Xue Ge reached out and slapped the short man on the head with a sharp smack. "Are you an idiot? Can't you see those girls are each more beautiful than the last? You want to leave when such gifts are delivered right to our doorstep?"
"Yes, yes, I understand, Xue Ge." The short man hurriedly bowed and nodded, not daring to show any dissatisfaction, still forcing a smile. "So Xue Ge has taken a liking to them."
Xue Ge licked his lips and said, "See that girl in the black tight-fitting clothes? Great figure, really pretty. Even before the Great Flood, she'd be rare. I'm planning to take her back for my brother. Do you think he'll be tempted?"
The short man let out a dry laugh. "Brother Peng only seems interested in hunting monsters, not women. There are several women in our Golden Eagle Building A, and I've never seen him take an interest in any of them."
Xue Ge said, "What do you know, you fool? Even I can't stand those women. I wouldn't touch them if I weren't desperate for females, let alone my brother. But this girl is different. Maybe my brother will be tempted. A life of only fighting isn't perfect. I want my brother to be happy too..."
During their conversation, all the supplies had been moved onto the two rafts and stacked up. The people who had been moving the supplies were also on the rafts. Apart from Xue Ge and the short man standing on the balcony of the thirty-first floor, there were five others on the rafts below, all men. The youngest was about eighteen or nineteen, and the oldest around thirty. They were all now observing Su Li and his group of five approaching.
Gong Xiao, Qi Mengyu, and Xu Xuehui—the three women appearing together—had indeed surprised these people.
After the Great Flood, women had become a scarce resource. The gender ratio was severely imbalanced, almost exceeding five to one. Compared to men, the dwindling number of women made it hard to demand quality. Yet here, three had suddenly appeared, and among them, Gong Xiao was exceptionally beautiful, exuding an irresistible charm. Xu Xuehui, though young, was already delicate and adorable, promising to be a stunning beauty when she grew up.
Only Qi Mengyu was slightly less attractive, but that was only in comparison to Gong Xiao and Xu Xuehui. Her looks were still above average.
Su Li and Ding Longyun, who spent every day with them, didn't think much of it. But for Xue Ge, the short man, and the other seven, it was a shocking surprise. They were all speculating about the origins of these five newcomers and guessing at Su Li and Ding Longyun's identities.
As they observed Su Li's group, Su Li activated his "Peeping Rune" to study them.
"Three level 6s, four level 5s. Not bad," Su Li noted. He saw the man on the thirty-first-floor balcony with the tacky gold chain and afro hair—a level 6 Source User. The short man beside him was level 5.
On the two rafts below, one of the five was a tall, thin man in his thirties holding a machete, also level 6. Another level 6 Source User was a young man with a face full of acne, empty-handed. The remaining three were level 5 Source Users.
Su Li stopped paddling, and the raft moved closer to the oncoming rafts, about to collide.
"Hey, stop!" a man on the raft shouted. The two rafts were loaded with supplies. If the large raft hit them, it could capsize them, causing trouble.
The young man with acne snorted lightly, stepped forward on the raft, picked up a wooden paddle, and thrust it toward the approaching large raft, trying to stop it with a single paddle.
At the same moment, Su Li stepped forward and braced his paddle against the other raft.
Both acted simultaneously, using their paddles to push against each other's rafts. Su Li's large raft swayed only slightly, but the other raft began to rock violently. The three men on it changed expressions slightly, but fortunately, the large raft finally stopped.
Seeing the raft stop, Ding Longyun immediately climbed onto it. Though soaking wet, he was used to it and didn't feel uncomfortable.
"Where are you from? These supplies are ours. How dare you mess with other people's things?"
Ding Longyun struck first with his words. As soon as he spoke, the seven people opposite were stunned.
Then, Xue Ge, standing on the balcony above, burst into laughter, doubling over.
Still laughing, he clutched his stomach and pointed at Ding Longyun. "You old man are hilarious! Haha, I always thought I, Gao Shuxue, was domineering and reckless, but today I've met someone even more domineering, and he's trying to bully me! Claiming these supplies are his? Ha, haha—"
Ding Longyun, called an old man, flew into a rage. He looked up angrily at Gao Shuxue and shouted, "Brat, who are you calling an old man? This place is ours, and these supplies were painstakingly gathered by me. I was coming to move them today, but you beat me to it."
Su Li sighed inwardly, thinking that their sudden appearance and claim over the supplies would be hard for the others to believe. They'd likely think Su Li's group saw the supplies and wanted to muscle in.
Gao Shuxue, called a brat, wasn't angry. Instead, he said with a grin, "Old man, you say these supplies are yours. Do you have proof?" He was certain Ding Longyun couldn't produce any and wanted to see him embarrass himself.
Ding Longyun paused, then laughed. "Proof? Of course I have proof. There are plenty of photos of me at home. Go check if you don't believe me. They prove I live here. In one of the half-full bags of rice you just moved, there's a bowl I use for rice. It has a red floral pattern. Go look if you don't believe me."
Ding Longyun's words left the seven stunned. A man on the raft noticed the half-full bag of rice Ding Longyun mentioned was right in front of him, tied with a cloth strip. Curious, he untied it and found a bowl inside. Picking it up, he saw the red floral pattern, exactly as Ding Longyun had described.
This half-full bag of rice was hard to spot among the pile, and the bowl was inside a tied bag. Ding Longyun couldn't have seen it beforehand, proving the rice was indeed his.
The man stood there holding the floral-patterned bowl, unsure what to do. The young man with acne suddenly snatched the bowl from him and tossed it into the water.
The bowl sank and disappeared. Ding Longyun glared at him.
The young man shrugged. "We didn't see any bowl. The facts show these supplies now belong to Golden Eagle."
"Fine, so you're going to rob us and refuse to return our supplies?" Ding Longyun stared at him, growing angrier by the moment. He found these guys increasingly insufferable.
Su Li had remained silent, but now he understood that getting the supplies back peacefully was nearly impossible.
Qi Mengyu suddenly spoke up. "You mentioned Golden Eagle. Is that Golden Eagle One? I recall Golden Eagle One has Building A and Building B. Are you from there?"
She remembered that Golden Eagle One's Building A had thirty-nine floors, about five or six kilometers away, while Building B was farther, over six kilometers, with forty-four floors.
"Oh, the beauty knows a lot. Yes, we're from Golden Eagle One, Building A. I'm Zhang Zhiyang, usually called Brother Zhiyang. What's your name, beauty? Where are you from?" Zhang Zhiyang's acne-covered face flushed slightly, his excitement showing.
Qi Mengyu, relieved by his polite tone, hoped to avoid conflict and resolve things peacefully. She answered honestly, "I'm Qi Mengyu. We're from Zifeng Tower."
"Zifeng Tower? I know it. Tao Bingjun, right? Xue Ge, have you met him?" Zhang Zhiyang looked up at Gao Shuxue, standing on the thirty-first-floor balcony.
Gao Shuxue laughed from above. "Zhang Zhiyang, you're even more excited about the beauty than I am! What, got your eye on her? Haha."
Zhang Zhiyang chuckled. "I hope Xue Ge will help me out. Saying I'm not tempted would be a lie. You know, I've never had a real relationship before. I was always rejected. Now this world is great—you can use force to get women and find love. No more judging by looks or money, haha—"
He laughed loudly, his expression arrogant. Though Gong Xiao was the prettiest, he knew she wasn't for him—she'd likely go to Gao Shuxue and his brother. So he set his sights on Qi Mengyu, thinking he had a good chance.
He hadn't taken Su Li and Ding Longyun seriously from the start, and knowing they were from Zifeng Tower made him even bolder.
Their group of seven was strong, with no weaklings. Gao Shuxue, Zhang Zhiyang, and the tall, thin man with the machete were all level 6 Source Users. The other four were level 5. This combination was virtually unbeatable in the area.
They had encountered people from other places before, but no one dared to offend them or could match them. The strongest outsider they'd faced was a level 5 Source User. The gap was huge. They guessed Su Li and Ding Longyun were also level 5 Source Users. Having beautiful women with them just meant they were lucky, not that they were powerful.
Gao Shuxue laughed, looking at Qi Mengyu, Su Li, and the others. "So you're Tao Bingjun's men? My brother ran into him a few days ago. He wanted your Zifeng Tower to join our 'Golden Eagle Alliance,' but that guy was clueless. My brother gave him a good beating. Still, his ability was weird, and he got away. We were planning to visit Zifeng Tower again in a couple of days to bring you into the alliance. Didn't expect to run into you here."