Chapter 248 - 154: The Largest Team in School! The Rules Meeting! Jia Wen’s Thoughts

Chapter 248: Chapter 154: The Largest Team in School! The Rules Meeting! Jia Wen’s Thoughts

Zhong Fang quickly stepped aside to clear the way, raising a hand in a "please" gesture.

"Of course, I know you were busy with other things last night, so I went ahead and organized the data. Come on, let’s go upstairs and discuss the details."

"Okay."

The group went up to the second floor.

They entered the lounge, which used to be a favorite of the Fighting Club members.

Zhong Fang deliberately left the head seat for Chen Chong. He then unhurriedly took out a notebook, placed it in front of him, and began to explain:

"After you left yesterday, I stayed in the plaza to maintain order, register new members, and distribute the cooked snake meat from the three large pots."

"As of midnight last night, a total of 278 students have joined the team—203 males and 75 females."

"Everyone’s name, age, and former major and class are all recorded in here..."

Chen Chong’s gaze swept over the pages.

As a Transcendent, his eyesight, memory, and processing speed had long surpassed those of an ordinary person.

Even scanning ten lines at a time, he wouldn’t miss a single detail. In just a moment, he had read everything in the notebook.

"It looks like this list has information for over three hundred people?"

He looked up at Zhong Fang, his eyes holding a trace of confusion.

Zhong Fang explained with a smile, "The 278 I mentioned was just the count as of midnight. More people trickled in during the night, and a lot of others who heard the news rushed over this morning, so..."

"Added together, it’s 323 people!"

"In other words, from the time you left yesterday until now, a full 323 new members have joined. If we add the 57 people from my Fishing Club and the 2 from the Swordsmanship Club..."

"Of course, if we count the two from the Swordsmanship Club recovering in the infirmary, that makes 4."

"And with the 20 students who joined before that, plus Sansan’s 10 members from the Fighting Club, our total headcount is now over 400!"

"As far as I know, even the Survival Association, which used to be the largest group, only has around 300 members, and they’re constantly losing more."

"Our group is now the largest on campus!"

Listening to Zhong Fang’s report, Xu Jun, Zhang Meng, Huang Mao, and even Wang Biao and Jia Wen couldn’t help but look astonished.

They were clearly surprised by the number.

No one had expected the group to grow to this size in less than a day.

"So, are we included in that count?" Xu Jun followed up.

Zhong Fang laughed. "Brother Xu Jun, what a question! You’re one of Brother Chong’s closest comrades and a core member of the group. I’d forget to count myself before I left you guys out!"

Xu Jun broke into a good-natured grin.

Chen Chong, in contrast, remained perfectly calm, as if he had anticipated these numbers all along.

’In truth, he wouldn’t have been too surprised whether many or few had joined today.’

’The terrifying power he had displayed while eliminating the Parasites yesterday was more than enough to win over everyone present.’

’Humans, men and women alike, are naturally drawn to power.’

’This instinct was magnified tenfold in the current, treacherous environment.’

’Faced with such overwhelming strength, it was only natural that people would want to follow him.’

’Then again, even with an admiration for the strong, not everyone would choose to join.’

’After all, he wasn’t like Sima, who relied solely on deception to recruit members. His core objective was to unite everyone, to have them work together to survive.’

’Those who were willing to join, he would welcome with open arms.’

’Those who were unwilling, he would never force. He respected everyone’s choice in how they wanted to survive.’

’More importantly, he wasn’t begging people to join...’

’To be frank, anyone who wanted to follow him had to meet a strict set of requirements.’

’First and foremost was absolute obedience. They had to follow his orders without question. If anyone harbored ill intentions, they would be turned away at the door, even if they wanted to join.’

For this very reason, before leaving the plaza yesterday, Chen Chong had deliberately emphasized the strictness of his conditions to everyone who had expressed interest in joining.

He had made it clear: after joining, they had to obey his commands unconditionally. Anyone with ulterior motives was warned not to even try.

Otherwise, if they were exposed, there would be no chance to simply quit—the punishment would be immediate execution by beheading.

It was precisely these harsh requirements that made many people instinctively resistant.

So, it was understandable that some ultimately chose not to join.

That was why Chen Chong had been mentally prepared, regardless of the number who joined.

’Still, nearly 400 members... that’s a considerable size.’

’Based on yesterday’s estimate, the total number of surviving students on campus was only about 1,500.’

’My group has 400, and the Survival Association has 300. Together, that’s almost 700 people.’

’In other words, the two largest factions have already absorbed nearly half of the student body.’

’My group alone accounts for more than a quarter of them!’

’The rest of the students were either in medium-sized groups of a few dozen or had formed small survival squads of three to five people.’

’But he knew this situation was only temporary.’

’As time goes on, the Extraordinary Creatures they encounter will grow stronger, and the environments they have to survive in could shift and become increasingly harsh.’

’As the student population continues to decline, these small and medium-sized groups will eventually be unable to sustain themselves.’

’They’ll either be absorbed by larger factions or be wiped out entirely in the brutal competition.’

’And looking across the entire campus, the only one capable of leading people through these dangers... is me!’

’Even the Survival Association doesn’t have that kind of power.’

’Sooner or later, my group will continue to expand, growing into a massive organization until it has absorbed every last survivor on campus!’

This was why Chen Chong wasn’t in a hurry to lure others in with extravagant promises. When the time was right, they would come begging to join.