Chapter 396 – It’s A Deal!
Translated by: Kun
Edited by: Ulamog, Dedition
[Book 3: The South]
“Wait up!!” Mu Xiangling ran up to Yue Zhong, and opened her arms wide to block Yue Zhong’s path again.
Yue Zhong cocked his eyebrows and drawled: “Little rascal! Don’t ask for a yard when given an inch!*”
Mu Xiangling looked at Yue Zhong with those huge beautiful eyes of hers, as a complicated gleam flashed in her gaze: “Yue Zhong, since you’re a high-level Enhancer, you must have the capability, and you must be rich, right?”
Regardless of where or what faction, high-level Enhancers led very decent lives. This was common knowledge, and any faction would do well to win Enhancers over to their side. This was simply because Enhancers possessed incredible combat power, be it hunting zombies, Mutant Beasts or killing other humans, they were considered experts. A powerful Enhancer with tyrannical strength could easily change the flow of a battle.
Yue Zhong nodded: “That’s right!”
Mu Xiangling stared fixedly at Yue Zhong, and in a serious tone that did not match her age: “Then, please buy me!! I’m pretty, and am still a virgin! I can cook, wash, shop for groceries, manage your books, whatever! As long as you buy me, once I’m older, I can become your woman, no questions asked! If you really can’t wait, you can have me now. Even if you want to give me away as a present once you buy me, it’s fine as well!! You want me to be a doll, I’ll be a doll! Whatever ways you want to play with me, it’s all doable! As long as you can offer a good enough price!!”
Yue Zhong returned her stare and asked slowly: “What is the price to buy you then?”
Mu Xiangling did possess extraordinary looks, and when she grows up in the future, it was very possible that she could be on the same level of beauty as Guo Yu or Chen Yao. Yue Zhong could be considered the leader of over a few ten thousands of survivors over at Guangxi, and the only beautiful loli that he had come across was that Ning Ruozi, who was extremely adept at acting cute to gain his favour. As long as it was a reasonable price, he was willing to buy over this girl.
“Follow me!!” Mu Xiangling immediately turned around and walked away.
The moment she left the dark alleyway, she quickly raised her hand to tousle her hair, and then randomly grabbed some dirt off the ground to smear across herself. In just a few motions, an originally cute and pretty little girl transformed into a dirty and unbecoming little beggar.
Regardless of how beautiful a person can be, a messy and dirty appearance would belie her true appearance. Such a disguise was simple and crude, but extremely effective.
Yue Zhong observed her silently, it was obvious that this little loli knew how to protect herself, and had plenty of experience in surviving in this society. If it wasn’t for Yue Zhong, she might have gotten yet away with another day’s haul.
After her quick transformation into a little beggar, she brought Yue Zhong through random streets, before arriving at a dilapidated slum area, where the water was downright murky and rancid, and a horrible stench was present everywhere.
After tunneling about the different complicated alleys, Mu Xiangling and Yue Zhong arrived at an extremely rundown old room, as she pulled out a key to open the door.
The moment the door was pushed open, a strong medicinal scent wafted from within the house. Yue Zhong looked towards the direction of the smell, and saw a woman whose entire face looked swollen, her original features indistinguishable, and her body wrapped in blankets as she laid on a small bed.
“Mum! I’m back! Wait for a moment, I’ll go prepare medicine for you!” Mu Xiangling walked to the woman, and got a cup of water as she fed her gently, before walking into the kitchen and started making medicine again.
Yue Zhong looked at the bedridden woman, who could not even make a sound, and could roughly guess the price of buying Mu Xiangling. He looked about the room.
In the room, there was practically nothing, just a small desk, a bed, and 2 chairs. On the small desk, there were a few middle-grade books placed neatly.
Although the house was sparse, it was tidy and clean. Everything inside seemed to be free of dust, and it could be seen that the little master of this house was efficient at cleaning.
Hardworking, gentle, dedicated, efficient, tidy, these were the qualities Yue Zhong noted about Mu Xiangling just by taking in his surroundings. These, as well as the earlier act of pretending to be cute, trying to trick him, as well as her street-smart.
After brewing the medicine, Mu Xiangling fed her mother with great care, before changing her adult diapers. She washed some clothes and wiped down her body, as she then fed her porridge. Mu Xiangling bustled about for an entire hour, before heaving a sigh of relief, and bit into a biscuit as she sat beside Yue Zhong.
Mu Xiangling looked at Yue Zhong, as she maintained her serious tone and said: “As long as you can treat my mum’s illness, and leave her with 30-tonnes ration tickets! I will be yours! I know that the 30 tonnes amount is not little, as you can easily get a woman outside with just a 100-jin ration ticket. However, I’m pretty, and young, as well as a virgin! I’m great with household chores, and am athletic. Such a great bargain for 30-tonnes rations!! As long as you can buy me, I will listen to you only! Even if you wanted to kill me, I’d have no complaints! Will this do?”
Yue Zhong looked at Mu Xiangling who had been promoting herself non-stop: “30 tonnes of rations is not an issue! However, I’m not a doctor, and I have no confidence of healing her entirely. Furthermore, you have not told me what’s wrong with her.”
30 tonnes of food wasn’t something difficult for Yue Zhong to obtain. As long as he went to the 2nd Steet of Xinyang and exchanged some System equipment, he could easily get the 30 tonnes. However, the main thing was that he wasn’t a doctor, and he had no confidence of healing Mu Xiangling’s mother.
It did not seem to be an external injury for Mu Xiangling’s mother, and hence, the Life-Saving Grass which was effective for external wounds would not help her.
Mu Xiangling’s eyes turned red, as tears started to drip on the ground. She thought back to the events that had happened at the start of the apocalypse, and started crying: “I heard the doctor saying that Mum’s illness is due to a problem with her immunity. She could not defend against the various bugs and bacteria in the air, and hence, she had become like that. It’s all because of me!! Mum had passed everything good to me to eat, and she didn’t eat anything, that must be the reason for the problems in her immunity! It’s all my fault! My fault!!”
Yue Zhong frowned, and assessed the situation silently to himself: “Problems with immunity? Then items that enhance or strengthen the body should be able to correct the immunity problem, probably?”
In Yue Zhong’s possessions, there were currently 2 incredible treasures that can greatly enhance a person’s constitution. One was the Snake Birth Fruit juice, that could directly cause a person to become an Evolver, and the other was the ‘Ou Ming Ver 1’, made from the blood essence, brain cells, and the rare Mutant Plants. These 2 were equally precious, and Yue Zhong would usually only gift those subordinates who pledge steadfast loyalty to him.
Yue Zhong was also human, and he hesitated a while, seeing that the solution to the problem was expending either of his precious items on a woman he had just seen for the first time. Other than that, there was the crucial point, which was, it was just Yue Zhong’s assessment. If any of those 2 items were to have no effect on the poor woman, then not only would he lose 2 valuable liquids, but even Mu Xiangling would not be his. It was truly a gamble.
Mu Xiangling was intelligent and perceptive, she could feel Yue Zhong’s hesitation, as she pounced into his arms and cried pitifully while begging: “Yue Zhong-gege!! Please, please save my mum! You must have a way right? You’re so strong, you definitely must have a way right?!”
“I do have something! It can allow an ordinary person to instantly become an Evolver! This treasure may heal your mum, and can transform her into an Evolver. Or it could have no effect, and your mum might not even be able to withstand the effects of it and die. I’m not a doctor, and I have no means of ascertaining if this thing of mine is able to help your mum. The decision to use it lies on you!”
Yue Zhong flipped his hand, and a vial of the Snake Birth Fruit juice appeared in his hands. He looked at Mu Xiangling and said indifferently: “Little brat! I’m not a philanthropist, this is after all a precious resource that can Evolve a person. You know how valuable this is. It’s value exceeds even a thousand tonnes of rations. The moment you decide to use this, regardless of the result, you are mine. As for your mum, if she does survive this, she is to become my subordinate and fight for me! If you don’t agree, I won’t force you! You can go find other people to buy you!”
“Evolver!!” Mu Xiangling heard this, and the words shook her heart. She had heard from accounts of other people, that Evolvers were the favored children of Heaven, and their combat power was way over ordinary Enhancers. The moment a single Evolver appeared, many factions would clamor to curry favor and provide resources, just to raise a single Evolver.
Of the 900,000 people in Guilin City, the naturally awakened Evolvers were less than a hundred, each and every single one of them were famous experts. Even Mu Xiangling who belonged to the lowest caste of society had heard of their miracles. Ordinary people wished to become Enhancers, while Enhancers wished to become Evolvers.
A naturally awaked Evolver happened at the odds of 1:10,000. Of course, some places had more, while other places had less. The more humans there were, the chances of an Evolver happening is more likely.
The moment Mu Xiangling heard that her mother could become and Evolver, she became excited. However, she held herself in check, and thought carefully. The medicine in Yue Zhong’s hand had no guarantee of saving her mother, and she became conflicted again.
Mu Xiangling looked at the Snake Birth Fruit juice in Yue Zhong’s hands, and hesitated a moment, before gritting her teeth and reaching out with her palm: “I’m yours!”
Mu Xiangling took the vial of Snake Birth Fruit juice and opened it up, as she stuck out her small pink tongue to taste the liquid.
The moment that little drop of Snake Birth Fruit Juice entered her body, it transformed into a hot wave of energy and circulated within her body.
“Congratulation! You have gained an enhancement of 1 point in Spirit.”
A System notification suddenly resounded within Mu Xiangling’s mind.
“This is a true treasure!! He did not lie to me!!” Mu Xiangling finally let go of the concerns in her heart, and poured the contents of the glass vial into her mother’s mouth.
As the Snake Birth Fruit juice entered the body of Mu Xiangling’s mother, it began its tyrannical body-changing transformation, rapidly altering every single part of her body. She started to ooze huge amounts of perspiration, foul blood, impurities, and an unbearable stench started to emit from her. At the same time, her swollen face was flushed red, as she opened her mouth to gasp for air.
“What’s going on?” Mu Xiangling was horrified at her mother’s condition, and grabbed Yue Zhong’s hands, as she stared at Yue Zhong furiously. Her mother, who was most important to her, had suddenly entered into a life-threatening condition, and she was enraged, to the point that she forgot Yue Zhong was an existence that she could not possibly stand up to.
Yue Zhong replied: “Not to worry! One day, after taking in the contents of that, she will run a fever for a day. If she can resist, then her body will regain its health, and she would become an Evolver. You stay here and look after her! I will station someone to guard the place! White Bones, come out!”**
There was suddenly a distortion in space, as a hole appeared, and White Bones walked out of that hole and proceeded to stand quietly in the middle of the house and stare coldly at Mu Xiangling.
Mu Xiangling’s mind churned as she saw through Yue Zhong’s intentions: “You don’t have to do this! Since I’ve agreed to be your doll, I definitely will not renege on my promise! Of course, you can watch over me, that is your choice, Master!!”
Yue Zhong replied: “Alright! Just stay here and look after your mother! I’m leaving! Tomorrow this time, I’ll come for you guys!”
Mu Xiangling did not turn to look at him, as she focused only on caring for her mother, and replied: “En!”
Yue Zhong left the dilapidated slums in huge strides, and went back towards the direction of the 2nd Street of Xinyang again. There was a huge exchange of System items after all, and he had plenty of equipment gained from the bodies of his enemies, and he could perhaps use this chance to exchange them for a few skillbooks or appropriate equipment.
The countless scattered eyes for the Green Bamboo Gang noticed Yue Zhong, and one of them hurried to a teahouse nearby.
Pretty soon, a large group gathered under the banner of the Green Bamboo Gang followed the lead of a huge man, who was roughly 1.7m tall, dressed in a black cloak, and a huge sword hung at his waist. There was a scar on his otherwise handsome face, and his eyes shone with an intelligent light. He was roughly 19, 20, and he walked to block Yue Zhong’s path.
The small hooligan from Green Bamboo Gang pointed at Yue Zhong and said loudly: “It’s him!! Court Leader Hu, it’s him!!!”
“It’s you!!” The young man saw Yue Zhong, and was taken aback, before his eyes lit up in delight.
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TN:
* 得寸进尺: Asking for a yard when given an inch, Chinese Idiom about taking things too far.
**Technically, White Bones had become black, so….
http://www.clipartkid.com/images/547/for-this-item-background-biology-black-body-bone-bones-cartoon-dUwOhV-clipart.jpg?a