32: Chapter 32 Investment

"Brother Wangting is here, please sit."

Seeing Wangting enter, Zhao Tianhao stood up to greet him with an eager smile on his face, as if they were old friends who had known each other for a long time.

Wangting walked over to the round table and generously sat down on the stool.

The food in front of them was clearly made by the chef Zhang Dafang, consisting of three dishes and a soup, with steaming hot large steamed buns as the staple food.

Although it couldn't compare to the hearty dishes before the apocalypse, having meat like Sand Scorpion and Lizard Hound in the apocalypse could already be considered very sumptuous.

If converted into contribution points, this meal consumed Zhao Tianhao at least thirty or forty contribution points.

"Drink a sip of soup while it is hot. This pork bone soup is not easy to get. If it weren't for Vine Town's floors being able to refresh supplies, I'm afraid we would have to wait until we go to Huangyan Town to trade for some; our camp definitely doesn't have any."

Zhao Tianhao invited Wangting to eat, but although Wangting had a smile on his face, he didn't make a single move with his hands.

He just grinned: "You two are both my seniors, and this meal is so sumptuous, I'm afraid you have something to say. If you don't say it, I'm afraid I won't be able to eat in peace."

"You really are a direct person."

Wei Dong smiled from the side, looking at Wangting with burning eyes, looking him up and down, but didn't see a hint of fear in him.

Zhao Tianhao also put down his bowl and chopsticks, reining in his smile slightly, and then said: "We wouldn't visit without a purpose. Inviting Brother Wangting over is to discuss a deal with you."

"Could this deal be related to the outpost?"

Everyone present was shrewd and decisive. At this critical juncture, besides this matter, Wangting really couldn't think of any reason why Zhao Tianhao and Wei Dong would come looking for him.

"The two of you really think highly of me. I am merely a newcomer, and I'm afraid I might not be able to compete with Boss Zhao and the various deputy captains."

'You talk a good game.'

Zhao Tianhao and Wei Dong sneered inwardly; not a shred of humility could be seen on Wangting's face.

In this apocalyptic world, someone who always yields in everything would have long since died in the wilderness, how could they have reached this step?

The atmosphere at the table gradually grew subtle, and Wei Dong and Zhao Tianhao stopped beating around the bush.

"Brother, don't be modest. We saw your methods in Vine Town with our own eyes. If it weren't for the fact that you joined Scarecrow Town relatively recently and don't have many capable people under you, I wouldn't have dared to come find you today, and we'd just hand over the opportunity with peace of mind."

On the surface, Zhao Tianhao's words were praising his remarkable skills, but in reality, they pointed out his most crucial shortcoming—which was simply that he didn't have his own faction in his hands, and would probably fail to stand firm in outpost management.

However, Wangting's words were sharp as a blade, striking straight at the topic: "Do you want me to withdraw from this competition? I wonder what the two of you plan to use as a transaction?"

Zhao Tianhao glanced at Wei Dong, then picked up the black suitcase with his right hand and placed it on the tabletop with a click.

He opened the box, revealing the materials inside emitting a strange luster. There was Scarecrow's heart blood, as well as the newly distributed Emerald Leaf Essence and Vine Jade Meat. Not more, not less, exactly ten items in total.

Seeing this, Zhao Tianhao pointed at the box and said magnanimously: "These ten supernatural materials buy a chance. If I successfully become the person in charge of this outpost, I will give you another ten, how about it?"

Zhao Tianhao had a determined look. Don't look at it as only ten portions of supernatural materials; placed on the market, the price of these things was always driven very high.

Taking energy blocks as the exchange base, a bullet could roughly exchange for 1-2 energy blocks, while a portion of supernatural material could exchange for at least three to four hundred bullets. The prices of supernatural materials from different anomalies varied, showing their preciousness.

The preciousness of supernatural materials is partly because they can be used as auxiliary materials to make supernatural potions, and at the same time, they can also forge supernatural items.

Therefore, the value of these ten portions of supernatural materials was very high, and it could be seen that Zhao Tianhao truly had some sincerity.

Although the position of the outpost manager was only at the captain level, the interests it represented were far greater than ordinary captain levels.

However, this position contained both interests and extremely high risks.

According to Zhao Tianhao and Wei Dong's thoughts, after paying such a huge price, Wangting, as a newcomer, would most likely choose a more stable way to obtain supernatural materials and thus withdraw from the competition.

However, to their surprise, Wangting sitting opposite the table sat steadily, without the slightest intention of moving, and couldn't see a shred of being tempted.

He pushed the box forward: "I am just a newcomer, not worth the two of you doing this. As for who will be stationed at the outpost, this point should still rely on the skills under our hands to speak. Moreover, the people who make the decision still have to be Boss Zhao and Boss Fan."

As soon as these words came out, Wei Dong and Zhao Tianhao's expressions changed in unison.

"Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."

A trace of anger flashed in the depths of both men's eyes. The two veteran members of the Guard Team set up a banquet to treat you to dinner and talk things over nicely with you—this was already showing the utmost sincerity.

Now that Wangting was acting like this, in their eyes, this was the arrogance of a petty person who had achieved success.

When Wei Dong spoke, his tone also worsened a bit: "Even if you have Zhao Hu supporting you, you must consider it clearly yourself. You saw the anomaly monsters that day; besides the ordinary low-level anomaly individuals, there were also elite individuals like the Thorn Vine Beast, whose strength is no less than a warrior who has broken limits twice. Admittedly, your talent is good and your strength progresses very fast, but there is still a considerable gap between you and Boss Zhao and the other."

Wangting laughed loudly: "My abilities come from life-and-death combat, and they must be improved in life-and-death combat. Even if there are monsters, what do I have to fear from them?"

After saying this, Wangting took the cue from this sentence to stand up, turned around, and strode away.

Without looking back, he simply left a hearty remark: "Thank you both for your hospitality, Wangting expresses his gratitude here."

As the voice fell, he had already pushed the door open and left, walking with big strides, full of high spirits, how satisfying.

"Having gained a little strength, he doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth."

Zhao Tianhao couldn't help but let out a cold snort.

Wangting's actions also made him extremely annoyed. However, the two of them could never have imagined that what Wangting thought and sought was completely different from what they expected.

They thought that Wangting wanted to fight for the outpost to obtain more supernatural materials and thus have more resources, little knowing that Wangting's true purpose was to encounter more monsters and use this opportunity to gain independence.

"Brother Dong, how should we handle this now?"

Zhao Tianhao was determined to get the position of the outpost manager, not just to become a captain-level figure and have his own faction, but even more to obtain more supernatural materials and thereby seek supernatural potions.

"I will push you to the top with all my strength, and pull out a portion of my subordinates to help you form a faction. You must also prepare yourself. You must be able to suppress Ma Ganbo, Wangting, Nie Quan, and the others, otherwise I have no reason to push you up."

"Rest assured, Brother Dong, Wangting's side is a bit tricky, but the others... I'm not afraid of them."

Wei Dong snorted coldly: "The current captain factions have been formed for a long time, and each has its own functions, which won't be easily changed. Firstly, manpower cannot be spared; secondly, Boss Zhao is worried that the outpost will be out of the town's control from the very beginning, so he will only choose among the few of you. You must grasp this opportunity."

Zhao Tianhao coming to find Wangting was very covert, but after all, it was in the camp; the news was not overly concealed and still circulated in a small circle.

Hearing this news, Zhao Hu and Fan Da were also quite surprised.

"Boss Fan, given this situation, should I still invite Wangting over for dinner? It feels a bit inappropriate."

In Zhao Hu's home, he and Fan Da sat on chairs. Zhao Hu wore a look of distress on his face; had he known upon returning, he would have directly invited Wangting over, leaked a bit of news to him, and helped bridge the gap.

Thinking of reminding him now, I'm afraid it would only draw more attention and easily cause Wangting to misunderstand, thinking he had other motives.

"Daddy, Daddy."

His daughter, whom he was holding by the hand, pattered in with a naive smile on her face, hugged Zhao Hu's thigh, and wanted to drag Zhao Hu to play.

"Go, go, go find Mommy. Daddy and Uncle Fan have business here."

Zhao Hu pushed his daughter's hand away, patted her head, and let her go to her mother who was busy inside the house.

Fan Da glanced at Zhao Hu, shook his head, and said: "He is a smart person, there is no need to make such a big fuss. You tell him that if he suppresses the other four, I will support him in taking the top position. On the manpower side, you will support him to form a faction. But I have one requirement: aside from the normal proportional handover of harvests, he needs to open up a third farm in Vine Town."

Boss Fan's desired thing from beginning to end was only one: sufficient stability.

Only stability could keep the Shelter, Scarecrow Town, operating.

Vine Town's lighting was not very good, and it wasn't a truly habitable floor. But since it could grow vines, it was possible to produce other crops. Even if the yield wasn't high, a new farm would be enough as a backup food source.

What he worried about was that after someone else took power, all their energy would be focused on searching for supplies and killing monsters.

Over time, even with abundant force, the mortality rate would remain high, and a single slip-up could further reduce the Shelter's already tight resources.

Supernaturality is the foundation of everything, and strength is the guarantee of survival.

This was Zhao Kun's view.

However, if even life cannot be guaranteed, how can one pursue strength?

Zhao Hu nodded and then said: "I know, I will talk to him about it."