Trading

Can't wait any longer.

"Comrade Chang Chengye," Chen Jianhua's tone remained calm, but beneath that calm lay a palpable sense of pressure, "more than half an hour has passed. Why hasn't Secretary Zhang brought Professor Tang over yet? Did he encounter some trouble on the way?"

Seeing that the other party was losing his composure first, a smug glint flashed in Chang Chengye's eyes.

He feigned surprise and exclaimed "Oh dear!" before calling over another guard at the door, instructing him to go and check quickly and "urge him on."

Clearly, he intended to waste another half hour.

Just then, Chen Jianhua's encrypted communicator vibrated slightly.

He glanced at it quickly as he adjusted his collar; it was a text message from Commander Peng, containing only a cold sentence: "...Seven top scientists have been confirmed dead or missing. Professor Tang must be brought back at all costs."

Chen Jianhua took a deep breath and finally stopped beating around the bush.

He leaned forward slightly, looking directly at Chang Chengye, and cut to the chase: "Comrade Chang Chengye, let's not beat around the bush. I've seen it all along the way in; your base is probably facing a severe shortage of supplies, especially in terms of winter clothing and food. What if our military could provide some support to help you overcome your current difficulties?"

This is exactly what Chang Chengye was waiting for!

His face immediately softened into a look of deep sorrow and concern, and he even let out a heavy sigh: "Staff Officer Chen, you have no idea what difficulties we're facing here... We've taken in no fewer than half a million people! Our food reserves are only enough for four days, clean drinking water for only two days, and our ammunition reserves are almost depleted. Most critically, we lack winter supplies. Last night's snowfall... alas, hundreds of weaker civilians... froze to death!"

He shook his head as he spoke, his tone heavy with sorrow.

Chen Jianhua's eyelids twitched.

He observed when he entered the city that although the community was large, it was sparsely populated and the notices posted were for "rationing" of several thousand people. Where did the 500,000 come from?

This is clearly an exorbitant price hike, inflating the number of attendees and demanding exorbitant prices.

But he also knew that the other party was indeed short of supplies, and that this exorbitant demand was precisely to negotiate a settlement.

He remained silent for a moment, as if he were making difficult calculations and choices.

Chen Jianhua spoke in a deep voice: "Since Mayor Chang shoulders such a heavy responsibility, our military cannot sit idly by. In this way, we can provide enough basic survival supplies to sustain 500,000 people for a month, including food, drinking water, basic medicines, and some winter clothing, to help you overcome the current crisis."

Chang Chengye immediately frowned, looking very troubled—he knew that the military controlled that huge national strategic reserve warehouse, which contained enough supplies to support a million people for several years!

Although he only had a few thousand core personnel under his command, these supplies were enough to last him a long time.

But he wanted to expand, support more people, and consolidate his power. This amount of supplies was less than one percent of the military's inventory; it was practically a beggar's treat.

He sighed, his tone filled with worry: "Chief of Staff Chen, I appreciate your good intentions. But you may not know this, but Professor Tang mentioned to me before that a meteorological expert in their team analyzed that this round of extreme cold weather is likely not a short-term phenomenon, but will last for more than a year!"

At that point, ordinary people won't be able to go outside at all. Without enough firearms, ammunition, and professional cold-weather gear, how will we defend ourselves against a potential zombie horde? Let alone go out to search for supplies.

What you've provided... is probably just a drop in the ocean for 500,000 mouths, and can hardly solve the fundamental problem...

Chen Jianhua suppressed his anger, but feigned surprise, patting his forehead: "Oh dear! Look at me, I really didn't think things through! I only thought about the emergency, without considering the long-term and defensive issues. Like this—"

He seemed to have made a very difficult decision. "We will provide enough food, water, medicine, and professional cold-weather clothing for 500,000 people for a year. At the same time, we will distribute enough standard firearms and ammunition for 50,000 personnel. How about that? This should greatly alleviate the pressure on your side."

A glint flashed in Chang Chengye's eyes. The conditions were already quite generous, but his greedy appetite was far from satisfied.

He rubbed his hands together, a troubled yet expectant smile spreading across his face: "Officer Chen is truly a timely help! Thank you so much! However... there is still a practical problem. You see, the snow is getting deeper and deeper, making it impossible for ordinary vehicles to move an inch."

If we want to go deeper into the city to rescue more trapped compatriots, or clear out the zombies... could we send some more tracked troop carriers? Not too many, five hundred will do!

"Five hundred vehicles?!" Chen Jianhua almost jumped up from the sofa—the entire Yangcheng Military Region probably only has a little over a thousand tracked vehicles that are currently operational!

His expression shifted, and finally he gritted his teeth and said, "Mayor Chang, to be honest, our situation is also very tense right now. We have a limited stock of this type of heavy equipment. At most... at most we can allocate one hundred vehicles to you. That's our limit."

"One hundred vehicles... good, one hundred vehicles is fine!" Chang Chengye's face instantly lit up with an extremely grateful smile, as if he had received a great favor.

He grabbed Chen Jianhua's hand and squeezed it tightly, his eyes even reddening slightly. "Thank you so much! Staff Officer Chen, no, Brother Chen! You are the savior of our 500,000 people! Please convey my sincerest gratitude to Commander Peng!"

With the deal finalized, Chang Chengye suddenly remembered the important matter at hand.

He feigned anger, picked up the internal communicator, and sternly reprimanded Zhang Hui, ordering him to bring the person over immediately.

Ten minutes later, the study door was pushed open, and Zhang Hui walked in with Professor Tang Guohua and his daughter Tang Xiaoran.

Tang Xiaoran was in her early twenties. She inherited her father's scholarly air, had a beautiful and refined appearance, and a temperament as cold as ice and snow. She stood quietly beside her father.

Chang Hao stared, his eyes wide, a wave of regret and pain washing over him—he had tried to make a move on this beauty several times before, but Professor Tang had stopped him with all his might, and Chang Chengye had also kept Professor Tang in check for the time being.

Now that the beauty is about to leave with the military, he feels his heart is bleeding.

Seeing that Professor Tang looked somewhat tired but was in good spirits and his clothes were neat, Chen Jianhua felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders.

He strode forward and grasped Professor Tang's hand tightly: "Professor Tang, I am Chen Jianhua, Chief of Staff of the Yangcheng Military Region. I have come to fetch you on orders from the General Staff Headquarters and Commander Peng. The nation needs you, humanity needs you. Please return to the base with us immediately to oversee the serum research and development!"

Professor Tang Guohua's face broke into a rare, genuine smile, and hope rekindled in his eyes: "I'm willing to go with you. This is my daughter, Tang Xiaoran. She has a master's degree in biology and can be my assistant in the lab. Staff Officer Chen, could you let her come along too?"

Chen Jianhua immediately looked at Chang Chengye.

Chang Chengye smiled broadly, appearing incredibly magnanimous: "Professor Tang and your daughter are already free individuals; their decision to stay or leave is entirely voluntary. We only provided temporary shelter, and now that the military can offer better conditions and a more important mission, of course we support them!"

That was an extremely beautifully said statement.