Published: February 12, 2025
Bang! The whip spun through the air and landed heavily among the crowd.
These ragged people could only grit their teeth and endure, too afraid to move.
Because they knew that once they dodged, who knew how many more whips would come crashing down!
More than ten lashes could cost them their lives!
Indeed, they were evolvers, with the lowest among them being one-star and the highest even reaching four-star, but it didn’t matter.
The people wielding the whips were all five-star and six-star experts.
Though the whips appeared ordinary, their power was immense in their hands; if they applied enough force, a whip could break, and so could a body.
In front of them stood a massive machine, looking very rough, emitting loud rumbles and puffing out black smoke.
On either side of the machine were two openings resembling mouths, through which many of those whipped were placing various plants into one, while into the other, some were pouring in a black, viscous substance.
At the very front of the machine was a row of thin tubes, currently flowing clear water that was collected in barrels below.
Water in West Asia had always been precious.
In peacetime, aside from measuring wealth through mansions, luxury cars, and horse races, the number of green plants in luxurious homes was also a criterion, as these water-hungry plants were absolute luxuries, with annual costs potentially reaching millions of dollars!
After the apocalypse, although evolvers possessed various abilities, even being called superhuman, some basic physical needs were still essential, such as eating, drinking, and sleeping.
The fertile land in West Asia was already scarce, and water resources were lacking.
After the apocalypse, some areas either disappeared or were occupied by mutated life forms, putting even more strain on the already tense survival resources.
While facing competition from non-kindred beings, the people of West Asia also had to contend with an even harsher competition among their own kind than in peacetime.
The Yinos Oasis became a focal point of contention.
In the first three years after the apocalypse began, bloodshed and fights occurred almost every moment until the Holy City took control of the area.
Once stabilized, it became a resource base for the Holy City, with its greatest specialty being clean water.
The water produced here, whether natural or generated through machines by decomposing vegetation, contained various trace elements needed by the human body.
In the national district, the small pills produced by Cloud Summit were sold throughout various regions, while in West Asia, the water from here was synonymous with health assurance.
The Holy City valued the Yinos Oasis the most and stationed heavy troops here, with a powerful team of three thousand, averaging a five-star evolution level, responsible for its defense.
In addition, another five hundred at the same level handled other matters, most importantly ensuring the production of water sources.
The people wielding whips were part of this force, and they also handled transportation and various life support tasks.
If an accident occurred, the troops from the Holy City would arrive for support within half an hour.
Today, the guards were particularly irritable because supplies had not arrived for two days.
Thanks to the Holy City’s “high welfare,” the three thousand five hundred evolvers here enjoyed very good treatment.
With the nearby water source, water was abundant, and food was provided by the Holy City, as they didn’t need to hunt.
Aside from filling their stomachs, the quality of the food was very high, often accompanied by luxury items like fine wine and cigarettes.
With the supply convoy missing, these people had gone two days without fresh food, not to mention tobacco or alcohol.
“Tell Rashid on the other side to whip those plant-growing support professionals a few times; we’re running low on ‘materials’ here. We can hold out for a few more hours at most. If new plants aren’t brought in soon, production will halt, and once the City Lord finds out, he’ll be the one getting whipped. Being merciful to those slaves is being cruel to oneself!”