The military factory was the most core and profitable facility under the Rat King's command! This was not just business; it was the foundation of his foothold in this land and the backbone of his vast intelligence network.
This human had dared to target his lifeline from the very first word!
"Does the Rat King think I am joking?"
Cheng Shuili's expression remained unchanged, her tone still steady, as if the request she had just made was nothing more than a minor, trivial matter. "The plague is raging and people are suffering; of course, I have a heart that feels for them. But I have already made myself very clear: the Vials of Eternal Life have a limited effect. If we give them to the beastmen, what will we humans use?"
She gently rubbed the Abyss Ring on her finger, her gaze meeting the Rat King's with composure. "Compared to those one-time resources you offered, I certainly hope that my generosity can be exchanged for something lasting. Your military factory is clearly the best choice."
Once the conversation reached this point, the Rat King had no intention of continuing with that layer of hypocritical pleasantries.
A cold laugh escaped his throat, his body leaning slightly forward. The sharp light in his small eyes, squeezed by layers of wrinkles, seemed almost capable of piercing through Cheng Shuili.
"Little girl," his voice was not loud, but it carried a heavy pressure that spread across the vast highway. "Do you know how to write the word 'greed'?"
Greed?
Cheng Shuili was almost about to laugh out loud.
Both she and the Rat King knew that they would inevitably clash in the future.
If Cheng Shuili were not greedy now and did not improve her own strength, was she supposed to wait to beg for mercy in a wretched state later?
Thus, she admitted it without any hesitation: "The Rat King is right; I truly do not know how to write those two characters. After all..."
Cheng Shuili leaned forward slightly, exuding a calm and unhurried aura. "When you were monopolizing the arms trade through your military factory, it seems no one ever taught you how to write the word 'fairness', either, did they?"
As soon as these words were out, the Rat King's face turned icy cold.
This was truly an absurd statement.
When the Rat King was first making a name for himself among the beastmen, these humans were likely still in their mothers' wombs.
And now, this person was so greedy that she wanted to swallow an elephant, even attempting to surpass him as a latecomer.
The Rat King frowned tightly, his gaze scanning Cheng Shuili's face up and down, attempting to detect even a shred of timidity.
When this human had first established her safe zone, the Rat King had already realized the threat from this group of tiny insects.
It was only because this shrewd little bug had purchased protection that he could not make a move.
But what surprised the Rat King now was that such an ant, who needed to spend a massive amount of game coins to purchase protection, actually had the nerve to challenge him like this!
He believed he had already been merciful enough.
At the very least, he hadn't openly caused this human any trouble yet, had he?
At this moment, he finally realized how useless his mercy was.
While he was sizing up Cheng Shuili, she was also observing him.
The fact that the Rat King did not immediately turn hostile after she made such a demand meant something.
It meant that the Rat King's current situation was far more difficult than it appeared on the surface, and that the effect of the Vials of Eternal Life was even more important to him than the military factory in his hands.
Having probed this, Cheng Shuili knew when to stop: "How about we put it another way? Use 51% of your military factory's revenue and the right for me to handle half of the goods in exchange for all the beastmen under your rule recovering their health within two days."
Cheng Shuili was doing this on purpose.
She was indeed greedy, but she knew perfectly well that the Rat King would never agree to this number. She only said it to disgust him.
Her smile was extremely wicked as she pushed her luck and asked, "This number should be enough for me to finish copying the word 'greed', shouldn't it?"
The Rat King's whiskers trembled violently.
He was old and could not compare to those young people who could still swear to vent their anger.
He was a man of refinement and was accustomed to being pampered; rarely did anyone dare to talk back to him like this, and for a moment, he actually did not know how to react.
A suffocating silence filled the air, broken only by the occasional cry of a crow in the distance.
The Rat King's chest heaved violently, his shrewd eyes swirling with killing intent and inner struggle.
Just when Cheng Shuili thought he was about to explode, the Rat King suddenly laughed.
The laughter was dry and hoarse, like the sound of an old bellows being pulled.
"Good... very good..." He slowly straightened his back, and the gentleman's stick in his hand struck the ground heavily. "Little girl, you are even more ruthless than I imagined. You truly are worthy of being human."
He took a step forward, his voice dropping extremely low, carrying a cold warning: "But remember, there are some things you cannot swallow."
Cheng Shuili met his gaze without flinching: "That is not something the Rat King needs to worry about."
"40% of the revenue, 30% of the disposal rights for the goods."
The Rat King squeezed these words through his teeth. "This is my bottom line. If you do not agree..."
Dozens of scarlet eyes suddenly lit up behind him, and the faint, unmistakable scent of blood filled the air.
Cheng Shuili knew this was the final price.
She feigned a moment of contemplation before finally nodding: "Deal."
The moment Cheng Shuili's words fell, the scarlet eyes behind the Rat King receded like the tide.
The Rat King pulled a cold-gleaming trading contract from his chest, his fingertips lightly brushing over it to open it.
Cheng Shuili caught a glimpse of blood-like handwriting winding its way across the parchment.
And the moment it was handed to her, it transformed into the kind of system trading contract she was familiar with.
"Sign it." The Rat King tossed the scroll in front of Cheng Shuili. "Use your real name."
Cheng Shuili's gaze scanned the flowing text, which included the clause: "If Party B fails to fulfill the obligation of treatment, they shall become a slave to the beastmen! Never to betray, for all eternity."
The other party was quite cautious.
It was a pity that Cheng Shuili was absolutely a keeper of contracts.
Once the name was signed, the Rat King's tense expression finally relaxed slightly. He leaned on his stick and turned around: "Follow me. Let me show you the gift that will soon belong to you."
He tapped his stick against the ground, and the air in front of the highway suddenly twisted into a vortex.
Before entering, he turned to ask Cheng Shuili: "Do you dare to follow?"
Cheng Shuili, naturally, dared.
Before signing the trading contract, Cheng Shuili would not have dared, but after signing it... her courage grew much larger.
Before, it was just between her and the Rat King, but now the system was involved; how could Cheng Shuili not be at ease?
Following the Rat King into the portal, after the blinding white light faded, a giant factory built against the mountain appeared before Cheng Shuili's eyes.
Rusty pipes coiled like giant pythons along the rock wall, and towering chimneys were spewing thick smoke.
On the assembly line, countless monster laborers, like the monster merchant, were mechanically assembling various weapons, the sound of metal clashing echoing incessantly through the workshop.
After walking around with the Rat King, the more Cheng Shuili saw, the more satisfied she became.
The Rat King's expression was still foul at first, but after thinking about how those old guys following him would be safe and sound, he felt the trade was worth it.
There were not many things he cared about; his collectibles were one, and the lives of those old guys following him were another.
He had spent all morning tossing and turning over this, and now he could consider his wishes fulfilled.
It was just that this human beside him was truly irritating no matter how he looked at her. After touring two workshops, seeing that she had intentions to continue, the Rat King decided he would no longer keep her company.
"Look at the rest yourself." The Rat King waved his hand irritably, took out a metal token engraved with a fierce rat totem, and tossed it to Cheng Shuili. "Take this. You can pass through most areas in the factory."
He paused his stick and added: "Remember our agreement. I want to see results within two days."
The token was engraved with a baring-fanged rat head; if one ignored the silhouette and just admired the expression, one would believe it if told it was a tiger.
Cheng Shuili took the token; it felt ice-cold in her hand.
She smiled slightly: "The Rat King can rest assured. I have always kept my word."
Watching the Rat King's figure disappear into the portal, the smile on Cheng Shuili's face gradually faded.
The Rat King's teleportation ability was certainly convenient, but applying it to herself, Cheng Shuili also understood what kind of ability it was.
Just as she could return to her own territory anytime, anywhere, for the Rat King, these places were his territory.
Bringing a human along was nothing difficult.
Cheng Shuili rubbed the token in her hand, her gaze scanning this massive military factory.
Although she did not know the weekly output or the profits earned here, with the system, from now on, forty percent of this giant factory's revenue and thirty percent of the firearms would be automatically deposited into Cheng Shuili's account; that was enough.
Cheng Shuili withdrew her gaze and checked the token the Rat King had just given her.
【Rat King’s Decree】
【Description: A metal token engraved with a rat-head totem, representing the supreme authority of the beastman race! With this decree, one can quickly travel to all of the Rat King's territories, including the Beastman Town, the Trading Post, the Black Market, and the Abyss Factory, while also enjoying high-level management privileges within the military factory. Possessing this token, you are an eternal friend to the Rat King's faction of beastmen!】
This...
Cheng Shuili had wondered earlier why the Rat King had just left like that; now, seeing the function of this token, she was not puzzled at all.
There was no use for the Rat King to stay behind other than to get angry looking at her face; it was better to be out of sight and out of mind.
However, one sentence in the token's description caught her attention—"Rat King's faction of beastmen."
Perhaps she could judge which races belonged to the Rat King's faction based on the attitudes some beastmen showed toward her.
Having obtained what she wanted, Cheng Shuili felt completely relaxed.
She observed the firearm production lines in the workshop thoroughly once more, and upon confirming that there were now conditions to equip every member of Black Feather with a rifle, she used the token with satisfaction.
The token had no limit on the number of uses; after using it, one could choose the destination independently.
The destination Cheng Shuili chose this time was naturally the Beastman Town; she had to fulfill her promise to the Rat King as soon as possible.
Holding the token, she felt the scenery before her instantly blur, like being thrown into a high-speed rotating vortex. After a brief sensation of weightlessness, her feet stepped onto solid and familiar ground.
The unique air of the Beastman Town surged into her nasal cavity. Unlike the lively hawking of the past, what reached her ears was a chaotic clamor.
Painful groans, urgent coughing, the shouting of the police bureau personnel maintaining order, and an irrepressible atmosphere of panic.
She was currently standing near the entrance of the town, and as she looked up, her heart sank.
The streets, which were usually quite spacious, were now packed with beastmen of all shapes and sizes, most of them looking ill and lethargic.
Coughing sounded one after another, and many beastmen were slumped on the roadside or on crude stretchers; their fur had lost its luster, and their eyes were unfocused.
Leopard-race, bear-race, fox-race...
It seemed that all the beastmen who had been staying in their territories had come here for treatment; one could see patients from all races here, except for the wolf-race.
At this moment, Cheng Shuili was incredibly grateful that she had taken the wolf-race beastmen to her territory first.
During this disaster, the treatment of the wolf-race beastmen was exactly the same as that of the Black Feather members, and it could be said that they had passed through it very steadily.
But here in the Beastman Town, even the air was filled with an aura of despair.
Several bear-race physicians wearing white coats shuttled back and forth, their faces solemn and their movements hurried, yet they seemed somewhat at a loss.
Cheng Shuili even saw a pair of beastmen wearing police uniforms carrying several stretchers covered with white cloth as they hurried toward the outskirts of the town. No matter how one looked at it, the plague in the Beastman Town was much more severe than that among the humans.
The previous famine was also the same; Cheng Shuili recalled carefully, and realized that among the humans there was only a famine, while here among the beastmen, it was a famine caused by an infectious disease.
"Truly... none of these days are easy."
Cheng Shuili sighed and turned to walk toward the Town Central Hospital.
The road from the entrance to the Town Central Hospital was crowded with beastmen groaning in pain.
Cheng Shuili, relying on the token and the aura of a supreme monarch, struggled through the chaotic streets. The closer she got to the hospital, the thicker the smell of medicine and the sense of despair in the air became.
The entrance to the hospital was a sea of people, no, a sea of beastmen.
As soon as Cheng Shuili stepped into the hospital, a thick, intense odor mixed with blood and the bitterness of medicine rushed at her, making her unable to help but frown.
The lobby was littered with patients lying in all directions, and the groans and coughs of pain were incessant.
A rabbit nurse was frantic as she fed medicine, but the effect was minimal.
Cheng Shuili's gaze scanned the area and quickly locked onto a familiar figure; it was none other than the wolf-race doctor who liked to steal things, Lang Yu!
When distributing mineral water mixed with a drop of the Vials of Eternal Life to the wolf-race beastmen, many of them had taken several extra portions, saying it was for family members working outside.
Now, as Cheng Shuili looked at Lang Yu's robust body, it was clear that he should have already taken his share.
Cheng Shuili was just thinking about whether or not to go forward when Lang Yu's ears twitched, as if he had discovered the strange gaze from this side, and he suddenly turned to look over.
Upon realizing who was staring at him, Lang Yu's entire wolf head turned red from the base of his neck to the top of his head, as if it were about to smoke in the next second.
To prevent this guy from doing anything embarrassing, Cheng Shuili reached him first and pressed his shoulder, whispering: "Follow me."
Lang Yu's expression was excited, and he pursed his lips to keep from making a sound, only his face flushed with excitement as he tried his best to restrain himself and nodded, following closely behind the king.
This appearance was just like a star-chaser from her past life meeting their favorite celebrity of a long time.
Truly strange.
Cheng Shuili had become a king, not a celebrity!
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