Chapter 328: Chapter 328

As a suit-clad man with a strong survival instinct, he had the air of ’I have all the money in the world’ as he casually asked, "The guns are good. How much is Captain Yan selling them for? And how are you pricing the ammo?"

With a SLAP, the chubby police officer smacked the table and exclaimed approvingly, "I like straightforward young folks like you! I won’t beat around the bush. These are indeed meant to be a boon for everyone. But as you all know, we haven’t fully recovered from the flood, and before we could catch our breath, the earthquake struck again. We have no food and no supplies, so we have to resort to a donation drive."

"But it’s not a donation for nothing," the hawk-nosed police officer said indifferently from the side. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝙣𝙚𝙩

The chubby police officer chimed in, "Of course, that’s a given. So we’ve applied to our superiors, and these firearms and ammunition can be exchanged. Currently, guns have a set price on the Black Market, but bullets are even more expensive. No one’s making bullets anymore; each one fired is one less available. So, you all must seize this opportunity today!"

The chubby police officer’s words piqued the interest of many. Although they were also cautious, wondering if it was some sort of trap, the majority still adopted a wait-and-see approach. After all, everyone was shrewd enough to know that with food and supplies currently scarce, being too conspicuous could lead to being completely fleeced.

Only Jing Shu’s heart was pounding. It’s here. What was bound to happen has finally happened. This insidious smiling tiger. For people like Jing Shu—and she wasn’t being self-deprecating—they were truly like leeks cultivated by the government, harvested when ripe. The government wouldn’t cut too ruthlessly, lest they damage the roots and prevent regrowth, nor would they cut too lightly, because too many citizens behind them were waiting for aid.

The chubby police officer pointed at the rifles, very satisfied with their deterrent effect. He said with a grin, "You all must recognize these Type 95 assault rifles. Of course, besides these, we also have Type 56 submachine guns, Type 95 light machine guns, even rocket launchers, armed helicopters, Hand Grenades, bombs, bulletproof vests, and so on. Anything our Task Force Three has is on offer; you can have whatever you desire. And don’t worry about bullets. Task Force Three will maintain a long-term supply for you."

Finally, someone was tempted and asked, "How does this work? If one person s more and another s less, can they both get the same weapon?"

With another SLAP on the table, the chubby police officer said, "Good question! The rules are simple. Everyone, please look at the projector. The list on the left shows the conversion of d goods into Virtual Coin. First, see what you can and how many Virtual Coins it’s worth. Then, write down a number to confirm it. That will be the amount of Virtual Coin you can use with us."

"Once the number is confirmed, it can only be lowered, not raised. So, I urge everyone present to generously. Otherwise, when you want to exchange for equipment and find you don’t have enough, it will be very troublesome."

The hawk-nosed officer coldly added from the side, "I suggest you write a higher amount of Virtual Coin. If you fall short later, you can borrow or even take out IOUs with us. There’s no loss if you don’t use the points. However, we only want supplies, not Virtual Coin."

The chubby officer nodded. "Even if you claim a million Virtual Coin, we will acknowledge your capacity to a million Virtual Coins’ worth of goods."

Underneath her gas mask, Jing Shu’s expression clearly showed her skepticism. As if I’d believe your nonsense! These two old scoundrels are truly wicked. They were using this method to more clearly ascertain the extent of the assets possessed by everyone present. After all, since the apocalypse, the tax bureau had developed major loopholes. While tax collection was being improved, they had lost their grip on many individuals.

Two years had passed, and their control over the middle class was practically Zero.

For instance, they didn’t know who had how much food or what kinds of supplies. At such a critical juncture, the government needed to gather more information to facilitate future "leek-harvesting." Overall, Jing Shu believed this event was a probe before the actual harvest, to see who could be trimmed more and who less.

"Half a kilogram of flour makes 25 steamed buns, which converts to 50 Virtual Coins. It really can be exchanged for 50 Virtual Coins."

"Look, a Type 95’s starting bid is 1,500 Virtual Coin—that’s only 15 kilograms of flour! Is that for real? So cheap?"

"Look carefully, that’s the starting bid. These are all going to be auctioned."

Jing Shu examined the listed prices on the left-hand list. They seemed normal, reflecting current market values. However, during such a disaster, supplies would inevitably become more expensive, and Virtual Coin would depreciate. Consequently, the weapons wouldn’t be so cheap after all. Nevertheless, the chubby officer had hit a nerve for many people: weapons were still in a state of being available but priceless due to extreme scarcity!

Never mind them; even Jing Shu was actively trying to acquire weapons from all sources. If not for a stroke of luck, she wouldn’t have been able to obtain so many. Seeing the long list of armaments, Jing Shu felt a familiar itch of desire. However, recalling Wang Dongpo’s words upon entering, she was instantly doused with cold water. Yes, this is probably an assessment of our actual strength and assets, isn’t it?

Using weapons as bait... it had to be said, even Jing Shu was tempted.

"Write down your Virtual Coin amount, then post it on the card at your seat. Everyone, think carefully now! Once it’s written, it cannot be changed. The total price of your bids cannot exceed the number on your card," the chubby officer said with a beaming smile.

This was precisely where the smiling tiger’s malice lay. Although he allowed everyone to freely declare ’how much money I have,’ even starting with, "I have a million," no matter what amount was written, *they* were the ones who benefited.

For example, if you only had 100,000 but wrote 300,000, you would ultimately have to keep your bids within the 100,000 limit. However, others wouldn’t know how much you truly had or how many supplies you could . The result would be inflated auction premiums, driving up the prices of items.

Overall, this was also a way to stimulate spending, wasn’t it? It had the air of ’I’ll write the IOU; just open my mouth and say a million!’ If everyone adopted that attitude, wouldn’t prices naturally be driven up?

Some people were already hunched over, meticulously calculating the value of the goods they could and what amount of Virtual Coin would be appropriate to write down.

Jing Shu thought to herself, The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Even if I desperately want these weapons, I can’t afford to stand out. Perhaps I should just let things pass if the bids get too high? Who made me ’accidentally’ write down such a small amount anyway? Besides, I’m going to the United States this year. When that time comes, what kind of weapons won’t I be able to get? Why should I spend extra money now and risk exposing myself?

Just then, the hawk-nosed officer suddenly announced, "We will select the individual with the highest spending and award them an M24 rifle. We will also single out the one with the lowest spending." Heh.

Single out the one with the lowest spending? What for? Many eyes instantly darted towards him, including Jing Shu’s.

It’s definitely not for anything good, Jing Shu thought. Perhaps it’s even some kind of punishment.