Chapter 127 Insufficient Manpower

Chapter 127: Chapter 126: Insufficient Manpower

Inside the original office area of the commercial building, the survivors silently made way. They watched the bodies covered by plain white curtains, a silent sorrow filling the air.

Chairman Wu suppressed his emotions and said in a hoarse voice, "Clear out a space. We’re going to... send Old Xie and the others off on their final journey."

A relatively open space on the third floor of the building had been temporarily set up as a solemn mourning hall. Several office desks were pushed together and covered with the cleanest white cloth they could find. The bodies of Old Xie and the other fallen Awakened were placed side-by-side on top. Lit white candles were stuck into a few jars, their faint flames illuminating the grieving faces of the crowd.

Chairman Wu walked up to the bodies. His gaze slowly swept over each face covered by the white cloth, finally landing on Old Xie’s mangled skeleton. He took a deep breath, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"Everyone...

"Today, with extremely heavy hearts, we gather in this... solemn and respectful occasion to deeply mourn our comrades who tragically fell in battle: Xie Sheng, Chen Juncai, and Xu Yi...

"Just a few hours ago, to cover their companions’ retreat and pass the warning to us, they left the chance of survival to Yu...

"Their sacrifice was not in vain. It is precisely because of their sacrifice that we now have a relatively safe environment. Their blood will not flow in vain, and every single one of us will remember their contributions.

"Please, I urge everyone not to give up on life. We must help each other and strive to survive. We have to live on for them, carrying their share of life. That is... the best way to do justice to their sacrifice."

Finally, Chairman Wu faced the three fallen members of Old Xie’s team and the four members of another squad—seven bodies in total—and bowed deeply three times.

Behind him, Vice President Zhao, Lin Qianqian, Yu Na... all the members of the Biyun Resort present, regardless of age or strength, bowed deeply toward the bodies of Old Xie and the others. After bowing, the crowd began to step forward one by one.

Han Ning took a small white flower, simply folded from a white tissue, handed to him by a girl nearby.

"Farewell, Old Xie."

Old Xie’s hearty smile flashed through his mind as he placed the flower in front of the body. He wondered if it was necessary to hold a memorial service when supplies were so scarce. Deep down, Han Ning actually agreed with Chairman Wu’s approach. It was exactly because of the immense sacrifices made by the Awakened that others could understand just how precious it was to be alive and well in this world.

As of now, only eighty-three survivors remained in the entire commercial building, including the ordinary people.

After the memorial service, the bodies were cremated nearby under everyone’s watchful eyes. That night, Han Ning, Chairman Wu, and several Vice Presidents of the Awakened Association sat around an office desk.

Vice President Zhao’s face was full of sorrow, and he couldn’t help but sigh. "Alas, our Awakened Association has fewer and fewer members. Four more died today. The probability of ordinary people awakening is too low, making it almost impossible to replenish our ranks. Old Wu, shouldn’t we figure out a way to contact survivors from other gathering places and try to absorb them?"

"We haven’t even stabilized ourselves yet. If we rashly take in more people, I’m afraid it will cause internal chaos," someone offered a different opinion.

"The most important thing is that the snake swarm hasn’t given us time to grow stronger. Over the past few days, their density has noticeably increased," another person spoke up. "Usually, it’s just ordinary Awakened who fall in battle. I didn’t expect that someone at the Vice President Level like Old Xie would die today. Shouldn’t we change our hunting strategy?"

"Overall, the team’s strength ceiling has increased, but our personnel have plummeted once again. If only we had more firearms, then ordinary people could go out and hunt too," Vice President Zhao sighed again.

"I have an idea." Han Ning, who had been sitting quietly to the side, finally spoke up.

"Oh?" Hearing this, everyone turned to look at him.

Without another word, Han Ning moved a Water Jet Melon onto the table. After the recent battle, everyone had already realized how terrifying this thing was. A blue Water Jet Melon plant, bearing a massive fruit comparable to a cantaloupe in size... such a small thing could actually fire terrifying Water Arrows on par with an autocannon.

"Could it be... Mr. Han wants to give it to us to use?" They carefully examined the miraculous plant, waiting for Han Ning’s next words.

"This type of melon is called a Water Jet Melon. It has the ability to kill Elite Black Snake Monsters," Han Ning explained. He defined Black Snakes over five meters long—those that could barely condense a Crystal Stone—as Elite Black Snake Monsters. As for the Black Snake Monster that was over eight meters long and had four arms, that was at the Leader Level.

"Cultivating it requires at least one Monster Crystal. You guys should know what a Monster Crystal is, right?" Han Ning said.

"Yes," Chairman Wu nodded. "It’s the Energy Crystal dug out of that Elite Black Snake Monster’s body after it died." He placed the crystal, which had dropped after everyone collectively killed the Elite Black Snake Monster earlier, onto the table.

"I can give you the Water Jet Melons and the method to cultivate them, but I need one crystal in exchange. After all, nurturing them consumes a massive amount of Energy," Han Ning voiced his thoughts.

While these people had been talking just now, he had been thinking. His current Animal Companion Skills were on the verge of breaking through to Perfection. It no longer limited the number of contracted creatures. If he formed contracts with every cultivated Water Jet Melon and handed them over to these Awakened to take on hunts, wouldn’t he get a share of the experience points?

Although he could only get at most one point of experience from killing a strong Black Snake Monster, if all the Awakened in the resort received a melon and went out hunting every day, he could easily gain a lot of experience without doing a thing. This would not only boost the overall strength of all the Awakened in the Biyun Resort, but he would also reap the benefits. It was killing two birds with one stone.

The only difficulty was the initial phase. Cultivating a batch of melons required a certain amount of Energy Crystals. If the Water Jet Melon was compared to a firearm, then the High-Energy Soil made from Energy Crystals was the ammunition.

However, unlike disposable bullets, the High-Energy Soil was mixed with Energy Stones. Energy Stones were not single-use items; they automatically absorbed ambient free-flowing Energy to replenish the soil’s Energy. Therefore, they could be reused repeatedly. For the initial phase, all he needed was to acquire a batch of Energy Crystals.

"With one Energy Crystal, you can use the melon repeatedly without any additional costs. The problem is... you need to get enough Energy Crystals." Han Ning explained the current difficulty to Chairman Wu and the others.

Energy Crystals were good items. The Awakened could absorb the Energy inside them to significantly increase their strength. Given the average combat power of the Awakened in the Biyun Resort, obtaining an Energy Crystal would not be easy.