Chapter 121: Negotiating Fate in the Security Zone

At the top floor of the Air Defense Building in the Zhenjiang Security Zone.

Originally built at the dawn of the apocalypse as a multi-tiered firepower platform designed to fend off airborne mutant beasts, it has now been completely refurbished.

During the long peace that followed, the building was transformed into the most iconic commercial skyscraper in the security zone. Faint traces of the old alloy panels still shimmer on its pale blue glass facade.

Inside the reception lounge, Wang Zheng sat by a bulletproof window, his expression tinged with surprise.

Seeing Yenir calmly sipping tea in front of him, he repeated his question:

“Lord Ye Lin, are you sure you want to sell these for Credit Points!?”

“Eight hundred thousand points—completely exchanged for intermediate Spiritual Energy Fruits?”

He was utterly baffled.

Although 800,000 points might not seem huge for the Merchant Guild, it’s far from a small sum. To Wang Zheng, Yenir’s move was downright perplexing.

What use does a third-stage fighter have for intermediate Spiritual Energy Fruits? They’re completely ineffective at boosting attributes beyond 30 points.

Typically, intermediate fruits—like the ones Yenir now wants him to procure—are only useful to second-stage fighters for boosting attributes above 25 points.

But for third-stage fighters, only the extremely rare advanced fruits or Soul Crystals hold any value.

Not only does Yenir plan to sell the Soul Crystals, but the advanced fruits are virtually unobtainable.

“I have my own plans for them,” he remarked.

Without offering further explanation, Yenir took a calm sip of his tea before speaking. He couldn’t reveal that he was a second-stage fighter—the more he explained, the more complications arose. It was better to let them infer the rest.

Sure enough, Chen Yong, sitting nearby with a glint in his eye, recalled his earlier suspicions. Noticing that Yenir no longer carried the borrowed weapons—and unaware of his spatial equipment—he immediately assumed Yenir had handed them off.

With another order for intermediate Spiritual Energy Fruits, it looked as if Lord Ye Lin was grooming some ‘offspring’ or rallying new subordinates.

“Wang Zheng, mind your own business with Lord Ye Lin,” he retorted.

“He has his needs, and we’re simply taking care of it! I recall your Merchant Guild once bought a batch at a premium, didn’t you?”

“Then why not sell them directly to Lord Ye Lin at standard price?”

With a knowing glance, Chen Yong grinned broadly and nodded in approval at Yenir.

He was clearly in high spirits.

After the incident wrapped up yesterday, he had eagerly shared news of the prototype with his father. The old man lavished praise on him, exclaiming how brilliantly he’d handled the situation, even urging him to build a closer bond with Yenir for future collaborations.

Seeing that Yenir needed their help, he was fully committed.

Noticing Chen Yong’s suggestive glance, Wang Zheng hesitated for a moment, unable to immediately commit.

After a brief pause, he gave a wry smile and said:

“Brother Ye, to be frank, if you had asked for my help a month ago, I would have mobilized all my resources without a second thought to get it done.”

“But…”

“I’m not sure if you know this, but recently the Capital Military District and all major Battle Zones have been buying up intermediate Spiritual Energy Fruits—apparently it’s linked to the Seed Plan.”

“The Merchant Guild’s batch of supplies has already been pre-ordered…”

He looked troubled.

Truth be told, he also wanted to save face with Yenir. After that bizarre incident, Yenir not only saved their lives but also bound them together as partners. However, Yenir couldn’t afford to offend anyone—and the Military was definitely off-limits.

Chen Yong, who had been trying to persuade him, was suddenly taken aback, remembering the matter at hand.

Sitting across from him, Yenir maintained his composure, though his heart sank abruptly.

Once again, it was the Seed Plan…

To nurture this selected batch of seeds, the Military had indeed deployed vast resources. He hadn’t expected that even supplies from the major Merchant Guilds would be completely snapped up.

In fact, after Wang Zheng transferred Credit Points last night, he had ordered Li Dafu to aggressively procure intermediate Spiritual Energy Fruits. But the outcome was unexpected—hardly any could be found in the trading channels, and even high bids yielded only a few.

In the ensuing silence, Yenir idly twirled the ring on his finger, growing visibly restless.

Boosting his attributes to 29 points wasn’t merely about chasing peak performance—it was essential for passing the third-stage promotion trials.

Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Willpower—he intended to conquer all four trials.

Not only were there perfect rewards for high-scoring passes, but during the trials the system also stripped Awakeners of any equipment bonuses, leaving them to rely solely on their base attributes!

In his past life, even though he had access to resources, his base attributes before reaching the third stage were even lower. He barely scraped through the Willpower trial, surviving by the skin of his teeth.

This explains why Willpower-type Awakeners are so undervalued!

Consider this—despite possessing SSS-level talent in his past life, he nearly perished during the Willpower trial; it’s easy to imagine how much worse it is for other Willpower types.

Unlike Strength or Agility Awakeners, who can boast over 20 combat attributes even without consuming any fruits,

relying solely on Willpower leaves them nearly useless in battle—lacking speed, strength, and durability, they simply can’t handle the brutal trials!

Especially, the challenge for Willpower Awakeners to advance to the third stage is far steeper than for others!

In this vicious cycle, Willpower types receive diminishing support—without resources, they can’t break into the third stage, rendering them almost worthless among Awakeners.

If not for a few who can learn techniques like Mental Shock, giving them an edge against humans, Willpower types would probably have been ousted from the Awakeners’ ranks long ago.

“One million points—I can acquire them at a premium. Alternatively, hand over the seller’s details and I’ll handle the negotiations,” he proposed.

When his fingers finally stopped twirling the ring, Yenir spoke calmly, as if a million-point deal were mere numbers.

“I can even do without any subsequent instance rewards,” he added.

“If one million isn’t enough, then one hundred fifty… I mean, two million!”

As his words rang out, both Wang Zheng and Chen Yong were visibly startled.

“Two million?! That’s enough to buy you a third-stage life!”

“Brother Ye, are you really in such a rush?”

“I promise you, in six months—no, in two or three months—I can secure you a batch at a much lower cost! This price is just too high!”

He couldn’t help but try to persuade him. In his view, Yenir’s three-day deadline was not only too hasty but also wasteful.

As far as he knew, every Military district was frantically snapping up supplies to boost their chosen seeds. Competing under such conditions was simply unwise.

“Three days—you just need to tell me if you can manage it,” he insisted.

Without the slightest hint of wavering.

“Two to three months? Forget it—even another month is too long for him.”

In his past life, he never truly grasped how much the Military valued their first batch of seeds. But now, Yenir could easily foresee that these seeds would shoot up to the third stage at an unbelievable pace! Just look at Wang Yangping’s crew—they’re pouring massive resources into a rapid upgrade!

Once these seeds reach the third stage, even those rare, one-of-a-kind resources will be allocated to them immediately.

Once used, they’re gone.

Just the thought of it made Yenir’s heart ache!

The slower he advanced to the third stage, the greater the ‘loss’ became! Not to mention the time needed to persuade the higher-ups to prepare for the end-of-year zombie horde!