The little note Li Xinghe had received.
Naturally, it was from Lin Qun.
Since the misunderstanding had already formed, he simply went along with it.
The situation was still unsettled, and Lin Qun had no desire to stick his neck out. If necessary, he would naturally cooperate with the Military, but he wasn't prepared to get deeply involved himself.
In this age of apocalypse, where hearts were uneasy and crises lurked everywhere, sticking one's neck out carried enormous risk, and could easily make one the target of public outrage. Lin Qun was not the type to lose his head chasing the spotlight.
Letting Li Xinghe stand at the front to draw firepower and hatred while he dealt the killing blows from behind — that was the safest choice.
Lin Qun would carry his sneaky tactics through to the end!
Besides, Lin Qun wasn't short on the supplies Li Xinghe had gained from all this, and he didn't care for so-called adulation either.
As for Li Xinghe, having already enjoyed everyone's admiration as well as the supplies Fan Wenchuan had "offered up" to him, it was only fitting that he be the one to play this "lightning rod" now.
If Li Xinghe had anyone to blame, it was only himself. Had he not boasted about his own prowess in the first place, tricking Fan Wenchuan into hiring him as a bodyguard, he wouldn't have stumbled his way into this situation, now stuck on a hot seat he couldn't get down from.
Though depressed about it, Li Xinghe understood this much himself.
Now that he'd stepped forward, he actually felt a great weight lift from his heart.
Because he had always known that he was not truly the big shot who had furiously slain over a dozen Bakatan people. Whether or not the real one welcomed being impersonated, what he was doing was no different from stealing credit for another's kill. His opponent was so formidable, capable of eliminating over a dozen Bakatan people without anyone noticing — if Li Xinghe, with his own meager abilities, provoked that person's anger, he wouldn't stand a chance against being killed.
He genuinely worried that the big shot might grow furious at him for stealing the admiration and supplies meant for him, and turn around and kill him for it.
But now, that big shot had let him step forward and take the spotlight again, which at the very least meant that the big shot still needed him.
Moreover, with that big shot's guarantee, Li Xinghe felt an inexplicable sense of ease.
As long as that mysterious expert needed him to play the lightning rod, he probably wouldn't let him die so easily.
With that thought, Li Xinghe's steps grew firm, and he walked step by step toward Jiang Bin.
Jiang Bin was also watching him, his pupils contracting slightly.
Wang Desheng said in a low voice, "So this is that expert? So young..."
Jiang Bin was busy organizing his men to set up defenses, and only exchanged a few brief words with Li Xinghe before having Wang Desheng pull him aside.
At this moment, Fan Wenchuan also squeezed in, first offering up a half-pack of cigarettes. "Deputy Platoon Leader Wang, we've really been waiting for you all. I'm the building manager of Building 5, and I'm with Mr. Li. I've organized quite a few people on my end — how are we retreating? I have some pull in this residential community, so if there's anything I can help with, just say the word!"
He was clever, immediately latching onto his connection with the Military.
Wang Desheng glanced at him, didn't refuse, and pulled them both aside. He said, "We could actually use your help. We're short-handed and can't evacuate this many people right away. Our current plan is to hold Dragon City Imperial Scenery. I need you to help us organize the people — tally up who can fight or assist in battle, and have them join our defense. Everyone else should be gathered into one or two buildings so we can protect them more easily."
He paused, then extended a hand toward Li Xinghe. "We finally meet. You're incredible — this is the first time I've seen someone chase down a Bakatan airship to kill it. What exactly is your talent... well, if it's inconvenient to say, you don't have to. But we need your strength, so please lend us a hand. That said, we won't have you fight for nothing, and we certainly won't have you do anything too dangerous. We'll allocate more food and medical supplies to you, and if you have family or friends, they'll receive priority protection as well..."
Hearing this, Fan Wenchuan shot Li Xinghe an odd look: My people have been stationed right outside your door — when did you ever leave the residential community? And you just happened to run into the Military?
Li Xinghe, however, felt his heart pounding, and instinctively glanced around.
He thought to himself, just who on earth was this big shot?
Killing over a dozen Bakatan people wasn't enough — he'd also single-handedly chased down and killed a Bakatan airship?
Meanwhile, he himself, a mere B-rank talent awakened one, was still trembling in his room while this person had already gone on a killing spree.
What kind of gap was this?
What kind of monstrous expert was this, damn it?
But Li Xinghe merely wore an awkward yet polite smile.
Since he was a fake big shot, the less he said, the fewer mistakes he'd make, so he just kept nodding.
With the situation urgent, they only chatted briefly before Wang Desheng turned and went back to Jiang Bin's side.
By this time, Jiang Bin had already evacuated the survivors and was preparing to build a defense line based around Building 7, Building 5, and Building 3, gathering the survivors within this area.
He said, "That 'Zhu Bajie' — is it really him?"
"It's him. He's young, but he doesn't talk much, and carries himself with a certain composure — not an ordinary person!"
Wang Desheng spoke with total conviction.
Jiang Bin said, "Good. We'll need to rely on him to organize a Survivor Self-Defense Force to help us... otherwise, with our limited manpower, it'll be hard to look after so many people..."
Jiang Bin led his warriors in setting up a defensive perimeter, building simple fortifications, and reassuring the survivors, all while staying in contact with other Troops. According to them, two more squads' worth of Military Strength were converging on this location.
This gave the survivors in the residential community renewed hope, and they became much more cooperative as a result.
Fan Wenchuan took the initiative, using his association with the Military and Li Xinghe as leverage, organizing survivors to sign up for the self-defense force, while also helping the Military relocate survivors so they could be gathered into a few chosen buildings.
By now, there was no longer any concept of whose home was whose, or who owned what property — survivors simply found rooms and crowded into them together.
Some survivors still lingered downstairs, hoping to get more information about the outside world from the soldiers.
With information so scarce and everyone trapped in this small corner, people were desperate to know what was really happening out there — any bit of information, the more the better.
Unfortunately, the Military was too busy to spare any time for them.
Lin Qun was also one of those in no hurry to head upstairs.
His Energy had recovered somewhat, and he wanted to see if he could catch any straggling Bakatan people.
As time pushed toward midnight, Lin Qun still held third place in the region.
He wanted to lock that ranking down for good.
He was determined to secure the Reward for third place!
So he slipped away and snuck out, though he didn't dare stray too far, searching around the edge of the residential community for a spot that allowed him to advance or retreat as needed.
Sure enough, he spotted what looked like a Scout — a sneaky Bakatan person seemingly trying to spy on the situation inside Dragon City Imperial Scenery Residential Area.
However, someone else was even more familiar with the community's layout, and even sneakier.
It crouched there, thinking it had concealed itself well, never noticing a figure quietly closing in.
One strike, Instant Kill.
The Decapitated Corpse spurted blood and collapsed.
As someone who could always scrape by into second place in a Battle Royale, Lin Qun had quite the talent for this sort of thing.
Fifty experience points and one Contribution Point, credited!
……
……