CHAPTER 314: CHAPTER 314: YOU SLEPT WITH HER

Inside the Shelter.

After upgrading the laboratory, Lin Yi saw that the old lab had transformed into a cube.

The new facility looks similar to the old one, but bigger: 30 meters long, 30 meters wide, and 15 meters high.

The Level 2 laboratory can analyze more complex equipment, including Rare Skills, and its compartments can hold a large box, even a machine gun.

However, the price is truly painful...

According to the instructions, upgrading the laboratory to Level 3 requires at least fifty million Gold Coins.

It takes three days to analyze the "Divine Shooter" Skill Book.

The Wind Magic Skill Book is also good, but... ’Divine Shooter’ is more important.

Now, time is two days shorter than before,

After sharing this good news with Solomon, Lin Yi returned to Earth, drove to Düsseldorf, which was only about 30 kilometers away.

On the way, he saw a not-so-large but heavily defended base that seemed unguarded.

It had walls, but no security personnel.

Lin Yi decided not to meddle, continued driving, and quickly reached the city.

The fortifications here... are similar to those in Cologne, consisting of walls made from debris and Earth Magic Barriers extending from one building to another.

Hundreds of yards within the walls were cleared.

Unlike Cologne, Düsseldorf occupied three-quarters of this old city, with twice the number of soldiers guarding the city walls.

The soldiers had searchlights and sophisticated Weapons, and there were traps in front of the walls.

Lin Yi estimated that Düsseldorf’s army size was about four times that of Cologne...

But this was just a judgment based on what he saw.

Who could tell what Leia might be hiding?

He couldn’t help but notice that Düsseldorf had many trap pits, many of which could hold at least a thousand Zombies.

These were just ordinary pits, without any spikes or other common devices.

The city gate was almost a real fortress and not just randomly cobbled together.

The people of Düsseldorf had found somewhere some heavy, 12-meter high, and 20-meter wide metal gates to use as city gates.

These gates had weathered the years but were undoubtedly sturdy.

The Guards immediately recognized Lin Yi, the big merchant, and politely asked him to wait.

He didn’t wait long.

Two minutes later, the leader of the city, accompanied by two beautiful assistants, came out to greet him.

"Welcome to Düsseldorf, Lin Yi!"

Lainer got out of a sedan and shook his hand.

He was very strong, but of course, no match for Lin Yi’s 45-point Power grip.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting so long, I’ve had a lot on my plate lately."

"Same here, if I don’t keep working tirelessly, I’ll end up as Zombie food."

This big burly man laughed and then quickly adopted a businesslike demeanor.

"I’ve already decided what I want to buy and sell, and we won’t take long to finalize the deal."

Lin Yi got into the front seat of the car.

The two blonde beauties, obviously not relying on their brains, got into the back seat.

"We’ve tested the goods, they are very good! I’ve also sent someone to Lille to ask about the situation."

Lainer stepped on the gas, speeding through the city.

Unlike Cologne, there weren’t crowds of refugees on the streets here. Everything looked more or less decent...

At least to the extent possible under the current circumstances.

They passed several other vehicles on the road, but all were military.

"You have to admit, my city looks way better than... that woman’s city."

"It’s still too early to conclude, but based on my first impression, this place is much better."

Lin Yi nodded, here there was no stench, no angry looks, no half-dead people...

The muscular man grinned.

"You see, unlike that... woman, I’ve been working nonstop.

Even when I’m not working, I’m actually still working! I’m working even in my dreams!"

"I understand; defending such a long city wall must be difficult, right?"

"Not that long; we have a river to the west. Generally, Zombies attack in swarms and rarely spread out along the entire city wall.

Of course, we have experienced several sieges, but the last time this happened, three camps joined forces...

If it happens again now, I think we would be in a lot of trouble."

Lainer chuckled again, his face a bit flushed, with a whiff of alcohol on his breath.

Lin Yi, hearing this, became quite interested.

He always managed to find a place for his Warriors to grind and level up.

"Have Zombies been causing you a lot of trouble?"

"Zombies? Always... A group of 30,000 Zombies just came a few weeks ago.

We used up so much Ammunition, it pained me to no end...

But recently, there seem to be a lot fewer Zombies.

Some went southeast to Berlin, some went west... I don’t know where they went.

The South is pretty much done for!

According to the information we’ve received from survivors, the whole of Southern Europe has been destroyed, but I’m always a bit skeptical about refugees’ stories."

"I see you have a much better food situation than Cologne," Lin Yi said, spotting a bakery with a long line in front.

"Hahaha, of course! That stupid bitch locked herself up in her city and goes nowhere. My people often go to other cities for resource procurement."

"Then don’t you have conflicts with other camps?"

"Of course, sometimes even gunfights, but usually everyone peacefully joins my camp.

Together we’re stronger, if we each fight independently, we can barely survive.

We’re almost there. My base is on that round piece of land by the river."

The man said, pointing to a small but densely built peninsula.

About a minute later, the car arrived at the harbor.

There are tight defenses here from both the land and the river directions.

"Have the river monsters been giving you a lot of trouble?" Lin Yi noticed a wall along the riverbank; he hadn’t had the chance to catch crabs in Lille...

"No, it’s just a safety measure. Once, something popped out of the river—it looked like a big scorpion or something.

It wasn’t edible, and the reward turned out to be nothing. But at least we made equipment from its shell."

The car passed through a heavily fortified base, and all the soldiers saluted when they saw their leader.

They looked well-dressed, well-equipped, and clearly held their leader in high regard.

The car came to a stop, and the four of them walked into a large administrative building.

"You two go home for now," the man said to the two blonde women who had been following him.

"Okay, dad."

"Will you come see us tonight?" asked one of the women, who looked to be about 25.

"Off you go now." Lainer waved them off and then led his guests inside the building.

There were only five people inside, all girls dressed in system equipment, their hair either golden or strawberry blonde.

Lainer led Lin Yi into a small conference room with a big round table in the center and a TV on the wall.

A large group of men were waiting inside.

Lainer proudly announced, "These are my assistants; thanks to them, Düsseldorf survives."

"You’re exaggerating, boss!" a chubby man in his early forties exclaimed.

"This chubby guy is in charge of maintaining order."

The men sat down around the table.

Lainer called over a guard, whispered a few words in her ear, and patted her on the buttocks.

The girl giggled and ran out of the room.

"Lin Yi needs no introduction; you’ve all heard of him, so let’s get down to business."

As instructed by Lainer.

Lin Yi received a list of everything the city wanted.

As well as items they could trade.

Overall, Düsseldorf wanted food, ammunition, fuel, and, oddly enough, water.

After Lin Yi carefully looked it over, a skill book appeared in his hand, and he handed it to Lainer,

"I recently got a new product."

"Flame Magic... Is this a replica? What’s the deal?" Lainer raised an eyebrow.

"It means this book can’t be copied again. But don’t worry, only aliens care about whether a skill book is a replica."

"Speaking of aliens... that’s another topic we wanted to discuss with you." The other men silently nodded in agreement with their leader.

"How much are you selling this skill for?"

"Two thousand gold coins."

"Two thousand?! For just one skill? Are you sure it’s no different from ordinary skills?"

"Absolutely sure." Lin Yi nodded.

"You can keep this book and give it a try. Consider it a gift, let’s continue; I can still offer you something else that’s not on the list."

Lin Yi demonstrated the vending machine to them.

Their reactions were similar to others, shock followed by delight.

But soon there was a hint of disappointment.

Because they knew that once the vending machine was installed, this merchant might not come back again,

But at least they’d have a place to buy supplies from him.

Lin Yi also told them that the vending machine could be upgraded and add new features.

The girls returned quickly, bringing coffee and freshly baked pastries.

Lainer’s people came up with many constructive business proposals, so negotiations lasted longer than expected.

They decided to continue talking the next morning.

But before letting Lin Yi go, Lainer said he wanted to talk to him alone.

He’d been drinking throughout the meeting and now looked thoroughly drunk.

The two went to his office, which was surprisingly small and dimly lit.

"Uh... sorry to be direct,"

Lainer said, sitting in an armchair that creaked under his massive weight.

"You’ve already... slept with her, right?"

"Slept with who?" Lin Yi asked, puzzled.

"Ah!" Melanie exclaimed through the intercom.

"What’s wrong, Melanie?" Lin Yi asked, raising a finger to signal the drunk man to be quiet for a moment.

"...Sorry, boss! I just... well, I was so surprised I fell off my chair. In case you didn’t get it, he was talking about Leia’s... you know..."

"Oh, I get it, I just wasn’t expecting him to ask it that way..."

Lin Yi put his hand down and looked at the flushed drunkard: "I haven’t slept with her."

"Impossible! She’s so... so charming!" Lainer roared, slamming the armrest of the chair, breaking it in the process.

"So what?" Lin Yi shook his head, looking at Lainer like he was an idiot.

"Sleeping with business partners always causes trouble; they use it to manipulate you into worse deals."

"Huh? Hahaha! You’re so right, absolutely right! That’s exactly the kind of person she is! She’s dangerous, super dangerous, but..."

The drunk man laughed and cried at the same time.

Lin Yi sighed deeply, staring into his eyes.

"If you love her so much, make up with her. Merge your camps into one and live happily together.

Haven’t you heard about the end of the world? All your hurt feelings and pride will only lead Earth’s destruction, and you’ll just die with pride and pain.

I’ll come back tomorrow."

Lin Yi waved his hand and disappeared, leaving the proud man to face his problems alone.

He didn’t care much about what Lainer did next.

Nor did he have any interest in Leia, who liked to sleep with different partners.

He was too hungry to worry about any of that.