NOVEL NEXT Chapter 92: A Path To Survival
Everywhere he looked, people lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.
Thud!
Right then, however, someone fell to their knees with an audible thud and cried out.
"Sir, I promise to never come near the mansion. Just take my son and daughter in… please. Give them a path to survival."
Max looked over and saw that it was a middle-aged man.
'Hm?'
He furrowed his brows slightly because he felt a little familiar.
Before he could try to remember where he knew him from, however…
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Following his lead, others also began kneeling, crying out for him to save their families.
They had already lost all hope and had been trying just to extend their life for just a day more.
This was why, when the trio came to them and told them that they could lead them inside the Governor's Mansion where food and water was enough for weeks at least, gave them another hope, they directly agreed and followed them here.
Now, Max, who appeared to be a very capable man, was one such, and perhaps their truly final, hope.
Max watched them, his expression indifferent but his eyes flickering.
After a while, he raised his hand and everyone went silent.
"A path to survival… I can give it to you." said Max and immediately, the crowd's eyes lit up while Henry and others frowned.
"However…" Max added, "I'll only give it to those who accept me as their and this city's true Lord."
"I accept, sir. I accept you as my Lord."
"Yes, I do too."
"I accept…"
…
The moment Max put forth the condition, most of the people immediately cried out their acceptance. As for the others, they only hesitated for the briefest of the moments before they did the same.
Max silently watched them until everyone became silent.
"You have accepted me as your lord, so I naturally will be responsible for you. But remember, those who don't obey my orders, or cause trouble… they will face severe punishment."
Saying this in an even tone, he glanced at some of the people, who had kept silent, didn't express their assent earlier, and said,
"As for some of you, I don't care why you don't accept me as your leader. Just know that you have three days to leave the city. If you are still here by the end of the third day, you'll be killed without mercy."
Immediately, those who hadn't spoken earlier, felt their hearts shudder.
"I…I accept you as the lord of the city." A young man, who looked to be just a few years older than Max, said through gritted teeth, his eyes focused on the corpse of a middle-aged woman lying before the mansion's gate.
Max didn't miss the pain and hatred in his eyes, and not wanting to keep someone like him near him, he wanted to say that he had already missed the opportunity, but then he saw the shivering, 14 or so years old kid in his arms, and pursed his lips.
"Hm." Finally, after a moment, he nodded.
Following his lead, others who hadn't spoken up earlier also accepted him as the lord of the city.
"Wait here. Someone will bring you water and something to eat." Saying this, grabbed the collar of the passed out man and dragged him toward the mansion gate which Henry opened.
"Go find a place and interrogate him." Max ordered.
Henry nodded but then he glanced at Jack and asked, "Can I do it later, sir?"
"Don't worry. He'll be fine." Max patted his shoulder and walked over to Jack.
[Harem Points: 6→21]
Checking his harem points, he opened the system shop and requested the [Healing Potion, Low Grade]. Then, he bought one.
While it wouldn't be able to heal him much, it could make it so Jack wouldn't be in the danger of dying.
'Where is she?' Just as he thought where Eun-Ji was, he saw her rush over, followed by a man carrying a medical kit.
Ha! Ha!
She was out of breath after running from the administration building to here. After nodding at Max in acknowledgement, she knelt beside Jack, and told everyone but one man to back off.
"Is the blood still coming out?" She asked him as she opened the medical kit, and wore her gloves.
"Yes." The man nodded and Eun-Ji frowned in concentration.
"What's wrong?" Max asked.
Eun-Ji looked up at him and said, "He has already lost quite a bit of his blood and if I try to take out the bullet without giving him a blood clotting injection, he would lose even more and that might be dangerous."
"You don't have any of these injections?" Max asked, raising his brows.
"No. We had run out of most of our medical supplies before D-Day." Eun-Ji said, biting her lip in frustration.
Max put his hand in his pocket and took out the small glass vial with green liquid in it—the Healing Potion he had just bought—and gave it to her.
"Go ahead and remove the bullet. Just give this to him immediately after. He will be fine."
Eun-Ji looked at the glass vial in confusion, but Max shoved it in her hand and said, "Don't waste time, Miss Eun-Ji. Just do as I said."
"Okay." Eun-Ji hesitated for a moment but knowing she couldn't afford to waste time, she nodded and took out some tweezers from the kit.
Max glanced at the five men standing near him and said, "Go bring a large vat of water and some dry food."
"Sir Maxwell… Are you sure about this?"
One of them asked after some hesitation. Others also looked at Max. Clearly, they weren't in support of what he was planning to do.
Max stared at him, his face expressionless, and coldly said, "It was an order, and orders aren't meant to be questioned."
"I…I'm sorry. I was just—" The man apologized.
"Save it. Just remember to not question my decisions from now on." Max interrupted him.
"Yes, sir." The man nodded, lowering his head.
"Alright. Go. Also, one of you go, gather all the able bodied men living in the mansion and also tell my Grandfather that I want my uncles, and cousins here in half an hour." Max ordered before shifting his attention to Eun-Ji.
With a thought, he activated the [Discerning Eyes] and immediately, his eyes flickered with surprise.