Chapter 228: Expanding the Team
“No need to be so polite,” Li Yan said as he accepted the water. He took the initiative to speak to Lu Weiyi: “Most of our team wants to stay. We’re here to see what plans you all have for future living arrangements before making a final decision.”
It was just like checking a company’s prospects before joining—it was a preliminary trial and fit-check.
“If you want to stay, then this becomes a shared effort in building something together. We’ll handle the major planning; the specifics will be each person’s responsibility,” Zhuang Mingxu said, unsurprised by their decision.
“What do you mean by ‘major planning’?” Li Yan asked.
“The layout of the islands, safety facilities, and areas of responsibility,” Zhuang Mingxu answered and, seeing their curious expressions, took out a prepared map.
“North Island has the largest area and is closest to the mainland. We need to build secure walls to defend against any attacks and ensure safety. The permanent population will also be there. Of course, we’re still small in number now, so if any of you want to live on a separate island, that’s fine too.” He had spent the entire morning estimating the size of the main island and dividing it accordingly.
“Our future will rely on self-sufficiency, so the first thing to consider is food. We’ve designated an area on the big island specifically for farming.”
“But isn’t that land unsuitable for planting?” The soil composition was a messy mix of different materials, not looking like farmland at all.
“We have earth-element ability users,” Zhuang Mingxu replied confidently.
The representatives looked at each other, clearly still wanting to ask more. At that moment, Li Qing clicked his tongue and said, “Do you accept ordinary people? If so, how about our entire military unit merging into your ‘Only Team’?”
With that, the others stopped asking questions. Lei Jun grinned, showing a row of white teeth on his tanned face. “The regular folks in our unit have excellent physical fitness. Captain Lu, think about it?”
Lu Weiyi glanced at Zhuang Mingxu, impressed by how he had foreseen this. He didn’t respond, leaving it to Zhuang.
“I knew you just didn’t want to repay the supplies,” Zhuang Mingxu said with a chuckle. He had indeed considered absorbing them into their own ranks, but since the group originally belonged to Li Mu and now followed Li Qing, forcing them—whether through demands or manipulation—would’ve soured relations.
Now that they were offering themselves, it came as a relief.
“Exactly! Hahaha,” Li Qing laughed heartily. “That IOU has been giving me anxiety.”
“We have 782 people in total, 162 of them are ability users: 51 water-type, 53 wood-type, and 46 earth-type. Most of them are B-rank. I don’t ask for much. Feed the ordinary people and provide crystal cores for the ability users to level up. As for any mistreatment or whatever—well, I trust you all aren’t that kind of people.” Since they had already decided to stay, Li Qing didn’t plan to haggle over trivial terms. Sincerity now would ensure smoother cooperation later. If conflict arose, he would at least have a clear conscience.
“Have all your people agreed to this?” Zhuang Mingxu asked seriously.
Soldiers follow their leaders, but if they don’t truly agree in their hearts, disloyalty may still arise.
“They’ve agreed.” Li Qing pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocket, covered in densely packed names. “Here’s the full roster, including ability profiles and other details.” Every name had a corresponding note and signature.
Zhuang Mingxu took the list, skimmed through it, and looked up at Li Qing. “Once we take over, your team will be reorganized. You won’t be managing them anymore.”
“Good! I’ve had more than enough of managing them. Handing it over feels like a huge burden lifted,” Li Qing said generously, then fell silent for a moment before muttering, “As long as everyone stays alive, that’s all that matters.”
His own power wasn’t enough. Being able to find a good path forward for everyone was his final show of loyalty.
Lu Weiyi accepted the list and nodded. “Okay.”
Zhuang Mingxu’s lips curled slightly in a fleeting smile before he turned serious again. “Our direction remains unchanged. Over the next few days, all ability users will be reassigned accordingly.”
“The current weather is ideal for planting. Starting tomorrow, all earth-type users will till and level the land. North Island will be completely razed and rebuilt. Ordinary people can sift through the rubble for any salvageable materials.”
“Wood-type users will grow trees—sturdy enough for logging—to use as short-term fuel until we find a new energy source.”
“There’s a well on the island, but we haven’t tested whether the water is drinkable. For now, water-type users will handle the supply of drinking water.”
“What about us?” Lei Jun pointed at a few of the original ability users from Li Qing’s team.
“You’ll be reassigned to Team Two,” Zhuang Mingxu said, giving advance notice. “You’ll definitely need to go on missions to find more supplies.”
“Understood!” Lei Jun said loudly, then laughed at himself.
With the major plan set, both sides agreed to have dinner together that night to formally mark their integration. As a welcome gesture, Zhuang Mingxu asked Lu Weiyi to bring out a generous amount of meat.
The members of the Only Team gathered again for a small internal meeting.
With everyone present, after informing them about the integration of the military personnel, Zhuang Mingxu looked at the rest of the team and asked first, “Now that everything is in a state of disrepair, we tentatively need to focus on planting, rapidly growing food and trees, setting up island defenses like artillery and fortifications. Do any of you have preferences for specific areas you’d like to take responsibility for? I’ll take your preferences into account before making assignments.”
“I’ll do planting. I have experience,” Bai Miao was the first to raise her hand.
“Then I’ll be in charge of accelerating the growth of food and plants?” said Li Dongsheng.
The others weren’t sure if they’d be part of the field team or backup, so no one else spoke for the moment.
“Alright, we’ll assign people to both of you tonight,” said Zhuang Mingxu, then looked to the others. “Wu Yue, Li Zhuang and Xiong Jie will lead the earth-type ability users to clear and prepare the necessary land. Residential areas must have dense soil to withstand disasters. After that, Wu Yue will take charge of designing the island’s defensive perimeter. The team will provide weaponry support.”
“Xiong Jie will lead construction. The buildings need to be solid—especially to withstand waves or tsunamis.”
After explaining, Zhuang Mingxu handed out the already-prepared plans and estimated area maps to each of them. “Keep to these boundaries. Discuss and finalize the specific designs yourselves, then report back.”
“Ning Yuan will later lead the water-type ability users to go fishing and scout out the presence of mutated animals in the nearby waters.”
“Li Qing’s team has already been reorganized and merged into the Second Team. They’ll operate autonomously but can request support if needed. Li Zhuang, go evaluate their strength and abilities, share some field experience, and work toward mutual improvement.”
“Antonio…”
“I’m doing research,” Antonio said with a frown, pointing at the ground in frustration.
Everyone chuckled at his expression. Antonio looked toward Lu Weiyi, hoping for a “pardon,” but Lu Weiyi pretended not to see and turned away.
*
That evening, the island was lively. Bonfires lit up the coastline, and the air was filled with the aroma of food as the former Third Corps officially merged into the Only Team.
Lately, Lu Weiyi had gotten used to slacking off. Whenever something came up, he would immediately dump it on the vice captain. Ning Yuan had been pushed so hard he even half-jokingly mentioned wanting to resign.
But tonight, Lu Weiyi still had to show up to welcome the newcomers and express some formal respect.
The arrangements had already been finalized. After a few brief words from Li Qing, Lu Weiyi was invited to the stage.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Lu Weiyi, leader of the Only Team. Welcome to the team. We’re glad to have you join us,” he said in one sentence, then got straight to the point and began reorganizing everyone.
Li Qing’s squad was directly merged into the Second Team. Three new teams were also added—Teams Three and Four. The rest of the members were grouped based on their abilities and elemental attributes, as they’d also need to go out on missions.
Support teams were divided by ability type:
Team Five: All wood-type users, under Bai Miao and Li Dongsheng, focused on planting and growth acceleration.
Team Six: All earth-type users, working with Wu Yue on infrastructure.
Team Seven: All water-type users, led by Gu Qingyue, managing the island’s water supply.
All ordinary (non-ability) members were managed by Lin Yimu and were assigned where needed.
This was the long-term structure, but for now, construction and assignments were based strictly on ability type.
Lu Weiyi spoke briefly and efficiently, like he was reciting from a script—no extra words. He wrapped up all of Zhuang Mingxu’s full-day planning in a few concise sentences.
Li Qing, who had been a little emotional at first, couldn’t help but laugh seeing Lu Weiyi acting so reluctantly. He whispered to the team next to him, “Was Lu Weiyi forced into this?”
Xu Sa, sitting nearby, had a complicated expression. Seeing that Zhuang Mingxu wasn’t looking over, he leaned in and whispered, “He used to handle everything himself, day and night. Brother Mingxu suggested appointing other leaders and delegating responsibilities. Once he did, it was like his chakras opened—now he hands everything off and doesn’t touch a thing.”
He had gone back to living like the young master he used to be—leaving the suffering to the rest of the team leads.
While Li Qing and the others snickered, Lu Weiyi waved his hand, called up the newly appointed leaders, gave a quick intro, and said, “Anyone interested, report directly to the appropriate leader.”
Then he patted his butt and walked off.
That night, Xiong Jie and Gu Qingyue advanced to A-rank. Lu Weiyi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As two of the slowest to level up, neither Xiong Jie nor Gu Qingyue reacted much—but Lu Weiyi was clearly thrilled. He lounged on the sofa with a bottle of red wine, completely relaxed, his raised eyebrows exuding charm, softened by the occasional silly grin.
“So happy?” Xiong Jie poured a bit of wine and took a small sip, finding it unfamiliar. He leaned over to Xi Shi, saying, “They say this costs over a hundred thousand. Just having a taste.”
Xi Shi took a small sip and shook his head, declining more.
Of course Lu Weiyi was happy. He’d led them safely to this point, and now they were strong enough to survive on their own. He felt free. Once Zhuang Mingxu’s leg healed, Lu Weiyi figured he could finally retire in peace.
He missed his old days terribly—several maids waiting on him, nothing to do all day. Life had been bliss.
As Lu Weiyi daydreamed, Zhuang Mingxu rolled out from the study in his wheelchair and said, “Xiao Yi, you’ll need to go out soon. Check the nearby coastal ports and bring back any boats you find.”
“I marked the coastal ports on the map. Take a team out, mainly to gather supplies, and avoid conflict with zombies. Bring the Second Team to test their abilities. Also bring Liu Rui and Xu Sa. Should be… fine.” Zhuang Mingxu spoke to himself, handed over the map. Xi Shi, who was nearby, took it and passed it to Lu Weiyi.
