98: Chapter 98 Setting the Rules!

After the laughter died down, it was time for the most important reward-drawing session of every night.

Tonight's drop rate was still quite good. Regular E-class zombies, along with more than a dozen Brute Force Zombies, dropped over a dozen light orbs, with white and cyan ones each accounting for about half.

Fatty's lucky hands continued to perform consistently.

Those dozen-plus light orbs actually yielded three E-class weapons, two E-class planting boxes, and quite a few upgrade materials.

The weapons were two hand crossbows and a gilded short staff.

Chen Ze decided to assign the hand crossbows to Wang Yalan and Li Mengmeng, as the two girls had now also advanced to Level 2.

However, they were logistics personnel after all, and close-combat melee fighting was completely unsuited for them; being able to stand on the Blockhouse and shoot from a distance was just right.

As for that E-class gilded short staff, Chen Ze took it in his hand and weighed it.

The staff body was not long, its surface embedded with fine gilded patterns, and both ends were carved with cloud patterns. Its weight was not light either, estimated to be at least over a hundred catties.

"The staff is indeed a good staff, but the length is simply too short!"

Chen Ze raised his eyebrows slightly and casually waved it twice.

Just at that moment, two hurried "squeak" sounds suddenly came from overhead.

Everyone looked up and saw that Xingzhe Sun had arrived at the first-floor observation window at some unknown time, poking out its monkey head, its bright eyes staring fixedly at the short staff in Chen Ze's hand.

Its claws grabbed the window frame, scratching back and forth, and it looked at Chen Ze with an anxious expression.

"You want this staff?"

Chen Ze had a telepathic passive connection with Xingzhe Sun, instantly receiving the monkey's urgent thoughts in his mind and seeing through its idea at a glance.

Seeing this, Xingzhe Sun immediately nodded its head hard.

It kept chattering "squeak, chatter", and its monkey paw, still wrapped in gauze, kept gesturing toward the gilded short staff, its tail swinging back and forth excitedly behind it, looking like it desperately wanted it.

"You have to admit, if Xingzhe Sun is equipped with this short staff, it really does have a bit of the shadow of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong!"

Fatty said while rubbing his chin.

Chen Ze nodded noncommittally.

A monkey playing with a staff was indeed quite reasonable.

"Alright, since you like it, this staff belongs to you!"

Hearing this, Xingzhe Sun immediately squeaked excitedly, its appearance exactly the same as when Sun Wukong obtained the Ruyi Jingu Bang back then.

"The weapon is all prepared for you, so you must get better quickly! I'm still waiting for you to be my guide the next time we enter the forest!"

"Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!"

After the weapons were distributed, Chen Ze checked the attributes of the E-class planting box again.

[Item Name: E-class planting box]

[Item Introduction: Can plant plants below E-class, and reduces the planting cycle by 70%!]

Compared to the F-class planting box, the reduction effect of the E-class was improved by another 20%. Most importantly, it could now grow E-class crops.

"Uncle! This thing is for you!"

Chen Ze directly traded the planting box to the latter and transferred another 5,000 survival coins.

"Use these survival coins to buy more planting boxes and seeds at the Trading House. F-class and E-class are both fine. In short, get the planting sector up and running as soon as possible!"

Looking at the extra 5,000 survival coins in his account, Duan Linhai instantly felt a surge of burning excitement deep in his heart.

His three-dimensional attributes were not high, and he had never fought zombies. Wielding weapons and hunting zombies were combat jobs he couldn't help with in the slightest.

But when it came to tending the land and growing crops, he was a solid, genuine expert.

"Boss! Rest assured, I will definitely handle it well!"

Duan Linhai didn't know those glib words or how to say pretty polite things; he just clenched his fists, his gaze simple yet firm.

"Alright, with you handling things, I am at ease!"

Just as Chen Ze finished giving instructions and turned around to go upstairs to rest, the corner of his eye suddenly caught sight of a faint cyan light still floating in the corner of the ground.

"Fatty, how do you handle things? You can even miss one when opening rewards!"

Seeing this, Fatty was also stunned. He hurriedly turned his head to look at that cluster of cyan light, raised his hand to scratch the back of his head, his face full of embarrassment.

"Ah, there were too many light orbs tonight, I didn't see this one. My bad, my bad!"

Chen Ze glanced at him and walked straight toward the light orb.

The moment his hand touched it, the system prompt sounded immediately.

[Item Name: Equipment Enchantment Stone.]

[Item Introduction: Can be used to enchant weapons, armor, and other equipment; specific effects are random.]

"Damn, it actually dropped!"

Chen Ze let out a low exclamation, his heart full of relief.

It was a good thing he took one more glance just now. If he had missed it just like that, such a precious treasure would have been wasted in vain.

Fatty, standing to the side, stepped forward with his eyes wide open.

"Damn! Equipment Enchantment Stone? Brother Ze, your luck is really good!"

Chen Ze glanced at him, his expression sinking a bit.

"Don't give me that giggling attitude. Today is the first and last time. If you are ever this careless again, then just like the others, get your ass over to handle logistics!"

Seeing that Chen Ze had truly gotten angry, Fatty's cheeky expression instantly vanished without a trace. His heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly put away his slack posture, lowering his head and not daring to say another half-sentence of joking words.

He knew very well in his heart that ever since following Chen Ze, his life was simply worlds apart from before.

Surviving alone outside in the apocalyptic era, exposed to the wind and dew all day long, constantly guarding against zombie attacks while having erratic meals—how could that compare to the stable days inside the Blockhouse now?

Even compared to the others in the Fortress, Chen Ze had always been the most generous toward him.

Every time weapons and supplies were distributed, he was always prioritized. Attribute-boosting foods were completely free for him to eat, and the resources he held in his hands were the most in the entire team.

"Brother Ze! I was wrong; this kind of thing will never happen again in the future!"

Fatty said word by word with an extremely serious attitude.

Seeing this scene, everyone else was as silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to even draw a loud breath.

They finally understood that Chen Ze was someone you could joke around with normally, but when it came to team supplies, rules, and bottom lines, he would not leave a single shred of leniency.

Chen Ze's gaze slowly swept across everyone present, and he spoke in a deep voice carrying an unquestionable sense of oppression.

"What happened today is not just meant for Fatty to hear, but for everyone else as well. Remember! Contracts can be signed, and they can also be terminated. The tasks assigned to you must be carried out conscientiously! Whoever perfunctorily slacks off and fails this trust of mine can leave the Blockhouse at any time."

"Yes!"

Everyone bowed in unison and responded, their tones neat and respectful, with no one daring to show the slightest negligence.

Fatty buried his head even lower, firmly engraving these words in his heart.

"Alright, you all go back!"

Chen Ze waved his hand, dismissing everyone to leave.

After the footsteps gradually faded away and the hall became completely quiet, Chen Ze quietly raised his hand to massage his tense and sore cheeks.

He had forgotten himself how long it had been since he put on such a straight face and sternly lectured people like this.

Thinking back to the days when he was starting a business on Earth, his personality had always been peaceful and inclusive, focusing on reasoning with people and rarely getting angry.

Even when business partners acted out of selfishness and carelessly botched a cooperative major order worth millions, wasting huge profits in vain.

He would only sit down to calmly review the losses and adjust powers and responsibilities.

From beginning to end, he never uttered a single harsh rebuke, nor would he use harsh words like contract termination or expulsion to pressure others.

But how did it turn out in the end? Wasn't he still betrayed by the people closest to him, ending up with a bankrupt company and ruined reputation?

"In this lifetime, I will not be a pushover. I want everyone to know that if they follow me, they must play by my rules!"