Chapter 90 Negotiations, Two Major Forces

[Private Chat · Jiang Yuwan: Su Ze, people from other dormitories have unlocked the Survival Mall!!]

Seeing this message, Su Ze's face showed no extra expression.

It was as expected.

The threshold of one hundred copper coins was neither high nor low.

For ordinary survivors, it might be a relatively large number.

But for those teams that grouped up immediately and had the ability to organize people to clear zombies, saving up this amount was only a matter of time.

Being able to delay until the third day for someone to achieve it meant he had already accumulated a significant advantage.

He leisurely sent back two words.

[Private Chat · Su Ze: Who?]

[Private Chat · Jiang Yuwan: Wang Meng, and Zhuang Qianhao.]

[Private Chat · Jiang Yuwan: They haven't gone public, nor have they publicly sold anything, but since you didn't reply to their private messages, they messaged me saying they want to meet you as soon as possible.]

Wang Meng, Zhuang Qianhao.

In this building, besides himself, they were the leaders of the two largest factions.

Su Ze's fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, not feeling surprised at all.

These two were smart enough not to get carried away and follow the trend of selling things the moment they opened the mall; instead, they chose to talk to him first.

This saved him a lot of trouble.

[Private Chat · Su Ze: Location.]

[Private Chat · Jiang Yuwan: The auditorium of the Comprehensive Building.]

...

Comprehensive Building, Auditorium.

The spacious area originally used for hosting various parties and lectures was now permeated with an oppressive atmosphere.

Two groups of people occupied the two sides of the auditorium, clearly separated.

On the left was Wang Meng and his nearly thirty sturdy sports students, each with solid muscles and a bandit-like aura on their faces.

On the right was Zhuang Qianhao and the players from the seven or eight dormitories he had gathered.

They had more people, but their momentum was clearly a notch weaker, looking more like a loose alliance.

Jiang Haiqing stood beside Wang Meng, his face looking extremely ugly.

“Brother Meng! We have a mall now too! Why the hell are we afraid of him!”

He lowered his voice, his tone full of instigation and resentment.

“Let's just start selling! Make our prices cheaper than his! Small profits but quick turnover; it won't be long before we have the final say in this building!”

“If he dares to mess around, we'll leak the news about the Survival Mall! Let everyone know how to open it! I want to see how he'll maintain his monopoly then!”

“Shut the hell up!”

Wang Meng's face darkened as he barked a low reprimand.

Stared down by him, Jiang Haiqing's neck suddenly shrank, and he swallowed the rest of his words, though his eyes were still filled with malice and defiance.

“Brother Jiang Haiqing, calm down.”

Zhuang Qianhao, who was on the side, spoke with a smile. He was wearing a clean martial arts uniform, and his entire being exuded a steady temperament.

“This Brother Su Ze was able to clear several floors of corridors with thousands of zombies by himself yesterday, and just now, he was able to escape unscathed from a riot of tens of thousands of zombies.”

Zhuang Qianhao's gaze swept across everyone present. His voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear.

“Do you think it's a wise choice to go against such a being?”

“The reason we are keeping quiet and actively seeking a meeting is to give him enough face, hoping to follow behind him and get a share of the spoils.”

He paused and continued his analysis:

“Otherwise, with his strength, who among us could stop him?”

“In the worst-case scenario, even if he doesn't use force and we just fight a price war with him... in the end, no one will be able to make any money.”

His words calmed down many of the restless people on Wang Meng's side.

Jiang Haiqing's face turned pale and then flushed as he muttered under his breath.

“Who knows if he's actually still alive... maybe he died in the zombie tide long ago, since he hasn't replied until now...”

“Su Ze's women are still active in Dormitory 404, and I can still send him private messages, which proves there's a high probability he's fine.” Wang Meng coldly interrupted his fantasy.

After saying that, he looked at Zhuang Qianhao and said in a heavy voice, “Then in a moment, we'll keep our goals aligned. We'll talk about the distribution of interests with him first, just as we discussed.”

Zhuang Qianhao nodded with a smile. “Understood.”

Just then, Wang Meng's private chat flashed.

He took a look, and his expression instantly became serious.

“He said he's coming over now.”

That short sentence made the atmosphere in the entire auditorium instantly grow several degrees more solemn.

Everyone subconsciously stood up straight, their eyes collectively looking toward the auditorium doors.

Not long after.

A figure walked in through the door at an unhurried pace.

It was indeed Su Ze.

His body was still stained with dried blood, but his steps were steady and his expression composed.

It was as if the person who had just experienced a zombie tide riot wasn't him, but someone else.

Wang Meng and Zhuang Qianhao exchanged a glance and stood up at the same time.

“Brother Su Ze!”

An enthusiastic smile immediately broke out on Wang Meng's face as he strode forward to meet him.

“You've finally come! Seeing such a huge commotion over at the teaching building just now really worried me! It's great that you're okay!”

Su Ze twitched the corner of his mouth as a response. “Just luck.”

Those two simple words carried no discernible emotion.

Wang Meng didn't mind. He stepped aside and pointed to Zhuang Qianhao next to him to introduce him.

“This is Brother Zhuang Qianhao, the leader of the East Side Alliance on the first floor, and also the captain of our school's Martial Arts Club. His skills are extraordinary!”

“Brother Su Ze, I've heard much about you.” Zhuang Qianhao cupped his fists, his attitude neither humble nor arrogant.

Su Ze nodded, his gaze sweeping across their faces as he got straight to the point.

“What do you want with me?”

The smile on Wang Meng's face stiffened for a moment before returning to normal.

He rubbed his hands together and leaned in closer, half-joking and half-testing, speaking in a tone as if he were sharing a secret:

“Cough, well... Brother Su Ze, to be honest with you, we got lucky and accidentally opened the... Survival Mall too.”

As he spoke, he observed Su Ze's expression.

Seeing that the other party had no reaction, he grew a bit bolder, his tone taking on a hint of familiar banter.

“I, Wang Meng, truly admire you to no end!”

“I just opened the mall and found that the zombie serum inside is clearly priced by the system at only one hundred copper coins each.”

“But you, you turned around and sold it to me for one hundred and sixty copper coins, and even took five of my landlord keys! This business sense of yours makes me feel quite inferior!”

His tone was like he was teasing a close friend about a prank, without any hint of accusation.

Wang Meng's teasing voice echoed in the empty auditorium.

His group of sports students all followed with a burst of laughter, and the atmosphere seemed to warm up instantly.

Zhuang Qianhao stood behind Wang Meng, his face also wearing a cooperative, kind smile.

In his view, Wang Meng's move both pointed out Su Ze's 'greed' and gave himself a way out.

This way, no matter how the negotiation went next, Su Ze would be at a slight disadvantage.

It was beneficial for the upcoming negotiations.

However, Su Ze just curled his lip and, mimicking Wang Meng's half-joking tone, replied leisurely.

“Brother Wang Meng, those words are incorrect.”

“How could that be called one hundred and sixty? That's called the VIP early access price, wouldn't you say?”

“Think about it, getting the serum a day earlier means peace of mind a day earlier. After all, serum has a price, but health is priceless. This deal wasn't a loss.”

Su Ze paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and added with a smile.

“Oh, by the way, Brother Wang Meng, you need to keep the installments for that zombie serum in mind. I've been a bit short on cash lately and am waiting to use those copper coins...”