108: I'm having a meal, and I want to tell you something

Tian Ming watched these people exchanging glances, at a loss, then continued, “Since no one is speaking, I’ll take that as your agreement. Fatty, the people you brought are all under your command. Oh, right, I still don’t know your name?”

“Zhao Jin… Jin.” The Fatty stammered, speaking indistinctly.

“Zhao Dingding?” Tian Ming was speechless. What a terrible name, even worse than Dogzi’s real name.

The Fatty corrected him, “It’s Zhao Jinjin, not that ‘Zhao Dingding’.”

Tian Ming didn’t mind and said, “Alright, I’m not deaf. Meng Dong, make a good tally, then report the information to Lin Yue.”

“Understood, Boss.” Meng Dong nodded and agreed.

Tian Ming glanced at everyone in the conference room, then continued, “My Shelter has its own rules. In the next few days, someone will come to teach you how to follow them. Whether you are Ability Users or ordinary people, here, you are all the same. Don’t think about getting special treatment, understand?”

Tian Ming’s tone was stern. This group of people were Ability Users, and he had to make things clear from the start.

From his earpiece, Shen Yuan’s voice came through, “Boss, what you asked for is ready. Should I have Dogzi send someone to the conference room with it?”

“Mm, got it, send it over.” Tian Ming nodded.

To ensure everything was foolproof, Tian Ming had Shen Yuan write a small positioning program last night.

The base station within the Shelter had already been completed, and through the device’s triangulation method, everyone’s location could be pinpointed in real-time.

This positioning was extremely accurate, precise to within ten centimeters.

What Shen Yuan had done was create an electronic cage, drawing an area within the Shelter to keep these Ability Users confined for temporary control.

Soon, Dogzi brought a box containing improved monitoring wristbands.

Tian Ming had Meng Dong distribute these wristbands and instructed everyone to put them on.

These wristbands were no different from those used for payments, but they had an added positioning function.

“Everyone has their wristband, right? This thing has positioning and a wear sensor. Don’t even think about taking it off or trying to escape. I’ll have the enforcement team watch you. You possess abilities, and if you dare to cause trouble, I will personally deal with you.”

Tian Ming’s words made everyone’s expressions change. They knew these wristbands were for monitoring them, yet they could only silently accept.

But if they dared to do anything out of line, Tian Ming, an existence beyond Superpower Users, could make them die with ease.

“Meng Dong, take them to collect some daily necessities, then arrange accommodation for them.” Tian Ming said indifferently.

“Understood, Boss.” Meng Dong nodded.

...

The Shelter now had three additional helicopters and had subdued so many Ability Users; this was simply a huge harvest. Tian Ming was in a very good mood, humming a tune as he arrived at the cafeteria.

Laughter came from inside the private room, where the Materials Group was eating.

“Brother Qiu, ask the Boss when he’ll let us go out again.”

Qiu Wuhui sighed, “I’m afraid it won’t be possible for a while. The Boss has provoked the Hua Xin Group, and he’s already told us not to go out.”

“With the Boss’s capabilities, what can’t he handle? Those Ability Users captured today, who were so arrogant, still had to tuck their tails between their legs in front of the Boss, didn’t they?”

With a creak, Tian Ming pushed open the private room door. The Materials Group brothers instantly all stood up.

They had just been talking about the Boss, and now he appeared, making them quite nervous.

“Sit, why are you all standing?” Tian Ming waved his hand, signaling for them to sit down.

“Boss, you’re here.” Qiu Wuhui stood up and pulled out a chair for Tian Ming.

Tian Ming felt a little emotional; this kind of treatment was truly comfortable.

“I came to scrounge for a meal!” Tian Ming said, looking at the table full of delicious dishes.

“Boss, you’re being too polite. It’s our Materials Group brothers’ good fortune to be able to eat with the Boss.”

Tian Ming smiled and waved his hand, “No flattery. You are all squad leaders of the Materials Group, right?”

Qiu Wuhui repeatedly said, “Yes, we are all squad leaders. We’ve adjusted the functional assignments: brothers on alert are on alert, movers are moving, drivers are driving. We work collaboratively, which is more efficient and much safer than before.”

Tian Ming nodded and said, “Since the squad leaders are all here, that’s good. I have something to say.”

Everyone put down their chopsticks and sat up straight.

Tian Ming began, “The resources within the city will eventually be depleted, especially food items. At most, in about a year, they will run out. Even if they don’t run out, what’s expired will expire.”

“Boss, we don’t quite understand what you mean.” Someone scratched their head, asking with a puzzled expression.

Tian Ming smiled calmly and said, “The Materials Group might exist for another year or so. After that, it might be merged into the Shelter’s security forces. The reason I’m giving you a heads-up so early is because of the emergence of Ability Users.”

Everyone fell silent. Ability Users had too great an advantage over ordinary people. Take Sun Wentao, for example; he only had a basic warming ability, but it could be used to clear paths or boil water.

Even if he just acted as a human generator, he was more useful than everyone else. In the early days of the Shelter, Tian Ming had said that whoever was more useful would have a higher status in the Shelter.

Now, the emergence of Ability Users indeed somewhat threatened the status of the original capable core members within the Shelter.

Tian Ming had directly stated the facts, and everyone didn’t understand his intention.

Qiu Wuhui sighed and said, “Boss, on behalf of the brothers, I’ll speak frankly. Ability Users like Sun Wentao and Pan Ting have indeed brought great convenience to our Materials Group. During this time, the brothers have also had quite a few complaints, feeling that if a few more Ability Users came, then the original Materials Group brothers might no longer have any status.”

Tian Ming was somewhat exasperated. His purpose in bringing this up was to have the Materials Group assign some people to participate in new industries.

The Shelter had helicopters, so many vehicles, heating pipelines, etc., that required daily patrols and maintenance. One Materials Group didn’t need so many people. Distributing people to other positions—yet Qiu Wuhui was talking about irrelevant things, making him feel both annoyed and amused.

This smile made Qiu Wuhui a bit puzzled.

“Boss, what are you laughing at?”

“Laughing at what? I’m laughing at how you are a bunch of simpletons, with no vision whatsoever. So worried about your status? Ordinary people? Shen Yuan, Shen Yi, Wu Cuiling, aren’t they all ordinary people? Will their status be low?”

As soon as Tian Ming said this, everyone immediately fell silent. The Boss was right; ordinary people’s status wasn’t necessarily low. Just like Liu Chuan, that guy used to go around saying he was a scientist, and no one paid attention, but now he’s transformed into a pilot.

Tian Ming looked at these people and said, “Lift your heads and eat. Don’t underestimate yourselves. No matter how powerful an Ability User is, they are not omnipotent. Just like me, although I am your Boss, without the technical support provided by Shen Yuan, I couldn’t conjure up all those miscellaneous pieces of equipment in the Shelter out of thin air.”