Chapter 21: With Food, One Can Control Everything!

"Bastard, let me go!"

"If you dare to touch me, I will kill you!"

"Release me..."

Inside the Qingfeng Tea Shop, the angry curses of the female NPC rang out as she twisted and struggled incessantly.

Lu Feng stood to the side, feeling rather awkward; it seemed he hadn't actually done anything yet. Why was she shouting like that? Did she not realize that struggling while tied up like this only made her look more provocative? Besides, he was a man with a girlfriend.

"Beauty, I have no intention of doing anything to you," Lu Feng quickly said to the woman. "But if you keep shouting, I can't guarantee that the zombies won't burst in to 'touch' you. Their kisses are sure to be intense and quite stimulating!"

"..." Lin Jiao fell silent, and after a moment, she calmed down. "What exactly do you want?"

Having survived in this apocalypse for so long, she knew that while an initial emotional outburst was a natural instinct, yelling and screaming were the most useless tactics in this world; sometimes, they only served to further amuse the villains.

Lu Feng stated his objective: "Simply put, I come from somewhere else and am very unfamiliar with this place. I want some things, so I am looking to hire someone. Since you are the first person I've encountered, I would like to hire you."

"Hire me?" Lin Jiao didn't quite understand the first part of his sentence, but she caught the last part. She retorted, "Is this how you go about hiring people?"

Lu Feng said apologetically, "I am very sorry, but due to your unfriendly behavior last time, I had no other choice."

This remark left Lin Jiao stunned. She remembered snatching a bottle of cola and some bread from him previously. She had been truly starving then, having been trapped in the department store for quite some time without food. It was all the fault of the guys from the East City Alliance for giving her false information. This time, she had returned to try her luck because she was truly desperate for food, having encountered this man in the same spot before.

Lu Feng continued, "Naturally, this is not a friendly way to start. As a gesture of sincerity, I can untie you first."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and untied the ropes one by one, then quickly backed away. Sure enough, as soon as she was freed, the woman threw a punch at him, which he narrowly dodged. People who survived in the apocalypse were clearly not to be persuaded by a few words. He had anticipated her reaction.

Lin Jiao was frustrated that her strike had missed; if she hadn't been starving for so long, he definitely wouldn't have dodged it. She stomped her foot on the tea table and lunged at Lu Feng again. Regardless of his purpose, she intended to subdue him first.

Seeing this, Lu Feng sighed. He had no interest in fighting this female NPC, so with a single thought, he exited the game.

Lin Jiao’s attack hit empty air, and she was left completely bewildered. "Where... where did he go?" She searched left and right, cold sweat breaking out on her back. A person had simply vanished into thin air.

Back in his apartment, Lu Feng watched her movements clearly through the projection in his mind. This was intentional. He didn't understand the people in the "Post-Apocalyptic" world, and to hire someone, he had to demonstrate a side that would make them wary—he had to show her that she couldn't do anything against him to curb her schemes.

He went downstairs, bought a bag containing cola and egg yolk pies at a nearby shop, and hurried back to his apartment. Locking the door, he scraped the expiration date off the cola, took out a can and a pie, and with a thought, vanished from the spot.

Inside the Qingfeng Tea Shop, Lin Jiao was still searching the surroundings, utterly shocked. The man had truly disappeared. Just then, Lu Feng’s voice sounded from behind her: "It’s quite impolite to attack someone after they’ve shown goodwill."

Lin Jiao spun around in surprise. "You... what exactly are you?"

Lu Feng feigned mystery. "I forgot to mention, since I can come to this place, I naturally possess special abilities."

Lin Jiao frowned, seemingly in deep thought, and the next moment, she suddenly raised her hand to ambush him again. Simultaneously, Lu Feng held up the cola and the egg yolk pie.

At that instant, Lin Jiao froze, her eyes fixed intently on the food. Lu Feng could see her throat bobbing as she swallowed saliva. He smiled and tossed the items to her. Lin Jiao caught them subconsciously, disbelief written on her face. Could someone really be kind enough to hand over life-saving food so easily?

She couldn't worry about it anymore. The hunger consuming her made her immediately crack open the cola and guzzle it, then rip into the pie. She was far from elegant. She didn't suspect the food was tampered with; after all, if the man wanted to do something to her, he could have done it while she was tied up.

After devouring the pie, she looked up, only to find the man had vanished again.

Lu Feng had returned to his office, grabbed the remaining cola and pie, and vanished once more, reappearing in the game world. This time, Lin Jiao did not attack; her gaze was locked on the bag in his hand. She now believed the mysterious man possessed special abilities—how else could he vanish and appear at will? Perhaps he was one of those legendary "ability users."

More importantly, he seemed to have plenty of food.

Lu Feng placed the bag on the tea table and asked, "So, shall we talk about the hiring?"

"Let's talk!" Lin Jiao answered decisively, her eyes never leaving the food. She then added firmly, "However, I must state beforehand that I do not accept any... abnormal services." She added, "If you really need that, I can arrange it for you once we leave this department store. There are plenty of women in the East City Alliance; you only need to pay a piece of bread!"

"My dear lady, you seem to have misunderstood!" Lu Feng interrupted, his face full of embarrassment. He understood exactly what she meant. He quickly added, "I told you, I only want certain things. I don't have any sordid intentions. If you have what I need, I can exchange food for it."

Hearing the word "food," Lin Jiao asked, "What do you want?"

Lu Feng didn't hide it. "I need gold. Naturally, other jewelry is fine too. More importantly, if you have any technology, I would accept that as well." He pointed to the sci-fi-looking advertisements on the walls. "For example, the production technology for these billboards!"

He was certain that if he brought such advanced technology back to reality, it would become a sensation.

"What? You want to trade food for these trinkets?" Lin Jiao was incredulous. She looked at Lu Feng as if he were an idiot, or perhaps a fat sheep to be fleeced.

Are you kidding me? In this dark world, food was the most precious commodity. To survive, people would fight tooth and nail for a single piece of bread. In desperate situations, some would even stew their own companions, turning into cannibals.

You could say that if you had enough food, you could control everything. And now, someone was telling her they wanted to trade food for these worthless things? She truly suspected that this ability user’s brain might be broken or malfunctioning.