Chapter 157: Restless Survivors

At this point, he suddenly noticed that Old Huang, the one who loved posting "spicy pictures," was not sitting here...
This made Colin frown involuntarily.
"It's fine, he's already started resuming dynamite production and is too busy to come over..." a survivor answered.
"Ah, alright then. Tell him to talk less and work more when he has free time. I used to see him posting adult pictures every single night..."
At the mention of this, Colin couldn't help rubbing his forehead. The system didn't have an image-sending function...
Yet their chief explosive scientist had actually figured out a way to arrange text characters into pixelated pictures, persistently sending adult content every night for the benefit of the broad masses of survivors...
"Got it, I'll make sure to supervise Old Huang and squeeze out his remaining value next time..." Roger said.
"No need to go quite that far..."
This brief digression was quickly passed over.
From dynamite and food to territory expansion and the planning of first- and second-tier ships...
Listening to all this made Roger's head ache all over...
The treasury was empty!
He couldn't help imitating Colin by massaging his own temples, feeling a deep sense of fatigue from the bottom of his heart.
The things Colin proposed were all general directions, and the specific details needed to be executed by them. One could only imagine how exhausting that was.
Although Colin could handle these matters himself and do an equally good job with the assistance of his "prompts,"
that was obviously impossible.
More numerous and severe issues required his personal attention; he could not simply be chained to home base just to manage these administrative tasks.
Roger and the others were well aware of this.
Fortunately, the trait of the servants was absolute loyalty; they would neither pick and choose nor complain, let alone threaten to rebel over poor treatment.
No matter how many people there were, they wouldn't be particularly difficult to manage.
As for the more troublesome survivors, numbering around a hundred in total, they weren't overwhelmingly hard to control either...
Still, managing all of this almost single-handedly consumed a vast amount of mental and physical energy. Just thinking about it made Roger feel bone-deep fatigue.
However, at that moment, an "offhand" remark from Colin suddenly filled Roger with boundless motivation.
After outlining the general direction, Colin crossed his right leg over his left, interlaced his fingers, rested his chin on his hands, and said calmly:
"Speaking of which, as subsequent external rescue, exploration, and other operations unfold, our headcount will undoubtedly grow larger and larger. I also believe those people will be able to hold on until that moment comes...
"Thus, it becomes increasingly necessary to establish a new regime so that everything operates with greater efficiency and order...
"Better able to support our successive external actions and future planning..."
Speaking up to this point, Colin glanced sideways at Roger, and upon hearing those words, the latter almost stood right up.
Though Roger ultimately restrained himself, the fact that his buttocks barely touched the sofa and his tense posture revealed his current state.
Excitement!
To become one of the founders of a nascent regime...... one of them!
Could there be anything more thrilling than this?
Nothing!
Although he knew this was essentially drawing a grand blueprint to raise morale, for someone who loved and craved power and status...
This blueprint smelled wonderful!
Moreover, if anyone currently had the capability to unite humanity once again, without a doubt, it was the man right before his eyes.
Whether it was prestige, strength, or potential, this man possessed them all in full measure, which was why Roger felt so exhilarated when Colin brought up the idea of a new regime.
At this moment, the usually composed Roger had a flushed face, excitedly patted his chest, and gave his guarantee:
"Don, don't worry, just leave these trivial details to me to handle..."
If he exerted himself now, he would become a veritable "pillar of the state" in the future, holding exceptionally high status. Even if someone more capable than him appeared later, he wouldn't be easily discarded!
Besides, some things couldn't simply be done just by being more capable.
[You realize that he seems to have become even more respectful and loyal to you...]
How easy he is to fool; just a few casual words and he's all fired up, even though the new regime doesn't even have a shadow of a shape yet... Colin muttered inwardly.
All of this information came from the "prompts," and by tossing out a few remarks based on them, he had accurately struck the other man's sensitive spot.
"We'll discuss the relevant aspects later..."
"Alright, alright."
Roger's breathing grew slightly heavier. However, the surge of excitement kept his brain operating at high speed as he seemed to recall something else, prompting him to say, "There is one more matter... regarding 'skills'..."
"'Skills'?"
Colin was slightly stunned, but quickly recalled the context. As a reward for surviving the "Nightmare," the "System" had bled heavily and issued a "random skill extraction qualification" to all survivors...
As one of the survivors, he had received them too, and more than just one...
He just hadn't found the time to use them yet.
As for whether this reward was genuinely issued by the "System" or if it had scavenged some quest reward from somewhere and stuffed a piece of black bread into it while claiming it as its own, that remained a question mark.
"What about them?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Colin roughly guessed what was going on...
Having survived such a terrifying disaster and subsequently acquiring extraordinary power, their psychology had shifted...
To put it bluntly, their egos had inflated and they were becoming hard to manage.
Sure enough, just as Colin had anticipated, Roger said:
"Ninety percent of the vast majority of people are actually fine. After all, having just been through a disaster, they are currently in a period of recuperation...
"However, there are still two or three individuals who are a bit troublesome. Their skills are relatively dangerous, and there seem to be some issues with them...
"Of course, the most important thing is that they have not taken the oath to you..."
Compared to the former, the latter was what truly worried Roger. Only after taking an oath over that shield would people be prevented from "subjectively" doing harm to Colin.
This also included covertly "hurting each other"...
"Relatively dangerous skills?"
Colin leaned back against his chair, his curiosity piqued, "What kind are they?"
"Those three survivors respectively acquired 'Aberration Transformation,' 'Dream Entering,' and 'Psychological Suggestion'..."
"'Aberration Transformation'?"
Colin sat right back up, frowning slightly. That was not a pleasant-sounding name at all; it was just one character away from being an Aberrant...
And as for the last two...
At this moment, Roger considered "Psychological Suggestion" to be the most troublesome one. Collecting his thoughts, he explained:
"'Aberration Transformation' is basically a skill that provides an overall enhancement, but its name feels a bit off...
"The survivor with 'Dream Entering' had no issues initially, but after she tried using 'Dream Entering' to deal with an elite Aberrant, something seemed to go wrong with her—she has become extremely prone to outbursts of anger...
"Of course, I feel the most troublesome skill among them is 'Psychological Suggestion.' He is unwilling to join us, yet insists on staying around us. I have a feeling that might lead to some trouble..."
Once the oath was taken, they truly could not subjectively do anything to harm Colin...
However, once subjected to "Psychological Suggestion," that might no longer hold true.
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