Chapter 61 The韭菜 (leeks) arrive at your doorstep, let's start harvesting!

Just as Su Ze finished speaking with the women in the Dormitory, the fourth-floor corridor had already become a bustling scene of noise and activity.

"Move aside in front! Let me through! I want to see Boss Su Ze!"

"Fuck, who stepped on my foot!"

"Serum! My serum! I'm willing to trade my girlfriend for it!"

"Wait, what the hell, bro?"

Noisy low growls and muffled footsteps spread from the stairwell all the way to the door of Dormitory 404; a dense mass of bobbing heads packed the already narrow corridor until it was completely impassable.

Every face bore a fanatical mix of greed, longing, and fear.

'zombie serum'—these two words were like the most potent catalyst, completely igniting the long-suppressed survival instincts of all the survivors.

Su Ze opened the door and leaned against the frame, watching this chaotic scene with cold eyes.

"Quiet."

He only spoke two words; his voice wasn't loud, but it seemed to possess a certain magic, instantly silencing the noisy corridor.

Everyone's gaze focused on him in unison.

"If you want to trade, fine."

Su Ze looked around. "But to protect everyone's privacy and ensure the fairness of the trades, I'm setting a rule."

"When trading, it's one-on-one. Everyone else, please retreat past that stairwell and no peeking."

He pointed toward the other end of the corridor.

"You wouldn't want your trump card treasures to be coveted by others if the trade doesn't go through, right?"

As soon as he said this, a wave of agreement rose from the crowd.

"Boss Su Ze has thought of everything!"

"Exactly, exactly. Don't reveal your wealth. If I don't manage to trade and someone sees what I have, wouldn't they just come to kill me for my goods later?"

"Boss is straightforward!"

The crowd chattered as they consciously began to back away.

They all felt Su Ze was acting in their best interest, and many felt quite grateful.

Only Jiang Yuwan and the others standing behind Su Ze understood the situation perfectly.

Protecting privacy was a pretense; the real goal was to prevent others from knowing the actual closing price or whether a deal had even been made.

After all, there were a full five hundred serums in the mall.

Right now, the goods were rare and valuable. By letting others believe they weren't selling or that there were truly only 9 left, he could naturally continue to harvest more.

He was using the information gap to squeeze every last drop of profit from this first wave!

"Brother Su Ze!"

A booming voice rang out as Wang Meng led his thirty-odd burly men, forcibly carving a path through the crowd.

He glanced at the surrounding survivors, who were fuming but dared not speak, and then flashed Su Ze what he considered a friendly smile.

"We're close by. See, could you let us go first?"

Su Ze raised an eyebrow and nodded noncommittally.

Though the others were anxious, seeing the tall and sturdy build of Wang Meng's group, they could only suck it up and obediently retreat into the distance.

Wang Meng signaled his men to wait in place and approached Su Ze by himself.

However, he still maintained a safety distance of about three meters, clearly harboring some wariness.

He lowered his voice: "Brother Su Ze, those advanced Blueprints and special materials you mentioned... I... I really don't have any."

Su Ze's expression didn't change, as if he had already expected this.

Wang Meng's face looked a bit awkward, and he quickly explained.

"Really! My luck is bad. The weapons I've pulled are all common quality. I've managed to get quite a bit of food, but the only Skill Book I got, I used myself immediately."

"You know I don't lack these common resources," Su Ze said flatly.

Wang Meng's expression shifted constantly, and fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.

Then, he hesitantly took out five brass-colored keys and said with an uncertain look, "Then what do you think of these?"

He displayed the attributes of one of the keys to Su Ze.

[6th Floor Dormitory 908 landlord Key]

[Effect: Can open the door to Dormitory 6-908 and grant the Landlord Permissions for that Dormitory.]

[Note: The Dormitory door is damaged; repairing it requires Wood material * 100.]

"These... dropped from killing other landlords," Wang Meng's voice grew even lower.

"Brother, I'll tell you the truth, I don't want to lie to you. I've tried these; one person can't be the landlord of two dormitories, so they're currently useless to me."

"I originally wanted to keep them to see if I could sell them to survivors without dormitories later, but there are too few 'Homeless' ones alive now, and they're all dirt poor, so I can't sell them at all."

Su Ze glanced at them with little interest. "The door is broken, and it costs a hundred wood to fix. What use is that to me?"

"Use it as a warehouse!" Wang Meng said urgently.

"Look, one of these is for the 4th floor, the same as yours. It's for 412, which is very close to here! You can find someone you trust to be the landlord, and when you have more resources later, won't you have a place to put them?"

Seeing Su Ze still unmoved, he gritted his teeth and added more: "These five keys, consider them a gift! Additionally, I'll pay in copper coins! I have 72 copper coins, I'll give them all to you!"

Su Ze feigned contemplation, a troubled look appearing on his face. "Just these few copper coins... it's a bit low."

"..." Wang Meng's face nearly turned green.

He also felt that 72 copper coins and 5 useless landlord keys for a serum that provided permanent immunity to the virus was like a gift from the heavens.

But aside from the weapons, food, and materials he relied on for survival, this really was all he had!

He was so anxious he was sweating profusely, rubbing his hands together.

"Then... then Brother Su Ze, could you save one for me first? I'll come buy it once I've killed enough zombies to save up? I can give you items as collateral!"

Seeing him like this, Su Ze finally "relented," sighing with a look of sincerity.

"How about this, Brother Wang Meng? Seeing how sincere you are, I'll take you as a friend."

Wang Meng was stunned.

"Take the serum and use it first," Su Ze continued. "Give me those 72 copper coins and three of the keys. Also, give me half of your food as collateral."

"As for the remaining money, you can pay in installments. Give me 28 copper coins tomorrow, and for the four days after that, give me 20 each day. I'll also return a bit of your food every day. How does that sound?"

Wang Meng was completely dumbfounded. He stared at Su Ze blankly, doubting if he had heard correctly.

This... he agreed? And even let him pay in installments?

Without even thinking, Wang Meng nodded repeatedly. "Fine! No problem! Thank you, Brother Su Ze! Thank you so much!"

One hundred and eighty copper coins for a life, plus installment payments—this was an incredible bargain!

"If there's anything good in the future, you must think of me first, brother."

Su Ze patted his shoulder. "Also, don't tell anyone about today's deal. Otherwise, if everyone follows your lead and tries to trade copper coins, how will I collect any good items? You have to know that I don't usually accept copper coins!"

"Of course! Don't worry, brother, my lips are sealed!" Wang Meng nodded quickly in understanding.

The trade complete, Wang Meng held the serum emitting a faint blue glow, his hands shaking with excitement.

As he turned to leave, Su Ze suddenly called out to him in a low voice again.

"Since we're friends, I'll give you a tip. I've received word that the game difficulty might increase over the next few days. If you're able, upgrade your door level as soon as possible and stockpile some repair materials, just in case."

Wang Meng was stunned again, and then his expression became solemn. He solemnly cupped his fists toward Su Ze: "Thank you for the warning, brother!"

With that, he left with his group of burly men, feeling satisfied.

Watching them walk away, from the crack in the door behind Su Ze, Jiang Yuwan silently noted in her small notebook: "Wang Meng, debt of 108 copper coins, collateral..."

This dog man had not only sold a serum that cost a hundred for the high price of 180,

But with one "friendly tip," he ensured that the money Wang Meng earned next would likely be spent on his materials.

Furthermore, Wang Meng was a walking advertisement; others who saw him would follow suit, buying materials to upgrade their doors and stockpiling...

This series of traps was truly dirty.

After Wang Meng left, the people waiting in line immediately became restless.

Next, several people came forward one after another to trade.

A few more figures stepped out from the crowd, each covering their face with clothes or hats, clearly not wanting to reveal their identities.

Most of these people were "lucky ones" who had hidden some private goods within their own Dormitory teams.

Su Ze repeated his old tricks.

"This Blueprint is decent, but if you want to trade for serum, it's still lacking a bit... What? You have fifty copper coins? Add them all in, and I'll consider it a favor to a friend. Leave these, pay the rest in installments, every day... Remember, curse at me a bit when you go out. Pretend the trade failed, otherwise it won't be good for you if people target you."

"These two Skill Books are interesting, but as for the value... Fine, fine, seeing how pitiful you are, copper coins plus items, pay in installments of 20 copper coins a day for five days to clear it, okay? Leave the food as collateral, take the serum... Remember to act the part when you go out, don't let anyone see through it..."