Chapter 101: Total Annihilation

As long as I resurrect enough times, I believe everyone will have a character card.

As long as I set aside my integrity, I can borrow from the entire world.

Spark Town is destined to endure an extraordinary twenty-four hours.

A massive fraud case, rare in recent years, is unfolding methodically.

...

When Ren Zhong arrived at the arms market, it was already 7:40 p.m., the peak time when many scavengers came to purchase supplies and repair equipment.

Ju Qingmeng was unusually busy, but upon seeing Ren Zhong, she immediately handed off a scavenger who had been stealthily spying on her but was too timid to look directly to her subordinate, then stepped forward with a smile: "Why are you here?"

Before breaking away from Lin Wang’s team, daytime hunting was almost equivalent to aiding the enemy, and night hunting came with a 30% tax.

Ren Zhong planned to further suppress his hunting pace and then, at the right moment, surprise everyone with a spectacular breakthrough.

This time, Ren Zhong would not change his Level 1 equipment temporarily, so Ju Qingmeng was unsure of his intentions.

His progression speed had already been pushed to a certain limit; spending a lot of effort training in the wild was no longer cost-effective.

He only needed to maintain basic combat strength and recover his power at a normal pace.

Ren Zhong smiled: "What’s wrong? Can’t I drop by just because there’s nothing special going on?"

Ju Qingmeng’s cheeks flushed slightly. "What nonsense are you talking about? Come to my office."

Once inside, the scavengers and sales clerks outside began to chat casually.

Naturally, the topic was the recent anecdote of Ju Qingmeng publicly linking arms with Ren Zhong, which left countless people feeling melancholic and heartbroken.

"I couldn’t say this outside earlier, but actually, I came to settle a bill today. You haven’t charged me for repairing my equipment yesterday."

Sitting in the leather chair, Ren Zhong spoke, breaking the ice for his visit.

He then raised his left hand, revealing a Level 1 watch still worn on his wrist, and tapped it against a transfer sticker on Ju Qingmeng’s desk marked with a Wi-Fi signal icon.

Two hundred points were transferred, bill settled.

His Level 4 watch was temporarily worn on his right hand, hidden under his sleeve.

Ju Qingmeng shook her head. "Why don’t you listen? You’re just starting out now, you really need startup capital. I can at least give you a two-week extension with my authority."

Ren Zhong sighed deeply. "More debt, no worries. I have too large a funding gap. Two hundred points won’t solve the fundamental problem."

Ju Qingmeng furrowed her brow slightly. "What do you mean?"

Ren Zhong explained, "My parameters have already surpassed Level 1, so I can wear Level 2 exoskeletons. I’ve also seriously studied ‘Sidmer’s Armor Insights’ and developed an equipment upgrade plan. If I implement this plan, there’s even a chance to make the Level 2 armor output at least 600 kilowatts. But..."

"But what?"

"You’re the expert, you understand. I’ve preliminarily calculated the costs. Even with your help, it will cost at least fifteen thousand points, which is way beyond what I have."

Ju Qingmeng thought for a moment, then took out her watch. "I’ll lend you twelve thousand."

"Thank you."

Many people misunderstand top students, assuming they must be socially awkward bookworms.

But truly bookworm-like top students are actually the minority; ordinary people just can’t fathom their world and thus make such assumptions.

The so-called low emotional intelligence displayed by top students is often just laziness to read others’ minds, deeming it unimportant.

In fact, if a highly intelligent top student wanted to play tricks on someone seriously, no one could stand against them.

When Ren Zhong left the arms market, his account balance had become 40,857.21 points.

...

"Brother Sun, what do you think?" Sun Miao put down his tablet, trembling, took a deep breath, then rubbed his temples hard. "No, I need a moment to recover."

"Damn it! How can anyone be this good at stock trading? Are you even human? You Son of a Thief, how did you do it? Teach me! Please!"

Ren Zhong smiled mysteriously. "Alright, let’s start with Ansheng Biotech… In short, as long as you can do the things I mentioned earlier, the stock market is really simple."

After a long while, Sun Miao shook his head painfully. "No, I can’t do it. I don’t have the energy to collect so much information, and even if I tried, it wouldn’t work. It’s impossible to catch so many details. Oh heavens! Oh earth! Why won’t you grant me this talent? I really need money!"

"Then, Brother Sun, don’t you want to join in? If you can’t do it, I can. I’ll carry you."

Sun Miao hesitated, "Are you really so kind? I don’t believe it."

"Brother Sun, look at my sincere eyes. When have I ever lied to you?"

"But I really have no money right now. Expenses are too high."

Ren Zhong pointed to a small door behind the clinic. "Don’t you have inventory?"

Five minutes later, a new sign was placed outside the Miracle Healing Clinic.

"All long-term consumable medicines and physical training enhancement supplements are 25% off storewide! The big sale lasts one day only, no extensions. Open tonight until 9:30 p.m., and the same tomorrow. Note: Tomorrow’s consultation fee is also 25% off. Whether sick or not, come get treated."

The neat and flowing handwriting on the sign, with iron strokes and silver paint, was clearly Ren Zhong’s handiwork.

"Brother Sun, it’s settled then."

"Good brother! Come tomorrow, I’ll give you at least ten thousand!"

"Alright, looking forward to good news. I’ll go first."

"Don’t forget, I have to restock in two weeks. You’ll owe me fifteen thousand after taxes, not a cent less!"

"Of course."

"What about the thousand I lent you before? That counts too, right?"

Ren Zhong, who had ridden his bike far ahead, stopped again with an expressionless face. "Brother Sun, we agreed that was an interest-free loan. Even brothers have to keep clear accounts, right?"

"Uh… I guess that makes sense."

Sun Miao scratched his head, feeling inexplicably disappointed, but then thought about how the inventory medicine costing 5,500 total would become worth 15,000 points in two weeks and brightened up.

...

In the squad’s courtyard.

"Zheng Tian, how much public squad funds do we have?"

"After returning this afternoon, we went to the arms market and replaced our equipment. Now there’s only a bit over two hundred points. What’s up?"

"I see, never mind."

Ren Zhong let Zheng Tian off.

Not out of mercy, but because the others in the squad were simply too poor to meet his financing threshold.

Small amounts scattered around weren’t even worth recording.

Seeing it was almost nine o’clock, Ren Zhong stood and said, "I have an appointment early tomorrow morning. I’ll go to the communal sleep pod now."

Tonight, he would quietly take off alone to participate in the Level 2 professional qualification exam, so he wouldn’t go night hunting.

At the same time, he was digging through memories, wondering if he could squeeze in some minor operations besides the exam.

Times were different now; with a larger initial capital, he felt it was a loss to lie idle for hours.

...

Almost simultaneously as he stood, Chen Hanyu, who was watching her tablet, was jolted awake by her watch alarm. She quickly got up and said to Zheng Tian beside her, "I want to adjust my biological clock recently, so I need to sleep by nine. I’m heading over now."

Chen Hanyu had been so absorbed in reading that she didn’t hear Ren Zhong’s earlier comment.

Zheng Tian was startled, looking first at Ren Zhong, then at Chen Hanyu, her mind buzzing.

Ren Zhong, focused on uncovering a hidden stock, had no time to ponder others’ assumptions, and instinctively said, "Perfect, I’m going too. Let’s go to sleep together."

Zheng Tian gasped.

Chen Hanyu was momentarily stunned, then meekly replied, "Okay."

She then lowered her head and sat on the back of Ren Zhong’s motorcycle.

After the motorcycle sped away, Zheng Tian immediately got up and headed straight to the town hall.

No need to say more; she intended to book the entire ten-person communal sleep pod, which everyone was used to sharing, converting it into VIP single rooms.

Later, she would stand guard at the door to block others; the door must not open before ten.

Holding the single room key, Zheng Tian’s heart pounded with excitement.

She thought, is one hour enough?

...

The next morning, Ren Zhong and Chen Hanyu woke up simultaneously and descended the stairs side by side.

As they walked down, Chen Hanyu curiously asked, "Mr. Ren, you seem to be in a good mood?"

Ren Zhong smiled. "Is that so? You saw through me. No wonder you’re a deconstructor—really sharp."

He was indeed a bit happy.

On the previous timeline, last night he did nothing but wait for the end of the Liancheng Reed Grain event and complete the Level 2 qualification exam.

This time, he used his time more efficiently.

Last night, he took out 27,188 points and picked a small, slightly over 25% rising stock, staging a minor comeback as a stock god.

Ultimately, his funds returned 34,040.38 points.

Adding 50 points from Level 4 watch-induced hypnosis and 2 points from Level 2 professional salary, his balance grew to 47,708.79 points.

He gained nearly seven thousand points overnight, greatly satisfying his perfectionist obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

Besides, using the Level 4 watch a day early had some benefits; his brain reaction index improved gradually.

Now, his four outstanding basic parameters stood out:

Brain-machine synchronization rate: 29.99%.

Bioelectric power capacity: 59.3 kilowatts.

Brain reaction index: 328.6.

Comprehensive physical fitness index: 59.5.

...

"Um, Mr. Ren, maybe I should explore on my own tomorrow. This... this is just too much..."

Yu Jin, participating in morning hunting for the first time and witnessing Ren Zhong’s miracle of using Level 1 equipment to decisively kill a Level 3 wasteland beast, felt an indescribable thrill.

He deeply realized how vast the gap was between him and Ren Zhong and started to feel he was holding the team back, even wanting to back out.

"Yu Jin, don’t belittle yourself. You performed well today, the timing to lure out that White Stone Ape was excellent. If it were me, I wouldn’t even know how to lure out just one. We’d have to give up and only hunt one Level 3 wasteland beast today. I had some doubts about your talent before, but now I think it’s related to your childhood needlework."

Ren Zhong praised Yu Jin, who sat in the back row.

Hearing this, Yu Jin’s confidence lifted a bit. "Okay, I’ll work harder."

"Alright, we’ll get about 240 points from the two Level 3 wasteland beasts today. Chen Hanyu gets 10%, Yu Jin you get 5%."

Yu Jin was shocked. "How can that be? Didn’t we agree on 2% last night?"

"I said it’s okay, more money for you so you can train faster and raise your parameters. You’ll also get a better gun later. Heavy sniper rifle—that’s your route."

Yu Jin wanted to refuse, but Ren Zhong waved him off.

After returning to town, Ren Zhong didn’t rush to sell resources at Spark Town but rested for a while before heading to the arms market at the right time.

At 7:05 a.m., pretending to be lost in thought, Ren Zhong squeezed through the arms market door shoulder to shoulder with a fat man.

The fat man’s flesh bounced with remarkable elasticity.

After colliding, they bounced apart to either side and simultaneously bumped into the door frame.

"Hey, how do you walk? You don’t grow... huh? It’s you? Old customer! What a coincidence, sorry, sorry, my fault, my fault."

Wang Zhaofu’s anger vanished instantly, replaced by a practiced, familiar smile.

Ren Zhong feigned surprise, "Oh, isn’t this Boss Wang? What a coincidence! What brings you here today?"

Wang Zhaofu chuckled, "Passing through Spark Town, thought I’d see if there’s any good stuff in the market."

Ju Qingmeng, stretching as she left the manager’s office, noticed the scene and asked in surprise, "Oh, Ren Zhong, you know Boss Wang?"

Ren Zhong laughed, "Yes, I just bought something from him recently."

Wang Zhaofu’s eyes gleamed.

As a seasoned businessman, he had a keen sense of smell.

He noticed Ju Qingmeng was clearly closer to Ren Zhong while speaking, her beautiful eyes seemingly glued only to Ren Zhong, even though she was talking to both.

These two have something going on!

Absolutely!

At least some kind of relationship!

Now, Ren Zhong’s status in his mind shifted from a terrifying haggler to an old acquaintance of the arms market manager Ju Qingmeng.

Old Wang, a peddler dealing in both black and white market goods, knew well that maintaining good relations with arms market managers was basic.

He had always found Ju Qingmeng hard to break through—an ambitious city girl with a grudge, seemingly owed money by everyone.

Now the opportunity had arrived.

"I'm charging!"

So Wang Zhaofu changed tactics: "Brother Ren and I don’t just know each other; we hit it off immediately. On the way here, I was hoping to run into you again. What luck!"

Ren Zhong laughed heartily. "Me too. Manager Ju, you go ahead; don’t mind us. Boss Wang and I are catching up."

Thus, the two cross-generational half-brothers with ulterior motives walked out shoulder to shoulder.

After a few steps, Wang Zhaofu suggested, "Since the timing’s good, why don’t we grab a couple of drinks at Night Long Sleep? Celebrate a bit?"

Ren Zhong smiled, "I have to go hunting during the day, so no partying. But a couple of fruit wines sounds good."

"Alright, let’s go!"

"What about your work, Boss Wang?"

"No problem, I’ll come back later."

...

"That won’t do, time is money, my friend," Ren Zhong shook his head, then returned to the market entrance and said to Ju Qingmeng, "Manager Ju, could you help me out and send me a list of all second-hand consignment items in the store?"

Ju Qingmeng smiled. "Sure."

Wang Zhaofu was stunned.

Is this still the Ju manager I know?

Do these two have three legs between them?

...

In a private room at the newly opened Night Long Sleep bar, the two kindred spirits drank and ate synthetic food to their heart’s content.

Ren Zhong said, "Boss Wang, I’ll let you in on a secret. Look at this set of equipment on me. Soon I’ll swap it out, and I’ll have to find a good buyer. I came to the market today to discuss this with Manager Ju."

Wang Zhaofu pounded his chest. "Don’t look elsewhere—come to me! I’m professional!"

Ren Zhong replied, "Alright, here’s the modification record. I paid Manager Ju, this talented student, a high price to personally handle it. Take a look."

"Wow! Not bad! Your Level 1 exoskeleton’s almost been upgraded to Level 2! And these amplifier parameters are exquisitely tuned. Tsk tsk."

Ren Zhong sighed, "Yeah, spent two or three thousand on it. Professional teams in town won’t touch it, and ordinary scavengers can’t afford it—too high for some, too low for others. Tough spot."

Wang Zhaofu’s eyes gleamed. "How about a solid offer, 1,500? I’ll take it."

Ren Zhong’s eyes also gleamed. "1,800."

"That’s more expensive than a Level 2 exoskeleton!"

"But it lets a Level 1 soldier perform at Level 2 power under certain conditions. Special items have special uses—you can’t compare like that."

Wang Zhaofu gritted his teeth, calculating the profit in his mind. "Deal!"

Then Ren Zhong drew up a list. "By the way, I also mentioned a few things I’ll need in a month. See if you can get them and give me a price."

Wang Zhaofu glanced. "Armed Qingfeng heavy truck, eight biological metal bearing hubs, fission beast sinew, Aiman beast alloy armor. Eh, all rare stuff. I can get them, but expensive."

Ren Zhong squinted. "How much?"

Wang Zhaofu’s mustache twitched as he bit his lip. "Seventeen thousand."

Ren Zhong counted on his fingers. That was 555 less than the last price.

Wang was quite honest.

But times had changed; this order was placed earlier, Wang had more time to gather resources, and Ju Qingmeng’s connections helped too.

Ren Zhong knew Wang’s bottom line would be lower.

He tried bargaining. "Fifteen thousand, that’s all I can offer."

Wang Zhaofu calculated with pain and hesitation, his expression shifting rapidly.

After a long moment, he agreed. "Okay."

Ren Zhong sensed he had cut deep, squeezing nearly all profit.

"Thanks."

Wang Zhaofu nervously rubbed his hands. "One more thing, I’m embarrassed to say."

"Go ahead."

"Thanks for looking out for my business, Brother Ren. But I’m small-scale, and these items are valuable. Stocking them requires capital, so..."

Ren Zhong feigned realization. "A deposit? No problem. How much?"

Wang Zhaofu tentatively asked, "Two... two thousand?"

Ren Zhong shook his head. "Two thousand isn’t enough."

"Ah... uh..."

Ren Zhong patted Wang’s shoulder. "For 15,000 worth of goods, two thousand is too little—you’re making it hard on yourself. I’ll give you four thousand."

Wang’s eyes widened.

He had been around the world...

Such trust!

Wang seized Ren Zhong’s hand tightly. "Brother Ren! I’m so lucky to know you this lifetime!"

Ren Zhong "emotionally" clasped back. "Boss Wang! That’s heavy praise!"

"Brother Ren!"

"Boss Wang!"

The atmosphere at the table shifted suddenly.

They chatted on and on.

Wang recalled his bitter and sweet experiences over recent years, sharing anecdotes.

Ren Zhong, knowing Wang’s background thoroughly, became the perfect foil.

Wang almost abandoned his merchant nature and declared Ren Zhong his lifelong confidant.

If such sentiments were fashionable, he’d swear brotherhood with Ren Zhong on the spot.

After a long time, fully satisfied, Ren Zhong checked the time and knew it was time to leave.

Wang Zhaofu, bloodied silently from losing face in negotiation, reluctantly escorted Ren Zhong out of Night Long Sleep.

"Brother Ren, be careful on the road. Remember to stay safe when hunting."

"Don’t worry, Boss Wang, I know what I’m doing."

"Goodbye."

"See you."

Ren Zhong’s maneuver wasn’t just about saving money.

His true goal was Wang Zhaofu himself.

By cultivating their relationship now, Wang could help him acquire more black market goods in the future, ones not convenient to let outsiders know about.

The information flow jamming device wasn’t Ren Zhong’s ultimate target this time.

...

Another victim emerged in the earth-shattering massive fraud case in Spark Town.

Except for Zheng Tian, it was practically a total wipeout.

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