7: Cold-blooded transactions, no idlers tolerated.

Deep inside the mine tunnel.

The deeper they went, the thinner the air became.

The smell of rot faded slightly, replaced by a pungent chemical odor.

“Cough, cough...”

Suppressed coughing began to sound within the group.

Several girls with weaker constitutions already had pale faces and could only barely keep up by leaning on the walls.

Gu Pingsheng walked at the very front.

His Nano-Combat Suit came with a built-in air filtration system; this small amount of toxic gas was like morning mist to him, having no effect whatsoever.

“Stop.”

He suddenly raised his hand.

The crowd behind him instantly froze in place, as if a pause button had been pressed.

To them, the current Gu Pingsheng was a god.

If he said stop, no one dared to take another step.

“What is it?”

Lin Qinghan quickly walked up, her ice sword slightly raised as she vigilantly scanned the surroundings.

Gu Pingsheng didn't speak, merely pointing forward with his chin.

Following his gaze.

About twenty meters ahead, there was a massive metal platform.

On the platform, a solitary silver-white box rested.

A faint blue light shimmered across the box's surface, clearly indicating it was no ordinary item.

[Supply Crate (Blue · Excellent)]

[Status: Locked (Electronic Combination Lock)]

[Trap: High-concentration Nerve Gas permeates the surroundings; inhalation results in instant death.]

“Is that... a supply box?!”

Zhao Min exclaimed in surprise, her eyes instantly lighting up.

What did a glowing box mean in this desolate, resource-scarce place?

It meant food! It meant water! It meant the hope of survival!

“Quick! Go look!”

Liu Ruyan disregarded her earlier fear and pushed past the person in front of her, ready to charge forward.

“Seeking death.”

Gu Pingsheng coldly spat out two words.

Before Liu Ruyan had run more than a few steps, she suddenly felt her throat tighten, as if an invisible large hand had gripped her.

“Cough... cough, cough...”

She coughed violently, tears and snot instantly streaming down her face.

“There's poisonous gas!”

Lin Qinghan's expression changed, and she yanked Liu Ruyan back.

“Back up! Everyone back up!”

The crowd retreated in terror, looking at the box that was so close yet seemingly a world away, their eyes filled with reluctance and craving.

“This... what do we do?”

Zhao Min paced anxiously.

“The stuff is right in front of us, but we can't get it... this is pure torment!”

“Who knows how to pick a lock? Who has a gas mask?”

No one spoke up.

They looked at each other, and finally, their gaze settled on Gu Pingsheng.

He was their only hope.

Gu Pingsheng stood there, arms crossed, wearing an expression like he was watching a show.

Of course, he could retrieve it.

But why should he?

“Student Gu... Gu Pingsheng.”

Zhao Min nervously walked over, her tone carrying a hint of flattery.

“Look... you have that mask, could you perhaps help everyone retrieve the box?”

“Yes, yes! Gu Pingsheng, you're the strongest!”

“Please help us! Everyone is starving to death!”

The other girls quickly chimed in, and even Liu Ruyan, who had been avoiding him just moments ago, was now looking at him pleadingly.

Gu Pingsheng smiled.

It was a very cold smile.

“Help you?”

He slowly and deliberately adjusted his gloves.

“Why should I?”

Three words.

Like a basin of cold water, they extinguished everyone's enthusiasm.

“We're all classmates!”

Liu Ruyan couldn't help but shout.

“Look at the situation we're in! How can you still be so selfish? You have the ability, why won't you help us?”

“Selfish?”

Gu Pingsheng raised an eyebrow.

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over Liu Ruyan's face like a knife.

“When the zombies charged just now, where were you?”

“When I was clearing the path earlier, where were you?”

“Now that you see supplies, you want to talk about classmate affection?”

Liu Ruyan was left speechless by the retort, her face turning the color of a pig's liver.

“I can open it.”

Gu Pingsheng ignored her and turned to look at Lin Qinghan.

In this group, only Lin Qinghan could barely be considered sensible.

“But there's one condition.”

“What condition?” Lin Qinghan asked.

“I want seventy percent of what's inside.”

Gu Pingsheng held up two fingers, forming the gesture for “seven.”

“What?!”

The crowd instantly erupted.

“Seventy percent?! Why don't you just rob us!”

“That's outrageous! We only get thirty percent? Thirty percent for forty people?”

“Gu Pingsheng, you're taking advantage of our misfortune!”

Even Zhao Min frowned.

“Student Gu, isn't this... a bit too much? Wouldn't it be better to split it evenly? Fifty-fifty is fine too...”

“Split it evenly?”

Gu Pingsheng looked as if he had heard a joke.

“Without me, you wouldn't even be able to touch the box.”

“Without me, you would already be excrement for the zombies outside.”

“You want to talk about splitting it evenly with me? Are you worthy?”

Having said that.

He turned and walked away.

Without any hesitation.

“If you think it's a loss, then open it yourselves. I'm done here.”

Seeing Gu Pingsheng's resolute back, everyone panicked.

They looked at the box surrounded by poison gas, then at the pathetic, broken equipment in their hands.

Open it themselves?

With their lives?

“Wait!”

Lin Qinghan gritted her teeth and called out to Gu Pingsheng.

“Deal.”

“Qinghan!” Zhao Min panicked. “Seventy percent! What about us...”

“Shut up.”

Lin Qinghan coldly interrupted her.

“Thirty percent is better than nothing. Do you choose to starve to death or eat half a bellyful?”

Zhao Min opened her mouth, then dejectedly lowered her head.

That's right.

Did they have a choice?

There was no choice at all.

This was a monopoly.

This was absolute power.

Gu Pingsheng stopped walking, a satisfied curve hooking up the corner of his mouth.

“Smart girl.”

He turned around and strode toward the metal platform.

Poison gas?

In front of his purple Nano-Combat Suit, it was a joke.

He reached the box.

Electronic combination lock?

Need hacking skills?

No need.

Gu Pingsheng pulled out the desert eagle from his waist.

He pressed the muzzle against the lock.

“Bang!”

A gunshot rang out.

Sparks flew everywhere.

The intricate electronic lock was instantly blasted into fragments.

The aesthetics of violence.

Simple, crude, effective.

Gu Pingsheng kicked the lid open.

The contents were exposed to everyone's view.

[High-Potency Antibiotics x10 boxes]

[High-Energy Compressed Biscuits x50 packs]

[Purified Water x20 bottles]

“Wow!”

A burst of excited cries erupted from the crowd.

Antibiotics!

Those were a second life in the apocalypse!

And compressed biscuits and water!

The girls' eyes turned green as they looked at the contents of the box, wanting nothing more than to rush forward and grab them.

Gu Pingsheng began allocating the supplies, taking his time.

He first took all 10 boxes of antibiotics and stuffed them into his backpack.

“The antibiotics are mine.”

No one dared to speak.

Although their hearts bled with regret, it was life-saving medicine, and whoever had the bigger fist got it—that was simply the rule.

Next.

He took 35 packs of compressed biscuits and 14 bottles of water.

Exactly seventy percent.

Only 15 packs of biscuits and 6 bottles of water remained in the box.

Lying there alone, they looked especially meager.

“Divide the rest among yourselves.”

Gu Pingsheng clapped his hands and turned to walk back to the group.

The girls swarmed forward.

They nearly started fighting over the pitiful amount of remaining supplies.

“Stop fighting! I'm the class monitor! I'll divide it!”

“Get lost! I helped fight the zombies too! I deserve an extra pack!”

“Give me a sip of water! Please!”

Utterly disgraceful behavior.

Gu Pingsheng watched the scene with cold eyes.

This was human nature.

Faced with survival, elegance, and reserve were all meaningless nonsense.

Lin Qinghan, holding the one pack of biscuits and half bottle of water she was allocated, walked up to Gu Pingsheng.

“Thank you.”

Although she was the one being exploited, she still offered her thanks.

Because she knew that without Gu Pingsheng, she wouldn't have gotten even this meager amount.

“Don't mention it.”

Gu Pingsheng unscrewed a bottle of water and took a sip, tilting his head back.

“This is a transaction.”

He looked at Lin Qinghan, his eyes sharp.

“Remember this.”

“If you want supplies, if you want equipment, if you want to survive in the future.”

“Exchange them for Crystal Cores. Exchange them for Blueprints. Exchange them for Special Materials.”

“I don't support the idle.”

“Even you are no exception.”

Lin Qinghan was stunned for a moment.

She looked at the man before her.

Cold, domineering, and merciless.

Yet possessing a strength that made him impossible to ignore.

“I understand.”

She nodded, gripping the water bottle tightly in her hand.

“I will prove my worth.”

...On the way back.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

Everyone was silently gnawing on the hard, dry compressed biscuits; no one spoke.

Gu Pingsheng still walked at the very front.

His silhouette stretched long in the dim mine tunnel.

Su Ruan walked at the very back.

She hugged the dirty rabbit doll in her arms, head lowered, lost in thought.

Suddenly.

Her foot kicked something.

It was the empty shell casing ejected when Gu Pingsheng fired his gun moments ago.

The gleaming brass casing still carried a trace of residual heat.

Su Ruan stopped.

She glanced left and right, and seeing no one was paying attention, she quickly bent down and picked up the casing.

She brought it to her nose and sniffed.

A faint smell of gunpowder mixed with the man's unique cold, sharp scent.

“So fragrant...”

An unnatural flush spread across Su Ruan's cheeks.

She pressed the casing against her face and rubbed it gently.

Her eyes were hazy, like a cat in heat.

“Such a strong scent...”

“I want to... turn him into a doll...”

She tucked the casing into the belly of the rabbit doll, then followed the group as if nothing had happened.