Survival Game: Call Me an Honest Businessman

Li Zhi pulled out a contract: "You know oats, right? As long as you help me bring enough orcs to this wilderness market, I'll give you one unit of oats for every orc that comes. The more orcs that come, the more I'll give you."

Mi's eyes widened as she stared at Li Zhi as if he were a lunatic, before quickly looking away.

He stroked his beard as his mind wandered, glancing at Li Zhi every now and then to see if she was truly insane or had other plans.

Li Zhi knew perfectly well what Mi was planning.

Her kill order has probably spread throughout the entire orc race of Dongqi by now. She and Mi Busuo have a deep-seated hatred for each other, and they have definitely formed a grudge.

The first thing Mi saw in her was to tip her off, hoping that the strong orcs would come and capture her.

He felt guilty after being caught by her, but kept trying to stall for time.

But Mi never imagined that his little scheme would perfectly align with Li Zhi's problem-solving approach.

What's the hardest thing about making money at the Wilderness Market right now?

There's nobody here; the only people there are the poor, the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled.

Only by attracting those strong orcs can she earn 100 gold coins within 12 hours and protect her wealth!

As for the orcs coming and ganging up to kill her, Li Zhi also had a way to deal with that.

She simply carved out about 10 square meters from the remaining safe zone, treating it as a fixed spot at the wilderness market.

With the safe zone barrier in place, these orcs won't be able to touch a hair on her head.

Moreover, Li Zhi wasn't actually that afraid.

She's at least a D4, and her overall stats are equivalent to a C2 from a C-rank race.

She could swagger around here before, and she's even better equipped with weapons. As long as these beastmen don't attack her in groups of dozens, she'll have a hard time losing.

Thinking of this, Li Zhi subconsciously asked, "Where's Tu? Do you know where she went?"

I wonder if she, being so poor, has any winter supplies.

Mi's hands, already stiff from the cold, didn't hold back properly upon hearing this, and his stiff hands ripped a beard hair off.

"You didn't know?" Mi said, clutching his beard with concern while shaking the other side. "Tu was arrested! He was arrested before the cold wave hit!"

Li Zhi was taken aback. "Arrested? Who arrested her?"

Mi Zei looked around furtively, then scurried over to Li Zhi, beckoning him to bend down.

Li Zhi squatted down.

Mi: "It's the Scaled Clan! The captain or vice-captain of her previous team came personally! They were incredibly arrogant! They said she held a grudge and deliberately poisoned the sea, causing many deaths in Black Iron Harbor to the south!"

Li Zhi was taken aback.

Those scenes she saw unintentionally appeared in her memory.

At that time... was the person the Scaled Clan guards were holding down Tu?

Li Zhi thought of the dull, lifeless fish tail and remembered the scars on it that he hadn't noticed before but now felt incredibly clear in every detail.

I already have the answer in my heart.

The one who was taken to Black Iron Harbor was Tu.

"My lord? My lord?"

Li Zhi snapped out of his daze and said, "Speak."

Mi tentatively asked, "I remember that businessmen like to sign contracts. Although we have such a good relationship, it doesn't matter whether we sign one or not, but we still have to follow your professional code of conduct, right?"

Li Zhi added and revised several clauses to the contract before handing it to Mi.

Mi immediately took it and read it carefully, word by word, from top to bottom.

Li Zhi absentmindedly said, "By the way, do you have any seeds or spores for your fast-growing mushrooms? Could you give me some?"

Mi paused in flipping through the contract: "This...this contract doesn't have it in it."

Li Zhi looked down at him: "Our friendship isn't even as valuable as a tiny spore?"

Mi glanced at the contract, then at Li Zhi, his half-beard trembling. He gritted his teeth and stamped his foot: "Here!"

Li Zhi snorted lightly, "I'll set up a stall at the old ruins. When people arrive, just let them come over, and we'll settle the bill based on the number of people."

Mi nodded and bowed, "Yes, sir, I will definitely make your shop bustling with activity!"

Li Zhi turned back halfway and said, "You should know what a betting agreement is, right? If less than 500 effective orcs arrive within 12 hours, you'll have to compensate me tenfold, which is 5000 units of oats, understand?"

Mi confidently declared, "Sir, please rest assured! There will definitely be 500!"

The tiger, fox, and wolf orcs did not migrate, and with the snake clan that issued the kill order and the orcs around the wilderness market who had not yet hibernated, there were easily 500 of them.

That's not enough; there are plenty of rat people too!

Even if you're just filling a quota, you can still make it!

Mi seemed to see piles of oats beckoning to him, and he could also see Li Zhi kneeling on the ground, bruised and battered, begging for mercy. He almost burst into laughter.

Li Zhi sped up.

In less than ten minutes, we arrived at the ruins of the previous site.

Perhaps because there was shelter from the wind and rain, more than a dozen tents were set up here, housing orcs who had neither migrated nor had their own houses.

Hearing the commotion, only one boar-orc lifted the curtain to peek out before quickly retreating back into the tent.

Li Zhi ignored it and continued walking forward, searching for the Rong ethnic caves buried in the snow.

However, the snow was too thick, and she hadn't marked the location of the Rong tribe's cave beforehand. Searching in the vast expanse of white, she couldn't find a single clue for quite some time.

Li Zhi had no choice but to give up.

Although today was the agreed time, she had told the Rong people that if the extreme cold came, she would wait until the cold wave passed before coming over.

It's normal to not be able to find anyone when you visit suddenly.

Just as Li Zhi was about to leave, a timid voice sounded at her feet: "M-Sir...Are you a merchant?"

Li Zhi was taken aback. He followed the sound and searched around in the snow before finally spotting a white lop-eared rabbit that was almost completely blended into the snow.

What are you doing here?

The white lop-eared rabbit said timidly, "Chieftain, the chieftain said you might come, and told me to wait. If no one can see me, then I'll be safe."

Li Zhi: "That's great. Please lead the way. I'm here to collect the purslane seed oil."

The white lop-eared rabbit hopped into the snow and vanished instantly.

Li Zhi could only follow one pit after another forward.

They hadn't gone far when a deep, husky voice came from the snow: "Who's there?"

White Lop-eared Rabbit: "It is I, Chieftain."

"Why are you back already?" A small, orange-yellow figure crawled out of the snow, peeking out half its head. "I didn't see you—Sir! What brings you here! Didn't I tell her to run away as soon as she saw you?!"