48: Chapter 48 Cleaning Up the Battlefield

The atmosphere in the warehouse was stifling to the extreme.

The smell of blood, mixed with the scent of dust, firmly enveloped the entire space.

The corpses strewn about the floor made one feel as if they were in a Shura hell.

The women who had been huddled in the corner were all trembling violently, their shoulders heaving, hot tears sliding down silently, yet they dared not let out even a whimper.

They covered their mouths tightly with both hands, afraid that making even the slightest sound would attract the attention of the Shura before them.

Chen Ze naturally noticed them.

His gaze swept indifferently over the shivering figures, but he never had any intention of taking action against them.

The reason he hadn't killed these people was simple.

Guo Changzheng had brought people to attack his Blockhouse twice, and these people in front of him had never appeared.

Otherwise, he would have already taken action.

"Killing so many people at once, I really am not quite used to it yet!"

Chen Ze admitted that he had not fully adapted to this dog-eat-dog apocalypse. Even though it wasn't his first time killing, facing the carnage before him still made his stomach churn.

But the discomfort lasted only for a moment before he forcibly suppressed it.

He knew very well that he and Liang Kun were already in a life-or-death situation regarding the matter of Guo Changzheng.

Guo Changzheng was someone he had to kill, and since Liang Kun wanted to protect him, if this squad wasn't wiped out today, they would inevitably become a future asset for the other side.

"It is time to check the loot!"

The eight members of Brother Jun's squad were all dead, and various colored light orbs were floating above their corpses, all of which were items from their system storage.

Chen Ze stepped forward to examine them one by one.

Steel pipes, fruit knives, kitchen knives, baseball bats...

Chen Ze looked around, but couldn't find a single leveled weapon.

Two heart of the fortress items did drop, one D-rank and one E-rank, but their talent attributes were trash and couldn't catch his eye at all.

Besides that, there were quite a lot of ordinary supplies; presumably, these people had ransacked many ordinary survivors along the way.

Kobike potato chips * 6, Kenkenyou chicken legs * 5, braised duck * 1, Master Kong instant noodles * 9, Daliyuan small bread * 21, two full large boxes of Ganten mineral water, 34 packs of Furongwang cigarettes...

Looking at these miscellaneous supplies, Chen Ze directly opened Wang Yalan's private chat interface.

Shanghai Li Yunlong: "Yalan, are you there?"

The message was sent, and almost instantly, there was a reply, as if the other party had been waiting on the private chat interface the whole time.

Lanlan Is Not Lazy: "I'm here, I'm here. Brother Ze, what's the situation on your end?"

Shanghai Li Yunlong: "Everything is going smoothly. I just collected some supplies, and it's inconvenient for me to carry them, so I'll trade them to you first."

Before Wang Yalan could reply, she saw Chen Ze sending a huge pile of single-item trades all at once, instantly filling up her temporary system storage. She had to take all these items out to barely be able to receive them.

Lanlan Is Not Lazy: "Brother Ze, where did you get so many supplies? This is too generous!"

Shanghai Li Yunlong: "I slaughtered Guo Changzheng and happened to kill a squad of Liang Kun's subordinates as well."

Message sent successfully.

Inside the Blockhouse, Wang Yalan, who had just finished organizing supplies, froze in place the moment she saw this message, her movements coming to a sudden halt.

Brother Ze went to find Guo Changzheng all by himself? How did he end up clashing with Liang Kun's people? With so many supplies, doesn't that mean he wiped out the other side's whole team?

Wang Yalan was full of questions, but she knew Chen Ze was outside and in danger at any moment, so now was not the time to ask about these things.

Lanlan Is Not Lazy: "Brother Ze, are you hurt?"

Shanghai Li Yunlong: "Don't worry, you know my combat power, right?"

Seeing Chen Ze's reply, Wang Yalan felt more at ease, but was this "combat power" of his legitimate?

Lanlan Is Not Lazy: "Brother Ze, while you were away, I received quite a few F-rank seeds on the trading channel, and I also acquired 5 F-rank planting boxes!"

Chen Ze was a bit surprised. The efficiency of his little wife, Wang Yalan, was really fast; she had acquired so many good things in such a short time.

Planting boxes and seeds were treasures for sustainable development. As long as there were enough of them, they could not only rely on crops to increase their attributes, but they could also sell the surplus, so they definitely wouldn't lose out.

Shanghai Li Yunlong: "Good. As long as the price is right, the more of these things, the better. Go ahead and collect them; if you don't have enough survival coins, just ask me for them."

Lanlan Is Not Lazy: "Mmhmm, Brother Ze, you must be careful too. I'll be waiting for you to come back at the Fortress."

Closing the system page, Chen Ze prepared to leave.

He glanced at the women in the warehouse who were still shivering, hesitating on how to deal with them.

Just then, the system's notification sound rang out.

[Ding! The heart of the fortress you listed has been sold, 200 survival coins have been credited to your account!]

Chen Ze was slightly stunned.

When he was cleaning up Guo Changzheng's belongings earlier, he had casually listed that heart of the fortress on the trading market. He had thought that such a worthless item would take a long time before anyone inquired about it, but he hadn't expected it to be snapped up and bought in just a few seconds.

"I remember the last time I sold a heart of the fortress, it seemed to have been snapped up instantly too!"

Opening the transaction record, the buyer had again chosen to purchase anonymously.

"It wouldn't be the same person, would it?"

Chen Ze tapped his finger on the blank buyer information on the transaction panel, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes.

Both times he sold a heart of the fortress, they were anonymous buyers, snapped up the moment they were listed, without any hesitation over the price, and their actions were ridiculously decisive. Ordinary survivors simply didn't have that kind of financial power and boldness.

"It seems our region really is full of hidden talents!"

He understood in his heart, then regained his focus.

Since the heart of the fortress had been sold, this temporary warehouse stronghold that relied on the core to exist would completely vanish as soon as the core changed owners.

When that time came, the Fortress would collapse, and the warehouse would disappear.

These women would lose their last shelter, and their fate would be self-evident.

He looked at the group of women in the corner, filled with fear, helplessness, and timidity, and the last shred of hesitation in his heart completely dissipated.

"Everything is fate, and none of it is up to us. Whether you live or die, that's up to you."

Chen Ze murmured, then turned and left, heading in the direction of Fatty's Fortress.