Chapter 24 — I Built an Empire in the Wasteland

Three months after the charter was adopted, the community around Camp Dawn had grown so large that the original founders sometimes had difficulty recognizing the very place they had built from scratch. More than four hundred residents now settled in the area, with rows of solidly built houses, a clean water filtration system serving the entire settlement, farmlands slowly yielding their first crops, and a small serum factory operating continuously to meet the growing demand from across the Phế Thổ region.

The community council, now expanded to include members representing diverse populations, decided to hold a special ceremony to mark this important milestone — not just a celebration of the victory over the Black Hawk, but the official birth of a community that had truly shaped its own identity and future.

"We need an official name," Kình Bá Đông said during the council meeting to prepare for the holiday. "We can't just keep calling it 'the area around Camp Dawn' forever. We've become more than just a shelter a long time ago."

The whole council looked towards Bạt Phong, waiting for him to speak, but he shook his head and smiled. "This name should not be decided by me alone. Let all residents contribute and vote, as we do with every other important decision."

During the next week, name proposals were posted on the public notice board in the central square, people from all areas gave their opinions and debated passionately but always in a constructive spirit. Finally, one name received overwhelming consensus: keeping the original name that Bạt Phong had given to that first little shelter — Dawn — as a reminder of where it all began, and of the meaning of the first light appearing after a long dark night.

The holiday took place on a rare morning when the layer of dust clouds thinned significantly, revealing rare rays of pale yellow sunlight that shone down on the entire central square, where almost all the inhabitants had gathered, along with representatives from many neighboring settlements to congratulate. Small self-made flags made from recycled rags, printed with a stylized sun rising from the horizon, fluttered across the square.

Bạt Phong and Yên Nhi stood on the main speaking podium, hand in hand, looking down at the sea of people happily waiting. Diệp Thanh Sơn stood on one side as the person in charge of security, Diễm Thư stood on the other side representing the medical team, which now had dozens of members, Tư Rỗ and Sáu Mộc sat in the rows of honor for those who had been with them since the first days, and Kình Bá Đông and the council representatives stood in a formal row behind.

"Seven months ago," Bạt Phong began his speech, his voice echoing throughout the silent listening square, "I was just a scavenger, bullied every day by my former classmates, living with nothing but fear and resignation. I never thought I would one day stand here, in front of hundreds of people who chose to believe and together build a place truly worthy of being called home."

He looked at Yên Nhi, his eyes filled with respect. "Everything changed when I found a girl imprisoned in the darkness, carrying a secret that could change the fate of this land. Not technology, not weapons, but her courage and heart were what truly started everything we have today."

Yên Nhi stepped up and took the rudimentary microphone made from old components, her voice rang out with emotion. "I used to not be able to remember who I was, I was just a prototype in the eyes of those who saw people as tools. But this place, these people standing here, gave me the opportunity to find myself, not as a victim, but as someone who can contribute, who can love, who can build."

She raised her hand and pointed towards the large wooden sign erected right in the middle of the square, on which was engraved the words that the whole council had drafted together for many days. "From today, this place is officially called Dawn — not because this is anyone's empire, but because this is where the first light appeared after the long darkest night for all of us, and is the promise that light will continue to spread even further."

Applause and cheers echoed throughout the square, many people hugged each other in emotion, children ran and jumped among the crowd with small flags in their hands. Lôi Quang Việt, standing in the crowd with Hạ Tử Kỳ, applauded as enthusiastically as anyone else. His face was now much more peaceful than the days when he was a resentful bandit leader.

Ứng Thị Lụa stood in a corner of the square with Tuyet and other rescued victims, all of whom have completely recovered both physically and mentally, and have now become residents who actively contribute to the community in their own ways.

The ceremony ended with a simple but meaningful ceremony: each representative of the different population groups — from the original Camp Breaking Dawn, to Ash Valley, Iron Patch Hamlet, and even the victims rescued from Black Eagle — together placed a small stone on a common pedestal erected right under the sign bearing the name Breaking Dawn, symbolizing that each contribution, however small, was an indispensable foundation for the entire community.

Before the ceremony officially ended, Bạt Phong asked the council to give him a private moment to do something he had long cherished. He led Yên Nhi and a few of his closest friends — Thanh Sơn, Tư Rỗ, Sáu Mộc, Diễm Thư — on a short walk to the area that used to be his old high school before Đại Chiến, where seven months ago he had sat through layers of rubble looking for scrap, where Lôi Quang Việt and his accomplices had blocked his way to rob him, told for the first time in this story.

That area has now been partially cleared, becoming the starting point of a new route connecting Dawn with the rest of the Lost City. Bạt Phong stood still and looked around, memories of those humiliating days rushing back, but this time, they no longer made him feel as heavy as before.

"This is where things started to change," he spoke to Yên Nhi, his voice low and full of nostalgia. "That day, when I was robbed of everything, I thought my life would forever be just a bullied scrap picker, with no future, no hope."

"But he didn't let that despair dictate his path," Yên Nhi replied, holding his hand tightly. "I chose to risk going into the most dangerous area where no one dared to go. And thanks to that, I found you, found a completely different future for both of us, and for everyone who is standing behind us right now." Tư Rỗ, standing nearby listening, nodded slightly. "Sometimes in life, all it takes is one reckless decision at the right time, in the right place, to change a whole destiny. Mr. Phong has proven that, not only for himself, but for all of us."

The group stood quietly for a while in the area once filled with painful memories, now beginning to take on a new, promising look, before returning together to the square to continue the final rites of the great day.

As the ceremony gradually ended, the afternoon sunlight began to fade but was still enough to dye the entire square in a rare warm yellow color. Bạt Phong and Yên Nhi stood side by side, hand in hand, looking out at the sea of people gradually dispersing in chatter and laughter, solar lights began to light up all over the streets, signaling another peaceful evening was about to come to the land that once only knew war and fear.

"We've come a long way, from a little hut next to the ruins," Yên Nhi spoke softly, leaning her head on Bạt Phong's shoulder.

"And this is just the beginning," Bạt Phong replied, squeezing her hand. "Not of an empire, but of a true home, where everyone has a place, is heard, and has the chance to hope for a better tomorrow."

The two of them stood quietly in the rare sunset of Phế Thổ, looking towards the wooden sign engraved with the name Dawn standing firmly in the middle of the square, symbolizing everything they had built together from the ashes of a collapsed world — not with power or conquest, but with courage, sharing, and the belief that even in the most desolate land, people can always find a way to rise up together, towards the light of a new day that is coming. up.