Chapter 13 Controlling Hearts

Yuan Mu Ye's gaze quickly swept towards the direction from which the crying sound came.

The sound of weeping originated from within the crowd.

It was a woman, emitting a sorrowful cry.

"How are we supposed to live like this? How are we supposed to survive?"

The woman's voice swiftly spread.

Pessimistic emotions are always easily infectious, and several other cries soon followed.

Seeing this, Li Pangpang and Yuan Mu Ye immediately shut their mouths, not saying anything further.

A look of apprehension also appeared on Li Pangpang's face, the pressure in his heart suddenly increasing. After all, this was nearly a hundred people.

Caring for the survival of these hundred people, their eating, drinking, and waste, placed a heavy burden on him.

"What are you crying about?"

He couldn't help but shout loudly.

"How are we supposed to live in these times? The Paranormal Squad members have all been evacuated, and Captain Gu is dead. How are we supposed to survive?"

"Who said we left? Aren't Lao Yuan and I still here? We're also members of the Seventh Paranormal Special Forces Squad."

"It's true you're members, but we know you're low-level members."

These words landed, and an awkward atmosphere instantly began to spread.

Li Pangpang's face turned red with embarrassment.

Yuan Mu Ye, on the other hand, was fine.

After all, having been reborn, his skin was already quite thick.

"That's right, low-level members, how can you protect our safety?"

Everyone quickly began to speak at once.

The more they talked, the more agitated they became.

"Everyone, quiet down. Currently, you have no choice. If you had a choice, you could leave Fire City entirely, instead of continuing to stay here. Since you're staying, then let's unite and face the danger together."

An old man spoke up at this moment, "With your meager abilities, how can you guarantee our safety?"

"If Captain Gu were here, I would definitely trust him, but Captain Gu isn't here now, what are we supposed to do?"

"Then fend for yourselves, we're leaving."

Yuan Mu Ye directly spoke these words.

Everyone was suddenly stunned for a few seconds, somewhat unable to react.

In the past, everyone's impression of the Paranormal Special Forces Squad was that they were reliable, even able to take criticism.

They wouldn't easily contradict them.

But the current situation seemed somewhat different compared to before.

Li Pangpang was dumbfounded, not expecting Yuan Mu Ye to turn around and leave.

He was stunned for a moment, then followed, asking in a low voice, "Lao Yuan, what are you doing?"

Li Pangpang originally asked quietly, wanting to hear Yuan Mu Ye's quiet reply, but what awaited him was not that, but Yuan Mu Ye shouting at the top of his lungs, "Leave Fire City, let them fend for themselves! Aren't they嫌棄 (xiánqì – dislike/distrust) us for being low-level Paranormal Squad members?"

"Negative emotions from Li Tiedan +19"

"Negative emotion value from Zhu Dachang +19..."

"From... +10..."

"..."

"Negative emotion value from Wang Laobo +99..."

Bit by bit, nearly two thousand points of emotion were added.

Yuan Mu Ye was somewhat annoyed in his heart, these people still had the nerve to be angry.

But being angry wasn't bad either, at least it meant these people were making some contribution to him.

"Lao Yuan, are we really abandoning them?"

"Let this group of people fend for themselves, they're very strong, why would they need us to care for them? We only care for those who want us to care for them."

Yuan Mu Ye replied in this way.

In just this short while, another two thousand or so emotion points were added.

The total negative emotion value quickly reached over six thousand.

It wasn't a wasted effort.

Now that group of people couldn't leave Fire City either, as the sky was about to turn dark.

The worst-case scenario was about to happen. If they didn't find a place to stay, they would likely lose their lives.

Finally, someone spoke up, "I'm willing to let you protect us."

"Me too..."

Continuous voices rang out one after another.

Even though some people were unwilling before, not trusting Yuan Mu Ye, at this point, there seemed to be no other choice.

They could only trust these two.

Everyone chased after Yuan Mu Ye.

He used to run a company, so he naturally knew how to gather people's hearts.

If the hearts of the people in a company were scattered, then that company was probably not far from closing down.

The same was true when facing these people now.

If everyone was disunited, and some people even harbored doubts about the managers, not only would they not help, but they would also cause trouble.

So facing this situation, Yuan Mu Ye had no confidence that he could manage these people well.

Especially during special times, it was best to be able to control everyone together.

Facing the crowd swarming over, Yuan Mu Ye said, "Everyone, listen to me. Since you believe we can protect you, then all actions must be under command. I'll say the unpleasant things first. If anyone disobeys, then don't blame me for being impolite. During dangerous times, I also want to protect everyone's safety."

Yuan Mu Ye said in this way.

His voice landed, resounding with force.

This group of people clearly had no better choice now.

Yuan Mu Ye and Li Pangpang had also become the last straw.

Everyone's expressions became serious, and those who had been doubtful before didn't continue to speak.

"Don't worry, as long as you're in Fire City, I will do my best to ensure you have food and drink."

These words could be considered to have comforted the people's minds.

At this moment, dark clouds had already begun to float across the high sky.

Yuan Mu Ye continued to say, "There's one more thing I want to tell you. It's getting late, and we will all gather and live in this high-rise building from now on. If you want to go back and get anything, hurry back. Otherwise, it will be dark in at most two hours, and the 百鬼 (bǎi guǐ – hundred ghosts) will be out."

When everyone heard Yuan Mu Ye's words, they immediately didn't hesitate, scattering in all directions, returning to their respective homes to get things.

This building had more than thirty floors, making it completely more than enough for seventy or eighty people to live in.

After everyone dispersed, Li Pangpang stared at Yuan Mu Ye, his face full of shock.

This control, this deterrence, this method...

This was something the previous Yuan Mu Ye could never have possessed.

With just a few words, he had managed to subdue these dozens of people.

He stared at Yuan Mu Ye, lost in thought, and said at this moment, "Lao Yuan, are you still you?"

Yuan Mu Ye's gaze fell on him, and he said, "What nonsense are you talking about, Fatty?"

"No, Lao Yuan, you're definitely not you now, have you changed? How could you change so completely all of a sudden?"

He looked at Yuan Mu Ye suspiciously.

The previous Yuan Mu Ye was indeed weak and incompetent, but he was different now.

After a moment of silence, Yuan Mu Ye said, "Fatty, people will always grow. After experiencing more things, they will naturally become more mature, there's nothing strange about it."

Although that was what he said, Yuan Mu Ye's growth rate was too fast, wasn't it?