New Talent Rewards! The Grand Prize Returns!

"Only one day left, there's some preparation to be done."

Mike took a deep breath and grabbed the military communications device on the desk to contact the Jinling Command Center. "Send over the population models, military data, and resource information for both Jinling and Xinchang right away. It needs to be fast!"

After giving the order, he looked up at Lin Yue, who was standing guard by the door. "Lin Yue! Has the list of vassals from the last batch been finalized?"

"It's ready."

Lin Yue nodded, as she now took on additional secretarial duties alongside her role as Mike's personal bodyguard, recording important management data for him.

"The last batch of qualifying vassals includes 552 people, and the Population Resource Department plans to finalize the vassal arrangements tomorrow," she continued. "Among them, 226 will be granted the treatment for shelter replacement. Currently, the vassal count in Jinling has surpassed 8,000, and the vassal registration in Xinchang is expected to start next month."

"By the end of next month, we aim to cover 80% of the population in both cities with vassal contracts."

Lin Yue's memory had significantly improved ever since her promotion, and she recalled the details clearly.

"Eight thousand isn't enough... The pace is too slow."

Mike glanced at his shelter interface. The "Vassal Paradise" talent was still rated S-level. Since the introduction of the vassal talent, Mike had never forced it as a mandatory measure. Instead, he used it as a welfare program, allowing the people in Jinling to voluntarily choose whether to pledge themselves to his cause.

Only those who pledged allegiance could enjoy priority access to scarce resources, hold important positions, and have more rights to develop post-apocalyptic resources. For non-vassals, Mike would only ensure their basic survival, treating them as the general populace, nurturing them but not elevating them to significant roles.

This idea had been suggested by Jiang Xiaoci early on: either submit to management or embrace freedom. No one could have both.

Under the backdrop of disaster relief, critical resources must be prioritized for those who were outstanding and willing to stand on the front lines of the fight.

Although this method slowed the vassal signing process, Mike knew it had three key benefits:

It helped reduce public resentment by ensuring real freedom of choice, giving everyone the option to either become a hero or remain a protected civilian.It raised the standards for vassals, prioritizing those with special skills and firm beliefs, thus discouraging the lazy attitude of freeloading off the system.It reduced Mike's pressure of having to sign contracts with everyone, as he only had limited time and resources. If the entire population of two cities had to sign, even if he worked tirelessly for a month, it would be impossible to complete.

Considering the timing of acquiring the vassal talent, which coincided with the rapid expansion of his forces, Mike knew this was the most chaotic time, and Jiang Xiaoci, with her cautious nature, would not allow unknown individuals to invade his ranks.

"Commander, I actually think it's not too slow."

Lin Yue had been instructed by Jiang Xiaoci to offer her thoughts, and as a core member, she had to voice her opinions to assist Mike in making more accurate assessments.

"If we only focus on increasing the number of vassals, it's easy to let the wrong kind of people into the rescue teams. The collective atmosphere is important, we can't let bad attitudes or ideas harm it," she added.

Lin Yue agreed with Jiang Xiaoci's approach: "Haste makes waste, the army thrives on quality, not quantity."

"I understand, but with the third round of the apocalypse about to begin, we still don't have enough people."

Mike's expression grew serious as he lightly tapped his fingers on the desk, lost in thought. Somewhere along the way, he had started adopting some of Jiang Xiaoci's little habits.

"The 8,000 people we've signed are all in key departments in Jinling. They're truly exceptional, and because of them, my management workload has decreased significantly," Mike continued, his brow furrowing. "But 8,000 is still too few. Xinchang's administration is still severely understaffed. I can't trust others yet—only those who have pledged can be entrusted with important responsibilities."

Mike knew that he didn't have time for internal corruption or inefficiency. From the start, he needed people he could control—those whose lives and livelihoods were tied directly to his own. That way, they would follow orders and work hard. Without strong restraint, who would truly resist the apocalypse?

"In this special time, we need special policies," Mike decided. "Lower the vassal selection threshold by half. Tomorrow, we need at least 3,000 people to be in my camp, preparing for the contract signing."

"Also, have the Population Resource Department draft a list of 3,000 people to be transferred from Jinling's departments and sent to Xinchang, ready for relief operations there."

"Yes, Commander."

Lin Yue nodded and quickly went off to relay Mike's orders.

As she left, Mike's fax machine beeped, and important documents began to arrive.

Mike quickly scanned them as they came in.

"Jinling's military composition: 10,000 in the Tech Corps, 10,000 in the Rescue Squad."

"Xinchang's military composition: 10,000 in the Tech Corps, 5,000 Defenders, and 3,800 in the Little White Bear Special Operations Team."

"The restructuring of Xinchang's armed forces is still underway, with 35,125 combat-ready soldiers after the dissolution of the civilian forces."

Mike immediately assessed the military arrangements. Originally, he had planned to integrate the 30,000 troops in Xinchang into his new military structure in stages. However, with no time left, Mike knew he had to make swift adjustments and deploy them for the third round of the apocalypse in just two days.

"Send 20,000 to Jinling, leave 15,000 in Xinchang under Chen Dafeng's temporary command, with oversight from the Xinchang Command Center."

Mike made quick decisions, then shifted his focus to the next set of data.

"Population census will take place tomorrow... there's no time for that right now. Cancel it for now!"

"Jinling's basic survival supplies are sufficient, with enough resources to last 27 days in a no-production state. Xinchang is in a much worse position—if production stops, it can only sustain for 3 days."

Mike furrowed his brows and made a firm decision. "Increase logistics support from Jinling to Xinchang. All available forces in Jinling will be used for resource transport! The deadline is 10 PM tomorrow. Ship as much as possible!"

The safest course of action would have been to slow down the aid to Xinchang, letting the third round of the apocalypse stabilize first. But Mike couldn't bring himself to do it.

The people of Xinchang were still people. If resource shipments stopped now, the fragile peace they had started to rebuild would collapse, plunging Xinchang back into chaos.

And since most of the armed factions had already been dismantled and integrated into his forces, any new chaos in Xinchang would lack local control, leading to even greater casualties.

The core idea of disaster relief: Save people.

If there are people, there's hope. Everything else doesn't matter.

Mike spent the entire morning adjusting policies between the two cities in preparation for the third round of the apocalypse. This included military reallocations, resource distribution, team division, and the reshuffling of key personnel's roles.

By noon, Lin Yue reminded him that something important had been overlooked.

"Damn! I forgot to have breakfast!"

He cursed under his breath.

"Over 8,000 people are following their commander while hungry!"

Mike chuckled, but at least no one was surprised. Both cities had been feeling the pressure of Mike's hard work, and the occasional missed meal was just part of the deal.

Lin Yue prepared lunch, and Mike ate quickly, all while continuing to monitor the critical matters in both cities.

Meanwhile, the Population Resource Department, acting on his orders, worked efficiently. By the time Lin Yue returned, she brought with her the latest list of 3,000 vassals and preliminary information from the shelters.

Mike quickly reviewed the data while eating, starting the process of accepting the new arrivals into the shelter system.

As 3,000 new residents entered the shelter, Mike noticed a new prompt flashing on his watch.

A new daily reward had arrived!

Mike briefly glanced at it, assuming it was another standard A-rank reward, but then froze.

"Wait a minute—was that an S?"

He quickly reopened the prompt, his eyes lighting up as he read the message.

"It's an S-rank grand prize!"

"I knew luck couldn't stay away forever!"