Chapter 37: Big Promotion
“Attention all residents! The base commissary is officially launching a massive inventory blowout!”
Not long after the negotiation, Lin Han marched out to the dead forest with a massive logistics team. The squad was highly organized: some men were assigned to formally register the inventory, some were tasked with heavy transport, and the rest were responsible for aggressively beating drums and gongs, marching through the compound to whip up maximum publicity.
“Great news! Great news for all base personnel! In order to reward our loyal residents, the central commissary has secured a massive influx of premium supplies, currently retailing at steep discounts! Form your queues and get your capital ready!”
Inside Base No. 27, the rumors of a “premium supply blowout” spread like an absolute wildfire.
Song Yuqing had originally ducked behind a small earthen mound to conceal herself, but a continuous, chaotic stream of people kept flooding into the dead woods. At one point, several base residents even climbed right on top of her hiding spot, cheering and marveling at the towering mountain of supplies resting on the dirt. Pinned down and holding her breath, Song Yuqing experienced several minutes of pure, heart-stopping terror.
The mob gathering around the inventory consisted of a mix of elite psychics and ordinary, unawakened civilians. The moment the news of the impending sale broke across the sectors, the entire camp was whipped into an absolute frenzy. Everyone was visibly buzzing with excitement, eager to immediately hit the outer grid, slaughter walkers, harvest crystal cores, and rush back to purchase the discounted goods!
As the massive crowd of onlookers swelled, a secondary detail of Lin Han’s mercenaries forcefully shoved their way through the mob, joining the logistics queue to help catalog and haul the heavy crates.
Desperate to avoid being crushed or spotted by the surging crowd, Song Yuqing was forced to execute a series of incredibly careful, stealthy rolls, maneuvering herself away from the mound and ducking behind the thick, hollowed-out trunk of a massive dead tree.
Holding her breath, she cautiously peeked around the rotting bark to monitor the loading zone. Lin Han and Nanjiao were standing right next to the massive stack of inventory, casually chatting and laughing together. Actually, looking closely, it was painfully obvious that Nanjiao was aggressively pandering to Lin Han. The programmer kept offering polite, stiff nods and slightly awkward, deferential smiles, looking exactly like an anxious mid-level corporate contractor desperately trying to appease an arrogant client.
Song Yuqing felt a sharp itch of anxiety flare up in her chest. She couldn’t help but nervously pick at the dead bark with her fingernails.
Could Liu Xiaona have been right? Was Nanjiao actually dispatched by Lin Han to orchestrate a massive supply heist?
And there was another glaring tactical discrepancy: Lin Han possessed a high-tier spatial ability. He could have effortlessly absorbed the entire mountain of inventory into his void in a matter of seconds. Why on earth was he going through the agonizingly slow, labor-intensive process of having his men manually haul the crates back to the base?
Song Yuqing kept her eyes glued to Lin Han. The dictator looked incredibly proud and triumphant, his chest puffed out as he surveyed the goods. The humiliating, crushing defeat he had suffered outside God’s Supermarket just a few days ago didn’t seem to have left a single scratch on his ego.
“Hey! Boss Song!”
A psychic passing by with a heavy crate on his shoulder suddenly paused, his eyes lighting up as he recognized her face. He was one of the hunters who clearly remembered how Song Yuqing had generously allowed them to purchase food on credit by trading raw zombie corpses!
Caught completely off guard, Song Yuqing felt a violent spike of panic. She offered a stiff, incredibly perfunctory nod in response.
“Uh, hey. Just… passing through. Haha.”
The psychic looked at Song Yuqing, then turned his head to look at the massive mountain of premium supplies piled on the dirt. A knowing, deeply respectful smile broke across his face.
Song Yuqing held her breath, absolutely terrified that the hunter was going to loudly announce her presence to Lin Han.
“Yeah, I get it,” the psychic nodded approvingly, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Establishing a formal corporate partnership with Commander Lin is definitely the smartest strategic move. It’s a win-win.” Sighing happily, he adjusted the heavy crate on his shoulder and marched back toward the base.
Song Yuqing didn’t dare linger in that spot for another second. She immediately dropped to a crouch and stealthily retreated deeper into the dead woods, finding cover behind a much thicker tree trunk further from the action.
Once Lin Han’s logistics detail finally hauled the last crate of supplies out of the forest and the mob dispersed, Song Yuqing stepped out from her hiding spot, scanning the shadows for Nanjiao.
“Boo!”
Nanjiao suddenly dropped down from the branches of the dead tree right above her, shouting loudly in a childish attempt to jump-scare her.
Song Yuqing: “…”
She stared at him, her expression entirely deadpan and devoid of amusement. Nanjiao’s posture instantly went rigid. He stood frozen for two incredibly awkward seconds before vigorously scratching the back of his head, nervously fumbling with his robes to hide his deep embarrassment. He explained that he had intentionally fabricated a clumsy excuse to slip away from his “hospitable” new business partner so he could report the operational breakdown back to her.
“Alright, talk,” Song Yuqing demanded. “What exact terms did you agree to with Lin Han? And why the hell didn’t he just utilize his spatial void to transport the inventory?”
Nanjiao shook his head, a deeply bitter smile crossing his face. “Lin Han is an incredibly shrewd, manipulative operator. He’s an expert at cornering people in negotiations.”
He explained the breakdown. When Lin Han saw that the bulk inventory Nanjiao had manifested was all top-tier, pristine merchandise, and heard that the ‘rogue merchant’ wanted to establish an exclusive retail partnership with Base No. 27, the dictator agreed without a second of hesitation. Nanjiao initially assumed the negotiation was a total breeze. He hadn’t anticipated that Lin Han was about to execute a ruthless, predatory corporate squeeze.
Terrified that explicitly demanding raw zombie corpses instead of refined crystal cores would expose his true affiliation with God’s Supermarket, Nanjiao had been forced to spin a complex lie. He claimed he had managed to loot the inventory from the corpses of rogue spatial psychics whose dimensional vaults had “exploded” upon their deaths, and that he was simply looking to liquidate the ill-gotten goods for a massive payout of crystal cores. Lin Han didn’t buy the story entirely, but he recognized the profit margin and agreed to front the retail operation—on the strict condition that they aggressively split the crystal core profits.
Before the apocalypse hit, Nanjiao was an isolated programmer who rarely engaged in high-stakes boardroom negotiations; consequently, his haggling skills were entirely theoretical. Unsurprisingly, Lin Han aggressively dictated the entire pace of the negotiation, ultimately strong-arming the investigator into a brutal 80/20 split—with Lin Han pocketing the 80%. To salvage Song Yuqing’s requirement, Nanjiao had to desperately convince Lin Han to implement a dual-currency system for the sale, accepting both crystal cores and raw zombie corpses as valid tender.
“He was a fraction of a second away from exposing me entirely! Fortunately, I thought on my feet and claimed the raw corpses were…” Nanjiao suddenly trailed off, looking at Song Yuqing with a highly mysterious, hesitant expression.
“Claimed they were what?” Song Yuqing prompted, narrowing her eyes. “Since your elemental ability is uniquely botanical… did you tell him you physically require raw zombie tissue to fuel your powers?” It was just a casual, logical guess on her part.
“Bingo. That’s exactly it. I explicitly told him my flora manipulation requires dense, necrotic tissue to act as an organic supplementary fertilizer, identical to how a normal plant requires nutrient-rich soil.”
Song Yuqing’s mind immediately began to violently conjure horrifying mental images. How exactly does he ‘absorb’ a zombie? Does he pin the rotting monster down and let his vines drain it? Does he physically bite into the flesh?!
Suddenly, her entire body went completely numb as a deeply terrifying implication swept through her brain. She slowly rotated her head, her gaze locking onto Nanjiao, who was currently pressing his lips together in an awkward line.
“Wait… is that actually true?”
“Yeah. My root system actively metabolizes and absorbs the necrotic corpse gas,” Nanjiao muttered, refusing to meet her eyes as he stared intensely at the dirt near his boots.
Song Yuqing narrowed her eyes, evaluating the programmer with a sudden, profound new level of caution.
“Right. That makes sense. You are a plant-type mutant, after all. And flora always thrives when it’s fed high-grade fertilizer.”
During the brief window they had spent reviewing the logistics, the atmosphere inside Base No. 27 had escalated into an absolute uproar.
Song Yuqing tilted her head, listening closely. She could hear the distinct, overlapping roar of manic cheering and applause echoing over the concrete walls. The ambient energy felt remarkably similar to a massive, pre-doomsday festival carnival; the sheer excitement radiating from the compound was incredibly contagious, making her deeply curious.
“What do you say we sneak inside and check out the operation?” Nanjiao asked, rubbing his hands together eagerly as he stared at the distant compound.
“And exactly how are we supposed to breach the perimeter without clearance?” Song Yuqing asked, looking at him expectantly.
A few minutes later, Song Yuqing and Nanjiao were aggressively rubbing dirt and ash into their clothes and violently messing up their hair to look like haggard refugees. Nanjiao even channeled his power to weave a pair of tight, mesh-like organic masks and wide-brimmed hats out of green vines to completely obscure their facial features. Thus disguised, the duo adopted a weak, staggering gait and slowly approached the primary gates of Base No. 27.
By this point, the guards stationed at the checkpoint had completely lost all professional discipline, their minds entirely consumed by the burning desire to rush the commissary and secure the discounted goods.
“It’s a massive inventory blowout! This is a literal once-in-a-lifetime retail event! If we don’t sprint over there right now, the elite squads are going to buy out all the premium stock!”
“Damn it! It’s an absolute tragedy I pulled guard duty today!”
“Hey, listen to me—let’s just quietly abandon the post. Literally nothing is going to happen out here.”
“You’re right. The relief shift is scheduled to rotate in soon anyway.”
“Screw it! Go, go, go!!!”
The primary security detail didn’t even register the two “exhausted” figures staggering toward the gates; the guards simply abandoned their rifles and bolted toward the commercial sector in an absolute dead sprint.
“Premium blowout, here I come!”
Song Yuqing and Nanjiao exchanged a highly amused look. They quietly slipped past the abandoned barricades, effortlessly infiltrating Base No. 27, and seamlessly blended into the massive mob surging toward the commissary.
As they walked, Song Yuqing noticed that the canvas tents lining the thoroughfare were plastered with hastily scrawled, handwritten promotional posters. The aggressive marketing copy read exactly like a desperate pre-apocalypse liquidation sale: “FINAL THREE DAYS! SELLING AT A MASSIVE LOSS! EVERYTHING MUST GO!”
Swept up in the sheer momentum of the crowd, Song Yuqing and Nanjiao were rapidly funneled directly to the front entrance of the base supermarket. The plaza was already packed shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of screaming residents. Some clutched glowing crystal cores in their fists, while others dragged heavy, rotting zombie corpses behind them on tarps—after all, Lin Han had explicitly authorized raw tissue as valid tender.
This was the absolute first time Song Yuqing had ever laid eyes on the compound’s official commissary, and she was stunned. It didn’t look like a retail store; it looked exactly like a heavily fortified military armory. The massive primary doors were forged from solid gold, having been structurally reinforced and alloyed with heavy industrial steel by a high-tier metal psychic. The architecture projected an aura of absolute, indestructible majesty.
The great golden gates remained tightly sealed shut. A vanguard of elite, highly aggressive mercenaries stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a tight defensive line across the threshold, their hands resting on their hips as they glared down at the desperate mob with absolute, unmasked disdain.
“A true doomsday miracle! An unprecedented, massive inventory discount! This is a strictly limited-time offer, operating on a first-come, first-served basis!” Lin Han shouted, climbing onto a reinforced steel chair with a massive, arrogant smile plastered across his face.
“Commander Lin is a godsend! All hail Commander Lin!” several planted loyalists began chanting in the crowd, whipping the mob into a deeper frenzy.
“What an absolute, theatrical stunt,” Song Yuqing sneered, her lips curling in deep disgust. “If you’re going to host a sale, just open the damn doors already!”
“Seriously, this is utterly ridiculous,” Nanjiao grumbled in agreement, feeling incredibly claustrophobic as the sweaty mob pressed tightly against him from all sides. “Have we seen enough? Should we extract?”
But right as they turned on their heels, preparing to fight their way back out of the crushing crowd, the massive, solid gold gates of Base No. 27’s commissary finally began to slowly, dramatically grind open.
