The first thing she needed to do, naturally, was to publicize the intelligence.
Detailed information on transformation, Dead-binding, and Live-binding, as well as info regarding the holidays—especially tonight's Halloween.
Mo Shao didn't want Seven Hills City to fall the moment she arrived—if that happened, she’d become just like the Tiger King from RoboWars that Vanguard was always talking about.
“Mo Shao is here, another city is about to fall.”... She really didn't want to be stuck with such a jinx-like label.
Her method for spreading the word was simple: hand out flyers... wait, that was a bit slow. She decided to just plaster them all over the walls.
—In any case, there were no urban management officers around to stop her. Of course, she did it while invisible, as she wasn't keen on drawing unnecessary attention.
By posting them in busy downtown areas where people congregated, the information would quickly spread by word of mouth from ten to a hundred, and then to a thousand.
Naturally, to ensure no one missed out, Mo Shao also set up several recording loudspeakers to broadcast the message on a loop.
...
Next was rapidly boosting the city’s combat power.
Granted, the survivors who managed to flee to Seven Hills City were, at the very least, Honkai energy Dead-binders.
However, not everyone came from the city cluster; there were many others who had converged from nearby areas, much like the school group.
Of course, their numbers weren't as large as the school's contingent, since they lacked Mo Shao's guidance and clear objectives.
Currently, the entire population of Seven Hills City was roughly four thousand people.
Excluding the groups from the school and the original city cluster, there were about a thousand people who had arrived from other directions.
Most of them came from the direction of the volcano, as it was indeed safe enough; the Pokémon were neutral and wouldn't bother anyone as long as they weren't provoked.
Unlike the school group, those people didn't have guns everywhere, so they couldn't cause much trouble even if they wanted to. But speaking of guns...
Although the incident at sea had served as a reminder for her.
—Namely, when a gunman couldn't handle the pressure and attacked before the Steel-toothed Shark even made a move, triggering the subsequent battle.
It had made Mo Shao understand that guns shouldn't be everywhere, but the boost they provided to basic combat power was undeniably fast!
...
In the early stages of the apocalypse, firearms were an incredibly reliable power multiplier. With a gun, the vast majority of monsters could simply be ignored.
Only silicon-based entities like Honkai Beasts, the pure power of Gargantuars, and soul-type monsters still required serious caution.
Well, soul-type monsters weren't anything to be overly afraid of either; as long as the bullets were enchanted with energy, firearms could still deal damage.
It was just that most people weren't familiar with those techniques yet, though the Honkai energy Dead-binders were quite proficient at it.
—After all, the objects they had Dead-bound were pure energy to begin with.
But this wasn't an absolute advantage; such actions would limit their future growth, essentially sacrificing potential for immediate power.
The specifics were a matter for another time. For now, it was time to hand out some guns!
However, since one of her Live-binding slots was currently occupied by her “Vitality Enhancement” ability, she couldn't do it alone.
She had to drag Little Ka along to operate—using the Theme Gacha Machine didn't require one person to bind two things simultaneously.
It only required Law compatibility; once the machines were made compatible with humans, they could naturally be used.
...
After working for a short while, however, Mo Shao changed her mind—she might as well just sell a few of the Theme Gacha Machines.
You never know until you try; in just half an hour, she had produced more guns and ammo than she could use in a lifetime.
After all, she had six Gacha Machines (having added one more after collecting a ten-percent fee). Running them every thirty seconds meant three hundred and sixty rounds in half an hour, causing the firearms to pile up like a mountain.
—So she might as well sell half of them. With so many people in Seven Hills City, there were bound to be some good items around.
Actually, Mo Shao felt that keeping just one would be perfectly sufficient, but to guard against any special needs in the future, she eventually decided to keep three for herself.
And to conduct trade, she naturally had to go to a place dedicated to it—the classic black market.
Well, the reason it was called a black market wasn't because it was illegal; it was primarily because Seven Hills City had yet to establish a true leader.
It was only the fifth day of the apocalypse, after all. These things didn't happen overnight.
Therefore, this black market was simply a place where people spontaneously gathered to trade surplus resources.
The rule was that there were no rules; whoever had the biggest fist was right. Consequently, there were some teams there—collecting protection fees.
A team capable of collecting protection fees this early was naturally powerful and would likely become part of Seven Hills City's future high-level management.
But what did that have to do with Mo Shao and Little Ka?
Given their strength, becoming top officials in Seven Hills would be a breeze if they wanted to—they simply had no interest in it.
This was merely their early-stage resting point. Once they had developed enough, they would head out to explore the world.
...
The two arrived at the black market and found a spot on the edge to start selling. Quality spoke for itself, so the location didn't matter.
Selling was simple: she plopped a Gacha Machine down, grabbed a Sign, wrote down the description and requirements, and stuck it in the ground.
She even put a perimeter of Fences around the area to keep people from crowding right in her face.
At the same time, the two of them started using the machine right there, letting the results speak for themselves to avoid endless questioning.
Moreover, the Theme Gacha Machine made a series of loud, celebratory sounds every time a prize was won, instantly drawing people over.
Soon, many people stopped to watch, and a massive crowd gradually formed, filled with rising murmurs of discussion.
“Unlimited guns, oh my god!”
“Isn't this the gashapon machine from Battle Royale?!”
“Inform the boss, inform the boss! Something big is happening!”
“Wait, this Sign, these Fences, and that red block... aren't these items from Minecraft?”
...People's voices rose and fell, their minds filled with a mix of greed, surprise, and calculation.
Some even expressed concern for them.
“Girl, run! The big teams are coming, you won't be able to keep these,” a bald middle-aged man warned them.
It just went to show that kind people still existed in the apocalypse—especially since it had only been five days since it started.
...
“Hmm...” Mo Shao paused. She had actually forgotten about that—she hadn't traded with anyone in her past life.
...After all, she barely saw anyone else, so how could she trade?
However, she did know a thing or two about demonstrating strength. She just hadn't thought of it because she'd never done business before.
And not just in the apocalypse; even before the end of the world, she had never been the one running a shop.
“Thanks for the warning,” Mo Shao said as a gesture of gratitude. She pulled out her staff and struck it against the ground; an invisible earth wave rippled out, pushing the surrounding crowd back.
—In reality, it was just the conduction of earth energy through the ground.
Then, a dazzling bolt of golden lightning snaked out, a thunderous boom exploding in everyone's ears as a nearby tree was scorched black instantly!
The golden lightning reflected off half of Mo Shao’s helmet, cloaking her in an air of mystery and majesty.
“Does anyone want to get struck by lightning?” Mo Shao asked, looking around. She had added a bit more energy to that strike for the best possible visual effect.
“No, no!” those with ill intentions immediately blurted out in panic, while most others just shook their heads vigorously.
—They were terrified of being hit by mistake.
With that, the chaotic scene was quelled. The people who had originally harbored malicious thoughts suddenly looked as innocent as lambs.
Rate on N.U.
