Chapter 58: Recruiting university students

Disbelief spread across the faces of the students. They stared at Ember’s group as if they had grown a second head. First, Ember slaps one of them; now they are offering them a place in their supposed base. It was a level of insanity that they had never witnessed before.

Ivan gave a theatrical sigh. He eyed the students who stood there as if they were statues. The look he gave made it seem he was thinking, We’re going to be here forever. I might as well get comfortable. He strode over to a nearby table, took the chairs, and placed them opposite the students.

Alex and Marcus followed suit. They brought chairs for Adrienne and Sarah, then went back to collect ones for Aiden and Ember before collecting chairs for themselves. Their movements were leisurely, as if they had all the time in the world.

Aiden and Ember sat down, calm and composed. The seven of them sat down, forming a semicircle in front of the students.

The redhead, who was rubbing her cheek, her hostility still evident, looked at the seven people and scoffed. “You’re insane. Why would we want to join you after what you did?”

“Have you seent he world outside this library?” Aiden asked. The quiet authority in his voice made others notice him. He didn’t raise his voice. It was calm and matter-of-fact. “If you have, you would understand why it makes sense to join us.”

Some students flinched; their eyes travelled to the dust-covered windows. They were probably remembering the earthquake that happened not long ago. That earthquake seemed to scare away everything.

Ember thought about the earthquake herself. She also thought about a few other things. They hadn’t seen any zombies or plants, and besides the dogs from their first night, the only thing they had encountered was human foot traffic.

It was both calming and unsettling at the same time. Because they haven’t seen any law enforcement trying to help. They have seen anyone being sent out to help regular citizens. It shows that there must be something else happening that they aren’t aware of. Something that could incapacitate the government.

“That’s why you should join us,” Aiden continued, his gaze sweeping the crowd. “The old world is gone, we’re offering you a new one.”

He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “We have a base at Mount Pleasure. It has power, water, food, and walls to keep the monsters out. But it’s empty. What it needs now is people.”

He paused, allowing the offer to sink in. He took his time mentioning the next part. It would forever be the hardest part for people to believe. “But, there is a catch. The base…the power source…is intimacy. It uses emotional connection. It runs on…sex.”

A stunned silence fell on the students. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing. A base that runs on sex. It wasn’t just laughable, it was unbelievable.

The redhead let out a sharp laugh, “Ridiculous! You’re a bunch of sex-crazed lunatics. What the fuck kind of base runs on sex?”

“I thought it was barbaric too,” a quiet voice said.

All eyes turned to Sarah, who was sitting next to Marcus. She covered her face with her hands and looked away. She was embarrassed.

Ember shot Sarah a sly smile. Sarah felt Ember’s eyes and looked over at her. Sarah’s face turned red, but she didn’t cover her face again.

A young man with dark curly hair stepped forward. He had been hovering near the redhead before Ember slapped her. His arm was placed around the redhead’s shoulders. Now he was standing a step in front of her.

“I-I’m interested,” he said nervously.

The redhead’s head snapped to the young man standing in front of her. “Mario! The fuck is wrong with you? Don’t you see that these people are crazy?” She stepped forward to hold his arm.

“They have a base, Nicole!” Mario shot back, pulling her hand off his arm. “What do we have? Some stale saltines and a library full of books. They have food to eat. Look at them? Do they look like they’re having a hard time?”

The group of students took in the posture of Ember’s group. Even with so many people in front of them, they were relaxed. They commanded the room. Their clothes were clean. Although they hadn’t had a shower yet today, it was obvious that they didn’t lack water.

Compared to them, who were covered in grime with dirty clothes. They smelled like they hadn’t taken a bath in a week, which was true. They conserved their water to use for drinking. And even that was almost done.

There were murmurs of agreement and disapproval at Mario’s words. The group split in two, some siding with Mario and others with Nicole. The debate got heated. Ember’s group watched it happen. They didn’t intervene; they let them do as they pleased.

They watched as some only followed the crowd. Others were trying to carve out a piece of territory for themselves. Some were truly indignant at the proposal Aiden had given. It was entertainment for their group.

Nicole yelled, “You don’t even know if they’re telling the truth, and you’re all fighting!”

That quieted the chaos. Yes, they didn’t know whether they were telling the truth. But as they looked at the group and how nonchalant they were being, they couldn’t help the doubt that crept into their minds.

Ember didn’t pay attention to Nicole. Her eyes looked at Mario, the young man who stepped forward to join first.

“Mario,” she said, her voice even. “Do you really want to join? Are you trying to cause chaos? Or do you just want to argue with your girlfriend?”

Mario looked from Nicole to Ember. The conflict on his face was plain as day. He hesitated but pursed his lips, taking a step towards Ember. “I want to join,” he said. His face became more resolute.

Ember nodded. “Come here.”

As he walked up to her, Ember held out her palm. A silvery light appeared in her palm. It became brighter until it formed a scroll of light.

This wasn’t new to Ember’s group, but it was to the students. They watched the impossible scene happen, and their mouths hung open.

Mario stepped forwards his eyes wide. He looked at the glowing words in front of him.

“Read it. If you decide you want to join, just place your palm on the scroll,” Ember said.

She crossed her legs and waited.

Mario stood in front of the scroll and read it. He realized it was a contract. He helped the community and defend the base, and he would get assistance in return. After he finished reading, he did as he was told. The moment he put his hand on the contract, it dissolved into light and travelled to his chest before fading.

“Let’s go, kid,” Aiden said as he got up.

“Where are we going?” Mario asked.

“To get you cleaned up. You stink,” Ivan replied.

Ember’s group stood up and prepared to walk away. Before they left, Ember turned to the remaining students.

“We leave at midday. You make your choice before that.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep