A huge thank you to Robert_Curran, Martin_Garcia_5731, Crypz, LordAlzeron, DaoistBTmnZh, Lucy_Ashiya, Don_RaDjinn, David_Lewis_4670, Jose_Atzin, Damon_Martin_6042, and Toby_Morris_3701 for the Golden Tickets! Your support truly means a lot and keeps me motivated to continue writing and improving the story.

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Moreover, Abhishek currently had no trusted aides of his own, so even if he took the position, it would be difficult to command respect.

Their loyalty was an advantage, but precisely because of that, they weren’t as easy to dismiss as the members of Savage Wolf Shelter; they wouldn’t run away as long as they had food and shelter.

Just as Vikram was also at a loss and confused, Abhishek noticed Wesley, who was silent but hadn’t left, and immediately thought of a good idea.

He then whispered in Vikram’s ear, "Boss, look at that old man. If you let him be the Shelter leader, there will definitely be no problems afterward."

"Hmm? How so?"

Abhishek recounted everything about Wesley in detail to Vikram, who immediately showed a look of realization.

"No wonder these members of Brown Wood Shelter have such quality; it turns out it’s all thanks to this little old man."

Vikram nodded and walked towards Wesley.

Wesley, seeing Vikram approach, instinctively took a few steps back until he hit the metal wall behind him, forcing him to stop.

"Stop! What do you want to do to Wesley?"

The members outside, seeing that Vikram seemed to be about to lay hands on Wesley, didn’t care about anything else and rushed in, trying to pull Vikram away.

"Don’t be so anxious. I just want to talk to your Wesley; I won’t eat him."

Wesley glanced at the person, who then sheepishly stopped.

Vikram smiled slightly, "Old sir, what should I call you?"

Wesley shook his head, seemingly understanding Vikram’s thoughts, and a look of resignation gradually appeared on his face as he said in a deep voice, "Young man, if you want me to be this puppet Shelter leader, then there’s no need to say more."

"I wouldn’t go so far as to betray the subordinates I personally brought up for such a small gain. If it came to that, I’d rather die myself."

Vikram shrugged, not surprised.

"Wesley is truly selfless; no wonder the soldiers he raised are so loyal."

"But who told you I wanted to betray them?"

"If you really want to die, I won’t stop you, but for now, listen to me first."

Vikram’s tone softened, but his eyes revealed an undeniable authority.

Wesley, thinking he was going to die anyway, settled down, wanting to see what kind of trick this young man who suddenly appeared was up to.

"It’s just as you thought, I want to ask you to be the Shelter Leader, but it has nothing to do with what you said about supporting a puppet Shelter Leader."

"I only have one condition, and that is I need Wesley to help me train some reliable subordinates to replenish the forces of my Shelter."

"Aside from this, I will not interfere with anything else concerning the Brown Wood Shelter. As long as you don’t actively provoke my Shelter, I can even provide you with some resource assistance."

"Our relationship is purely based on mutual benefit."

"You provide me with high-quality subordinates, and I can also help improve the current situation of the Brown Wood Shelter."

"What do you think?"

Vikram stared at the old man opposite him, his gaze like a torch.

In fact, he didn’t want to waste so much breath with him. Logically, a slave bracelet could solve the problem.

However, while the bracelet’s effect was indeed incredible, it couldn’t prevent the wearer from committing suicide.

After all, the bracelet’s biggest punishment mechanism was to directly electrocute the enslaved wearer. As long as these people kept resisting orders, they would be electrocuted without even needing to commit suicide.

That’s why Vikram went to such lengths to reason with the other party.

Wesley was indeed an old man; he didn’t take Vikram’s later promises seriously at all.

Instead, Vikram’s earlier demands made Wesley’s expression look a little better.

"Is it that simple? Are you sure you only need our Shelter to provide you with some subordinates?"

"It’s that simple. Of course, I don’t need those incompetent Odd jobs members. I need the mid-level personnel of the Brown Wood Shelter, which is the group of people outside the door."

"As for Wesley’s concern about whether he would harm the subordinates he brought up, you don’t need to worry about that."

"You’ve seen my strength. They will only live better in my Shelter than they do here."

Upon hearing this, Wesley’s expression gradually became conflicted, but Vikram only waited less than two minutes before getting a satisfactory answer.

"Okay, but I have one condition." Vikram shrugged, noncommittal.

"These mid-level personnel are currently the most important force of the Brown Wood Shelter. I can’t give them all to you at once. For now, I can only assign about 20 people to you."

Vikram finally smiled at this, "No problem, I’m not in a hurry. The rest can wait until Wesley cultivates new subordinates, and then I’ll take them."

He wants to control the whole Brown Wood Shelter, but currently he is just making use of it.

Outside the door, a group of Survivors, however, were filled with confusion and a hint of annoyance.

They had just been planning to help Wesley, but Wesley turned around and sold them out. How could they accept that?

"Wesley, why? We could simply ignore him. At worst, we give up the Brown Wood Shelter and give it to this scoundrel. We have so many brothers, where can’t we start anew?"

Wesley did not agree with his viewpoint.

Currently, given Vikram’s strength, he could easily crush these remnants of Brown Wood.

He knew that the subordinates he had trained were not afraid of death, but they couldn’t just sacrifice themselves for nothing.

The other party was still willing to reason with them at this time, which was almost giving them full respect and enough room for them to maneuver.

Only the condition of transferring personnel was already a huge concession.

The apparent outcome was similar to before.

But Wesley knew that this was already the best outcome. At least the Brown Wood Shelter was still there. If it developed in the future, there might still be a chance to overthrow the other party.

"You go with him first. This young man won’t treat you badly."

"If things are good with him, then work for him obediently."

"If something really goes wrong, it’s not too late for you to run. The Brown Wood Shelter is still your home."

What Vikram wanted was this sentence. He couldn’t command these people himself; only this old man could direct them now.

Once they arrived at his Shelter, he naturally had ways to make them loyal to him.

As for Wesley, who remained in the Brown Wood Shelter, Vikram specifically told him that he would not interfere with anything in the Brown Wood Shelter, just to leave him some hope.

This way, while achieving his own goal, the other party would also be reluctant to leave because he wanted to counterattack him.

It also saved him the trouble of these people all running away as soon as he left, leaving only empty houses.

It must be said that although Wesley appeared in a desperate situation in front of Vikram, he truly lacked none of his inherent abilities.

As soon as he finished speaking, the members outside the door had no further complaints.

Although they didn’t have much recognition for Vikram as their boss, they still obediently came to his side and shouted in unison, "Boss!"

Vikram nodded, gave Wesley a smile of pleasant cooperation, and led them to leave the Brown Wood Shelter.

"Hey, Boss, what about me?"

"Who are you?"

Abhishek’s face stiffened, "I’m Abhishek! I’m tired of staying in this Brown Wood Shelter too. I’ll go back to the shelter with you too."

Saying he was tired of staying was false. The truth was, he was afraid of being torn to pieces by a group of people if he stayed here.

"Go away, go away, what’s it to you? You’re useless. You just stay here and accompany Wesley. He’s old, and he’ll need your help with some things."

Vikram glanced at him speechlessly. He didn’t believe Abhishek didn’t understand what he meant by leaving him here. He probably wanted to gain some benefits from him.

Vikram thought for a moment, took out a handful of mutated crystals from his bag, and threw them to him.

"Don’t say I made you work for free. You have nothing more to say now, do you?"

Abhishek’s eyes went wide when he saw such a large handful of mutated crystals. He didn’t dare to say anything more.

With these crystals, and his own high-level strength, even if he stayed here, none of these people would be his match.

After receiving the crystals, Abhishek’s face changed faster than flipping a book, quickly filling with a lewd smile, "Hehe, Boss is mighty! Then I’ll listen to you and help Wesley more."

Wesley, seeing Vikram leave Abhishek here, showed no surprise at all on his face, as if he thought it was only right.

Leading the group, Vikram left the Brown Wood Shelter.

Vikram had no intention of putting a slave bracelet on Wesley. Their relationship was very delicate, and doing anything extra to provoke him now would not be beneficial.

Vikram had come alone, but when he returned, he had a team of twenty-one.

However, Vikram wasn’t worried about how to get back. Rather, this was a good opportunity to open the eyes of these new members.

Just as the members of Brown Wood Shelter were still wondering why Vikram had been standing still for so long after coming out.

The next second, a colossal vehicle suddenly appeared before their eyes.

Military green paint, a heavy pure steel body, coupled with huge wheel hubs and bulletproof tempered glass. (How did it appear here? It was Vikram taken one vehicle from the Vampire Ruin.)

Any man who saw such an imposing vehicle for the first time would feel his blood surge.

They were no exception.

Even though they had just been sold out by their teacher and superior, their expressions were not good, but upon seeing such a giant vehicle, a hint of surprise appeared on their faces.

But that was all.

After all, there was only one vehicle, and given their usual behavior at Brown Wood Shelter, they wouldn’t get to ride in it; they’d probably have to run themselves ragged behind it.

However, Vikram saw their expressions and chuckled derisively.

To make these new members loyal to him, besides his own training, the most important thing was, of course, their treatment.

Brown Wood Shelter couldn’t afford it, but Vikram wasn’t lacking in that regard.

"Why are you just standing there?"

"Get in!"

He shouted at the Survivors in the front row, and they were momentarily stunned.

Vikram didn’t explain to them but instead rummaged in his bag again.

In the blink of an eye, two more four-wheeled vehicles appeared on the snowy ground.

"This..." Watching four vehicles appear on the snow, even with their poor mood, they were completely speechless by the sight.

Vehicles, let alone four-wheeled ones, even two-wheeled ones, if they entered the market, would be fiercely fought over by various factions.

But with Vikram, it was as if they were free, one after another being thrown out, and they couldn’t quite comprehend it at first.

Suppressing the frustration and awkwardness in his heart, a burly Survivor asked, "Boss, are these all vehicles from your Shelter?"

Vikram smiled, "Does that even need to be said? If they’re not mine, could they have been stolen from your Brown Wood Shelter?"

Vikram’s face didn’t redden, nor did his heart pound; he had indeed snuck into Brown Wood Shelter’s warehouse earlier and stolen some supplies.

However, that didn’t include vehicles, but it did include the pile of mutated crystals he had given to Abhishek earlier.