Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 24

“Puppets. Externally, they appear identical to adult human females. However, they have three distinct characteristics.”

“First, they are exceptionally beautiful, with flawless skin. Their appearance resembles that of a human woman wearing makeup, but there are no visible traces of makeup.”

“Second, they lack intelligence and have no cognitive abilities. Under normal circumstances, they remain silent, wandering aimlessly and staring into space. They are extremely sensitive to sounds and human presence within their line of sight. Once they identify a human target, they immediately sprint towards the target and attack.”

“Third, their movements are savage, attacking enemies by tearing and biting. Their bodily fluids contain an unknown infectious toxin. Small doses require timely bloodletting, while large doses necessitate prompt dialysis. Otherwise, males will experience massive organ failure, and females will fall into a comatose state, gradually undergoing cellular-level mutations, ultimately becoming irreversibly assimilated into puppets.”

“Extensive observational data indicates that puppets do not attack humans for predation but for infection. Once they confirm their target is incapacitated, they cease their attack.”

…

Cheng Jinyang flipped through a few pages of the manual and then waved Xie Youdu over.

“Registrar Xie, don’t you think there’s something wrong with this manual?”

“Please enlighten me,” Xie Youdu asked, cupping his hands.

“Our ‘Militia Handbook’ is primarily for the residents of Jingkou. Are you sure they can understand it?”

Xie Youdu paused for a moment, then smiled. “I must have overthought it. I assumed that the northern refugees had a basic understanding of puppets, so I aimed for depth and thoroughness, neglecting the readability for the general populace… I’ll rewrite it.”

By March, Jingkou Town’s development was fully on track. Numerous densely packed houses and shops had been established, and the old urban area had undergone a comprehensive renovation and demolition.

Now, Jingkou’s housing prices were extremely low, and all the unruly armed refugees were under control. If they didn’t take this opportunity to demolish and rebuild, once land prices increased and new uncooperative northern refugees arrived, forced demolitions would become difficult.

Cheng Jinyang highly approved of Chief Clerk Wang’s development plans. After discussing with Wang Wanrou, he approved them all.

Through practical experience (managing a residential area with a population of nearly hundreds of thousands), he finally understood how unreliable online novels were. Those protagonists in farming novels seem to have encyclopedic knowledge after transmigrating. They advance technology, wage financial wars, and start industrial revolutions. They register households, motivate with speeches, and boost economic development, mastering everything effortlessly.

But when it came to him, he knew nothing—a complete waste.

This is unreasonable! How can one person know so many things?

True leadership does not require hands-on involvement, as Liu Bang once said: “In strategic planning, I am not as good as Zhang Liang. In managing the nation and its people, I am not as good as Xiao He. In battle, I am not as good as Han Xin. These three are all talented, and my ability to use them is why I won the world.”

So I can say: in administrative management, I am not as good as Chief Clerk Wang and Registrar Xie. In leading troops, I am not as good as Liu Daojian and Sun Wuzhong. In strategic planning, I am not as good as Miss Wang. But they all work for me, so what’s wrong with my leadership?

Nothing, it’s excellent!

After reviewing internal affairs, Cheng Jinyang went to inspect the military camp.

Now, there were no more Yan Zhao Gang or Da Jiang Gang in Jingkou. The former refugee leaders, under the impressive logistical support of the Shendu Cheng family, had all submitted to the official army, taking military positions and gathering their followers for formal military training by seasoned Tianluo.

According to Cheng Huaiyan, these northern refugees had physical abilities and psychological qualities on par with those of Tianluo recruits from previous years. The only thing they lacked was military experience.

Most civilian warriors who have emerged from the apocalypse have generally mastered excellent marksmanship and robust physical fitness. However, expecting them to pilot aircraft, operate tanks, or handle explosives and mines is asking too much.

The continued survival of humanity… No, it’s the glorious human civilization that has endured to this day, relying on the power of science and technology.

For example, individual soldier helmets integrated with night vision, communication, and visual tracking capabilities; tactical vests equipped with bulletproofing, life support, first aid, and optical camouflage functionalities; and various military equipment like flight suits, smart firearms, and exoskeleton armor… All these diverse military technologies combined vastly enhance the combat effectiveness of individual soldiers.

Between a fully armed future soldier and a battle-hardened barbarian, whom does Cheng Jinyang need more? The answer is obvious.

After reviewing this batch of military training, Cheng Jinyang nodded in satisfaction.

These refugees… it’s clear they are promising military prospects.

During Wang Chuzhong’s rebellion, the Cheng family initially lost the headquarters in Pukou District, then became deeply embroiled in the defense of Jiankang. The external Tianluo were nearly depleted, and the Cheng family’s Tianluo forces also suffered losses exceeding half. Though partially replenished after the war, they were far from their peak.

Now, seeing these northern men, all bold and fearless fighters, Cheng Jinyang decided to conduct a military recruitment assessment:

Those lacking sufficient quality would remain as Jingkou militia, responsible for maintaining local security.

Those with adequate quality would be incorporated into my personal army under the Sima of another department, tasked with future military campaigns.

Those with outstanding quality would join the external Tianluo, serving as mercenaries for contracted missions. This way, they wouldn’t require regular military pay and we could earn commission from their missions.

Haha, this is called maintaining an army with an army, a never-ending source of strength!

Thinking this, Cheng Jinyang intended to find Cheng Huaiyan and have him promptly draft a military examination plan. Just as he was about to leave, he was intercepted by several junior officers rushing towards him.

Liu Daojian and Sun Wuzhong, as the leaders of the most armed refugees locally, were both appointed as junior officers after their surrender. The term “junior officer” refers to “staff military,” meaning they were actually senior military officers responsible for leading troops.

The number of armed refugees recruited had already exceeded ten thousand, and there were over a hundred junior officers of various sizes. Smaller junior officers commanded fewer than a hundred men, akin to “company commanders.” Larger junior officers like Liu Daojian and Sun Wuzhong commanded three to four hundred men, essentially “battalion commanders.”

“My lord! My lord, your timing is perfect!” Liu Daojian rushed forward, immediately starting to flatter, “Relying on your wise leadership and the diligent work of Chief Clerk Wang and Registrar Xie, the former armed refugees of Jingkou have now been completely reorganized into independent troops. Please grant us a name to bolster our military spirits!”

“Please grant us a name!” Sun Wuzhong, a step behind, was preempted by Liu Daojian in suggesting this idea. Without hesitation, he knelt down on one knee, clenched his fist forcefully, and shouted loudly, aiming to impress.

With his kneel, the other junior officers naturally followed suit, fearing to kneel too slowly and miss the attention of Lord Sima.

Liu Daojian quickly knelt down and clenched his fist, making a vivid expression of being grateful, tearful, brave, and eager to sacrifice for the lord, as expressive as a veteran actor from the Beijing Film Academy.

Seeing their exaggerated actions, Cheng Jinyang was somewhat speechless.

However, as a leader, he indeed needed subordinates who could handle such matters well, and he couldn’t easily dampen their enthusiasm.

After a brief moment of thought, a certain historical term heard from somewhere in his memory suddenly popped into his mind: “Let’s call them the ‘Northern Army,’ how about that?”