Chapter 266 - 227: Mastery of the Anti-Face-Reading Technique (Part 2)

Chapter 266: Chapter 227: Mastery of the Anti-Face-Reading Technique (Part 2)

"This jar of crystals will cover my companion’s medical fees..."

Then, his tone shifted. His eyes raked greedily over Zheng Lv as he pressed his advantage.

"But that sneak attack just now? You were trying to kill me. If I hadn’t blocked it, I doubt you’d be standing here having such a calm conversation with me."

He spread his hands, acting as if he hadn’t just received anything at all, and said like a common thug,

"So what about my pain and suffering?"

’It’s working!’

Zheng Lv rejoiced internally. Unless it was a life-or-death situation, nobody wanted to fight to the death with an expert of comparable strength.

He was still pressing the issue, but the negotiation had entered the haggling stage. This meant both sides had reached a fundamental agreement.

Watching his thuggish act, which was so clearly a performance, she smirked to herself. ’This is just what it’s like when a student tries to act like a street-smart tough guy to bargain.’ She was even convinced he’d already accepted the deal.

"Well..."

She copied Lin Fan, spreading her hands. Her voice from under the gas mask became more familiar, carrying a perfectly calibrated note of helplessness.

"Friend, you can see for yourself, things aren’t easy for us either. We just sent off a shipment as tribute to the ’big shots’ over in the quarantine zone. Those guys have cannons... This is really all we have left."

BZZT...

Her boss’s instructions came through her earpiece again. A flicker of movement in Zheng Lv’s eyes, and she immediately put on a smile, relaying his words.

"However, my boss is very impressed by your strength, and he’d like to make you a friend. He says that, as a show of good faith, you should come back in two days. Whether we intercept a new shipment or not, we’ll scrape it together from our own supply and give you another eight crystals to make it an even twenty!"

"That’s the best offer we can make."

Seeing that Lin Fan was still hesitating, Zheng Lv decided to add the final straw to break his resolve. Her tone suddenly became soft and sultry, and she took a light step forward.

"You could stay nearby for a couple of days... Besides the frozen meat, the factory still has a few dozen ’fresh goods’ left. They’re all premium quality that we’ve been saving, ones we couldn’t bear to use."

"Young girls, young wives, mature women, housewives... Whatever you like, we’ve got it..."

She stretched her back with feigned nonchalance. The movement pulled her tattered, rain-soaked summer clothes tight, accentuating the curves of her slender-yet-voluptuous waist and her full bust.

A few previously unnoticeable tears near her collar "accidentally" shifted, revealing a large patch of snow-white skin and an exquisite black lace bra underneath.

"They’re all consumables, anyway. If you take a fancy to any of them, play as you like. If you... break them... well, they’ll be perfect for turning into crystals."

As she spoke, she took two more steps forward, bringing her less than three meters from Lin Fan. She slowly raised her hand, undid the clasp on her gas mask, and with a HISS, took off the mask that hid her face.

As she lifted the mask, a stunning face was exposed to the rain. It was an exquisitely pale and bewitching face, especially her almond-shaped eyes, which tilted up slightly at the corners and carried a soul-stealing charm in their gaze. Paired with her slightly parted red lips, she was a surreal and potent temptation on this platform reeking of blood.

She pushed the mask up onto her head, extended the tip of her tongue to lick her lips, and stared directly at Lin Fan. Her voice was as soft and sweet as sin.

"And if you get tired of playing with them... I could... I could also help you pass the time..."

"Oh? You’re also an option...?"

Lin Fan’s eyes brightened. He looked at the woman’s figure, his expression a mixture of wanting to stare but having to maintain a proud facade. He swallowed discreetly, but then shook his head and curled his lip.

"A honey trap... And you want me to wait two days? You people have these kinds of resources..."

He said, gesturing with one hand toward the two towering Mutated Zombies.

"Who knows what’ll be waiting for me then? You take me for an idiot."

Then, after thinking for a few seconds, he broke into a smile that he considered "sinister" but, in Zheng Lv’s eyes, was actually somewhat childish.

"How about this? It’s simple. You ambushed me from up there, so now we have a score to settle... You let me take one swing at you, and we’ll call it even for my ’pain and suffering’..."

As he spoke, he swung the axe in his hand, creating a heavy, whistling sound as it cut through the air.

"Of course, I’m not an unreasonable man. You can use your powers to defend yourself with everything you’ve got."

"Don’t you go too far!"

Tao He, who had been standing behind Zheng Lv, finally lost his patience. Though he maintained an elegant posture, his eyes had long since turned grim. He stepped forward, his right fist clenched as if he were accumulating some kind of power.

"We just don’t want to waste our strength, it’s not that we’re actually afraid of you! A young man shouldn’t be so arrogant..."

"Shut up."

Zheng Lv raised a hand, calmly stopping Tao He’s outburst. She didn’t immediately agree or refuse. She just quietly pressed the communicator in her ear, because that cold, clammy voice was once again speaking to her.

"Accept his terms. I’ve checked Hong Chuan’s injuries. You’re much stronger than him. You can take the hit..."

The boss’s voice came through the static, calm and analytical.

"If you get hurt, I’ll give you those eight crystals after this is over... But if you can block his attack completely... counter-attack immediately. Kill him, and those twelve crystals are yours too!"

Zheng Lv listened to her boss’s words impassively, recalling Hong Chuan’s injuries and what she herself had seen from the rooftop.

They had arrived late, only in time to see Lin Fan’s axe clash with Hong Chuan’s, shattering the latter’s blade before the full force of the blow landed on Hong Chuan’s shoulder.