Chapter 55 Renting? I Refusal

When Su Ze returned to the fourth floor, the "market" in the corridor was still bustling.

Jiang Yuwan and Lin Shiyu's group of three had completely adapted to the work.

Collecting money, registering, and handing out goods—the process was orderly. Although exhaustion was written on their faces, their movements showed no sign of slowing down.

Not far away, leaning against the base of the wall, the girls who had fought hard for a long time were sprawled out in a heap, huddling together in deep sleep.

Their faces were still stained with blood and sweat, and their brows were furrowed even in sleep; they were clearly exhausted to the limit.

Su Ze glanced at them but didn't disturb them.

He also felt a hint of mental fatigue himself.

From yesterday until now, he had only slept for one hour at most.

Although his Stamina remained abundant thanks to his attribute bonuses, the depletion of his mental energy was real.

Tonight was destined to be another sleepless night. Not only did he need to collect resources,

But he also had to verify his hypothesis about farming achievements by killing enough zombies; he had to conserve his energy.

Just as he was about to lie down for a bit, a figure walked quickly over from the stairwell.

The newcomer headed straight for the trading point. When he saw that the entire fourth-floor corridor was empty,

Without even a shadow of a zombie in sight, his footsteps noticeably faltered, and a look of deep shock flashed across his face.

Soon, his gaze locked onto Su Ze.

It was Xu Feng.

Xu Feng's pupils constricted slightly. He recognized him;

This somewhat lazy-looking man before him was the lone wolf holding the long spear back on the Eighth Floor.

He was actually Su Ze?!

Suppressing the turbulent waves in his heart, Xu Feng walked quickly to Su Ze. He took a deep breath, composed his emotions, and put on an expression he considered to be neither humble nor arrogant.

"Hello, Student Su Ze. My name is Xu Feng."

"Something the matter?" Su Ze lifted his eyelids, also recognizing the boy who had just passed him by.

"I want to discuss a collaboration with you," Xu Feng said in a solemn tone.

Su Ze raised an eyebrow, signaling for him to continue.

Seeing that he seemed interested, Xu Feng felt a surge of joy in his heart.

"I want to rent five hundred units of Iron Material from you."

He paused deliberately to observe Su Ze's reaction. Seeing that the other party remained expressionless, he continued confidently.

"Don't worry, we aren't renting for free. If we borrow today, we will definitely return it within the day."

"Furthermore, we will pay you a sufficient amount of rent!"

After speaking, he straightened his back, his eyes filled with expectation.

In his view, this was simply a deal that fell from the sky.

Su Ze didn't have to do anything; he just had to let the materials go out for a round to earn a sum of copper coins for free. There was no reason to refuse.

However, Su Ze merely lazily picked at his ear.

"Why should I rent to you?"

This light sentence caused the confidence on Xu Feng's face to instantly freeze.

He froze for a moment and subconsciously asked, "This... isn't this an opportunity to earn copper coins for free? Isn't the reason you rent out weapons also to earn copper coins?"

"Renting weapons is to give you the ability to earn money," Su Ze smiled. "But renting Iron Material to you... the nature of that is different."

"How is it different!" Xu Feng grew a bit anxious. "We're renting this Iron Material so we can go kill zombies to earn money too!"

"Using Iron Material as projectiles for long-range attacks, utilizing terrain advantages to throw them continuously to clear out large numbers of zombies, right?" Su Ze slowly exposed his idea.

Xu Feng's expression stiffened again. He hadn't expected the other party to guess his entire battle plan.

"...Yes. Since you know, then you should understand that we're just using the Iron Material as recyclable weapons. There won't be any loss!"

"What if I'm eyeing your rent, but you're eyeing my principal?"

The smile on Su Ze's face didn't change, but his words made Xu Feng's heart turn cold.

"Five hundred units of Iron Material is not a small amount. If you borrow it and don't return it, who do I go to?"

"What's more, you only pay the rent after returning it?"

"I won't!" Xu Feng's face instantly flushed red, his emotions becoming agitated. "I can guarantee it with my character! My education would never allow me to do such a thing!"

"That's what all scammers say."

Su Ze waved his hand, cutting him off directly. "If you want to rent, fine. Provide collateral of equal value. Or, of course, you can just buy it with money."

"I..." Xu Feng was choked up, unable to speak.

If he had the money to buy it or things to use as collateral, would he have needed to come here and talk about collaboration so submissively?

He was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead, and a hint of pleading entered his voice.

"We really don't have anything to use as collateral right now! But as long as you're willing to trust me this once, once we kill the zombies and earn copper coins, we can give you the rent immediately! For you, this really is a guaranteed profitable business!"

"Trying to get something for nothing—it's a nice thought."

Su Ze suddenly laughed. Looking at the boy who was so anxious he was about to jump, he leisurely threw out a question.

"But, why can't I just do it myself?"

The sentence was like a heavy hammer, smashing hard into Xu Feng's head.

He was completely stunned.

That's right...

Su Ze himself had a massive amount of resources. He could completely organize his own people and use the same method to farm zombies.

In that case, all the copper coins would be his own, and he wouldn't have to bear any risk of someone defaulting on the materials.

His so-called "win-win collaboration," from the other party's perspective, was simply a joke!

"We... we have enough manpower to accomplish this! How many people does your Dormitory have at most? You can't complete it!" Xu Feng shouted desperately, as if grasping at the last straw.

Upon hearing this, Su Ze's smile deepened.

He didn't even bother to speak again, merely tilting his chin toward the corner of the wall not far away.

Xu Feng subconsciously followed his gaze.

In that patch of shadow, about thirty girls were sleeping soundly. On their exhausted faces, traces of the fierce battle from not long ago still remained.

Xu Feng's brain went "buzz," turning completely blank.

"Your battle plan? I've already implemented it."

Su Ze's voice came indifferently. "Otherwise, how do you think the zombies in this corridor disappeared?"

His head went "buzz" again, turning entirely into a blank void.

So... that was it.

It turned out that the plan he was so proud of, the one he thought was a stroke of genius, had not only occurred to someone else long ago but had... already been successfully implemented.

The immense confidence he had before setting out was now shattered like shards of glass on the ground.

He had come here so full of conviction, thinking he was conducting an equal business negotiation.

As it turned out, in front of the other party, he was like a self-important clown who had come to the door to beg.

Immense shame and despair instantly swallowed him whole.

He fell silent.

His mouth opened and closed, but not a single word could come out...