Last Ruler Of The Empty Throne-Chapter 56: New leader

The second headcount to reach its end was for the policemen.

As they were nearing the end, survivors wearing rags walked up to the person counting.

"What do you want?" the person counting asked.

"We were formerly policemen, but the former leaders deemed us unfit, so we were thrown away," the man in the middle of the survivors said.

"What?" The man coordinating the census reacted strangely to what he had just heard. The sudden situation left him confused, and he didn’t know what to do.

Because of that, Jenny had to approach and resolve it.

"Are you sure of what you just said?" Maybe because there was still a part of her that liked public servants, she was frowning as she approached.

The police, before the fall, were an important set of people in society. They were so important that just looking at them in their outfit made everyone feel safe. And even if they didn’t have any weapons on them or didn’t even look physically fit, they still gave that feeling of security.

And Jenny wouldn’t allow anyone to impersonate them to escape work, even after the fall.

"Yes," the man in the middle of the survivors said confidently.

Jenny couldn’t just trust based on words; however, she couldn’t ignore the fact that some people could have traits that helped in lying or deceiving.

So, she called for Julius, who was still at the gate. If they truly were policemen, he would recognize them.

About ten minutes later, Julius arrived. And the moment he saw the survivors, he trembled.

"M-Mark, is that you?" His eyes immediately became red.

"Ah..." Mark, the man in the middle of the survivors, also trembled when he saw him.

"What happened?" Jenny narrowed her eyes at the situation. She couldn’t understand what was happening.

"Ah... yes, the overall leader called me one day and said some of my men turned into zombies, so he killed them. And here they are," Julius explained.

"He told us we weren’t fit and then mangled us up and threw us to the lower level. We almost died," Mark explained, too.

Hmm... why would he do that? She already knew he deserved death; however, why would he not kill the policemen? She couldn’t understand. Seeing no reason, she stopped thinking about it.

Leaving Julius and Mark to make up for lost time, Jenny stepped away, and they were included in the policeman’s count. In total, the policemen numbered 136.

It was a huge number considering they were policemen and not military. Again, they must have had a branch close by, hence the number.

At this moment, the policemen were still in charge of the perimeter and patrolling to ensure everything was in order.

It was going to be easy for them, considering this was their occupation before the fall. They wouldn’t be taken out with the evolvers to level up just yet. Their focus was on internal matters first. Well, then, if they decided to level up, it was up to them.

It was already enough service they were rendering before and after the fall, so they wouldn’t be forced to become evolvers too.

Next was the general census, which was still ongoing. It wasn’t something they could finish before they went on to the next phase, or maybe even that day.

So, while everything was happening simultaneously, the census would have to wait until after the phase.

Jon, Jenny, Cynthia, Laura, Alexa, Gar’al, Ronald, and a few others from the university were all geared up in their treasures, with Jon standing in front of about 250 people.

It was time for the next phase of the plan. And the plan was called Camp Level-up.

This was a plan created to increase the general strength level of the survivors in the camp and increase the number of evolvers.

While it was mostly to make them adapt faster to the changing world, it was also for their self-protection. This world was getting too dangerous.

I should check my status, huh? While in his thoughts, a young lady approached him and stopped his train of thought.

She was just coming from the area in charge of the census and details. She stood about 5’7, light-skinned with short brown hair, and wore thin glasses. The papers in her hands and her posture gave away her profession.

Surprisingly, she was also one of the students who had been leveling up with Jon’s group. And Jon wouldn’t have even noticed her if not for his mind skill to remember faces.

Earlier that morning, in the broken conference room,

When duties were being delegated, she suddenly stepped up and said, "I would like to volunteer as an administrator. I don’t think my skills are suitable for battle." She was confident, and the way she carried herself showed no fear, unlike the others.

"Oh, who?" Cynthia asked, curious about her composure and actions.

"My name is Nancy, and before the fall, I was a business administration student. At some point, while we were clearing zombies at the university, I got a skill called ’Instant Calculation.’"

"What?" Jon reacted immediately; he was shocked by the fact that she had such a skill.

"What’s wrong?" Nancy asked, looking slightly scared, as if she thought she’d said something wrong and messed up.

"Nothing. Okay, Nancy, you can do it," Jon concluded before she could continue.

"What?" Jenny reacted.

"Eh?" Cynthia then started looking back and forth between Nancy and Jon, her expression asking the obvious: What’s special about this girl?

Jon, still staring at Nancy as if he had met a long-lost sibling, didn’t respond to Cynthia’s curiosity and moved on.

Even Laura, who was observant, was confused, trying to figure out the connection. Is it because of that skill, "Instant Calculation"? Laura was close to the truth, but she still wasn’t sure.

So, when Nancy approached Jon in front of the evolvers, he immediately noticed her. "Yes?" he asked without wasting time.

"The second group of evolvers is on standby, and you can move now. The makeshift weapons have been distributed. The rest will be available later."

"Okay, thanks," Jon nodded and thanked her.

Nancy was already acting like a true administrator.

The truth was that she was placed under someone to watch her and assess her, but the fact that she was here meant she must have taken over.

Most of her skills were support-based, and her luck hadn’t helped her acquire any attack skills. She had almost maxed out her slots. She didn’t want to gamble on the wrong skill, and knowing she would be stuck in the unranked tier for a while with her skills, she decided to do what she liked doing, managing.

She had taken it on quite easily and taken over the management section. Maybe others thought she had been favored, but she believed in efficiency and would make sure they realized she was hardworking. And as she looked at Jon again,

"Move!" Jon shouted as the 250 soon-to-be evolvers began moving toward the gate.

This area they were currently in was called Cape Agulhas, in the Overberg district, which was also the location of Palflic University. Meaning, they were in the southernmost part of South Africa as they could ever be.

So, with no further south to go, the north was their only option. It was the only logical conclusion; since they had to keep moving forward, clearing the way forward was the right choice.

And they hadn’t even moved 200 meters north when they encountered their first obstacle.

In a large expanse of grass, more than a hundred zombies slowly advanced toward the camp.

At this point, many in the group were no longer afraid of zombies. They had even been waiting for a chance to fight back against the creatures that had once terrified them.

"Too late for regrets. We found them before they reached us. Good luck. Now we move on," Jon said, unfazed by the sight before him. It was to be expected, given that no one had scouted the area before, and it was near a road.

Then he looked sideways. "Cynthia, I was wondering if you could scatter them."

"Oh? You want them to get their first skills and level up?" Cynthia responded.

"But not everyone will be able to," Jenny chimed in.

Jon nodded. "We’ll still move forward."

Without delay, Cynthia stepped forward and stretched out her hands.

The zombies moving toward them were, on average, level 7. And with some of them even lightly jogging, it seemed like an impossible task.

However, who was Cynthia? She had entered the first realm and was in her 30s in level, and also the closest person in the camp to learning how to fly, and the only air manipulator that might exist in the country.

With her large mana capacity, she sent out a light blast of air.

WHOOOOOOSH

And without suspense or resistance, the zombies were carried and thrown off balance, scattered across the grass. She didn’t stop there. She also activated her hairpin on them.

"Huh?"

"This is..."

"I feel stronger."

Their bodies suddenly gained a boost that made them feel superhuman.

"You can attack them now!" Jon ordered the group to advance, cutting off their thoughts on the power coursing through them.

Upon getting closer to the zombies, the survivors who had been confident moments before began to waver. It was natural. The zombies, with their distorted grunts, screeches, and reckless attacks, were a terrifying sight. Worst of all, a single scratch could turn someone into one of them.

But with a leader to guide them, things were different.

"Don’t be afraid. Pair up, cover each other’s backs, and aim for the head," Jon instructed.

He approached and casually swung his rod at the nearest zombie, decapitating it. "See... It’s not difficult," he said.

Then a man stepped forward with a pole and struck the head of the nearest zombie close to Jon continuously until—

[YOU HAVE RECEIVED LEVEL 4 ZOMBIE REMAINS]

[YOUR LEVEL HAS INCREASED]

"Huh?" He looked at the system message in shock, his second of the day.

Then, he turned to Jon with tears forming in his eyes.

"Not hard, right?" Jon asked.

However, the man didn’t respond but bowed deeply and said,

"Thank you, New Leader. I will hold onto this chance with my life and repay you with my life’s service."

Jon was confused by the man’s words but didn’t respond.

If anyone could remember, this man was the first to rush forward and eat the new food earlier.

When the call was made, he was among the first to volunteer. And though his clothes were still tattered, he looked healthier and was going to hold on to this thread of hope with his life and being.