Some of the high-ranking officials who rushed forward quickly didn’t notice the situation here and were still thinking this was a good opportunity to earn merit, so they chopped at Vikram’s head.

Vikram, on the other hand, had a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips.

He didn’t dodge or evade, letting the opponent’s blade strike his neck.

"Clang!"

"How is that possible?" The attacking Survivor looked at the long blade, which had bounced off Vikram’s delicate, fair skin, with a look of horror, as if he had seen a ghost, muttering incessantly.

Not only him, but other Survivors who chopped at Vikram’s body either had their weapons bounced off or their blades were directly chipped.

In contrast, Vikram, from beginning to end, except for a few tears in his clothes, didn’t even have a scratch on his entire body.

"I said, it should be no problem for Abhishek to be the Chief of this Shelter, right?"

Vikram, standing still, spoke again. Unlike before, when they mocked him as a fool, this time, everyone’s eyes were filled with an unspeakable terror that swirled in their hearts.

Although it was just a soft whisper, everyone present felt as if their throats were being choked, making it difficult to breathe.

However, Abhishek, hiding behind Vikram, grew increasingly excited.

"Boss, you’re the best! That’s amazing!"

"I’ve decided, as long as I, Abhishek, live for one second in the Wasteland, I will always be your subordinate, Vikram Boss."

Abhishek gave a thumbs-up. Although his appearance was still that of a despicable villain, his eyes were now full of admiration.

After flattering him, he even stepped out from behind Vikram with a smug look, "Becky, didn’t you want to kill me just now? Let’s see who kills whom now."

Becky, sitting in the main seat, naturally didn’t look pleased at this situation.

It wasn’t that he cared about Abhishek’s provocation, but Vikram’s demonstrated combat power was simply unbelievable.

He had actually inquired from Lawrence that with a physique above 60 points like his, he could withstand some small-caliber bullet shots.

However, he still needed to dodge melee weapons, after all, in addition to these weapons being sharp, melee weapons also had the user’s physique bonus, so it was still easy to cause him harm.

But the man in front of him completely ignored this, which made him a little unsure.

"Could this person’s physique be even more heaven-defying than Lawrence’s?"

"Impossible!"

"Lawrence’s physique was accumulated by concentrating all the Shelter’s resources, and he himself said it was top-tier in the Wasteland."

"Then there’s only one possibility."

With an idea in mind, Becky quickly shouted loudly, "You don’t need to be afraid of him. The knives can’t cut him because he has some kind of fruit ability enhancement. This effect will disappear after a while."

"At that time, you will..."

"Can... ho..."

He still wanted to say that once Vikram’s ability disappeared, they could easily defeat him.

But just as the words reached his lips, Becky, who had just taken office as the Chief, was horrified to find that he couldn’t speak.

No one understood what he said at the end, only hearing a few indistinct cries, and then Becky collapsed onto the round table, dying with his eyes wide open. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

A blade, moving at extreme speed, pierced through Becky’s throat, taking the life of the poor man who couldn’t even finish his sentence.

Vikram stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, "I say, Abhishek will be the leader of Brown Wood Shelter."

"Do any of you have any objections?"

The conference room was silent; no one dared to look Vikram directly in the eyes.

In just a few minutes, the shock Vikram had delivered was far more terrifying than a flood or a beast.

The newly appointed Shelter leader died before his chair even warmed up, so how could these high-ranking officials dare to say anything more?

Outside, however, many of the Survivors, seeing an enemy attack, wanted to pull out their weapons and fight Vikram to the death.

Even if some of them knew that Becky’s ascension was not a good thing.

But he was, after all, a member of Brown Wood Shelter, and for him to be killed by an outsider like this, how could they remain indifferent?

However, at the old man’s glance next to Becky’s corpse, they could only stand at the doorway, watching with resentment, each staring at Vikram with unfriendly eyes.

In contrast, these high-ranking officials were more adept at assessing the situation.

Given such a vast disparity between the two sides, to still dare to act would not be bravery, but foolishness.

What pleased Vikram was that although these Survivors didn’t dare to act, none of them compromised; their eyes still flickered with a faint hostility.

This didn’t escape Vikram’s notice; instead, he nodded.

At least it showed that these Survivors understood flexibility.

"Not bad. Regardless of their past conduct, at least taking them under my wing shouldn’t be a major issue."

Nodding to himself, Vikram pondered for a moment before slowly speaking to the people of the Brown Wood Shelter, "You don’t need to be so hostile toward me."

His calm gaze swept across the crowd before stopping briefly on Abhishek, who stood silently nearby.

"I’m not here to slaughter everyone or destroy your Shelter."

"I’m here because from today onward, Brown Wood Shelter will come under my control."

The expressions of many people changed slightly after hearing this directly.

However, Vikram’s voice remained calm, "Your previous way of surviving was too inefficient."

"You struggle for food every day. You fear zombie waves, black fog, and wasteland disasters. And every time something dangerous appears, all of you can only pray to survive."

"In this wasteland, that kind of life won’t last long."

The crowd became silent. Because nobody could deny his words.

Vikram continued, "I don’t care about useless resistance. What I want is a stable shelter with people capable of following orders."

"As long as you obey the Territory rules, contribute to the Shelter, and don’t betray me..."

"Then I can guarantee all of you something your current Shelter cannot."

"I will provide stable food supplies, water, medicine and a safer environment to survive in."

"And in the future, your lives will become far better than they are now."

Hearing this, many people subconsciously looked at each other.

After all, in the wasteland, survival itself was already difficult.

A stable life was something most people didn’t even dare dream about anymore.

Vikram then pointed toward Abhishek.

"Abhishek will continue managing this Shelter. He already works under me. As long as all of you cooperate properly, your daily lives won’t change much."

"But the Shelter itself will become stronger."

Vikram’s gaze slowly swept across everyone again.

"I won’t force anyone to worship me. I also don’t need fake loyalty. But if you live under my protection, eat the food I provide, and enjoy the safety created by my Territory..."

"Then naturally, you must also follow my rules."

His tone remained calm from beginning to end. Yet nobody dared interrupt him.

Because everyone present already understood one thing clearly.

The current Vikram possessed strength completely beyond ordinary survivors.

As soon as Vikram finished speaking, a hot-headed Survivor near the doorway immediately stepped forward with an unconvinced expression.

"Easy for you to say! How are you even going to fulfill those promises?"

"We can barely survive zombie attacks ourselves, and you’re talking about stable food, protection, and safety?"

The man’s tone became increasingly emotional.

"This is the wasteland! Even large Shelters get destroyed overnight!"

Before anyone else could react, another Survivor also shouted from the crowd,

"And once your lackey becomes the leader of our Shelter, then what?"

"Won’t he just force all of us to work endlessly while you abandon us afterward?"

Many people silently looked toward Vikram after hearing those words.

Clearly, those concerns existed in most people’s minds.

However, Vikram showed no anger at all. Instead, he simply scoffed lightly.

"You people seem to have misunderstood something."

His calm gaze swept across the crowd.

"If I truly wanted to abandon all of you, would I need to waste this much time?"

"I could’ve simply taken your resources by force and left. With my strength, none of you could stop me anyway."

The crowd instantly fell silent. Because everyone knew that was the truth.

Vikram continued calmly, "The reason I’m willing to take over Brown Wood Shelter is because it still has value."

"You have manpower, infrastructure and survivors who still know how to work and follow orders."

"And I need people." He looked directly at them.

"But I don’t need slaves. I need survivors capable of helping the Shelter continue developing."

"As long as you contribute properly, your lives will naturally improve alongside the Shelter."

Vikram then glanced toward Abhishek, "As for Abhishek, if he dares to exploit all of you, his head will not be placed on his body."

"So, don’t worry about that. If all of you work together, your future living conditions will only become better."

The hot-headed Survivor still looked unconvinced.

"And what if another zombie wave attacks? What if stronger monsters appear?"

Vikram suddenly smiled faintly. "Then I’ll kill them."

"How?"

Vikram gave a smile, and immediately after, everyone present was astonished to find a thick, pitch-black mist suddenly rising in the conference room.

The mist was very similar to the previous natural disaster black mist, but even more bizarre.

The eight-meter range of Boundless Darkness instantly enveloped most of the people present.

Upon contact with the mist, everyone was surprised to find that their speed, strength, and even their thoughts became extremely heavy.

It was as if they had fallen seriously ill, unable to muster any strength or spirit.

Just then, a’snap’ of fingers sounded in their ears, and in the blink of an eye, the black mist that enveloped them immediately disappeared.

Coming back to their senses, everyone present, including Abhishek, had their backs soaked with sweat, and their faces were all filled with lingering fear.

They didn’t know what it was, but they only knew that in that black mist where nothing could be seen, they would absolutely be unable to offer any resistance.

Vikram watched their reactions, feeling very satisfied.

In reality, the effect of Boundless Darkness wasn’t that exaggerated; it was just their fear of the unknown, combined with obscured vision, and the psychological effect they created in their own minds.

However, this was precisely the effect Vikram wanted.

He didn’t expect these Brown Wood Shelter members to submit to him in a single day; as long as he instilled enough fear of him in their hearts, subsequent matters would be much simpler.

"I want Abhishek to be your Shelter leader."

"As for the rest of you, do whatever you like; you’re not in a position to negotiate with me anyway."

"Since no one else has anything to say, Abhishek, go sit in your rightful place."

Vikram finished speaking and looked at Abhishek.

"Boss, this..."

"What?"

"You’re not happy about being made Shelter leader?"

Abhishek was startled and quickly waved his hand in denial, explaining, "Boss, if you leave, my position as Shelter leader won’t even be warm before these people probably chop me into mincemeat."

"Look at their eyes; they really look like they want to eat me."

Compared to Vikram’s successful invasion of Brown Wood Shelter, that was a matter of their Shelter’s inferiority.

But a turncoat like Abhishek, no matter the era, would be a rat crossing the street, hated by everyone.

Being chopped into mincemeat would be putting it lightly.

"Tsk!"

"How can you be so useless? You’ve been in Brown Wood Shelter for so long, and you don’t even have a single subordinate of your own?" Vikram muttered in a low voice.

This was indeed difficult to handle. After all, his goal was to recruit the current subordinates of Brown Wood Shelter; he couldn’t possibly kill them on the spot just to protect Abhishek, could he?