The other beastmen hesitated. The two beastmen with family were quite interested when they heard about the base, but soon, they decided against it.
Even if there was this Master Xie protecting them, there were simply too many people who needed his protection. The presence of many beastmen moving near the area of the dangerous zone was incredibly risky.
They might even attract a horde of fierce beasts. Previously, there were the skunk beastmen who were adept at disguising their smell, but they were all dead now.
Lin Yuyao blinked, her eyes narrowed slightly at the man. She bit her lip. As they were offering their conditions for base recruitment, Master Xie had tasked her and Lin Yu’an with something important.
"Master Xie," the weasel beastman flashed a cunning look. His eyes darted around the dimly-lit room, taking in everyone’s struggle and doubt. "Can you guarantee our survival while we don’t even know where we are heading to?"
"Yes, you don’t even tell us your base’ location," Qi Mian chimed in. She looked like she had decided something.
Seeing this pair echoing each other’s words, Lin Yuyao frowned. She glanced at her brother, who had a thoughtful look on his face.
"This is the apocalypse..." Lin Yuyao pursed her lips. "Everyone struggles to survive, why ask others to guarantee your safety? Master Xie isn’t your bodyguard. We should keep watch and look out for each other."
She took a deep breath and continued, "The road ahead might be filled with struggles..." her eyes took in everyone’s expression. "If anyone is still interested to join our base, you can tell us."
After saying those, she lowered her head. Lin Yu’an, on the other hand, kept on staring at other beastmen with timid eyes, full of innocence and curiosity.
Seeing his sister secretly clenching her first, he took her hand in his and squeezed it in an attempt to reassure her. He knew her worries; among the beastmen here, Master Xie might not even recruit a single person.
Even after what he had done... the beastmen might be unqualified. It would make her feel guilty because it was them who had led Xie Ziyuan there, after all.
He also had made a lot of sacrifices. The teleportation talismans were definitely rare, his injuries he sustained, and he even fed the beastmen...
Time seemed to pass very slowly. There were hushed whispers of discussion, yet no one came forward to register themselves.
Lin Yuyao let out a sigh. She was tempted to grab her younger brother and persuade Xie Ziyuan to leave this place directly. It was their loss that they missed the chance to live in a magnificent castle!
"I will go with you." Someone finally spoke after what felt like an eternity.
She thought she had misheard. The person lifted his eyebrows at her stunned face who was now staring at him with surprise. So, he chuckled and repeated, "I will join your base."
It was the black panther. He tapped the iron pillar of his cage with his hand, creating a clinking sound.
Surprisingly, Xie Ziyuan glanced at him and nodded.
"I hope you don’t mind this cage..." The black panther still reminded them.
Indeed, it will be difficult to transfer such a huge cage with a person inside. Yet, Xie Ziyuan and the Lin siblings didn’t seem troubled. Instead, the latter seem enthusiastic.
"Of course, we will take care of it." Lin Yuyao nodded.
The beastmen began to hesitate more. Among the people here, they had heard the traffickers mentioning that the black panther was the strongest. Did he join them because he was already powerful and as such, could protect himself?
Their decision seemed to falter. Quite some time passed again. After the black panther spoke, no one said anything again.
Xie Ziyuan didn’t pay attention to them. He was busy checking the inner space. That woman hadn’t visited again... usually, she would come in the afternoon and evening. What had happened?
He furrowed his brows. Standing for too long made him hungry, so he took out another piece of bear meat and handed it over to the siblings. It was almost dinner time. As they waited for them to decide, the siblings began to work.
This time, other beastmen helped them. They were certainly embarrassed having the Lin siblings doing all the work by themselves. They already freeload food off Xie Ziyuan, after all.
"At midnight, we will return," Xie Ziyuan announced, making the few people, who were enthusiastic about the roasted fierce beast dinner, freeze.
After they were done roasting the bear meat, they divided the meal fairly again. Everyone got a piece, and Xie Ziyuan, being a high-level beastman with a large appetite, had the biggest portion.
The one who didn’t get anything was the monkey beastman. Currently, he was still laying on the floor, occasionally letting out a moan of pain or mumbling incoherent things.
"I will join your base," another person suddenly spoke up.
It was the eagle beastman.
Others were even in more turmoil when they saw the eagle beastman’s words. Now, they were wondering whether they should seize the opportunity.
The Lin siblings were secretly happy. They immediately went to him to get the simple data like names or ability. For now, they could still recognize each other by names, but they believed that the base would flourish in the future.
"Master Xie," someone called out.
Xie Ziyuan opened his eyes and stared at the person who had just spoken up.
The person hesitated before he asked, "How is the contamination level around the base?"
"Around thirty to forty percent."
The beastmen were a little surprised. The contamination level was acceptable, even better than most places, which had contamination levels above fifty percent.
Some people became more tempted.
"I smell meat... why don’t share..." The monkey beastman’s protest echoed in the quiet cave.
He was still alive, truly a tenacious soul. However, no one still came to help him no matter how much he wailed.
As the night became deeper and the midnight deadline approached, more and more beastmen registered. A land with thirty to forty percent of contamination level was still a decent place and they wanted to seize the opportunity.
"Me... I... join..." the monkey beastman suddenly croaked out.