Jia Shan was a level four fire-type Awakened, and today his luck exploded when he found a mutated corpse.

Unfortunately, just as he was collecting the crystal, he was discovered by a group of people.

What a high-level crystal meant was no longer a secret at this point.

Naturally, Jia Shan was unwilling to have it snatched away. He grabbed the crystal and ran, with the other group in hot pursuit.

Jia Shan's luck was indeed good. More than a dozen zombies appeared and started fighting with his pursuers.

Jia Shan was able to escape, driving a car and speeding away.

Jia Shan knew that this group was from a large base, and he dared not stay nearby at all.

In order to completely shake off these people, he drove for seventy or eighty miles before stopping when the car ran out of gas.

Jia Shan found a hidden spot and began to absorb the crystal. Just after finishing one absorption, his expression changed drastically when he discovered that the group had actually caught up.

How could they have found me?

Jia Shan fled with all his might, killing a wind-type Awakened who was running the fastest, but he was running out of strength.

Then he happened to discover Chen Luo's base.

Jia Shan looked at it with a complex expression. With such a base, their strength must be considerable.

If he continued to run, he would most likely be caught, and he would lose both the crystal and his life.

If I can't have it, you can't have it either.

I'll try handing this crystal over to this base; maybe I can save my life.

If he hadn't killed one of their members, Jia Shan might have tried to give the crystal to them directly, but after killing someone, it was unlikely they would spare him.

Thus, Chen Guang came to ask Chen Luo how to handle the situation.

Chen Luo thought for a moment and said decisively, "This person must be protected."

It wasn't that Jia Shan was particularly valuable; Chen Luo hadn't even heard of him. So why protect him?

There once was a Peace Hotel. Anyone who entered this hotel, no matter what crime they had committed or how much trouble they had caused, the Peace Hotel would take care of it for them.

Whether they were on the right or wrong side of the law, everyone had to abide by the rules of the Peace Hotel.

Provided you had enough money.

Chen Luo wanted to emulate it. As long as you could offer something that moved me, I would settle the problem for you, no matter who came looking for trouble.

If this precedent was set and spread, maybe someone would bring a king-level crystal to his door in the future?

It would be a fool's dream to expect others to bring good things to his door willingly.

In Chen Luo's view, was this even a problem?

Who would dare to touch the person I was protecting?

Chen Luo was willing to set such a precedent even for a level five natural-type crystal.

The people chasing Jia Shan looked at Chen Luo's base with great apprehension. To cause trouble at such a base with just a dozen of them would be suicide.

One of them shouted politely, "We don't want to offend your base, but this man stole our things. Please hand him over. I represent our boss, Zheng Jin, in thanking you."

Chen Guang returned from Chen Luo and snorted, replying, "Our boss is protecting this person. Go back where you came from."

The easiest way would be to say that Jia Shan was one of their own, putting the other side in the wrong and likely avoiding trouble.

But wouldn't the publicity effect be better if he said…

No matter who it was, as long as you could bring good things, Chen Luo would protect you.

The group swallowed their anger, not daring to make any threats, afraid that they would be left there on the spot. This was someone else's territory, after all.

They would go back and let their boss decide.

Jia Shan came before Chen Luo, looking dejected, and reluctantly handed over the level seven natural-type crystal.

He felt very bitter. He was doing all the work for someone else, but at least he could save his life.

Chen Luo took the crystal with a smile. It was like a pillow arriving just when he was getting sleepy.

If he let everyone absorb a little, he could help seventy or eighty people reach level four quickly.

He would give half the amount to those who hadn't reached level four yet, and use the rest to improve Ouyang Lu and Meng Yin's levels.

Chen Luo glanced at Jia Shan and said, "Don't worry. I said I'd protect you, and even the King of Heaven himself can't take you away."

Jia Shan breathed a sigh of relief. He saw a woman walking over and couldn't help exclaiming in surprise, "Ma Yu?"

The person who came was Ma Yu. She wanted to ask Chen Luo what he wanted for lunch.

She didn't expect to run into someone she knew.

Ma Yu frowned, looked at Jia Shan, and after a moment, she suddenly realized, "You're Jia Shan, right?"

Jia Shan nodded happily, not expecting to meet someone he knew here.

Chen Luo was instantly on alert. Was this Jia Shan trying to steal Da Zhu's girl?

That was impossible.

Seeing that the two didn't seem very familiar, and that Jia Shan was dark and skinny, Chen Luo relaxed again.

Ma Yu explained, "This person used to be my colleague. His cooking skills are pretty good."

Chen Luo understood. So he was a chef. It just so happened that the base was lacking skilled cooks. He could report to the kitchen.

Jia Shan nodded repeatedly. He was good at cooking, although not as good as Ma Yu, he was still quite skilled.

Even in the toughest times, the person in charge of the cooking would never go hungry. This was a good job.

Ma Yu left, and Chen Luo warned, "Don't have any improper thoughts about Ma Yu, understand?"

Jia Shan responded with an "oh." He knew his place.

Could it be that Ma Yu had become the boss's woman? He certainly wouldn't dare to dream about that.

The people chasing Jia Shan returned to their base and immediately told their boss, Zheng Jin, what had happened.

Zheng Jin frowned and asked, "How big was the crystal?"

His subordinates described it.

Having seen level six crystals before, Zheng Jin judged that this might be a level seven, or even a level eight, crystal.

Damn, what a treasure! How could he be willing to let someone else take it?

Zheng Jin immediately began to inquire about the strength of Chen Luo's base.

The information he received made Zheng Jin frown even more. A base of more than two thousand people, only recruiting level four members, on the surface, seemed much stronger than his own.

They were really not easy to provoke.

But if he could obtain this crystal, it would definitely allow him to reach level six. Zheng Jin would do anything to find a way.

Zheng Jin thought for a while and sent out an emissary.

The emissary arrived at Chen Luo's base and said respectfully, "Chief Chen, our boss said, we'll split the crystal in half. If you're willing to hand over Jia Shan, who killed our brother, one-third of the crystal will do."

With one-third of the crystal, Zheng Jin estimated that he could reach level six.

In fact, Zheng Jin only wanted one-third of the crystal. He was afraid that Chen Luo wouldn't agree if he asked for more. Plus, he could exchange it for Jia Shan to sacrifice to the heavens.

Chen Luo chuckled, "I'm protecting Jia Shan. I said, no one can do anything about it. As for the crystal, if you're not convinced, have him come and take it himself."

Chen Luo didn't leave any room for compromise, and was very decisive.

The emissary swallowed his anger and left, returning to the base to relay Chen Luo's words to Zheng Jin truthfully.

Zheng Jin slammed the table in anger.

He really didn't give him any face at all.

The martial world was about social connections, so why didn't he show him any respect?

But he didn't dare to fight Chen Luo head-on.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Zheng Jin went to a warehouse filled with a bloody smell and said respectfully, "Mr. Iron Leg, we need you to take action."