Chapter 121: 121, Truly stupid or pretend stupid

Luo Lan did not know that Qing Zhen had already sent people to search for him, nor did he know that Qing Zhen was now facing pressure from the conglomerate's board of directors. He only knew that the sweet potato aroma drifting from next door was truly fragrant...

He looked at his companion and said, "That... Tang Zhou, do you think there's any left in the sweet potato field that they dug up..."

The man named Tang Zhou said, "Why don't we just go grab some?"

"You don't understand a thing," Luo Lan cursed, "Am I the kind of person who would do that? If the conglomerate asked me to kill people from the Huo Zhi Company, I wouldn't even blink an eye, but robbing a bunch of refugees? What would people say about me, Luo Lan?"

"But the sweet potato field has already been dug clean by them," Tang Zhou said hesitantly.

There were over three thousand refugees, and that patch of sweet potato field was not a large-scale plantation—just wild growth from who knows how long ago, growing into that expanse.

Those refugees, having gone hungry for days, finally found something edible. Of course, they would dig until there was nothing left. Even if they couldn't eat it all, they could carry it with them, at least ensuring they wouldn't starve in the coming days.

Only those who have experienced hunger can understand what it feels like when starvation reaches its peak. With only a few days having passed since their escape, all the refugees had grown noticeably thinner.

Only Ren Xiaoshi and a few others seemed relatively unchanged.

Luo Lan hesitated for a long time before saying, "Fine, go. Who here has money? Let's buy some."

This time, when fleeing, Luo Lan hadn't had time to bring anything, which was why he didn't even have pants to wear. The other soldiers from the combat brigade were in similar straits—the earthquake had come too suddenly. Those who had the presence of mind to go back for money mostly ended up buried inside.

The soldiers looked at each other, and after pooling their resources, they managed to scrape together four thousand yuan. These were the small change they usually carried on their person.

Luo Lan's eyes lit up as he looked at the money: "Tang Zhou, you go buy it. Be careful not to let them ambush us."

"Understood," Tang Zhou took a combat squad with him. By this time, the surviving combat squads had been reorganized. The wounded didn't participate in battles, but of the two hundred or so people, at least two-thirds still had fighting capability.

Luo Lan didn't forget to add, "Buy it at fifty times the usual price. Don't embarrass the Qing Shi Conglomerate—we won't take advantage of others."

At this moment, food was obviously more important than money, but whether fifty times the price was worth it was a matter of opinion.

Eventually, everyone would return to human civilization. Perhaps in three days, they could reach the 109 Bastion, where everything would require money to purchase. Although the Qing Shi Conglomerate's relationship with the Li Shi Conglomerate was average, the Qing Shi Conglomerate had some business interests in the 109 Bastion, so their currency still retained some purchasing power.

The relationships between conglomerates were complex. It wasn't as if the Li Shi Conglomerate controlled the Bastion completely without other conglomerate influences. More often, the power distribution among conglomerates resembled interlocking teeth.

Each Bastion's location was different, meaning they controlled different natural resources, so conglomerates needed to trade with each other.

For example, the areas controlled by the Qing Shi Conglomerate were mainly rich in vanadium-titanium magnetite, rock salt, alum, lead-zinc, sulfur, iron ore, asbestos, mica, gold, phosphorus, cement clay, coal, and natural gas. The Li Shi Conglomerate, on the other hand, controlled the south with colored metals and coal, and their agricultural industry thrived in tobacco.

But most crucially, the Qing Shi Conglomerate was situated in a climate-suitable basin, controlling the cultivation of rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, and economic crops like tea. The Li Shi Conglomerate often had to purchase food from the Qing Shi Conglomerate—they did grow some themselves, but it wasn't enough.

Each conglomerate valued food highly, but just because you value it doesn't mean the land you control is suitable for growing food. Nature doesn't change because of human will.

Before long, Tang Zhou returned with a large pile of sweet potatoes. When purchasing, the refugees, seeing these armed soldiers, didn't dare refuse the Qing Shi Conglomerate's demands, especially since the price they offered wasn't low.

Luo Lan excitedly commanded the soldiers to throw all the sweet potatoes into the fire, then a group of big men waited eagerly.

He counted the number of people, then the number of sweet potatoes, and sighed, "Each person gets half. No one eats more, and the wounded can have a whole one."

After roasting, Tang Zhou used a wooden stick to pull one out from the fire and handed it to Luo Lan: "Boss, you eat this."

Luo Lan picked it up, broke off half, and handed it to Tang Zhou: "Half each."

"No need to be so formal, boss. You're only eating half too?" Tang Zhou hesitated.

"Stop talking and take it quickly—it's hot!" Luo Lan looked at the others: "No time to chat now. When we reach the 109 Bastion, I'll treat everyone to a feast. Heh heh, we've all escaped death—this is our reward!"

The soldiers of the combat brigade silently ate their sweet potatoes without speaking.

On Ren Xiaoshi's side, he had been observing the Qing Shi Conglomerate's movements. Suddenly, a woman among the refugees let out a sharp cry, followed by a loud slap.

They all turned to look and saw a middle-aged man tussling with a woman, shouting, "You ate the sweet potatoes I dug, yet you pretend to be innocent? Your man died in the Bastion long ago! If I hadn't pulled you back, could you have survived till now?"

"I said I'll pay back the money for the sweet potatoes once we reach the 109 Bastion!" the woman clenched her teeth.

"What will you use to pay me? When we get to the 109 Bastion, we'll all be left with nothing!"

Ren Xiaoshi sneered—this pair actually knew each other. Probably the man had tried to touch her earlier and got slapped. Now, humiliated and angry, he dragged the woman toward a secluded wilderness. The woman cried out but couldn't struggle free, while the others coldly watched.

But at that moment, a booming shout rang out beside Ren Xiaoshi: "Stop! It was you, the Golden Money Leopard King, causing trouble!"

The shout made Ren Xiaoshi's head spin. He stared blankly at Chen Wudi, who had already charged out with his golden cudgel...

The middle-aged man didn't react in time and was knocked to the ground by Chen Wudi's cudgel, nearly spitting blood!

This was Chen Wudi holding back—otherwise, the man would have been killed on the spot.

But before Chen Wudi could enjoy the satisfaction of defeating a demon, the woman he had dragged out earlier grew furious. She glared at him: "Why did you hit him? Get lost!"

Chen Wudi felt wronged but couldn't figure out what was going on, so he hung his head and returned to Ren Xiaoshi's side.

Everyone watched the scene in bewilderment. Only Ren Xiaoshi, who had read the original Journey to the West, felt something was off. The Golden Money Leopard King was the demon king of Yin Fu Mountain in the original story, who coveted a farmer's wife and took her by force.

But what made Ren Xiaoshi uneasy was that he noticed Chen Wudi would assign a demon's name to whoever he wanted to hit—for instance, Xiao Dongfeng or the Golden Money Leopard King.

When he didn't want to hit someone, they were just ordinary humans...

This seemed like a mentally ill person seeking "reasons" and "justification"—he was the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, so he had to hit demons.

Ren Xiaoshi stared at Chen Wudi returning to his side, then joked after a long pause: "Apprentice, if you keep running into hundreds of enemies in the future, what will you do when you run out of demon names?"

After all, there were only so many demons in Journey to the West. Once you've beaten them all, what then?

Chen Wudi fell into deep thought—it did seem to be the case.

Soon after, Chen Wudi decided to lower his principles and said, "It's fine. Demon names can be reused."

Ren Xiaoshi: "???"

Was this guy genuinely stupid or pretending? They had agreed not to recognize demons randomly!