After a moment of silence, one of the military officers said, "Comrade Gu, we need time to gather the crystals, but we need the water urgently. Could you provide the water first? Once we have the crystals, we will send them to you right away"
Hearing his words, Gu Shaoze chuckled and said, "Comrade, we don't know each other, so I can't trust you that easily. What if I give you the water and you refuse to pay afterward?"
"As the ones in control of this camp, it would be easy for you to go back on your word. But if you pay me upfront, I can't run since this camp is filled with your people.
He smiled faintly and added, "So, isn't it better for both of us if you pay first?"
Seeing the officers' uneasy expressions, he continued and his voice turning cold, "Or did the Colonel never intend to pay me at all and planned to trick me instead?"
As he spoke, killing intent flashed in his eyes, and the atmosphere grew tense.
Beside him, Rong Mo'er raised her hand and a fireball appeared above her palm suddenly. Her message was clear-if they dared to deceive her boyfriend, she would burn them on the spot.R
As the temperature in the room rose, cold sweat broke out on the officers' foreheads and backs. No matter how high their rank, they were still ordinary people. And in the face of ability-users, they didn't dare act recklessly.
Fearing the situation would spiral out of control, one officer quickly said, "Comrade Gu, it's a misunderstanding! Please calm down."
Raising an eyebrow, Gu Shaoze asked, "Is it really a misunderstanding?" The officer nodded repeatedly and said, "Comrade Gu, we will deliver the crystals as soon as possible. In the meantime, please rest and recover your energy."
Rong Mo'er glanced at Gu Shaoze, and when he nodded, she extinguished the fireball. The officers exhaled in relief and wiped the sweat from their brows.
"Then, I will wait," Gu Shaoze said casually.
The officers nodded quickly and left in large strides. After they left, several other ability-users staying at the other rooms came over. One of them asked, "Brother, are you a water-type ability-user?"
Gu Shaoze nodded and asked him back, "What's up?"
"Can you sell some water to us?" a young woman asked.
"No problem. One crystal core per liter," he replied.
"Brother, we don't have many crystals. Can we pay with other supplies?" a man asked.
Gu Shaoze thought for a moment and said, "Show me the supplies first. We will talk about the price afterward."
The others nodded eagerly and went to fetch their goods. Soon, several piles of supplies were laid out in the living room.
"Mo'er, go take a look. See if there is anything you need," Gu Shaoze said.
Rong Mo'er browsed through the items and selected two packs of sanitary pads, a strip of painkillers, and a set of women's underwear from the young woman's pile.
Then, from the young man's supplies, she took a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of body wash. From the remaining supplies, she picked out a set of clothes for both men and women.
Gu Shaoze looked over the goods and said, "Bring over your water containers."
"Okay!"
A few minutes later, the young woman returned with two empty gallon bottles and asked, "Brother, your girlfriend took medicine and pads. Can I get two gallons of water for them?"
Gu Shaoze nodded and said generously, "I will give you four gallons. Medicine is hard to come by."
The woman's eyes lit up, and she quickly ran off to fetch two more bottles. Seeing his generosity, the men also hurried to find additional containers. Gu Shaoze gave each of them two gallons of water for their supplies.
When the transactions were done, he announced, "I'm out of energy for today. I won't be selling any more water."
Knowing that most water-type ability-users could only produce about five gallons per day, no one suspected anything. Compared to those arrogant water-type ability-users in the market, this man was already more generous and powerful.
While Gu Shaoze was busy selling water, Wei Ying was distributing the water to the soldiers and survivors. He prioritized women, children, the elderly, and those who were sick or running a fever.
After learning the symptoms of zombie mutation from the Phantom Team, he ordered anyone with a high fever to be quarantined in a separate room and assigned personnel to check their temperatures every fifteen minutes.
With people stationed there to monitor them, they could react quickly if any of them turned into a zombie.
At the moment, Wei Ying was reviewing a report as he asked, "How are the patients doing?"
"Captain Wei, out of 89 people, 75 have turned into zombies. Most of them were elderly, children, and women. As for the remaining 14, they still have high fevers but are showing signs of recovery," the military doctor replied.
Hearing the numbers, Wei Ying sighed. Out of 89 people, only 14 had survived- for now.
He handed the report back to the military doctor and said, "We brought back some medicine, and we have enough water. Take good care of them. Don't be stingy with food, water, or medicine."
"Understood," the doctor replied, then returned to check the patients'
temperatures.
After he left, another soldier came over and reported, "Captain, two of the Colonel's officers went to see Gu Shaoze, but they left in a hurry." Upon hearing that, Wei Ying sneered and said, "That old fox really thinks he can take advantage of Gu Shaoze. He overestimates himself. Anyone from the Gu family is not someone he can deal with easily."
"Captain, is Gu Shaoze's background complicated?" the soldier asked curiously.
Wei Ying glanced at him and said coldly, "Do you know the saying of 'curiosity kills the cat'? Knowing too much can get you killed."
The soldier immediately straightened the moment he heard the warning and said, "Captain, I apologize for overstepping."
"Go receive your punishment," Wei Ying said with a wave of his hand.R
"Yes, Captain."