Striking a Deal Before the Earthquake and Snow

"Can you guarantee that the supplies you're giving us are the same as the two batches we lost, Captain Yun?"

Having had enough of the gay couple's public display of affection, Wei Kan kept a straight face and tried not to pay attention to them. After hearing what he said, the other guys quickly controlled their emotions and silently reprimanded themselves for losing their focus because of Yun Che.

"No I can't. How am I supposed to give you exactly the same stuff when I don't know what those supplies are? I said I'd give you supplies of the same quantity as those two batches, not two batches of the same supplies. Otherwise, wouldn't you guys start barking at me again and accuse me of robbing the supplies you were planning to take?"

Yun Che was dumbfounded by them laying a trap for him every now and then. One batch of the supplies were packed in hundreds of containers at Dongwan Wharf and the other was 100 tons of edible salt from Longping Salt Mine. They probably didn't know what were the things inside the containers and at most only knew that they were filled with supplies. As for the edible salt, it was sold nationwide and they wouldn't recognize it even if he returned it to them intact. At the end of the day, they were just trying to see if they could get anything out of him.

"Aren't you worried we would make an exorbitant demand, Captain Yun?"

Yun Che was actually right about them not knowing what were the things inside the containers. They were probably just food and clothings. Although there was nothing special about edible salt at the moment, it would become more precious and rare as the doomsday continued. Many things could be done with a hundred tons of edible salt, and most importantly, it didn't expire easily.

"Of course I'm worried, but I think Major General Mo has an idea of the situation since you guys had even sent drones for the operations. If your request is unreasonable, I'll just pretend we didn't see each other today."

Yun Che said spontaneously since he knew better than anyone else what those things were.

"Alright, you have my word, but I have to look at the supplies first."

Wei Kan came to a decision after pondering for a while, but Yun Che shook his finger at him, turning him down, "We definitely have supplies, but it's not possible to show them to you. Either you believe me or get up and leave, the door's over there!"

He wasn't being petty, but he couldn't just show such huge quantities of supplies to them like this. Moreover, Wei Kan had merely agreed verbally and might just go back on his word.

"You…"

"I can be a guarantor for Che if you're worried, General Wei."

Wei Kan was interrupted and rendered speechless by Xing Feng as soon as he started to speak. Chaoyang definitely had that amount of supplies if he was worried that Peak Squad didn't have them.

"With Chief Xing as the guarantor, there's no reason for me not to believe Captain Yun, but you gotta give us those supplies, don't you?"

How were they going to continue with the deal if they couldn't even take a look at the supplies?

"I didn't say I wasn't going to give them to you. They will be given to you when the ownership of the research institute is settled."

He didn't dare to let his guard down with these soldiers, and he wasn't going to show them anything before achieving his goal.

"You're not being sincere, Captain Yun. What if you go back on your word after we help Chief Xing get control of the research institute? Wouldn't we end up with nothing then?"

Wei Kan wouldn't be worried about being flaked on if it had been someone else, but he had to be on his guard when dealing with Yun Che. Even if he went back on his word, Wei Army would at most condemn Peak Squad publicly, and his reputation could also be affected as a result. It would be difficult for him to really do anything to them.

"Come on, Wei. Do you really think I didn't see the major on your left putting his hand in his pocket all the time? Why are you worried that I'll go back on my word when you've already recorded everything?"

Yun Che pouted his lips at the major while talking. He had found it strange from the start that a major could sit next to Wei Kan when there were so many higher ranking officials present. After careful observation, he realized that he was probably Wei Kan's intelligence agent, and this was also one of the reasons why he had been careful not to fall into any of the traps Wei Kan laid for him.

The major was stunned before he quickly lowered his head and looked away. None of them had expected the seemingly unreliable Yun Che to be so observant. Wei Kan and his men became even more wary of him as there weren't many capable and smart people who were also observant at the same time. It would be a blessing if such people were their friends, but a misfortune if they were their enemies. Unfortunately, Yun Che supported Mo Army even though he wasn't exactly their enemy.

"It's getting late and I gotta celebrate my little nephew's birthday. Let's not waste time, Wei. We'll make a deal if you're agreeable, otherwise it's also okay. Chief Xing just gotta work on it for another few days."

Seeing that the clock in the living room was already pointing to 11.45, Yun Che stopped giving them the chance to slowly think about it.

"Alright, I will express my support when Mo Army brings up the research institute again at the morning meeting tomorrow, but please don't forget your promise, Captain Yun. Our space superfunction possessors will go look you up in Chaoyang community once the meeting is over."

Wei Kan finally gave the nod. This was actually something he could accept in the first place, but he had just wanted to add in some terms and conditions. Unfortunately, faced with the slick Yun Che, he could only get back the supplies for the time being.

"That's the way, happy working together!"

After giving him an appreciative smile, Yun Che stood up and stretched out his hand as a gesture for them to leave. Wei Kan and his men, who were already mentally exhausted, stood up and were about to shake hands and leave.

"Boom boom…"

"What happened? Is there an earthquake?"

"Why is there an earthquake all of a sudden? The tremors are strong!"

"Oh no…"

The ground suddenly started to shake, and everyone slightly lost their balance. There had been frequent earthquakes in the southwestern region in the last ten years, but it had been a long time since they felt such strong tremors. Everyone started running out, and Yun Che's face turned grim. After exchanging glances with Xing Feng, he finally stepped out of the house to face the unavoidable.

"Geez, why is it snowing again? Snow in June? What a disaster!"

"Damn…"

"What's going on?"

By the time they went outside, they saw that the gray sky was covered with snowflakes which seemed to be getting denser. Everyone in the military knew that the doomsday was brought about by a nationwide snowstorm, and the fact that it was now snowing in June made their faces look even more solemn. Yun Yao and the rest who also ran out because of the earthquake had the same grave expression on their faces. Everyone standing outside was afraid that the house would collapse when they saw it shaking back and forth like a cradle.

"Let's go."

The ground stopped shaking temporarily after about a minute, and Wei Kan left with his men away without informing Yun Che. Seeing that the house had stopped shaking, Yun Che said in a sombre voice, "Let's all go in. The foundation of our house is reinforced with metal plates, and the walls also have steel bars added to them. It won't collapse."

As Southwesterners, they had been accustomed to having earthquakes over the last decade. No longer worried after hearing what Yun Che said, Yun Yao, Wang Suhua and the rest went into the yard talking and laughing.

"Che, this isn't just a normal earthquake, is it? And also the snow."

Zhou Zeyu and the other guys weren't as simple-minded as the elders. They hadn't forgotten about Yun Che instructing them to pass information to Joy and Loser Squads in the morning.

"Yes. As you all know, the doomsday was brought about by a heavy snowstorm. The snow this time will be heavier and persist for a longer period, and will also be accompanied by natural disasters such as torrential rains, earthquakes and tsunamis. After the disaster, the zombies will level up once again, and they will no longer face any obstacles in advancing to higher levels."

Yun Che glanced at every single one of them, not hiding anything. Except at the beginning, he hadn't thought of hiding anything from them, just that he never had the opportunity to explain things to them clearly. It would be correct to say this heavy snowstorm would bring about the real doomsday, and what they had gone through previously was mere child's play.

"Damn it, is heaven out to kill us?"

Zhou Zeyu muttered a curse, and the main members of the two squads looked grave, wanting to curse out like Zhou Zeyu. They might encounter level-5 and 6 or even higher level zombies in the future if zombies no longer face any obstacle in advancing to higher levels, and their lives would be in danger since humans didn't advance as fast as zombies.

"But you don't have to worry. I think this snowstorm is also an opportunity for superfunction possessors. You guys could have advanced to level-4, but you haven't been able to break through because you're short of this opportunity. As for the future, zombies can level up fast mainly because they eat superfunction possessors, mutant beasts, zombie beasts and also the crystal nuclei of their own kind. Their advancement is naturally faster than us since they eat all day and night, but there can't be that many high-level zombies. We can also level up fast if we continue to battle to make ourselves stronger, on top of absorbing crystal nuclei. Moreover, we've just gotten the ownership of the research institute. We will no longer have to use crystal nuclei of the same level for recovery and advancement once the research institute develops the nutrient solution. The nutrient solution works just as well as crystal nuclei of the same level, so our future isn't that bleak after all."

Since they were now moving against the current, they could only strive to move forward in order not to fall behind. However, they should count themselves lucky that he had been through a rebirth and was already prepared for many things. They just had to keep going on like what they had been doing, and they would eventually see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"That's good to hear. Damn, the snow is really getting heavier."

"Let's go inside, it's Chenchen's birthday today, so cheer up guys. Like Che said, our future isn't that bleak. Even if it's totally dark, we will cut through the darkness and fight against heaven!"

"Whoa Xingchen, why did I only realize your aggressiveness now?"

"You're awesome, Senior!"

"Gimme a break, are you two gonna act all lovey-dovey again? Let's get out of here and leave them alone."

After hearing what Yun Che said, the members of the two squads seemed to have calmed down and were determined to give it their all. They talked and laughed as they entered the yard. Ye Xingchen, who was laughing helplessly after being loathed, walked behind them holding Jiang Shang's hand. Soon, there were only Yun Che, Xing Feng and Gu Mingxuan on the road.

"Che, did you mean the nutrient solution made from low-level crystal nuclei can also be used by high-level superfunction possessors?"

No one noticed this, with the exception of Gu Mingxuan. Yun Che raised his eyebrows and looked surprised, "Yeah, haven't I said that? Low-level crystal nuclei are merely less concentrated, just like having a lower sugar content. We can just use more to produce nutrient solutions of the same concentration. I've said this a long time ago, haven't I?"

Xing Feng and Gu Mingxuan resigned to their fate when they saw that Yun Che wasn't putting on an act this time. It seemed like they had to start asking for more details from now on no matter what he said. They could have collected more low-level crystal nuclei if he had told them this earlier, but luckily it wasn't too late. Gu Mingxuan quietly decided that he would send someone to set up a booth outside the Superfunction Association to collect crystal nuclei of all levels since they had abundant supplies, and the various squads should have also accumulated a lot of low-level crystal nuclei.