Chapter 77

Niu Bing immediately chuckled and said, "This is easy. My secondary job is carpentry. I can cut down 10 cubic meters of wood in just one day, enough to build a level 1 civilian house."

Pang Shan, standing nearby, pinched him on the waist when she heard his lewd laughter, causing him to jump in pain.

This scene immediately caused everyone to burst into laughter, but Niu Bing didn't mind.

After the laughter subsided, Pang Shan turned to Cheng Yang and said, "Lord, do you think Xi Yue can change her profession?"

Cheng Yang looked at Liu Xi Yue, making her feel somewhat uneasy.

After a moment, Cheng Yang said, "There's no problem with her changing professions, but not right now. The slots for profession changes at the statues in the territory have all been used up. We'll have to wait until the statues are upgraded. It shouldn't take too long, just two days at most."

Liu Xi Yue was pleasantly surprised and immediately said, "Thank you... Lord." To be honest, the title 'Lord' made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

"No problem, anyway, everyone will eventually change professions," Cheng Yang said.

"Lord, what about us?" Zhou Jie asked nervously at this point, though they had already heard from Cheng Yang that they would have the opportunity to change professions, they hadn't received a definite answer, so some nervousness was inevitable.

Cheng Yang said, "You guys are the same."

"Thank you, Lord," Zhou Jie and the others said happily.

Cheng Yang looked at everyone and couldn't help but ask, "You all came to see me, it can't just be for this, right?"

Liu Hao immediately said, "Of course not. These are just side issues. The main thing hasn't been mentioned yet. Captain Li, you should speak."

Cheng Yang immediately turned to Li Wanshan, suddenly understanding that they might have some suggestions about territory management. If it were something else, Liu Hao wouldn't have asked Li Wanshan to speak.

Li Wanshan stepped forward and said, "Lord, it's like this. Now, the population of Luofeng Village has grown to nearly 20,000, and there are over 800 combatants. However, in terms of management, there is still some chaos, even looseness. Whether it's the use of civilian houses or the arrangement of living supplies for the outer residents, there are some problems. We discussed this last night and have some ideas we'd like to share with you."

"Go ahead, no need to be so formal," Cheng Yang said immediately.

"Thank you, Lord. My suggestions are two-fold. First, select a few people with management experience from the outer residents to handle the distribution of living supplies and dispute mediation. Second, find suitable people to register and manage the combatants, and set some conditions so that they can have their own houses under appropriate circumstances. As you know, the concept of 'home' is very important to our people. So having their own house is crucial."

Cheng Yang immediately said, "Old Li, your suggestions are very good. Let's do it this way. For the first matter, I'll leave it to you to handle. Look for suitable people among the outer residents, and if they are selected, they can be prioritized for profession changes. However, when selecting people, be careful not to choose those with strong bureaucratic tendencies."

"Yes, Lord!" Li Wanshan replied immediately.

Cheng Yang continued, "As for the second point, I already have some plans. After this territory upgrade, the residents can donate spirit energy or supplies to increase their contribution value. In the future, the benefits they enjoy in the territory will be linked to their contribution value. You can think about the specific details, and we'll discuss and decide tonight. By then, the issues you mentioned will be resolved."

Li Wanshan sighed in relief and then said, "Lord, can only donations of spirit energy and supplies earn contribution value? Isn't this too one-sided?"

Cheng Yang said, "I understand your point, but in terms of pure contribution to the territory, there are too many factors involved, and it's difficult to quantify. The importance of a task can't be simply measured by the world's rules. The same task can have different effects and contributions to the territory at different times. Therefore, for such matters, we need to establish reward and punishment systems outside the divine rules. For example, if someone does something for the territory, we can reward them with a certain amount of spirit energy, and whether they donate it to the territory is up to them."

Liu Hao said, "This is a good method."

Li Wanshan said, "The method is good, but it involves too many details, and it might take some time to come up with a specific management plan."

Cheng Yang smiled and said, "There's no need to rush. We can start with a broad framework and make adjustments as we encounter specific issues."

"That's true," Li Wanshan sighed. He knew that things were different now. Before the apocalypse, to decide something affecting tens of thousands of people, they would have to hold various meetings and then have the leaders make the decision, which would take months. But now, if something needs to be decided, it only takes Cheng Yang's word, simplifying the process significantly.

After the discussion, Liu Hao asked, "Lord, what are our main tasks today? We don't need to kill the monsters around the territory, and we can't reach the large monster groups further away."

Cheng Yang understood Liu Hao's point. With the territory guards, the monsters within a one-kilometer radius of the territory no longer needed to be killed by the combatant teams. Previously, the outer area had been cleared of large demonized beasts, and the combatant teams could kill monsters in a three to four-kilometer range.

However, with the territory upgrade, about half of that area was now within the territory, leaving insufficient space for the 800+ combatants to efficiently kill monsters.

Cheng Yang said, "Let's do this. Today, those with life skill tools should go gather resources, especially stone. This is a must, otherwise, we can't build any of our important structures."

Li Wanshan said, "Lord, only a few people have life skill tools. Apart from those who often go on missions with us and have some spare spirit energy, the rest can barely afford to activate double-speed training. However, I heard that some combatants have already paused their double-speed training to save spirit energy to buy life skill tools."

Cheng Yang nodded, which was expected. Life skills, though not essential for survival in the apocalypse, can undoubtedly make life more comfortable in the future.

For those not primarily focused on life skills, manufacturing skills don't need to be upgraded, but gathering skills are essential. Generally, many valuable materials are scattered throughout the world. If a combatant finds a valuable material far away but can't gather it due to insufficient gathering skill, it would be very frustrating.

Therefore, it's very necessary for these people to practice life skills as soon as possible.

Cheng Yang wasn't unaware of the idea of providing more spirit energy for these people to buy tools, but with over 800 combatants, how much spirit energy could he provide? As the lord, he wasn't a nanny. Losing his eightfold training speed to help these people practice life skills was unacceptable to Cheng Yang.

Since he wasn't in a hurry to build those structures in a day or two, he decided to let them develop on their own.

Cheng Yang nodded and said, "There's still a ring of activity area outside Luofeng Village. Let some combatants go kill monsters in that area. Later, you can each select ten combatants to go with me. Niu, you don't need to come; it's your team's training time at noon."

Niu Bing understood the importance of training and didn't insist on going.

Suddenly, Cheng Yang remembered something and asked, "Niu, you said one of your team members died yesterday. Has that profession change slot been used yet?"

Niu Bing was taken aback and then said, "No, when we came back last night, they pulled us into a meeting, and I didn't have time to go outside to find someone suitable for the profession change."

Cheng Yang immediately said, "Then there's no need to look. I'll borrow that slot. I'll return it to you after the profession statues are upgraded."

As Niu Bing looked stunned, Cheng Yang turned to Wang Lu and said, "Wang Lu, let's go for your profession change first."

Without waiting for Wang Lu's surprise and joy, he walked out. Faced with such a good opportunity, Wang Lu naturally didn't refuse and followed Cheng Yang out.

Liu Hao and the others were left behind, looking at each other. Niu Bing couldn't help but mutter, "Hao, do you think Yang and that... Wang Lu are...?"

Before Liu Hao could answer, Pang Shan said, "You're overthinking it. Maybe Lord Cheng saw that Wang Lu has special abilities, so he let her change professions first."

"That's true," Niu Bing said, still dazed. "But how did Yang know Wang Lu had special abilities before she changed professions?"

Pang Shan rolled her eyes and said, "How did Lord Cheng know the apocalypse was coming before it happened?"

Niu Bing smiled bitterly and said, "I didn't think of that."

Li Wanshan, watching the young people bicker, couldn't help but laugh and said, "I agree with Pang Shan. Wang Lu might really have special abilities. Otherwise, why would Cheng Yang bring her and Zhou Jie back from Xiangcheng?"

Zhou Jie was surprised and said, "So, do I have special abilities too?"

The others all looked at Zhou Jie, and Liu Hao shook his head and said, "I can't tell."

PS: I've been writing until 2 AM and finally completed the four chapters I owed during the new book ranking period. Thank you all for your support. Before the book goes on sale, I'll add more chapters for fans with the title of Captain or higher. Can you give me some motivation?