Chapter 694: As Long As the Price Is Right

Chapter 694 – As Long As the Price Is Right

Zhu Zheng frowned when he heard that. “The offer’s not high enough?”

“I already promised him a formal investigation captain title, full access to Blizzard City’s A-level supply benefits.”

“Even the armory exchange privileges have been nearly all opened up to him.”

“That’s already an incredibly generous offer! If it weren’t a critical time right now, he wouldn’t have this kind of opportunity at all.”

Deng Yuanbo simply shook his head.

“Commander Zhu, you’re a soldier, but you don’t know how to do business. On that point, I have to speak up.”

“Business is about mutual benefit. If you want Zhang Yi to agree to your terms, first you’ve got to offer him what he needs.”

Zhu Zheng looked thoughtful. “What he needs?”

He had no idea what Zhang Yi actually wanted.

From what he could see, Zhang Yi didn’t seem to have any urgent needs.

Deng Yuanbo smiled pleasantly. “Heh, if this is proving difficult for you, how about letting me handle it?”

Zhu Zheng could hardly believe his ears.

Since when had Deng Yuanbo been so generous?

A meaningful glint flickered in Deng Yuanbo’s half-squinted eyes.

“But if I succeed in persuading Zhang Yi, then you’ll owe me a favor.”

Zhu Zheng’s brow furrowed. This old fox wasn’t going to do a favor for nothing.

“What kind of favor?”

Deng Yuanbo said leisurely, “The next operation against Moon of Corrosion, I want Zhang Yi to take the lead. Not only that, I want his name to be widely publicized.”

Zhang Yi had no ties to the Deng family.

Clearly, Deng Yuanbo wasn’t doing this for his sake.

Zhu Zheng instantly figured out Deng Yuanbo’s true motive.

“You’re worried Gao Changkong’s reputation will skyrocket after this and that it’ll pose a threat to your Deng family’s influence in Blizzard City, aren’t you?”

Deng Yuanbo just smiled, not directly answering the question.

“Commander Zhu, surely you don’t want someone under your command becoming too powerful, do you?”

Zhu Zheng fell into deep thought.

“But no matter how you look at it, Gao Changkong is the better candidate.”

Zhang Yi might’ve accomplished something impressive last time, sure, but that was mostly thanks to his personal strength—and a bit of luck in cleaning up after Liao Honglei.

But when it came to commanding a team in actual battle, Zhu Zheng didn’t quite have faith in Zhang Yi to lead the operation.

Deng Yuanbo smiled warmly. “Young people might be a bit green in that area, but that’s what mentors are for!”

“We’ve got to let the young ones gain experience. In the apocalypse, we need to cultivate talent quickly—and that means giving them chances!”

Zhu Zheng snorted.

“I’m not that old yet.”

“But what you’re suggesting… I’ll think about it.”

Deng Yuanbo’s smile deepened.

“Excellent. In that case, I’ll go talk to Zhang Yi.”

He stood up, getting ready to leave.

As he walked to the door, Zhu Zheng suddenly asked behind him, “How’s your boy doing?”

Deng Yuanbo paused mid-step.

Then he let out a soft sigh. “That incident hit him hard. For now, it’s best not to disturb him.”

Zhu Zheng nodded. “Fair enough.”

Zhang Yi returned to Tianhai City with Liang Yue and Hua Hua, taking the subway.

Tianhai City was still as cold and desolate as ever.

These days, fewer than ten thousand people were alive in the city—it was eerily empty.

When Zhang Yi pulled out the snowmobile and brought everyone back to the shelter, only then did he feel a touch of warmth—like coming home.

They hadn’t told anyone they were coming back, so when people saw them, everyone was overjoyed.

Fatty Xu had been gaming in his room. When he heard Zhang Yi was back, he ran out barefoot, hollering with joy.

The moment he saw Zhang Yi, he let out a cry and pounced to hug his thigh.

“Boss, what took you so long this time? Wuwuwu… while you were gone, I was worried sick every day!”

Seeing Fatty Xu like this, Zhang Yi rolled his eyes.

“You’re still as chicken as ever, huh? Nothing’s happened in Tianhai City—what are you so scared of?”

Fatty Xu wiped his eyes and muttered resentfully, “Tianhai City may be quiet, but didn’t they set off an H-bomb over there?”

He was pointing in the direction of Jiangning City.

Even though it was hundreds of kilometers away, the effects of the Death God of Love’s deployment could still be felt in Tianhai.

Zhang Yi had already told Yang Xinxin not to share anything about Moon of Corrosion, but there was no way to hide something as massive as an H-bomb.

He said calmly, “Relax. Everything’s under control—including the Death God of Love deployment.”

Zhang Yi scanned the room. Only Yang Siya and Zhou Haimei were there.

Uncle You, Zhou Ke’er, Lu Keran, and Yang Xinxin were all nowhere to be seen.

As he changed clothes, Zhang Yi asked, “Where is everyone? What are they up to?”

Fatty Xu blinked. “Uncle You has been practicing boxing on B3 these days! He says it might help him break through his limits.”

Uncle You had gradually realized he was falling further and further behind Zhang Yi in strength. If it kept up, he’d only be dragging the team down.

Zhang Yi never said anything out loud, but Uncle You couldn’t help but feel guilty.

So after Zhang Yi left, he doubled his training hours.

Other than eating and sleeping, he basically stayed in the basement all day.

Yang Siya brought over two mugs of hot milk, handing them to Zhang Yi and Liang Yue to warm them up.

Meanwhile, Zhou Haimei thoughtfully opened a can of cat food for Hua Hua.

Yang Siya said, “We haven’t been slacking. I’ve been preparing ability-enhancing food like you asked. As for Ke’er and Xinxin—they’ve been holed up in their rooms. Not sure what they’re doing.”

Zhang Yi nodded. “I’ll go check on them.”

His main reason for coming back this time was to hand over those chemical compounds for Zhou Ke’er and Lu Keran to study.

Yang Siya quickly asked, “What do you want for dinner? I’ll get started.”

Zhang Yi answered casually, “Whatever works—just make it a bit more festive.”

He wouldn’t be staying long—tomorrow, he’d be heading back to Blizzard City.

And from then on, he’d be tied up for quite a while with the campaign to wipe out Moon of Corrosion.

“Got it!”

Yang Siya smiled and cheerfully went off to prepare dinner.

Zhang Yi made his way downstairs to find Zhou Ke’er and the others.

Outside Zhou Ke’er’s medical room, he heard the sound of rushing water.

Curious, he wondered what she was doing.

That much water? What was going on?

Was she… practicing swimming?

He walked up and knocked on the door.

“Ke’er? You in there?”

There was a crashing sound from inside—something breaking.

Zhang Yi grew concerned and pushed the door open without thinking.

What he saw made him freeze on the spot.

Yang Xinxin was tightly tied to a chair, soaking wet. Her cute, palm-sized face was as pale as death.

Author's Note