136: Horde Slayer, Cover Fire, and Minor Underfire Fear

A good person?!

If Lu Yang could read minds and knew what Liu Lei was thinking at that moment, he would surely burst out laughing.

“You’re right, I am a good person, the number one good person in the world.”

“But don’t think that just because you’re praising me as a good person in your mind, I’ll give you a discount.”

“Dream on!!!”

“Train Captain Liu Lei, take a look. These are the Xinhuo Train’s external arms packages, divided into Package One, Package Two, and Package Three.”

“Based on their varying levels of firepower, I’ve named them the ‘Corpse Swarm Annihilator’ Package, the ‘Firepower Saturation’ Package, and the ‘Mild Firepower Deficiency Phobia’ Package. The prices are incredibly good. Take a look and see which one you need.”

Liu Lei tremblingly took the sales tablet from Lu Yang’s hand, feeling as if Lu Yang’s smile at that moment was purely that of a demon.

He wouldn’t be forcing a sale, would he?!

Oh no, it’s time to pay ‘protection fees’ again!

Thinking this, Liu Lei cautiously clicked on the link for Package One, ‘Corpse Swarm Annihilator,’ on the tablet’s cover advertisement.

Whatever, let’s check the cheapest one first!

“Package One: Corpse Swarm Annihilator”

“Package Contents: 100 Level 6 Jiaolong Assault Rifles, 50 Level 6 Harvester Individual Grenade Launchers, 20 Level 6 Reaper Multi-Barrel Rotary Heavy Machine Guns, with 1 basic load of ammunition. Package special price — only 9998 units of Level 4 Iron Ore.”

???

What the heck?!

A ‘protection fee’ of 9998 units of Level 4 Iron Ore wasn't expensive for Liu Lei.

But, are the items listed for sale actually real?!

The Reaper Multi-Barrel Rotary Heavy Machine Gun seemed to be a product of the Crow, and the Crow only had Level 5 ones!

To make up the numbers, is it okay to use it like this?!

Liu Lei rubbed his eyes.

100 assault rifles, 50 grenade launchers, 20 Reaper Multi-Barrel Rotary Heavy Machine Guns—

All Level 6, and the quantities were very pleasing.

Liu Lei looked at the main promotional features of each item.

Assault rifle: extra-large magazine, 60-round capacity.

Harvester Individual Grenade Launcher: capable of firing Explosive Flame Bullet that burn continuously for 30 seconds.

Reaper Multi-Barrel Rotary Heavy Machine Gun: 14.5mm ammunition, maximum rate of fire 10,000 rounds per minute.

Holy cow!

Damn, if this firepower is real, it could level Ping Shan County before World War II, couldn't it?!

And it only costs 9998 units of Level 4 Iron Ore. Isn't that a dirt-cheap price?

These days, any Intermediate Zone train with a bit of history could surely produce 9998 units of Level 4 Iron Ore.

Liu Lei said in disbelief, “Brother Lu… Brother Lu, are you… are you sure it’s… not a typo?!”

“If you’re short on resources, I still have some on my train.”

“You… you shouldn’t joke with me like this!!”

“My heart has always been weak since I was a child, so I can’t handle these kinds of jokes.”

“This price, you dare to sell, but I really don’t dare to buy it!!”

Hearing this, Lu Yang was confused.

???

What Liu Lei meant was that he thought the price was too cheap and was afraid Lu Yang was trying to cheat him?

Uh, Lu Yang really hadn't considered this when setting the price.

After all, he didn't know what the price of Level 6 weapons was in the Intermediate Zone.

Even the sales list was hastily put together when he learned that the Three Mountains was coming.

Moreover, from the perspective of actual manufacturing cost, Lu Yang felt that this price was not low.

A Level 6 Jiaolong Assault Rifle costs 120 units of Level 2 Iron Ore, which translates to 1.2 units of Level 4 Iron Ore.

A Level 6 Harvester Individual Grenade Launcher costs 300 units of Level 2 Iron Ore, which translates to 3 units of Level 4 Iron Ore.

A Level 6 Reaper Multi-Barrel Rotary Heavy Machine Gun costs 35 units of Level 3 Iron Ore, which translates to 3.5 units of Level 4 Iron Ore.

All the products in the entire package combined cost only 340 units of Level 4 Iron Ore.

Selling for 9998 units of Level 4 Iron Ore is nearly a 30-fold profit.

While not exceptionally high, it wasn't low either.

Moreover, selling weapons was just the beginning; Lu Yang intended to truly make money by selling ammunition.

For Level 6 ammunition, taking the Harvester Individual Grenade Launcher as an example, a standard 10-round Level 6 magazine costs 60 units of Level 2 copper. If I sell it to you for 10 units of Level 4 copper, which is 1000 units of Level 2 copper, isn't that reasonable?

Although the gross profit margin is only around 16 times, don't you need to equip each gun with 5 magazines?

50 guns would be 250 magazines, selling for 2500 units of Level 4 copper.

The same logic applies to the Jiaolong Assault Rifle. A standard Level 6 magazine costs 30 units of Level 2 copper. With a profit margin of around 15 times, Lu Yang selling one magazine for 5 units of Level 4 copper is also very reasonable, isn't it?

100 guns, 500 magazines, selling for 2500 units of Level 4 copper.

For the Reaper Multi-Barrel Rotary Heavy Machine Gun, a Level 6 ammunition box with 1000 rounds costs 30 units of Level 3 copper.

Sell it for 50 units of Level 4 copper.

20 guns, 100 ammunition boxes, selling for 5000 units of Level 4 copper.

Also not expensive.

But adding all these up, just selling ammunition would bring in another 10,000 units of Level 4 copper.

And it's sustainable.

Liu Lei will have to buy more once he runs out.

And he'll be eager to buy it.

This way, sustainably milking the system, isn't it much better than a one-off deal?

So, selling it cheaper also has its advantages.

After all, the total resources the Three Mountains currently has are fixed.

Moreover, if the price was truly too high, Liu Lei would buy these weapons and ammunition but be reluctant to use them.

Then how would Lu Yang do business later?

It's better to compromise, make him feel the value is high, and dare to use them.

This way, Liu Lei's strength increases, the areas he can explore expand, and the resources he can obtain will also increase.

His purchasing power will also greatly increase later on.

Thinking of this, Lu Yang increasingly felt that his pricing was very reasonable.

I just want you to feel it's cheap, dirt cheap.

That way, you'll dare to shoot, explore, and earn resources with confidence.

Then, to maintain your strength, you'll come back to me for more ammunition once you've used it up.

Contribute all your resources to me.

Absolutely perfect closed loop.

Lu Yang: “Brother Liu Lei, business is about win-win.”

“If I set the price too high, you can’t afford it, and I won’t earn any resources either.”

“Moreover, no matter what, we are both humans, sheltering many survivors. I see that you are not a tyrannical Train Captain, and I feel at ease selling arms to you.”

Lu Yang had observed Liu Lei for quite some time through the space-based early warning detection sphere and knew that aside from his fondness for mature women, he was quite good to the passengers on his train, at least ensuring their basic sustenance.

In fact, for a Train Captain of an Intermediate Zone train, maintaining the livelihood of two to three thousand people is not difficult.

One unit of Level 1 Iron Ore can produce 10 pieces of coarse bran bread, which can sustain the basic needs of two people for one day.

Two thousand people would only consume 1000 units of Level 1 Iron Ore per day, which is 1 unit of Level 4 Iron Ore. Compared to the ores that can be dug in the Intermediate Zone, this is very cheap.

As for water, with a purified water filter, as long as a lake is found in the wilderness, no extra cost is needed.

If ordinary passengers or slaves on a train cannot survive, it is purely due to the Train Captain’s deliberate actions.

Such Train Captains are generally not good people.

Just like the Train Captain of the Crow.

That’s why Lu Yang dealt with him swiftly and without hesitation.

In comparison, Liu Lei, the Train Captain of the Three Mountains, was considered one of the more benevolent ones.

He was not only generous to the mature women he liked but also kind to their relatives and friends.

Plus, he liked quite a lot of mature women.

When you really tally it up, there weren't many truly unattached personnel on the Three Mountains.

Almost everyone was related to him.

There were even ex-husbands wearing green hats.

And they were still living well.

This might also be another reason why Lu Yang decided to sell him arms. (PS: This refers to his kindness to passengers, not his preference for mature women.)

“Of course, I’ll be frank upfront: you cannot act as a middleman or use my weapons to prey on other Train Captains and survivors. Otherwise, if I find out, you know what happened to the Crow.”

Lu Yang suddenly warned at the end.

Seeing Lu Yang's serious demeanor, not faking it.

Liu Lei also sat up straight and said, “Brother Lu, you can rest assured about that.”

“Even if you told me to sell them, I wouldn’t dare.”

“I don’t have the Xinhuo Train’s strength. I only want to buy these things for self-preservation.”

“If I sold them, and then others used them to attack me, wouldn’t I be shooting myself in the foot?”

Lu Yang nodded: “It’s best that you think that way!”

“Also, Brother Liu Lei, don’t just look at Package One. If you have plenty of resources on your train, you can look at Package Two and Package Three before making a decision. The later packages have even better things.”

“Ah? Oh! Okay!!”

Liu Lei flipped to Package Two.

“Package Two: Firepower Saturation”

“Package Contents: 50 Level 6 Harvester Individual Grenade Launchers, 30 Level 6 Quick-Firing Mortars, 10 Level 6 Iron Curtain Machine Cannons, with 1 basic load of ammunition. Package special price — only 16888 units of Level 4 Iron Ore.”

Then came Package Three.

“Package Three: Mild Firepower Deficiency Phobia”

“Package Contents: 30 Level 6 Quick-Firing Mortars, 20 Level 6 Reaper Multi-Barrel Rotary Heavy Machine Guns, 10 Level 6 Iron Curtain Machine Cannons, 4 Level 6 PLZ Vehicle-Mounted Self-Propelled Howitzers, with 1 basic load of ammunition. Package special price — only 29999 units of Level 4 Iron Ore.”

Liu Lei: “...”

Flipping to the end, Liu Lei's gaze was fixed on the Level 6 PLZ Vehicle-Mounted Self-Propelled Howitzer, especially its marked 155mm large-caliber shells and the Level 6 howitzer's range of up to 40 kilometers. If extended-range shells were used, the range could increase by another 20 kilometers, almost reaching the limit of the Three Mountains' Level 4 enemy-seeking radar detection.

“Brother, what should I do? I want all of them,” Liu Lei said with a wry smile.

Lu Yang smiled: “Of course, you can. As soon as the payment arrives, I have all these items in stock, and you can get them within 3 hours.”

Hearing this, Liu Lei scratched his head in distress.

“But, Brother, I don’t have enough resources on my train. I only have a little over 30,000 units of Level 4 Iron Ore, which I’ve saved up until now and usually don’t dare to spend.”

Lu Yang suggested: “Then I recommend you acquire Package Three now. I can additionally give you one hundred Jiaolong Assault Rifles and two and a half basic loads, totaling 20 rounds, including four extended-range rounds, of different types of Level 6 PLZ Vehicle-Mounted Self-Propelled Howitzer shells. That should be enough to meet all your needs.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Lei, like a child facing a beloved toy, could no longer hold back and said, “Alright, then I’ll buy Package Three, ‘Mild Firepower Deficiency Phobia.’ This way, I won’t just be playing a supporting role when I go to the Intermediate Zone secret realm.”

Lu Yang’s lips curled slightly, like a soul-snatching demon, as he extended his right hand: “Deal!”

Liu Lei wiped the sweat from his forehead, also extended his right hand, and with a sigh of relief, said, “Deal, thank you, Brother!”