Apocalypse: Hero of Potato Fields

Inside the slave shop.

When Lin Yi said this, the woman stepped back from the cage, nearly tripping in the process.

"What did you say?"

She regained her composure, looking at this strange customer in front of her, somewhat unsure.

"There are a total of 92 here, but they are more expensive than ordinary slaves. Firstly, they have undergone very rigorous training, being taught to professionally serve three types of males or females!

Training a monster to do these things, even an intelligent monster, is not an easy task.

Secondly, as I just mentioned, they are monsters, and raising them is very costly. I have invested a lot in their breeding.

My cats have the best genes and appearance! Therefore, each cat costs 150 coins."

"Yes, what you're saying isn't cheap. But do you have any males here?"

Lin Yi's words surprised everyone present, including the aliens who were watching the spectacle.

The woman swallowed and shook her head.

"No, we don't sell male cats for breeding, but if you really want..."

"For breeding? What about combat ones?"

"What? You want monsters to fight?! Wouldn't it be simpler to just buy ordinary slaves? I mean, what's the point of this?

We invested a lot of money and effort into training them to be ideal companion slaves. Why would you want them to fight?!"

The woman suddenly felt dizzy, but the old lecher, Louis, immediately supported her from the side.

This guy "accidentally" touched her ample side, yet acted like a perfect gentleman.

The woman was helped to a nearby bench.

"Please forgive me... you... are a very special customer..."

The woman murmured, shaking her head.

"We don't have combat types. We keep the best male cats for breeding. The rest are sold, and there's quite a demand for them among carnivorous races."

"I see..."

Lin Yi was a bit disappointed; he originally had such a good plan... But then, he thought of a way to conduct business and satisfy his needs.

"Can they breed with other species?"

"Yes, but these are sterilized. Like all the companions in our store, they've had surgery. I spent hundreds of years breeding them into the best species and wouldn't let them breed indiscriminately."

"Is there a way to make them fertile?"

"There is, but why would I do that?"

The vendor Malala chuckled lightly.

"So you can exploit all my hard work, start breeding your slaves, and become my competitor?"

"Oh, you're quite foresighted, but without 'males for breeding', how am I supposed to breed them?"

"You could buy from my competitors, but what's the point of that?!"

"Hmm... to control them."

Lin Yi was very frank.

The woman was again taken aback, nearly dropping her pipe.

"What did you say?"

"Hmm, if they work hard for me for five years, I'll grant them freedom. Our race used to do this often; history tells us it was effective."

"Unusual... very unusual... Let's do this, I can see you are a capable person. We can draft a contract bound to the system, but... first, you need to pay me 5,000 coins to sign this contract."

Lin Yi then reached directly into his pocket, pulling out 50,000 coins transported from the Shelter.

A small bag descended from the ceiling, suspended in front of him, hanging by a strand of web.

After Lin Yi placed the coins in the bag, it returned to Malala's hand.

She counted the coins, then began drafting the document, which only took about a minute.

"Alright, activate the contract!"

[Alert!]

[The Mujar Tribe's Maoti Ula Lagala proposes to sign a contract bound to the system with you]

[Contract Terms]:

Maoti Ula Lagala will sell slaves to you and provide a method to restore their fertility.

You must vow not to sell the offspring of these slaves for ten generations from Maoti Ula Lagala.

Slaves purchased from Maoti Ula Lagala must not be resold or given away to anyone.

[Penalty for Breaching This Contract]:

All slaves and their descendants bought under this contract will be eradicated.

[Do you agree to this contract?]

"Maoti Ula Lagala?"

"That's my true name. 'Malala' is just for business, easier to pronounce."

The vendor explained when she saw the look in Lin Yi's eyes.

Lin Yi nodded.

"I agree; from my perspective, can we do business now?"

As he spoke, the contract paper turned to dust and scattered away.

[You have successfully signed a contract]

"Of course. But before we discuss business..."

The woman licked her lips, bent over to display her fullness, and extended an inviting gesture of yearning to Lin Yi.

"How about some entertainment?"

"No, thank you."

Lin Yi was immune to female temptation.

Ever since he saw the perfect woman image of the Heart of the World changing, other women's bodies seemed relatively unattractive to him.

The woman sighed enticingly yet sadly, and pouted in disappointment.

"What a pity... you smell so nice... You'd definitely make me a beautiful baby. Well, let's talk business then. What type of slaves are you interested in?"

"First, I want slaves with crafting skills, preferably those with families. I also wouldn't mind a few strong warriors, or even some interesting individuals.

As for female slaves... my subordinates can pick, they're all a bunch of lechers."

"Hehehe, all men are lechers, it's just that some have more self-control than others."

The woman smiled, then an invisible strand of web floated onto the fabric next to Lin Yi.

"So you want to use their families' captivity to make them submit? That's clever, and it's also a common practice."

The woman lay back, still maintaining eye contact, seemingly unconcerned about her fullness spilling out from her skirt.

"I have a small group of decent warriors, and they all have families, which I acquired a few months ago. Their tribe was nearly wiped out, but they remained wild, refusing to surrender.

A relentless race wiped out this tribe; I'm surprised they didn't simply devour these people... If they started enslaving others, they must be in economic trouble."

"Alright, let's go take a look."

After Lin Yi finished speaking, he walked out of the office.

After all, he wasn't heartless; the temptations here were too many... His intuition told him that if he yielded, the outcome wouldn't be good.

The woman giggled and quickly caught up with him.

The two stepped onto the third floor, which contained many slave cages and guards.

This level mainly housed warrior slaves, some of whom had families.

Generally, these slaves were either found on fragments or captured from arks of smaller races.

A few middle-sized tribes were wiped out in wars too, and their people also brought in as slaves.

Overall, there were many different kinds of slaves to choose from, but the ones saved from fragments and the smaller race slaves were most valued.

They often inherited excellent skills from their ancestors or had acquired good skills from systems.

Malala led Lin Yi to a cage and began introducing the slaves inside.

They were humanoid, short yet sturdy; the tallest male was just over a meter tall.

In contrast, the females had slender figures, slightly shorter than the males.

When the women saw the female trader, they hid behind the men, but interestingly, the males were more wary of the women.

"Are these the ones? They look a bit weak."

Lin Yi inspected these short aliens; they had some muscles, but it was hard for him to imagine these guys fighting mutated zombies...

Malala looked down at these short and stout slaves, but her view was obstructed by her own curves, so she couldn't see very clearly either.

"Most of them can use Earth Magic, and they know a lot about metallurgy. Among the survivors, there are even two blacksmiths."

"Hmm... that's quite interesting, how much for them?"

"Males are 90 coins, females are 70 coins, and children are 30 coins."

"Why are the females so expensive? They're hardly useful, aren't they?"

"Many of them can also use Earth Magic, and besides... well, you'll see."

Malala pointed at a young female and blew a kiss; the skinny female immediately hid behind a male.

Malala burst into laughter.

"They're quite adorable, as companion slaves they can be quite amusing. Of course, I'll have to work on their breeding, but that's just a matter of time."

"Understood." Lin Yi walked to the front of the cage.

Many women were crying.

Because they could understand the trader's language, they knew what lay ahead for them.

"Hey little ones, want to work for me? I don't need slaves, but I need loyal workers."

"You're really strange, not wanting slaves..." the woman interjected before the slaves could speak.

Lin Yi thought for a moment and explained a few sentences.

"In the past hundred years of our race's existence, slavery has changed.

Our slaves are almost in an endless cycle of working desperately just to earn enough to survive. We call it 'cattle and horses.'

But the problem is, the more one works, the more money he needs to maintain the same standard of living.

While the employers reap enormous profits!

Yet slaves naively believe they're free people working for themselves and their families."

"You are terrifying creatures... but I really like you! I should try it someday...

Our slaves would be fine if they worked half as hard, but they also die quite quickly...

Hmm... can we talk privately? I'm interested in learning more about your race's culture. In return, I'll offer you a discount..."

Malala got as close to Lin Yi as possible, and whispered the last sentence, licking his ear.

Lin Yi swatted away the annoying woman.

But the woman continued to look at him with fascination.

"Hehehe... you're such a prude..."