"Congratulations, correct answer!" Yang Bin smiled.
Hearing Yang Bin confirm it, Zhong Yuansen's expression cycled through about six emotions at once. He never could have imagined that at this stage, a Tier-5 Evolver would actually exist.
But whether he believed it or not, the facts were staring him in the face. Who else but a Tier-5 could shatter his Rock Fall that easily?
"You've had your fun. My turn."
Yang Bin snorted, swung the Barbell Rod, and brought it crashing down again.
Perhaps that last Rock Fall had drained too much of his Mental Energy. Zhong Yuansen didn't attempt another one. Instead, he hastily raised an earth wall in front of himself to block the iron rod.
Fat lot of good that did.
The earth wall meant nothing to Yang Bin. One swing and it exploded into rubble.
Without pause, Yang Bin swung again.
Zhong Yuansen desperately raised his Tang Saber to block.
Clang-
The blade snapped clean in half. The Barbell Rod punched straight through and slammed into Zhong Yuansen's chest, launching him backward. He coughed up a spray of blood, hit the ground, and went limp.
Yang Bin didn't pursue. He stowed the Barbell Rod and turned to the crowd of bodies scattered across the ground.
"Anyone not dead, get up and start collecting crystals. Anyone who can't get up-I'll give them another swing to help."
The people Chen Hao and the others had beaten down-the ones who supposedly couldn't stand-suddenly found the strength to scramble to their feet.
They limped toward the zombie corpses and started digging for crystals.
No one was stupid enough to test him. This was a goddamn Tier-5. One swing had put Brother Sen down-maybe permanently. If that rod landed on any of them, they'd be paste.
With forty-odd people working, efficiency skyrocketed. Before long, every crystal had been picked clean.
"Alright, hand them over." Yang Bin slid his backpack off, unzipped it, and set it on the ground.
The group filed up without being told twice, dumping their collected crystals into the bag.
Reluctant as hell, but they understood their role. They were manual labor. None of this was theirs.
When the first man emptied his haul into the backpack and turned to leave, Yang Bin spoke up.
"Hold it."
"Wh-what?" The man flinched.
"You've still got two crystals in your left pocket. Planning to keep those?"
Yang Bin's voice was ice.
"Those two are mine," the man said, face crumpling.
"Yours? What's yours? Everything here is mine. Take them out. Unless you want to eat a rod."
"I-"
The man wanted to cry. Those really were his own stash, saved from before.
Exploitation usually meant getting underpaid. But this? Not only no wages-he was losing money on the deal.
But against Yang Bin, resistance was pointless. He fished out the crystals and handed them over.
After that example, most of the others were honest. Most.
There were always a few who figured they'd hidden theirs well enough.
What they didn't know was that the man in front of them could see right through them. Literally.
Yang Bin caught every single one. After he made examples of two-permanently-the rest finally got the message.
Within minutes, every last crystal was accounted for.
Yang Bin shouldered the backpack and looked at the battered group.
"Alright. You're heading to the Survival Base, yeah? Straight ahead, about ten kilometers. Can't miss it." He pointed helpfully down the road.
"Th-thank you."
They mumbled their thanks through miserable faces. If they'd known this would happen, they never would've let him back up that damn car.
Now look at them. No crystals gained. A body full of injuries. And every crystal they'd had on them-gone. A complete loss.
But there's no undo button in the apocalypse. The group could only sigh, hoist Zhong Yuansen up, and prepare to leave.
"Wait. The rest of you can go. He stays." Yang Bin pointed at Zhong Yuansen.
"But-"
Troubled looks passed between them. This was their boss. They couldn't just... sell him.
"But what? Go or don't go. If you don't, you all stay."
"Going! Going going going-"
They dropped Zhong Yuansen on the ground without a second thought and sprinted for the bus.
What's a boss for if not selling when the price is right?
The bus engine roared. Pedal to the floor, tires screaming, it shot down the road and vanished in seconds.
This time, it didn't come back.
"Brother Bin, you kept him because you want him to join us?" Chen Hao looked down at Zhong Yuansen's unconscious form, puzzled.
Yang Bin glanced at Zhong Yuansen too. A strange smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Thinking about it. His ability's decent. But it depends on whether he knows what's good for him. If he plays nice, he stays. If he doesn't-" Yang Bin shrugged. "We slice him up for research. See if we can extract the ability and transfer it."
"......"
No one else noticed, but as Yang Bin's words landed, Zhong Yuansen's body gave a tiny, involuntary twitch.
"Slice him for research?! Brother Bin, that's cold." Old Hei swallowed hard.
"Cold or not, who knows. But if we actually figure out a method, I'm giving his ability to you."
"To me?!" Old Hei's eyes went wide. "Shit-Brother Bin, just say the word. The slicing? Leave that to me. I used to cut sashimi all the time. I guarantee I'll slice him thinner than raw fish. Nice and even. Perfect for research."
Old Hei's attitude did a complete one-eighty.
And as his words rang out, Zhong Yuansen's entire body went rigid.
Yang Bin chuckled. "Alright, get him in the car. We're heading back."
It was still early, but hauling around an unstable element made further hunting impractical.
"On it!"
Old Hei bounded over with disturbing enthusiasm, hoisted Zhong Yuansen onto his shoulder like a sack of rice, and muttered as he walked.
"Brother, do me a favor and stay stubborn, yeah? That way Brother Bin gets to slice you up. And if the research works out, yours truly gets an ability too."
He had no idea how much psychological damage he was inflicting on the man draped over his shoulder.
The team piled back into the car and headed toward Jinghe Garden.
---
Meanwhile, in Jinghe Garden. Wang Ruikai's villa.
"Ah Kai! Is what you said true?!" A middle-aged man stared at Wang Ruikai, barely containing his excitement.
This was the Wang family's second-in-command-Wang Ruikai's uncle, Wang Zhendong.
"Of course it's true. Why would I lie?"
"This is huge. What we need most right now are top-tier fighters. Six Tier-4 Evolvers-that's invaluable. No matter what it takes, we have to bring them into our camp!" Wang Zhendong's voice was tight with urgency.
"Might be difficult." Wang Ruikai frowned. "They're not easy to deal with."
After returning yesterday, he'd replayed every moment of his interaction with them. The result? He hadn't extracted a single useful piece of information. Meanwhile, they'd gotten plenty out of him.
For someone who'd always prided himself on being the smartest person in the room, that stung.