Chapter 95: Huaxia Army

Chapter 95: The Huaxia Army

That night, the residents of Huangshi City slept soundly.

Chen Jian and his companions were scattered on watch, but their communication never ceased.

The first base had already been taken, and the conflict with other forces in this wasteland had shifted from disadvantage to a stalemate.

But what should be done next? That is an unavoidable question facing everyone.

Chen Jian, while surveying the distant lake, spoke:

“.Continuing the fight isn’t meaningless; it just isn’t very meaningful.”

“Reforming thought is far harder than reforming weapons; we could take over Huangshi City so smoothly because its people had not been deeply influenced by religion.”

“Most importantly, they have the ‘ancestors’ as an anchor to fix their thoughts, giving them a rather primitive, crude, yet surprisingly solid historical view.”

“This historical view shares common ground with our materialist historiography, so transforming them is actually a natural, inevitable process.”

“The foundation was not laid by us, but by the ancestors of these people who survived the great cataclysm.”

“But if we apply this issue to Han Shui City, the situation is completely different.”

“Religion, even if we conquer Han Shui City, once their faith is destroyed, can those residents really be effectively managed?”

“I really doubt that point.”

“I doubt it too.”

Shen Yue’s voice came over the radio.

“Their thoughts cannot be changed merely by making them line up for eggs; at least judging by the current situation, the Machine God Sect already shows a trend of full greening.”

“This is no ordinary religion; we must strike hard!”

“Get lost!”

Chen Jian wished he could roll his eyes at Shen Yue from afar; after a brief pause, he continued:

“To be frank, if it weren’t the apocalypse, their problems wouldn’t be so hard to solve.”

“We can round them up, kill them, pull them out—always able to clean them up.”

“But the problem is, in this world, human resources are too precious.”

“If we really went on killing wave after wave like the ‘mimetic heretics’ Zhou Yan mentioned, we’d likely be wiped out by a coalition soon.”

“This is also one of the reasons why the so-called ‘mimetic plague’ failed back then; regardless of who those people were, their methods were excessively violent and completely unrealistic.”

“So actually our main task is still to recruit civilians who haven’t been completely brainwashed by religion, right?”

Lei Jie interjected a remark, and without waiting for Chen Jian’s reply, he continued:

“If that’s the case, then expanding our territorial influence is extremely important.”

“Our current sphere of influence is too small, our population too few; even if we squeezed everyone here dry, we couldn’t muster dozens of normal, reformable people.”

“Only by continually expanding our influence can we obtain sufficient human resources—a basic truth.”

“Moreover, objectively speaking, doing this is far easier than trying to reform the minds of those religious fanatics, right?”

“Reasonable.”

“Agreed.”

Each person answered in turn; after a moment’s pause, Chen Jian continued:

“If we want to keep expanding our influence, we likewise face a rather fundamental problem.”

“We can’t be raiders; we can only be pioneers.”

“But this way, if our vast territory lacks personnel to guard it, eventually someone will pluck the fruit.”

“Now I somewhat understand why organizations like the Machine God Sect and the Holy Blood Hall arose in this world.”

“When grassroots management is severely lacking and the territory is overly vast, religion is indeed a remarkably simple and swift tool.”

“In a sense, this too is a kind of natural selection, wouldn’t you say?”

“Indeed.”

Far away, Lei Jie suddenly stood up and then said:

“But we are destined to walk a harder road.”

“If we want to break the deadlock, there is only one way.”

“Pioneer, then plunder, and finally feed back to Huangshi City.” “We must concentrate all resources in Huangshi City, turning it into a true metropolis.”

“Only then can we, while balancing administrative efficiency, ensure that thought does not degenerate.”

As his words fell, the usually silent He Shuo suddenly spoke:

“Resources are a big problem; I’m not talking about weaponry, but food and tools.”

“Put bluntly, it’s still a productivity issue.”

“When productivity is lacking, how far a city can develop is not determined by our abilities but by the inhabitants’ abilities.”

“And the inhabitants’ abilities are determined by their level of education.”

“Education itself is a harder undertaking than changing thought.”

“That’s why Lei Jie said we need to plunder.”

Chen Jian’s eyes brightened a bit.

“Education and productivity can lag a bit; what we must guarantee is simply that at every stage of development we have sufficient resources to support it.”

“Remember, our goal was never to directly build a communist society on this wasteland.”

“We merely want to destroy the old order and replace it with a new one.”

“At the same time, we must plant a batch of strong seeds.”

“When the time is ripe, these seeds will sprout on their own.”

“Each generation has its mission.”

“The ancients believed in us; we too should believe in those who come after.”

“Clear.”

“No problem for me.”

Everyone replied in turn; the previously heavy atmosphere instantly lightened a bit.

The route has been drafted.

Although the word “plunder” doesn’t sound very peaceful, the good news is that in this world, plundering is not inherently tied to “human-on-human slaughter.”

Because most of the world’s resources are actually occupied by monsters.

Taking resources from those monsters, no matter who does it, raises no qualms.

All they need to do is methodically wipe out the monsters in their territory, then gather the scattered settlements there into Huangshi City.

Chen Jian let out a long sigh, watching the moon gradually sink on the horizon, and he said:

So then, our task now splits into several parts.

First, we shall venture into Huangzhou City to uncover what truly resides there, and to trace the origin of the plastic lodged in the monster's gut.

Second, we must ready ourselves to greet the purported 'delegation' dispatched by the Machine God Sect and the Hall of Holy Blood.

Third, we must make ready to claim all that is rightfully ours.

Given that the Hall of Holy Blood has pledged recompense, we have no grounds to decline.

Whatever they offer, we shall welcome it without hesitation.

These provisions will become our foundation, the seed capital for Huangshi City.

City.

With this endowment, I think we can move faster than they can.

Having finished his words, Chen Jian yielded the floor to Lei Jie, who continued:

We've come this far; surely it's time we adopted a name, wouldn't you agree?

Constantly being labeled 'God's Chosen' by them is untenable—what ought we to be called?

Any lingering doubts?

Chen Jian gave a slight smile and replied:

Our organization is Huaxia, and our forces shall bear the name Huaxia Army.

(End of chapter)