Chapter 45: Shadows and Schemes

Guo Hanshan and Kento both swallowed hard. Just a dozen days ago, if someone had handed them dog meat and asked if they wanted to eat it, they would have refused and even scolded the person for how they could possibly eat cute doggies!

However, right now, any morsel of food was precious beyond measure. Anyone who had lived through half a month of the apocalypse deeply engraved one rule in their minds: anything edible must not be wasted.

Therefore, Guo Hanshan and Kento, who had always rejected dog meat, found themselves unable to refuse the meat in Jiang Yi's hands...

Yet, in the end, they didn't get to eat the delicious dog meat!

In the end, Dongfang Tian still remembered that today's major harvest was thanks to Guo Hanshan and her companions. After butchering the dog carcass, he personally brought over a large basin of meat, enough for the three of them to stuff themselves. Seeing the three of them seemingly in the middle of a discussion, Dongfang Tian didn't mind interrupting them in the slightest: "You must be hungry, come and try this meat! It's a shame there's no kitchen here, so we can only manage a simple stew."

The large basin of soup bones emitted a faint aroma, and the three of them didn't stand on ceremony. After all, this was their prey; eating their fill was entirely justified!

Jiang Yi handed each of the other two a marrow bone, then grabbed one for himself and took a bite. Instantly, Jiang Yi's brows furrowed instinctively. After struggling to swallow the stringy meat in his mouth, he looked at the other two. It was clear they were also finding the meat difficult to swallow!

Dongfang Tian chuckled, "Hard to chew, isn't it? It's probably due to animal mutation. While their meat is edible, the texture isn't great. Still, a few hundred pounds of meat will keep us fed for a long time!"

Clearly, Dongfang Tian already knew how poor the meat was! Honestly speaking, Jiang Yi's anticipation for beast meat vanished completely.

The meat in his mouth was tough and stringy, just like overcooked old pork without any tenderness! It was worlds apart from the jade-like fat meat in his own spatial dimension...

However, just as Dongfang Tian said, in the current world, who could afford to be picky? Being able to fill one's stomach was enough to be content. Frowning as they bit by bit tore the meat in their hands into shreds to swallow, the three of them managed to finish their respective bones and refused to look at the basin of meat again.

A flash of displeasure crossed Dongfang Tian's eyes, but he still smiled and had someone remove the meat basin before getting down to business. "Hanshan, I heard you've been looking for those powerful zombies. Are you searching for zombie cores? If you need them, I can provide you with some!" With that, Dongfang Tian produced two red zombie cores from his pocket. Reluctant yet forcing his hand back from instinctively pulling them back, he handed them to Guo Hanshan.

Guo Hanshan glanced at the cores and looked away again. "Thank you, Dongfang Tian, but you should keep them for yourself. You must have already tried them!"

Dongfang Tian hadn't expected Guo Hanshan to resist the temptation of the zombie cores, but he still nodded. "That's right, I've already tested them. Consuming zombie cores can make one's abilities even stronger!"

Thinking of the casualties suffered while hunting zombies, Dongfang Tian couldn't help but shudder. If he could help it, he never wanted to face those terrifying evolved zombies in a dream again.

Yet his ambition refused to allow him to be cowardly. After losing over a dozen subordinates, he had finally managed to obtain five zombie cores. One had been used for an experiment on an ordinary male student, resulting in the boy exploding into a bloody mist!

The second one was consumed by Li Gang. To be fair, Li Gang was exceptionally strong, yet he relied heavily on Dongfang Tian. When asked, Li Gang hadn't hesitated much before swallowing it, and as a result, his abilities grew stronger by thirty percent!

It was only then that Dongfang Tian dared to swallow the third zombie core, successfully allowing his ice ability to project outward!

However, he dared not consume the remaining two. First, the zombie cores didn't entirely belong to him alone; if he absorbed all of them himself, while perhaps no one would openly object, it would undoubtedly plant a thorn in the hearts of his subordinates. Moreover, Dongfang Tian couldn't be sure if these powerful zombie cores could be consumed consecutively. Extremely protective of his own life, he dared not take the risk...

Seeing Guo Hanshan repeatedly refuse his 'good intentions,' Dongfang Tian 'helplessly' took back the zombie cores and suddenly turned to look at Jiang Yi. "Classmate Jiang Yi is an ability user too, right? I know you want to hunt for zombie cores, but you should know that zombies with cores are extremely powerful. Relying solely on you and Kento, or even with Hanshan included, it's impossible to come out unscathed every time. How about this? Since you and Kento have no plans to join our group, why don't we temporarily team up to hunt zombies?"

Jiang Yi was startled and instinctively wanted to refuse. After a moment's thought, however, he looked at Guo Hanshan. "This depends on Hanshan's decision. If she agrees, I have no objections!"

Dongfang Tian was slightly taken aback and turned to look at a puzzled Guo Hanshan. "Oh? So Hanshan, do you agree? Don't worry, I'll take good care of you!"

Guo Hanshan furrowed her brow, failing to understand why Dongfang Tian was asking for her opinion when Jiang Yi was clearly the leader. Still, she had no wish to accept the proposal, though she also understood Dongfang Tian's persistence. After pondering for a moment, she nodded. "Alright then, we'll go hunt zombies together tomorrow, but how will the harvest be divided?"

Having managed a club before, Guo Hanshan naturally possessed basic negotiation skills. With today's precedent of Dongfang Tian snatching the beast carcass, even though he was still her friend, Guo Hanshan wanted to make this point crystal clear.

Dongfang Tian frowned, a trace of dissatisfaction flashing in his heart toward Guo Hanshan. He disliked her current attitude of calculating everything so precisely with him.

Yet, seeing Guo Hanshan's stern, strictly business-like expression, he knew that without a clear explanation, she might refuse his proposal. Having never considered this beforehand, he quickly formulated a plan and said, "Here is what we'll do: you'll come out with my squad. Out of the zombie cores we hunt, you can have one for every five we get. As for food and supplies, they can be split evenly per capita."

Guo Hanshan's pretty eyes widened in anger. "Dongfang Tian, you're going too far! We have two ability users on our side, while your entire team only has two as well. Don't you think you're playing games with me with this kind of distribution?"

Dongfang Tian tightened his jaw; he hated Guo Hanshan's nitpicking. But thinking that no matter how many promises he made, they wouldn't actually be able to take anything away in the end, he summoned the patience to barter back and forth with Guo Hanshan for quite a while before finally reaching an agreement!

Both sides would hunt together. Of the zombie cores obtained, Dongfang Tian would take two and Guo Hanshan one!

Moreover, the second core hunted must belong to Jiang Yi's team! If there were fewer than three cores tomorrow, they must still be allocated at least one!

As for supplies, Jiang Yi's group would not be responsible for transporting them, receiving only one-tenth of the total value of the supplies.

Kento stared in wide-eyed amazement as Guo Hanshan and Dongfang Tian negotiated back and forth until an agreement was finally reached. Only then did he understand why the two of them had become club presidents.

It wasn't just their strength; more importantly, they were both competent managers!

Knowing he lacked this talent, Kento wisely kept quiet and huddled off to the side to watch the show. Jiang Yi frowned. At heart, he didn't want to cooperate with Dongfang Tian. First, he didn't trust Dongfang Tian, and second, his own abilities dictated that he wasn't suited for cooperation with others.

However, Jiang Yi knew he couldn't look out only for himself forever. Exposing his abilities in front of Guo Hanshan and Kento was just the first step; he had to face more people. Otherwise, no matter how strong his individual strength was, what meaning was there in being a lone wolf?

The most important thing was to gradually and reasonably display his capabilities. After finalizing the terms with Guo Hanshan, Dongfang Tian cast a cold glance at the brooding Jiang Yi. Whatever they wanted, he would let them have—provided they lived long enough to use them!

Whether it was the zombie cores or Guo Hanshan, everything would eventually be his!

When Jiang Yi cleared his thoughts, he found that Dongfang Tian had already led his people away, while Guo Hanshan and Kento were sorting out supplies for the next day. Handing a bottle of healing potion to Kento, Jiang Yi said, "Drink it. You've waited long enough."

Jiang Yi's plain yet sincere words warmed Kento's heart. Without hesitation, Kento took the bottle, pulled out the stopper, gazed intently at Jiang Yi for a moment, and threw his head back to drink the potion.

Having already confirmed that items produced by his ability could be used by others, Jiang Yi wasn't overly worried. Soon, he heard Kento grunt softly, cold sweat beading on his forehead as he gritted his teeth against the agony of his left arm bones resetting!

Fortunately, the healing potion's power was immense: while reconstructing the bones and flesh, it also numbed Kento's pain!

Kento's injury wasn't as severe as Jiang Yi's had been previously. With a single bottle of potion, the abundant energy not only completely healed his entire arm bone but also erased the scars left by years of rigorous training. By the time the medicinal effects completely faded, Kento looked as though he had just been washed by water, yet his dark brown pupils shone with extraordinary brilliance. Sweeping away his previous dejected aura, he beamed, bid Jiang Yi farewell, and grabbed his bag to take a shower.

It was only then that Guo Hanshan looked at Jiang Yi with deep worry. "Are we really going to act together with Dongfang Tian tomorrow?"

Jiang Yi nodded. "Didn't you already negotiate terms with them?"

Guo Hanshan shook her head and said firmly, "Forget it. I know you don't trust Dongfang Tian. To be honest, after the apocalypse, I don't even know if Dongfang Tian is still the person I once knew. Acting with someone like this is no different from conspiring with a tiger."

Jiang Yi looked at the worried Guo Hanshan and suddenly smiled. "Then why did you agree to him?"

Guo Hanshan gave Jiang Yi a sidelong glance. "That's because I understand him. If I had refused him today, he would have found every possible way to drag us out with him tomorrow. That's why I temporarily agreed to his proposal."

Jiang Yi looked at her with feigned pity. "Then you really are pathetic, putting on such a long act with him just for our sake!"

Guo Hanshan glared at Jiang Yi's exaggerated expression and punched him straight in the chest, making him cough with a gasp. "Are you trying to usurp the throne?!"

Guo Hanshan snorted coldly. "Who told you to still make fun of me!"

Just then, Kento returned. His reappearance made Jiang Yi and Guo Hanshan's eyes light up. Kento was no longer wearing his previous gloomy practice uniform; instead, he had changed back into a deep green kimono...