Chapter 141 Now We Can Talk

"Here, you can just serve this kind of 'water' to your guests?" She looked up at the scorpion opposite her, a cryptic smile playing on her lips. "If I really drank it, would I be able to walk out of this door upright today?"

Scorpion hadn't expected her to use her ultimate skill so close to his face; the fake smile on his face froze and shattered instantly, like peeling paint from a wall.

His eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he slammed his hand on the table, standing up abruptly: "Damn it! You drink it when I tell you to. Do you think you can walk out of here if you don't drink it?"

The centipede scars on his face became increasingly twisted and grotesque.

“Heh,” Josh was not intimidated at all, but instead chuckled and leaned back in his chair. “Have you ever thought about why a little girl like me would dare to go into this dangerous place with you?”

She was relaxed, as if watching a farce.

Scorpion's expression faltered slightly, but after looking around at his overwhelming number of subordinates, especially when he saw the exceptionally burly, rock-skinned third-tier power user in the corner, his confidence instantly returned.

He sneered, "You don't know your place! Today I'll show you what it means to be outmatched! Take them down!"

The thugs around them couldn't contain themselves any longer. It wasn't that they hadn't seen beautiful women before, especially in the apocalypse. Women they wouldn't have dared to even think about before were now theirs to play with as they pleased, including some former internet celebrities.

But they had never seen a woman so clean and beautiful, with even her hair and skin radiating a healthy glow.

They pounced like ferocious beasts, flames, ice spikes, wind blades, and even a vine with barbs—various supernatural lights suddenly blazed forth…

However, just as the attack was about to strike, a sudden change occurred!

Qiao Xi and Shen Han, who were sitting upright, vanished without a trace as if erased by an eraser.

At the same time, a thick, ink-like, and bone-chilling black mist suddenly erupted from the spot where Shen Han had disappeared. It moved with ghostly speed, spreading silently along the ground, and in the blink of an eye, it coiled around the scorpion's neck like a venomous snake!

"Ugh!" Scorpion felt a tightness around his neck, and a suffocating, icy feeling of restraint instantly gripped him, as if an invisible giant hand was choking him, making it impossible for him to even make a sound.

He stared in horror, his hands futilely trying to grasp at the seemingly tangible yet ethereal black mist, only to grasp nothing at all.

The next second, Josie's figure reappeared on the chair, like ripples on water.

She remained seated there, her posture unchanged, but a sweet smile on her face that sent chills down Scorpion's spine.

She tilted her head, watching with great interest as Scorpion's face turned from red to green and he struggled desperately: "Brother Scorpion, now... do you understand what 'there are always people better than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding' means?"

Her voice was clear and melodious, but in the deathly silence of the factory, it sounded like a death knell.

Scorpion felt his bones creaking under the black mist. Since he took over the black market, the number of second-tier ability users under his command had increased, and even two third-tier ability users had appeared. No one dared to say a word against him.

The shadow of death has never been so clear.

He frantically winked at a minor leader who looked like his deputy, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.

The leader was also quite frightened by this bizarre scene, but with his boss's life hanging by a thread, he dared not delay. He hurriedly pulled out a heavy little cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to the small table in front of Josie with trembling hands. The bag made a clattering sound.

Josie stretched out two slender fingers, picked up the cloth bag and weighed it in her hand. The green light shone through the gaps in the bag onto her fair face.

She let out a soft scoff, as if she had heard something utterly ridiculous: "Tsk tsk, Brother Scorpion, your life... is it worth only a few 'green beans'?"

She casually tossed the cloth bag back onto the table with a soft "smack," like a slap across a scorpion's face.

"How much... do you want?" Scorpion squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, each word accompanied by the pain of the black mist tightening.

Josie's smile remained unchanged. She held up five fingers and said slowly, "Besides this bag of green crystals, I also need five blue crystals for the second evolution of zombies. I can pretend what happened just now never happened. Fair enough, isn't it?"

Her tone was as casual as if she were discussing the weather, but the request she made made Scorpion's heart bleed.

Blue crystals are rare even among them, yet she asked for five right away.

If Josie hadn't been thinking about returning to the black market and left herself an out, she would have forced them to hand over all the crystal cores they had.

Scorpion's facial muscles twitched, his heart filled with rage, but the cold, deadly touch on his neck left him with no choice.

"Give it to...her!"

He almost screamed, his voice distorted from suffocation.

Without hesitation, the leader immediately pulled out five crystal cores emitting a deep, dark blue light from an inner pocket close to his body, and carefully placed them in front of Josie.

The blue light was pure and deep, containing energy fluctuations far superior to those of the green crystal.

Josie put away the five blue crystals with satisfaction. They felt slightly cool to the touch, and the feeling of abundant energy invigorated her.

She then looked up at the direction of the scorpion and said in a light tone, "It seems that Brother Scorpion has come to his senses. Let's let him go then."

As soon as he finished speaking, the black mist that had been wrapped around the scorpion's neck suddenly dissipated as if it had a life of its own, instantly shrinking back and reforming into a cold and stern figure beside Josie.

He remained silent, as if he had never left. However, the oppressive aura emanating from his deep eyes swept across the entire area, freezing all the restless thugs in place, their bodies drenched in cold sweat.

Special ability user!

Moreover, it's such a bizarre and powerful combination.

One can hide, the other controls mysterious black mist... how can we fight like this?

The scorpion clutched its neck, coughing violently and gasping for breath, its face slowly returning from bluish-purple to normal.

All he wanted to do now was get rid of these two plagues as soon as possible; saving his own life was the most important thing!

But Josie always keeps her word, as if the tense standoff just now was really a misunderstanding.

Her face regained that harmless, slightly conciliatory smile, and she leaned forward slightly, looking at the still-shaken Scorpion: "Alright, Brother Scorpion, now we can talk calmly about how to... get more crystal cores?"

She deliberately emphasized the word "more".

Scorpion felt so frustrated he wanted to vomit blood, but dared not lash out. He could only suppress his anger and speak in a hoarse voice: "If you want a large number of crystal cores... you have to bring out hard currency that is not available on the black market! We have no shortage of food, water, vegetables and fruits here!"

He took a breath, trying to recall the rumors he'd heard recently, "Several large bases are offering rewards for talented researchers or important research data! Especially those related to biology, energy, and..."