Chapter Ten: Another Loan

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Although everyone had their doubts about this non-binding agreement, with tangible food supplies right before their eyes, no one refused. If Lin Lei hadn’t specified that only combat units could sign the agreement, probably every elderly, weak, sick, and disabled person in the settlement would have joined the fray just for the excitement.

After signing one hundred and eighty-six agreements in a row, Lin Lei had another forty spare agreements drafted, along with an equal amount of supplies. He handed them over to Yang Xueli and said, “I’m busy, so I’ll head to the frontlines first. Give these to your brother and the others. If they agree, they just need to sign their names and can collect their supplies before heading to the front to help. If they don’t agree, don’t force them. If there are any supplies left over... they’re yours.”

“Remember this! The agreement is important, so keep it safe. As for its purpose, you’ll understand once you truly kill some zombies. In the future, you’ll need the agreement to exchange for supplies—no agreement, no exchange. In fact, I’ll even reclaim the advance I gave out earlier!” After this final instruction, Lin Lei switched to flight mode and took off from the settlement.

His time was precious; every minute he reached the battlefield earlier meant more contribution points earned.

“Host, don’t you feel any shame hogging all the benefits for yourself?” As soon as Lin Lei was airborne, the system questioned him.

“Not at all! I exchanged my own contribution points for this food and supplies, and I came up with the idea myself. Why shouldn’t I reap the rewards alone?” Lin Lei replied confidently.

“This system believes your plan could still be improved,” the system said.

“Oh? Let’s hear it. But if you want contribution points as payment, forget it. Your advice and information are priceless; I simply can’t afford them.” Lin Lei didn’t miss the chance to mock the system.

“Your plan is sound, but you’ve overlooked the most crucial point: weapons and ammunition! Without enough arms and ammo, the survivors will struggle to resist the zombie horde. If they’re overrun, your plan falls apart.” The system’s words were sharp and direct.

“I know that. Why do you think I insisted on signing the gift agreement?” Lin Lei replied smugly.

By signing gift agreements, he could effectively exploit the loophole in the recycling mark. Since the agreement stated that the zombies were given as gifts, any zombies the survivors killed would automatically belong to Lin Lei.

Previously, Lin Lei had spent four contribution points to mark both first- and second-level zombies for recycling. He didn’t need to collect corpses himself; the contribution points would come straight to his account.

Lin Lei didn’t expect these people to actually hold off the horde. He just needed them to take a solid bite out of the first wave, allowing him to reach one hundred contribution points. Then the problem of weapons and ammunition would be easily solved.

“What if they run out of ammo and still haven’t reached the target?” the system said, “You need to be prepared. I can offer you a war loan—apply online, instant approval, up to two hundred contribution points—to help you wipe out the horde with ease.”

“How about you just tell me the interest rate,” Lin Lei responded. If it was a loan, there had to be interest.

“The war loan rate isn’t fixed,” the system explained. “It varies by risk, with a minimum of five percent and a maximum of ninety-five percent.”

A five percent rate meant the odds of success were already quite high without the loan—the system was just looking for a share of the profits. Ninety-five percent meant the risk of failure was enormous without the loan, and Lin Lei’s life could be at stake. The system would be taking a gamble.

After all, if Lin Lei was done for, any leftover contribution points would be useless.

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But if Lin Lei survived the crisis, the system could make a hefty profit.

“There’s actually a benefit like this? So, how much interest would you charge for this loan?” Lin Lei asked.

To Lin Lei, a war loan was a pretty good perk—at least when facing danger in the future, he could get a taste of the VIP treatment reserved for heavy spenders.

“After evaluation, the interest rate for this loan is eight percent—an extremely low-risk loan.”

“With risk this low, why should I let you make a profit?” Lin Lei said with a pout.

“Every time the host takes out a loan and repays it on time, your credit rating goes up. The higher your credit rating, the more you can borrow in the future.”

“Damn... are you a credit card system from a bank?” Lin Lei said, rubbing his forehead.

“This system only borrowed parts of the credit card model and made some upgrades,” the system replied.

“Upgraded the interest, the service fees, and the collection methods too, I suppose...”

Though Lin Lei knew the system was just looking to squeeze more contribution points from him, he still borrowed two hundred contribution points to ensure his plan went smoothly and to boost his credit limit.

Looking at the dazzling array of weapons and equipment in the exchange area, and listening to the system’s enthusiastic and patient explanations, Lin Lei once again felt what it meant to be king when you had money.

While Lin Lei entered spending mode, the group in the settlement was deep in heated discussion.

“We all know how tough a zombie horde is. In the past, if we had the numbers and gear, this scale of horde wouldn’t have been a problem. But now, we’re short on people and ammo. This is going to be a hard fight!” Chen Haonan pointed out the crucial issue.

“Maybe we just shouldn’t go. We can do our own thing instead. That kid might be powerful, but there’s over seven hundred of us in the settlement. What’s he going to do, really?” someone suggested.

“That’s right. If he’s smart, he’ll just leave. If not, we’ll make him cough up the rest of those supplies!”

“Shut up! He came to this fallen zone alone, equipped with high-tech gear and carrying loads of fresh supplies. Who knows what kind of backing he has? Is that something we can afford to provoke?” Chen Haonan said.

The rice and instant noodles were system-produced. There were no brands, but they did have production dates—after all, they had expiration dates.

Since the outbreak, a faction’s strength was judged by its reserves of food and ammunition. Any group that could produce either of those for themselves was never to be underestimated.

Lin Lei’s “faction” clearly had abundant supplies of both food and weapons.

“That’s right. Niutou Mountain Camp may be poor, but we can’t lose our credibility. If we’ve signed the agreement and taken the supplies, we must see the job through!” Yang Xueli said.

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After all, Lin Lei had saved her life. As long as it didn’t cross a moral line, she was willing to speak up for him.

“Easy for you to say! Without enough weapons and ammo, how are we supposed to fight the zombies? Poke them with sticks?” someone argued.

As voices clashed, another group entered from outside. Their leader was a tall man who bore a strong resemblance to Yang Xueli. As he walked in he said, “We’ve got enough weapons and ammo to pull off a small ambush!”

“Brother! You’re back! How are things outside?” Yang Xueli hurried over to greet him.

“Things out there are fine, but things at home are a mess! Old Li and I were only gone a short while—look at all the trouble you’ve stirred up!” Yang Chunxi pulled a gift agreement from his pocket, slapped it on the table, and shouted, “When you make deals, do you ever consider your own strength? Now the agreements are signed, and you want to back out? You’ve embarrassed Niutou Mountain completely!”

“You weren’t here to see the situation, Old Yang. With all those supplies laid out, who could think straight?” Chen Haonan explained.

“If you want supplies, just take them by force! If you can pull it off, it’s Niutou Mountain’s skill. If not, take your loss like a man!” Yang Chunxi retorted.

“I was about to take the supplies by force, Old Yang, but Xueli stopped me,” Huang Mao piped up to complain.

“So what if my sister stopped you? That just means you’re a coward! Keep whining and I’ll kill you myself!” Yang Chunxi doted on his sister and didn’t bother with reason.

Threatened, Huang Mao immediately fell silent.

“Enough, Old Yang. What’s done is done. Let’s think about how to solve it,” Old Li stepped in to mediate.

“Want to solve it? That’s easy—just follow through with the agreement! There are plenty of loopholes in there. We’ll do what we’re capable of: no way we’ll take on the main horde, but with our firepower, we can easily take out a thousand or so zombies in a short time. We just need to be smart about it. Some of us use the terrain to lure away the main horde, then the others strike quickly at the separated zombies, grab the bodies, and get out,” Yang Chunxi said.

The settlement had already assigned a few dozen people as a backup plan to lure the zombies away from Niutou Mountain. This time, everyone would be involved.

If they could wipe out over a thousand zombies, they’d not only fulfill the agreement and resolve Niutou Mountain’s crisis, but also make a little extra on the side—turning a passive situation into an active one.

“Alright, let’s do it! All combat personnel, prepare for action. Bring out every weapon and bullet we have—we’re going all in!” Chen Haonan decided.

“I heard there are spare agreements. I’ll sign one myself and see what that kid is really up to,” Yang Chunxi said. The previous agreement had been someone else’s; now he was going to sign his own.