Chapter 211: Chapter 211: Negotiation
Ivy studied him for a moment, then pointed toward the road ahead.
"Good. You should leave now. The military base is just up ahead."
The man’s eyes lit up.
"You... you’re going there too?"
Ivy shook her head calmly.
"No. I was going to head there, but only to make a deal. You, though, don’t need to go that far. There’s another base nearby. They won’t even charge you an entry fee."
Might as well use the opportunity to recruit more citizens.
At the same time, she heard the familiar voice in her mind.
[You have earned 100 KB!]
The young man blinked in shock. His lips parted. "Is... is that true?"
Ivy nodded. "If you don’t believe me, go and test it yourself."
The temptation was clear in his eyes. He glanced at his little sister in his arms, then back at Ivy. Finally, he gathered his courage and asked,
"Can you tell me the road?"
Ivy explained patiently.
After memorizing it, the young man bowed slightly, then turned to leave. Halfway through, he stopped and looked back at her.
"What’s your name?"
Ivy paused, then answered plainly. "Ivy."
The young man nodded. His eyes gleamed with determination.
"One day, I’ll repay you for this. I promise."
Ivy only waved him off. To her, this was nothing more than a small encounter.
She soon forgot about it entirely as she continued her ride until the military base came into view.
Instead of heading for Silas’s offices, she made her way straight to the barter department.
She had promised General Dante that she wouldn’t use Silas. And she was planning to keep that promise.
Inside, a clean but stern-looking soldier sat behind the counter. Ivy walked up calmly and spoke in a steady voice.
"I want to exchange food for firearms."
The woman lifted her eyes. It was Julia, the head of the barter department.
Recognition flashed instantly across her face, and her lips curved into a faint smile.
"For firearms, the price is twenty kilograms of rice for each pistol."
Ivy’s eyes narrowed. "Twenty kilograms? For one pistol?"
Julia leaned back in her chair, her tone almost lazy.
"Yes. That’s the price. Take it or leave it."
Inside, Ivy was boiling. This is ridiculous. Twenty kilograms? Even in the apocalypse, this is robbery.
’Does she view me as some innocent rabbit?’
(A/n: Hey! That’s me!)
Julia tilted her head mockingly.
"What’s wrong? "Have you already given up because you’re too poor?"
Ivy chuckled lowly.
"Poor? No. I just think I’ll go complain directly to General Dante. Let’s see what he thinks about the military hiking prices this much."
Ivy didn’t have a clear impression of Julia, but based on how Julia hiked the price, she suspected there was more to it. Julia was most probably acquainted with General Frank and must have known about Ivy’s identity.
Hence the price hike.
Julia’s brows twitched. Still, she kept her tone calm.
"Go ahead and complain. No one will listen to you. Everyone’s too busy worrying about themselves."
Ivy leaned forward slightly, her eyes glinting.
"You’re wrong. I’ve done many good deeds for this base, with the support of its members. If I speak up, my case will be noticed immediately."
For the first time, Julia’s face lost its ease.
She remembered how Ivy had indeed become a celebrity because of her charity!
She frowned. "...What do you want?"
If Ivy didn’t want anything, she would have left long ago, and a protest would have started by now. She wouldn’t still be sitting here and talking to her.
Ivy’s lips curled into a sly smile.
"You’re smart. That’s wonderful. I want half of the firearms the military is planning to sell."
Julia stiffened. Her fingers tightened on the desk.
"...Half? Do you know how many of those there are?"
The reality was that the firearms put up for sale this time were to earn more food.
The military had hoarded firearms more than food. The food hoarded was stolen by a few of the higher authorities.
Some remaining food was used as a supply in the military base. Now, even though they have restored a massive amount of food, with the current base’s population, it would only last 2 years.
Hence, the military decided to sell some of the defective firearms. In the future, the value of the food will increase, while the firearms might become ineffective against the zombies.
Ten grams of rice could scarcely be traded for a pistol back then.
Now, though... things were different. They can offer the defective supplies, which were more powerful than ordinary weapons and less efficient than real firearms, for a fair price.
Hence, Julia didn’t dare to shoo away Ivy, even after her outrageous request, despite having hiked the price to 20 kg of rice per pistol.
Ivy crossed her arms, and her voice sounded like she was talking about the weather.
"Of course I know. The deal might even reach 1000 kg of rice."
Julia gritted her teeth.
"...Fine. I’m ready to negotiate."
Ivy’s smile widened.
"One kilogram of rice per ten pistolas."
Julia’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"Are you crazy? Can you sell ten guns for one kilogram of rice? If yes, then I want to buy from you instead!"
Ivy chuckled lightly.
"You were the one who offered to negotiate. Now that I am, you’re acting like a spoiled child. That’s not very professional, Julia."
Julia slammed her palm on the table, her jaw clenched tight.
"...You drive a hard bargain, Ivy."
’Of course I do,’ Ivy thought with amusement. ’You tried to rob me. Now it’s your turn to swallow your own medicine.’
"Calm down. Hear me out." With a calm smile, Ivy drummed her finger on the table. "I know the batch you are selling is a defective one. So the one kilogram of rice for ten pistoles isn’t a bad deal."
Julia’s face turned pale before she asked with a grim expression,
"I will report you and Silas. You got this news from him, right? Just wait and see how I will deal..."
"Tsk! Tsk! So much for a receptionist. Go ahead and do it. But I can easily prove that Silas hasn’t told me a single thing. I am acting independently on my own!"
"You don’t understand, do you?" Julia’s pale face had a twisted grin.