Shaking his head, Gu Shaoze replied, "I sold the water to Captain Wei at a low price because he saved my life."
After a brief silence, the Colonel asked, "Then how much do you want?"
"Since the Colonel wants to buy water to help everyone, of course I will offer a lower price. One crystal core per liter of water," Gu Shaoze said before taking another sip of coffee.
As soon as he said this, several military officers frowned. One of them spoke up, "Comrade, in times of emergency, we should work together. How can you ask for such a high price?"
Gu Shaoze finished his coffee and responded, "Sir, even though I'm an ability-user, providing that much water isn't easy. Overusing my energy causes pain, dizziness, and headaches which could harm my health. I'm not going to suffer just for being praised as a good person."
"I have stated my price. If you accept it, we can continue this discussion. If not, we can forget about it-I can always sell the water to others."
With that, he stood up and added, "Colonel, thank you for inviting my partner and me today. We will be leaving tomorrow, so if you want to buy water, you will need to make your decision soon."
Before turning to leave, he glanced at Pei Yijun and Wei Ying.
After they left, Chu Zhimiao wanted to offer her help. But before she could utter a word, Li Yang held her hand under the table and shook his head. Seeing this, she swallowed her words and remained silent.
Pei Yijun finished his coffee and said, "Since the Colonel still has matters to attend to, my team will take our leave first. Thank you for the food."
With that, he stood up and left, followed by his team. Seeing this, Wei Ying also exited the office, followed by several military officers.
Ten minutes later, only the Colonel and his subordinates remained in the room. After a heavy silence, the Colonel suddenly asked, "Everyone, what do you think we should do?"
After a moment of hesitation, one of them spoke, "Colonel, although the price is high, compared to the current market rate in the camp, we can still profit by reselling the water."
Another chimed in, "Colonel, since they are leaving tomorrow, we have to seize this opportunity and obtain as much water as possible. When the people from Jinwu City arrive in two days, we will have water ready to sell. By then, we can either raise the price or exchange it for other supplies."
Hearing their suggestions, the Colonel fell into thought. Then he said, "Okay, we will proceed as you suggest. We need at least 50,000 liters of water. Get more if possible."
His words stunned everyone in the room. After a while, one of them said, "Colonel, I'm afraid we don't have that many crystal cores."
The Colonel shot the speaker a sharp glance and said coldly, "Get the water first. Once we have it, there will be a way to handle the payment."
Understanding what the Colonel meant by "handling" the payment, they went silent.
Waving his hand, the Colonel said, "Meeting adjourned."
The military officers stood and saluted before leaving the room one after another.
Meanwhile, after leaving the office, Pei Yijun and his team strolled around the camp. As they walked, Chu Zhimiao suddenly asked, "Li Yang, why did you stop me just now?"
Before replying, Li Yang glanced briefly at Han Jie and said, "It's not wise to involve yourself in this matter. If you offer your help and they cling to you, constantly demanding more, what will you do then?"
Frowning, Chu Zhimiao said, "They are soldiers. They wouldn't be that shameless, right?"
"Miaomiao, you have seen what happened with the survivors. In the face of life and death, parents even sold their daughters for a pack of biscuits and a bottle of water. You can't apply pre-apocalypse moral standards to the current situation," Li Yang explained.
"But the soldiers and survivors-"
Before she could finish, Li Yang cut her off. "Miaomiao, I know you mean well. But if you want to help others, you must first have the ability to do so."
"If you help one person but can't help the rest, instead of understanding your limitations, some may resent you for not helping them too. So rather than doing thankless good deeds, think about your own survival first."
After a pause, Chu Zhimiao asked, "Is that why Senior Gu asked for crystal cores instead of giving the water for free?"
Li Yang nodded and replied, "Selling water and giving it away are not the same. If you sell it, those without supplies or crystal cores won't dare trouble you. No one could expect free food and water in times like these."
Chu Zhimiao thought for a long moment before finally nodding. "Li Yang, I understand now."
Hearing this, Li Yang reached out to tidy a strand of her hair and added, "While this is a way to protect ourselves, we still need to hold onto our bottom line. Loyalty to friends and family and repaying kindness-those are things we must never forget."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Han Jie and he noticed the flicker of panic in the other man's eyes.
After making a round through the camp, the group returned to their rooms to tend to their own matters. Since they would be leaving the camp tomorrow, there were still preparations to be made.
At the same time, several military officers came to visit Gu Shaoze.
Seated in the living room, one of them said, "Comrade Gu, we accept your price. We need at least 50,000 liters of water by tomorrow at the latest. Can
you manage that?"
Gu Shaoze calculated briefly before nodding and replied, "No problem. But I want the payment in advance-before I give you any water."
The officers were stunned by his words and looked at each other.