High in mid-air, Liu Yang looked down at the crowd below.
His black cloak billowed loudly against the wind, flaring behind him like the dark wings of a war god.
The survivors stared up at Liu Yang as if gazing upon a supreme deity.
Involuntary reverence bled into their eyes.
"Thud!"
Overwhelmed by Liu Yang's crushing aura, one survivor's knees buckled, sending him crashing to the ground.
Immediately after, the rest of the survivors dropped to their knees in unison.
Even Scarface Mouse beside him could barely resist the urge to throw himself down.
"Brother Liu Yang... this is just way too badass!"
It clicked for him then.
This had to be the special ability of Liu Yang's black cloak!
Flight!
Suspended in mid-air, hovering like a living god.
It was insanely cool!
As the crowd bowed in worship, Liu Yang's voice echoed from above: "Starting today, the daily supply tax you hand over is cut in half! At the same time, I will lend each of you 50 catties of potatoes to plant.
"The villa district is vast and sparsely populated. The soccer field, green belts, and lawns can all be cleared and converted into farmland.
"However, in one year, you will owe me 200 catties of potatoes in return!
"Furthermore, 20% of all future crop yields grown within the villa district must be paid as tax!"
With a wave of his hand, Liu Yang began showering potatoes directly from his Dark Space.
It looked as if it were raining potatoes from the sky.
Upon the empty ground beneath Liu Yang's feet, a small mountain of food rapidly piled up.
Seeing this, every single survivor stood frozen in disbelief.
Materializing so many potatoes out of thin air...
Was he not just acting like a god, but actually a divine entity?!
God said, let there be seed.
And so, the sky rained seeds!
This was nothing short of a divine miracle!
That backwoods bumpkin Black Tiger only knew how to squeeze ordinary survivors dry.
Compared to this god-like Liu Yang, Black Tiger was absolute trash!
Just look at the man-he was dripping with charisma!
Admiration washed across the faces of every survivor.
Along with that worship came genuine joy.
Liu Yang's arrival meant their daily tax was cut in half, making their daily struggle infinitely easier. They wouldn't have to risk their lives venturing outside every single day just to hunt for supplies!
And even more importantly, Liu Yang was lending them potato seeds to farm!
Did this mean they could stop scavenging and become completely self-sufficient?!
At that thought, tears of gratitude welled up in the survivors' eyes.
Scavenging for supplies every day had kept them living in constant terror. To an ordinary person, even a single zombie posed a lethal threat.
If they ran into a group of three or five, there was nowhere to run!
Many of them had watched helplessly as their own friends and family were torn apart and devoured.
Yet, if they didn't go out to scavenge, they couldn't stay in the safety of the base.
Inside the base, they could form teams and secure their own survival.
Out there alone, their chances of survival plummeted. Every single day was spent in paranoia, terrified of being found by the undead.
They couldn't even get a decent night's sleep.
So, to keep their spot in the base, they hazarded their lives every few days to hunt for scraps.
But if farming could solve their food crisis, they would never have to venture into the ruined city again!
They could stay inside the safe zone and live off the land!
Wouldn't that be no different from the peaceful world before the apocalypse?
And the man giving them hope for that peaceful life was the figure floating in the sky above!
He was a man like a god.
A little girl couldn't help pointing up at Liu Yang, whispering, "Mommy, why is he flying? Why does he have so much food? Is he a savior sent from heaven?"
The woman beside her quickly grabbed her hand and warned nervously, "Keep your head down! Don't point!"
When meeting a god, one must bow their head.
The little girl engraved those words into her heart.
She remembered them for the rest of her life.
That dark figure in the sky became the eternal light in her world.
...
Having accomplished his goal, Liu Yang slowly descended back to the ground.
He turned to Scarface Mouse.
"Distribute 50 catties of potatoes per person. Keep a clean record. In one year, collect 200 catties from each of them, along with a 20% tax on all future harvests."
"Got it, Boss! Leave it all to me!" Scarface Mouse nodded eagerly.
He wasn't stupid-he could see that Liu Yang's policies were genuinely designed to benefit the people!
To ordinary survivors, this was a massive life-line.
In the post-apocalyptic world, food was priceless.
Lending food as crops was an act of incredible mercy!
Without exaggeration, 50 catties of potatoes in this day and age could buy five young, beautiful women!
Yet Liu Yang had handed over these vital resources without a second thought!
Once the farming paid off and their food supply stabilized, nobody would ever need to risk their lives scavenging outside again.
Besides, scavenged supplies were finite; one day, the ruins would run completely dry.
Farming, on the other hand, was sustainable!
It would only yield more and more over time!
It was no exaggeration to say that Liu Yang was the true savior of every survivor in this base!
Unlike Black Tiger, who only cared about exploiting people, Liu Yang was thinking long-term about sustainable growth.
The difference in their vision was night and day.
A leader like Liu Yang was a true leader!
Broad smiles broke out across the crowd as the survivors lined up in an orderly fashion to collect their 50 catties of potatoes.
A pair of parents brought a little girl up to Scarface Mouse-the same girl he had given candy to earlier.
The little girl skipped over and gave Scarface Mouse a cheerful hug.
Looking up with innocent, bright eyes, she asked, "Lord Mouse, Lord Mouse, did you bring this savior to us?"
"I sure did! I brought him here myself!" Scarface Mouse answered proudly.
"Yay! Lord Mouse really is the coolest guy in the whole base!" the girl cheered happily.
The adult survivors behind her broke into warm laughter.
Seeing everyone so happy brought a smile to Scarface Mouse's face as well.
Before this, all the ability users had looked down on him; only these ordinary survivors had treated him like a human being.
Seeing them get so many supplies made him genuinely happy for them.
Once planted, 50 catties of potatoes would multiply tenfold in just four to five months, yielding a harvest of 500 catties.
Even after paying Liu Yang his 200-catty return, they would still have 300 catties left!
If they replanted those 300 catties, that would turn into 3,000 catties!
This was an exponential growth of resources!
The agrarian revolution had been a monumental leap in human civilization, allowing mankind to thrive without risking life and limb hunting.
And now, this survivor base was replicating that historic era!
...
Liu Yang left the stadium with the two beauties, leaving Scarface Mouse behind to manage the distribution.
On the way, White Fox looked at Liu Yang attentively. "You were so cool back there! Even I almost couldn't resist dropping to my knees!"
Hearing her words, a wicked smirk played on Liu Yang's lips. "Don't kneel just yet. Save it for when we get back to my room."
White Fox licked her red lips, swallowing softly.
She looked forward to what was coming next.
Beside them, Wang Feifei's face flushed deep crimson.
She knew exactly what Liu Yang meant by that.
After all, she had just done that very thing in his room earlier!
Just thinking about it made her heart race.
To talk about such things out in broad daylight... how embarrassing!