C21 Thirty Thousand Kilograms of Rice!

Yang Hanshuang was taken aback when Shen Chen unexpectedly asked her to escort him. She hesitated briefly before rising to her feet, silencing the jeering crowd with a single piercing glance.

"Don't overthink it," Shen Chen said dismissively. "I asked Hanshuang to accompany me because I need her assistance with something else."

With that, he strode away, leaving Yang Hanshuang to follow, her curiosity piqued. Once they had left the Cloud Mountain Base, she couldn't resist asking, "What do you need me for?"

"I have a question for you," Shen Chen replied earnestly, prompting Yang Hanshuang to lean in with interest. "Go ahead."

"How much rice do you think it would take to meet the needs of this region?"

Yang Hanshuang found the question odd. "Why ask that? Haven't you sold all your rice already?"

Shen Chen offered a knowing smile. "Remember when I said I'd change the survivors' fortunes? Do you recall that?"

She chuckled. "It sounded pretty bold at the time, and it's not often you make such grand statements. But later, it seemed a bit far-fetched. From what I've gathered, there's a significant number of survivors in the territory controlled by the three major bases. They're just dispersed. To achieve saturation, we'd need at least tens of thousands of kilograms, minimum."

"Tens of thousands of kilograms would suffice? So rice won't be as precious anymore?" Shen Chen mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. A chill ran down Yang Hanshuang's spine. "You don't mean you have that much rice!"

"Exactly. I intend to ensure everyone has a better life," Shen Chen declared, picking up the pace. Yang Hanshuang kept up, her tone serious. "I'm not kidding around. Where could you possibly get that much rice? I can't believe anyone in this apocalypse could supply such an amount. And how come there's no word of anyone else selling rice in the nearby areas? It seems like you're the only supplier in this entire apocalypse."

It was a valid question, but Shen Chen wasn't ready to reveal all his secrets just yet. He chuckled and offered a playful excuse. "Perhaps my boss thinks I'm good-looking, so he decided to give me a few more tons of rice."

Yang Hanshuang found herself at a loss for words. Shen Chen had trivialized the matter of several tons of rice as if it were mere child's play, leaving her skeptical about the truth of the situation.

As they made their way back, Shen Chen didn't seem to care which route they took. Numerous zombies, drawn by the scent of the living, converged on them. Strangely, they bypassed Shen Chen as if he were invisible, focusing their attack solely on Yang Hanshuang, much to her irritation. "Why don't they go after you?"

"Like I said, good-looking guys get special treatment everywhere, apocalypse included. Maybe these zombies used to be women who still harbor a crush on handsome men," Shen Chen quipped.

"You're... despicable!" Yang Hanshuang retorted, incinerating several zombies with a flick of her hand, her voice dripping with contempt. She even extended her hand, demanding the medicine that made zombies overlook Shen Chen.

"Why are you so single-minded? I'm just good-looking, that's all," Shen Chen boasted, nearly on the verge of flaunting his looks in front of the zombies.

With an icy demeanor, Yang Hanshuang dispatched zombies, collecting a substantial number of Level-1 Crystal Cores and even several Level-2 Crystal Cores along the way.

"A hundred Level-1 Crystal Cores can be traded for one Level-2 Crystal Core. You're not getting the short end of the stick this time," Shen Chen pointed out.

Yang Hanshuang kept silent, frustrated by Shen Chen's miserly nature—he wouldn't even share his medicine.

Upon their return, Yang Hanshuang made to leave, but Shen Chen shamelessly grabbed her arm. "Don't you want to take a look at the glistening rice? There's a whopping 30,000 kilograms of it."

"Your nonsense again? Do you take me for a fool? Thirty thousand kilograms could saturate this entire region," she scoffed, her disbelief evident.

Yang Hanshuang's skepticism didn't stop Shen Chen, who dragged her to the store. As the vault door swung open, she was utterly astounded.

Bags upon bags were stacked inside, and when Shen Chen opened one, it revealed grains of rice so brilliantly white they were almost blinding.

"Oh my god, when did all of this get here?" she exclaimed, her disbelief giving way to awe.

Yang Hanshuang was baffled. She had clearly seen the rice in the vault sell out completely, and now it seemed to have materialized from nowhere.

"Pretty astounding, isn't it? There's 30,000 kilograms here, but the boss jacked up the prices," Shen Chen said with a grin. It took a moment for Yang Hanshuang to gather her wits. "I thought it was too good to be true, selling rice so cheaply. Did your boss realize he was taking a loss and decide to hike the prices back up?"

"Maybe. Now it's one level-one crystal nucleus per kilogram."

"..."

"Too pricey for you?" Shen Chen teased, waving his hand in front of a stunned Yang Hanshuang, who managed a wry smile. "I just can't fathom what your boss is thinking."

"Neither can I grasp the eccentricities of the wealthy. Pretend he's on a mission to save the world, and I'm his world-saving envoy."

Annoyed, Yang Hanshuang snorted dismissively at Shen Chen's arrogance, but she triple-checked the rice to ensure there were no issues.

"In reality, the price hasn't changed much from before. Level-1 Crystal Cores are easy for anyone to come by. The real question is whether there's a sales period and an exchange limit, or if it's unlimited daily."

Shen Chen had an epiphany at her words, slapping his forehead as he realized the system hadn't mentioned any daily purchase limits this time. That meant people could exchange for a substantial amount!

His eyes sparkled with the revelation. The difference between having limits and not was monumental. Limits meant aggressive marketing was necessary; without them, there was less to worry about.

He was about to share the insight with Yang Hanshuang but thought better of it.

If all the rice went to Cloud Mountain Base, it wouldn't bode well. Given the aggressive nature of the two larger bases, they would surely target Cloud Mountain Base. Sticking to the previous sales strategy was the best course—allowing each person to exchange a bit more each day while continuing to grow the store's influence, setting the stage for future product releases.

"Hey, lost in thought?" Yang Hanshuang nudged Shen Chen, snapping him out of his reverie.

Regaining his focus, Shen Chen added, "There's a three-kilogram limit per person per day. With thirty thousand kilograms in stock, that means we need ten thousand visits to sell out within ten days."

"Ten thousand visits, huh?" Yang Hanshuang nodded. "That's not too challenging, but inevitably, some of the rice will end up in Ocean Mountain Base and Han Iron Base."

"That's precisely why I sought you out to talk about this," Shen Chen said.

With a decisive slap on his thigh, he locked up the vault and headed out the door.

"You're suggesting we find a way to handle them?" Yang Hanshuang was taken aback by Shen Chen's resolve. "Isn't that overthinking it? They wouldn't endlessly come to blows over some rice."

"Exactly. We need to devise a plan to set them against each other. It's the only way Cloud Mountain Base stands a chance."

Yang Hanshuang fell silent. She grasped Shen Chen's logic, but the idea seemed nearly impossible to execute. Besides, the two bases had already clashed earlier that day, both sides taking hits and gaining nothing. They were likely simmering with rage—provoking them now seemed unwise.

"I might have a strategy, though I'm not sure it'll work."

A mischievous grin spread across Shen Chen's face.