After returning to his villa inside the North Camp, Bai Zemin ordered some maids to start preparing today's dinner. For his part, he went to the villa's large luxurious bath located on the first floor and plunged into the pool.
"Whew... This is life..." He couldn't help but let out a big sigh of gratification as the warm water touched his body and the bubbles began to massage every fiber of his being.
Although with Bai Zemin's current statistics he could go even a month without sleep so going around 30 hours without sleep did not represent a great challenge to him; it was not the most recommendable thing to do.
When the body did not have at least a few hours of sleep a day, without us even realizing it, the response of our brain was considerably delayed by a margin of several milliseconds and up to several seconds depending on the scale of accumulated fatigue.
In addition, the vision would gradually become more and more blurred, making one's field of vision very difficult.
In the past, a response delay of a few seconds might not be much except in some cases, however, that was no different than seeking suicide in this new world where death was as normal as the air one breathed every day.
A small delay of a tiny fraction of a second meant death in a battle where life was not guaranteed against an enemy of similar or even higher power. Therefore, Bai Zemin always opted to sleep at least three or four hours every day; it was not optimal, but it was good enough to keep his mind considerably in good condition.
Physical exhaustion and mental exhaustion were closely related but at the same time they were completely different after all.
Taking advantage of the calm, pleasant sound of rushing water along with the soft gurgling of warm water bubbles, Bai Zemin fell asleep in the bath once again just like the first night when he took over Kang Rong's faction.
About an hour and a half later, a maid gently knocked on the door outside and called his name respectfully. This naturally awakened Bai Zemin, for even while sleeping he was never sound asleep as it was simply impossible to relax 100%.
In fact, the best rest he had in a long time was when he fell asleep with Lilith hugging him all night long. That was the only night in over a month that he was able to sleep deeply and without fear of anything; it was as if he felt all the worries and burdens that dragged him behind vanishing without a trace.
After getting dressed in some comfortable clothes, Bai Zemin walked to the dining room where several people were already seated around the table piled with delicious hot dishes consisting mainly of different types of meats cooked in different ways, which gave them a more varied and defining flavor.
Nangong Yi, Nangong Lingxin, Evangeline, Shangguan Bing Xue, had been waiting for Bai Zemin out of politeness. It was only after he sat down that they all began to serve themselves, enjoying the delicacies that the maidens with the constantly evolving Cooking skill had prepared for them tonight.
The small children that Evangeline had encountered during her path of survival were currently eating in the kitchen next to Xiang Feng and the maidens.
As they were young children who would soon be entering education once again, education with differences from the past, it was not good for them to be too close to people who practically lived to fight day and night with no real rest. Besides, the things that Bai Zemin and the others talked about were not too pleasant for young children to listen to.
As the dinner progressed almost in total silence except for the dinnerware and chopsticks, Nangong Lingxin suddenly looked at Bai Zemin and asked curiously, "What are you going to do about Luo Ning? That girl had already reached level 13 before we marched north and she is progressing very fast as well. It's probable that she has already reached level 15 if she kept her growth speed steady."
"... Luo Ning..." Bai Zemin frowned slightly and his movements slowed down a bit at Nangong Lingxin's question.
Luo Ning was a rather powerful soul evolver with an active First Order summoning-type skill. The girl often went hunting with different expedition teams and thanks to her Soul Power empowered body that fed and nourished her flesh and blood, her overall stats made her several times stronger than a normal adult although she was only 9 years old.
The girl was incredibly kind and even after killing thousands of zombies she still kept her innocent smile every day, brightening the mood of the battlefield where occasionally one or two soldiers were scratched by the zombies and had to be executed with grief. Everyone cherished her very much and treated her like a dear little sister; no matter whether they were normal soldiers or soul evolvers, everyone seemed to like this small but brave and kind-hearted girl who had saved the lives of many comrades in times of crisis.
Back then, Bai Zemin had not thought too much about it since from his point of view giving power to Luo Ning was a good thing for her, which would increase her chances of survival and a better life in this new world where the law of the jungle reigned no matter where.
However, now that his faction was growing and his ideals were becoming bigger and bigger as time went by, Bai Zemin couldn't help but wonder if what he did back then was really the right thing to do. After all, even though having power was not bad, Luo Ning was only 9 years old.
Bai Zemin believed that the lives of such young children should at least be a little more colorful and without so much blood red. These children were the future of humanity in this new era; they would all have many wars to fight later in their lives, so he wanted to at least let them relax in their early years.
Shangguan Bing Xue put a small piece of roast pork into her mouth gracefully. Every gesture she made while eating was extremely refined and delicate, from the way she moved her chopsticks to how she cut the meat or moved her mouth to taste the food, all of her movements were fluid and brimming with such elegance that people from normal families like the Nangong siblings or Bai Zemin would not be able to imitate. Even Evangeline, who had learned etiquette as it was a requirement to infiltrate into the high society, could not compare to her.
As she tasted her food and felt her Soul Power grow tiny for every bite of First Order meat, Shangguan Bing Xue noticed that Bai Zemin seemed to be in a dilemma about what to do.
As one of the people who had been fighting alongside him and who had helped him devise countless strategies, plans, and laws for the new society they were trying to build, Shangguan Bing Xue was basically one of the people who knew him the best. From a certain point of view it could be said that she knew him even better than his own family since the current Bai Zemin was a world apart from the previous him before the evolution through the Soul Record.
"Why don't you let her decide for herself what to do?" She asked calmly.
"... What do you mean?" he asked as looked at her with mild interest.
Shangguan Bing Xue put her chopsticks down on the table and looked him in the eye before explaining, "If you are worried about making the wrong choice, perhaps it is better to let others choose for themselves. There are many times when choosing what we believe is best for others does not necessarily lead to the most optimal outcome."
Bai Zemin lowered his head slightly and after thinking for a moment realized that what she said was very reasonable. Unconsciously, he had been protecting the little children as they reminded him of his little sister when she was still the age of those kids. However, maybe he was being too selfish in trying to protect them, as perhaps, those children wanted to fight too.
Many children lost their parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, grandparents, grandmothers, and were separated from their families because of the zombies and mutated beasts that killed everything in their path regardless of gender or age. Luo Ning was one of these children; except for her older blood brother, the girl had lost everything even though she always had a positive attitude and a kind, pure smile on her face.
Children were also human beings with desires of their own. It was only natural that many of them were filled with deep hatred towards these beings who took away their happiness and the warmth of their families at such a young age.
Ironically, hatred was one of the most powerful sources of fast growth. Perhaps, those children who were filled with repressed hatred inside desired revenge. Many of them would probably be more than willing to risk their lives for the good of killing at least a single wild beast for each lost family member.
Bai Zemin sighed in his heart and looked at Shangguan Bing Xue before nodding, "You're probably right... Let's let Luo Ning herself decide what to do."
Luo Ning was the only child who had gone deep into the battlefield. She had not only seen a lot of blood but her own hands were stained with the blood of countless enemies that blocked her path and her allies' paths. Therefore, she had the right to choose whether she wished to continue living her current lifestyle or begin a peaceful life hidden behind the protection of those who would continue to fight ceaselessly until the end of their lives or until the enemies of humanity finally fell defeated.
"However, those who have not yet evolved will have to attend school independently.... But at least, we will take them to the battlefield once... So that they will see death as close as they have ever seen it. They will then be able to decide if they wish to start fighting right away or continue to live safe lives behind defensive lines." He culminated there.
This was probably the best option.
Those who had already experienced the taste of blood and knew the feeling of killing enemies could decide whether to study or continue living their lives the way they were doing so far. As for those who were still relatively innocent and without blood on their hands, they would be given the chance to choose.
"I think that's the right thing to do." Shangguan Bing Xue smiled slightly and nodded towards him.
Nangong Yi was briefly stunned for two or three seconds before secretly looking at Bai Zemin with a raised eyebrow.
Nangong Lingxin looked at Shangguan Bing Xue and Bai Zemin with suspicious eyes filled with doubt. Even a fool would realize that the indifference of the usually cold Shangguan Bing Xue was considerably softer and warmer than in the past.
As for Evangeline, she was quietly listening to the conversation, and when the topic finally concluded she seemed to agree with what Bai Zemin finished deciding, so she returned her focus to the food in front of her.
Bai Zemin smiled slightly and was about to say that it was all thanks to what she had said to him, but he suddenly remembered the advice Lilith had given him the night before so he decided to swallow his words and let that small smile be his answer to her.
As for how Shangguan Bing Xue took it, he didn't know. However, Bai Zemin thought that Lilith was right and he should be more careful with his words from now on to avoid any unnecessary confusions or misunderstandings.
In fact, perhaps, if he had been more careful, Chen He would not feel so jealous of his apparent closeness with the woman he had loved for years.
So be it then. Bai Zemin thought silently as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the First Order's evolved meat melting inside his mouth.
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Thanks a lot to all those who use their Golden Tickets to vote for BW <3