Chapter 442: Chapter 198 Upgrade Operation_2

“That’s good,” Wang Tao nodded, then added, “Don’t forget to contact the others to purchase Crystal Cores once you are better tomorrow.”

“Yes!”

Evening.

Wang Tao was in the midst of his daily workout when Nie Siyan suddenly came over.

“Brother Wang, I hope I’m not disturbing you…”

Watching Wang Tao’s half-naked upper body glistening with sweat over his well-defined muscles, Nie Siyan found herself unintentionally swallowing her saliva.

She quickly lowered her head, not daring to look any longer.

They say men are lecherous, but women can be just as lecherous, if not more so. She was no exception.

However, the shadow that Wang Tao cast was too deep, and she didn’t dare to overstep.

“What’s the matter, speak,” Wang Tao said without turning his head.

“Well, I just received a message from Zijin Base…”

“Hmm? Zijin Base? The top power ranked number one? Their messages can reach this far?”

Wang Tao turned around, somewhat surprised.

Zijing City is vast, and the location of Zijin Base is quite far from the arcade city; normally, it would be impossible for the two to communicate directly.

“Yes, it’s them! At the beginning of its establishment, Zijin Base had built a signal tower, capable of transmitting over a very large area. Later, several bouts of acid rain damaged the signal tower, rendering it unusable. But they have managed to repair the signal tower recently…” Nie Siyan quickly explained.

“No wonder…” Wang Tao suddenly understood; that made sense.

“What did they say?”

“Zijin Base says that the zombies are evolving too quickly, while humans are struggling to keep up with the zombies’ pace. If this continues, humanity will eventually be doomed. Therefore, they are planning to unite with the major forces in Zijing City for an upgrading campaign…”

“An upgrading campaign?”

“The basic idea is to select a few representatives within Zijing City, then temporarily allocate the city’s resources to these representatives, helping them ascend to Level 3. With Level 3 ability users, human strength will increase a lot. Then these Level 3 ability users can lead the rest of humanity in upgrading…” After hearing Nie Siyan’s explanation, Wang Tao couldn’t help exclaiming in admiration.

“Wealth first, then wealth for all?”

“That’s the idea…”

Theoretically speaking, this strategy had no faults.

Ever since the number of ability users began to increase, everyone started to realize the importance of high-leveled combat power.

It was like when Wang Tao was back in Shuize County; at that time, they were all Level 1 ability users. A Level Two Chimpanzee Zombie Lord nearly annihilated their entire base.

But once Wang Tao ascended to Level 2, facing off against a Level Two Toad zombie was a piece of cake.

If the zombies possess high-leveled combat power, survivors will live in constant fear and anxiety. On the other hand, if the survivors have their own high-leveled combat power, they might not be able to dominate the enemy, but at least they could fend off their attacks…

The current situation in Zijin City is that humans are only up to Level 2, but zombies have reached Level 3, completely overpowering the humans!

And it’s not just one or two Level 3 zombies, but many of them!

Merely looking at the numerous suspected Level 3 zombie activity marks Wang Tao had on his map doesn’t reveal the full picture of what others might have witnessed.

There are even Level 4 monsters!

If humans had Level 3 ability users, the situation would definitely be different; fear wouldn’t be as pressing…

So, Zijin Base’s plan to unite the city’s survivors and let some ascend to Level 3 ability users first has no faults.

But there are two problems—

The first problem is, to become Level 3, one must hunt down Level 3 zombies to obtain Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores. But Level 3 zombies are extremely dangerous, and hunting them… would likely result in many deaths.

With Zijing City’s many survivor forces, big and small, even pooling all their resources, it would be impossible for every force to gain a Level 3 ability user.

So how should risk and reward be distributed? Surely, people can’t be expected to simply throw their lives away.

The second problem is that while the rich leading the poor isn’t an issue, what if those who become rich first not only fail to help the rest but instead oppress and exploit them? What should everyone do then?

Fight them? How would a Level 1 or Level 2 ability user contend against a Level 3 ability user?

Moreover, several months into this apocalypse, everyone is well aware of what the survivors are capable of.

Before the apocalypse, being a good person might mean doing some good deeds; after the apocalypse, being a good person probably means not doing bad things; but now, as long as you aren’t too bad, you could be called a good person…

So, without clarifying these two problems, it’s likely that few will be willing to respond to the call for this “Upgrading Campaign.”

“Zijin Base wants us forces to send representatives to their base for a discussion, promising to ensure everyone’s satisfaction…” Nie Siyan continued.

“Send someone over?” Wang Tao’s eyebrows rose.

His first thought was a trap.

But after thinking it over, he felt it was unlikely.

These people might be bad, but they’re certainly not foolish.

If there’s no Level 3 ability users, the situation will continue to deteriorate. Starting a civil war at this stage would be mutually destructive.

Besides, although Zijin Base is ranked first, it’s just one of the four major forces. With three more major forces behind it, along with other medium and small forces, it’s impossible for Zijin Base to eliminate all of them in one fell swoop…