The group at Hope Base exchanged bewildered glances, and one of them timidly said, "I think I know why that big shot at the inn didn't just wipe out the zombies." Good heavens, I've seen people keep pets, but never zombies!
Jia Yao pursed her lips, suddenly regretting accepting the task.
He had initially thought the innkeeper's strongest member was only at the sixth or seventh rank, and with his abilities, he wasn't too worried. Investigating the inn was an easy and lucrative job. However, he hadn't expected the innkeeper to be so much stronger and have such a strange temper.
Jia Yao mustered her courage, suppressed her ulterior motives, and led the group into the inn. Seeing the clean inn and the bustling crowd, the group felt as if they had returned to the time before the zombie outbreak.
An ordinary person was carrying a box that looked like a bowl. The food inside emitted an extremely rich aroma, making everyone swallow hard.
They didn't know what the other person was eating, but even before the apocalypse, they had never smelled food that smelled so good. After all, before the zombies arrived, the food here had been contaminated and didn't taste very good.
"Go back to your room to eat. You can't eat strong-smelling food in public places," someone stepped forward to advise.
"It wasn't mentioned in the store rules."
"The store rules don't say you can't spit anywhere, try spitting yourself! Get outside before the smell gets too far."
The customers who were eating looked rather unconvinced, but they still quickly ran out of the lobby, leaving behind only a lingering fragrance.
"Boss, I'm so hungry." They had already eaten before they came.
"It's more important to take care of business first." Jia Yao also felt his stomach protesting, and his desire to rob the inn became even stronger, but he was still rational enough to think that if he couldn't win, it would be better to cooperate.
Several high-level superhumans arrived at the inn, and branch manager Zhang Zhengyi noticed immediately. He only appeared with a smile after the group had finished their large-scale shopping spree.
When Jia Yao and his group saw the room full of supplies, they were tempted to just grab them, but they only thought about it. They had to maintain the image of the base outside, and besides, the power of the people behind the inn was not something they could act recklessly.
Everyone bought a ton of stuff, and even when their backpacks were overflowing, they were still a little disappointed, regretting that they hadn't asked to bring the space-age ability user along on this trip.
Just as the group was about to find an opportunity to inquire about the inn's influence, they heard a simple, honest voice say, "Did you all enjoy your shopping? If you need anything, just tell me, Old Zhang, and I'll make sure you all have it taken care of."
Jia Yao looked at the newcomer and frowned. "Who are you?"
"It's my fault, I almost introduced myself. I'm Zhang Zhengyi, the manager of this inn."
Jia Yao's eyes lit up as she carefully observed Zhang Zhengyi, secretly relieved. The shop manager seemed like an easy person to get along with. Then, with some doubt, she asked, "But I heard the shop manager is a woman."
"Hehe, she's just temporarily acting as the store manager, only coming to check things out occasionally. From now on, I'll be in charge of this place. This is the first time I've seen such a high-level ability user in all the time I've run this store. I'm truly honored that you've come."
Zhang Zhengyi's words made Jia Yao feel a little smug. A level six ability user could be a leader in many bases.
Under Zhang Zhengyi's flattery, Jia Yao gradually lowered her guard and realized that the things she had heard about the inn before were just the ignorance of ordinary people and low-level superpowered individuals.
The most urgent task is to find out about the inn and the team behind it. Judging from Zhang Zhengyi's words, it's certain that there is indeed a team behind this inn.
With his honest face and extremely sincere attitude, Zhang Zhengyi quickly became sworn brothers with Jia Yao, answering Jia Yao's questions to the best of his ability and feigning guilt for those he couldn't answer. At the same time, he subtly gathered a fairly comprehensive understanding of the base's affairs.
Jia Yao didn't realize that the other party was probing for information, and what they said was somewhat true, but what Zhang Zhengyi said was complete nonsense.
For example, he said that their leader was a compassionate and kind person who couldn't bear to see ordinary people struggling in the apocalypse, so he took out supplies and opened a shop to give everyone hope of survival.
For example, collecting crystal cores is for researching ways to enhance superpowers, so that ordinary people can also have superpowers.
For example, this is just one of their branches. For some reason, the leader didn't want to focus his energy on this place, so he sent him and another person to guard the store.
For example, his arrival here was tantamount to being exiled to the frontier, leaving him feeling quite frustrated and extremely depressed...
Lu Yan overheard Zhang Zhengyi's nonsense as he passed by, and his expression became dazed. Anyone unaware of the situation would have assumed Zhang Zhengyi was at most concealing something, rather than simply spouting nonsense, based on his tone and demeanor.
"Xiao Lu, come here quickly. This is Brother Jia from Hope Base, and this is Xiao Lu, whom I just told you about."
Jia Yao glanced at Lu Yan and became even more convinced of what Zhang Zhengyi had said.
Lu Yan has an innocent baby face, which matches the image Zhang Zhengyi described as capable but naive.
With an innocent and bewildered expression, Lu Yan greeted Manager Zhang and everyone else with a "Hello." He then left without looking back, perfectly portraying the image of a nervous, clueless, and naive young man.
Zhang Zhengyi gave Jia Yao a wry smile, "You're only hoping for a small manager at the base? Are you being too modest, or do you really hope the base will produce many talented people? I hope the base truly lives up to its reputation as humanity's hope! Alright, enough said. What do you think of the deal we just discussed..."
Seeing Zhang Zhengyi's hesitant expression, Jia Yao understood. "I will report Brother Zhang's request to the leader. We have an agreement, you must prepare supplies for us next time you come."
"Don't worry, the emperor is far away, so I can still make this decision."
Jia Yao was confident of securing the deal. It was just a matter of relaxing the conditions for ordinary people to leave, and the leader would definitely agree. As long as the base's ability users didn't leave, it wasn't a big deal.
Moreover, he would be uneasy about the deal if the other party didn't set any conditions.
"But what do you need ordinary people for?"
"Uh, I don't know either." Zhang Zhengyi's eyes flickered, clearly knowing some inside information.
Jia Yao guessed what was going on, and after finding out the information, he left with a pile of supplies and a satisfied look on his face.
He didn't completely believe Zhang Zhengyi's words, but he could guess some of the truth.
The leader behind this inn likely possesses supernatural abilities related to some of the inn's peculiarities. Under the guise of doing what's best for ordinary people, he's doing shady things, such as using ordinary people for supernatural experiments.
Once the experiment is successful, he will use the results to win over those with superpowers. This will allow him to both make them work for him and gain the hearts of ordinary people, thus achieving his goal of controlling humanity.
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