Apocalypse: I Can See the HP Bar, Killing Monsters Drops Loot - Chapter 364
Chapter 364: Chapter 172 Yang Changhong_2
Zhang Hong instantly had a grasp of the situation, and she pointed to one of the vehicles in her convoy:
“A pickup truck full of food, in exchange for this Crystal Core Synthesizer, do we have a deal?”
It was an off-road pickup truck, its bed filled with sacks seemingly containing rice.
The food in this truck, even for those with large appetites, would last for a very long time. For those in need of food, the price was not low.
She thought that Wang Tao and the other two were in need of food, as Wang Tao had no vehicle and could only carry so much luggage, which certainly couldn’t hold much food.
But Wang Tao shook his head.
“Sorry, I’m not short of food right now.”
Wang Tao was telling the truth. Previously, he had converted all the food from the granary into nutrient solutions, and he had plenty of it. The three of them couldn’t finish it in the short term, so he wasn’t short of food at the moment.
However, Zhang Hong saw this as nothing more than a bargaining tactic.
Zhang Hong wasn’t angry; after all, it’s normal for business people to negotiate prices, and she was used to it.
“Two trucks of food.”
Zhang Hong said with a smile.
“I’ve said it before, I don’t need food.”
Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders.
“Three trucks of food, that’s my final offer. After all, I have so many people to feed.”
Zhang Hong’s expression became much more serious.
It seemed as if the deal wouldn’t happen if Wang Tao refused again.
But Wang Tao still declined.
“If there’s nothing else, we’ll be on our way.”
Zhang Hong frowned. Did Wang Tao really not need food? Seeing that Wang Tao was about to leave, she quickly called out to him.
“Wait. How about Crystal Cores?”
At the mention of Crystal Cores, Wang Tao stopped, then said with a smile:
“Crystal Cores are fine, but I only want Level 2 Crystal Cores.”
“…”
Zhang Hong fell silent.
“Hiss—”
Her subordinates, on the other hand, were shocked.
“Level 2 Crystal Cores? Do they have a Level 2 Ability User? Is it him, or that big Fatty beside him?”
“It’s probably the Fatty. As a Level 1 Ability User, I can vaguely feel a faint pressure emanating from the Fatty…”
“Can’t believe there’s actually a Level 2 Ability User. No wonder our boss is being so polite…”
“…”
Everyone was astonished.
It was not that they underestimated Wang Tao and his companions, but those who followed Zhang Hong knew just how difficult it was for Zhang Hong to ascend to Level 2!
Before Zhang Hong’s Ascension, they had many more people than this—the majority of their manpower had died in the process of hunting down Level 2 Zombies!
They had paid with many lives for Zhang Hong to have a chance at Level 2 Ascension…
The survivors, after their shock, felt a wave of relief.
Fortunately, their boss was sensible and had not clashed with Wang Tao.
Otherwise, if a battle with a Level 2 Ability User broke out, these Level 1 or even non-ranked individuals would definitely suffer!
…
The reason Zhang Hong was so polite to Wang Tao was not because of Wang Tao himself, but because of Xu Xiaojun beside him.
She didn’t know Wang Tao’s exact strength; she felt he shouldn’t be weak but also not too strong—probably at most at the pinnacle of Level 1.
As for the girl behind Wang Tao, though she was dressed cleanly and didn’t look like a post-apocalyptic survivor, Zhang Hong felt the girl was just an ordinary person and not worth concern.
What truly made her wary was Xu Xiaojun because like attracts like; she could sense that Xu Xiaojun was a second-order Ability User! She was absolutely sure of it!
As a Level 2 Ability User herself, she knew how formidable Level 2 Ability Users were. If she had gotten into a conflict with Wang Tao and the others, she might have been fine, but her subordinates would’ve faced disaster.
Thus, she was so polite to Wang Tao.
Now it seemed her instincts were right; Xu Xiaojun was indeed a second-order Ability User!
After a moment of silence, Zhang Hong reluctantly took out three Crystal Cores from her hand, two blue and one white.
“I only have these three Level 2 Crystal Cores on hand at the moment, and I don’t know what they do. Pick one.”
Seeing the three Crystal Cores in Zhang Hong’s hand, Wang Tao’s eyes lit up.
[Level 2 Crystal Core·Athlete]
[Quality: Excellent (40%)]
[Purity: 45% (Side effect: Double energy consumption for actions)]
[Athlete: Passive Ability, Enhance athletic performance]
The first Crystal Core was an Athlete, a passive ability that, in a sense, was a comprehensive enhancement of physical fitness.
This Crystal Core was excellent, a great aid for survival in the post-apocalyptic world, despite the somewhat uncomfortable side effect.
But that wasn’t the point; the point was that Wang Tao already had an Athlete Crystal Core, which he had acquired from hunting a hooded zombie. Now he had two; if he could gather one more, he could synthesize one without any side effects…
[Level 2 Crystal Core·Jump]
[Quality: Excellent (40%)]
[Purity: 45% (Side effect: Sensitive to noise)]
[Jump: Consumes energy to improve jumping height and distance]
The second Crystal Core was Jump, like the Athlete, another life-saving ability. Of course, it could also be used to assist in attacks, depending on how it’s paired.
Wang Tao also had a Jumping Crystal Core, also from a hooded zombie.
However, these two cores were actually just appetizers. The third Crystal Core was what truly moved Wang Tao.
[Level 2 Crystal Core·Frenzy]
[Quality: Ordinary (20%)]
[Purity: 45% (Side effect: HP reduces by 10000 after integration)]
[Frenzy: Automatically triggers when HP is below 30%, can only trigger once a day. Upon triggering Berserk, HP, Mana, Physical strength, and Spirit fully recover, size increases, all negative statuses are removed, Attack power significantly increases, speed moderately increases, defensive power moderately decreases. Frenzy lasts for 1 hour, after which it returns to normal.]
