Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



There was silence throughout the room as Liu Yu Zeng's words echoed, their importance seeping into everyone who heard them.

"What are you doing here, in my club then?" asked the Boss, and I could see his white-knuckled grip on the steel hand railing.

"I am bored. There aren't as many people to fight left anymore, and those that are on my level are all tied to a base of some kind or other," shrugged Liu Yu Zeng, pulling me in front of him, his arm wrapped around my waist. "I want some entertainment."

"You want to be entertainment?" repeated the Boss, not sure if he heard him correctly or not.

"No, I want entertainment; I don't much care about being other peoples'. However, if it gets me what I want, then I could put up with it," continued Liu Yu Zeng as he leaned forward and placed his chin on my shoulder. 

"What would your cut be?" 

"80/20. The 20 would be your share, of course," smirked Liu Yu Zeng. "And let's face it, my name alone will be enough to fill this place to the ceiling and out the door."

"40/60," came the counteroffer, and Liu Yu Zeng burst out laughing. 

"You were lucky I was even offering you a cut, and now you only want to give me 40% of the profit? You need to wake up, boy. That will never happen, not even in your dreams," he let out a very put-out sigh and turned me around so that I was still in his arms but facing him.

"I told you it would be better just to kill him and take his club," he grumbled, staring at the Boss from over my head.

"Well, I thought you could play nice. I mean, I don't really want to be stuck here for the rest of my life. Just long enough for you to scratch your itch and move on," I replied, completely reasonably. "But if he is thinking 40/60, then there is no point in keeping him alive. One less person in the world using resources."

"Now, just a minute," sputtered the Boss, but both Liu Yu Zeng and I ignored him. If we made it seem like we were desperate, then it wouldn't go well for us. We needed to make the Boss believe that we were lowering our standards and that it would be a mutually beneficial decision for Liu Yu Zeng to be fighting for him. "There is no need to go that far. I built this thing up from the ground with my own blood, sweat, and tears. It is mine."

"Somehow, I doubt that the blood spilled in that ring there is yours," sneered Liu Yu Zeng as he titled his head towards the brightly lit ring. "And we can go anywhere and bring in the crowds. I heard that your place was the best, but that doesn't make it the only one. And I am sure that your competitors would love to push me in their ring. They will be making twice the money in one night that you would be making in a week."

"After all, you would be earning money on drinks, admissions, and the fight," I pointed out. The Boss looked down and glared at me. 

"I don't charge admissions," he growled, no doubt pissed that interjected into his conversation. Hopefully, he remembers what happened to the last guy that snapped at me, though. For his sake, if nothing else. 

"Well, there is your first problem. If you want to cater to the rich clientele, you need to charge admission. How else can they know that this place is exclusive? Next, you charge more for people to be able to sit down instead of standing up in the rafters," I pointed out. I had no idea to run a club, and even I knew that.

"I hate to break it to you, but money doesn't grow on trees, you know," sneered the Boss, only to turn pale and gulp when Liu Yu Zeng lifted up a hand covered in black smoke. 

"I understand that. But on the flip side, those who know how to make money will always have money, and those who can't go from rich to broke in a heartbeat. What happens when you are bending over backward for a second-generation prince who no longer has money? Are you just wasting yours?" I pointed out.

To me, it was the most obvious thing. Those who had money in the apocalypse had money because they prepared for it. They took their money out of the bank early, preventing others from doing the same. They have also set up businesses that sell moldy bread for $20.00. Those types of people will always have money and will want to spend it in such a way that all others understand that they have it.

Like yachts. They really aren't all that great, but the very idea that someone has one is enough to elevate their status. 

"Well, this is all good and all, but since we aren't going to reach an agreement, I might as well go to the next club and talk to them instead," interjected Liu Yu Zeng as he turned the two of us around and headed to the door. 

"Wait just a moment. We haven't finished negotiating things. This is not how a businessman does things," sputtered the Boss, and I knew that we had him.

"I am not a businessman," sneered Liu Yu Zeng. "I am a thug from a noble family that likes to bash people's faces in with either my fist or a baseball bat. If I am lucky, I'll be able to beat them to death with my bare hands. But no one has ever accused me of being a businessman."

I had to hold back my laughter. If I knew nothing else about the man beside me was that he was just as much of a businessman as Wang Chao was, just in a different way. However, he always played to the stereotypical gangster who preferred blood over anything else. 

It made his opponents really underestimate him, and he loved every second of it.

"50/50, my last offer," growled the boss, clearly not happy. 

Too bad for him.