"Why isn't it enough?!"
Alamos reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
In his view, White Cave Crystals were among the most precious resources, if not the most precious. Equipment and potions were valuable, but they couldn't compare to White Cave Crystalsâespecially those below gold and purple grade.
He believed this deal heavily favored Ye Zhongming.
Ye Zhongming shrugged.
"Thereâs no pricing bureau here. Youâre the one asking for my help, so I set the terms. If we were friends, maybe we could negotiate. But weâre not."
Alamos was left speechless.
He was the one who had sought out Ye Zhongming for this trade. The leverage wasnât his.
White Cave Crystals might be as miraculous as he claimed, but Ye Zhongming wasnât desperate for them. This was a sellerâs marketâthe final price was up to the seller.
Of course, Alamos could refuse outright. With his gene-enhanced forces, Ye Zhongming wouldnât dare attack him.
But⊠he couldnât walk away.
He knew his own situation too well. He needed those equipment and potions to build a high-level evolved army.
Because⊠he had nowhere left to go.
After crossing the Bering Strait, Alamos had gone to a pre-established outpost just over 70 kilometers east of the strait.
But when he arrived, he found only corpsesânothing intact, not even complete skeletons.
From the evidence, the attack had happened at least two months prior.
In the apocalypse, such things werenât uncommon. A single level-eight lifeform or a mid-tier faction could easily wipe out a small outpost of fewer than a hundred people.
But then he found a message left by a loyal subordinate.
It detailed betrayal within his organization. His headquarters, all branch basesâeverything he had painstakingly builtâhad been attacked and seized. His labs, his researchers, his researchâall stolen.
For a man who once commanded power across this land, this was unacceptable.
Yet compared to when heâd left, every faction had grown stronger. Meanwhile, his own progress had stalledâfirst with the setback at Thousand Beast Villa, then struggles across Eastern Europe and West Asia. If not for the White Cave Crystals and the gene-enhanced forces they enabled, he might not have even made it home.
He had no confidence in retaking what had been stolen from him.
So, while strategizing, he thought of Ye Zhongming.
Back in China, he had thoroughly studied this man who had handed him defeat. He knew more about Cloud Peak than most Chinese factions did.
In his desperation, Alamos saw only one viable path: trade with Cloud Peak.
It was the fastest way to reclaim what heâd lost.
So he couldnât afford to storm off in anger.
"Letâs be honestâIâm in a hurry to assemble a combat force. The gene-enhanced soldiers with White Cave Crystals are my core. I canât give you more of them, but I can offer other things."
Ye Zhongming nodded. "Letâs hear it."
Suppressing his frustration at Ye Zhongmingâs indifferent tone, Alamos considered, then pulled something from his spatial storage.
"This is something I obtained from the Mediterranean coastâthe 'Angry Sea Platform.'"
In his hand was a transparent case containing what looked like a miniature oil rig, glowing faintly blue.
"When placed in the ocean, it expands into a small platform about ten meters tall and twenty meters in diameter. It has multiple functionsâhunting harpoons, luring sonar waves, reinforced defenses. Best of all, itâs modifiable. You can install weapons or equipment to adapt it for different uses."
Ye Zhongmingâs interest flickered. This could be useful for coastal bases.
Xiao Pengâs operations, though thriving, still relied heavily on support from the main base. Tools for oceanic exploration were scarce.
The Angry Sea Platform would be a valuable addition.
Seeing Ye Zhongmingâs silent nod, Alamos continued, pulling out more items.
"I know youâre a skilled craftsman. These materials might interest you."
Alamos clearly valued these less than the platform, but he hoped theyâd appeal more to Ye Zhongming.
And they did. The materials werenât top-tier, but they averaged around level sevenânothing to scoff at.
Ye Zhongming nodded again but remained silent. The message was clear: Still not enough.
"Donât push it."
"Should I repeat myself?"
Alamos took a deep breath, forcing calm. He produced a few more items, but Ye Zhongming rejected them outright.
Finally, after a long hesitation, Alamos pulled outâŠ
A level-nine demon crystal.
"You can have this. But the hundred gene-enhanced soldiers drops to fifty."
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Before Ye Zhongming could respond, he added, "Weâre both striving for nine-star evolution. You know how valuable this is."
Ye Zhongming studied the crystal, then agreed.
Seven days later, the deal was done.
Alamos left with enough equipment and potions to arm five thousand men, heading in a different direction. Before departing, his gaze lingered on Ye Zhongming, filled with envy.
He never imagined a craftsman could be this formidable.
Producing five thousand sets of equipmentâincluding a purple-grade pieceâin just seven days? That wasnât just skill. That was borderline supernatural.
Perhaps the only thing limiting this man was the scarcity of high-tier materials.
Thinking of the top-grade resources heâd handed overâand the equivalent-value high-level magic crystals when materials ran shortâAlamos felt his heart bleed.
But at least he had what he needed. Now, all that remained was recruiting an army.
Ye Zhongming watched Alamosâs group vanish into the snowstorm, then turned his gaze elsewhere.
After nearly ten days of travel, their destination was finally within reach.
But just as Cloud Peakâs forces advanced the final few dozen kilometers, an explosion of light erupted from the mountain where the Mountain King Wheel awaited.
As dusk fell, the radiance lit up the horizon like a second sunâa beacon to all approaching evolved.
The Mountain King Wheelâs special space had opened.