Invincible through Touching Corpses

Chapter 348: Emptying the Coffers

Lin Xinghai was genuinely curious about how many Elemental Crystals they were bringing, because crates upon crates of them were still being moved over from the warehouse next to the plaza.

Although this matter should have been kept confidential, Lin Xinghai’s position gave him full clearance to know. Zhuo Yongyuan had nothing to hide and immediately lowered his voice to answer, "At least 500 million Points worth."

"How can it be so much? Logically speaking, all the Elemental Crystals we’ve collected from killing Zombies recently don’t add up to this amount!" Lin Xinghai was stunned.

"I heard they’ve also taken out all the Elemental Crystals from our reserves this time. Everything is being taken to be exchanged."

"That’s not all. The higher-ups also took out all the liquid cash they could access. They’re reportedly planning to purchase a large batch of important supplies over at East Sea Base. The logistics department is in charge of these matters, so you can ask them for the specifics," Zhuo Yongyuan said.

"They’re completely emptying out the coffers! But you’re only sending one battalion to escort something this important? Is that enough personnel?" Lin Xinghai asked.

He thought Wei Tianxing was being awfully bold. If it were up to him, he would never have sent a mere hundred-man battalion; it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to deploy a full regiment for the escort.

Sensing his unit was being questioned, Zhuo Yongyuan hurriedly said, "Deputy Director Lin, rest assured. The brothers I’ve brought with me are all top operatives from the special forces battalion. Completing an escort mission of this level is absolutely no problem for us."

Zhuo Yongyuan paused for a moment before continuing, "Besides, Elder Wei said that as long as you’re with us, Deputy Director Lin, any problem we encounter can be easily resolved."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xinghai froze for a second before letting out a wry laugh.

’So they’d factored me into their plans all along.’

"Then what about your return trip? I can’t possibly come back with you, can I?" Lin Xinghai asked, after a moment’s thought.

"That won’t be necessary. As long as our purchase exceeds 10 million Huaxia Coins, East Sea Base offers home delivery service. So we won’t need to worry about the cargo’s safety at all. Even if it gets lost, East Sea Base will provide compensation for its full value," Zhuo Yongyuan said with a shrug.

Hearing this, Lin Xinghai truly had nothing more to say. Wei Tianxing had arranged everything down to the last detail.

While they waited for the loading to finish, the two began to chat, and Lin Xinghai learned more about the situation.

Trade between Star Shield Shelter and East Sea Base was actually quite frequent, with a team dispatched to make the trip almost every two weeks.

Because they had made the trip so many times, they had already cleared a safe route, so an escort of a hundred elite soldiers was generally enough to ensure a safe journey.

"So you’re saying the route isn’t completely safe?" Lin Xinghai asked after listening to Zhuo Yongyuan’s account.

"Mhm, there are three spots that are rather dangerous to pass through." As he spoke, Zhuo Yongyuan activated his wrist-computer’s holographic projector, brought up a route map, and pointed out the three locations.

The route snaked across the map, 70% of it overlapping with a former highway.

That made sense, though. They were over 2,000 kilometers from East Sea Base; if they didn’t take the highway, the journey would take far too long.

The highway occasionally skirted the edges of cities, and without exception, the three locations Zhuo Yongyuan indicated were all in these urban-adjacent areas.

Lin Xinghai swiped his finger across the holographic projection and thought for a moment before speaking. "These three are medium-sized cities. The Zombie populations inside should be around two to five million, at most."

"We only need to pass along the outskirts, so there shouldn’t be too many Zombies in that specific area. Haven’t you considered clearing them out? It would definitely be much safer in the future if you did."

"We have!" Zhuo Yongyuan nodded. "In fact, when we first cleared this route, there were far more than three such places. The Zombies in the other spots have been more or less taken care of. But these three locations all show signs of Mutated Zombie activity. We’ve been afraid of triggering a massive horde, so we haven’t dared to make a move."

After he finished, he looked at Lin Xinghai with a gaze filled with immense expectation.

Seeing the man’s expression, the corner of Lin Xinghai’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch.

’Great,’ he thought. ’I just had to open my big mouth. He was waiting for this!’

’This was probably Wei Tianxing’s idea, too.’

"Fine! Go tell General Lin Zhengyang to dispatch 3,000 soldiers, 3,000 Combat Robots, and three artillery squads. I’ll help you clear the obstacles along the route."

"Oh, and don’t forget to bring my Speed Mecha," Lin Xinghai added, rubbing his forehead.

"Got it!" Zhuo Yongyuan nodded and left without another word.

"Ah Xing! If we stop to clear out Zombies along the way, won’t that delay our arrival at the academy?" Liu Miaomiao, who had been listening quietly this whole time, couldn’t help but ask.

"It won’t be an issue. There aren’t that many Zombies in those cities, and the highway only passes by the outskirts. Even if we do trigger a horde, it would be a hundred or two hundred thousand at most. We can handle that in an hour or two."

"Besides, clearing the normal Zombies is the army’s job. All I have to do is kill the Mutated Zombies, and I’ll be done. It’s no trouble at all," Lin Xinghai said, unconcerned. ’I can consider this one last contribution to Star Shield Shelter.’

Liu Miaomiao nodded. She had only wanted to give him a heads-up; she wouldn’t object to any decision he made.

"Alright, we still have a bit of a wait. No point in just standing around here. Let’s get in the vehicle," Lin Xinghai said.

He then led Liu Miaomiao toward the lead Armored Vehicle, since the ones in the back were for cargo and would hardly be comfortable to ride in.

However, to Lin Xinghai’s surprise, he found an acquaintance waiting inside the Armored Vehicle.

An acquaintance who had no reason to be there, at that.

"Chairman Jin, what are you doing here?" Lin Xinghai asked, curious.

Yes, it was none other than the chairman of the Mercenary Guild, Jin Canlan.

Logically speaking, transporting supplies should have absolutely nothing to do with the Mercenary Guild.

"I’m going to see some relatives. Since it’s on the way, I decided to hitch a ride," Jin Canlan said with a chuckle, his chubby face perpetually wreathed in a smile.

"Visiting relatives? You have family in other places?" Lin Xinghai asked, a little surprised.

"Mhm! In the Shelter over in Ruifeng City," Jin Canlan said.

"Then why not bring your relatives over to Star Shield Shelter? With your status, you could ensure they live very comfortably!" Lin Xinghai’s curiosity grew.

"Hehe, they’re doing quite well over there. They’re all high-ranking officials in that Shelter. Of course, once our Star Shield Shelter is promoted to Star Shield Base, I’ll have them consider moving over," Jin Canlan said frankly, holding nothing back.

"Tsk! Don’t tell me you come from some family of bureaucrats or something," Lin Xinghai said.

"Of course not. It’s just that the old man in my family had some connections and a network, which gave me a bit of a head start. But I absolutely got to where I am today on my own merit."

Seeing Lin Xinghai’s look of disbelief, Jin Canlan cleared his throat and said, "Well, at least seventy percent of it was my own merit."

"Besides, with my relatives and I acting as go-betweens, Star Shield Shelter and Ruifeng Shelter can engage in mutually beneficial trade. Otherwise, how could we have borrowed those 100,000 Combat Robots so easily for the assault on Guanghan City?"