Chapter 167: Accepting Supplies
Early spring arrived, and the thick snow of winter melted under the warm sunlight, turning into snowmelt that nourished the land.
Outside a mountain hollow one kilometer away from the Wildfolk camp, two figures were hiding among the weeds.
“We’ve waited two days and still haven’t seen the people delivering the supplies. Could something have gone wrong?”
After observing through the scope for a long time, Li Bao saw no movement and lowered the sniper rifle in his hands.
“Stop talking nonsense. If the lord said there would be supplies, then there definitely will be.”
In response to his younger brother’s complaints, Li Hu immediately spoke up to scold him.
Now that there was a chance to escape a hand-to-mouth existence, Li Hu cherished this opportunity greatly.
Just as Li Bao was about to retort, Li Hu suddenly let out a cry of surprise.
“They’re here.”
Hearing this, Li Bao immediately raised his sniper rifle. Through the scope, he could clearly see several large trucks capable of driving through the wilderness slowly approaching a flat area not far from them.
“Go, hurry and notify Minister Lu to come over. I’ll continue monitoring here.”
“Brother, I’ll be back as fast as I can.”
Hearing his elder brother’s arrangement, Li Bao immediately rushed toward the camp.
In the distance, as the trucks stopped on the flat ground beneath the mountain hollow, dozens of hunters holding firearms got down from the vehicles.
“Captain, the goods have arrived. Why don’t we see anyone here to receive them?”
Looking at the desolate surroundings, someone asked the captain with the thick beard and a build like a brown bear.
This man was precisely the captain of the Violent Bear Hunting Corps. His companions also called him Violent Bear, the reason being that he had once strangled a fierce tiger to death with his bare hands.
“What’s the rush? Unload the goods first. If no one comes to take them before nightfall, we’ll just take everything back to the base.”
“Captain, you’re making us do hard labor.”
“Enough nonsense. Today everyone gets an extra ten thousand in bonuses. You just need to follow my orders. Whoever keeps yapping, I’ll send him to the Blue Rose Bar to earn some extra money.”
When the members of the Violent Bear Hunting Corps heard this, they immediately felt their anuses clench. After all, the Blue Rose Bar was a well-known gathering place for homosexuals within the base.
Sending them there to earn extra money was basically telling them to sell their backsides.
The members of the Violent Bear Hunting Corps knew their captain’s temperament well. If they disobeyed orders, he really might send them to the Blue Rose Bar to earn extra money. For a moment, no one dared complain. They hurriedly acted as laborers and began unloading the goods.
Half an hour later, after all the goods had been unloaded, Lu Tao and Lin Hai finally arrived with their people.
“Captain, someone’s here.”
“Stay alert. No one fires without my order.”
As Lin Hai gradually approached, both sides became silently vigilant.
The hunting corps.
The Wildfolk.
One side was fully equipped, the other looked like refugees.
However, both sides had orders from their respective lords, so no conflict broke out, nor did either side have any intention of probing into the other’s background.
“Brother, this is the list of supplies we’ll need next time. According to our lord’s instructions, after you provide supplies exceeding a value of three hundred million, we’ll exchange medicinal herbs, pelts, and other materials in return, with the value calculated at ninety percent of market price.”
Lu Tao looked at the hunters around him holding firearms and staring at him intently. He took the initiative to walk up to Violent Bear, who was clearly the leader, and handed him the list of supplies required for building the camp.
Violent Bear received it without opening it and directly placed it into the inner pocket of his clothes for safekeeping.
“Withdraw.”
Without saying another word, Violent Bear directly ordered his men to leave.
As the vehicles started up, the Violent Bear Hunting Corps departed at once.
Inside the vehicle, a curious member finally spoke up to ask Violent Bear.
“Captain, why are we trading with the Wildfolk? And we’re not even getting any obvious benefits.”
The one who spoke was Violent Bear’s confidant. Under the signals from the other team members, he braced himself and asked.
“There are some things you’re better off not knowing. You only need to remember one thing: delivering goods is safer than entering the wilderness, and the money we get is more than usual.”
“As for delivering goods to the Wildfolk, don’t talk nonsense, don’t pry, and don’t ask questions. From now on, just follow me and enjoy good food and strong drink.”
“After getting off the vehicle, repeat my exact words to the other brothers. Understood?”
“Understood.”
The others in the vehicle weren’t fools. They knew there had to be secrets behind this matter, but the less they knew, the safer it was, so no one wanted to continue asking.
After all, who wouldn’t like something that involved less trouble, more money, and greater safety?
After the Violent Bear Hunting Corps went far away, Lu Tao and Lin Hai immediately arranged for people to move the supplies.
Fortunately, the Han Family hadn’t sent any large items this time. The Wildfolk in the camp were enough to carry the various packages.
However, without transportation assistance, combined with the rugged road ahead and the occasional appearance of mutated animals, it was only by nightfall that all the supplies were moved.
After returning to Qinghui Base, Violent Bear also used secret channels to deliver the supply list given to him by Lu Tao into Han Zhenshu’s hands.
“Planning to establish a long-term camp?”
Based on the supplies recorded on the list, Han Zhenshu was able to guess Zhou Ming’s intentions.
After a brief moment of thought, Han Zhenshu then instructed Violent Bear to prepare the supplies according to the list. At present, the Han Family still needed to maintain a good relationship with Zhou Ming, so Han Zhenshu had no intention of probing into Zhou Ming’s secrets.
Over the following month, relying on the Violent Bear Hunting Corps as a hidden piece, Han Zhenshu continuously sent the supplies needed by Zhou Ming’s camp.
The abnormal actions of the Violent Bear Hunting Corps were also gradually noticed, and people began secretly investigating the hidden secrets behind it.
In response to this situation, Zhou Ming had no choice but to conceal his identity and warn these people. As for the true relationship between the Violent Bear Hunting Corps and the Han Family, Zhou Ming also learned it directly from Violent Bear.
With a Professional Beast Tamer stepping forward to issue a warning, the covert investigations quickly died down.
After all, the supplies Zhou Ming needed were very ordinary, all common materials for building a camp. Moreover, a Professional Beast Tamer setting up a private secret base in the wilderness was nothing unusual.
Only同行 members of the Violent Bear Hunting Corps were envious of Violent Bear’s incredible luck in getting connected with a Professional Beast Tamer.
As all three hundred million worth of supplies were delivered to the camp, the Violent Bear Hunting Corps also began bringing back medicinal herbs gathered by the camp, as well as pelts and Ferocious Beast materials, on their return trips.
At the Wildfolk camp, after acquiring a large amount of resources, the underground dark river cave underwent noticeable changes every day.
However, Zhou Ming did not pay much attention to these matters.
Aside from previously stepping forward to warn the investigators, he basically stayed on the central island of the underground lake.
Other than being unable to carry out bloodline experiments, all his thoughts were focused on improving his strength.
Every day, aside from meditation, he flipped through the books obtained from Qi Kaiyuan and Qi Shouwu, gaining deeper insights into the Professional Beast Tamer path.
As for the Half-Beastman class advancement materials, as well as hypotheses regarding bloodlines and some simple experiments, Zhou Ming never set them aside.
After all, the Ruler profession had not yet been fully perfected.
A profession with a complete system required many things to support it.
In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.