Compromise

"Well..."

Shawn thought for a while.

Finally, he compromised.

"Alright then... ten jugs it is..."

He felt like his heart was bleeding internally; it was a huge loss!

But there was no other choice.

Without a weapon, if he got trapped here and died, all the water in the world wouldn't matter once it ran out!

Ding! Trade successful!

You have traded ten jugs of water for [Precise Longbow]*1, [Arrows]*50!

Shawn was taken aback:

"You gave me 50 arrows? Didn't you say only ten before?"

"Yes, I saw you were straightforward with the trade, so I threw in an extra 40 arrows, just don't tell anyone!"

"Just help me promote it a bit more in the chat channel!"

Henry said with a smile.

He understood the principle of balancing a slap with a sweetener.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Shawn was extremely touched.

He had really encountered a great person!

He excitedly said:

"Don't worry, I will definitely promote you!"

"You're such a conscientious seller, it's really rare, thank you!"

Look at this...

Henry had just taken ten jugs of pure water from Shawn, and in the end, the other party even thanked him...

It was just a small favor...

Indeed, right after finishing the private chat with Henry, Shawn immediately began to hype it up in the chat channel.

"Damn, this [Precise Longbow] is incredible, one arrow one zombie, never misses!"

"Truly a monster-killing artifact, I feel like I'm about to reach the pinnacle of life, and marry a rich and beautiful woman!"

A few minutes later, Shawn also posted a video.

From a first-person perspective, an arrow directly pierced through a zombie's head!

The scene was particularly gory.

But it must be said, the effect was indeed very clear!

With that, the chat channel, which had many people previously hesitant about making a purchase, suddenly came alive.

"Awesome, this is so much safer than a kitchen knife!"

"And the bow and arrow make almost no noise, won't attract zombies, really great!"

"Damn, kill zombies, gain strength, get cores, what can't you have? Girls will be begging you to spoil them!"

"Just now I saw there were six girls, wait for me, I'm going to buy a bow and arrow, I'm coming!"

"Definitely worth getting one, then I can make it into the supermarket across the street, there must be supplies there!"

...

Suddenly, there was a surge in inquiries.

Private messages were flooding in, too many to respond to.

Among them were many messages from girls.

Mostly various requests for relationships, or seeking someone to take care of them.

Most of these women simply didn't have the resources to offer, nor the courage to kill zombies!

In a post-apocalyptic world, even adult men can't guarantee they'll survive safely.

Who would want to take on a liability?

The idea of freeloading for supplies and being taken care of was even less likely!

"I want ten [Precise Longbows], name your price!"

Suddenly, a message caught Henry's attention.

It was from Slater!

"You want ten?"

Henry was somewhat surprised.

Wanting so many longbows indicated that Slater's team had grown, with at least ten combatants!

It also showed that Slater was confident, likely having a substantial amount of resources.

Henry suddenly remembered, this guy said yesterday that he was planning to attack a large supermarket.

Could it be that he had already succeeded?!

"Yes, name your price, and if you need materials... if we have them, we can provide the materials and pay you for the labor!"

Slater said.

This guy was quite calculating.

If he knew the materials, then he could estimate the production cost of a bow!

Thus, he could negotiate the price.

Henry was definitely not going to give him that opportunity.

"Okay, name your price. What do you want in exchange?"

"For ten longbows, I'll need at least 100 Energy Cores, 50 units of food, and 50 units of water."

Actually, wood isn't valuable right now; it's really just the Energy Cores.

Ten longbows would need 10 Energy Cores.

Henry straightforwardly asked for 100 cores, essentially marking up the price tenfold.

Plus, with food and water added, that's at least a twentyfold profit margin!

"Ouch... your price is a bit high..."

"How about this counteroffer, 80 Energy Cores. Food and water are too scarce, they're going for sky-high prices at the auction!"

"And we have a lot of people here, so our expenses are huge! We barely have enough for ourselves!"

Slater said.

"Energy Cores 100, can't go lower!"

"If you don't have enough food and water... you can make up the difference with other items!"

"If it's suitable, I might consider trading!"

"After all, the cost of making 10 longbows is very high, and these are the only ranged weapons available on the market!"

Henry continued to hold his ground.

Actually, 80 cores were within his acceptable range!

A pure profit of 70 cores, this deal was not a loss!

And there was still future profit to be made from selling [Arrows]!

But that's how bargaining works.

The more you appear to stand firm, the bigger the bargain the other side feels they get when they manage to get you to lower the price just a bit.

If you agree as soon as the other party counters, they definitely feel like they've lost out on the deal!

Human psychology is like that!

A bit tricky!

"We only have 90 Energy Cores on hand right now."

"Here's what we'll do, we'll make up for it with some additional items!"

With that, Slater sent a list of materials into the private chat channel!

"[Mutant Fertilizer]*300, [Clean Cloth]*120, [Bloodstained Key]*23, [Strange Key]*1, [Bloodstained Access Card]*8, [Toilet Paper]*12, [Fresh Grapes]*20, [Fresh Oranges]*7, [Football Helmet]*12, [Diesel Generator]*2, [200 Liter Diesel Barrel]*10, [159 Liter Gasoline Barrel]*12, [Steel]*178..."

"This is all I have, see what you can use!"

"Offset as much as you can, I really don't have any extra resources!"

"Consider it a favor, and when you come to our place, I'll give you a position!"

Henry ignored the last part.

In any survivor group, strength is the only measure of status.

Without strength, everything else is just talk!

Similarly, if your strength is formidable, the entire camp would bow at your feet!

As for these materials...

"Except for the [Football Helmets], I'll take everything else!"

Henry stated coolly.