569: Chapter 564 What I Gave Him Was Tomorrow

The charcoal in the brazier let out a final, soft crackle.

Sparks flew up, then quickly died out.

Inside the stone house, a deathly silence fell.

Wu He's deep eyes, like two dry wells, rippled for the first time.

Shock, suspicion, greed, and a trace of deep-seated fear.

A multitude of emotions intertwined on his weathered, furrowed face.

He had lived for seventy years and had never seen an outsider like this.

Neither a plundering jackal nor a charitable lamb.

He was a merchant.

A merchant who came to claim a heart, holding chips the tribe could not refuse.

Time flowed slowly through the stagnant air.

Wu He's breathing became somewhat heavy.

He finally spoke, his voice as raspy as two rocks grinding together.

"This matter is too significant."

"I need to discuss it with the tribe's wise men."

There was no hint of surprise on Shen Yan's face.

He knew this was already the best possible result.

A tribal elder could not possibly bet the fate of the entire clan on an outsider in an instant.

He needed time to convince himself, and to convince others.

"I await your response."

Shen Yan stood up.

Wu He didn't look at him again, merely waving him away.

"Batu."

The burly man guarding the door lifted the curtain and entered.

"Elder."

"Take this guest to the 'Quiet Rock House' to rest."

"Prepare the finest water and food."

"Yes."

There was a trace of awe in Batu's eyes.

The 'Quiet Rock House' was the place the tribe used to host their most honored guests.

It had been many years since an outsider had stayed there.

Shen Yan said nothing more, following Batu out of the dim stone house.

When he returned to the sunlight, the sky outside was already tinged with an orange twilight.

Kade rushed over almost immediately.

Like a restless trapped beast, he had paced back and forth outside the door countless times.

"How did it go?"

His voice was slightly distorted by tension.

"You're alive! The Elder didn't throw you into the Scorpion Pit?"

Shen Yan glanced at the sunset glow on the horizon.

"Soon."

He calmly uttered the two words.

"Soon?"

Kade was stunned, then suddenly grabbed Shen Yan's arm.

His grip was strong, his fingers like iron pincers.

"What do you mean 'soon'? Did it work or not? Give me a straight answer!"

Shen Yan's gaze swept over Kade's hand.

Kade felt as if he'd been stung by a scorpion and instinctively let go.

This Easterner's eyes were too cold.

Cold to the point of not seeming human.

"Elder Wu He is no three-year-old child."

Kade lowered his voice as if speaking of something terrifying.

"That eye of his can see the demons hidden in a person's heart."

"What exactly did you say to him? He actually didn't kill you and let you out alive?"

Shen Yan didn't answer.

Batu had already approached and made a 'please' gesture to Shen Yan.

Shen Yan set off, following Batu toward the other side of the tribe.

Kade, unwilling to let it go, followed closely, chattering incessantly.

"Do you know how long it took me to gain even a shred of Wu He's trust?"

His voice was filled with an incomprehensible frenzy.

"Two years!"

"Two whole years!"

"I used that beat-up pickup of mine to make two trips a month, hauling supplies from the outside world for them."

"Medicine, grain, fabric, and their favorite strong liquor."

"I crossed 'Black Wind Pass,' dodged those man-eating sand bandits, and once my axle broke in the desert—I nearly died of thirst!"

Kade pointed to his blind eye.

"This eye was blinded by a stray arrow while helping them reclaim a water source from a rival tribe!"

"And even after all that, Wu He only ever allowed me to bring 'guests' like you to the tribe's entrance."

"He wouldn't even let me set foot inside his stone house!"

He was losing control, his voice rising.

This drew unfriendly looks from some of the tribespeople nearby.

"And you?"

"How many days have you been here?"

"Three days!"

"You, an outsider, just wagged your tongue and made their god perform a 'miracle.'"

"You walked into that stone house I've dreamed of entering and stayed with that old fox for so long."

"And now you tell me it's almost done?"

Kade stopped in his tracks, staring fixedly at Shen Yan's back.

"How exactly did you do it?"

"What kind of bewitching potion did you feed him?"

Shen Yan also stopped.

He turned around and looked at the one-eyed guide who was on the verge of a breakdown.

The afterglow of the setting sun stretched his shadow long.

"Kade."

"When you trade with him, you use your own life and the supplies he needs."

"You are satisfying his needs from yesterday."

Shen Yan's tone was as calm as if he were stating a physics formula.

"But I..."

"What I gave him was tomorrow."

Kade's single eye widened abruptly.

His mouth moved, but not a single word came out.

Tomorrow?

What did that mean?

"You bring him water and flour so he can eat his fill today."

"What I showed him was a Sand Viper Tribe that will never lack water again and can grow its own grain."

"You trade your loyalty for his trust."

"I trade his ambition for the stones beneath his feet."

"We are not the same."

Having finished, Shen Yan ignored the petrified Kade.

He followed Batu into a detached stone house.

The stone house wasn't large, but it was clean.

Inside was a bed covered in animal skins, a stone table, and an oil lamp filled with animal fat.

After setting down water and some dried meat and fruit, Batu silently withdrew.

The heavy stone door was slowly closed.

Isolating the clamor outside along with Kade's shocked gaze.

Shen Yan went to the stone table and sat down.

He didn't touch the food.

In his mind, the system's voice rang out again.

The corner of Shen Yan's mouth curved into a barely perceptible arc.

Wu He would agree.

Because what he offered was more than just a prosperous future.

It was the 'God's Armor' and 'Spear of Thunder' sleeping deep underground.

That was the... power that Wu He, or any tribal leader, could not refuse.

He picked up the water bowl and took a sip.

The water was crisp and clear, with a hint of sweetness.

It was much better than the flask Kade had given him.

At the negotiation table, it's always about what you can offer, not what you've sacrificed.

Kade didn't understand.

But Shen Yan did.

What he wanted was never just those Lithium Mines.

Three tons of Enriched Uranium, and an entire Power Armor Squad.

That was the true purpose of his desert journey.

Inside the stone house, the flame of the oil lamp flickered quietly.

Shen Yan's shadow was elongated, projected onto the rough stone wall.

He didn't move, like a statue merging with the darkness.

He was waiting.