Chapter 63: Humanity Always Delights in Infighting

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of footsteps echoed, drawing the attention of everyone present. Only then did they realize that a stranger had appeared among them, and not a single one of them knew how he had arrived. This was because Qin Hao’s mental strength far surpassed theirs, effortlessly blocking their attempts to probe his mind. He had also been exceptionally cautious visually, so he managed to watch an entire scene unfold without anyone noticing his presence.

Qin Hao was intimately familiar with the open and covert struggles among these people. One had to admit, humanity truly was a species fond of internal conflict. There were times when they stood united, yet at others, they would fight to the bitter end.

Qin Hao, however, seemed like an outsider, unwilling to take part in their affairs. He was someone who had reversed time to return—every moment was precious to him, and his only goal was to attain godhood.

Paying no heed to the scrutinizing gazes of the others, Qin Hao spoke, “I am selling the flesh of Snake Demons, Venom Spiders, and Claw Bugs. Snake Demon flesh, three Diamonds per pound; Venom Spider, ten Diamonds per pound; Claw Bug, twenty Diamonds per pound. If you purchase over five thousand pounds, I can help you set up a cold storage vault.”

With that, Qin Hao took out the flesh of the Venom Spiders and Claw Bugs. The moment he did so, the eyes of the assembled heroes widened in astonishment.

Spatial equipment.

All heroes had access to the shop, where spatial equipment was now sold for Star Diamonds—a thousand Star Diamonds for a single cubic meter, not even enough to fit an entire Fang Demon. Only with a hundred thousand Star Diamonds could one exchange for a spatial ring with a cubic space ten meters on each side. It was rumored that Zihui had one such ring.

Now, yet another person appeared with a spatial ring—how extravagantly wealthy must he be?

“You’re selling these? How much do you have?”

“What are Claw Bugs? Do you mean that invasion mission from a few days ago? Wasn’t that in Yangchuan City?”

“Is this for real?”

The crowd burst into a flurry of questions, the heavy atmosphere from earlier dissipating.

Qin Hao replied, “I have plenty of stock. It’s up to you how much you want. As for what’s left, I don’t need to answer that.”

At that moment, Lin Ke’er stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Qin Hao.

“Mr. Qin.”

“Hm?” Qin Hao nodded indifferently.

Lin Ke’er quickly calculated her funds and said, “I want one thousand pounds of Claw Bug flesh.”

In the blink of an eye, Lin Ke’er spent twenty thousand Star Diamonds. That was her entire fortune.

She did not for a moment doubt the quality of what Qin Hao offered; whatever he brought out was bound to be exceptional.

Seeing Lin Ke’er’s decisiveness, the others quickly realized the value of the Claw Bug flesh and hurried to place their orders.

“I’ll take a thousand pounds.”

“Me too.”

“Two thousand pounds.”

Everyone was buying the Claw Bug flesh. They thought their frenzied purchases would quickly clear out Qin Hao’s stock, unaware that what they bought was but a drop in the ocean.

Just how much Claw Bug flesh did Qin Hao have? Only the chest section was edible, but even that weighed at least fifty pounds per bug. Ten thousand Claw Bugs meant five hundred thousand pounds of flesh. Even Magic City could not consume it all.

If he were to sell all five hundred thousand pounds, Qin Hao would receive ten million Star Diamonds—enough to exhaust the population of Fang Demons.

Of course, as time passed, Star Diamonds would become more abundant. But by then, everyone would have the strength to face a first-level evolved Claw Bug, and the value of the flesh would sharply decline.

Qin Hao sold eight thousand pounds of Claw Bug flesh and fifteen thousand pounds of Venom Spider flesh in one go, netting three hundred and ten thousand Star Diamonds.

That was already the limit for Magic City.

Since no one bought more than five thousand pounds, Qin Hao did not build any cold storage for them. With Qin Hao’s massive sale, all subsequent transactions seemed trivial and lackluster by comparison.

At one o’clock, Zihui rose to leave. The Heroes’ Gathering was over.

“It seems none of us have anything worthy of exchanging. In that case, from now on, the Heroes’ Gathering will be held every three days. I hope that next time, each of you can bring something decent—perhaps share combat techniques—so that everyone can unite, instead of harboring their own agendas.”

Zihui’s gaze swept coldly over Lu Shaohua.

Lu Shaohua’s face darkened.

He had lost all his money to Zihui and hadn’t even managed to buy anything from Qin Hao. Partly, he lacked the funds for a substantial purchase, but he also recognized Qin Hao and refused to lose face by buying a paltry amount in front of him.

In the end, everyone else left with their arms full, while Lu Shaohua departed empty-handed, poorer by ten thousand Star Diamonds.

A vicious glint flashed in Lu Shaohua’s eyes. Sooner or later, when the Northern Base grew strong, it would crush these small bases beneath its heel.

The gathering dispersed, and outside the grand theater, Zihui had instinctively taken her place at Qin Hao’s side, a smile appearing on her face.

“Qin Hao, I thought you wouldn’t return for a long while.”

“I came back especially after hearing of your impressive achievements. Did you gain much this time?”

An air of confidence played across Zihui’s face. “You might not believe this, but I now have eight hundred million Hero Points.”

Eight hundred million—a staggering figure. But Qin Hao wasn’t surprised.

During Zihui’s live streams, even though there were many viewers, most watched with skepticism and doubt, offering little mental power in return.

But now, with the Eye of All Sects, Zihui had publicized the method of becoming an Evolver in this post-apocalyptic world devoid of the internet, giving all survivors a path to salvation.

It was divine guidance.

In the depths of despair, faith grew even stronger, and gratitude burned brighter.

Each person granted Zihui a hundred Hero Points.

A million people made a hundred million.

Eight million people made eight hundred million.

Was it a lot? Not at all.

“Congratulations. Looks like you’ll have another trump card to play,” Qin Hao said.

But Zihui shook her head. “After some consideration, I’ve decided to exchange all these Hero Points for mental power to advance my evolution. After all, it’s much easier for me to earn Hero Points.”

“That’s fine, too.”

The rate of absorbing mental power from Star Energy was slow. Through the Hero System, Zihui could directly infuse herself with mental power at a much faster pace. With eight hundred million points already poured in, she was still just shy of reaching the limit for level-two mental power.

Though her progress could not match Qin Hao, who cultivated both mental and vital power, she was still far ahead of all other Evolvers.

After all, Qin Hao and Zihui had been the first wave of test heroes.

“With you around, I can rest easy,” Zihui said with a smile, her beauty radiant enough to topple cities—though Qin Hao beside her did not even notice.

“Show me the Eye of All Sects later. I need to dispose of what I have and get more Star Diamonds,” Qin Hao said.

Hearing this, Zihui realized Qin Hao still intended to leave, but she was suddenly at peace.

As long as Qin Hao had use for the Eye of All Sects, he would always return to her.