"What do you mean by selling hope?"

Zhakang stared into Mason's eyes, trying to dig out more from the soul hidden behind those clear black and white eyes. He said,

"Tell me your genius ideas. I feel like you're not just trying to find the treasure we need, but also doing something good, like saving people.

Mason, your pity for them when you look at them can't fool me, but I think you're just asking for trouble."

"I do want to do something good, but I also believe we can profit from it."

Mason rubbed his chin, speaking slowly and thoughtfully, "I think there's a way to profit more than just plundering or trading. We should find a way to save these people. Not just give them food or water, that won't solve the root of the problem.

What I mean is, give them what they really need. The end of the world is unstoppable, but the ocean can be the last refuge.

I've seen the world after the end, and to be honest, I don't like it.

If I have the chance to change the course of the end, I would gladly do it."

Zhakang dropped his smoking pipe in shock, staring at Mason for almost five seconds before speaking, "Do you even know what you're saying? There are more than a hundred thousand survivors on this island alone! The whole world has been overrun by zombies and they're still spreading!

Do you forget what happened last night?

They don't even care if they die here or not, who are you to take away their right to pursue happiness until death?

And most importantly, how do you expect the four of us to save these people? Are you planning on tricking Superman to come over? Or are you going to try and deceive me and the Justice League heroes like you did before?

Are you going crazy from the pressure?

How about this?

You send me back to Gotham first, and after I reunite with my girlfriend, you can continue this great work with my sincere blessings.

And I don't think this is how the Star Alliance does things!

Mason Cooper, as the leader of the exploration team, you really need to reflect on your thoughts and ideas. You won't go far with such a conscience!"

Watching Zhakang jumping around, Mason felt a little helpless. But he waited until Zhakang finished his rant before reaching out and pressing down on him, saying,

"Don't be in such a hurry, I can convince you."

"Heh," Zhakang expressed doubt about this.

The argument between the two quickly caught the attention of the other two team members. Catwoman agilely jumped onto the bamboo tower, her invisibility cloak fluttering behind her but unable to conceal her beautiful figure. She jumped to Mason's side and glared at Zhakang, not asking for the cause and effect but single-mindedly confirming that Zhakang was causing trouble.

"Selina, can you help me reason with him?"

Constantine didn't care about Catwoman's attitude of being impartial, and embellished Mason's thoughts to her.

Catwoman was also shocked after hearing it, but soon this mature big sister approached Mason and patted his shoulder hard, giving him a thumbs up and saying,"What an ambitious plan, it reminds me of Batman's determination to protect his city in times of crisis. Although I have no idea how you plan to achieve what you boast about, my sister likes this idea.

I'm in!"

"Boss, your idea sounds great, it reminds me of the Joker's state of mind when he planned to shoot Barbara Gordon to provoke Batman."

Kite Man expressed his lack of support and concern in a gentle way.

But when Mason looked at him, this sensible and caring little brother immediately picked up his gun, raised his head and assured Mason by patting his chest:

"But whatever the boss says is what we'll do. I'll definitely do my best to help! Besides, even if we fail, we won't lose anything, the world has already come to an end.

How much worse can it get?"

"Your brains have all gone bad! Mason must have drugged you all to turn you into obedient little dogs who listen to his every command!"

Constantine glared at Catwoman and Kite Man.

He took a puff of his pipe and blew out a smoke ring, saying:

"Look at the great team members you've chosen! I don't fit in with you at all, it's like a demon crashing an angel party and having to bow and scrape to the angel captain with a forced smile!

Mason!

I'm starting to want to strangle you more and more.

You'd better give me a damn good reason before I actually lay a hand on you... I'm serious! Because your evaluation of my strength is really accurate, Mason.

Even in this low-magic world, I can sell my blood and crush the three of you here."

"Don't argue, John, calm down. And boss, don't blame John for questioning, we don't have an antidote on hand."

Kite Man jumped out as a peacemaker when he saw Mason and Scarecrow arguing. He whispered:

"This is almost an unsolvable problem, unless you can conjure up a solution."

"Antidote?"

Mason shrugged and pushed open the door of the bamboo building, saying:

"Who said we don't have one?"

---

"In response to Captain Mason's idea of saving everyone just now, I now have two plans for everyone to choose from."

A few minutes later, in the bamboo building with the door closed, Scarecrow stood in front of the table without a leg, with a serious expression, and opened his arms to the three people sitting in front of him, saying:

"The more feasible one is to call upon the gods of this world to come down. With infinite power, purify the zombie virus that has spread all over the world, and then create a new era by bringing down miracles to eliminate all zombies overnight.

The second option, which is less feasible, is to rely on our own strength and wisdom, unite these people who have been scared crazy by the end of the world, and launch a counterattack from the sea to the continent to eliminate the disaster of zombies and give them a beautiful new world.

Personally, I prefer the first one."

Constantine looked around and made a prayer gesture in front of his chest. He said in a flat voice:

"So, can we start praying now? I happen to know a few spells that can communicate with the gods."

Scarecrow's weird words made Catwoman laugh out loud, and Kite Man also grinned. Only Mason remained expressionless. He glanced at the young man and said:"You analyzed it well, don't analyze it next time. Sit down and listen to me now."

Constantine snorted and found a chair to sit down.

He stared at Mason with a skeptical expression, as if saying "let's see how you explain this."

He didn't doubt that Mason had a genuine reluctance towards the apocalypse and really wanted to help these poor survivors, but Constantine was convinced that the K team's strength was simply not enough to accomplish this.

As a selfish person who never hides his thoughts, Constantine occasionally does good deeds for entertainment as long as it doesn't affect his own interests.

But this matter in front of him is not as simple as helping an old lady cross the road.

"First of all, we don't need to help these survivors counterattack the zombie disaster that has already spread."

Mason raised a finger and calmly said to his team:

"When we boarded the ship, even our chief mate knew that the pirate kings and surviving royal fleets were going to hold a meeting to discuss plans, which obviously meant that someone was behind the scenes pushing things along.

This shows that the survivors in this world have not given up resistance.

They will do the counterattack and liberation themselves, and they have enough motivation to do so."

The young man raised a second finger and said:

"Secondly, I never thought that we would personally go down and help them resist the zombies.

Our main goal has always been clear, which is to search for what we need in this world to solve the troubles we face.

But the outbreak of the zombie disaster was sudden, which led to the fact that most of the valuable resources in this world still exist in the old continent.

I need all kinds of magical materials to improve my alchemy and other skills.

Constantine wants to get powerful magic items and devilish forbidden knowledge, while Lady Cat wants all kinds of legendary treasures.

Those treasures that you can't steal in our world, such as the Diamond of the Bright Mountain and the Papal Scepter, can be taken here.

So to maximize our benefits, whether we like it or not, we must eventually go deep into the areas occupied by zombies.

Compared to the four of us fighting alone in the zombie sea, I personally prefer to use the power of survivors. To put it bluntly, we need a large number of cannon fodders."

"Uh, actually, I also want something..."

Charles, the transparent member of the K team, cautiously raised his hand and said in a low voice:

"In addition to flying kites, I have other personal hobbies, such as collecting some rare wines to bring back to the Iceberg Bar for preparation for reopening, and getting some gold.

Why are you looking at me like that?

As someone who can die in another world at any time, I have to leave some inheritance for my son in advance!"

"Look at you, so pathetic."

Constantine snorted, staring at the young man with his smoking pipe.

He knew that Mason had been avoiding a crucial question.

Ignoring Constantine's meaningful gaze, Mason raised a third finger and said:

"Finally, it's a question of resource utilization, everyone."

He threw the thin captain's manual on the table and said:

"Even among the Star Association, which has access to countless parallel world information, a world with supernatural powers and unique resources that can be rated as C-level is still very rare.""Not to mention that this is an open public world that allows all members to explore.

This world belongs solely to the management of Old K. As the inheritor of the K team, this is our territory!

So, it's a simple truth.

Are we ready to make a quick profit and run?

Or should we use our hearts and invest some energy to turn it into a great rear area that can continuously supply the K team? If we want to gain more benefits, no one can do it alone."

Mason retracted three fingers and looked at his three teammates, saying:

"This is the premise for me to make this decision. Do you have any objections?"

"Boss's analysis makes sense."

Kite-Man was the first to speak.

He glanced at Zsasz and Catwoman's expressions, and hesitantly said in a low voice:

"But you haven't mentioned the most important question yet, boss. I don't mean to embarrass you, but how can we help them? We really don't have a cure for the zombie virus.

Unless you can use your alchemy to make a magic potion that can turn zombies back into humans within a few days."

"Zombies can't be turned back into humans!"

Mason shook his head and said:

"Mr. Potter's diary made it very clear. That virus directly changes the form of life, not poisoning or infection. At the moment when they completely transform into zombies, they are already dead.

Alchemy cannot reverse this process.

But I still stand by what I said earlier, who said we don't have a cure?"

The young man stood up, leaning his hands on the table and looking at the three people in front of him, he said:

"Although I used zombie beasts to attack Blackgate Prison because of personal grievances.

But to be honest, the reason why I risked being thrown into Arkham Asylum by Batman to do this is not just because I want a peaceful life.

There is a second reason,"

Mason shook his head and finally revealed the answer, saying:

"Batman already has enough zombie virus samples, and it has been almost a week since the disaster at Blackgate Prison. Do you think that with Batman's efficiency, he has already developed a vaccine or serum that works against the zombie virus?

You answer this question, Selina!

After all, among the four of us, you have the most knowledge about Batman in various ways."

Mason's words hit the three people like lightning. Zsasz stood up directly from his chair, looking at this 17-year-old young man with an incredible look.

Catwoman, who was named by Mason, was a bit confused by this question. She rubbed her pretty big eyes and thought for several seconds before hesitantly saying:

"With the scientific research capabilities of Batman's secret supporters, in the case of having complete samples and investing in targeted defense research regardless of cost, seven days is indeed enough time for them to produce some results.

But the zombie virus has no precedent, and perhaps it will take longer?"

"What if the whole Justice League, with all kinds of weird abilities, helps?"

Mason asked again.

Even Catwoman didn't speak this time.

If we interpret it according to Mason's thoughts, the best situation might be that there are already boxes and boxes of complete vaccines that can work against the zombie virus in a medical box in the Batcave.After all, with Batman's action mode of always formulating countermeasures to any potential threats, it's simply unrealistic to say that he has no preparations for the zombie disaster that occurred in Gotham!

But all of this was already within Mason's plan.

"Look, all the problems are solved now!"

Mason looked at the three silent team members in front of him, spread his hands and said:

"We have a preliminary plan, we have the strong support from Batman, and we have unified our thoughts and goals. Now what we need to do is to come up with an action plan.

After we get enough zombie vaccines in Gotham, how should we deliver them to the survivors?

And how should we use this 'special resource' to manipulate the future direction of this world, so that we can maximize our benefits?"

"Hold on, let me think about it."

Zha Kang chided impatiently.

The black magician sat down, not saying a word, and smoked his pipe. The realization that he might not be the smartest person in the team was obviously making him quite melancholic.

"Boss! Awesome!"

Kite Man's thoughts were much simpler. Now his eyes were almost full of admiration when he looked at Mason.

"Wait, Mason, I admit that your plan is very powerful, and it's powerful in every aspect, but how are you going to persuade Batman to help you produce the vaccine?"

Catwoman stood up at this moment, pointing at Mason's arm and said:

"You can't tell Batman about the Guild of Stars, it might trigger your curse."

"We don't even have to tell him."

The young man shook his head and said:

"Gotham has already experienced a zombie crisis once, and if it happens a few more times, even without our intervention, Batman and Gotham City Hall will take the initiative to produce those drugs.

All we have to do is get a portion of the drugs during the distribution process.

How many people do you think are left in this world right now? A million at most! Maybe just one drug production line can meet all their needs."

"You want to release zombies to attack civilians?"

Catwoman's face became serious, but at this moment, Kite Man reached out and pulled Catwoman's arm, and the little brother who was familiar with Mason's style whispered:

"Selina, there are more than just civilians in Gotham. Think about it, what's the most abundant thing in that city?"

Mason shrugged, gave Catwoman a look to let her figure it out for herself, and then turned back to Kite Man, asking:

"Have the annoying Mafia been harassing your bar reconstruction lately? Do you know where their core base is? And where are the other gangs in the city doing their shady business?"

Kite Man shuddered, silently mourning for the gangsters in Gotham for a second, and then whispered:

"I'll draw you a map later, boss."

"Great, the last part of our Gotham operation is settled."

Mason moved his shoulders and said:

"Now we only have the problem of the distribution channels for the drugs left. I think we should..."

"Boom"

A loud noise suddenly erupted outside the bamboo building on the sea, interrupting Mason's words like the sound of heavy artillery.

The young man walked to the window and looked out.

In the increasingly hot sun, a huge black battleship was commanding several ships and heading towards Turtle Island. The cannon fire just now was them bombing the ships that were stuck on the sea and couldn't dodge in time.

Such a high-profile display had already ignited a big fire on the sea, and Mason's boatswain also rushed in panicking, pulling up his pants.

The one-eyed old sailor spoke fearfully to Mason:

"Sir Wizard, our ship has been hit..."

"That broken ship is gone, who's coming?"

Mason asked.

The old sailor was obviously terrified, he looked out the window at the slowly approaching black battleship, lowered his voice and trembled:

We are "pawread.co𝑚", find us on google.

"That's the Queen Anne's Revenge, the legendary pirate Barbossa and his fleet, he stole it from another great pirate, 'Blackbeard' Edward Teach."

"So this is the Queen Anne's Revenge? It's bigger than I remembered."

Mason blinked.

He reached into his bag and gently pulled out the voodoo doll that was very similar to old K, and the voodoo birdcage that had now become a "zombie beast breeding room".

Miss McGee, the zombie cat lying inside, seemed to have gotten used to Mason's scent, and didn't hiss and claw at him when he picked her up.

Mason stroked these two items, looked at the legendary pirate ship approaching Turtle Island, and another idea jumped into his mind.

"John!"

He turned around and said:

"Come with me for a walk later, we need to repair the cracks in our friendship, and also meet our 'new friends'."