Chapter 198: Humiliating Me?
Su Tao had no choice but to look for Sheng Yuqing.
Ever since she persuaded Sheng Yuqing to join the army, she had been following Pei Dong to learn.
However, even Sheng Yuqing was out of reach.
After making several calls, she finally learned from Xing Shuyu that 18 evolved zombies were attempting an attack three kilometers from Dongyang’s Gate No. 2.
Pei Dong had deployed most of their manpower to support the defense, and they were still holding their ground. She advised her to call again in a few days.
“Do they need my help?” Su Tao was alarmed.
Eighteen evolved zombies were terrifying.
Why did it seem like the number of evolved zombies with blood scythes was increasing over time?
Xing Shuyu shook her head and said gravely:
“The water and fast food you provided are enough. The problem now is the disparity in strength. We may have no choice but to abandon the floating water district near Gate No. 2.”
Su Tao fell silent.
The floating water district was quite close to the city center, which was not a good sign.
Xing Shuyu sighed, “Actually, we’re already lucky. At least our soldiers die in battle rather than starving or dying of thirst. Look at Yun Cang and Shou An next door—they’ve been cut off from water and food for a while now. They don’t even have the option to hide like turtles. At least we still have some dignity.”
“Even though the floating water district is near the city center, our city walls are almost complete. As long as Sister Pei and the others can hold out for another week, we’ll have a chance to breathe.”
Su Tao hung up with a heavy heart.
No, she felt that Dongyang might not hold out for long.
She needed to prepare. If too many places fell, the number of homeless people would surge.
Right now, even the smallest rooms in Taoyang weren’t cheap.
She had to upgrade quickly, unlock dormitory-style housing, lower rent, and help accommodate the population.
This would benefit her as well—not only could she upgrade quickly, but she could also earn more rental income.
For the next three days, Su Tao worked tirelessly.
She had Ma Dapao and Zhuang Wan spread the word about buying and selling supplies and crystal cores while she frantically built housing.
In just three days, she constructed 20 single rooms, 10 double rooms, and 10 two-bedroom apartments.
Meng Qian was stunned when she saw so many vacant rooms.
Su Tao, with bloodshot eyes from exhaustion, said, “Sort through the applications quickly. Don’t accept people from other bases for now—prioritize Dongyang first.”
Meng Qian nodded vigorously and rushed off to work.
As soon as she left, Lei Xing arrived. Seeing Su Tao’s red eyes, he frowned and asked:
“Why are you in such a hurry? What does Dongyang falling have to do with you?”
Su Tao replied, “You drifters wouldn’t understand.”
Lei Xing didn’t argue and instead asked, “I heard from Ma Dapao that you’re buying crystal cores and selling supplies for cooperation?”
Su Tao nodded.
Recently, many bases and organizations had caught wind of this, but most were still skeptical about Taoyang’s resources and were waiting to see.
Lei Xing said, “My brothers and I have an idea. Can you allocate us a piece of land for Leopard Path’s base? As for rent, do you prefer cash or crystal cores?”
Su Tao perked up. “Don’t you already have land outside?”
Lei Xing looked unimpressed. “Too far from Taoyang, and the location isn’t great. Your place is better—fully equipped and with a great environment.”
“How big of an area do you need?”
“Around 1,000 square meters. Ideally, it should have a dormitory, a training ground, a shooting range, and a private canteen that outsiders can’t enter.”
Su Tao’s face darkened. “You have some high demands.”
Lei Xing grinned. “So just name your price—cash or crystal cores.”
Su Tao weighed her options and extended her hand.
“Fine, but you need to pay me two crystal cores as a deposit, and you cover the construction costs. I’ll get Rongrong to calculate the budget and send it to you later.”
Lei Xing agreed without hesitation and called out, “Big Mouth, hand over four crystal cores to Boss Su.”
Big Mouth howled, opened his mouth, and spat out four crystal cores. He casually wiped them on his clothes before handing them to Su Tao.
Su Tao hesitated, unsure whether to accept them. “Two cores, not four…”
Lei Xing smacked Big Mouth on the head, took the crystal cores, washed them at the fountain, and handed them to Su Tao.
“Four cores were what my brothers and I agreed on. Just take them. Also, we’ll pay you 10% of our mercenary earnings as rent. That should be around 400,000 to 600,000 Federal Credits per month. It’s not a huge amount, but we’ll also give you 10% of the crystal cores we collect.”
“Does that sound fair?”
Su Tao was surprised. “You’re giving me both money and crystal cores?”
Leopard Path was a well-known mercenary team with high commissions and a decent crystal core yield.
Lei Xing smiled and nodded.
Su Tao beamed. “Deal! I’ll have your land ready by early September.”
Perfect—she could allocate the old 1,000-square-meter plot to Leopard Path and save herself the trouble of managing it.
*
Eastern District
“G-Guo Boss… I heard that Leopard Path is selling that land…”
Gu Mingchi remained unmoved and glanced at his lieutenant.
“Lei Xing was so attached to that dump—why is he suddenly selling it? Is he short on cash?”
The lieutenant swallowed hard. “I heard they found a better place.”
Gu Mingchi sneered. “Let them go wherever they want. But if I run into him, I’ll pull out all his teeth.”
After a while, he noticed his lieutenant still standing there and impatiently asked, “What else?”
The lieutenant stammered, “Leopard Path wants to sell it to you… for only 250 Federal Credits…”
Gu Mingchi was furious. “Are they humiliating me? Find out where they moved to! If I could take their territory once, I can take it again!”
Wu Zhen stood on the terrace of Taoli Tower, tending to the small green seedlings sprouting before him.
After nurturing a single lily flower to full bloom, he inhaled its fragrance with satisfaction before gazing at the distant greenhouse. A sense of peace filled his heart.
Without realizing it, he had been in Taoyang for nearly half a year.
The nightmares from his time in Shou An seemed distant now.
Yet, whenever he thought of Min Da and her son, an unresolved sorrow remained.
Perhaps time would heal all wounds, as long as no one brought them up.
But just as he thought that, someone poked at his scars.
When Jiang Qingxiang called, Wu Zhen was stunned—so much so that he momentarily forgot who she was.
“Xiao Zhen, I heard you’re in Taoyang, in Dongyang? How’s your wife and child? Settling in well?”
Wu Zhen’s face darkened instantly. “Miss Jiang, just say what you want.”
Jiang Qingxiang felt displeased.
Ungrateful bastard.
Back then, Wu Zhen had been nothing more than a gardener in her backyard.
Now, Shou An was on the brink of collapse, and even the Jiang family couldn’t hold out. No matter how many weapons they had, their soldiers couldn’t fight without food.
She had only heard about Taoyang recently—that it had resources and was willing to sell to anyone with money.
So she had no choice but to reach out to her former gardener.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have lowered herself like this.
Jiang Qingxiang swallowed her pride and spoke in a friendly tone.
“I just wanted to ask—how reliable is Taoyang? Do they really have resources? Tell me the truth, and I won’t forget to reward you.”
