Business Comes Knocking

The rain fell all night long, and the Great Wasteland centered on the rocks dropped by three hand spans.

Li Ziran stood at the cave entrance, and all he could see were countless rolling copper-yellow gravel, which rolled aimlessly forward under the influence of the wind and waves.

Brass, formed from melted Wasteland sand, is a relatively rare metal. It can be used to make magic wands, a favorite of Dwarf alchemists, and one of the few special products of the Wasteland.

The surrounding stones also had some crystals, and the outer edges had even completely melted, revealing smooth surfaces.

This state won't last long; soon the hurricanes on the Wasteland will pound the stone's surface, leaving it pitted and uneven, eventually turning it into part of the yellow sand.

He had to set off.

Although his feet were still burning hot, he had to hurry. This time he was going to cross the heart of the Wasteland, his destination being the ancient Hippo Ancient City in the far west. The journey was long, and even if everything went smoothly, it would take about five days.

Hippo Ancient City is one of the three major Slave City in the Wasteland, and the only Ancient City- state that has been preserved in the Wasteland to date. There are traces of ancient civilization there, and it is also one of the most prosperous city-states in the Wasteland.

If Bailando City was a new type of city-state for slaves, then Hippo Ancient City is a testament to the long history and fame of slavery.

Since Li Ziran is in the organ business, he cannot do without ancient races. If possible, he could even conceive the ancestors of these ancient races and absorb the wisdom passed down in the blood of these beings.

Of course, an even more important reason is the Demon's business.

He must make contact as soon as possible and get the Demon breeding business up and running.

He transformed the Corpse Witch into Frog and hung it on his waist, put away the Palm Bottle, glanced once more at the stone cave that had sheltered him for the night, and then quickly walked away into the distance.

He had to hurry because he didn't know when the next rain of fire would come.

Li Ziran moved quickly, leaving the area covered by the fire rain in less than an hour. Under his feet, he saw endless yellow sand, which piled up to form dunes that stretched as far as the eye could see.

This can no longer be called Wasteland, but a complete desert. This is the very heart of the Wasteland, where it is rare to see any living creatures.

They only glanced at the sand dunes briefly before heading west.

Traveling is undoubtedly the loneliest thing, especially in this vast world. Li Ziran is like an insignificant ant, but he knows it is necessary for survival. Compared with the creatures struggling in this Wasteland, he is already very lucky.

Ding ding ding ding!

After running around all morning, a familiar camel bell sound caught Li Ziran's attention.

These are desert camels, a species found only in deserts, though you can occasionally see some in the heart of the Wasteland.

They traversed the eastern and western parts of the Wasteland, making a living by transferring supplies between the two regions, and occasionally helping travelers who had lost their way in the desert.

Li Ziran had seen camel caravans before; they were generally considered a relatively benign species, but there were exceptions.

"Hey! Hey! Over here!"

Li Ziran quickly ran to the top of the hill and shouted towards the long camel caravan in the distance. A moment later, a yellow parrot flapped its wings and landed.

This is an ostrich, a species that lives alongside Desert Camels, relying on providing vision for them. The arrival of this little fellow signifies that the caravan has accepted him.

A short while later, a Bactrian camel came walking over, its feet crunching through the loose yellow sand. It scrutinized Li Ziran with its eyes and said directly, "Fifty copper coins."

This price is a bit high, but that's the kind of business that Desert Camel do.

After paying, you can climb onto the camel's shoulder, but if you want water, you have to pay extra, and their water is very expensive.

Before long, the camels brought Li Ziran into the caravan. At this moment, many of the camels were still empty.

This is bad news, because it means that the caravan will still have to search in the desert for a while, and will not leave this place completely until at least most of the caravan has taken some living creatures with them.

Li Ziran leaned back in his hunchback, aimlessly surveying the other guests. Clearly, these people were not friendly, but talking about friendliness in the Wasteland was a bit of a luxury.

Li Ziran had no intention of deliberately befriending him; he only needed to wait a few days before he could leave the center of the Wasteland.

The jingling of bells echoed across the arid Wasteland, while Li Ziran quietly observed the Shadow Badge within his Spirit World.

Now he had to familiarize himself with everything about the Shadow Society, which Sandrew said Shadow Society insignificant, but in his heart it was like a mountain.

He wasn't nearly as carefree as Sandrew.

Consciousness gradually sank into the Shadow Crescent Moon in the Spirit World. This is the Shadow Badge, which can be activated to enter the Teleportation Array of other member bases, provided that the other party has opened the teleportation.

The most important aspect of the Shadow Badge is not teleportation, but communication.

This is a space of pure consciousness where all official members of the Shadow Society can appear and engage in private communication.

The ring beneath my feet gleamed with silver light, and the conspicuous '73' slowly rotated, while all I could see was a cloud of gray smoke.

Clearly, no one was willing to talk to him at that moment.

"Anfuni, are you there?"

Li Ziran asked softly. According to Sandrew, he only needed to mention the other party's name to receive his consciousness message, but unfortunately, there was no response.

I really don't know if the girl was angry after Sandrew teleported away.

I doubt they'll give me a pleasant look.

He wanted to talk to Sandrew, since being on the camel's back was incredibly boring, but Sandrew had made it clear that any business-related communication was strictly forbidden using the Shadow Space.

This is because this space is entirely supported by the consciousness of Shadow Elder.

Clearly, their conversation would be completely overheard by Shadow Elder, but Li Ziran didn't care. On the contrary, he felt that being open and honest would actually win him some goodwill.

Unfortunately, very few people share this view.

"Doing business?"

In a blur, he suddenly heard a deep voice. Li Ziran subconsciously opened his eyes and saw a ring suddenly light up in the gray smoke. In the center of the ring floated the number '348', and above the number, the figure of the Ogre appeared.

However, it wasn't as large as the one in the conference room, and it was about the same size as Li Ziran.

"What kind of business?" Li Ziran asked excitedly, after all, this was their first formal spiritual exchange.

"A surrogate Demon," the Ogre said simply, "Mighty Demon from World War II, like Sandrew, who only needs Embryo."

Li Ziran had never worked in the surrogacy industry, but he knew how to get pregnant, and he had actually controlled the process of raising "Butterfly Girl," so he could basically secure this kind of business.

"How much is it?" Li Ziran asked directly.

"One Shadow Point!" the Ogre said.

1?

Li Ziran's mind immediately went to the 27 Shadow Point that Sandrew had taken away. He finally understood why Anfuni had said that Sandrew was a ruthless guy.

Even though the Ogre have been reduced in size, the price won't be much higher even if you bargain.

"Too few!" Li Ziran refused outright, it was instinctive. "At least three!"

The Ogre shook his head. "Three is too many. We also need to give Shadow Elder a cut of our deal. How about this, I'll give Shadow Elder his cut: 1.5 contribution points. How about that?"

"Does Shadow Elder also want a cut?" Li Ziran asked, puzzled.

"Nonsense, this is a mental space constructed by Shadow Elder. Shadow Elder takes 30% of every transaction within the Shadow Society. Didn't Sandrew tell you about this rule?"

Thirty percent?

Li Ziran clicked his tongue; this was a bit too ruthless.

Even in the slave market, the percentage was at most three percent. This was not just exploitation, but blatant oppression.

"Alright." Li Ziran nodded, but still stated his conditions. "You need to provide the girl who will be conceived. This girl cannot be of low quality. Also, you need the remains of Mighty Demon, preferably with his offspring. This offspring must have good kidneys, as I need to extract some things that only men possess."

"Of course, I'll give it to you wherever you are right now," the Ogre asked directly.

"Me? I'm in the heart of the Wasteland, but I'll be in Hippo Ancient City in five days."

"Alright then, I'll just stock up on some goods. Once we get to Hippo Ancient City, go straight to the Triangle Slave Shop, and someone will deliver the items to you." The Ogre chuckled, staring at the ring beneath Li Ziran's feet. "Tsk tsk, this Sandrew's ruthless. 27 points at once. Last time I was a guide, I only got 5. It seems the Shadow Society is losing its future. Goodbye, kid, watch yourself."

After he finished speaking and disappeared into the Shadow Space, Li Ziran was about to leave when another shadow appeared beside him, accompanied by a chuckle.

"We've made our first sale!"

It's Anfuni; she seems to be in a good mood.

"It's alright, Demon surrogacy." Li Ziran briefly explained the situation, without fully detailing the business.

"Oh, the Ogre's, 1.5 points, that's fair, right?" Anfuni smiled. "By the way, I need your help with something."

"What is it?" Li Ziran puzzled. Anfuni should be in the rainforest at this time. What help could he possibly offer?

"It's not about beauty and body shaping, my sisters all praise your excellent skills. Would you be interested in coming to the rainforest?" Anfuni asked with a smile.

"May I go in?" Li Ziran asked with a smile. The Elves' aversion to humans was no less than that to Demon.

"Oh, I forgot. But you could build your own wizard tower outside the rainforest. With your skills, you'd definitely have no trouble making a living. How about it? The Grasslands are much more comfortable than the Wasteland."

Li Ziran shook his head. The Grasslands have abundant rainfall, which is indeed suitable for survival, but the organs of Grasslands species are not very good. The favorable environment makes it difficult to cultivate unique organs.

Moreover, he already had a complete plan: to enter the Hippo Ancient City and make a deal with the Demon in order to rise to power quickly.

Just as Sandrew warned him, men should have higher aspirations.

He's far from the point where he should sit down and enjoy a cup of tea.

"I have something important to attend to right now, so I can't talk to you about it. I'll go to the rainforest when I have time. By the way, are you alright?" Li Ziran was asking about being forcibly teleported by Sandrew.

"It's alright! The teleportation power is in their hands, they can do whatever they want. However, this person can forget about ever getting close to the rainforest again. Oh, by the way, the Queen needs to speak with me, she'll contact you in a bit." With that, he disappeared.

Ding ding! Ding ding!

Just as Li Ziran was about to exchange a few more words, a sudden burst of camel bells interrupted his thoughts. It was an emergency warning report. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to find that the camel caravan had already taken up positions on the ground, forming a circle like an earthen wall, creating a simple defensive network.

Outside the camel caravan, a herd of ponies galloped at high speed.

These horses have wide hooves, suitable for survival in the Wasteland, and on their backs sit humans wearing tattered armor, each with a long beard and carrying a long sword; three of them even hold magic wands.

Human bandits who wander the Wasteland are not very strong, so they only rob in the central area of Wasteland that resembles a desert. Their targets are not Desert Camel, but travelers on their backs.

Li Ziran gave a bitter smile to himself; it seemed these camels had deliberately led him into the clutches of the bandits.

They were squatting together, seemingly having given up resisting.

"Get down, all of you! Take the stuff out! Don't resist! Damn it, hurry up!" A burly Cavefolk off his hunchback, yelling wildly.

With him leading the way, the other bandits followed suit, charging towards the center without any hesitation.

"Did you hear me, you brat? I'm talking to you!"

Li Ziran looked at the other person carefully and asked curiously, "Are you talking about me?"