Chapter 577: Chapter 564: Farsightedness
After gaining control of the gorge gate, Chen Feng wasn’t without tasks; first and foremost, was the issue of meals.
Exactly!
In the entirety of Huaxia, dining culture has become deeply rooted in everyone’s habits and daily life. Chen Feng has always preferred to tackle problems with a carrot-and-stick approach. Previously, whether it was eliminating Li Hongyi or plotting to ensnare the remaining enemies, it was like wielding a spiked wolf-fang club that, with a light swing, would lead to carnage and gloom.
Now that the gorge gate has been pacified, what Chen Feng needs to do is calm people’s minds and make the survivors live without being so fearful.
In the past few days, what Chen Feng often ate were celebratory banquets.
At the banquets, most attendees were defectors. These fortunate people seized the opportunity when Chen Feng decided to control this place, contributing effort and resources, thus earning considerable accolades.
After taking control, these individuals were rewarded for their merits and granted wealth and power they had once deemed unattainable, making them among the lucky ones whose lives were not disrupted by the riots but rather improved.
The scenario of shared glory led these individuals to naturally become loyal supporters of Chen Feng, as they understood that if Chen Feng were to fall, all they had would vanish, and they might even face retribution.
However, just when these people thought good days were within reach, rules began to be implemented across the gorge gate.
These rules numbered over thirty and included matters such as latrine use, daily cleaning, and house repairs, along with the protection of women, which was also categorized within the regulations.
This isn’t an era of peace, where a comfortable prison can awaken one to their wrongdoing; this is the apocalypse, humanity is twisted, and innumerable monsters abound. For criminals, prisons hold no meaning; compared to a life of indulgence with food and drink, they would quickly pay for their crimes.
In the past gorge gate, power made some people become arrogant. They were close aides to the leaders, inherently possessing strong abilities. Passing by refugee camps, if they saw a woman with some charm, they would naturally use their strength to forcibly take her.
After venting their animalistic desires, they would throw some stale bread, pitiful food that was payment for the woman’s sold body.
This scenario wasn’t confined to the gorge gate; in most factions, women as the weaker party lived similarly.
This led to the girls in refugee camps, under the torment of life and spirit, aging rapidly, each face showing traces of decay, like elderly women nearing death; in their blooming ages, they held no expectations for life.
Lying on dirty beds, letting men defile their bodies to obtain scanty food, living without a future, perhaps one day they won’t get up from a flu, or meet some cruel men who would harm them, but ultimately, their fate holds only one outcome — death.
It’s not the girls who are decayed; it’s the land beneath their feet that is rotten. Dignity? In the face of life, it is worth nothing!
Life continued as such, but just when most awaited death, the announcement of new decrees sparked widespread discussion.
Men cannot force women into wrongful acts without consent; violators, awakened or not, would face punishment, and those causing significant harm may even face execution!
Though women were spared from harm, the source of food became the most pressing problem. Just as panic arose among some, the city’s latest food distribution directive quietly changed too.
Each person daily now received three pieces of meat frozen instead of one. Though these foods tasted poor, they could fill the belly, freeing people from previous hunger.
The insect meat factory continued operating.
Chen Feng wasn’t an angry youth who, due to the main ingredient being an unspeakable bug, would feel a compulsion to rid it for the people. At this time, agriculture within the gorge gate wasn’t developed; once the insect meat factory was destroyed, relying on the city’s grain could provide calm months, but what happens when grain runs out? Disaster would erupt from the shadows, and Chen Feng’s efforts would come to an abrupt end amidst the chaos.
Insect meat frozen was just a necessity for the time being. This ingredient, albeit convenient and efficient, allows rapid reproduction after killing a batch.
Furthermore, despite the cockroach’s ugly appearance, it’s rich in protein, providing crucial nutrients required by the human body. However, they are bugs; being bugs signifies living in moist and dirty environments, not knowing what diseases they may harbor. It’s akin to adding arsenic to a bird’s nest; despite nutritional value, till consumed often, it wears down the body.
Perhaps years won’t show apparent effects, but decades later, once these pathogens settle, they would one day erupt.
Most critically, those cockroaches have undergone mutations due to energy radiation; their DNA has already changed, and following consumption, human genes could undergo mutations. Thus, in future births, the likelihood of babies clad in black shells with antennae emerges.
Alarming words?
Maybe!
But this is the apocalypse, with limitless possibilities. Like ancient people who, even spending a lifetime, couldn’t fathom modern visions of seeing each other from afar, traveling hundreds of miles in hours, or water reaching every household easily?
Chen Feng could not ascertain whether his speculations were correct. But one day, as an entity fundamentally human, even while absorbing Believers, he hopes to meet humans in their natural form rather than bizarre cockroach monsters, praying on their knees before him.
By then, Chen Feng truly fears losing restraint and ending these people’s lives himself; thus, insect meat frozen is merely a substitute. Normal human food should ultimately comprise ordinary grains.
In addition, ocean fishing should become one of the primary food sources. In the past, Li Hongyi occupied the port, monopolizing key food exits. But now, as old powers are dismantled, all previous boundaries vanish, suggesting the port will open to the entire gorge gate.
At that time, as countless professionals board vessels confronting the ocean, they will uncover the diverse marine organisms, realizing what truly constitutes inexhaustible resources!
