Chapter 151 - 140: Countdown 2

After Zhang Bo had walked some distance away, Zou Jianghe looked behind him. "I don’t get it. That guy Zhang Bo never lifts a finger unless there’s a profit in it. Why would he cooperate with that Qin Ziwen?"

Behind him, an old man with a small mustache and a buzz cut said, "That Qin Ziwen is collecting so many live fish; he must be preparing for the next map. He probably has a structure that can raise fish. Zhang Bo might have struck a deal with him—one provides fish, the other provides salt. However, since he can work with Qin Ziwen, we can work with him too. Everyone’s goal is to survive, and for now, there are no conflicts between us.

"The real issue to watch out for is how new people are added. We just don’t know the method. If they simply fill the vacant rooms in the Gated Community with new residents, that would be relatively easy. Pure rookies would be ideal. We veterans have been through this once, so the experienced can guide the new, making it easier to bring them into our fold."

"What I’m worried about is that they’ll be experienced veterans, or maybe even ’seniors’ with more experience than us."

"Why are you so sure there will be more people?"

The old man smiled and said, "Being brought here from Earth might be explainable as a natural phenomenon. But once the Home and Card systems appeared, it’s definitely something that natural phenomena can’t explain."

As he spoke, a dark look entered his eyes. "Have you ever watched a show at a Beast Fighting Arena? The fight between a man and a beast is thrilling, sure, but what really drives the crowd wild are the intense battles between top-tier gladiators, and the massive, spectacular, epic-scale group brawls."

Hearing the old man’s words, Zou Jianghe fell silent. He could understand the logic, but he didn’t want it to be true.

"Are you scared?" the old man suddenly asked.

"Scared?" Zou Jianghe laughed loudly. "I’ve failed at starting a business three times and was drowning in debt. I didn’t even dare go home for the New Year, working odd jobs alone to pay it all back. I survived those desperate days, so what is there to be afraid of now? I firmly believe: the rougher the seas, the more valuable the fish."

...

"Here’s the fish you wanted." That morning, Zhang Bo made two trips to bring the remaining two hundred pounds of fish to Qin Ziwen.

He had worried about the implications before, but now that he’d been exposed, there was no longer any need to hide it.

"Here’s eighty pounds of coarse salt. I’ll make up the rest with fifteen pounds of refined salt," Qin Ziwen said, handing him the salt.

Zhang Bo waved his hand. "Too many prying eyes around. I’ll come get it later."

Qin Ziwen’s eyes flickered. He understood.

Zhang Bo didn’t want the news of Qin Ziwen’s Salt Well to get out.

Otherwise, if Zhang Bo was seen hauling a large Bag of Salt back right after delivering fish to him, all of Zhang Bo’s elaborate efforts would be meaningless.

Considering they had just finished a deal and he had no plans to sell salt on a large scale for the time being, Qin Ziwen readily agreed.

Zhang Bo seemed to let out a sigh of relief. "If you want anything, you can come to me. I’ll be the middleman. Right now, we’re the only two in the Gated Community with a Salt Well. There’s no need for us to get into a price war, right?"

"Of course, Boss Zhang. I’d also like to buy another two hundred pounds of live fish."

"I think maybe we should reconsider that price war after all." Zhang Bo turned to leave.

"Haha, I’m just kidding," Qin Ziwen said, pulling him back.

Zhang Bo’s face was grim. "It’s not like I can get as much fish as I want. Besides, weren’t you the one who spread the news that the next map is the Gobi Desert? Everyone’s holding onto their food supplies tightly now. Getting you these three hundred pounds cost me a huge favor. Now I can’t even buy food for myself."

Qin Ziwen just watched him spin his tale.

Zhang Bo continued, "However, if you want other things, like good quality lumber or well-woven hemp rope, that I can do."

This piqued Qin Ziwen’s interest. "What about wood suitable for making Bows?"

Zhang Bo hadn’t expected Qin Ziwen to actually want more, but he didn’t think he’d ask for much. "Yes, I can get Zhe Wood and Mulberry Wood."

"What about Purple Shirt?" Qin Ziwen remembered Du Yu saying that Purple Shirt was an excellent material for making Bows.

"None of that. No one’s even seen it," Zhang Bo said with a wave of his hand. "Just Zhe Wood and Mulberry Wood. How many pieces do you want?"

"What are the prices?"

"For someone outside the Alliance Association, enough material for one Bow would trade for about ten pounds of meat. For an internal purchase, it’s five pounds. Give me five pounds of meat, and I’ll go buy it for you."

Qin Ziwen waved his hand dismissively. "How can this lousy wood be worth so much?"

Zhang Bo explained, "Zhe Wood itself isn’t rare, but material suitable for a Bow is. To make a Bow, you need straight, knot-free heartwood from the Zhe tree, which is usually the Tree Heart. You can’t get much material from a single tree; getting enough for three or four Bows is considered a lot. Besides finding the tree, you have to cut it down, bring it back, and do the rough processing."

Qin Ziwen said, "How about this: two pounds of coarse salt, or one pound of refined salt, in exchange for enough material for one Bow. Get me enough wood for twenty Bows to start."

Zhang Bo was stunned. He thought Qin Ziwen would want material for five or six Bows at most, but he asked for this many.

’Are you trying to form a Bowman Battalion?’

’The problem is, even if I get you that many Bows, you don’t have enough people. Can you even use them all?’

Zhang Bo said, "That’s too many. I can get you material for six Bows, max."

Qin Ziwen countered, "Fifteen."

"Seven."

"Fourteen."

"...Are we doing a math problem here?!" Zhang Bo said in exasperation. "Asking for so many is a real pain. Look, I’ll get you material for seven in the short term. When I get another chance, I’ll figure out a way to get you more."

Qin Ziwen said, "Alright, how about this: thirty pounds of refined salt for ten sets of Bow materials. Try to get Zhe Wood, it’s better than Mulberry Wood. And don’t worry, it won’t be a problem. You guys might have Bows, but do you have arrows? Without enough arrows, making Bows is useless anyway."