See, a real con artist isn't someone who makes others doubt you every time you ask for money. A true master is someone who makes people beg you to take their money, and if you refuse, they'll insist until you do. That's the art of deception at its finest.
"Dear Doctor, what matters most right now is making sure more people can eat! You have no idea how important the Life Water you created really is! Please, let us handle the Austin Castle matter. You just focus on increasing production."
Seeing that Dr. B clearly had no desire to go to such a dangerous place, the big shots all started trying to persuade him, throwing out promises left and right. At last, Dr. B revealed the real difficulty.
In the corner, Jing Shu stayed quiet, observing everything like a transparent ghost. She kept her head down, grateful that Zhen Nantian wasn't here. If he were, she might've slipped up.
Dr. B raised a hand to calm everyone down.
"Gentlemen, your kindness has been witnessed by God, and may you all be rewarded for your good hearts. But there's one more reason I refuse to go into the crustal rift. You all understand energy conversion, right? Once oil's gone, it's gone. The raw materials for Life Water there can convert about eight million pounds (3,600 tons) of supplies. Before I find another resource point, I don't want to waste this one."
Eight million pounds. Jing Shu rubbed her chin. That number must be the supplies Dr. B and his team planned to take off with, huh? What a lion's mouthful.
That much material might not fill a full cargo ship, but it was more than enough for a handful of people to live in luxury for the rest of their lives. In this apocalypse, that was a jackpot.
By the third year of the end times, anyone who still had such abundant resources was practically untouchable. And the "slave master" sitting nearby was proof of that—he'd brought the resources of an entire city to Austin. Even though he got robbed halfway, he still lived comfortably there now, his face twisted with greed and cruelty.
The farm owners and directors at the table exchanged looks, each catching the same gleam of satisfaction in the other's eyes. That number was more than enough for them to get their share. If they invested 300,000 pounds of goods, in a few days they'd get 500,000 back. Who wouldn't jump at that?
Under their collective persuasion, Dr. B finally nodded. "I do have a few conditions. If you agree to them, I can take the risk and process it for you."
"Of course, that's your right," one of the directors said quickly.
Dr. B extended his hand. "First, Austin must send no fewer than thirty armed men to protect me, fully equipped and with enough ammunition. The situation over there's dangerous, and I have to think about my safety."
The Austin director secretly let out a sigh of relief. He'd been wondering how to send guards to "watch" Dr. B while keeping him within Austin's control. After all, Dr. B was far too valuable to lose—especially now that he'd developed Life Water. Austin couldn't afford to let him out of sight.
Fortunately, Dr. B's own team was weak. Aside from his two assistants, D and C, and a handful of slaves, he had no real combat power. A thirty-man escort sounded perfect—both for safety and surveillance.
The first condition passed smoothly. Dr. B continued, "Second, I understand how everyone feels. You all want more food and supplies, and I can convert everything into Life Water. But first, I need to use the Life Water to strengthen the seed vault's collection. I haven't located the next resource point yet, so I need to ensure Austin's seeds can grow well before then."
Jing Shu's heart skipped a beat. There it was! That was the benefit Dr. B was fighting for on her behalf. Perfect.
The Austin director hesitated for a moment. "And how much would converting the seeds cost?"
"Not much. Same as any regular material."
He exhaled in relief. There weren't that many tons of seeds anyway. "Alright, I understand. You're doing this for everyone's good, Doctor. You're truly a generous man. I'll have someone deliver the seeds to you."
"Third," Dr. B continued, "Life Water doesn't keep long. To maximize its effect, we'll have to move all supplies into the area at once for simultaneous conversion."
No one objected. That wasn't a big deal. In fact, doing it all together would prevent fights later over who went first.
"Fourth, each group will need to guard their own supplies. That region's full of unknown creatures, and the scent of food could attract attacks."
Everyone nodded. The condition was fair, even thoughtful. Many were now convinced Dr. B was truly considering their safety.
"As for how much each of you contributes, work that out among yourselves. I'll only accept eight million pounds total, and I'll take a 20% cut as my fee," Dr. B said calmly.
Not a pound more.
Now that's how you play a con. Take just enough to seem fair, then let them fight over who pays what. You sit back and collect.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Fifth," Dr. B said, "I need to borrow the castle's vegetable dehydration equipment. I have a bold new idea I want to test."
Jing Shu narrowed her eyes. There it was—the real target of their mission. Would they agree, or would they tack on extra conditions?
"Of course. How long will you need it, Doctor? We use it daily to dry vegetables."
"Two days," he replied.
"No problem."
They agreed just like that. So easy!
Jing Shu could barely believe it. The seed vault and their mission target were both secured without a single fight. They'd almost gone to rob the thing earlier—how dangerous that would've been!
See? Fighting's never better than scamming. And scamming's never better than making people hand you the prize themselves.
Dr. B's reputation worked like a charm. No one would ever suspect that a man who could build a city wall out of Luminite would be eyeing a vegetable dehydrator.
It was like a man driving a million-dollar car and wearing a luxury watch borrowing five bucks—and never paying it back. Who'd think he'd waste a whole day scheming over five bucks?
Dr. B played the part of a cowardly genius perfectly, asking for protection and acting cautious. That only made everyone more relaxed.
After all, what could one powerless man do in a group of hundreds? Run off with thousands of tons of supplies? Him? And his handful of people? Please.
If only they knew.