I collect zombie kings in the apocalypse.

Chapter 23 Methods to Enhance Mark Charging

Shen Qingci fiddled with her phone for a moment, then her furrowed brows relaxed: "It's barely uploading, but it'll probably take a long time."

"But the survivors you revive tomorrow probably won't be able to upload anymore; the signal won't last until then."

Lu Chen thought about it for a moment, but didn't dwell on the issue too much.

"That's not something we need to worry about. I believe the authorities will definitely have a way to verify the number of people rescued," Lu Chen said.

The resources and technology at the disposal of the military and government far exceed the imagination of ordinary people. Even if the network is completely cut off, they must have backup methods to verify the completion of Project Dawn's mission.

Once such a large national machine is in operation, this level of difficulty is nothing at all.

There is only one thing he truly cares about.

Lu Chen opened his sister's chat window and typed a message.

"I've cleared all the zombies out of the building today, and I can finally get a good night's sleep. How's it going on your end?"

He contacts his family once in the morning and once in the evening, and it's already evening, so it's almost time for their regular contact.

However, he wasn't sure if the other side still had a signal to receive messages. His own signal was down to only one bar, and the signal situation in Ningcheng City was probably not much better.

Fortunately, his fears did not come true.

Less than two minutes after the message was sent, Lu Yao's reply popped up.

"Wow! Dude, your superpower is amazing!"

Lu Chen's lips curved slightly; he could almost picture his sister typing with wide eyes, even through the screen.

"As for my side, everything was peaceful today. I also heard about Project Dawn on the radio today, but it seems there are no superhumans in our village, and there hasn't been much activity all day."

From the tone of her reply, Lu Chen could detect a faint hint of disappointment.

It's no wonder that when the survivors heard about Project Dawn, most of them felt a glimmer of hope, hoping that there were other people with superpowers in their neighborhoods, buildings, or villages, and that someone would come to rescue them.

Lu Chen thought for a moment and typed a reply: "It's not necessarily true that there are no superpowered individuals; it could be a support-type superpower."

"Like a teammate I met today, her special ability is detection. It's not helpful in combat, but this ability is still very useful in the apocalypse."

"It's just that support-type ability users can't stand alone in that kind of environment. Even with ability, without weapons and teammates, it's very difficult to break through."

He then gave a brief account of what had happened that day. He didn't go into much detail, but he covered the key points and tried to keep his tone relaxed.

Lu Yao was full of amazement, sending several exclamation marks and dumbfounded emojis.

The two chatted for about fifteen minutes before ending their conversation. Lu Chen gave them a final instruction: "Keep the doors and windows closed and wait for me to come pick you up. I've already thought of a solution."

"Don't worry! We've blocked the doors and windows with something, so it's safe for now. We'll be careful," Lu Yao replied quickly.

She then sent another message: "My parents told me to remind you not to push yourself and to be careful."

As Lu Chen looked at the words on the screen, he felt a warm feeling welling up in his chest.

"What are you looking at?" Shen Qingci's voice came from the side.

Lu Chen turned off the screen and put his phone away. "It's nothing. Have you finished uploading the photos?"

"Just three more pictures, almost done." Shen Qingci pointed to the slowly crawling progress bar on her phone screen. "Dinner should be ready by now, go eat first, don't wait for me."

Lu Chen stood still. "No, we'll go together."

He thought for a moment and said, "Do you remember what I said before? In team management, it is essential to cultivate a sense of gratitude."

Shen Qingci looked up at him, waiting for him to continue.

"In the end times, isn't it something to be grateful for—a peaceful dinner?"

Lu Chen's tone was calm, as if he were stating a very ordinary principle, "Think about it, the power is out, the water is cut off, and the streets are full of zombies. We can still sit here, with hot food and a room to shelter us from the wind and rain."

"I think we should take this opportunity to establish rules. Before each meal, we should express our gratitude."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Qingci showed a strange expression.

This is not the first time today.

Starting in the morning, Lu Chen would intentionally or unintentionally remind the survivors to be grateful while rescuing them.

Some survivors had already expressed their gratitude, but Lu Chen would find an excuse to make them say it again.

She saw all of this, but didn't ask a single question.

This is definitely not normal behavior, but Shen Qingci is smart. Everyone has their own secrets, and she doesn't need to know why Lu Chen is so obsessed with collecting gratitude.

All she needed to know was that this matter was important to Lu Chen, and that was enough.

So she put away the strange expression on her face, thought seriously for a moment, and continued Lu Chen's words: "What you said makes sense, but we should bring Gao Yuan over for this matter."

"He used to work in the neighborhood office doing community outreach, so he has much more experience in ideological work than I do. He's much better at things like mobilizing people and creating a sense of ritual."

Lu Chen thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Soon, Gao Yuan, who was arranging accommodations for the new survivors in the corridor, was called over.

Lu Chen didn't beat around the bush and told him the request directly: starting with tonight's dinner, he would lead everyone in expressing gratitude before each meal.

The format is not fixed; he can design it himself.

Gao Yuan was stunned.

But soon, the stunned expression on his face was quickly replaced by an extremely serious one.

"Captain, you're right." His tone was even more solemn than Lu Chen had expected.

"Ideological work is indeed our top priority right now. The survivors come from different floors and different families. Before the apocalypse, no one knew anyone. Now that they have suddenly come together, it is normal that their hearts are not united."

"If everyone only thinks about their own survival, the team will fall apart. We must establish a common set of values ​​so that everyone realizes that we are sitting here today not because of luck, but because of the captain's special ability and everyone's cooperation."

"This kindness should be remembered!"

He spoke faster and faster, as if he had already gone over the plan in his mind several times.

Lu Chen couldn't help but glance at him again. His words sounded like he was agreeing with him, but every single one was spot on.

"Leave this to me!" Gao Yuan said, patting his chest. "I have experience in this area from when I worked at the neighborhood committee office. Don't worry, I'll definitely handle it well!"

"Alright!" Lu Chen patted him heavily on the shoulder. "Just let me know what you need. Resources, manpower, we'll fully cooperate with you. If you do this well, you'll be the third-in-command of this team."

Gao Yuan's eyes lit up for a moment, but he quickly suppressed the smile on his lips and nodded seriously.

Lu Chen withdrew his hand, his gaze unconsciously falling on his left wrist. The cuff of his sleeve concealed the meteorite mark, but he was well aware of its current condition.

After a full day of rescue efforts, the fluorescent power supply is two-thirds complete.

The gratitude of the twenty survivors, each one he rescued from a zombie-infested room, was absorbed by the meteorite imprint.

Now only one-third remains.

He wanted to fill the entire meteorite imprint. Rather than slowly collecting the survivors' scattered expressions of gratitude, having them express their thanks collectively in a fixed daily ritual would undoubtedly be much more efficient.

Lu Chen loosened his sleeves and looked up at the busy figures in the corridor.

Tonight's dinner is just the beginning!