Chapter 487: High Stakes Calculation

270 billion, Your Excellency Yenir! 270 billion!

In the hospital bed, Wang Tian’s limbs grew numb as he repeatedly muttered that staggering figure. Even though Yenir had told him that breaking 300 billion was normal, watching the number creep ever closer still left him in a state of dizzy disbelief.

Though he had deduced from various sources that many major powers—and even a shadow of Lu Tianming—were behind the whole scheme, strictly speaking, he was running this operation on Yenir’s behalf!

This was madness! It was probably the most terrifying ‘business war’ the Huaxia Battle Zone had ever seen since the apocalypse erupted!

With odds as high as 28,000 times, they only needed a modest investment to swallow that astronomical sum whole!

Of course, that was only if Yenir could win!

It was hard to fathom that the Awakeners in the Huaxia Battle Zone possessed such abundant resources—so much money, indeed…

Yet with all this wealth, why were those at the bottom still suffering so terribly…

Wang Tian’s expression was one of mixed awe and resignation as he let out a long sigh. Even as a businessman, he found it almost unbelievable.

If all that money were funneled into construction, it could probably build dozens of Safe Zones, each with enough firepower to mobilize nearly a million troops!

Normally, when a Safe Zone or a region faces disaster, not even local authorities or the government can come up with such vast sums for rescue.

Take the East Sea, for instance: although funds were designated to resettle fleeing survivors, less than 1 billion has been disbursed so far. The Safe Zones hosting evacuees have been lamenting a severe lack of extra supplies for relief.

In comparison, the disparity is staggering.

Yet even as Wang Tian spoke with such fervor, Yenir remained unfazed.

“It’s normal,” he stated calmly. “Since the apocalypse, resources have always been concentrated in the hands of the strong.”

“How do you expect them to divert supplies they’ve clutched to build Safe Zones or rescue ordinary people?”

“Heh, that would be as good as killing them.”

“But when driven by profit, they can muster not just 300 billion, but even 3 trillion if they wanted.”

A cold glint passed through Yenir’s eyes as he chuckled softly, as if recalling some ‘amusing’ incident.

Every era is the same; only the apocalypse makes it even harsher.

He remembered that in his previous life, following disasters, the authorities and the Military repeatedly urged major Private Factions to pool their resources for rescue efforts.

Yet, without exception, everyone chose self-preservation, completely disregarding the official call.

Among the government elite, there were those like him who once tried—when hope was still alive—to halt the disaster, to build steel defenses and more protective systems. But without resources or supplies, it was all just empty talk.

Even the funds allocated for rescue and force assembly were greedily divided among various middle-level officials and allied factions, leaving nothing for the grassroots.

Pitifully, of the survivors overwhelmed by the sea beasts amidst the waves of corpses, millions who escaped the monsters ended up dying of starvation.

Yenir remembered all too clearly that in his previous life, while fleeing, he hadn’t even managed to eat a single grain meant for disaster relief…

And as the Battle Zones fell and the Safe Zones were breached, the amassed supplies and Equipment in both influential organizations and certain official warehouses were left to practically ‘molder.’

How laughable…

After nearly three to four decades of recovery, humanity’s situation was far better than it had been before the apocalypse.

Yet with wealth and resources so intensely concentrated, the lower-level survivors fared even worse than during the initial devastation.

If only those surplus, unused Equipments and enhancement resources could be redirected to the troops and the masses, humanity’s strength would surge dramatically… Instead, under the perversion of Capital and power, high-level Awakeners and dominant factions acted like leeches, greedily draining life from the people.

In a sense, compared to the monsters that had ceased besieging cities, these people were the true monsters.

“Stop distributing the Awakening Protection Potion to the lower levels…”

“And the cost behind it is barely tens of billions…”

Standing by the window, overlooking the Capital, Yenir smiled wryly as he recalled one of the chief culprits from his past lives—the very one who had nearly been responsible for his demise…

In his previous life, he’d had countless chances to retest his aptitude.

But under orders from higher-ups—alleging that resources should be reserved for more gifted individuals—a commoner like him could never pull together enough money for the tests.

And in this life, from the moment he forcefully stormed into the Testing Plaza without his protection potion, he was essentially betting his life.

After all, who knew if, with two fewer years of testing than in his past life, his body might be overwhelmed by Spirit Energy…

It was hard to say; under these conditions, many gifted Awakeners like him might perish during the tests or never even get a chance to test.

Perhaps these individuals were the very hope for humanity’s resistance against the apocalypse… just like him.

“Committee Member Yenir, we’ve now raised a total of 37 million! At the current odds, this fund is enough to empty the entire pool!”

“But… do we really need to swallow all these Credit Points?”

“Do you… truly require that many?”

“I’m afraid someone might get greedy, might not be satisfied…”

Staring fixedly at the number nearing 300 billion, Wang Tian suddenly, as if struck by a thought, couldn’t help but voice his concern.

He believed Yenir could win! But what about what comes next…

By calculation, around 10 million Credit Points could clear the pool completely. Of course, after that modest cash splash, the odds would shift.

But if they won? Those major factions that lost would probably lose their minds!

He could almost envisage, down to his toes, that whether it was the high-level forces backing Lu Tianming or the greedy major factions, they would all collapse at once.

The very thought of these forces uniting was terrifying.

Wang Tian could only guess that Yenir needed a vast amount of Credit Points, but this much… seemed excessive.

“Needed.”

Without hesitation, Yenir turned his head calmly, his voice carrying an undeniable, resolute firmness.

He didn’t need them for himself; for him, resources were no object.

But the ultimate fortress, the Air-Space Carrier, the Elite Legion—and even the future steel defenses—required them all!

Frankly, investing these funds into unprecedented mega-projects was just a drop in the bucket.

That’s why Yenir would never let go of any chance to press forward with his plans…

He was well aware that even if he later controlled the Military and reached Peak Third-Stage or Fourth Stage, some things couldn’t be forcibly centralized by might alone.

Unless he completely wiped out that group…

He understood human nature all too well… This scheme was the most critical move in his strategy.

Even without Lu Tianming, he would still find a way to pry that blood money from those leeches!

As for the pressure that would follow?

It didn’t matter.

If they opposed, let them continue Death Dueling—it was merely a matter of eliminating a few more people…

“Wang Tian, betting begins in three minutes.”

“I’m leaving.”

Glancing at the city lights through the window, Yenir spoke softly and then, without hesitation, stepped out of the Hospital Room.

Speeding recklessly across the night sky, he passed over the Death Duel arena in the distance and fell silent.

He could already picture the countless eyes fixed on him when he stepped into that arena, all waiting for his downfall, all hoping he would lose.

It wasn’t so much a Death Duel between him and Lu Tianming as it was…

His battle against these ‘monsters.’

……….