Within Ye Ningze's base, Liu Qichao and Li Mingbo had returned. Both individuals had reaped significant benefits from the recent crisis.
For instance, they had brought more people under Ye Ningze's command, each possessing their own unique skills. Ye Ningze believed that with proper guidance, these individuals would become a formidable force in his hands.
Looking at the assembled group, Ye Ningze fell into deep contemplation. He knew that the number of people joining them would only continue to grow.
However, these newcomers would be a mixed bag, with some possessing unsavory characters. This meant Ye Ningze would need to diligently assess their true nature.
This wasn't to say Ye Ningze considered himself a paragon of virtue, but rather that certain actions were simply necessary.
Ye Ningze sought individuals who could genuinely get things done, not those who had been corrupted by the apocalypse and found pleasure in harming others.
Some even used the apocalypse as an excuse to commit acts of murder and other heinous deeds that defied heaven and angered humanity.
Yet, in their daily lives, they would blend in seamlessly with ordinary people, only revealing their true selves at critical moments.
Ye Ningze observed the twenty-odd individuals before him, sensing that a few of them subtly averted his gaze.
These individuals either had something to hide or were spies sent by other factions.
However, Ye Ningze was too preoccupied to deal with them. He understood that eliminating them would only lead to more spies being sent his way.
It was better to keep them close. Moreover, Ye Ningze intended to use them to subtly disseminate false information to those behind them.
Who could have imagined that Ye Ningze would plan to use these very individuals to relay misinformation to his adversaries?
Sometimes, things were as simple as this. Since the other party could place eyes on him, he could also utilize these eyes to achieve many objectives.
This was akin to the saying, "When the old man lost his horse, who knew if it was a blessing or a curse."
After the twenty individuals departed, Ye Ningze turned to Liu Qichao and Li Mingbo and said:
"There are some individuals I need you to monitor separately."
Ye Ningze then provided them with a long list of names. To his surprise, Liu Qichao smiled slightly and replied to Ye Ningze:
"Sir, these individuals have already been brought under control. They are the eyes placed by others within our midst, and I would never allow them to move freely among us and pass our information to others."
To Ye Ningze's astonishment, Liu Qichao had already made all the necessary arrangements. If that was the case, what else did he have to worry about?
Yet, Ye Ningze felt a nagging sense that something was amiss, though he couldn't quite pinpoint it. Regardless, his organization was flourishing, and the entire Sun Base would soon be within his grasp.
The major families, while appearing harmonious, were in reality consumed by mutual suspicion. Their distrust had reached a point where it felt like an explosion was imminent.
If this was indeed the situation, Ye Ningze could exploit their mutual suspicion and internal conflicts to sow discord among them.
Therefore, Ye Ningze's next objective was to fully bring Su Xiangyang into his fold.
In truth, Su Xiangyang harbored a long-held ambition: to defeat Song Qinglian, the Grand Elder of the Song family, through his own strength.
Song Qinglian, the Grand Elder of the Song family, had always been a significant obstacle in his mind.
If he could not overcome Song Qinglian, Su Xiangyang believed he would be forever haunted by a profound shadow.
Thus, Su Xiangyang's sole focus had always been on defeating his rival through personal power. He firmly believed that only by conquering Song Qinglian could he elevate his own strength to new heights.
Over the years, he had gone to great lengths, even resorting to unscrupulous methods, to achieve this very goal.
However, in the end, it had all been in vain. Su Xiangyang had questioned himself repeatedly as to why he had ended up in this state, but he never found an answer.
Until one day, he suddenly considered a possibility: that he had never truly been defeated before.
But upon encountering the Song family's ancient formidable figure, Song Qinglian, he suffered his first defeat in life. Therefore, he felt that by crushing Song Qinglian, he could achieve another significant breakthrough.
Consequently, for years, Su Xiangyang had dedicated himself almost exclusively to pursuing the pinnacle of martial arts and surpassing the formidable Song Qinglian.
Even his previous dealings with Ye Ningze were aimed at continuously improving his strength. Yet, he never anticipated that Ye Ningze's progress would be so much faster than his own.
Now, Ye Ningze's strength was on par with his own, a fact Su Xiangyang found utterly perplexing.
It defied all logic, and Su Xiangyang understood that to gain immense power, one must first make immense sacrifices.
Ye Ningze, however, seemed to have acquired this formidable power without any apparent cost. Thus, Su Xiangyang knew that Ye Ningze must possess other secrets.
Indeed, after this incident, Su Xiangyang sought out Ye Ningze, hoping to uncover the secrets he held.
Meanwhile, Ye Ningze sat in his base, with his legs crossed, awaiting Su Xiangyang's arrival.
Upon reaching Ye Ningze, Su Xiangyang addressed him:
"You knew I was coming, didn't you? That's why you're so confident. But I'm curious, how did you know?"
Ye Ningze simply smiled faintly and replied to Su Xiangyang:
"The reason is simple. You would never pass up such a golden opportunity. After this incident, both the Su family and you will surpass those you aspire to."
The reality was precisely as Ye Ningze had stated, for Ye Ningze's emergence had completely disrupted the balance of the Sun Base.
Whoever could win Ye Ningze over to their side would be able to fundamentally alter the dynamics of the Sun Base.
This was something the major families of the Sun Base could clearly see. However, seeing it clearly did not mean they could achieve their desired outcomes.
Some were unable to seize opportunities, others were too proud to concede, and some simply lacked the foresight.
Consequently, the outcome was that some rose to prominence, while others remained mired in stagnation. Some families even vanished from the Sun Base entirely due to their misguided decisions.