Chapter Seventy-One: The Operations Team

As they spoke, the little girl returned, her cheeks puffed with indignation as she glared at Fang Xia.

"What's so bad about being a loli? Haven't you heard? Lolis have three virtues: a gentle voice, a soft body, and easy to please. Lolis are quite popular with men."

Especially a panda loli like you.

But Fang Xia didn't dare say that out loud. These women were not to be trifled with.

"Oh? So you like them too?"

Uh...

Fang Xia regretted it immediately. Why did he have to push Liu Rui? Wasn't he just making things harder for himself?

"Let's eat, let's eat. We're all starving," he said, awkwardly trying to change the subject. Thankfully, the women all tacitly dropped the matter.

"By the way, I've just tallied it up. We now have 1,127 Tier-2 Evolution Crystals."

They had finally broken a thousand, which meant Fang Xia's team could now promote someone to a Tier-4 Fighter.

Everyone's eyes fell on Fang Xia.

He was the leader; naturally, the first would be him. No one had any objections to that.

"What about Tier-1s?" Fang Xia wasn’t in a rush. What he wanted more now was to have several Tier-3 Fighters. If a few awakened special abilities, that would be perfect.

"34,217," the little girl reported.

"These are yours, as you said before: thirty percent of all gains would be distributed among the members. So, there are 14,721 left. The Tier-2 distribution has also been replaced with Tier-1s," she added.

It was indeed a considerable sum.

"Liu Rui, our team is growing. We need to establish a new method for distribution," Fang Xia said.

Initially, the thirty percent split was just a rough guideline—all allocations were ultimately arranged by Liu Rui herself.

But now, with more people, especially after absorbing a group of two hundred, things couldn't go on as before.

"Tomorrow, make a new benefits chart. List everything—food, housing, supplies, and rest—by rank, and distribute rations and resources accordingly. Everything should be calculated in Evolution Crystals, at a slightly lower rate than market price."

It would be just like Dawnbreak City. Once you joined, you’d get a salary—not only in Evolution Crystals, but also in whatever resources you needed.

"Try to make sure their expenses equal thirty percent of their income. That’s all."

This wasn’t exploitation. Thirty percent was already quite generous.

Don’t be fooled by Dawnbreak City’s abundant resources—how many mouths do they have to feed? Chen Gang would never give back thirty percent.

"Then, select a few reliable people—twenty to start with. Let them upgrade. The cost of the Evolution Crystals will be deducted from their future wages."

He outlined the plan, leaving the rest to Liu Rui and the little girl.

For the twin sisters, the happiest time of day was always mealtime. In the depths of winter, hotpot never got old, especially with such a wealth of ingredients.

Compared to before they joined Fang Xia’s team, when the two sisters would hide in a house for days, surviving on a bag of chips, two slices of bread, two packs of spicy sticks, and two cups of milk tea, their current life was paradise. And they no longer had to go out and fight zombies.

Today, after giving Rui a massage, she even rewarded them with a set of Chanel perfume. They had coveted it for ages before the apocalypse but never bought it.

“We need to find a new way forward now that we can’t go outside the city,” Liu Rui suddenly remarked as they ate.

“What way?” someone asked.

“Speculation.”

Fang Xia knew what she meant; he had been preparing for it, but now wasn't the time.

He had hoarded large amounts of salt, chili sauce, all kinds of seasonings, and even over a thousand kilos of spicy sticks in his storage. In the future, anything with flavor would become a luxury.

Especially in this city, with nothing spicy to eat, people could still endure for now. But in a couple of months, once Dawnbreak City stabilized, those would be hot commodities.

Beyond basic necessities, he had also stocked up on cigarettes and alcohol.

Once Dawnbreak City was fully stabilized, those would skyrocket in value.

But it wasn’t time to sell yet.

“We can’t speculate with alcohol, and salt and chili sauce aren’t valuable enough yet. But cigarettes are different.”

“Because of their packaging, more than eighty percent of cigarettes were ruined by the rain. There aren’t as many left in White City as you’d think.”

“Only storage rooms in large malls and supermarkets might still have some. At this stage, spatial gear is rare. No one would waste their precious space on cigarettes—most are hoarding water and food.”

“So cigarettes are worth a try.”

Fang Xia lit a cigarette, his fingers tapping the table as he considered it.

“Fang, our team has already gone through a box of ladies’ cigarettes in just a week. Especially with the increased fighting these last two days, consumption is way up. Several members have been sneaking to ask me for cigarettes, even offering to delay their upgrades in exchange.”

Bear in mind, Fang Xia’s team was all women, and their smoking rate was much lower than men’s.

Even here, where food, clothing, and shelter were all taken care of, the stress was still immense.

What about everyone else in Dawnbreak City?

Alcohol might relieve stress more, but who would dare drink now? That would be like asking for death.

Given that, cigarettes had become the only outlet.

Even Fang Xia was smoking much more these days.

After a long consideration, Fang Xia finally nodded.

“All right.”

If they wanted to leave the city, they needed strength. And strength came from Evolution Crystals. Speculating in cigarettes was the fastest way to earn them.

“We only have about a week…”

“A week is enough,” Liu Rui replied confidently, then looked to the twin sisters.

“Right?”

Jingru, the older sister, looked lost.

“Rui, I can’t do it. Sure, I studied this in college, but I’m only a sophomore—I haven’t even graduated. I really can’t.”

Liu Rui rolled her eyes and nudged her aside.

“Can you step aside? I was asking your sister, not you.”

Jingru obediently moved away, relieved it wasn’t her responsibility.

“Rui, I’ll… do my best,” Jingyi said after hesitating, finally nodding.

Liu Rui smiled in satisfaction.

“Their family was in business before the apocalypse. Jingyi’s been sharp since she was little—once she started university, her father began training her in company affairs,” she explained to Fang Xia. The idea to speculate in cigarettes had come from Jingyi offhandedly.

Fang Xia looked at Jingyi in surprise. He hadn’t expected this young girl to be a businesswoman—though he wasn’t sure if she was a proper one.

He glanced at Jingru and sighed, shaking his head.

Same parents, same upbringing—how could two sisters turn out so differently?

“Jingyi, I’ll give you thirty thousand Evolution Crystals to get started—is that enough?”

Now that he’d decided, Fang Xia wasn’t going to hold back.

“It’s more than enough.”