Zhou Zheng used a knife to cut into a well-cooked pork chop, and as he pressed down, some juices seeped out.
He sliced off a thin piece, used a fork to bring it to his mouth, and chewed slowly. The flavor filled his mouth, giving his taste buds a delightful experience. This was prime meat from a Sword Boar, and to avoid waste, Zhou Zheng had Lan Xi and the others cut the best parts and bring them back.
The Sword Boar was quite large, and the three of them only took a small portion.
Another gain was a Star Crystal, about the size of a lychee. It was a low-grade White Star Crystal, but its value was several times that of the fingernail-sized one they had found at the checkpoint, enough to feed a family of three for half a month.
Sitting across from Zhou Zheng was Zhou Hongqiang, who ate more crudely, cutting the pork chop into two pieces and using chopsticks to take big bites.
"Father, could you lend me some Star Crystals? Or gold would work too."
After Zhou Hongqiang finished his pork chop and took a sip of red wine, Zhou Zheng finally spoke.
"Oh?"
Zhou Hongqiang put down his wine glass and looked at his only son with interest. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and said, "No problem, how much do you need? Hmm, I'll give you Star Crystals. They're more useful outside. You can ask Hu Bo to get them for you later."
Hu Bo was the house steward and also handled financial matters.
Zhou Zheng didn't have much savings, just a pitiful amount of gold and a few Star Crystals.
After dinner, Zhou Hongqiang didn't ask Zhou Zheng about the competition the next day. Instead, he simply told him to rest well and left. Zhou Hongqiang didn't stay at the estate every night; as a leader, he had many matters to attend to.
With 30,000 to 40,000 people in the Siege City, and in the crisis-ridden Apocalypse, there was never an end to things.
Following Zhou Hongqiang's instructions, Hu Bo appeared at the estate later that evening.
Zhou Hongqiang controlled the entire Siege City. Due to economic restrictions, money had little circulation and wasn't very useful. He didn't have much gold, only about twenty pounds. The same was true for Star Crystals; their production was low, and they were essential for martial artists to train, making them scarce resources.
The place where Zhou Hongqiang stored his wealth was actually in the estate's basement.
Under Hu Bo's guidance, Zhou Zheng entered this basement for the first time.
When the electric light was turned on, the small basement was illuminated in detail. The gold was stored in a cloth bag, and when Hu Bo opened it, it was full of gold bars. He smiled and said, "The leader doesn't like lightweight things like rings, so it's all gold bars."
Under the light, the gold bars emitted a rich golden hue.
Zhou Zheng used to be a homebody. Although his family was somewhat middle-class, they couldn't possibly have dozens of pounds of gold bars. Holding one of them, Zhou Zheng even found his hands trembling slightly. To say he wasn't excited would be a lie; in the eyes of humans, gold was above all else and represented endless greed. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
This gold bar was stamped with the words "Industrial and Commercial Bank of China," indicating it likely came from a bank vault.
"These are the Star Crystals."
Hu Bo showed little excitement for the gleaming gold, his expression calm.
The Star Crystals were stored in a box. When opened, there were many blue ones among the white, and the most prominent was a walnut-sized Green Star Crystal. Even though Zhou Zheng currently had no Star Power, he could sense the dense Star Power emanating from this Green Star Crystal.
Martial artists could absorb the Star Power from these crystals during training to enhance their training speed.
In other words, Star Crystals were the most valuable items in this New World, driving every martial artist to madness.
"The leader said that aside from this Green Star Crystal, the rest are at your disposal, young master." Hu Bo continued to look at the Star Crystals in the box with indifference. At over sixty years old, he had long lost his ambition and desire to compete. Having survived the terrifying Apocalypse, such material possessions held no allure for him.
Besides the gold and Star Crystals, the basement was almost empty.
...
For the people living in the Siege City, devoid of any entertainment, life was filled with monotony and boredom.
But this day was different. The usually lifeless people seemed to come alive, appearing on the streets early in the morning with a flush of excitement on their faces, as if attending a fair. Whenever they met someone familiar, they gathered to discuss something.
People lacking entertainment needed something to stimulate their numb nerves.
And the competition between Young Master Zhou and Instructor Yan had undoubtedly become a source of entertainment for the tens of thousands in the Siege City, making them as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline.
"Who are you betting on to win?"
"Is there even a question? Of course, it's Instructor Yan. Everyone knows he just broke through to the Third-Stage Martial Artist two days ago."
"Heh, I have a keen eye. I bet on Instructor Yan to win three days ago, staking my month's food supply. Haha, it's worth it now. Even if the payout is small, it's better than nothing."
Some people had already bet on Yan Boxun early on. In their eyes, no matter what, Yan Boxun would utterly defeat Young Master Zhou.
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"I bet on Young Master Zhou."
"Young Master Zhou may have good marksmanship, but compared to Instructor Yan, he's not even close. Are you crazy to bet on Young Master Zhou?"
"10 to 1 odds, only a fool wouldn't bet. The loss isn't much, but if a miracle happens and Young Master Zhou wins..."
Those supporting Zhou Zheng were mostly true gamblers. They didn't care about Young Master Zhou's abilities; they were drawn to the 10 to 1 odds on Zhou Zheng, betting on the chance of a miracle. If an upset occurred and Zhou Zheng defeated Yan Boxun, they would become rich overnight.
On the day of the competition, the entire Siege City was buzzing from early morning.
This situation was indeed beyond Zhou Zheng's expectations. He hadn't imagined that his match with Yan Boxun would stir such enthusiasm among the Siege City's inhabitants. Naturally, the driving force behind this was some influential martial artists in the city who saw a business opportunity and set up betting pools early on.
Zhou Zheng got up at his usual time.
After leisurely having breakfast in the living room, the servants had already prepared his equipment.
A fine steel dagger, the familiar Type 03 rifle, five spare magazines, and a military canteen filled with water. Zhou Zheng also changed his usual attire, donning a tailored tight-fitting military uniform and a pair of well-fitting military boots.
He strapped the dagger's sheath to his thigh and inserted the dagger, then looked up and said calmly, "Have you taken care of what I instructed?"
"Young Master, it's all done. We've bet everything on you winning."
"Let's go!"
With Lan Xi and Zhou An, Zhou Zheng appeared on the street with a calm expression.
The people who had been waiting were slightly excited at the sight of Zhou Zheng, with some shouting words of encouragement for Young Master Zhou. These were undoubtedly people who had benefited from Zhou Zheng's small favors in the past, as well as those who had placed their bets on him.
...