Published: March 2, 2025
"Cheers, friends! Let's celebrate our arrival in Africa, this godforsaken place!"
"Bang."
Three sturdy bowls clinked together, filled to the brim with a transparent liquid that emitted an enticing aroma.
Moutai Flying Heaven—1499 RMB, the signature liquor of Huaxia before the apocalypse, a price that was indeed daunting.
Of course, things were different now compared to before the apocalypse. After it arrived, no one had the leisure to produce beverages anymore—even in the Beijing gathering place. Moutai was a scarce commodity, and with every bottle consumed, the price naturally soared.
Fortunately, those present were not the kind of weaklings struggling to make ends meet; for them, luxury items like Moutai were plentiful!
"Gulp, gulp."
Living a carefree life, drinking from large bowls and devouring meat, was always appealing. After downing the liquor, the sturdy man on the left opened another bottle of Moutai, filling the bowls for everyone, and then, in a thick Beijing accent, loudly proclaimed,
"Come on, second round! Here's to Big Boss Bai for a successful journey in Africa, and let's also hope we can walk out of Africa alive!"
The man's voice was loud, perhaps intended for a certain someone standing by the window, pretending to be deep in thought.
"Gulp, gulp."
Another drink was downed, and then came the third bowl of liquor.
This time, the sturdy man fell silent, and it was a middle-aged man in his thirties, looking somewhat older, who spoke up.
"Big Boss Bai, what's wrong? Aren't you going to join us?"
The man standing by the window, Bai, simply waved his hand lightly, not answering, his gaze fixated outside at the shabby little town, his dismissive attitude obvious.
This behavior, in turn, ignited the fury of the middle-aged man.
"Bang!"
The porcelain bowl filled with liquor shattered on the ground, fragments scattering everywhere, as the middle-aged man lay sprawled on the floor, cursing.
"I say, Bai, your attitude is really too dismissive of me, Ye Nan, isn't it? I'm not saying this lightly—think about how much work the three of us have done for you during this time, huh? Yet you still treat us like dogs, working us to the bone. Last time, in the Middle East, you didn’t even tell us your purpose, just made us go all out for you. Fine, I put up with it, but now you’re getting more and more outrageous. Do you think we don’t know what a hellhole Africa is? The earth's creatures here have been crushed by the demonic clan, Wen Yu has fled, and you bring us here to die."
"This time, if you don’t give me an explanation, I’m out!"
His words were filled with anger, yet there seemed to be a hint of "tsundere" undertone—Ye Nan's tone was not overly determined, and his willingness to turn against Bai was not very clear.
In fact, Ye Nan was merely trying to raise his own "price."
Since leaving the Heavenly Palace Treasure Land and being forcefully recruited by Bai at the entrance, Ye Nan and the others had followed him, enduring a life of wandering hardship...
Initially, Ye Nan thought he was at the mercy of others, but he unexpectedly found Bai to be quite interesting—his strength far surpassed the combined strength of the three of them! However, he did not have the bad habit of bullying the weak, quickly bonding with the trio.
Slowly, Ye Nan also realized that Bai seemed to be hiding some unknown secrets.
His seemingly random travels around the globe often led to a series of bizarre events, acquiring seemingly useless items or astonishing benefits! This convinced Ye Nan more and more that all of Bai's actions were purposeful.
For instance, this time, Bai had brought them to Africa two months after being repelled from the second sequence.
Listening to Ye Nan's ramblings, Bai continued to gaze out the window, speaking without turning his head.
"Are you all dead?"
"When waiting for death, it's too late for anything. No one wants to be a fool when they die."
"Have I given you too little in terms of benefits for following me?"