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Chen Luo instructed Deng Xianhong to drive the car directly to his stall and exchange it for an empty one.
When Deng Xianhong arrived and saw the sign on Chen Luo’s stall, which stated that they were recruiting and only accepting third-level individuals, he couldn’t help but rub his eyes, seriously doubting what he was seeing.
After confirming, he widened his eyes in disbelief. Was this for real? So inflated?
Third-level individuals? In his team, there were only three people at that level. The remaining twenty-plus members were all at the second level. According to Deng Xianhong’s observations, third-level individuals were already considered the cream of the crop among elites.
Deng Xianhong couldn’t help but ask, pointing at the sign, “Did you write this correctly? Can you really recruit people with this requirement?”
One of Chen Luo’s members, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but feel proud. “Although we may not have a large number of people, we are all elites.”
“I didn’t write it wrong. Are third-level individuals really that rare? We’re all at the third level here.”
Indeed, all the people who had come were at the third level.
Deng Xianhong and the others were shocked beyond words. All third-level individuals? How could this be possible? They knew Chen Luo was impressive, but they hadn’t expected him to be this impressive.
…
As Chen Luo was making his rounds and nearing the end, he suddenly spotted a crowd gathered around a stall. There must be something good there, or else so many people wouldn’t be gathered.
Chen Luo immediately walked over and politely pushed a few people aside to squeeze in.
The stall owner looked somewhat familiar to Chen Luo. Oh, wasn’t this Brother Dragon, the person he had encountered after gathering supplies at the market?
He had a live chicken, and Xia Haoran had begged him for it in the past, but Brother Dragon had firmly refused.
Now, that chicken was right in the center of his stall, guarded closely by Brother Dragon and his men; it was a precious item.
This chicken had an imposing appearance. It was a hen, with some of its feathers being fiery red, larger than your average chicken. It was securely bound with a thick iron chain because a regular rope couldn’t hold it.
Dragon’s face looked grim. He hadn’t initially wanted to sell this chicken. After all, it laid eggs every day and could even breathe fire. Although the flames it spewed were no more than small flames, they were on par with the strength of a first-level Ability User. But this chicken had a temper, and if you kept it locked up all the time, it would refuse to lay eggs.
Could Dragon let it roam freely? Definitely not. What made Dragon even more frustrated was that this chicken occasionally played with fire.
This couldn’t go on; what use was a non-egg-laying hen?
Dragon wasn’t particularly powerful and couldn’t bear to eat the chicken. He wanted to exchange it for some supplies, perhaps a few tons of rice or dozens of crystals at the very least.
Dragon boasted about the chicken having the potential to transform into a Fire Phoenix.
He boldly asked for twenty tons of rice, aiming high. After all, someone might just buy it, given all the attention it was receiving.
Twenty tons of rice amounted to forty thousand pounds, enough to feed twenty thousand people for a day.
The appearance of this chicken caused quite a stir. While it wasn’t entirely unique, it was indeed a rare sight.
Unfortunately, as soon as this chicken was displayed, it attacked one of the onlookers, singeing their hair.
Most of the people who came here were part of groups and they weren’t going to let Dragon off easily.
Dragon wore a troubled expression. “How about this, you give me ten tons of rice.”
A man in his thirties, Zhou Mingliang, sneered, “You set my brother’s hair on fire and now you want money? Do you think I’m an easy target?”
“A hundred pounds of rice, and that’s as much as I can offer. If you want more, we’ll have to settle this elsewhere.”
“Xiaosi, get ready to call our people. If he doesn’t give us what we want, we’ll give him a message.”
Dragon wasn’t too alarmed. He knew his side wasn’t weak either, and he understood that the other side was trying to intimidate him. It wasn’t worth starting a fight over just a chicken.
Chen Luo’s eyes lit up as he looked at the chicken. Chickens with abilities, yet no mutations, were known for their delicious taste. They were much tastier than regular chickens.
He began thinking about making a chicken and mushroom stew with it. He hadn’t had live chickens yet, and having one for egg production wouldn’t be a bad idea.
As for the idea of it becoming a Fire Phoenix, he dismissed it. In his previous life, he had indeed seen birds that could breathe fire, but he had never encountered a Fire Phoenix, a legendary creature.
Chen Luo spoke up, “Dragon, right? I’ll offer you twenty level-two crystals for this chicken. Deal?”
Dragon was momentarily stunned, only now noticing Chen Luo. It was him he saw coming out of the market earlier. He had sensed that Chen Luo was quite powerful, or else he wouldn’t have been able to handle the many zombies at the market.
He had been following behind, picking up some garbage.
As Dragon was still pondering what to do, he saw Chen Luo making an offer. Although the price was low, it was better than a hundred kilograms of rice.
But Zhou Mingliang, with a hostile expression, looked at Chen Luo and said, “This chicken harmed my brother. It can only be sold to me. Are you trying to pick a fight?”
Chen Luo glanced at him but didn’t respond.
Seeing that Chen Luo ignored him, Zhou Mingliang’s anger surged. He approached, attempting to grab Chen Luo’s clothes and interrogate him. However, he was suddenly slapped away by Xia Haoran.
Xia Haoran had considerable strength, and with a loud smack, Zhou Mingliang’s arm turned bright red, causing him great pain.
Zhou Mingliang was now furious. “Damn it! Anyone who doesn’t want to die, get out of my way! I’ve always been the one bullying others. Today, someone bullied us. I’ll teach them a lesson.”
Xia Haoran had actually been feeling somewhat frustrated since the day Dragon had rejected him. Even though it had turned out to be fortunate that Dragon had refused him that day, allowing him to join Chen Luo’s group, he saw this as an opportunity to prove himself today.
Xia Haoran stepped forward and said, “Big brother, let me handle this.”
Chen Luo couldn’t help but smile at the situation. If Dragon knew how strong Xia Haoran was, he would probably have a different expression on his face.
Around a dozen people surrounded Chen Luo and his group.
Xia Haoran, with a cold expression, quickly advanced and delivered a lightning-fast punch, striking an opponent’s temple directly. The critical hit to a vital spot, combined with the fact that the person was only a second-level elemental user, resulted in him being instantly killed by Xia Haoran.
While Xia Haoran would have a hard time dealing with a group of people who were prepared and at a distance, in this close-range situation, he could swiftly incapacitate his opponents without getting injured.
Xia Haoran grabbed one of the fallen opponents and used them as a human shield, rushing quickly toward the others. On the opposing side, people started preparing their elemental abilities to attack Xia Haoran.
However, Xia Haoran was exceptionally agile, and with the human shield protecting him, he closed the distance rapidly, dispatching each opponent with a single punch. After taking down five people, Xia Haoran remained unscathed.
This group of people was filled with terror. Xia Haoran’s strength was overwhelming, and his punches consistently targeted vital areas. While his speed didn’t seem exceptionally fast, it was challenging to land a hit on him, and even when they did, it was absorbed by the human shield.
Their courage shattered, and none of them had the determination to fight to the end. Witnessing Xia Haoran swiftly overpowering them like a tiger among sheep, they immediately turned and fled.
Even Zhou Mingliang was shocked by Xia Haoran’s abilities. This man’s skills were terrifying, completely outclassing his side’s subordinates. He chose to run as well.
Xia Haoran couldn’t catch up with all of them simultaneously, but he was determined not to let anyone escape.
Dragon was dumbfounded. While he knew Xia Haoran was a champion in martial arts, he never expected the gap in abilities to be this substantial in the post-apocalyptic world where everyone had developed supernatural powers.
Such a formidable warrior, and all he wanted back then was a single chicken in exchange for his loyalty. Yet, Dragon had refused.
Dragon felt a bitter regret, lamenting his foolishness. He thought, *How could I have been so stupid?*