Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 42 Follow
Max and David are currently missing, which has deprived Zhuang Fan of his most direct support.

He needs new help.

Watson is the only suitable candidate.

Once he was released from the convict camp and offered sufficient benefits, the rudiments of a small scavenging team were formed.

First, earn your first pot of gold, then find a suitable abandoned recycling station and develop it discreetly for a period of time.

Zhuang Fan was in charge of repairing high-value parts, while Mao Shanwang was in charge of selling them.

This arrangement can save a lot of unnecessary trouble.

"Exclusive distributorship, exclusive pricing?"

Mao Shanwang waved a tattered palm-leaf fan and smacked his lips: "Your goods aren't anything special, they're all broken and tattered. The fact that I'm willing to take them is already doing charity."

Zhuang Fan was speechless: "Doing charity? Last time I sold you your prosthetic limb, you bargained it down from a thousand to three hundred, and then resold it to a colleague for eight hundred. I caught you doing it."

"Hey, that's where Ben Mao's advantage lies."

Mao Shanwang chuckled and said, "I'm well-known in the major black markets nearby. I have my own trade routes. They're only willing to pay a high price if they think the source is reliable and the quality is guaranteed. That's my reputation."

"If you try to sell it yourself, the seller will worry that you stole it, which carries legal risks, so you definitely won't get a good price. Do you understand?"

"Fine, I admit it." Zhuang Fan stopped arguing.

He was well aware that he was a wanted criminal and that he had to maintain an absolute low profile for a long time to come.

During the few days he was away from the city, he noticed that some of the refugees were in a strange state.

Most of these people were pale and thin, but their bodies were morbidly obese, with their bellies swollen like spheres.

They were all keen on selling their blood.

Every morning, seven or eight blood donation vehicles bearing the "Charlie Sugar Factory" logo would park on the edge of the refugee settlement.

The obese vagrants would line up in long queues, their faces filled with a kind of pious fervor, eagerly stretching out their arms.

After their blood was drawn, the sugar factory workers would give them pieces of black, paste-like food.

That stuff is similar to cockroach paste, but it's thicker.

Mao Shanwang scoffed and began to educate Zhuang Fan: "It's best for normal people to avoid Futang paste."

"Is there a problem with the raw materials?"

"Hmm, the rotten flesh of zombies and monsters."

Mao Shanwang explained casually: "After the sugar factory recycles this rotten meat, it hydrolyzes it into a broth with strong acid, then adds a catalyst and a secret recipe, and that becomes Futang paste."

"This stuff is very toxic; the more you eat, the bigger your stomach will get."

"."

Zhuang Fan remained silent, staring intently at his stomach.

"Hey, my belly is natural! It's from eating normally!" Mao Shanwang immediately bristled and tried his best to explain.

As the old man's memories were unlocked, Zhuang Fan finally understood.

These refugees were called "sugar people".

Their blood cells have been modified with a gene-enhancing agent that increases the expression of genes related to glucose transport in their bodies.

After consuming the sugar paste, their cells can absorb far more glucose than normal people.

This blood, after being filtered through layers of bone charcoal filters, becomes Charlie Sugar Factory's best-selling product—"sweetener".

They sold their blood to obtain sugar paste, using their bodies to filter out toxins and purify the sugar, then sold the purified blood to the sugar factory.

A perfect closed loop.

Zhuang Fan felt that the world was more absurd than he had imagined.

He snapped out of his reverie and saw the one-eyed black market dealer he had once traded with making a deal with a scarred man.

The item he traded was his third-class citizen status, "Sain," which he had previously sold.

After obtaining the item, the scarred man wandered around the market a few times to make sure no one was following him before entering an abandoned building.

A few minutes later, "Sain" came out.

He straightened his collar, blended into the crowd, and headed towards Linhai City.

Everything looks normal.

"Sain" arrived at the checkpoint and lined up; it was his turn.

He lightly scanned the ring on his wrist onto the scanner, and a green light came on, indicating that the information was correct.

Iris and fingerprint scans also passed smoothly.

"Sain" seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Just as he lifted his foot to enter the city, four soldiers rushed out from both sides and pinned him to the ground.

The gun was pressed against the back of his head.

The surrounding refugees gasped in surprise and retreated hastily.

Zhuang Fan recognized their badges; they were from the Nuclear Corporation's security forces.

"Target confirmed."

Two soldiers stepped forward, roughly dragged "Sain" up, and escorted him into the city.

The whole process took less than thirty seconds.

Zhuang Fan watched all this from afar; the channels for the local boss and the electronic mouse had been targeted by the people from Nuclear.

If he hadn't been vigilant enough, selling "Sain" under the guise of an old man and then changing his identity several times, he probably would have been caught by the nuclear forces.

The floating population outside Linhai City is enormous, with tens of thousands of migrants residing there year-round.

The trail led back to the scarred man, but then went cold.

Zhuang Fan turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

He also intends to sell today's spoils to Mao Shan Wang.

Suddenly, his gaze froze.

A girl.

She was wearing a large gray coat with the hood pulled low, covering most of her face.

He was thin and looked malnourished.

Mao Shanwang poked half his body out of the crab shell, took out a brand new water filter, and handed it to her.

The girl took it, whispered something, turned and squeezed through the crowd, walking towards the other end of the market.

Hua Xin.

Zhuang Fan quickly followed.

The girl was very vigilant, moving through the ruins and alleys, glancing back every now and then.

As she turned into a narrow alley, Zhuang Fan said her name.

"Hua Xin".

The girl's body stiffened abruptly.

She didn't turn around, but quickened her pace and nimbly climbed over a low wall.

Zhuang Fan immediately gave chase.

Behind the low wall lies a more open expanse of ruins.

Hua Xin's figure moved swiftly among the ruins, disappearing behind a collapsed building after a few leaps.

Zhuang Fan carefully sensed it.

A faint, eerie mist emanated from her body, meandering through the air and guiding him in the right direction.

He followed the scent, passing through the collapsed walls and heading deeper into the ruins.

This is an abandoned open-pit coal mine, with mountains of slag and the air filled with the smell of coal ash.

The eerie mist disappeared deep within a mine.

The opening was very narrow and was barely covered by a few pieces of sheet metal.

This is a makeshift shack.

Zhuang Fan stopped and hid in the darkness, not approaching immediately.

……

Hua Xin leaned against the cold mine wall, panting heavily.

She listened intently, and only relaxed slightly after confirming that there were no footsteps outside.

The shack was small and dark.

A lamp fueled by animal oil emitted a faint light, serving as the sole source of illumination.

She took out the brand-new water filter from her bosom, a hint of joy on her face.

There was only a makeshift bed in the shack, and another small, thin figure was curled up on it, motionless.

It was a catwoman, with drooping ears and tail, and its fur had lost its luster.

(End of this chapter)