"You are the leader of these five thousand people. Eating so little is not appropriate. Are you in a bad mood?" Chu Chaoyan was very dissatisfied with Shen Feng's current appetite. Shen Feng usually ate a lot, but now he had only eaten half a bowl of rice before putting down his chopsticks, which was very unusual.
Shen Feng sighed and said in a deep voice while sitting at the table, "I'm not in a bad mood, but I really can't eat. When I think about the current chaotic state of society and the crises we might face in the future, my heart becomes extremely heavy. I keep asking myself, how can I eat peacefully when the people are suffering?"
Shen Feng's exclamation instantly elevated his image. Chu Chaoyan looked at Shen Feng in surprise. Such a serious statement seemed out of place coming from Shen Feng. But now, Shen Feng was worrying about the country and the people. Was this too abnormal?
In Chu Chaoyan's eyes, Shen Feng was quite selfish at times, but now he was saying such serious words, which didn't seem to fit his persona. Had she misheard? Or was she dreaming?
"Uh, I'm not saying it's wrong for you to think about these things, but you should still eat a little. You are a fourth-tier ability user, and you need a lot of energy every day," Chu Chaoyan quickly persuaded.
"No, I really don't want to eat. Don't mind me. As long as I think about how many people are living precariously, I can't eat," Shen Feng continued in a heavy tone.
Chu Chaoyan pursed her lips and did not continue to persuade. Instead, she wrote in her notebook: "The complexity of humans is difficult to explain. Take Shen Feng, for example. I always thought he was selfish and self-serving, but today I discovered that Shen Feng is also a person with a strong sense of social responsibility!"
Meanwhile, Lu Xian also put down his chopsticks, his mood low. He said in a deep voice, "I can't eat. When I think about our future life, I feel nothing but darkness. This is a path where no light can be seen, and each of us can only run on this path!"
"Splash," the chopsticks Lu Xian had just put down were immediately taken away. The soldier responsible for washing the dishes said coldly, "Who cares about your thoughts? If you don't want to eat, then don't."
At this moment, Lu Xian looked at the empty table with helplessness. Even if he wanted to continue eating, he couldn't. He could only say that there were indeed differences between people. Shen Feng had a gentle girl coaxing him to eat, but on his side, there wasn't even a person to offer a word of comfort. This was the difference!
"Alas, life is full of surprises!" Lu Xian sighed, but when he thought about having seafood in the evening, he was filled with hope. Not eating now was for the sake of eating better food later.
In fact, Shen Feng was gambling. He was gambling that there would be delicious food at the gathering. After all, what kind of gathering would it be without snacks? If he lost the bet, he would just go hungry for a meal, but if he won, he would have a good meal tonight.
Finally, in the evening, Yi Xingzhong found Shen Feng and explained the situation.
Shen Feng immediately nodded and set off with Lu Xian. As for the others, Shen Feng did not notify them, only asking Yang Chang to pay attention to maintaining order in the camp.
The gathering was held in a large hall. Only evolved individuals and ability users were present at this meeting; ordinary people did not have the qualification to attend. In the center of the hall, there was a mountain-like pile of crabs. These were mutated crabs, with each ordinary crab being seventy to eighty centimeters long. The crabs in the center of the hall, dozens of them piled up, looked like a small mountain.
In addition, a group of evolved individuals in white robes were grilling crabs. Besides that, there were many tables and chairs in the hall. These tables and chairs were arranged in two rows, and at the end, there was an empty table. It was clear that the table at the very front was reserved for the host.
Seeing this scene, Shen Feng knew he had gambled correctly. He smiled at Lu Xian and said, "Now you can change your taste. Tonight, there's grilled seafood. Don't talk about tonight's matters to outsiders."
When Lu Xian heard this, his first reaction was not ecstasy, but a sense of unease. He realized that the atmosphere here was not right. It seemed like this was not a simple gathering, but a banquet of conspiracy. If handled improperly, wouldn't a fight break out on the spot?
Therefore, Lu Xian quietly used his ability and discovered that everyone present was not an ordinary person. The weakest among them were evolved individuals, and there were quite a few third-tier evolved individuals.
"City Lord, something seems wrong here. What kind of gathering is this?" Lu Xian asked nervously. He had thought that following the City Lord to have a good meal would be a pleasant experience, but the reality was completely different. This place was fraught with danger.
Shen Feng was not surprised by Lu Xian's reaction and comforted him, "Since you're here, make the best of it. Don't be so tense. Eat the barbecue. As for safety, you sit next to me. If there's any danger, I'll use the Wind King Barrier to ensure you're safe!"
However, Lu Xian was still uneasy. While eating barbecue, he kept looking around, guarding against any potential danger. He was constantly using his ability, not daring to relax at all. Every move of the people around him was imprinted in his mind.
Shen Feng casually found a table and sat down, then began to observe his surroundings. He was so ostentatious because he possessed enough information. The people present were at most third-tier ability users, and there couldn't be any fourth-tier ability users. Due to the evolution barrier, these people could not break through to the fourth tier without an evolution foundation.
Even among ability users of the same level, Shen Feng's speed was far beyond that of ordinary people. If he discovered danger, and wanted to escape, no one could stop him. Shen Feng believed that the other party knew this as well.
After observing his surroundings, Lu Xian whispered to Shen Feng, "City Lord, there are three third-tier evolved individuals here. The rest are over thirty second-tier evolved individuals, and the remaining are first-tier evolved individuals. I can determine some of their strengths by the heat they emit."
Shen Feng nodded and said, "Those three third-tier individuals should all be ability users. Tell me where they are. The gathering of so many civilian experts must be orchestrated by someone in secret. It's very likely one of these three!"
Lu Xian first pointed to a man sitting in a corner. He was a burly man, about 1.8 meters tall, appearing to be middle-aged, but his muscles were firm and he looked formidable.
"This guy, I've seen him on the underground website. His ability is to control carbon elements, and his strength is not simple," Shen Feng immediately recognized him. This person had once posted on the underground website, claiming he single-handedly killed a mutated tiger without any injuries.
Lu Xian then pointed to a masked person in a cloak at another table and whispered, "City Lord, that woman over there is also a third-tier evolved individual. I don't know if she has an ability, but the heat she emits is similar to the other two."
Shen Feng became curious at this point. Since the other party was wearing a cloak and a mask, with no part of her body exposed to the outside, how did Lu Xian know she was a woman?
"How do you know she's a woman? Does your ability allow you to see through things?" Shen Feng asked.
Lu Xian looked around and found that no one was secretly observing him. Then he whispered, "My heat perception ability can detect all heat sources around me. The degree of thermal radiation is different, and what I see in my brain is also different. Although that person is wearing a loose cloak, the two lumps of fat on her chest are constantly emitting heat. How could I not know?"
"Wow, I didn't expect your ability could also determine gender. That's truly remarkable," Shen Feng was greatly surprised. He had thought Lu Xian's ability was only useful for scouting, but he didn't expect it to play such an unexpected role in some peculiar matters.
Finally, Lu Xian pointed to a young man standing at the entrance of the hall and said, "Lastly, it's that guy over there. He emits the most heat, almost catching up to you, City Lord, but clearly not as much as you."
At this moment, the young man standing at the entrance was directing his subordinates in white to greet guests. His subordinates in white were all disciplined and dared not disobey the young man's orders.
Shen Feng touched his chin, feeling the stubble growing on it, and murmured, "He doesn't look as young as me, and his heat is almost catching up to me, which means he has encountered the evolution barrier. No matter how much mutated beast meat he eats, he can't achieve further evolution!"
After observing for a long time, Shen Feng was certain that tonight's event was not simple, but he didn't care. Escaping wouldn't be difficult. If there was real danger, he would just leave. However, he wondered why so many civilian experts had gathered together as if they had made an appointment.
Finally, after everyone had arrived, the young man gave a few instructions, and the people in white slowly closed the doors of the hall. At this moment, everyone's attention was drawn to the leader of the people in white. Under the escort of numerous people in white, he slowly walked to the table at the very front and sat down. At this moment, everyone understood that the other party was about to discuss serious matters.
The young man first introduced himself. He said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Everyone, we are all strangers to each other. How about this, I'll start by introducing myself, and then everyone will introduce themselves in order. After that, I will share some important news."
"My name is Wang Aoye. You can call me Old Wang or Little Wang, I don't mind. I'm from Yangcheng. In fact, the reason everyone has gathered here today is because I sent out the news," the young man said slowly.
Shen Feng frowned and asked, "What news? How come I didn't know?"
Upon hearing Shen Feng's question, Wang Aoye quickly replied, "Mr. Shen Feng must not have entered my website recently, so you didn't see the message I sent you. I forgot to tell you, I am the founder of the underground website, and I sent messages to everyone present."
Shen Feng immediately took out his phone to check. Upon entering the underground website, he found that a message had indeed been sent to him, but he had been traveling recently and hadn't seen it. In that case, it was indeed a coincidence.
Wang Aoye continued, "Since that's the case, why doesn't Mr. Shen Feng introduce himself? Although many people saw the live broadcast more than a month ago, some people still don't know you."
Shen Feng did not shy away. He stood up and said, "I am Shen Feng, from Rongcheng. Currently, I am in Yuzhou."
Lu Xian also stood up and briefly introduced himself. The rest of the people introduced themselves one after another. Most of them were from the southeastern region. But thinking about it, it made sense. The civilian forces in the north were already defending Yanjing, and the remaining people were support forces from the south, all gathered in Lianyungang within a day, awaiting today's meeting.
When it was the turn of the middle-aged man with carbon element ability, he stood up and said, "I am Li Xiangkang, from Jinling."
Finally, the mysterious woman in the cloak stood up and said in a hoarse voice, "Mu Ying, from Fuzhou."
After everyone had finished introducing themselves, Wang Aoye stood up, pointed to the pile of mutated crabs in the hall, and smiled, "These are mutated crabs I caught at sea today. This is a good thing. For those who want to evolve, the meat of these crabs is the most effective. Please eat to your heart's content."
At this moment, Li Xiangkang could not help but stand up and ask directly, "Just say what you want to say. Why did you go to such lengths to find us? If it's about the so-called alliance of civilian forces, then forget it. We are all sensible people, and we know that such a thing is impossible. Who would easily trust others?"
Wang Aoye nodded and said seriously, "Indeed, the alliance of forces is just a pretense. My goal is to facilitate the circulation of advantageous items in everyone's hands. To put it simply, we cannot compete with the people above for resources, so we can only find our own ways. And this way, that is the normal circulation of goods!"
Lu Xian listened to these words and felt confused. He thought Wang Aoye had gathered so many people with great effort for some grand conspiracy, like establishing a new organization, but now it seemed like he just wanted to do business. Was it too simple?
However, Shen Feng sighed softly, "It really is a banquet of conspiracy. I shouldn't have come."
Lu Xian, not understanding, quickly looked at the other people in the hall, only to find that everyone else was silent. For a moment, the hall became exceptionally quiet. Many were lost in thought, and many were bewildered, like Lu Xian, who was completely confused. These people also felt that the atmosphere was a bit off.
"City Lord, what are they talking about?" Lu Xian asked, finding that everyone seemed to be speaking in riddles.