Zhang Chen sat in the room for a while, then looked down at the time displayed by the system.
It was now 9:43 PM.
The sun outside the window was still above the horizon, forever frozen in that position, neither rising nor setting, just as it had been hours ago.
This sight made Zhang Chen's sense of time a bit confused.
Knock, knock, knock!
There was a knock on the door. Shirley peeked in and then walked in.
"Master, I've spread the word among the current batch of reincarnators about the ultimate apocalypse opening at midnight."
"After all, these guys have been in the apocalypse for a long time and are quite suspicious. I can't say it too confidently, so I can only spread it as a rumor. That way, their doubts will be minimized!"
Shirley reported.
"Mm, you did very well!"
Zhang Chen nodded, and then, as if remembering something, he quickly said:
"Also, tell Wang Zihao of the black market that we will go to their place for the appointment tonight!"
"Tonight?" Shirley was momentarily stunned, but then she understood immediately and agreed, "Alright, Master, I'll do it right away!"
Shirley's expression was blank for a moment, then quickly returned to normal. She said,
"Wang Zihao said Boss Qian welcomes us and asked how many people are on our side so they can prepare a welcome banquet!"
"A welcome banquet... I think we can skip that..."
Zhang Chen hesitated and refused.
Part of the reason for this trip was to seek refuge, to observe in a relatively safe place how terrifying the ultimate apocalypse truly was. Only after understanding it clearly could they set off to find the lighthouse.
Otherwise, if they were wiped out at the start of the ultimate apocalypse, there would be nothing else to do.
Since there was an element of seeking refuge and eating someone else's food, it felt a bit awkward.
Moreover, Zhang Chen was genuinely worried that the black market wouldn't prepare good food, perhaps a feast of instant noodles and sausages with all sorts of flavors... eating that wouldn't be pleasant, and he'd still have to express gratitude... that would be too difficult.
"Wang Zihao said it's Boss Qian's idea, and they told us not to be polite!"
Shirley repeated Wang Zihao's words.
Boss Qian was right beside Wang Zihao at this moment.
Wang Zihao and Shirley were essentially conduits, relaying every word from the leaders of both sides. In essence, it was Zhang Chen conversing directly with Boss Qian.
Zhang Chen: "I appreciate the kind gesture, but our group might be a bit large... Food is already a scarce resource in the apocalypse, and if too much is consumed, I'll feel guilty!"
Boss Qian: "Mr. Zhang, there's no need to be polite. I heard of your heroic deeds as soon as I awoke. I am a person who likes to make friends, and besides, a welcome banquet is nothing to the black market's wealth!"
"Tell me how many people are on your side, and I'll have people prepare immediately!"
Zhang Chen: "That doesn't seem right..."
Boss Qian: "Mr. Zhang, you don't need to be so polite. Just tell me how many people you have in total!"
Seeing that Boss Qian's enthusiasm was hard to refuse, Zhang Chen compromised and nodded. He opened the chat interface and began to quietly count the numbers.
A moment later, he said:
"Since Boss Qian is so hospitable, if I refuse again, it would be disrespectful to you. We have a total of 9831 people. Thank you for your trouble!"
After this message was sent, there was a long pause on Wang Zihao's end before a reply came:
"No problem, we welcome Mr. Zhang Chen and his team!"
Zhang Chen's numbers included everyone from Zhang Wenwen's True God Cult, as well as Li Bingyu and Zheng Hao's Revival Camp, and Guan Xin's Red Rose Camp.
After all, they were all subordinate camps under his organization, and he couldn't favor one over the other. If he was bringing them, he had to bring them all.
On the other side, Wang Zihao looked at the number Zhang Chen sent, his eyes wide and dazed, his expression extremely contorted.
The last time he saw you, your team had only a little over a hundred people. How did it reach ten thousand in just a few days?
You're clearly shearing the sheep until it's bald!
Zhang Chen was highly recommended to Boss Qian by Wang Zihao. He had originally intended for Zhang Chen to be an asset to the black market, but before the two of them had even met, he was already asking the black market to foot a hefty bill. Wang Zihao felt his face burning.
This matter was handled rather dishonorably.
"It's alright. Although this will consume some of our reserve food, ... if Zhang Chen is truly as cunning and powerful as you say... this deal is definitely worth it!"
Boss Qian, holding his pipe, took a deep puff and slowly exhaled.
Smoke filled the entire room.
"Ten thousand people just for a meal. If they really have the strength, they might be able to ensure our high-wall city is impregnable!"
"I heard that the Soul Organization from the Second High-Wall City has formed an alliance with the Black Ox Legion from the Third City. If they join forces, they will definitely cause trouble for us!"
"Everyone knows the black market is a place that is flowing with wealth. We can use Zhang Chen's power to quell this conflict."
"Resolving conflict with a meal is simply too cost-effective!"
Boss Qian chuckled, a hint of slyness in his eyes.
With all arrangements made, Zhang Chen used the signaling beacon sent by Wang Zihao to open a teleportation gate to the Fourth High-Wall City.
The teleportation gate was only about the size of a soccer goal, very small.
Shirley and Zuo Nan led the people from the True God Cult, followed by Qing Feng and Tang Xiao'en's team through the teleportation gate first, then Er Pang and Ao Xue, and then Xu Ruina's zombie legion.
Zhang Chen's approach was very deliberate.
After all, Shirley and Zuo Nan were both from the same batch of reincarnators as Boss Qian and the others, and Shirley was the contact person. Going through first would allow them to familiarize themselves with the environment and facilitate future communication.
After the humans teleported, they then teleported the zombie legion, so as not to cause panic.
Otherwise, if such a large group of zombies and mutated creatures under Xu Ruina suddenly rushed through the teleportation gate, it would undoubtedly cause great panic.
Then came Zhang Chen and Xiao Ruan.
Mo Ran stayed by Lloyd's side to prevent him from feeling uneasy.
Upon arriving at the black market, Zhang Chen, without bothering to greet Boss Qian and the others, immediately found Tang Xiao'en and had him "voluntarily" hand over all the signaling beacons.
Then he placed the destination beacon on the ground and privately transferred the origin beacon to Zheng Hao, Guan Xin, Bai Hanlin, and others through the system.
Following that, teleportation gates tore through space, and large numbers of survivors poured into the Fourth High-Wall City through the portals.
Fortunately, the high-wall city was originally a prosperous metropolis, covering a vast area. It still had plenty of vacant streets and buildings to accommodate so many people at once.
Xiao Ruan found a park and began guiding the opening of teleportation gates there.
To bring Lloyd over would require a massive teleportation gate, consuming a significant amount of energy and time.
After all, a teleportation gate is not like a normal doorframe.
If a doorframe is small, and you accidentally bump into it, at most it will hurt a little.
However, if a teleportation gate is small, the power of space can tear apart any creature. This is no trivial matter.