Chapter 428: Expansion of the Participating Team
"Okay, I called you here to discuss this. Don't discuss those boring topics."
Su Ming stopped this argument about "dignity" in time. His words to stop the war were effective. Both Cao Fengling and Fan Qi gave him face and remained silent temporarily.
Fan Qi adjusted his mentality and looked up at Su Ming: "Tell me your purpose first. Do you want to mobilize others to participate in this battle?"
Su Ming nodded: "That's right."
"Then you need to plan the timing and the lines, as well as the emotional tone of the speech. After all, this time you are asked to sacrifice your lives, and it is impossible to succeed by just shouting a few words. It won't work like you did last time." Fan Qi said.
Su Ming did not comment on Fan Qi's opinion and turned to look at Lin Anyu.
"What about you? What do you think?"
"I don't have any ideas. I just feel like it's enough to explain things clearly to everyone." Lin Anyu said.
"I don't plan to use the speech to disclose this information." Su Ming said bluntly .
Cao Fengling and Fan Qi turned their heads together, looking at Su Ming in surprise, and asked in confusion: "Not open to the public anymore?"
"No, it's not that it's not public, it's just that it's publicized in other ways," said Su Ming.
"Although speeches are more efficient, they don't necessarily make everyone volunteer to fight. As you just said, this is a fight where one's life is at stake. If one doesn't have a strong motivation, it's impossible for one to risk one's life for something that is fundamentally uncertain.
Willingness to sacrifice from the heart requires motivation, such as the life safety of important people around you, or the personal will of important people.
People do not care about the thoughts of people they are not familiar with, nor do they have a sense of identity with them, but they pay attention to the thoughts of their relatives and friends. For example, if family members and friends are criminals who take human lives lightly, then the person concerned is likely to not care about human life at all, and feel that human life is insignificant compared to interests.
But if all family members and friends are martyrs, then there is a high probability that the person’s personal morality is not bad, at least there is a bottom line.”
"Oh~ I seem to understand! There is some truth in it. The children of heroes always have good character because they don't want to bring shame to their parents from the bottom of their hearts. Because they respect and admire their parents, they will try to be someone who is close to the hero." Cao Fengling said thoughtfully.
Fan Qi lowered his head, as if he had gained some insights.
"Is this what you mean by changing the will of certain people through the will of those around them?" Fan Qi asked.
Su Ming nodded.
"That's true. If you can really do it, the effect will be much better than public speaking." Fan Qi said, "But it's difficult, right?"
"It's not that difficult. Just start small and expand slowly. Now I have quite a few potential targets, such as Xu Tiejun and the families of the other elderly people who died." Su Ming touched his chin with a meaningful look. "When facing an almost certain death, everyone will consider how they will die, especially when their loved ones have set an admirable example. They will always feel a little impulsive."
Cao Fengling crossed her arms over her chest, frowned and said dissatisfiedly: "Are you manipulating their minds?"
Su Ming looked up in surprise and asked in astonishment: "Why do you think so?"
"Because... it always feels a bit weird, as if you are taking advantage of the loopholes in everyone's heart." Cao Fengling scratched his hair, not knowing how to describe his feelings.
Su Ming: "It's not about controlling thoughts, it's just about awakening the courage that people already have. Don't forget that our enemy is the devil. When the devil is tempting us, we don't try to resist and try to inspire the conscience and courage of the people around us, but stick to the principle of 'not interfering with other people's thoughts'. Don't you think it's too stupid?"
After listening to Su Ming's explanation, Cao Fengling nodded with satisfaction and felt relieved instantly.
"Hmm... that makes sense. So what are you going to do?"
"Pass the information privately, give them enough time to think for themselves, and let them make their own choices."
While Su Ming and the other two were discussing heatedly, Lin Anyu remained silent. Her delicate eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, as if she was troubled by some problem.
"I have a question." Lin Anyu suddenly raised her hand.
Su Ming: "Please speak."
"I think it's too dangerous to let ordinary people directly participate in that kind of battle. There will definitely be a lot of casualties. It's better to let everyone donate blood and let you come forward to deal with the monster." Lin Anyu said.
Su Ming sighed, thinking that it was indeed impossible to expect them to have some sudden realization in a short period of time.
"This time, everyone could have donated blood together to help us get through this difficult time. Why did Mr. Xu choose to bear it alone with the other elderly people?" Su Ming asked.
“This…this…”
"You think too rationally, especially in this situation. Overly rational thinking will make you ignore our real purpose." Su Ming said.
When saying this, Su Ming felt a little guilty, because he had thought so rationally before, and he was even more rational than Lin Anyu.
But now Su Ming has realized that his goal is different from before. His previous goal was to let the thirteen best people survive, but now, his goal is that the ones who survive do not need to be the best thirteen people, but these thirteen people must inherit the will of the other dead, and the other dead... should die as human beings, full of courage .
Su Ming felt that if he could really do this, no matter what, he had already defeated the devil in the human heart.
…
"Hahahaha! Hahaha! This is awesome! Want to drink, Su Ming?"
Cao Fengling stumbled into Su Ming's room carrying a bottle of wine.
Su Ming sighed helplessly and reminded him, "Don't be so loud. Also, at least call me Xia Ming here, right? Haven't you noticed that even if people know I'm Su Ming, they basically call me Mr. Xia?"
"What does it matter? We should hold the banquet earlier so that we can drink to our heart's content!" Cao Fengling raised the bottle of wine high, her face flushed, and she tilted her neck back and shouted, "It's so cool. I need to find a man to have some fun with!"
Alcohol can work - this is a phenomenon that was discovered accidentally at the last banquet. Although alcohol cannot quench thirst, it can make people enter a state of drunkenness for a short time.
Now, alcohol has become a very hot item in the manor. At the parties every night, sometimes more alcohol is consumed than food.
Although Su Ming didn't like everyone indulging in drinking, the atmosphere in the manor had really become much better.
Su Ming stood up, moved the chair behind him, walked to the window and looked out. Men were coming and going carrying trees into the manor, while women were counting the food that could not fill their stomachs but could provide delicious food.
Now, they are preparing for the evening banquet. Later in the evening, the servants and women will turn the ingredients into delicious food, and the singing will continue until late at night.
Then, early the next morning, the men would get up early again and start a new day of work.
Even Su Ming hadn't expected that a banquet that couldn't even fill their stomachs and was essentially just a way to consume their physical energy could actually change everyone so much. Now everyone's faces were filled with happiness and hope... even though everyone was still in a desperate situation.
Su Ming still couldn't figure out why everyone had changed so much. The only explanation was that humans were very easily satisfied creatures. They only needed a little hope to make them feel a little better, and they could maintain an optimistic attitude.
Perhaps this is the tenacity of human beings.
"Hey! Su Ming..."
Cao Fengling had walked behind Su Ming without him noticing. She raised her hands and hugged Su Ming carelessly. She leaned her face forward and said, "Are you...hiccup...interested in being with me..."
A smell of alcohol wafted towards him, causing Su Ming to frown.
"Didn't I say I can't do it? And please move away. It smells terrible!" Su Ming pushed Cao Fengling away without any courtesy.
"Hey, give it a try, maybe... it will work for me." Cao Fengling continued to move closer with a thick face.
Su Ming resisted the urge to swear, grabbed the other person by the collar, dragged her all the way to the door, and threw her out. At the same time, he pulled the bell by the door, and Elton came over when he heard the sound.
"Master, what do you want me to do?"
"Take away her wine and don't let her drink anymore."
"Master, this..."
Elton looked troubled.
"It's okay. Go tell Luo Bing and the others. They will definitely help you."
"I see." Elton bowed slightly and went forward to support Cao Fengling. "Miss Cao, come here with me. You should get some sleep."
"Hey Su Ming! What I just said! Think about it carefully." When Cao Fengling was taken away, she was still thinking about the body she had sought but failed to obtain.
Su Ming slammed the door, sat back in his chair, and unfolded the half-written letter.
After the current situation improved slightly, Su Ming had the idea of writing a letter to Xia Xiaoyu again. He thought that it would be meaningful to record the current situation he was experiencing. If Xia Xiaoyu encountered the same predicament , he would be able to understand the meaning of courage like he did now.
Yesterday, Xu Tiejun came to him and said that he wanted to join the battle and directly participate in the next battle.
Judging from his tone and expression at the time, it was clear that he made the final decision after careful consideration.
At that time, Su Ming asked him if he wanted to die by joining the battle?
Xu Tiejun’s answer was: “It’s to try to defeat those monsters, but also to try to survive!”
This answer was beautiful and touching, so Su Ming agreed to it and gave him some advice.
In addition to Xu Tiejun, there were also some people who privately found Su Ming and expressed their desire to contribute. Their motives were different.
After experiencing a few lively singing and dancing parties, some people's mentality suddenly changed. They didn't want this beauty to disappear and hoped that the smiles of women and children could always be maintained, even in such a desperate environment.
So, they finally decided to join the war, not for the purpose of winning, but simply to make this beautiful moment last longer.
Others feel that the current atmosphere is harmonious and touching. They do not want the previous situation of intrigue to happen again, so they feel that they should take the lead in being selfless. Even if they cannot really bring about any change, they should set a small example.
Su Ming gave them some advice and asked them to make their own armor and weapons. It happened that this was the iron-smelting city, and there were a large number of blacksmiths in the slums and civilian areas. Most of the steel stored in the blacksmith shops was the local specialty, divine steel, which could be used to cast hard combat armor.
As for the problem of lack of materials for ignition and combustion, it was solved by Su Ming's enchanted fire.
More than ten days later, in addition to the original psychics who had participated in the battle, eighty-nine ordinary people also joined the battle team.
Gradually, as construction continued, even the manor became different.
A village-like wooden stake wall was erected around the manor. Men in armor took turns patrolling and guarding outside the wall day and night to guard against the approach of those monsters that had escaped from the manor and turned into inhuman monsters. Once they found any suspicious signs, they would send a signal to let psychics like Cao Fengling come forward to resolve the issue.
On the other hand, because the food of those who left the manor was in the hands of the normal people, there was surplus food and everyone could barely get enough to eat.
In addition, many people won the last word guessing game, and those people didn't need to eat at all, so food resources were more abundant and everyone's mental outlook was better.
In the morning, when the first ray of light brushed across the earth, Su Ming had already inspected every house in the manor. His responsibility was not only to protect everyone's safety, but also to keep everyone healthy as much as possible, so he would walk around every day to see if anyone needed help.
Today's inspection ended a little early, and I don't know what to do with the rest of the time.
"Why don't you kill me?"
Su Ming stopped when he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Why should I kill you?" Su Ming turned around and looked at the other person.
"You think I made a deal with the devil, don't you?"
"That's right."
"Then why don't you kill me?"
"Observe, I'm observing." Su Ming replied.
The two fell silent at the same time. Zhou Xiaoxiao and Su Ming both lowered their heads, looked at the ground, and kept silent.
"Do you still think that it is God who makes you no longer afraid?" Su Ming asked, looking up.
"That's right."
"Has that god said anything to you recently?"
"No."
"Oh, so that's how it is."
Su Ming nodded and turned to leave. Zhou Xiaoxiao looked anxious and shouted, "What are you observing? Tell me!"
Su Ming did not respond to him. Zhou Xiaoxiao watched Su Ming gradually walk away. She felt as if there was a breath stuck in her chest, difficult to release.
"Lord Tyr, am I the one who must live?" Zhou Xiaoxiao muttered to himself absentmindedly .
