Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

The two sabers on Xia Hong's back were actually quite conspicuous.

Both the ceremonial saber and the horizontal saber were narrow-bladed, a clear distinction from the common broadswords of the Ice Abyss World. Moreover, the ceremonial saber was so long, almost as tall as Xia Hong himself, so it was normal for people to notice it.

When Luo Ming heard Cheng Ping wanted to see the sabers, his heart immediately sank. Turning back to see Xia Hong's pleading gaze, he knew these two sabers were important to him and quickly spoke to Cheng Ping.

"Sir, what good things could someone from a small camp possibly have? These two sabers are so narrow and thin, clearly made with insufficient iron ore..."

"Enough nonsense! I told you to open them, so open them! Why are you wasting words!"

Luo Ming was interrupted by Cheng Ping before he could finish speaking.

Cheng Ping stared directly at Xia Hong, and seeing his troubled expression, he became even more interested in the two sabers behind him.

People from small camps indeed couldn't possibly have anything good, but there were always exceptions, and perhaps he'd find a bargain today?

The other four people on duty with Cheng Ping watched from the side, their faces bearing a hint of malicious smiles, clearly understanding Cheng Ping's style and adopting a "the more the merrier" attitude.

After being interrupted, Luo Ming's face immediately turned ugly, but he was clearly somewhat afraid of Cheng Ping. He didn't dare to continue speaking, only turning to look at Xia Hong, giving him a helpless look, the meaning in his eyes clearly hoping he would hand over the sabers.

Seeing the meaning in Luo Ming's eyes, Xia Hong's expression gradually darkened.

It was impossible to let Cheng Ping see them. Knowing this person's nature, if he really saw them, the subsequent troubles would definitely come one after another, and in the end, he probably wouldn't be able to stay in the Hive.

Since that's the case...

After a long silence, Xia Hong directly turned his head to face Cheng Ping, his tone low and沉重道:

"These two sabers are relics of an old friend and are very important to me. I once made a solemn oath that anyone who wants to draw them must first kill me. If you really want to see them, sir, then make your move!"

As Xia Hong's firm words fell, Cheng Ping's expression instantly froze.

The eyes of the four people beside him, who had originally been watching the fun, also changed.

Luo Ming and Shang Ping were even more dumbfounded.

If you want to see the sabers, then kill him first.

No one had expected Xia Hong to refuse so thoroughly.

Cheng Ping's expression remained frozen for more than ten breaths. Gradually turning gloomy, he glared at Xia Hong and slowly walked up to him, his tone incomparably sinister as he said, "Are you threatening me? Do you think I don't dare to kill you?"

"I would never dare, I am merely stating the truth. If you don't believe me, sir, you can attack and see for yourself!"

Xia Hong's expression was calm and composed, and although his tone didn't reveal any anger, the determination contained within his words left no room for doubt.

Everyone present could clearly feel that if Cheng Ping made a move, Xia Hong would definitely fight to the death.

"Forget it, Captain, this kid is new and a bit of a blockhead. He'll understand after he's been here for a while. Let him in!"

"There's no need to create conflict here. It won't look good if things get out of hand."

"Yes, yes, Captain, let it go!"

The four people on duty with Cheng Ping couldn't sit still at this moment and stood up one after another, walking to Cheng Ping's side to劝說.

These people stepping forward to劝說 gave him a way out, and Cheng Ping's originally embarrassed expression immediately softened a bit, but the look in his eyes as he stared at Xia Hong still carried a strong fire of anger.

He glared at Xia Hong for a full three or four breaths before revealing a sinister smile and saying:

"Consider yourself lucky today, kid. I'll slowly play with you later!"

The interlude caused by the two sabers temporarily passed.

Luo Ming and Shang Ping continued forward with Xia Hong, but their expressions were very ugly. Although they didn't say it, Xia Hong could still tell that they both likely held some意见 against him.

"You two don't need to worry. The blame for this matter lies with me. Cheng Ping is also after my sabers. Even if he wants to cause trouble, he should only come after me and shouldn't involve you."

Hearing Xia Hong's words, Luo Ming couldn't help himself at this moment, turning his head back and looking at Xia Hong with some helplessness, saying, "If they were really just ordinary sabers, it wouldn't matter to give them to him. Cheng Ping's status isn't simple..."

After Luo Ming's explanation, Xia Hong understood why Cheng Ping was so嚣张.

Cheng Ping had an older sister named Cheng Mei, who was the woman of Chen Yingba, the leader of the hunting团, and was recently very宠爱. Guarding the gate of the驻地 was considered a lucrative position in the Hive, and Cheng Ping was able to secure it thanks to his sister's pillow talk.

Guarding the city gate wasn't anything important, but the advantage was that he could管一下 everyone. Like a goose plucking feathers as it flew over, Cheng Ping was greedy by nature. Relying on his sister's relationship, he didn't dare provoke the elite team, but he would fleece everyone else who entered.

When Luo Ming previously returned from hunting with his team, their prey would also be cut up and taken away by him.

Some people had gone to report it to the higher-ups, but in the end, nothing came of it. Everyone knew there was no way to deal with Cheng Ping, so they simply let it go.

Luo Ming's explanation caused Xia Hong to frown repeatedly.

"The cold beasts you hunt outside, aren't they supposed to be managed and distributed uniformly by the camp? So many people are being exploited by him, and the superiors don't care?"

Seeing Xia Hong ask about this, and remembering that he was new and didn't understand anything, Luo Ming simply introduced the management model of the Hive camp in general terms.

The management model of the Hive camp, to put it simply, was elitism.

Elitism, as the name suggests, meant that everything was centered around the core elites, and almost everyone in the entire camp was serving them.

The Hive camp had more than 30,000 people, and the most core and important group was naturally the hunting团 led by Chen Yingba. The entire团 had more than 700 people, all with Earth-Digging Realm cultivation, forming more than 30 hunting teams.

And among these 700 people, only more than 100 had obtained elite status.

"Elite members have their food, clothing, housing, transportation, cultivation needs, even servants and attendants, and even women, all provided by the superiors. They only need to focus on cultivation. Even the frequency of外出 hunting is entirely controlled by themselves. They can go whenever they want, and if they don't want to go, they don't have to. They only need to obey the orders of the团长 and the two chief leaders. They are considered the most precious group of people in the Hive!"

More than 100 people?

Xia Hong frowned and asked, "Only more than 100 people? The entire Hive camp has more than 30,000 people, plus more than 600 Earth-Digging Realm cultivators. Supporting more than 100 people should be easy. They wouldn't need much beast meat even if they didn't go out hunting at all, right?"

"They don't need much, but their families, attendants, and even servants and women need it, so it adds up..."

Hearing this, Xia Hong immediately understood.

Without guessing, he knew that the original intention of this so-called elitism was definitely to select a group of the camp's most outstanding elites. They would be responsible for specialized cultivation, improving their strength, while the rest would be responsible for providing for them, and then this group of elites would bear the duty of guarding the camp and protecting the safety of others.

This kind of system should have been very reasonable when it first started operating.

But judging from Luo Ming's attitude at this moment, it was clear that this system had already begun to变味.

Without accident, these more than 100 elites should have formed a community of interest, equivalent to the privileged class of the Hive, and only by attaching themselves to this group could the rest of the people live a good life.

"Then what is the way to obtain elite status?"

Hearing this question, Shang Ping couldn't help himself at this moment and said, "First, the basic strength must exceed 30,000 jin. Second, you must obtain the joint recommendation of eight elites. Finally, you can report it to the团长, who will then ask the two chief leaders to approve it. Only after approval can you obtain it."

Xia Hong was speechless and showed an incredulous expression.

They had blocked off the path to advancement!

How had such a system been operating in the Hive for so many years?

Seeing the incredulous expression on Xia Hong's face, Luo Ming also showed a helpless smile and said, "Actually, it's not difficult to understand. You only need to understand the specific composition of the more than 100 elites in the camp."

Xia Hong lowered his head and thought for a moment, and immediately realized the key.

"Those more than 100 elites are all relatives of the three leaders. Even if they're not relatives, they have kinship relationships, right?"

Luo Ming and Shang Ping's expressions changed slightly. While surprised by Xia Hong's敏锐程度, they also nodded, confirming his guess.

"The Hive has a total of 162 elites, which is actually 162变相 elite families. These 162 people all have intricate relationships with each other. The vast majority of them are related to the Chen family and the Wu family. Even if they're not related, they will forcibly send their daughters to the three to be concubines, in order to attach themselves. In this way, the elitism is implemented more firmly and immovably!"

After Luo Ming finished speaking, Shang Ping immediately sneered and said, "They also symbolically give out one or two elite qualifications every year, but in the end, those who successfully advance are either the sons-in-law of those elite families or their followers and vassals. It has basically nothing to do with people like us."

In this way, Xia Hong roughly understood the situation.

Without accident, these elite families, united together, not only colluded with each other to form a community of interest, closing off the advancement channels of others, but also surely recommended each other, passing on the elite status only within their own ranks through inheritance.

This Cheng Ping, and his older sister Cheng Mei, must also be members of an elite family, otherwise, where would they get such胆子.

"The hunting teams composed of elite families only have six teams in total. They can take all the harvested prey back themselves. The remaining 28 hunting teams must hand over half of the harvested prey, including iron ore, coal, and other materials.

"Over time, the members of those elite families, regardless of their strength or hunting experience, are naturally much higher than us. In the subsequent series of competitions, we can't compare to them, and it becomes a matter of course..."

Xia Hong fell silent upon hearing this, and in the end, he could only shake his head and say nothing.

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This kind of operating model, while making those elite families comfortable, is undoubtedly very detrimental to the development of the Hive camp.

No wonder the Hive has existed for so many years, but still can't develop.

If Chen Yingyuan wasn't stupid, he should be able to see the drawbacks, but the problem is that he himself, his family, and a series of in-laws are all beneficiaries of this system.

Self-reform, how easy is it?

Xia Hong turned his head to look at Luo Ming, with a hint of sympathy on his face.

Luo Ming's basic strength has reached the limit of 30,000 jin. According to the rules of the Hive camp, he is qualified to be promoted to an elite, but looking at his attitude in front of Cheng Ping just now, it is obvious that this matter is also a distant dream for him.

If he were younger, he could find someone from an elite family to marry, and then, over time, he might be able to get ahead, but he is so old and has a child. Considering that Li Baihe, Xu Kang, and Shang Ping are also following him, it may be difficult to integrate into that group of elites.

For a time, Xia Hong could roughly guess Luo Ming's situation in the Hive.

"Hong Yu, I agreed to Yue Feng to bring you here because we are both from Redwood Ridge, but you have also seen that I have only been in the Hive for two years, and my status is not high. I'm afraid I can't help you much with what follows. After going to the hunting group to register, you will have to rely on yourself for the rest."

Luo Ming said these words, and Shang Ping next to him hesitated, as if thinking of something, but in the end, he sighed slightly and said nothing.

Xia Hong saw the embarrassed expressions on their faces, and didn't say much. He just nodded lightly and smiled: "Brother Luo can help me so much, Hong Yu is already very grateful. I dare not trouble you two any further. Just take me to the hunting group to register, thank you!"

Luo Ming nodded and didn't say anything more, leading Xia Hong inside.

The buildings in the Hive's underground space are arranged in a ring shape, with the most core building in the middle area. Soon, Xia Hong followed Luo Ming and the others to the front of the tallest building in the middle.

"The hunting group is on the second floor, come with me!"

Xia Hong looked up at the five-story building, which was more than 20 meters high, and his mind moved slightly. He glanced at the top floor, and then followed Luo Ming up.

Walking into the building, Xia Hong realized that the entire five-story building was made of pure iron, with only a layer of wooden planks laid on the ground. Every five meters, there was a coal stove lit, and the lights were bright, and there were many people coming and going.

"Coal, iron, beast meat, beast bones, beast skins... The first and second floors should be partly storage rooms. The third floor has the sound of blacksmithing, tailoring, and woodworking, which should be functional layers, like the wooden buildings of the Great Xia in the past... On the fourth floor, people are practicing boxing, but there are not many people, it should be the practice place for those elite family members... On the fifth floor, doesn't the Hive only have three Cold Resistance levels? How can there be an extra aura...?"

After the perfect reshaping of the skin membrane, Xia Hong's perception is not what it used to be. Within a radius of two hundred meters, unless people of the same level deliberately conceal it, he can perceive any disturbance.

He naturally didn't have much interest in everything in this building.

Only the fourth Cold Resistance level aura on the fifth floor made him very curious.

Chen Yingyuan, Wu Tianxing, Chen Yingba, according to Yu Wentao, the Hive should only have these three Cold Resistance levels. Who is this extra one?

Could it be that this Hive camp is hiding something?

This question can only be left for later to understand slowly.

Xia Hong quickly completed the registration with Luo Ming. An ordinary Earth Digging Realm joining the camp naturally didn't require the head of the group, Chen Yingba, to personally come forward. It was just an ordinary Earth Digging Realm who registered Xia Hong.

"Hong Yu, 28 years old, Earth Digging Realm, basic strength of 26,000 jin. According to the rules, you will automatically become a member of the hunting group. Does any hunting team want you?"

Hearing the question from the person at the registration office, Xia Hong's expression froze, and then he shook his head.

"None?"

The man was stunned when he heard this, and then looked up at the door, and found that Luo Ming and Shang Ping had already walked away, and his expression suddenly became strange.

"If no hunting team wants you, then you have to go to mining first. There is a shortage of people in the iron mine recently. You can go to report tomorrow. The minimum daily quota for mining is 100 jin of iron ore. When you join a hunting team and complete the beast meat delivery, you will only have ten days of mining quota per month."

Xia Hong realized at this moment what Luo Ming meant when he said that he would have to rely on himself later.

It turned out that he didn't want to let himself join his hunting team, so he said that.

Luo Ming must have seen that he had offended Cheng Ping just now, and was worried that bringing himself into his hunting team would cause him to be deliberately made things difficult by Cheng Ping later.

Xia Hong frowned. He didn't blame Luo Ming, but he had finally managed to sneak into the Hive camp, and he didn't have so much time to waste on mining.

"Is it necessary to join a hunting team? Can I create one myself?"

The person at the registration office was stunned when he heard this, and then looked up at Xia Hong, with a hint of teasing: "You can, but you have to pull in three people, and come to me together to register, and then hand in three low-level cold beasts to be considered a successful creation. During this period, the daily amount of iron ore mining still has to be handed in on time."

"Understood, then where is my residence?"

"It's over there in the mining area. You can get there by taking the 19th passage. There will be someone in charge of taking you there. Go directly."

The newcomer wasn't even assigned a place to live.

An Earth Digging Realm had to squeeze into the mining area to live.

Xia Hong shook his head repeatedly in his heart, but he didn't say much. He turned around and left the building, walking towards the door.

"Boy, going to the mining area?"

Just as he walked to the door, Xia Hong was stopped by Cheng Ping. Seeing the other party's gloating attitude, he just frowned, bypassed him and continued to walk out.

"I'll give you one more chance, hand over the two knives on your back to me, and if I say a word, Luo Ming will definitely take you in, how about it?"

Stopped by the other party again, Xia Hong was about to lose patience. This time, he simply couldn't bear it anymore. He raised his head and stared at Cheng Ping, and said:

"If you really have a big backer, why don't you just attack me here? Anyway, my strength is not as good as yours. If you kill me, you can take these two knives as a matter of course. If you don't dare, then get the hell out of my way!"

In the end, Xia Hong emphasized the tone of the words "get out of the way", almost scolding Cheng Ping. The volume was too loud, and it immediately attracted many people to come and watch.

Cheng Ping's face turned into the color of pig liver, his chest heaving up and down, obviously very angry, but even after putting his hand on the hilt of the knife two or three times, he still didn't dare to draw the knife. Seeing that more and more people were watching, he could only grit his teeth and step aside, using an extremely sinister tone, and said to Xia Hong in a low voice:

"Trash, remember to keep one eye open when sleeping in the mining area during the day."

"I'm waiting for you to come!"

Xia Hong said four words back to him as if no one else was there, and walked directly out the door.

Standing in place, Cheng Ping stared at Xia Hong's back with a sinister and resentful expression, clearly brewing in his heart how to deal with this newcomer who had defied him twice in a row.