Chapter 81: The Deal

Wang Cheng was now the very embodiment of arrogance, suppressing the others so thoroughly that they were left speechless. As for Fu Gaobin, his methods were cruel to the extreme—he beat the four men until they were beyond recognition, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Yang Fan, meanwhile, stood quietly to one side, saying nothing. He waited until Wang Cheng and Fu Gaobin had vented all their anger before casually choosing an empty bed for himself. Closing his eyes, he began to rest. No one dared approach him—everyone feared that a bullet hole might suddenly appear on their forehead if they so much as provoked him.

The four who had been beaten half to death lay sprawled on the ground, while the rest quickly dispersed. Fu Gaobin, accompanied by two women, found two relatively clean beds and asked, “Whose beds are these?”

Immediately, two men stepped forward timidly. “They’re ours, big brother. If you want them, they’re yours.” At this point, they no longer cared about pride—face meant nothing at all.

Fu Gaobin thoroughly enjoyed this treatment. He let the two women rest on the beds, then borrowed a cigarette from Wang Cheng and began to smoke. After a while, he told Wang Cheng to get some sleep while he kept watch. Wang Cheng, not one to stand on ceremony, rubbed his sore arms and lay down to sleep.

With Yang Fan present, they had no fear that anything would go wrong.

The workshop became much quieter. Everyone returned to their places. Fu Gaobin sat on the lower bunk, surrounded by people eager to please him, treating him like a king. His vanity was utterly satisfied.

Some time later, daylight broke, and the blizzard outside lessened a bit. Even Fu Gaobin couldn’t stay awake any longer; lulled by everyone’s flattery, he soon drifted off to sleep. At last, the workshop was completely calm. People exchanged glances, uncertain what to think, but none dared act out.

After a long while, Yang Fan woke up. He had entered a deep sleep—an hour for him was like five hours for others, and the restorative effect was tenfold. Having slept four or five hours, he felt fully refreshed.

Rubbing his eyes, he found that those around him immediately sprang to attention. Several men hurried over with toothbrush, towel, cup, and a small basin, saying, “Boss, these are all new—no one’s used them!”

In the post-apocalyptic world, being able to brush your teeth, rinse your mouth, and wash your face in the morning was the height of blessing and honor. Yang Fan glanced at their fawning faces and wasn’t surprised; in this world, seeking the protection of a strong man was a fortune—being exploited by one was better than being preyed upon by many.

After washing up, he received word that Li Qiang had arrived. This time, Li Qiang came alone, without any of his men. It was clear his purpose was to collect the five vials of blood-replenishing serum. Yang Fan didn’t waste words; he handed over the goods, and Li Qiang’s face lit up with a faint smile.

He stowed the items away as if they were treasures.

“Let’s go stretch our legs,” Li Qiang said to Yang Fan. Yang Fan had business with Li Qiang as well, so he agreed. The two stepped outside, leaving Wang Cheng and Fu Gaobin still snoring. But this time, Yang Fan had no worries that his two companions would come to any harm.

“How much more of this do you have?” No sooner had they stepped outside than Li Qiang asked the question. Yang Fan wasn’t surprised—he knew this was the real reason he’d been called out. Calmly, he replied, “I don’t have much. This serum can be bought from post-apocalyptic traders, but it’s expensive. I have a way to refine it myself, but…”

Yang Fan was no saint. His principle now was never to act without benefit—everything came with a price. Compassion was a luxury he’d abandoned a month ago. The world was unpredictable, people were treacherous; he saw that clearly now.

“But what?” Li Qiang was very concerned about the blood-replenishing serum. Even knowing he was walking into Yang Fan’s trap, he had no choice but to go along.

“But it takes a large amount of mutated beast blood. A single Frenzied Demon Rat yields only two to three vials, while a Savage Demon Dog gives one to two. Plus, it takes a whole day to refine.”

Yang Fan deliberately understated the yield. His aim was to have Li Qiang supply him with materials and profit from the deal. The serum was of little use to him unless it was high grade. These were only low-grade serums—miraculous for healing ordinary people, but for someone with physical abilities thirty times that of a normal human, they made little difference.

“Only two to three vials from a Frenzied Demon Rat, one to two from a Savage Demon Dog? That’s far too low,” Li Qiang protested. “Can’t you do better?”

Hunting a Frenzied Demon Rat required many people and was extremely dangerous—just two or three vials in return hardly seemed worth it. Li Qiang wasn’t a fool; he knew Yang Fan was underreporting the yield.

“There’s nothing for it, that’s just how it is. And every batch costs me some apocalypse coins. If I hadn’t stumbled upon a few dead Frenzied Demon Rats on the road, I wouldn’t be so generous.” Yang Fan lied through his teeth, but Li Qiang didn’t believe him. If Yang Fan valued the serum so highly, would he have handed it so freely to his two friends, or given Li Qiang five vials so casually?

Li Qiang suspected Yang Fan was concealing at least half the profits, though he didn’t realize that Yang Fan had no need for apocalypse coins at all—otherwise, he’d have been furious.

“How many apocalypse coins do you need?”

“Two hundred per batch.”

Yang Fan didn’t dare overcharge. Among apocalypse traders, a vial of low-grade serum fetched only about 250 coins. If he asked too much, they would fall out for sure.

“I can pay the price in coins, but you’ll have to agree to one condition!” Yang Fan hesitated, then gave Li Qiang a chance to negotiate.

“What condition?” Saving apocalypse coins was a good deal for Li Qiang, since he didn’t have many himself.

“Well… I like women, especially beautiful ones. Among your eight vehicles, there must be quite a few beauties, so…”

Hearing this, Li Qiang broke into a knowing smile. He’d been braced for Yang Fan to make outrageous demands, but now he relaxed.

Women? Beauties? In the old world, money could buy as many as you wanted; now, in the apocalypse, all it took was strength. Hmph!

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