“Cough, cough, cough…”
That bird wasn’t coughing.
Hou Junji, however, coughed violently, his face flushed red.
Chu Che nudged Chen Ye’s arm.
Chen Ye wisely shut his mouth.
Chu Che smoothed things over: “Uh, our apologies. What Chen Ye meant was, how much credit could your council extend to people like us?”
Hou Junji felt a little better.
He now had a bit more insight into these two.
That one-eyed guy was clearly a reckless brute.
In contrast, the nearly bald man was the captain, and also gave off a sense of reliability.
Little did he know, Chen Ye and Chu Che were putting on a deliberate act in front of him.
One played the bad cop, the other the good cop.
Chen Ye and Chu Che had long since honed the skill of understanding each other’s thoughts with just a glance.
Of course, that initial outburst of “Just give it to us!” wasn’t an act.
It was just that Chen Ye’s inner thoughts were so intense that he momentarily lost control of his mouth.
There was no helping it—that Chen Ye was just too greedy.
That second line about “borrow as much as you can lend,” however, was indeed a coordinated move between Chen Ye and Chu Che.
The meaning behind it was half-truth, half-act.
“Here’s the deal. If you two have something to use as collateral, we could lend you a bit more.”
“What kind of collateral?”
“Things like Wonders, for example.”
Chen Ye and Chu Che exchanged a glance.
Wonders?
Dream on.
A look of dissatisfaction spread across Chen Ye’s face. “Elder Hou, don’t you know how precious Wonders are?”
“We’re about to head to Xi City. If we hand over our Wonders as collateral now, our strength will take a hit. Wouldn’t that be asking for death?”
“Yezi, don’t talk nonsense. Elder Hou must have his own considerations!”
There they went, acting again.
Their synergy was simply unmatched.
Sometimes, Chen Ye played the fool; sometimes, Captain Chu did.
This time, it was Chen Ye’s turn.
Either way, they sold the act pretty well.
Who told him to accidentally let his inner thoughts slip earlier?
The role of the fool was his and his alone.
Otherwise, Hou Junji would never lend these two a single coin.
Not far away.
Little Fish shook her head and looked at the man in the tailcoat with pity in her eyes. “Sigh… looks like another fool is about to be taken for a ride!”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
The pink-haired girl quickly stopped Little Fish from spouting nonsense.
She knew that Superhumans had far better hearing than ordinary people.
If the man over there overheard, it could bring a heap of trouble for both Chu Che and Chen Ye.
Not that Sun Xixi would go out of her way to do anything about it.
But she wasn’t about to stop Chen Ye and Chu Che’s plans either.
Luckily, Hou Junji was fully engaged in negotiations with Chen Ye and Chu Che and wasn’t paying attention to them.
Otherwise, he definitely would have heard.
And maybe then the Silent Council wouldn’t have so quickly established a “debt collection department” later on.
Little Fish pursed her lips and muttered under her breath, “Cousin, you’re getting bad too!”
“Hmph!”
Sun Xixi let out a cold snort.
Little Fish grumbled, “I don’t know about others, but I know Chen Ye well enough. Seriously!”
Hou Junji was now locked in a fierce clash with Chu Che and Chen Ye.
Getting them to put up Wonders as collateral was simply impossible.
Chen Ye would never leave his Wonders in someone else’s hands.
And neither would Chu Che.
Chen Ye’s eyes lit up, and he said, “Elder Hou, how about this? We’ll still use our Wonders as collateral, but you lend them back to us for the time being!”
“What do you think of that idea?”
Hearing Chen Ye’s suggestion, Chu Che quickly coughed twice. “Ahem, ahem…”
Yezi, can you dial back that fooling-the-idiot expression?
You idiot, you’ve practically got the words “I want free stuff” written all over your face.
Hou Junji’s face darkened again.
Did you take me for an idiot? If I take them as collateral, the stuff stays in your hands?
You think this is a real estate mortgage?
Where I just need the deed?
“Well…”
Elder Hou hesitated.
There was no help for it—the Silent Gold Coin was proving very hard to circulate at the moment.
It was rare to find two people who were interested in it, and Elder Hou saw this as a golden opportunity to break through.
Everything was hard at the start.
Elder Hou didn’t want to let this chance slip by.
But these two clearly weren’t going to use Wonders to get a loan.
And they refused to use food as collateral either!
“How about this, Elder Hou? Does your council have any credit loan policies? We could use our own credit as a guarantee!”
Chu Che suggested when he saw Hou Junji struggling with the decision.
Ten minutes later.
Elder Hou agreed that the Silent Gold Coin’s first loan would be made on a credit basis.
Of course, Elder Hou wasn’t about to lend them too much.
Each of them took out a loan of two hundred Silent Gold Coins.
On a credit model.
Hou Junji held up a phone and aimed the camera at Chen Ye.
“Come on, open your mouth!”
“Shake your head!”
“Lift your chin!”
“Good. Squad Leader Chu, your turn…”
The two of them bobbed their heads around in front of that rarely seen phone from after the apocalypse.
Just like that, both completed the loan agreement.
The reason Elder Hou agreed to this loan was simple.
He wanted to break into the market.
As long as Chen Ye and Chu Che used the borrowed money to exchange for Wonders or supplies.
Then other people would find out.
And they, too, would come to him for loans.
That would open the floodgates.
Everything was hard at the start—especially for something like this.
Back in the day, before the apocalypse, there was a type of electronic currency online. When it first launched.
Just by registering an account, you’d get fifty for free.
Even then, so many people passed by that booth, and not a single one thought to sign up.
And back then, various online loans were all the rage. Some only required a phone number and an ID to get cash.
Later, all you had to do was shake your head at your phone’s camera, and you’d get money too.
Just like what Elder Hou was doing now.
Hou Junji finished explaining the repayment terms to the two and was about to leave.
Just as he turned and walked to the entrance of the Fair Convoy’s camp.
A short little girl with a cocky expression walked over, hands shoved in her pockets.
She was a very cute kid.
Hou Junji had just gotten the Silent Gold Coin business off the ground.
He was in a pretty good mood, even though he had a vague feeling of unease for some reason.
But at least things had started.
Hou Junji wanted to tease the little girl.
The little girl, however, totally ignored him. She just tossed her head and coldly tossed out, “Fool!”
Then she walked off coolly.
Hou Junji was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and left the Fair Convoy’s camp.
Truth be told, Chen Ye and the others had been willing to put up some things as collateral.
But it was things like broken bowls and cracked pots—things Chen Ye and his group were willing to pawn, but Hou Junji wasn’t willing to accept.
The Silent Council wasn’t short of that kind of junk.
Little Fish watched Chen Ye and Chu Che’s underhanded collusion and walked over coldly.
“Heh… ptui~~”
Then she shot them a look of utter disdain.
Chen Ye: “Come on, Little Fish, where did you pick up that nasty habit?”
Little Fish ignored Chen Ye and rolled her eyes at the two. “Aren’t you two afraid the Silent Council will come after you?”
Chu Che was in a great mood. He had seen just a moment ago, in the Silent Council’s shop.
There were plenty of Revitalization Talismans available for exchange.
If he could get his hands on those talismans, all the expired food in the convoy could be saved.
Hearing Little Fish’s question, Chu Che let out a sly grin. “It’s the apocalypse now, and you’re still thinking about paying back a loan? Your brain’s fried, girl!”
Little Fish snorted coldly. “Figures! Hmph! The adult world is just this dirty!”
Chu Che was a bit annoyed. “I borrowed the money with my own skills. Why should I pay it back?”
As soon as he said that, the people nearby all looked at Captain Chu with shock in their eyes.
Especially Gong Yong.
At that moment, Gong Yong’s understanding of Captain Chu Che deepened another level.
He had already thought Captain Chu’s stealing that sheep was shameless enough.
But now, he was even more shameless!
Captain Chu’s moral bottom line ranked second-to-last in the convoy.
And even that second-to-last spot couldn’t hold up under everyone’s disdainful stares.
Captain Chu pointed at Chen Ye. “I was speaking for Chen Ye. Those were his words!”
Chen Ye shot Captain Chu a cold glance and snorted. “Hmph, I never said anything like that!”
“A loan must be repaid—that’s only right and proper!”
“That’s my personal code of conduct! Squad Leader Chu, don’t fling your dirty water at me!”
“I’m not like you!”
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