Chapter Fifty-Three: The Forum

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(...Thanks to Piaoyi Xiaotaotao, Mark Hoffman, for your generous rewards and support.)

In the chaotic apocalypse, Yang Fan never aimed to save all of humanity, but he was determined not to let his friends die. He had Zhu Liang, Chen Ming, and Liu Xue stick close to him, while Bai Chen and Fang Na stayed on alert. After pulling all the curtains shut and turning off the lights, the place was plunged into utter darkness.

All was silent, though faint sobs could still be heard. Everyone scarcely dared to breathe. They endured half an hour of terror and dread, each minute feeling worse than death itself, fearful that at any moment a demonic beast might burst in and kill them.

Using his True Eagle Eye, Yang Fan observed that the number of Flame Sparrows in the sky had dwindled significantly, though some still remained, so he didn’t dare act rashly. Thankfully, this wasn’t the heart of the Flame Sparrows and Fire Geese’s territory; instead, it was mainly overrun by Rabid Demon Rats and Ferocious Wild Dogs. This was the city center, where many stray dogs had undergone biochemical mutation, becoming frenzied and genetically enhanced.

Each innate Rabid Demon Rat and Ferocious Wild Dog could produce eight to fifty offspring, regardless of gender, and would then lead their brood to hunt zombies and humans. Even the zombies were being enhanced, so zombies were the ones battling the rabid rats and wild dogs outside.

It was as if the whole world had become a game arena, where killing others led to power-ups.

Yang Fan handed Azir’s greatsword to Chen Ming so he’d have some means of self-defense, then continued to observe the sky for Flame Sparrows and Fire Geese. Another twenty minutes crawled by, everyone’s nerves stretched to the breaking point. They looked to Yang Fan as if he were a god; if he said they would survive, then survival became possible for all. If he pronounced doom, despair would follow.

Finally, the last of the Flame Sparrows and Fire Geese left, flying northward. Yet Yang Fan still didn’t dare move, fearing these beasts might double back. At this moment, Yang Fan opened the City Forum. The forum was divided into Group Forums, Regional Forums, and City Forums.

Broader forums would be available with further system evolutions, but at least in his past life, nothing had changed in the first month.

The Group Forum belonged to specific organizations, which required a certain reputation and wealth to establish; none existed for now. The Regional Forum covered counties and towns, allowing users to see posts relevant to their location, as judged by the system.

Posting cost one Apocalypse Coin per character.

The City Forum required a certain reputation to post, and each character cost ten Apocalypse Coins. Posts could be pinned for an exorbitant fee, and voice messages cost fifty Apocalypse Coins per character.

Posts could also be set to charge for access with a 30-70 split—thirty percent to the system, seventy to the inheritor. If a post became popular, the system might mark it as an “essence” post and reward the author.

Yang Fan opened the Regional Forum. Only three posts existed, a far cry from the bustling activity he remembered a month after the apocalypse in his previous life. The City Forum was even more deserted—no posts at all. All three regional posts required payment.

“Monster Encyclopedia” — “Apocalypse Strategies” — “Profession Guesses”

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The three posts were clearly written by those with some valuable information, each charging five Apocalypse Coins to read. Already, thousands were viewing them. Yang Fan didn’t hesitate to spend the coins and read all three.

The Monster Encyclopedia listed the ten basic types of demonic beasts—clearly compiled after referencing Yang Fan’s own original monster compendium.

The Apocalypse Strategies post was less than three hundred words, but distilled some shrewd guesses and simple plans. Perhaps the author’s resources were limited, so they couldn’t write more. As for Profession Guesses, Yang Fan could tell at a glance the poster was definitely someone with a hidden class.

The ID was Hualian—Yang Fan made a mental note of the name.

Without further ado, Yang Fan boldly registered his own ID as “Divinity.” He then posted information on twenty types of Tier One demonic beasts from his monster encyclopedia, along with his own experience and insights, information about apocalypse merchants, and the uses of certain items. He concluded the post with: “Humanity has existed for countless ages. No matter how great the hardship, we will ultimately prevail. What we must do is not only conquer fear and strengthen ourselves, but most importantly, never lose our way...”

He set the price to zero and published it in the City Forum.

Yang Fan was no saint, but he understood that with great power came great responsibility. He knew all too well that more people died at the hands of their own kind than from zombies or the insect race—this was the lesson of his past life. In the apocalypse, the rule of law simply ceased to exist.

What people once dared not do, they now did as they pleased. For instance, the soldiers at the Baisheng Supermarket could ravage several women a day, trampling human dignity at will—because this was the end times.

“Someone has left a comment on your post.”
“Someone has left a comment on your post.”
“Someone has left a comment on your post.”
“Someone has left a comment on your post.”
...

In an instant, a flood of notifications overwhelmed him. Yang Fan briefly glanced at the comments. Most people expressed their gratitude; only a few raised questions, which he ignored. He turned off the notification sounds for post replies, as dozens of people were responding at once. Every ten characters in a reply cost one Apocalypse Coin.

Clearly, most were genuinely grateful.

Elsewhere...

“The Apocalypse Merchant! All we need to do is find the Apocalypse Merchant and buy enhancement serums. Judging by the description, wasn’t the person we met earlier the merchant? Haha, let’s go!”

A voice filled with excitement rang out from a small group of four or five. Another member said with delight, “He’s such a good person—so selfless, and he even described what the Apocalypse Merchant looks like. Posting all that in the City Forum must have cost over four thousand Apocalypse Coins.”

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“Who knows, maybe he really is a god!”
The others chimed in, and together they cautiously evaded zombies and rabid demon rats as they set out to search for the Apocalypse Merchant.

—

“So this is the enhancement serum. I thought it was something else. Looks like it’s a Tier Two. Let’s go find the Apocalypse Merchant and buy some Tier One serums.”
“What a good man...”

In Ningcheng, many people had come to understand their current predicament. Among them were quite a few Apocalypse Inheritors, and they began frantically searching for the Apocalypse Merchant to strengthen themselves. Yang Fan’s actions had saved many lives.

—

“They’re finally gone.” Nearly half an hour after the Flame Sparrows and Fire Geese had left, Yang Fan saw no sign of them.

“All the food has been hidden. What do we do, boss?” Suddenly, Chen Ming whispered, having just checked the supplies with Zack, only to find everything gone. Given the size of Baisheng Supermarket, even accounting for looting and two thousand people eating, the food shouldn’t have disappeared so quickly.

Clearly, a large amount had been hoarded by those scoundrels.

“Leave it for now. Zhu Liang, Chen Ming, Bai Chen, Fang Na—you take everyone and keep printing materials. Stay safe; I’ll handle the rest.”

Yang Fan gave his orders like a king.

(Thanks to Xiaoyang, Legend of Heaven, 8-11, Flame Dragon, Myth Under the Saddle, Samsara, and everyone else for your support. I never realized Myth Under the Saddle had been quietly supporting me all this time! Wishing everyone a happy National Day. As for Guazi’s ban, I’m not sure what happened, but I’ll talk to the editor about it. Hope everyone remembers to keep reading and voting for the book after the holiday. Thank you all!)