Qin Shi Lei refreshed the third attribute for Zhang Xiaoli, fixing it with a rapid recovery attribute that could speed up her mental energy recovery. He then proceeded to refresh the attributes for the three newly acquired purple-grade equipment.
Dragon Scale Armor (Purple): Forged from the scales of a Flood Dragon, it possesses excellent defensive capabilities.
Bonus Attribute: Defense Doubled (Red).
Qin Shi Lei replaced his Golden Silk Soft Armor with this.
Void Chain (Purple): Grants three chances per day to enter the void, with each duration lasting ten seconds.
Bonus Attribute: Void Walking (Purple): After entering the void, one can appear anywhere within a five-hundred-meter radius through void walking.
Qin Shi Lei considered this and decided to equip An Qian with this necklace.
Moon Elf Staff (Purple): Legend has it that it was crafted by an Elf Master from a branch of a divine tree, capable of doubling the power of wood-attribute abilities.
Bonus Attribute: Elf Guardian (Purple): Summons a Moon Elf with strength equivalent to the host's cultivation, lasting for ten minutes with a two-hour cooldown.
This emerald green staff was clearly meant for Zhang Xiaoli, so Qin Shi Lei handed it to her with a smile.
The remaining items were sorted by the two women, with each picking out what was suitable before the rest were stored back into Qin Shi Lei's Qiankun Ring.
The next morning.
As Qin Shi Lei descended from upstairs, he found Zhang Qiang and the others sitting in the living room with grim expressions.
Zhang Cheng frowned and said, "Shi Lei, tens of thousands of elderly, weak, women, and children have gathered outside our residential compound, begging you to release grain to save them."
Zhang Xiaoli said resentfully, "I don't know which scoundrel leaked the news that you have a lot of grain. If I find out, I'll make them pay."
Zhang Cheng continued, "Among the refugees, there are also rumors circulating that there is a lot of grain within Chiyuan Haoting."
"Intimidated by the reputation of the Bedrock Combat Group, they haven't dared to rush into the compound for now, but this is still a major hidden danger."
The Bedrock Combat Group had recruited three thousand people, and along with their families, Chiyuan Haoting was now housing seven to eight thousand people.
Although the refugees outnumbered them, their combat strength was low, which was why they dared not storm the compound.
Qin Shi Lei turned to Kong Qingshu and asked, "Have the relief porridge stalls I commissioned the military to set up been established?"
Kong Qingshu nodded and replied, "Twenty to thirty points have been opened, but you requested that grain only be distributed to children under twelve years old. This has repeatedly caused riots among adult refugees, and it's unlikely to continue."
Qin Shi Lei pondered for a moment, about to state his solution, when suddenly He Kaige rushed in.
"Commander, those refugees have clashed with our people, and they're about to fight."
Qin Shi Lei's face darkened, and he stood up, "Let's go, we'll go out and see."
Upon reaching the entrance of the compound, they found a surging crowd, completely blocking the roads in and out of the complex.
"Make way immediately, or we won't be polite." a major captain of the Bedrock Combat Group shouted sternly.
"Sirs, please give us some food, just a little."
"Sirs, I haven't eaten anything for two days, please show some mercy and give us something to eat."
"Sirs, please give us some grain to save this old life."
Countless gaunt, sixty to seventy-year-old elders, while shaking the compound's iron gate, pleaded.
The captain's face darkened, and he was about to order his men to drive these people away when he suddenly noticed Qin Shi Lei and the others approaching.
"Commander, they've blocked the road completely, and we can't get in or out."
Qin Shi Lei looked up at the dense mass of people.
Most of them were the elderly, weak, women, and children, with a small number of emaciated men driven by hunger.
Looking at the elders in front of him, who seemed like they would fall with a strong gust of wind, Qin Shi Lei suddenly remembered his grandfather.
His grandfather was tall and lean, and in his childhood, he always liked to take him to the stream to catch fish and shrimp.
For a moment, he felt a pang of compassion.
"Shi Lei, why don't we give them some food?" An Qian's gentle voice suddenly sounded beside him.
She wasn't inherently soft-hearted, but when she had the ability, she didn't mind helping others.
"Brother Qin, how about we give them one jin of grain each and let them leave?" Zhang Xiaoli also said.
One jin per person, with twenty to thirty thousand people, it would only be over ten tons of grain, a mere drop in the bucket for Qin Shi Lei.
"Alright." Qin Shi Lei turned to Zhang Qiang and said, "Go and call all our men to help distribute the grain."
Some people in the front heard Qin Shi Lei say he would distribute grain and gratefully exclaimed, "Thank you, you are truly like living Bodhisattvas."
Others in the back, hearing the words of gratitude from the front, mistakenly thought they had already received food. Anxious, they began to push forward.
In an instant, the compound's iron gate was almost breached by the surging crowd.
Qin Shi Lei leaped lightly onto the roof of the security booth, "Stop! Those who want grain, line up in the plaza ahead. Anyone who dares to push forward again will not get a single grain."
His voice boomed, carrying hundreds of meters.
Perhaps it was the content of his words, or perhaps it was the hint of killing intent in them, the noisy scene immediately fell silent.
While the crowd hesitated, a few individuals began to move towards the plaza.
Influenced by the herd mentality, most people started to move towards the plaza.
Qin Shi Lei summoned Xiao Qiang from his pet space, leaped onto its back, and was the first to arrive at the plaza.
He took out red paint and drew many red lines.
"Line up according to the red lines. After receiving your grain, leave immediately. Anyone who dares to block the compound gate again will be killed without mercy!"
At this moment, Zhang Qiang, leading five hundred members of the Bedrock Combat Group, parted the crowd and approached Qin Shi Lei. "Commander, are five hundred people enough?"
Qin Shi Lei nodded and instructed, "Two hundred people will distribute grain here, and the remaining three hundred will maintain order."
With that, he waved his hand, and countless bags of white rice appeared beside him.
To be thorough, he specifically chose rice from the supermarket, rather than raw grain.
He then threw out nearly two hundred stainless steel plates.
Each plate held about one jin of rice, perfect for distribution.
Under the enforcement of the Bedrock members, the elderly, weak, women, and children stepped forward in an orderly fashion to receive their grain and then left through the left-hand passage.
A Bedrock member would scoop a plate of rice, and the refugees would step forward to put it into their own spatial rings before turning to leave. The entire process took less than ten seconds.
The thirty thousand refugees were divided into a hundred lines, with each line consisting of three hundred people.
Two members for a line would only take about three thousand seconds to distribute the grain.
However, Qin Shi Lei stood there watching for nearly half an hour and noticed that the crowd in the plaza not only didn't decrease but was actually growing.
An Qian approached Qin Shi Lei, frowning, and said, "Shi Lei, open the regional and national chat channels and see. Someone is spreading the news that you are distributing grain here."
Qin Shi Lei's face darkened, and he said coldly, "They are treating us like some rich fool."