Chapter 215 Exclusively published on Jinjiang Literature City: The streamer is making a killing! ...
The gathering place of the five major forces was originally a small county town, Feng County, which was located further south than Yunlu Village.
During the major earthquake, most of the county town was swallowed up by the cracked earth; people, houses, nothing was left.
The areas that barely survived were the affluent neighborhoods with relatively sturdy buildings.
However, the surviving wealthy families and minor clans were terrified by the earthquake and packed their belongings overnight to flee the county town to seek refuge with relatives.
Many people headed for the prefectural city, which was a little further away, but unfortunately the prefectural city was in even worse shape than the county town. After the earthquake, the entire city was swallowed up by the Great Emperor, leaving only a few broken pieces and remains.
Even so, few of those who left returned to the county town.
Survivors from surrounding towns gradually arrived and filled the county town, which had only two or three thousand people left.
The county government was also located in an area swallowed by the earthquake, so from the beginning, no government officials stepped forward to take charge of the situation. People from different villages and towns banded together, which shows how chaotic it was.
When the catastrophe begins with extreme heat and unfolds before the survivors, these people will not only face extreme natural disasters, but also challenges to their humanity.
Robbery, murder, cannibalism due to extreme hunger, and power struggles among people for the right to speak... It's no exaggeration to say that the survivors in Feng County have been playing a real-life survival game for the past six months, far more brutal than those in Yangshan and Luochuan.
Yunlu Village is even less comparable; it was born into a life of luxury and has hardly suffered any hardship.
Fengxian County is not at a high altitude, but floods and blizzards often submerge the already small county town.
During floods, people would go up the mountain to take shelter; when it snowed, they would be buried in the snow and rely on stored food to survive. Every natural disaster resulted in a significant number of deaths in Feng County. The ratio of natural disasters to man-made disasters was about 70% to 30%.
The county town's walls were already inferior to those of the prefectural city, and after the earthquake, more than half of them collapsed, unable to stop the influx of wild animals. During the polar night, the death toll exceeded ten thousand.
After the storm, Feng County was somewhat stabilized. The five major powers were basically in a stable position, and the turnover rate of smaller powers was not as fast as before.
[It seems the survivors in Fengxian County are plagued by bad luck.]
Even if half a city collapses after an earthquake, at least the survivors can clear the rubble and obtain supplies. But in this case, most of the city was swallowed up, leaving nothing behind.
This is how disaster victims survive in the face of catastrophe, without any streamers using cheats or government protection. It's truly cruel.
[This is nothing compared to what's to come. At least tens of thousands of them survived. Compared to those who might die at any moment, they are already considered lucky.]
The way disaster victims survive in the face of catastrophe, without livestreamers or government protection, is indeed cruel.
After listening to the explanations from the five major forces, Lu Xuan understood why the disaster victims who bought the dumpling soup earlier looked thin, but their eyes were not numb; on the contrary, their expressions were more resolute than those of the disaster victims he had encountered before.
Because those who are truly numb and hopeless have long been eliminated; those who survive to the new year are those who have adapted to the new lifestyle.
According to Hua San, Meng Xia, and others, Feng County was not without similar gambling dens and criminal gangs like Feng Hu's.
The local thugs and ruffians from various villages and towns, along with a few vicious landlords, joined forces and became one of the most powerful forces in the city.
This force committed countless atrocities, including cannibalism. Previously, it was only when some people were truly desperate that they coveted the corpses of the dead. However, these people were driven by a perverted mentality. Even when they had enough resources, they still targeted their own kind, specifically children or women with delicate skin.
Ultimately, they incurred the wrath of the masses and were eliminated by other forces during the extreme cold season. The ringleader was torn to pieces by the disaster victims they had harmed, and the other animals involved were thrown into the herd.
After that, the atmosphere in Feng County was completely transformed.
Minor skirmishes still occur, but acts of killing one's own kind have almost disappeared.
While explaining to Lu Xuan, Meng Xia and the others also reviewed the hardships they had endured over the past six months, their faces showing some emotion and melancholy.
Hua San sighed, "To be honest, I never thought I could hold on until now."
He used to be just a beggar leader in another town. Every day, he would lead his underlings to beg for food and do errands or gather information for wealthy people to earn some extra money.
Life is neither particularly good nor bad.
However, after the cataclysm began, although each extreme weather event was difficult, he still gradually built his own power by leading more and more followers.
No longer hungry, nor living in a dilapidated temple that leaks wind and rain, their "Beggars' Gang" now occupies an entire street in the city, with more than a dozen large houses as their base!
In a sense, the catastrophe became an opportunity for him.
Of course, this is not something to be happy about for all leaders.
Yu Niangzi was originally the head of a well-known opera troupe in the county town, and her fame had spread to the prefectural city. The money she received each month for being invited to perform, as well as the bonuses and dividends from the famous actors, were enough for her to live a comfortable life.
When the disaster struck, their stable income vanished, and the many girls in the opera troupe made them easy targets, so they went through a very difficult period in the beginning.
Qiu Qi is the chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) of a well-known镖局 (escort agency) in the county town, and he can earn thousands of taels of silver every year by escorting goods.
Du Chenghai is a businessman whose businesses earn him as much as, if not more than, the former two.
Meng Xia achieved the title of Jieyuan in the provincial examination and originally planned to go to the capital this year to take the imperial examination and pass it with flying colors, after which he would rise through the ranks smoothly.
When disaster strikes, a stable life and a bright future are all lost.
Even if they are now one of the five major powers in the county, so what? That's not what they want.
Moreover, in the past six months, their relatives and friends have not been spared from natural disasters or man-made calamities.
If given a choice, they would still prefer to return to the peaceful and stable days of the past.
But Lu Xuan brought news that the catastrophe would continue.
If Lu Xuan hadn't brought them a lot of supplies, to be honest, they would have all wanted to beat him up to vent their anger.
After a moment of internal grumbling, Du Chenghai finally asked, "Speaking of which, Boss Lu hasn't said where you're from yet?"
“Yes.” Hua San asked while eating the beef jerky he had just bought, “Judging from your accent, you don’t sound like someone from our prefecture. Since you’ve managed to get here, do you know something about the outside world?”
Meng Xia said, "We previously speculated that the reason why the higher-ups haven't sent anyone to provide disaster relief is because the earthquake affected a wide area and even the capital was affected. Has Boss Lu been to the capital or knows the current situation there?"
Lu Xuan: "I don't know the current situation, but the disaster has indeed affected the whole world. Someone told me that the emperor died in the earthquake."
Everyone: "!"
"hiss!!!"
"The emperor is gone—!?"
Gasps filled the living room. Hua San, his face filled with disbelief, said, "Isn't His Majesty the Emperor protected by many people in the palace? How could this be?"
Lu Xuan said calmly, "No one is special during an earthquake."
So what if someone is protecting you? Does a collapsing house pick on people to fall on it?
In the face of natural disasters, no one is spared, whether you are a king or an ordinary citizen.
The people from the five major powers were speechless.
They weren't actually unaware of this principle; it was just that the feudal ideology they had been taught since childhood made them subconsciously believe that the emperor's existence was detached from the world. When they suddenly learned that the other party had perished in the earthquake long before, just like the other disaster victims, they were so shocked that they couldn't quite come to their senses.
Lu Xuan: "More than half a year has passed since the emperor's death. The new emperor should have already ascended the throne. However, due to the disaster, the capital city is probably too busy to take care of itself and will not be able to restore contact with other places in a short period of time."
Once he leaves, that will be a different story.
After a moment of silence in the living room, Lady Yu suddenly spoke up: "We're not going to see the emperor anyway. Whether it's the old emperor or the new emperor on the throne doesn't really matter. The emperor is far away, so just take care of yourselves."
Others thought about it and realized that it made sense.
"Knock knock knock—" A knocking sound suddenly came from the door.
Hua San looked out the window and saw a noticeable increase in the number of people outside. He said, "It must be people from other forces in the city who have arrived."
For Lu Xuan, these words were tantamount to a new business opportunity coming his way.
Because there were too many people, Lu Xuan divided these forces into five groups to come in and discuss business.
Furthermore, because the five major powers wanted to know themselves and their enemies and were unwilling to move, these smaller powers could only send their leaders or high-ranking members in alone each time.
Some of these people were clan chiefs/village heads/elders of a certain village, while others were doctors, blacksmiths, or local thugs.
Lu Xuan didn't waste any words with the five major forces and went straight to the transaction. He also didn't waste any time with them, directly showing them the list of goods. Then, Hua San, who volunteered, covered up the use of the high-tech goods for the leaders of the smaller forces.
The leaders, utterly astonished by Lu Xuan's extraordinary abilities, didn't bother to probe his background; they all rushed to make the deal.
Among these smaller factions, there are many who are reluctant to give up too many resources, or who simply want to take advantage of others. They had originally planned to lower the price as much as possible when dealing with outsiders, or even sell or give away their goods at half price.
However, the usefulness of these products far exceeded expectations. The five major powers had been taking them for quite some time, and it was unclear whether what remained would be enough for them to divide among themselves.
The group was so busy raising the price that they didn't even dare to haggle.
Anyone who dares to make that request will be the first to be kicked out, thus reducing the number of competitors.
The five major powers had already guessed that the total amount of supplies Lu Xuan possessed was probably far beyond what they could imagine, but they did not remind these smaller powers, allowing them to end up paying 50% or even double the price they had paid.
This was the price they were willing to pay, not the price set by Lu Xuan, so it's not fair to say that Lu Xuan was heartless.
Five batches totaled fifty-two small factions that came and went. These small factions varied in size, with the number of disaster victims under their jurisdiction ranging from about 300 to 1,000. In the end, the total amount of supplies purchased was generally between one-tenth and one-fifth of the average purchase amount of the five major factions.
The greenhouse area ranges from 100 mu to 300 mu.
The total value of the grain traded reached 20 million jin.
Even excluding the transactions of the five major powers, the transaction volume of these smaller powers alone far exceeds the transaction volume of the prefectural city.
[Wow, even small factions make a lot of money!]
[This is mainly because these smaller factions, like the five major factions, are extremely extravagant when it comes to purchasing resources.]
Aside from the clan elders and the smaller village factions led by the old clan chiefs who tend to be more conservative, the other factions seem to adhere to a "live for the moment" mentality.
Limited quantities of fruit and seafood are selling like hotcakes, and prices have skyrocketed.
I initially thought this gathering place was too small to make much money, but I never expected this!
The streamer made a killing this time.
Lu Xuan calculated that the Fengxian settlement could bring him profits of over six billion yuan.
With the income from Yangshan and Luochuan combined, he already had enough to buy a warship.
As the audience has said, they've certainly made a fortune.
The leaders of the smaller factions who had received a large amount of supplies looked at Lu Xuan with the same adoration they would give a god of wealth (or a vengeful spirit).
...
The next day, the five major factions selected suitable locations outside the city to build additional greenhouses.
At the agreed time, the disaster victims in the city who had received the news arrived on time, but Du Chenghai and others arrived almost fifteen minutes late, and they looked obviously tired. Hua San was yawning the whole time.
"Sorry, I overslept and am late." Hua San had just finished speaking when he exclaimed in surprise, looked around, and said, "Where is Boss Lu?"
Meng Xia and the others, who arrived around the same time as Hua San, shook their heads. Just as they were about to say they hadn't seen anything, they heard a buzzing sound.
Several people subconsciously turned around and saw Lu Xuan riding on a strange-looking silver-black creature, rushing towards them at high speed.
There was a commotion among the disaster victims, and Hua San and his group were also startled. "What's that? A horse...?" Something didn't seem right.
Qiu Qi squinted and observed for a moment, "It's not a horse, it's much faster than a horse."
As they were talking, people who were at least a mile away from them suddenly appeared before them.
The black motorcycle, in low-flying mode, made a turn and stopped a few meters away from the crowd. With a swift movement, he stepped off the motorcycle.
Lu Xuan took off his helmet and casually placed it on the hood of the car. He glanced at the group of people whose fatigue was hard to hide and raised an eyebrow, saying, "I think I arrived just in time?"
Yu Niangzi's eyes flickered slightly, and she chuckled softly, "Judging from what the boss is saying, you know we're late?"
Lu Xuan said calmly, "It's not hard to guess."
After all, dozens of new players suddenly appeared in the holographic game world last night.
With Huo Jiajun's troops present, this slight increase in numbers might go unnoticed in the village, but since he had paid special attention, he naturally wouldn't miss it.
It goes without saying how immersive it is for someone entering the holographic world for the first time; staying up until midnight or even all night is to be expected.
Holographic helmets cannot replace sleep, so what's so strange about people who haven't had enough sleep waking up late?
When Lu Xuan shared his speculation, the others looked somewhat embarrassed and awkward.
Playing games so badly that it almost interfered with important matters sounds unreliable.
Lady Yu, on the other hand, was more composed, smiling as she said, "Holographic games are indeed very addictive, but when you want some valuable items, they always remind you to accumulate points. How do you get these points?"
Lu Xuan said, "Bring me your supplies and I'll transfer your points to you."
The group seemed to understand, "So that's how it is."
So, by selling them a holographic helmet, Lu Xuan could earn double, or even more?
Du Chenghai's eyes gleamed; he knew that the value of the holographic helmet had been underestimated!
He secretly decided to keep some of the helmets to sell after the disaster was over. It would be too much of a loss to sell such precious items to ordinary disaster victims with just a few supplies!
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Yu Niangzi and Hua San had already taken some food or supplies for Lu Xuan to use as 'money'.
They used their own supplies; most of the grain Lu Xuan gave them was to be kept as seeds and could not be taken.
Presumably thinking that Lu Xuan wouldn't stay long, and to avoid running out of points after he left, the two of them topped up a lot at once.
Du Chenghai followed suit and changed some as well.
Finally, there were Meng Xia and Qiu Qi.
One of them was a talented scholar, and the other was a middle-aged bodyguard with considerable martial arts skills and a calm personality. Neither of them seemed like people who would be addicted to games, but in reality, the number of points they had spent was no less than the other three.
After finishing their discussion about holographic games, the five of them began to count the number of people. Once Lu Xuan brought out the greenhouse materials, he called out to the disaster victims, who were stunned by the large amount of glass materials, to get to work.
The five major powers cannot command everyone. Even if they use nutritional supplements as payment to hire people, they still have to exclude the elderly, weak, women and children, so the number of people they can use is even smaller, totaling only eight thousand.
With fewer people, efficiency naturally decreases, but that doesn't stop them from building a few acres of 'model houses' to see the finished product.
To save trouble, the five major powers not only bought plant protection machines, but also several tillers.
With these machines, Lu Xuan no longer needed to stand up and show off his supernatural abilities.
Nevertheless, when the small but highly efficient tiller quickly loosened the hard soil, leaving rows of furrows even more neat than those made by hand, Yu Niangzi and her five companions, along with the disaster victims who came to help, still stared wide-eyed.
As the plant protection machine, loaded with herbicide, slowly took off, everyone present except Lu Xuan was dumbfounded.
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Author's Note: Special thanks to the following:
One landmine was thrown at Changyushan. Throwing time: 2025-05-26 00:26:32
Yan threw one landmine. Throwing time: 2025-05-25 21:07:22
Thanks to "Milk Tea with Boba" and "Wenwen" for the nutrient solution!
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