"So, Mr. Ren, how’s the situation at the company? We sneaked a look earlier but came back after that."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Zheng Tian immediately started inquiring.
During the day, they didn’t participate in Starfire Resources’ matters.
Ren Zhong hadn’t instructed or arranged for anything in advance, allowing them to maintain their independent thinking.
They weren’t relying on Ren Zhong’s support to completely break away from the working class. Instead, Zheng Tian carefully weighed the options and saw the reality.
She knew it was futile.
If she led the group to participate, it might only add unnecessary trouble for Mr. Ren if something happened.
After all, sitting on an armed Qingfeng Heavy Truck, with the team having an average strength above the Second Level, Zheng Tian’s group secured the top spot among the semi-professional teams, second only to the professionals in influence within the town. If they appeared at that event, it would be easy for other scavengers to push them as leaders.
With Yang Bingzhong’s temperament, it would mean certain death for everyone, and no one could save them.
Ren Zhong shrugged, "Despite so many people creating such a spectacle, Lin Wang resolved it with just a few words."
Zheng Tian: "Alas, just as I thought."
Ou Youning: "I knew it! Useless!"
Bai Feng and Chen Hanyu remained silent.
Ren Zhong, slightly surprised, said, "What, you don’t find it surprising? It’s almost as if you were prepared for this."
Everyone exchanged a glance.
Zheng Tian said, "Ever since you repeatedly warned us to be cautious of Lin Wang, many of our perspectives have changed significantly."
Wen Lei, in a muffled voice, said, "Over these days, we’ve gradually found answers to things we couldn’t comprehend before."
Ren Zhong frowned slightly, "You went to investigate Lin Wang?"
Chen Hanyu shook her head, "We didn’t deliberately investigate, just occasionally came across new information. A few days ago, Zheng Tian and I used the deductive and inductive methods you taught us, Mr. Ren, to reason a bit."
"What conclusions did you reach? Let’s hear it."
Ren Zhong’s connections among the lower-level scavengers weren’t as profound as those of the old hand Zheng Tian.
He also never deliberately used lower-level wastelanders to inquire about Lin Wang.
His caution regarding Lin Wang was due to having been killed by him, a total of three times.
Zheng Tian and the others had a different situation.
They were once under Lin Wang’s protection and weren’t completely detached now.
Although they couldn’t say they were deeply grateful and trusted Lin Wang, they at least cooperated comfortably.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have unhesitatingly chosen to take the Second Level certification exam on the fifteenth day.
This wasn’t Zheng Tian being foolish, it was her being too close to the situation.
Although there were always rumors about Lin Wang from the outside world, as a stakeholder, she only believed what she saw with her eyes.
Which was that being under Lin Wang’s team required only a 20% commission deduction, unlike other freelance scavengers who endured a heavy tax of 30%.
When encountering other semi-professional teams in the wild, others would retreat a bit.
Although Bei Lihui was lecherous, seeing that she and Chen Hanyu were unhappy, he didn’t force them.
It wasn’t until Ren Zhong completely pointed it out that Zheng Tian began to seriously analyze the external information.
After listening to the account from Zheng Tian and others, Ren Zhong, though already mentally prepared, still fell into a prolonged silence.
Ren Zhong’s decision to oppose Lin Wang from the start came from a gut feeling honed by his Ph.D. education in the 21st century, but he really hadn’t chosen the wrong person.
The facts proved that in this near-end-of-the-world scenario filled with monstrous beasts, the greatest threats and harms to humanity, with the most lasting negative impacts, often weren’t the beasts, but humans.
Lin Wang’s rise to power could also be said to be a story of blood and tears for the lower-level wastelanders in Starfire Town, filled with betrayal, exploitation, and plunder.
His path to success singularly buried the bones of at least hundreds of scavengers.
It’s just that Lin Wang operated covertly, leaving no discernible evidence, and each time he stayed within the bottom line of Starfire Town’s regulations, finding legitimate reasons to act and never provoking those he shouldn’t, resulting in him being both notorious for bloodshed and thought of by some as somewhat okay.
The greatest threat lies precisely in such people.
Compared to the other professional teams, Lin Wang’s exploitation of the lower-level scavengers was the most unscrupulous, with the most shameful display.
Now with Starfire Town’s professionals dwindling, the desolation of the abandoned mines is the main cause, Yang Bingzhong’s greed is the direct cause, and Lin Wang’s path of blood-soaked ascension is the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
Ou Youning sighed and said, "Brother Ren, when my dad died outside unclear how, it wasn’t exactly surprising. I assumed he fell victim to the Ruined Beast. But actually, his team was always cautious, never provoking Second Level Ruined Beasts, even more cautious than us. I had doubts, but didn’t think too much. Now I’m pretty sure my dad and his teammates became paving stones for Lin Wang."