Chapter 193 The Old Man is Truly Evil

Chapter 193: That Cunning Old Man

Only Hua Diao, who had been singled out for display, was displeased. They had worked hard to maintain a low profile. Even after she had pulled a second Epic-Tier Weapon from a treasure chest and given it to Xie Tingsheng, he had discreetly dimmed its glow, avoiding its use whenever possible.

After all, both Epic-Tier Weapons had come from her hands, and many factions were watching her closely. The overt and covert gazes had finally begun to recede recently, but now Director Zhang had dragged her back into the spotlight, inevitably reigniting those ever-present, greedy stares.

Hua Diao shot Director Zhang an aggrieved look. *That cunning old man!* He would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, even using her as a pawn.

Xie Tingsheng also furrowed his brow, a look of displeasure clouding his handsome face.

While he wasn't afraid of being targeted by others, when it came to his wife, no amount of caution was too much, for he could not bear even the slightest possibility of losing her.

Under their two disapproving gazes, Director Zhang rubbed his temples, his weary, aged face etched with helplessness. He had no choice; without dangling the biggest reward, how could he entice these people who wouldn't act without seeing a clear benefit?

This was no longer an era where righteous slogans—like "saving humanity" or "aiding the common folk"—could rally a band of chivalrous heroes to rescue the populace. He understood well that those who survived the apocalypse and formed combat teams were not naive idealists. Only self-interest could drive them to action.

Another reason was that he absolutely had to mobilize these teams. The Special Operations Bureau alone couldn't possibly produce enough fire-type scrolls to fill the large-scale insulation array scrolls needed to protect the entire city's population.

Yet, if the Special Operations Bureau were to purchase fire-type scrolls from the various teams, that wouldn't work either. Not only could the Bureau not afford such a massive expenditure, but the teams themselves would be unwilling to easily sell their fire-type scrolls. Some unscrupulous teams might even inflate prices, which was absolutely not what Director Zhang wanted to see.

If the Special Operations Bureau suffered too great a loss, it would be at a disadvantage. Future negotiations might fail to keep these private teams in check, let alone stabilize Qingcheng and rescue its other citizens. Therefore, he could only choose to release bait, luring a few teams into action with the promise of benefits, ensuring that mutual expenditure would maintain the balance between the Special Operations Bureau and the other teams.

The effect? From the current scene, it was a resounding success. At least most of the teams present were already eager to take the bait.

Director Zhang's eyes gleamed shrewdly as he ignored the two resentful stares and added fuel to the fire. "So, what are your thoughts? You must know how difficult it is to acquire complete Wisdom Dungeon Fragments. Surely you've realized that it's impossible to collect an entire set of Wisdom Dungeon Fragments by just staying within Qingcheng. These fragments are unique and scattered; you need to travel to various cities and regions to collect them all to piece together a complete Wisdom Dungeon. Currently, only our Special Operations Bureau can achieve this."

This was another one of his trump cards.

No private team could match the Special Operations Bureau's extensive reach, its ability to collect numerous fragments, or its capacity to assemble multiple dungeons.

Hua Diao agreed with this point. Despite her incredible luck, opening countless treasure chests and acquiring so many dungeon fragments, she had indeed never managed to piece together a complete Wisdom Dungeon. Most were missing half or even a third of their components.

Recalling the significant benefits she had previously gained from the Wisdom Dungeon, Hua Diao was tempted. After all, what were a few low-tier fire-type scrolls? She had plenty in stock.

Xie Tingsheng's large hand enveloped her small one, immediately sensing her inclination. His deep eyes flickered, then, without delay, he spoke directly, "Our Peanut Squad is willing to participate in this rescue operation. We just need to know how many fire-type scrolls are required to meet the standard?"

Director Zhang's eyes immediately lit up, and he said cheerfully, "For Common-tier fire-type scrolls, we'll need a thousand. Advanced-tier scrolls can be halved—just five hundred. Legendary-tier can be halved again—only two hundred fifty. And for Rare-tier, just one hundred fifty fire-related scrolls will suffice."

The squad members' eyes widened, and they gasped in collective shock.

*Damn, that old man is asking for a fortune!*

The Qinglian Sect representative, who had been a step too slow to beat Xie Tingsheng to the punch, had initially felt a pang of regret. But now, he was relieved he had reacted slowly; otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to respond.

The Wisdom Dungeon was indeed incredibly alluring, like a sweet, juicy radish dangled before a donkey, highly tempting. But Director Zhang's demands were simply too exorbitant!

A thousand Common-tier scrolls, and they had to be fire-related! Even if they disregarded attributes and tiers, the Qinglian Sect didn't have that many scrolls in total!

Hua Diao, however, quickly did the math and found it manageable. A thousand Common-tier scrolls represented only one percent of what she had gained from her last Wisdom Dungeon run. She could easily afford it.

But Director Zhang was inviting various teams, not individuals.

She leaned her head towards Xie Tingsheng, whispering, "Does the Peanut Squad's warehouse have enough fire-type scrolls? If not, I can lend you some."

Xie Tingsheng pursed his lips in thought, then frowned, "I'll have Zhu Bin take inventory. Now that monster levels are higher, most Common and Advanced-tier scrolls are useless and just piled up in the warehouse. We should be able to gather enough."

Hua Diao nodded. "Alright. Let me know if you're short."

Other squad members who overheard this exchange felt a pang of envy. *We wish we had a sugar mommy like that too!*

They then quickly sent messages back to their own squads to confirm their warehouse inventories.

Saving lives was like fighting a fire, and Director Zhang needed the scrolls urgently. Xie Tingsheng didn't delay either. After confirming that the squad's warehouse indeed had enough, he immediately ordered Zhu Bin to send people to deliver them.

Spurred by a sense of urgency, other teams also rushed to sign up, fearing they would fall behind.

If a certain team was slightly short, Director Zhang, being very understanding, proposed another solution: they could substitute Fire Stones.

Fire Stones were one of the materials required to craft the large-scale insulation array scrolls, and the Special Operations Bureau was currently in need of them.

With these fire-type scrolls secured, Qingcheng's rescue operation commenced in full swing. Countless Special Operations Bureau teams fanned out across the city's densely populated areas, deploying the large-scale insulation arrays. An official notice soon followed, urging residents in remote or sparsely populated areas to temporarily relocate to more crowded neighborhoods for easier array deployment.