Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 44 Trading
Zhuang Fan stopped in front of the wreckage of a powered armored vehicle.

The entire suit of armor was covered in a dark brown, decaying mist. In the eyes of the scavengers, it was already scrap and had no recycling value whatsoever.

He reached out and pressed his hand against the surface of the armor.

The decaying mist was drawn away by an invisible force, faded, and finally gradually dissipated.

Three minutes later, the decaying mist completely disappeared.

The intact armor surface reappeared, gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Then it was Hua Xin's turn.

Following Zhuang Fan's instructions, she carefully removed the back cover, revealing a lithium solid-state battery embedded inside.

Her eyes lit up.

During the few days she spent with Zhuang Fan, the prices of many items in the wasteland became clear in her mind.

This lithium solid-state chip alone could sell for thousands of dollars.

She put the battery into the storage cart next to her, glanced at the scattered scavengers in the distance, and felt that she was quite lucky.

The Gauss rifle's energy magazine, the intact optical sight, the military-grade communication module, and a composite armor plate with almost no wear...

In Zhuang Fan's hands, items that were worthless to others became commodities that could be sold.

They hid all their spoils in a nearby abandoned underground hideout.

It was a basement made from a shipping container; although simple, it was secluded enough.

The hideout is surrounded by a large number of shadow trees, with lush foliage, yet they continuously release eerie mist.

Zhuang Fan knew the characteristics of this tree: it spreads through spores, can reproduce asexually, and its roots contain a lot of starch, making it a natural food source for many monsters.

For safety, he used dark fog to surround the hideout to ensure that no living creatures would accidentally wander in.

After unloading the last batch of goods, Hua Xin staggered and almost fell.

"You have low blood sugar, eat something first."

Zhuang Fan tossed Hua Xin a protein bar and a candy, which she quickly caught and began to eat in small bites against the wall.

Her body had been malnourished for a long time and she was very thin, but Zhuang Fan noticed that her frame had grown a bit in the last two days and she walked with a cat-like gait.

The distortion is now very difficult to prevent.

Hua Xin took it in stride: "Brother Wuya, it's alright. It's good that I've become a cat person, so I can help you more. Before, I saw my sister jump up a tree in no time and easily jump down from a high place."

Zhuang Fan pointed out the cruelest reality: "But you should know that the cat people in the wasteland have a very low status."

Hua Xin nodded: "Yes, if I had known it would turn out like this, I should have turned into a lioness or a tigress, then those people wouldn't have dared to come near me."

"It's too late, so learn to protect yourself first."

Zhuang Fan handed her a more powerful automatic pistol for self-defense.

Half a day later, a giant house crab appeared at the edge of the ruins and slowly crawled to the agreed-upon trading point.

Behind the crab, a warehouse trailer was being towed.

A slight rustling sound came from the tree. Zhuang Fan looked closely and saw a raccoon-man over a meter tall, holding a sniper rifle and keeping watch all around.

Mao Shanwang poked his round head out of the crab shell, his tone full of complaints, "This has been a long and arduous journey, you'd better have some good stuff."

“It’s a whole cabinet, I’m just worried you won’t have enough space to put it all.”

Mao Shanwang lightly waved his palm-leaf fan: "The warehouse carts have all been brought here; we can swallow any kind of goods."

"Is that raccoon in the tree one of yours?"

"That's right, his name is Xiong Er."

"Xiong Er?" Zhuang Fan was instantly wide awake.

"What, you know him? He used to be a hunter, but he retired, so I invited him over."

"What about Xiong Da?" Zhuang Fan blurted out.

"Who's calling me!"

A gruff voice came from inside the warehouse truck, followed by a burly grizzly bear sticking its head out.

He held a shotgun in one hand and chewed on a bone in the other, looking rather dull and simple-minded.

Mao Shanwang chuckled and stared at Zhuang Fan suspiciously: "How do you know its name is Xiong Da?"

"Guess."

Mao Shanwang climbed off the crab's back, his gaze lingering on Hua Xin for a moment before he stroked his whiskers lightly: "That girl who came to buy a water filter a few days ago?"

"Hello, Uncle Cat." Hua Xin was very polite.

"Hey, don't mention the word 'cat,' it's taboo."

When Mao Shanwang saw her bare arms, his smile faded and his expression turned slightly serious: "You're about to become deformed. How can you be a cat-person?"

"It's a long story," Zhuang Fan explained briefly. Mao Shanwang took a step back and said to Hua Xin, "Then you should try to stay away from me. It's easier to turn into a cat-person if you follow me."

Hua Xin nodded. She also noticed that her skin was becoming increasingly yellow and gradually accepted the fact that her skin had changed.

When Mao Shanwang arrived outside the hideout, his cat-like eyes widened in shock at the sight of the mountain of equipment.

"You...you brat, you went and robbed the armory?"

He vigorously fanned himself with a palm leaf fan, examined the goods carefully, and said in disbelief, "These goods are in such good condition, they're so fresh they don't look like junk!"

Zhuang Fan was just trying his luck.

He learned that a few days ago, an army had been completely wiped out here, causing quite a stir, so he wanted to come and see for himself.

Although the battlefield has been cleared, some good things were left behind.

Mao Shanwang also realized: "Which army is that regimental commander who slapped the girl several times?"

"It's him."

Zhuang Fan pointed to the warehouse: "Exclusive agency, all at special prices."

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

After making an estimate, Mao Shanwang gave him 30,000 gold notes in denominations of 10 and 100, which was what Zhuang Fan had requested earlier.

The gold banknotes that circulate widely in the wasteland are made of fiber composite materials and gold powder.

The density of gold powder determines the face value of gold banknotes.

For large transactions, people prefer to use gold;

For small transactions, gold and banknotes are preferred.

Zhuang Fan took out a banknote detector, confirmed that each banknote contained the full amount of gold, and then put it away.

Mao Shanwang had a very fruitful trip, and his chubby face was all bulging with laughter. "From now on, I'll take care of all your goods! The price is negotiable!"

Bear Two, perched in the tree, called down, "Bear One, time to get to work!"

"Come on!"

After finishing the last bone, Xiong Da strode over and carried boxes of equipment back home.

Zhuang Fancai noticed that Xiong Da's left leg was a bionic prosthetic, while his right leg, though original, was limping.

“I bought him from a bear meat restaurant. At that time, one of his legs had already been cut off.”

Mao Shanwang explained, "This guy is greedy and has a huge appetite. Fortunately, he doesn't need a salary; we just need to make sure he has enough to eat."

"And what about Xiong Er? How much monthly salary do you pay him?"

"Eight thousand gold coins per month."

Mao Shanwang glanced at him; "Let me make this clear from the start, don't poach my people."

"clear."

Zhuang Fan also figured out the going rate for mercenaries.

He casually asked, "How much does it cost to buy a clean third-class citizenship these days?"

"It's estimated to break 30,000, and there's no market for it. They're keeping a close eye on it lately. Wait a minute. Who would want this thing? You can become a citizen by paying 3000 credits."

Mao Shanwang glanced at him and said, "Oh, you must have gotten into trouble, hehe."

After being exposed, Zhuang Fan didn't try to evade the question; "You wouldn't betray me, would you?"

"You're a strange guy, I'm not interested in you."

Mao Shanwang did not lie and passed Zhuang Fan's lie detector test.

After settling the accounts, the convoy left first.

Zhuang Fan tallied his savings and found that he had saved 3.8 gold coins. Although this was enough to buy a third-class citizenship, it was still far from meeting the original rescue plan.

He wanted to pay Hua Xin's salary, but was refused.

Hua Xin preferred to save the money to buy her brother's freedom.

"Brother Wuya, isn't the money enough?"

"Far from enough."

Looking at the outline of Linhai City, Zhuang Fan said in a deep voice, "I'm not sure if your brother is being monitored. If we redeem him directly, the risk is very high."

Hua Xin's eyes dimmed.

“Buying citizenship is not an option, but that’s okay, I have a second plan.”

Her eyes lit up again after hearing that.

(End of this chapter)