CHAPTER 1860: CHAPTER 1853: TANG YE’S THREAT

Back on the surface, Tang Ye waited for about half an hour before seeing Wang Dapao leading a large group of workers marching into view.

He first greeted a few soldiers, exchanged a few words, and then after more than ten minutes, all the workers at the construction base, except those remaining on the eleventh layer and the high-ranking new humans below it, all gathered in the square to the west.

Everyone had a look of confusion on their face. During the time at the construction base, such a scene was something both new and old workers had never seen before, prompting speculation among them.

"What’s going on?"

"I don’t know."

"Hey bro! What’s the situation now?"

"I don’t know either. I’ve been here for two months, and this is the first time I’ve encountered such a situation."

"Hey, you’re well-connected, do you know any inside info?"

"Don’t ask me, I don’t know either."

"Could it be a collapse down below?"

"Impossible, right? The mayor has made hefty investments, all supporting structures are embedded with Level 10 H-steel. Even if a Level 12 earthquake hits, it won’t collapse!"

"Most likely it’s something else, let’s wait and see. Hopefully, nothing bad will happen next."

"..."

Just as people were discussing, Wang Dapao finally walked to the very front of the crowd with a few soldiers, and coughed a few times into a loudspeaker.

"Cough, cough..." Once he confirmed the microphone was fine, he waved his hand to someone beside him, and at the same time, everyone’s eyes turned towards the direction Wang Dapao waved. They saw a few gray-faced new humans also squeezing into the crowd, curiously, these people had expressions of wild joy on their faces.

These people were the ones who came up from the eleventh-layer relay station. They successfully secured a spot in this once-in-a-lifetime job swap!

Of course, within the group of gathered workers, some people recognized a few among them.

"Those were working at the very bottom, now it seems they’ve reached the eleventh layer."

"That’s not right, though. I remember there are more than forty people working on the eleventh layer, how come only about twenty came up?"

"Could something really have gone wrong?"

"Damn it, if an accident snuffs out a few Level 8 new humans, it’d be a joke."

"..."

As the piercing hum of the broadcast echoed, the discussions gradually died down, and Wang Dapao’s authoritative voice soon resonated.

"Let me clarify, the reason for gathering everyone here today is mainly to swap workers for the eleventh-layer supply relay station work. We will replace twenty-three workers to enter the eleventh-layer supply relay station to work, so next, I ask you all to stand apart and do not make noise." After saying this, Wang Dapao gestured to the soldiers behind him, and when the soldiers received instructions, they quickly inserted themselves into the crowd, dispersing them and rearranging them into a square formation for Tang Ye to make his selection.

However, as Wang Dapao’s words ended, all the workers’ faces turned pale for a moment, thinking for a second that their ears must have misheard?

"Are you kidding? They’re asking us to swap for the eleventh-layer supply relay station work? Who would want to do that?"

"Apparently it’s true..."

"Why would willingness matter! Judging by the setup, it seems like Wang Dapao over there will pick out some people himself."

"Please, not me!"

"With just us, how long can we last down in the eleventh layer? This is practically a death sentence!"

"Alright, alright, they’re coming over, quiet down! If they hear us, life won’t be easy from now on."

"Please, not me!"

Under the soldiers’ command, it took only about six minutes for the gathered workers on the square to quickly disperse into a large formation.

And the workers there were all too aware of how tough the work at the drilling relay station below is, each one trembling with fear.

Everyone feared that the unfortunate one picked would be themselves!

After setting this up, Wang Dapao, with a smile on his face, walked over to Tang Ye and asked, "Officer, see if there’s anyone suitable now?"

"Hmm," Tang Ye nodded, stepped forward, and at this moment, many workers looked toward him, all understanding that the work swap at the eleventh-layer supply relay station was caused by him. One by one, they quickly turned away, afraid to draw Tang Ye’s attention.

Tang Ye didn’t care in the slightest; his sole target was those few zombies, grouped together for easier handling later, and easy to find too.

Without any more words, Tang Ye immediately stretched out his hand and began to select from the formation of people.

"The one in the second row, third column, the one in the second row, sixteenth column, the one in the tenth row, sixth column..." Within a minute, Tang Ye effortlessly picked out all the zombies disguised as humans hidden among the workers, and each time he pointed one out, the soldiers accurately pulled the target from the formation.

After all these zombies were selected, exactly twenty-three in total, everyone sighed in relief, exchanged glances, and couldn’t help but smile. Some people looked at the few zombies with schadenfreude, while others began to feel discontent.

"Aren’t those the ones frequently seen on the diligence list? How come they were pulled out? Did they get noticed for being too hardworking?"

"I know those people; usually quiet, won’t retaliate when hit or curse back, quite diligent, always helping us with errands."

"I didn’t expect it to be them..."

"Isn’t this bullying the honest ones?"

"Exactly, why should those more capable have to enter that ghostly eleventh layer?"

Once they no longer had to worry about their own predicament, some people’s compassion overflowed, and they began to criticize Tang Ye. Even though these voices were mixed in with countless murmurs, clamor, how could Wang Dapao and Tang Ye be ordinary people?

These voices, of course, were heard clearly. Before Tang Ye could react, Wang Dapao’s face darkened first. Just as he picked up the microphone to say something, Tang Ye stepped forward, snatched the microphone, and placed it to his mouth, coldly speaking to the crowd in front, "If any of you find this arrangement problematic, you are welcome to join them! I don’t mind letting more people into the eleventh-layer supply relay station!"

The cold words dripping with blatant menace filled the entire place, and the open, undisguised threat in the words made everyone’s spine shiver, making it difficult to breathe. At this moment, Tang Ye, standing at the forefront of the crowd, seemed to transform into a ferocious beast that had devoured numerous people!

After this statement, all murmurs disappeared; the scene turned silent. Tang Ye glanced around, sneered disdainfully, and threw the microphone to Wang Dapao, who also placed it to his mouth and said, "That’s it, get back to work, dismissed!"

Like birds and beasts, the workers dispersed, though many felt sympathetic towards those zombies disguised as humans, hoping to defend them. However, the young man next to Wang Dapao didn’t seem accommodating, and the violent tone in his voice could be sensed by anyone present. If one talked back or said another word, working in the eleventh-layer relay station might be a mild consequence; death could be the eventual outcome!

No one wanted to be dragged down with others because of someone else.

The work environment in the eleventh-layer supply relay station was indeed not one for ordinary people to stay in; ordinary humans and low-level new humans wouldn’t last a few days without falling ill.

Besides, those twenty or so "people" named by Tang Ye showed no expression at all, suggesting they weren’t unwilling about entering the eleventh layer to work. Therefore, there was no need for the others to intervene unnecessarily.