When Horn Ting's figure had also departed, Fu Shiwu mulled over it for a moment, "Friends, huh?"
Tang Xuhai's shoulders slumped as if lacking strength, leaning on Fu Shiwu's shoulder with his arm.
He shook Fu Shiwu gently, "Don't be sad. They've left; quality over quantity."
Fu Shiwu turned and chuckled, "I'm not sad. I had a feeling they'd leave me sooner or later."
Tang Xuhai was surprised, asking, "Why's that?"
Wen Zhaoming sneered, "Remember at the entrance of Pingnan Prison when Shi Zheng knew everything about you three who weren't present at the time?"
Tang Xuhai's expression darkened. He nodded, "I remember."
Wen Zhaoming continued, "I suspect the one who informed Shi Zheng about our situation was Ma Dong."
Fu Shiwu said, "I had a feeling someone betrayed our information back then. So, it was Ma Dong?"
Wen Zhaoming nodded, "Initially, only Liu Zhao and Wu Shan were injured during the resistance. So, where did Ma Dong get his info? Someone must have coerced it out of him."
Miao Jia realized, "So it was this guy! Despicable!"
Tang Xuhai's gaze flickered briefly, then his anger slowly faded away.
"After all, he's just an ordinary person, untrained. Not enduring torture isn't unexpected," Tang Xuhai sighed helplessly.
Ma Dong was just an average worker with no firm will. Moreover, they were a temporary team, and Ma Dong likely didn't feel the need for secrecy; it wasn't like they were in a wartime film.
Wen Zhaoming sighed too, saying, "Indeed, although he didn't endure, what could we say? It's partly my fault for oversimplifying and not considering fear; I just thought of gradually managing these aimless folks."
Wen Zhaoming had put in a lot of effort back then. They were understaffed at the warehouse, lacking the influential figures and manpower. Convincing these people to join wasn't easy.
With a touch of ruthlessness, Wen Zhaoming added, "Thankfully, your troop scared these folks away. Saves me the effort. Keeping these unstable elements among us would only bring trouble."
Liu Peiqi hesitated, "I think they're too timid and short-sighted. It's the time to redefine social status. If they don't take risks now, they'll struggle at the bottom forever."
Liu Peiqi loved his wood-based ability now. His desire was to follow powerful individuals, find potent plant seeds, and become a truly strong wood-based ability user. That's why he refused to leave.
Wen Zhaoming agreed, "You're right. Abilities improve amid peril. Ma Dong's life will be limited; he'll forever be a construction worker. Sigh..."
Miao Jia shrugged, "Well, he doesn't care. Let's not bother about them. Let's hurry and register with the troop!"
Only then did Tang Xuhai turn and select the comprehensive services option.
There were about a dozen people waiting ahead for services. So, while waiting for their turn, they wandered around.
Soon, Miao Jia, with her excellent information gathering skills, excitedly exclaimed, "Hai-ge! Shiwu-ge! I found a wanted notice for Shi Zheng!!!"
"Hmm?" Tang Xuhai immediately went to see.
It turned out that while Peicheng couldn't deal with Shi Zheng's rampant actions in Pingnan, they encouraged private troops and guilds to eradicate Shi Zheng's Wolf Gang.
Because Shi Zheng's men were brutal, they'd killed many teams traveling between other small survival bases and Peicheng, causing severe consequences. Peicheng had long posted a reward for him, but with so many powerful ability users under Shi Zheng, large troops and guilds were hesitant to confront him directly.
Despite the wanted notices for Shi Zheng and the Wolf Gang, the credibility points for completing the mission were high.
Wen Zhaoming was astounded, not expecting this turn of events.
Excitedly shaking Tang Xuhai, Miao Jia urged, "Quick, register with the troop and take on this mission!"
Shi Zheng was their target, and the Wolf Gang had fallen under their hands. They were the most legitimate ones for this.
The group's emotions surged due to this unexpected windfall. When Tang Xuhai registered with the troop, he didn't even think twice before submitting the application.
After receiving the troop registration receipt, Fu Shiwu asked, "By the way, what's our troop's name?"
Tang Xuhai looked at him speechlessly, and even Wen Zhaoming seemed to have forgotten, wearing a regretful expression of "Oh no."
He told Tang Xuhai, "You chose a name, and it's not too bad, right?"
"The Dragonbone Troop," Tang Xuhai said grumpily.
"The Dragonbone Troop?!" The others exclaimed in unison.
That guy was really lazy; isn't Dragonbone the name of his twin blades?!
"Fortunately, it's not that bad," Miao Jia sighed in relief.
Tang Xuhai handed the receipt to Wen Zhaoming, leaving him in charge of the details, including a pile of forms to fill. He had no interest in dealing with such hassle. Tang Xuhai didn't consider the inconvenience to the injured party; after all, only Lao Wen had an ID among them!
Wen Zhaoming took charge of the matters without hesitation; he wouldn't trust Fu Shiwu and Tang Xuhai with this.
When Wen Zhaoming returned, before Tang Xuhai could ask anything, he excitedly said, "Let's go! A great deal awaits!"
The group, puzzled, followed him. This physically impaired man, who'd been limping just a couple of days ago, now walked ahead swiftly, looking almost eager to dash.
"What's happening?" Fu Shiwu worried about his comrade potentially falling and followed closely behind Wen Zhaoming.
"There's a medical facility acquiring medical equipment. We can sell our batch for a good price and even the medicines!" Wen Zhaoming spoke rapidly.
Upon reaching the car, without waiting for the others to inquire about the recent events, Wen Zhaoming climbed in, seated himself, and urged them from his seat to move swiftly.
"Why the rush?" Fu Shiwu lamented, taking the driver's seat.
Wen Zhaoming seemed to have switched to the "businessman" mode, eager to profit while others were in a hurry.
Fu Shiwu asked Zhen Zi if he could drive, but Zhen Zi regretfully admitted he couldn't.
So, they had to assign Miao Jia to drive. Currently, Tang Xuhai drove the modified car, and Olande, Wang Dan, Miao Jia, and Liu Peiqi each drove a car.
Ma Dong and Horn Ting had taken their belongings when they left. At this time, without access to gasoline, owning a car was impractical. And once Horn Ting found his clan uncle, he wouldn't worry about transportation. So, no one brought up the issue of the cars; they just left
.
Even if they didn't use these cars, they couldn't abandon them. They could still trade them for work points.
Arriving at the facility, the others silently backed Wen Zhaoming's appearance as he calmly and meticulously sold all these items at the prices he deemed fit.
Initially interested in medical equipment, the facility ended up buying all the Western medicines and syringes Wen Zhaoming offered and even purchased the valuable traditional Chinese medicinal herbs!
"That's shrewd business..." Miao Jia shivered.
"Why call it shrewd?" Fu Shiwu earnestly defended his comrade, "Zhaoming's right. These traditional herbs are getting scarcer due to the mutations in flora and fauna. These less potent ones might indeed become obsolete. They might only hold value as collectibles. Truthfully, they won't be practical."
So, the medical facility bought useless items, or at least, soon-to-be-useless items.
Fu Shiwu then understood and asked, "Are there other hospitals in Peicheng? Not just that one?"
"There should be others. Why?"
"We'll surely be blacklisted."
Wen Zhaoming wasn't afraid. Finally making a lucrative deal after a long time, he felt like he'd come back to life, eager to make more.
"Don't waste time here. Let's go, go, go, to the East Development Zone. We're buying a house!"
This "acquisition" from the medical facility, or rather, the profits, were substantial.
As anticipated, medical equipment and medicines were now highly valued.
With their work points spent entirely and a fifth of their credibility points, they purchased a house in the courtyard area of West Mountain Manor, No. 7 Courtyard.
Originally villas, they'd been torn down and reconstructed into a structure capable of accommodating more people in a courtyard setting.
The former villas came with vast gardens, a space that had been previously wasted.
The reconstructed structures now had a pronounced Chinese influence, with a central small garden, a wrought iron fence at the front gate, and buildings arranged in a cluster at the back.
No. 7 Courtyard was a three-story building with over twenty rooms, each equipped with its own bathroom—quite luxurious.
"Wow! This is amazing!" Miao Jia exclaimed in awe.
Zhen Zi inspected the place and found the ground floor of the main building was a living room, spacious enough for many activities. Additionally, she discovered there was a basement that could serve as a storage space.
"It's really worth it," Zhen Zi nodded in approval.
Having such a fantastic residence upon arriving at the Peicheng base was an excellent start for them.
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