Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Tycoon
Translator: 549690339
Before entering the city, Jiang Li left a rune with every person who was driven out of the city. When their lives were in danger, it could transport them to a safe place.
To enter the city, one needed to pay with contribution points and verify their identity. Ye Wu was about to tell this to Jiang Li when she saw him casually step into the city while the gatekeeper seemed to ignore his presence. Besides Ye siblings, no one noticed Jiang Li in his white robe.
The condition within the city wasn’t much better. Despite the various expressions on people’s faces, Jiang Li could see that beneath them all, was a sense of numbness.
The only difference between these people and the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled waiting for death outside the city was that these people were inside the city.
“Doesn’t your fifth-rank enhancer take care of these tycoons?”
“Take care? He hardly cares. Master Longtu only cares about fighting. As long as there are powerful opponents, he doesn’t care what the tycoons do, nor does he care about our suffering. In Longtu’s own words, why should a strong person care about a weak one?”
“The tycoons cater to his preferences and try their best to connect with the fifth-rank enhancers from other regions, building bridges for Master Longtu to fight against them.”
“If Master Longtu is pleased, the third region is ruled by the tycoons.”
Ye Du continued, “However, the fifth-rank enhancers of the second, fourth, and fifth regions will honor their commitment to engage with Master Longtu, but the Shadow King of the first region doesn’t pay attention to the tycoons.”
Speaking of the Shadow Emperor, both Ye Du and Ye Wu’s eyes were full of admiration and hope.
Jiang Li asked casually, “Is this Shadow King very powerful?”
“Of course!” exclaimed Ye Wu excitedly. “Shadow King is universally acknowledged as the strongest fifth-rank enhancer! People say that our path to victory will undoubtedly be led by the Shadow King!”
“The Shadow King has effectively managed the first region. There are large tracts of arable land, more than a dozen pastures, mines, military factories, and even scientific research labs to restore the technology of the pre-apocalyptic era. The mortality rate there is the lowest!”
“Then why don’t you go there?”
Ye Wu smiled bitterly, “Boss, we are more than a thousand kilometers away from the first region and there are countless zombie nests along the way. We, the first and second rank enhancers. wouldn’t make it halfwav before we were
all eaten by zombies.”
“The Shadow King once spoke to Master Longtu and the tycoons, saying that humanity can only defeat zombies by uniting. If the third region is willing to move to the first region, the first region will send some strong individuals to escort us. The Shadow King himself would also join the escort team to minimize casualties.”
“The Shadow King also said, if the third region is willing, he can satisfy Master Longtu’s desire for battle.”
“This caused a big stir. People thought Master Longtu would agree. Although the journey to the first region was risky, everyone was willing to take the gamble. Compared to living day by day in the chaotic third region, everyone wanted to go to the hopeful first region!”
“But Master Longtu did not wish to be at someone’s mercy, and the tycoons rejected the Shadow King’s offer. The Shadow King could only sigh and leave. With the third region not cooperating, the few strong individuals in the first region could not protect all the people from the third region. There was a high probability of total annihilation.”
Ye Du and Ye Wu looked despondent when they mentioned this. Even the lowest of the low like them knew that for humans to win, the five major regions needed to merge into one, but those at the top disagreed. A distance of more than a thousand kilometers was not that far. Jiang Li seemed thoughtful; he had a small idea.
Jiang Li did not take Ye siblings’ word for it. He wandered around the city.
“Sixteen, virgin, skilled in machinery repair and programming, can tolerate multiple kinky games.”
“Nineteen, virgin, adept at mathematical theories, possesses strong mental calculation abilities, is fluent in multiple languages.” “Twenty-three, married, proficient in law and ancient poetry, good oral skills.”
“Twenty-eight, former actress, can perform various roles.”
“Thirty, strong, eats little, works a lot.”
The slaves, grimy and tired, had a sign in front of them that advertised their age, specialties, etc. They wore iron collars around their necks; with a push of a button, the collars could inject a fatal dose of poison. After a few minutes of agonizing pain, they would soon die.
In the slave market, the tycoons were frequent customers.
In the private gladiatorial arena, enhancers were fighting each other to death, with only one allowed to survive.
The tycoons laughed and discussed the outcome of the battles as they clinked their glasses with each other.
“Please, give us something to eat… Please…”
The people on the brink of starvation murmured weakly. Living in the city required expensive city fees, and the price kept increasing. They barely managed to contribute some contribution points to purchase food before, but now they had to use all their contribution points to pay the city fee; they had no extra contribution points left for food.
The tycoons monopolized the farmland, allowing only their staff to farm there. The grains they grew were genetically modified with a short growth cycle, high productivity, and would decay within a few days if not consumed.
The tycoons sold these grains at exorbitant prices. At the end of each day, they destroyed all the unsold grains taking up space.
These genetically modified grains originated from the first region. There, these grains cost only a twentieth of the price, and the farmland was not monopolized by the tycoons.
The Shadow King encouraged the expansion of arable land and the establishment of a stable base.
However, in the third region, the tycoons forbade anyone from privately expanding land. Anyone who violated this order was executed on the spot.
The tycoons feared assassination by guns and thus inflated the price of firearms and refused to sell long-range, large-caliber sniper rifles. As a result, many first-rank enhancers had to fight zombies with cold weapons, like dancing on the edge of swords.
The tycoons also numbered all firearms. If the gun’s number and type did not correspond due to unauthorized modifications, they would arrest the offender immediately. Whether they lived or died depended on whether they could afford to pay contribution points.
People who couldn’t afford the exorbitant medical fees were thrown out of the hospital by the doctor who stopped their surgery and even their anesthesia, to fend for themselves.
Jiang Li treated this person, but he didn’t feel happy about it. This was a temporary solution that didn’t tackle the actual problem, not even on the surface.
Food, arms, medicine – all these areas were dominated by the tycoons. Although there were many tycoons in the third region who competed against each other, the majority cooperated to raise prices.
Jiang Li also saw the tycoons using their profits for personal extravagance and enjoyment, with no intention of studying science to restore the original order of humanity.
Jiang Li observed every detail within the city. Eventually, he stood at the doorstep of a tycoon and sighed, “The Corpse-Driving Sect is not suitable for the third region. Only dark magic is.”
Ye Du was correct, the third region will not perish due to the zombie waves, but at the hands of these tycoons..
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