Lu Heng and the other man walked and talked, gradually leaving the trading market hall. The city gates had just opened, and more people were coming this way.
"Brother Lu, it's snowing," Lin Yu raised his arm to catch a falling snowflake. Like in previous years, it melted into a drop of water on his hand.
This was indeed the first snow since the apocalypse, but people no longer had the excitement they once felt upon seeing the first snow.
Everyone walking on the road had a solemn expression and hurried along, no one looking up to catch a glimpse of the falling snow.
"Mmm, are there enough houses in the city?" Lu Heng looked into the distance. As they spoke, the snowflakes grew larger, falling densely on the ground. From melting upon impact, they gradually formed a continuous white layer on the ground.
Lu Heng knew that after Wuming City received the first batch of refugees, waves of survivors migrated there every few days. Many came from ordinary shelters without city wall defenses. However, the habitable houses within his city were limited. Once the number of these people reached capacity, the city would no longer be able to accept new survivors.
"Also, we've adjusted the number of people per house, trying to arrange everyone more compactly. However, most of these people are obedient. I've kicked out the few who were defiant."
"Mmm, count the number of management personnel and their family structures in the city. Arrange some key personnel and their families to the inner city first. Concentrate other ordinary members, preferably in a single residential area for easier management later."
"Got it. I'll find someone to do it this afternoon. But what about our mutated animals in the inner city?" Lin Yu said with some concern.
Since the city's population increased, Lu Heng's contracted animals had not appeared in the outer city. Except for the golden eagle, which occasionally flew over the city, other animals were active within the inner city.
"It's fine. They are all key personnel anyway, and they'll get used to it. However, you should inform them in advance to avoid conflicts and getting injured by those mutated animals."
Lu Heng was certainly not worried about these mutated animals. After all, most of them had reached level twelve. Under the same level, mutated animals were stronger than human ability users.
"Then you go ahead and be busy. I'll take the camel out for a bit later. I'll go check out the nearby towns. Now that it's snowing, I guess ordinary teams won't be going out of the city."
"Alright, then I'll go arrange the distribution of armor."
Leaving Lin Yu, Lu Heng returned to the inner city and walked to the open space where the camel was lying. Lu Heng looked at the surrounding environment.
Although this location was not in the center of the inner city, this was the only place within the inner city with such a wide open space.
Using his earth ability, Lu Heng enclosed this open space along with several adjacent houses.
It seemed he would have to move here later.
Walking to the camel's side, Lu Heng patted its large head. "Let's go, come out with me for a bit. When we get back, I'll have Lin Yu find someone to make you a canopy."
"Master, can't I go into the house like Blood Wolf and the others?"
"Do you think you, being this big, can fit inside?" Lu Heng looked at the camel, which was about the size of a small airplane, and instinctively glanced at the nearby buildings.
"I can become as small as the golden eagle, and then I'll be able to go in."
"You can change your size?" This surprised Lu Heng somewhat.
Logically, after contracting with these mutated animals, he could sense their abilities. This camel clearly had no abilities before, but now it claimed it could change its size.
"I didn't have this ability before, but after seeing that they could all enter rooms, I was very envious. I also tried to squeeze into the nearby houses. Fortunately, I tried once and succeeded in getting in. It's just that I was afraid Master wouldn't agree to me living in the house, so..."
"Then shrink to your smallest size and let me see."
"Smallest?" The camel blinked its large eyes, staring at Lu Heng as if to confirm what he had just said.
"Mmm, begin."
As soon as Lu Heng finished speaking, the camel's body rapidly shrank at a visible speed. Finally, it stopped after shrinking to the size of an ordinary golden eagle.
"With this size, will your food intake also decrease?" Lu Heng bent down to look at the miniaturized camel. However, the rattan chair on its back did not change size, standing conspicuously above the camel.
"Blood Wolf, come here." Lu Heng seemed to remember something and called out to Blood Wolf with his mind.
Blood Wolf was already quite large. Although it was not yet an adult, its size was already much larger than Hu Pang and the others.
However, the magical beasts in the other world were generally larger than the animals in the apocalypse, so this was not surprising. But since the camel could shrink its body, could Blood Wolf, also a magical beast, do the same?
As the sounds of heavy objects landing gradually came, Blood Wolf ran over excitedly. It hadn't seen its master for a long time. Although it knew its master had returned, it didn't dare to disturb its master's work without being summoned.
These were all things the Director had taught them. They said they could only approach their master when summoned, or if they sensed their master was in danger, they had to rush to their master's side. However, the latter possibility was completely nonexistent, so they usually roamed in the inner city or watched movies in their rooms.
"Blood Wolf, see if you can shrink a bit."
"Master, how do I shrink?"
"Camel, tell it how you shrank."
"Just thinking about shrinking, and I shrink."
"Then Blood Wolf, you try it."
"No, I was just thinking that. Hey? Who is that little bird? And where is the camel that was just talking?"
Blood Wolf had heard the camel's voice earlier. Once these animals were contracted by their master, they would have a connection with each other. It clearly sensed that the little bird's location was the camel, but it had also seen the camel before. It was a bird of enormous size.
"It's me," the camel communicated with Blood Wolf mentally. Then, it gradually enlarged its body before Blood Wolf's eyes, returning to its original appearance.
"Can you still get bigger?"
"Haven't tried. Should I try now?"
"Shrink a bit more first, don't break the chair. Come out here and try."
"No, there's no change, is there?" The camel took off the rattan chair on its back and walked to the open space to try.
"Mmm, then put on the chair. You'll go out with me first. As for your ability to shrink, we'll study it slowly."