Chapter 402 You Can Either Fuck Off Or...

"So," I slapped my hands together to wake Levi's attention from his daze. "What are we going to do with them?"

Sometimes the simple questions would end up with the toughest answers. And for how simple this situation appeared to be, I couldn't really think of one, simple way of dealing with all those people.

"We saved them from their monster forms," Levi shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious what they should do now?" he suggested with a bored look on his face.

"I would prefer it if you were to spell it out loud," I replied. "Just in case we wouldn't be on the same page," I then added to clarify my intentions.

"We helped them so it's their turn to help us," Levi elaborated. "As for how they would help us, that depends on what your plans for the future are. On my end, I don't really need their help so it doesn't matter."

"Mia?" I turned my eyes to the girl, eager to hear her input on this topic as well.

But the girl simply shook her shoulders before tightening her grasp over my arm. "I don't really care either. And I can tell that you already have something in mind," she added with a grin. "So you can assume I will just back you up on your idea."

I took a deep breath before helplessly sighing it out.

"I believe we should give them a choice. They can either fuck off or follow us. But, if they pick to follow us, their only potential allies in this strange, new world, they are going to need to help and listen to us too."

"You never cease to baffle me," Levi admitted in a weak, nearly pained voice. "After all the pains to save their lives you are now willing to let them go, just like that?" he asked. His eyes were wide open to indicate just how shocking this approach was to him.

"It's a matter of convenience," I said and waved my hand. "If they are not going to help us out of their own free will, it would be too much of a pain in the ass to try to force them into it," I explained. "So, in short, I believe we should make them work for us... but without taking on the burden of those who would rather do whatever they want on their own."

"Haaa..." Levi heaved a short sigh. "Well then, you do you, brother."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Mia then asked, wrapping herself even further around my arm.

"That would actually help me a lot," I agreed with her suggestion. "It will stop the few females there are in their group from assuming we want some sexual services from them."

Even if this wasn't something I held much pride in, there was no denying that my involvement in this world... was quite lewd. From undergarments, through perfumes targeted at whores in the brothel, at dildos ending... Nearly every product, save for some culinary ones, that I introduced to this world was centered around sex.

As such, I could pretty much tell how vibrant this topic was in the mind of cultivators.

'Even if it's because they lack any other form of casual fun, it doesn't change the fact it would appear on their mind far sooner,' I thought.

Then, right as I turned around to walk back to the survivors, a smile crept up on my lips.

'I wonder if that means the time everyone considered prudent back on earth was actually even more filled with perversion than modern times?'

I shook my head and moved forward, ignoring the look of curiosity that flashed on Mia's face.

Despite how delicious her body was, ignoring how eager to sleep with me Mia was herself... It felt wrong for me to keep bringing the topic of intimacy around her.

After all, she was far more than just a convenient fuck!

We didn't have to walk for long to reach the area where my barriers tightly enclosed all the survivors from the fight before. And I didn't need more than just a single glance at several disgruntled and startled faces to realize what was going on in here while I was away talking with Levi and Mia.

"Okay guys," I said out loud, raising my hand... and snapping my finger.

All at once, the barrier that enclosed the survivors fell apart as the floating set of stones surrounded by a thicket of mana that made up my warden returned to over my head.

The same faces that I noticed filled up with shock now.

'So they were plotting to escape,' I realized after confirming my guess.

Yet, rather than addressing this point, I opted to ignore it. There was no benefit to revealing that I saw through their plot.

Not yet, at the very least.

"Okay guys, right now, you have two choices," I said, raising my free hand with two fingers erect.

"The first one is simple. You can fuck off to wherever you want. In short, us saving you from your monstrous form wasn't something that you asked for. So, I believe it's only fair for you to remain free if you didn't wish to be human again," I stated, painting the picture I didn't want the survivors to take in the bleak colors. "Obviously, if you turn to banditry or if your name will grow as a serial murder or rapist, we will likely end up hunting you down, so just keep that in mind."

A murmur moved through the entire group of around two hundred cultivators. And as a result of my words, even more, shocked expressions appeared amidst all the faces.

"The other option is to follow us. Yet, as this assumes you are thankful for us saving you from your monstrous form..." I intentionally cut my sentence short, allowing the survivors to come up with what my intentions were on their own.

"We were unconscious this whole time," the third guy that I saw waking up before leaving to talk with Levi spoke out. Even though he didn't leave much impression on me before, seeing him be the first to react to my words...

I decided to remember his face, at the very least.

"So we are not going to apologize for what we did during that time," he stated. The look on his face indicated he wasn't willing to concede on that point. And the sight of people around nodding their heads in unison clearly indicated they agreed with their fellow survivors.

"While it's true that your monstrous forms wroke havoc amidst those lands..." I said, once again putting my words on hold to add some dramatic factor. "I actually agree with what you said," I then revealed, allowing them to relax.

Even if this was a lowly tactic, I was set on keeping as many of them on my side as I possibly could. And if all it took was some slight manipulation, then I would be a bad leader to hold myself back from using it.

"So, I'm not going to ask you to apologize for what you did," I stated with a confident look on my face. Then, I added a small smile. "But if you want to follow us if you want us to help you regain your strength..."

"Then you will have to work for us," Mia cut into my words, pushing herself forward half a step. "Even if you didn't do it willingly, you still destroyed a huge part of our world. Now, we are giving you a chance to help rebuild it."