C23 Playing Big!

Yang Hanshuang fell silent, her beautiful eyes brimming with despair.

Shen Chen lifted his gaze to the bewildered Amu and the ruefully smiling Liu Yunshan. He sighed inwardly, "These guys are really strapped for cash. Oh well, there's a way to play even when you're broke, though it comes with a bit more risk."

Amidst Yang Hanshuang's complex stare, he stowed away the sixty Level-3 Crystal Cores. Noticing her slight dejection, he understood—those cores she'd saved up were now all spent. "Don't worry," he reassured her, "according to my plan, you'll get every single Crystal Core back, and there might even be a pleasant surprise in store." Shen Chen chuckled as he rose to his feet, leaving the three looking on in dazed anticipation. "Surprise? What kind of surprise? Hopefully, it's not a shock."

"Alright, everyone head back and get ready. The show's about to start."

With a yawn, Shen Chen headed off, and the others wasted no time in dispersing to make their preparations.

When Gouza arrived, Shen Chen filled him up with several bowls of rice. Once he had eaten his fill, Shen Chen was about to propose a deal, but Gouza beat him to it, slapping his chest in assurance, "Handing out flyers or whatever you need, no problem."

"Hand out flyers my foot. I need you to act in a play for me," Shen Chen said with a mischievous grin. Gouza, still confused, found himself unceremoniously booted into the bathroom.

"Clean yourself up before you even think of coming out to talk. You reek."

...

That afternoon, Yang Hanshuang personally delivered several suits, accompanied by a few others.

The suits were immaculate, a rare find in this post-apocalyptic world and a symbol of status. However, there was an off-putting scent to them—a faint trace of blood. Yang Hanshuang blushed, explaining, "These were salvaged from a renowned clothing brand. They were stained with blood, and it took considerable effort to clean them. They look spotless on the surface, but if you sniff closely, there's still a lingering odor."

"That'll do," Shen Chen cut her off. He glanced at the men from Cloud Mountain Base who had come along, picked out a white suit for himself, and left the rest for them to wear.

A few of them dashed out in a daze to change clothes, and when they returned, they were quite the sight. Without the surrounding decay to give them away, you'd never guess they were standing amidst the desolate ruins of the apocalypse.

Shen Chen hauled Gouza, who was snoring away on the bed, into the bathroom and instructed him to smarten up before reemerging.

Soon after, Gouza's self-satisfied chuckles echoed from the bathroom, sounding downright foolish to anyone listening.

Yang Hanshuang scowled. "Are you sure the guy you picked is alright?"

"He's fine, but your crew has issues. They're not even level 3; they're not ready for the spotlight."

Shen Chen was blunt, and his brothers hung their heads in embarrassment.

Shen Chen's gaze lingered on Yang Hanshuang's impeccable figure as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. She caught on, turned, and left, only to return shortly in a sleek black leather outfit and dark sunglasses, her hair cascading down. She was the epitome of cool—a veritable goddess.

Pleased, Shen Chen distributed the treasured sunglasses he'd found while scavenging to the others.

With a creak, the bathroom door swung open.

Gouza, now rid of the grime and clad in a pristine white suit, was transformed. His hair, once greasy, now gleamed, slicked back in a stylish pompadour.

Shen Chen approved of their new looks. He went over the plan once more before entrusting the crystal nucleus back to Yang Hanshuang.

As time slipped by, the once-empty streets began to teem with life. Scavengers mingled with the elite from the three bases, and even the leader of Ocean Mountain Base made an appearance.

A young man at the pinnacle of level 3 water abilities, Chen Yue, smiled with a sinister softness, his deep blue eyes radiating a formidable presence.

Shen Chen inwardly remarked on the danger; no wonder Ocean Mountain Base could stand toe-to-toe with Han Iron Base—Chen Yue's power likely matched that of Blind Chung.

The representatives from the three bases brought rice, but the quantities were disappointing, hinting at their skepticism about the rumors.

Recently, they got wind of a super base coming to town to purchase rice, offering a price of at least a few thousand per kilogram.

"Our Ocean Mountain Base and Cloud Mountain Base stand to make a killing," Chen Yue remarked casually to Liu Yunshan. His words, though, were intended for Blind Chung of Han Iron Base, who had little rice to his name—what little he had was pilfered from Ocean Mountain Base.

"Brother Chen, you're telling me the two of you get rich while Han Iron Base just watches? That doesn't seem right," Blind Chung fumed, frustrated by his inability to produce more than a measly twenty kilograms at such a pivotal time.

"That's plenty. That twenty kilograms is ill-gotten gains anyway. One should be content with what they have," Chen Yue retorted, unafraid to mock Blind Chung for his theft from Ocean Mountain Base.

Liu Yunshan, Amu, and the rest of the Cloud Mountain Base crew kept their distance, not wanting to get caught up in any potential scuffle.

At this juncture, fighting over rice seemed pointless unless they were going to outright steal from others.

Blind Chung, to everyone's surprise, was prepared to do just that. But rather than target Ocean Mountain Base or Cloud Mountain Base, he preyed on the scavengers exchanging rice. Chaos erupted in the streets; those who surrendered their rice were merely kicked, while others suffered broken limbs amid the cacophony of screams—an appalling sight.

From a corner, Shen Chen watched with a cold smirk. Blind Chung, who had risen to lead his own, was ruthlessly showing his true colors.

The low-level scavengers stood no chance against Han Iron Base's onslaught, their curses and cries echoing through the streets. The onlookers from the two bases watched with indifference. Even Baldie seemed tempted to join in. "Big brother, shouldn't we grab some fresh pickings too?"

Chen Yue cut him off, "We can't stoop to that level."

Amu spat in disgust, and Liu Yunshan gestured for silence, "Let's just stand by and watch, like good scavengers."

"But boss, Blind Chung is just despicable. He's ruthless even towards the scavengers."

"There's no helping it; it's a dog-eat-dog world."

...

Shen Chen had seen everything. Blind Chung was utterly unprincipled, and it was unexpected that he would strike at the scavengers. Now, Shen Chen knew he had to find a way to make it up to those poor souls in the future.

On the side, Shen Chen could see that Yang Hanshuang was seething with rage, flames seemingly leaping from her phoenix eyes behind her sunglasses. He whispered a reminder, "Calm down. Remember, you're not Yang Hanshuang right now. You're posing as an attendant to the super base's procurement officer."

Yang Hanshuang took a deep breath and managed to quell her fury.

Once the Han Iron Base crew had happily looted their spoils and returned to their turf, Shen Chen gave the signal to get ready. He changed his appearance and was the first to step out of the alley, with Gouza mockingly trailing behind, his nose wrinkled in disgust, "This place is a dump. It reeks like sun-baked manure."

"You hear yourself? As if there's anywhere that smells good these days," Shen Chen responded with a forced smile. The sound drew the attention of passersby on the street, and even the weeping scavengers fell silent.

"Enough already. I'm not here to chit-chat. Where's the rice? Don't you dare tell me you're out. I didn't come all this way for nothing."

Gouza was putting on quite the act, throwing around 'I' as if he meant business.

Shen Chen felt a pang of anxiety, "I'm sorry, Brother Qin. There was rice yesterday, but it's all been sold."

"What did you say?!" Gouza's face twisted, his beady eyes narrowing maliciously, "No more rice?"

As his voice pitched up eight notches, Yang Hanshuang stepped forward briskly, her hand snapping around Shen Chen's throat and hoisting him into the air.

In that instant, the crowd erupted into chaos.