the families of these loyal warriors to live better.
……………………
After the assessment order was issued, the Bronze Camp entered a mode of fervent training. Each Thousand-Person Leader was pumped up to achieve good results in the upcoming major competition. Those who hoped to compete for the top three groups went all out. Those who felt hopeless also strove to make breakthroughs in individual events.
Therefore, the Bronze Camp’s training grounds suddenly became sought-after places. Conflicts even occurred among the subordinates because of this.
However, with Ye Zhongming and the various Thousand-Person Leaders keeping pressure, nothing major could happen. Instead, the Thousand-Person Leaders took this opportunity to sound each other out.
Besides, within the Bronze Camp, in the Silver and Gold teams, they were initially mostly curious about Ye Zhongming. They also knew their respective Order Leaders had good relationships with Ye Zhongming, so they mostly had favorable impressions of this Novice first place.
After the news of the Bronze Camp’s major exam rewards came out, they were envious but didn’t think much of it; after all, that was the Bronze Camp’s own affair. But later, when they learned that the Bronze Order Leader would actually give them two pieces of Red Condensation-level equipment every thirty days as rewards, they immediately felt immensely grateful towards this person who had just arrived in the clan.
But what truly made them start accepting and even respecting Ye Zhongming were two things. First, Ye Zhongming increased the Bronze Camp’s pension, allowing each warrior to fight for the clan with more peace of mind. Second, this time, to protect him, five golden warriors sacrificed themselves, and Ye Zhongming privately took out a huge sum of money to express his gratitude.
Ye Zhongming wouldn’t have been wrong not to give anything; after all, the clan sent people to protect him. But he did give, and a huge sum at that, which deserved thanks. This showed he was a person who knew how to be grateful, a person worthy of respect.
Thus, towards Ye Zhongming, the Silver Mask Warriors and Gold Mask Warriors not only accepted him but also respected him.
Similarly, the Bronze Camp recruitment notice issued by Ye Zhongming’s order caused a huge sensation. The series of benefits listed on it was dazzling.
More importantly, there were no condition restrictions!
In other words, anyone could apply!
No age limit, no gender limit, no strength limit… As long as they felt they were capable and had hope of being selected, they could all sign up.
Many, many people took action. Signing up didn’t cost anything, so what was there to hesitate about? Give it a try. If unsuccessful, they wouldn’t lose anything, and they’d gain experience. If by chance they were selected, they would directly become the glorious Masked Warriors of the Star-Eye Clan!
So, on the first day the announcement was posted, thousands of people came to sign up. In the following days, the numbers increased multiple times over. By the time the deadline approached, the number of applicants had exceeded 100,000.
You must know that the Bronze Camp was only recruiting 100 people.
Because the number was too large, Ye Zhongming had to conduct a preliminary selection. For example, those too old or too young were excluded, those with physical disabilities or other diseases were excluded, those unable to cultivate were excluded, etc.
By the time the final selection was to be held, the number had been reduced to over 8,000 people.
One could imagine that a more detailed secondary selection would certainly require a lot of time and energy.
Ye Zhongming was not worried about the selection; on the contrary, he was very happy, because he knew he could definitely select an excellent hundred people; at most, it would just be a bit more tiring.
What truly concerned him was the several hundred people currently left to their own devices in the Assault Camp reserve team.
Two hundred of them were recommended by various teams for their skills in raids and assassinations. Ye Zhongming knew they certainly weren’t the best in their respective Thousand-Person Teams, but they definitely weren’t the worst either; one could even say they were quite excellent. Perhaps in some individual assessments, they could still rank.
But now they can only stay in this so-called Assault Camp reserve team, wasting their time while watching their former comrades work hard for good equipment. It would be strange if they didn’t have some complaints in their hearts.
Apart from these two hundred people, the others were those with special characteristics who weren’t very suitable for the Star-Eye Clan’s cultivation methods. Ye Zhongming knew that, including those two hundred, they were either those who didn’t fit in or those who were truly too dull and hadn’t achieved much.
To put it bluntly, these nearly one thousand people were essentially the majority of the unstable factors Ye Zhongming had extracted from the ten Thousand-Person Teams. This way, the composition of the Thousand-Person Teams would be purer, and combat strength would form faster.
As for these unwelcome people, he would handle them himself. Ye Zhongming thought this as he stepped through the gate of the reserve team for the first time.
