The Great Merchant in the Cataclysm

Chapter 64: Identity Revealed

“Boss Wang, you know him?”

The people around Zhang Mu instantly paused and turned to look in Wang Liang’s direction.

The impression Zhang Mu had left on Wang Liang was way too deep. Zhang Mu had had, at that time, a sword in a hand, and had beheaded all walking dead around him in a single second on his own.

It had been too earth-shattering a scene for him.

If a man was saved when he was on the verge of death, the impression he would develop for his savior would be one that was unparalleled.

“Yes, he saved my life once.”

The fact that Wang Liang made known that Zhang Mu had saved him before without shame had Zhang Mu’s view of him improving. On the surface, even if Wang Liang wasn’t the leader of their base, he was definitely someone powerful enough to have a say in things, so Zhang Mu admired him mentally as he admitted to such a prestige-sweeping confession.

“Ah, you’re Boss Wang savior! So sorry brother. Hey guys, lower your weapons.” One of the youth in blue T-shirt among them lowered his weapon first as he said to the others. The others’ gazes, too, became friendlier, though it was curiosity that tinged their gazes the most.

“He must be very strong to be able to save Boss Wang. No wonder that he was able to disarm Zhang Long and company so easily. Phew, their attempt to block him had been futile even when armed with the best weapons in our base.” A man with his upper body unattired said, seemingly very dissatisfied with their base’s weapon allocation.

The two gatekeepers upon hearing that flushed a bright red. They didn’t dare say anything however. They had personally witnessed Zhang Mu’s abilities, and were thoroughly frightened by his strength.

“My benefactor, you didn’t tell me your name the last time you saved me. You don’t want me to call you benefactor all the time, do you?” Wang Liang joked with a smile and walked over to Zhang Mu.

“I’m Zhang Mu.”

Zhang Mu too looked at Wang Liang, all smiles. Wang Liang did leave him a very good impression. His character as well temperament was quite suited to lead; Wang Liang was an associate he could partner with in the long-term.

“I’ll call you Brother Mu then.” Wang Liang said, looking at Zhang Mu as he smiled. The vibe he was getting from Zhang Mu was too elusive, and on top of that, Zhang Mu looked older than he actually was.

Zhang Mu didn’t mind such an address much, after all, he was a twenty-seven year old adult so there wasn’t anything wrong with acknowledging being called “brother”.

“Li Zi, can you show this girl around? There is something I need to discuss with Brother Mu.”

Wang Liang looked at the Yuan Rui behind Zhang Mu and instructed the youth dressed in a blue shirt to bring Yuan Rui around their base.

“Yes, Brother Wang!” The youth in blue shirt nodded, replying swiftly

“Mhm, Yuan Rui, go ahead and take a look around, I need to discuss some matters with Boss Wang.” Zhang Mu said. Yuan Rui nodded obediently. She was also filled with curiosity about this base after not seeing so many people for such a long time.

“Brother Mu, let’s walk and talk.”

Wang Liang gestured for Zhang Mu to follow as he led the way. They found a relatively remote path and strolled slowly, but none of them spoke.

Wang Liang’s feeling at the moment was a little mixed. He had seen a second sub-merchant in Luoyang City later and had largely figured out what Zhang Mu’s true identity was. And with that, he also realised that Zhang Mu probably cheated him that time.

The Sub-Merchant he met later did tell him that the so-called Strength Potions’ existence was real, but that he didn’t have the ability to purchase them. Also, it would be futile to consume them without purchasing a set of five units. Hence, he resorted to purchasing only food and weapons for self-defense. Later, the sub-merchant only left the weapons at their base because he didn’t need them anymore after awakening his evolution ability.

However, when Wang Liang told the second sub-merchant the quote Zhang Mu had given him for the Strength Potions, he saw a wave of shock flashing in the sub-merchant’s eyes. Though the second sub-merchant didn’t tell him the real price, he had a gut feeling that the price Zhang Mu quoted him was far above what it was worth.

“Why, are you done contemplating the quote I gave you previously?” Zhang Mu said, breaking the silence first. He knew that it was better for him to initiate the conversation.

“Uh, Brother Mu, the quote you gave me previously is... too high. I didn’t know how terrifying a crowd of walking dead was at that time, and such a crowd was definitely stronger than just a multiplication in their numbers. It was only when I really brought people to clear the crowd that I realised it was definitely not an easy task. After our previous meeting, I felt that congregating normal civilians was too useless, and so I opted to gather evolvers instead. I organised about two hundred evolvers within three days, and the myriad of abilities had me all dazed; we were confident. However, when we really went to clear a crowd of about a thousand walking dead, we lost our calm; we lost terribly. If it weren’t for the Second Sub-Merchant’s appearance then, at least half of us would be dead.”

At hearing that, Zhang Mu was interested. He gestured for Wang Liang to pause and asked, “The Second Sub-Merchant? He called himself Second?”

Wang Liang smiled bitterly. “Yes. Our personal relationship isn’t too bad. You are the First Sub-Merchant, aren’t you? I think you are the reason that he calls himself the Second Sub-Merchant.”

Zhang Mu didn’t expect that the original First would call himself the Second Sub-Merchant because of him. The Second Sub-Merchant must have remembered him after he saw all the Era general goods in Luoyang City cleared.

However, Zhang Mu wasn’t particularly mindful about it now, for he was only a little curious about, rather than fearful of, the current Second Sub-Merchant. Zhang Mu scratched his head awkwardly, continuing: “Let me put it this way, the price won’t decrease, but I have them in stock at the moment, so if you buy the potion, I can give you ten complementary sets of weapons. What do you think about that?”

Seeing how Wang Liang was still irresolute, Zhang Mu decided to drop the bomb on Wang Liang that was going to have him floored: “You know I’m the Number One Sub-Merchant, but do you know what it means? It means that I have the right to buy all the goods from the Era Merchant and leave nothing for the Second Sub-Merchant. Do you understand what I mean?”

Zhang Mu looked at Wang Liang, smiling. Wang Liang instantly felt like he was up against a cunning old fox instead of a human.