81: Chapter 80 The Zhang Family, a roadside stall!

Lin Mo refined dozens more batches of potions. Mana recovery potions, detox potions, dispelling potions, and so on. All were of perfect quality.

"That should be about enough." Lin Mo flicked the potion residue off his hands and patted his clothes. "This should last you for quite a long time."

Shen Yuntang glanced at the statistics.

45,000 bottles of perfect quality advanced healing potion. 18,000 bottles of perfect quality supreme mana recovery potions. 16,000 bottles of perfect quality advanced detox potions. 32,000 perfect quality dark steel longswords. 52,000 sets of perfect quality dark steel armor.

This number was several times the monthly production volume of the Zhang family's supply chain during its peak. And Lin Mo had only used less than an hour.

"Lin Mo, the Alliance will thank you for your contribution," Shen Yuntang said earnestly.

"You're being too polite. Living under the protection of the Alliance, this little thing is what I should do."

"Little thing…" Everyone was speechless.

Lin Mo stretched. "Then I'll go back to sleep first."

…Three thousand kilometers north of Core City, in the Great Wilderness. The Zhang family base.

The round table in the center of the hall was filled with delicacies and fine wine. Over thirty members of the Zhang family's direct line sat on high-backed chairs, clinking glasses. The atmosphere was like New Year's.

"Cheers!" A burly, middle-aged man stood up, raising his glass, his face full of smugness.

"To the stupidity of the Alliance, cheers!" The whole hall erupted in laughter.

Zhang Wei sat to the left of the main seat, swirling his glass, his expression a mix of gloom and self-satisfaction. His son was dead. He hated him! He wished he could slice Lin Mo into a thousand pieces!!

Fortunately, before they fell out, they had already withdrawn all high-level auxiliary professionals in advance, directly locking the lifeline of the Alliance!

Every bottle of potion used was one less, every piece of equipment damaged was one less! Without supplies, those people on the front line wouldn't last three days!

Once the front line collapsed, the Alliance would have to come begging them to return, even if they had to kneel. When that time came, he wouldn't just want Lin Mo's life; he would also make the Alliance hand over Su Xiaoli.

"Third Brother." The Zhang family's Fourth Master, sitting opposite, held his tea, smiling deeply. "When do you think the Alliance will send someone to negotiate?"

Zhang Wei swirled his glass. "Three days at most."

"I don't think they'll last two days." The Fourth Master put down his teacup. "The integrity of the Shield Guard armor at the second stronghold is only at thirty percent, and the monsters on the front line are increasing every day."

"Without equipment replenishment, those warriors are like meat buns thrown at a dog—gone forever."

"When they come to beg us, how shall we negotiate?" A young man beside him rubbed his hands triumphantly.

Zhang Wei sneered. "Three conditions."

"First, hand over Lin Mo to be dealt with by me personally."

"Second, all regulatory rights for the Alliance's auxiliary profession industries must be transferred to the Zhang family."

"Third, we must have participation rights in Su Xiaoli's cultivation plan."

The hall was silent for a moment, then everyone burst into laughter!

In the corner, an old man with a goat beard held his teacup, having not spoken the entire time. He was one of the Zhang family's retainers, a powerhouse at the peak of the Fifth Class Advancement.

"Sixth Uncle, what do you think?" the Fourth Master asked, looking at him.

The old man blew on the tea foam, his voice unhurried. "Add one more condition."

"Make the Alliance revoke their audit rights over our industries."

"From now on, the Zhang family's accounts don't need to be shown to anyone."

Zhang Wei's eyes lit up. "Good! It's settled!"

"This time, we must make the Alliance bleed!!"

The atmosphere in the hall reached its peak. Everyone was laughing. Laughing at the Alliance for not knowing what was good for them. Laughing at Shen Yuntang for being self-righteous. Laughing at that poor kid named Lin Mo, who caused their Zhang family to lose an heir, but would ultimately only make the Zhang family stronger.

No one thought there was any problem. After all, there were so many heirs; losing one didn't matter.

"By the way." The Fourth Master suddenly lowered his voice. "Shall we add a little more chaos to the front line?"

The hall instantly went quiet.

"We've been operating on the front line for over a hundred years; we still have a few beast-luring routes."

"Let's get more monster attracting incense. When the time comes, the Alliance's Shield Guards will be wearing that scrap metal to hold off the beast tide—"

Before he could finish, everyone exchanged knowing, cruel smiles.

…Two days later. The atmosphere in the Zhang family's main fortress had changed. There was no wine in the hall. No food. Only a few communication crystal plates were placed on the round table.

The Zhang family members all sat in their seats, their faces ashen.

In the images, Alliance warriors were slaughtering monsters. To be precise—it was a massacre.

A level 180 monster swiped its claw, but not even a white mark was left on the surface of the armor. The longswords in the warriors' hands also shimmered with golden light. Perfect quality dark steel longswords. With one strike, the monster was split in two. Cutting through the beast tide was like cutting cabbage.

The Zhang family members were dumbfounded. Since when were monsters this easy to deal with? As a great family of auxiliary professions, the Zhang family quickly recognized the perfect quality glow on those warriors.

It wasn't just one person. It was, damn it, everyone! Was this right? Was this scientific? Since when was perfect quality equipment so easy to obtain?

Zhang Wei's fingers gripped the table, leaving white marks. "What about the beast tide?" His voice was hoarse. "What about the beast tide that Fourth arranged?"

The Fourth Master's face was even uglier than his. "The beast tide was indeed lured."

"And then?" The Fourth Master swallowed hard. "After the Shield Guards at the second stronghold changed into the new armor, they resisted the entire impact head-on."

"The assassination squad used the new weapons to counter-attack, clearing the field in forty minutes."

"According to reports from our undercover agents at the front line—" He paused, his voice dry. "The second stronghold commander's exact words were: This batch of equipment is so satisfying to kill monsters with! The warriors all feel there aren't enough monsters to kill!"

What the hell was this guy talking about? After hearing this, everyone in the Zhang family fell into a stupor.

The old man with the goat beard put down his teacup, the sound of the cup bottom hitting the table exceptionally clear. "Have you found out?" His tone was no longer unhurried. "Where did these equipment and potions… actually come from?"

Zhang Wei's lips moved, his face instantly turning gloomy. A name squeezed out from between his teeth. "Lin Mo."

"Only he could possibly have this ability."

"Only he could possibly manage to mass-produce perfect quality equipment!"

The goat-bearded old man's brow twitched. "That hidden class?"

Zhang Wei violently crushed the communication crystal plate in his hand. Shards pierced his palm, and blood dripped down between his fingers, but he didn't notice. "You mean to say, the potions, the equipment, are all perfect quality. The quantity exceeds our total production capacity for half a month. And it was all done by him alone."

No one in the hall could laugh anymore. At this moment, the expression on everyone's face looked like they had been slapped.

The Fourth Master's lips were white, his voice floating: "Does this mean… the Alliance won't come to negotiate?"

No one answered him. The answer was already obvious. The Alliance didn't need to negotiate. Because the Alliance no longer needed the Zhang family at all.

The goat-bearded old man slowly stood up, looking at the silent clansmen at the table, and suddenly spoke. "Have you calculated it?"

"How many resources does our Zhang family need to maintain operations every year?"

"Of these resources, how many are supported by the Alliance's procurement orders?"

The temperature in the hall seemed to drop a few degrees. Fear finally appeared in Zhang Wei's pupils. He had calculated it.

The Zhang family's annual operating costs were terrifying. Salaries for high-level auxiliary professionals, material procurement, mine maintenance, private army training… seventy percent of these expenses came from the Alliance's long-term, high-priced procurement contracts.

Previously, when selling equipment to the Alliance, they could earn at least three times the profit. But now they had fallen out with the Alliance. Forget three times; the Alliance might not even want half a percent.

It was over! Completely over! Without the Alliance's capital injection, their Zhang family couldn't maintain their current lifestyle at all. They would soon even fall into an extremely dire situation!