Cave Refuge

The reason these Guard Squad members had not been controlled by the monsters' Illusion Technique was partly because when Ye Liuyun established the camp, he had set aside a separate area for the families of his Guard Squad, perhaps due to the collective dormitories constructed there. The houses were not as widely spaced as in the villa district, which is why they had not become targets of those monsters' attacks.

Moreover, before Ye Liuyun left, he had instructed the Guard Squad that members must move in groups of three or more when going outside, so until now, no one had been controlled by those monsters.

After confirming the loyalty of his Guard Squad members, Ye Liuyun led everyone to begin an inspection check starting from the villa district. When the other residents saw Ye Liuyun and his group barging into their homes, they were initially angry. But after listening to Ye Liuyun's explanation, whether they believed it or not, they all ultimately accepted the inspection.

To ensure that none of those creatures could mix into the crowd that had been inspected, Ye Liuyun took the verified safe individuals to the public park next to the villa district. He then left ten Guard Squad members to watch over these people, and proceeded to check and gather more individuals into the park, as divided by the lines of sight.

As it grew darker, the number of people congregating in the park gradually increased. Although they had heard Ye Liuyun's explanation during the inspection, perhaps because no monsters had been detected, some people began to believe that Ye Liuyun was creating unnecessary trouble for them.

Some survivors with ulterior motives, who were mingling in the heart of the crowd, wouldn't just face the Guard Squad alone, they'd probably behave themselves even if they stood on the outskirts, where the Guard Squad members could see their faces.

But now, standing in the center of the crowd, they contemplated taking the lead in instigating unrest, believing that it would be difficult for the Guard Squad members on the outskirts to notice them leading the troublemaking.

After realizing this, someone hidden within the crowd loudly complained, "Dragging us out of our homes this late and trapping us here, what on earth are you trying to do? Are you treating us like slaves, subjecting us to obedience training?"

When someone took the lead in stirring up trouble, voices from the crowd immediately echoed the sentiment. The person who started it all felt extremely proud inside. He may not have the ability to lead in meaningful ways, but he had ample experience in starting disturbances.

Unfortunately for him, the smug expression on his face didn't last long. While a few people did agree with him just after he finished speaking, only two spoke up, while the others stood calmly in place, sizing up the few survivors trying to foment unrest with their stares.

Creating unrest required continually provoking the emotions of those around, to create an avalanche effect, gradually escalating the situation.

But if they were met with a composed crowd, unaffected by their inflammatory words, then their position would become extremely awkward.

These survivors, who sought to covertly instigate unrest, had discovered the camp by chance and chosen to settle there.

Since they were latecomers, by the time they arrived, all positions within the camp had been clearly allocated, and it was uncertain when new positions might become available if things continued to develop calmly.

Therefore, to create opportunities for advancement, they were eager for unrest in the camp. After all, whether the east wind continued to prevail over the west or the west over the east, it was certain that some positions would become vacant.

Their initial plan was merely to stoke the fire, find an excuse to incite the emotions of the people, then escalate a situation. As soon as trouble began, they would withdraw and hide, waiting for the event to conclude.

To put it simply, they weren't concerned with the aftermath; they planned to withdraw and hide after the start, concealing both their efforts and their names.

However, they were unaware that the majority of survivors in the camp came from the same refugee crew that had survived the flood. These outsiders didn't realize that the crowd standing seemingly disorderly in the park had already been organized according to the distribution aboard the original ship, based on the crewmembers' affiliations.

If it had been an unorganized crowd without a leader, it might have been easy for their provocative words to sway emotions. But now, with former ship crew managers scattered throughout the crowd, the agitating words they spoke were useless to those present.

The Guard Squad members surrounding the crowd were not there to watch over the people in the park or prevent them from leaving; rather, they were there to stop any uninspected survivors from sneaking in amidst the chaos.

When the troublemakers in the crowd realized that their words hadn't incited any unrest, unease instantly spread within them. Just as they were preparing to move to a different spot, they noticed the scrutinizing gazes of the others around them.

Feeling a tingling of their scalps under the scrutiny of the surrounding crowd, those who had sought to cause trouble didn't have to wait for the Guard Squad on the fringes to speak up. They were quickly escorted to the side of the Guard Squad members.