Preparation

Zhuang Xiaolin could not hang all his hopes on Lungmen alone. He had to consider more avenues for himself, and a company called Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals had caught his attention.

After all, they were one of the few organizations opposed to discrimination against the Infected. Unlike those narrow-minded extremist groups filled with hatred, Zhuang Xiaolin found himself somewhat favorably inclined toward them.

Rhodes Island could become his next potential partner.

After reaching his target of three billion Lungmen Dollars, Zhuang Xiaolin's account was short those three billion, leaving him with just over twenty million Lungmen Dollars.

Still, that was quite a considerable sum. Zhuang Xiaolin decided to use it to purchase tools for their planned hunting trips outside the city.

Although he had no idea what the main mission was supposed to be, they probably would not encounter it here. If they wanted to grow stronger, they could only go out and seek opportunities. Given everyone's current strength, they could manage heading somewhere farther outside Lungmen to find work.

Zhuang Xiaolin used the Lungmen Dollars to buy two off-road vehicles, along with supplies and provisions for travel.

After making those purchases, Zhuang Xiaolin thought of another issue: protective gear.

After Tachanka and Glaz had been injured by melee attacks one after another last time, a major flaw in Rook's ballistic plates had also come to light.

They could not stop stabbing attacks. The reason was simple: most protective equipment was designed with specific threats in mind. Bulletproof vests, for example, were meant to reduce a bullet's kinetic energy or prevent it from penetrating the human body. Bomb suits were much the same.

So even though they had stacked plenty of ballistic plates, Rainbow Six operators could still be easily injured when facing melee attacks and the like.

That was why it was absolutely necessary to buy a set of highly protective stab-resistant gear.

Heavy armor was far too burdensome for these special operators who walked a razor's edge. When lives were on the line, speed and assault were the keys to saving hostages.

Therefore, when choosing stab-resistant vests, lighter was the only option; heavy was out of the question. The faster, the better. Speed was of the essence in war, and it could often catch the enemy off guard.

Zhuang Xiaolin went to a shop near central Lungmen that specialized in weapons and protective gear. After picking through the merchandise for three or four hours, he finally put together several complete sets of equipment.

To prevent them from running out of ammunition or other supplies during their journey, Zhuang Xiaolin also specifically prepared crossbows and several imitation guns. To be honest, though, imitation guns were extremely expensive, and using bullets powerful enough to make them worthwhile burned through money as well. Personally, Zhuang Xiaolin felt they were not as good as Machine Gun Guy's D27 Light Machine Gun.

After handling all that, the next thing Zhuang Xiaolin needed to deal with was the operation of the pharmacy here.

When Zhuang Xiaolin and the others went out, the pharmacy could not be left unattended. But leaving behind only a single Rainbow Six Squad operator would be rather dangerous as well.

As everyone knew, the Rainbow Six Squad relied on teamwork and coordination. Leaving one person behind alone was not a good thing for any of them.

Therefore, Zhuang Xiaolin decided to seek out the local kingpin here—the Rat King of the underworld.

When he arrived at the candy shop Rope had taken him to before, Zhuang Xiaolin walked silently to the counter and knocked on it. Then he stood straight, his eyes fixed on the dimly lit candy-making room.

After a short while, an elderly Zalak slowly emerged from the shadows. It was the Rat King.

The Rat King was not surprised to see Zhuang Xiaolin. After extending a hand in invitation, he went into a room deeper inside and sat down.

Zhuang Xiaolin was also someone who understood the rules. He followed behind the Rat King into the room.

"Mr. Zhuang Xiaolin, you did not come all this way to my little workshop just for tea, did you?"

The Rat King brewed a cup of tea and handed it to Zhuang Xiaolin.

"Thank you. To be honest, I really do have something I need to trouble you with this time."

Zhuang Xiaolin accepted the tea, thanked him first, then took a careful sip.

"I need to leave several times for a while. I do not know how long I will be gone—possibly a week, a few days, or even a few months. But I will definitely return here. Still, I truly cannot rest easy about this place's safety. So many people in the slums are waiting to buy my medicine to save their lives, and these medicines are valuable as well. Even the slightest mishap could cost several people their lives."

"I see. I'll send people over to watch the place for you. But the rules, you understand."

The Rat King nodded, then looked at Zhuang Xiaolin meaningfully.

Zhuang Xiaolin roughly understood what the Rat King meant. Sending people to help watch his establishment meant that, if he accepted this assistance, he would effectively become one of the people here—one of Lungmen's people, though only one of the slums' people.

It was both a test and a gesture of goodwill. After all, befriending a medicine supplier like Zhuang Xiaolin, someone who could produce medication to treat Oripathy, was a guaranteed profit.

"Then... it's a deal. I'll have to trouble you."

"A small matter, a small matter. We have you to thank as well. That gang that fled here from Siracusa has already been wiped out. During our investigation, we discovered that they had some connections with an Infected organization."

"If you are interested, I have some intelligence here." The Rat King smiled as he pulled out a sheet of paper from a nearby table and handed it to Zhuang Xiaolin.

"Thank you. Then I'll take my leave for now. I look forward to our next cooperation."

"Hahaha, good. Come by whenever you have time."

Zhuang Xiaolin returned to the pharmacy. He took out a large quantity of medicine from the system and placed it in the pharmacy's hidden space.

They would be gone for a long time, so the pharmacy could not be left without anyone to tend it. Nor could it be left without medicine. Therefore, based on current sales, Zhuang Xiaolin took out roughly a year's worth of doses.

Rook and the others were familiarizing themselves with the new crossbows and Terra-made knives, while Mozzie was getting accustomed to one of the two off-road vehicles Zhuang Xiaolin had bought.

Tachanka and Glaz's injuries had mostly healed. Zhuang Xiaolin's side could now be said to be strong and well-equipped. Rather than sit around idle, they might as well go out and take a look around. Perhaps they would run into a few favored children of fate or missions.

After several days of preparation, Zhuang Xiaolin drove out of Lungmen.