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墨書 Inktalez
On the bed, Sun Hai had no idea how much of a favor he owed Cui Long. Everything he had accumulated through the bloodshed and struggles of the apocalypse was at stake. His personal assets were almost entirely tied up in those Military Merits.
Now, in order to save the Old Squad Leader's son, he had resolutely emptied nearly all his possessions.
After feeding Sun Yang, he clutched his chest and gasped for breath.
Zheng Yifan looked at him curiously. "What's wrong? Are you feeling sorry?"
"Of course! That was all my belongings, my capital! That little bastard Sun Hai took everything away from me. How could I not feel sorry?" Cui Long leaned against the edge of Sun Hai's bed, panting heavily.
Meanwhile, Sun Hai on the bed was moved to tears. He realized that his stash of Essence Fruits was nowhere near enough to trade for even a vial of that medicine; it was only because his old comrade had put everything on the line that they managed to get it.
"Stop crying! You're a man, what are you crying for? Hurry up and eat your food!" Sun Jiang shot a fierce glare at Sun Hai on the bed and then forcefully stuffed food into his mouth without caring about anything else.
It was self-heating beef rice, not particularly tasty, with some parts hot and others cold.
But in the apocalypse, it was still a rare delicacy.
Sun Hai chewed on the rice vigorously, but tears flowed like a bursting dam. He looked at his son and then at his comrade, swallowing the beef rice that was a luxury in this harsh world amidst his tears and snot.
"They both need rest. Just take as much food as you can from the truck. When activating Superpowers, being able to eat is a blessing. Sun Jiang, come with me; let's go complete today's objective." Seeing that Sun Yang and Sun Hai on the bed seemed to be out of danger, Zheng Yifan led Sun Jiang and a dozen warriors toward the Store Rental Registration Office.
There was nothing luxurious or ornate there; it wasn't a high-end entertainment area but merely a place for purchasing necessities.
Only when night fell and all the explorers returned would it gradually become lively.
Zheng Yifan looked at the streetlights embedded with Zombie Crystal s and felt a pang of heartache.
The Zombie Crystal s used here are simply a waste. Of course, they can only do this much; the circuitry is too simple. A Formation Master only needs to lightly point a few times to restore the light of a street lamp, and changing the Zombie Crystal s once a week would ensure illumination.
However, for Zheng Yifan, this is luxury, this is waste. The activated Zombie Crystal s from Han Rui, combined with the circuits developed by three Formation Masters, could guarantee energy supply for the street lamps for at least a year.
The utilization rate at the Han Sui City Gathering Place is excessively wasteful. Upon entering the Store Rental Registration Office, Zheng Yifan was greeted by a heavily made-up woman leaning against a chair, meticulously shaping her eyebrows. Beside her was an entire wall that resembled a real estate agency, but instead of property listings, it displayed numbers, sizes, and prices; specific locations had to be checked in the booklet in front of her.
"Five dollars each, clearly marked prices. The rental and purchase prices are written on the wall; just take a look yourself." The woman casually tapped the booklet on the table and continued with her makeup.
Zheng Yifan cast a light glance at the booklet on the table in front of the woman. Sun Jiang immediately understood and took a bag of rice from one of the warriors behind him, placing it on the table.
It was exactly five pounds per bag; this was the largest bag they had brought.
The woman carelessly opened the rice bag, thrust her right hand deep inside to grab two handfuls, and then weighed it on the scale.
"This is your booklet." She then tucked the rice bag back under the table. Inside, she felt secretly pleased; her five dollars had exchanged for five pounds of old grain, while this five pounds was fresh grain.
Zheng Yifan paid no mind to her and simply flipped through the booklet. It contained photos of every shopfront along with their numbers and internal pictures.
The photos were quite simple; there were no decorations inside. Out of hundreds of shops along the street, only a few dozen were open for business, and fewer than a hundred were available for rent. This was unreasonable given the vast population of hundreds of thousands in the Gathering Place.
But it was easy to understand why.
The Han Sui City Gathering Place had only recently been established; those outermost Common Survivors had no wealth to buy shops or even enough money to rent them.
Moreover,
To open a shop requires sufficient supplies. In this post-apocalyptic world, where could they find so many supplies? They could only buy cheaply at the Slave Trading Market and then sell them at reasonable prices in their shops.
Sometimes, the scarce supplies would even be priced higher than the market rate.
Just like with medications, they usually come with a price tag. After all, anyone wanting to buy medicine is likely already in dire straits; without it, they might as well be dead. A simple antibiotic could save a life, and there’s no way they wouldn’t go bankrupt for it.
For the poor souls who can’t afford it, death is just death. They wouldn’t have an ounce of compassion.
The truly high-end goods are sold elsewhere. This place, known as Fortune God Street, is really just a den for paupers.
Zheng Yifan quietly looked at the booklet in his hands, which recorded what shops had already been sold. He followed the listings in the booklet and walked from one end of Fortune God Street to the other before turning back. The shops along Fortune God Street were all small units, each selling only one or a few types of goods; even the largest was barely a hundred square meters.
Suddenly, Zheng Yifan looked up, his eyes widening in surprise at what lay ahead.
He had reached the entrance of Fortune God Street. This location wasn’t listed in the booklet Zheng Yifan had been perusing, yet the entrance bore the number 0001.
Upon entering, he found it was the only tall building in this gathering place, standing four stories high. Although the exterior hadn’t been painted and the interior was nearly bare, this was already the best structure visible on Fortune God Street since all other buildings were wooden; this one was made of reinforced concrete.
The entire building felt solid; the main construction was complete, with only painting and interior decoration left to do.
In this regard, it was actually the best place for Zheng Yifan.
“What do you think about this place?” Zheng Yifan’s face broke into a radiant smile, completely unrecognizable from the iron-blooded leader who had witnessed the slaughter of over ten thousand zombies on the battlefield just recently.
“Not bad. The overall structure looks nearly finished; it just needs some interior work. Once we acquire it, we can paint and do some simple renovations before customizing a batch of shelves to open for business. After all, we can’t find that many materials for decoration right now. Opening directly is our best option; it’s certainly better than those wooden shacks,” Sun Jiang replied from beside him.
Zheng Yifan nodded. “This is the building we want. Let’s go ask if it’s for sale.”
Leading the way, Zheng Yifan walked ahead while more than a dozen people behind him glanced back at the building repeatedly, their faces showing expressions of disdain.
Their own homes were a hundred times better than this building; it was a luxurious resort, constructed like a mansion.
Most of the units had already been renovated, with interiors designed to match top-tier hotels, far superior to their post-apocalyptic homes.
The dilapidated building behind them was something they truly looked down upon.
To them, the entire Han Sui City Gathering Place resembled a refugee camp—filthy and chaotic. The people here had no hope, merely surviving day by day.
Only those who had genuinely served in the military retained some belief in survival, but their eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty gleam; they had become akin to beasts.
Yet they were unafraid, for once this mission was completed, nearly everyone would have enough Military Merit to exchange for Essence.
This mission offered a staggering 10,000 points of Military Merit. As long as they successfully opened trade routes, everyone would receive this basic reward.
It was a lucrative opportunity; following the leader would yield even more Military Merit. This chance was highly sought after among the Two Major Legions.
"Have you made your choice?" When Zheng Yifan and his group entered the Store Rental Registration Office, the woman glanced at them from the corner of her eye and spoke nonchalantly.
The rental prices for shops had dropped to the point where they were affordable for many Mercenary teams. The more formidable Mercenary groups occupied the most prosperous locations within the Gathering Place.
This area was where only the poor came. There was a vast disparity between wealth and poverty within the Gathering Place; truly valuable items moved inward, while this outer area was inhabited by those who could barely afford food.
"I want Shop No. 0001. Is it available?" Zheng Yifan tossed the booklet onto the table.
The woman cast a disdainful glance at him.
"You want that four-story building? That's an office constructed by the Post-Apocalypse Qingke Grain Company. The main structure is complete; it just needs interior decoration. The price set by the higher-ups in Division One is equivalent to five tons of new rice or ten tons of Old Rice. Can you afford that?" She scoffed again, "If you can buy it, do whatever you want; I won’t mind following you around."
The woman's seductive smile sent shivers down Zheng Yifan's spine. He almost felt like vomiting right there. Back at the Howling Wind Gathering Place, he had dismissed so many slaves without a second thought. Now that he had his own territory, the Hope Gathering Place was filled with beautiful women, yet he still hadn't sought out any for himself.
How could someone of this woman's caliber possibly catch Zheng Yifan's eye?
"You can forget it. I only want that building, not any freebies. Especially not you!" Zheng Yifan quickly refused. He then turned to Sun Jiang and said, "I'm going to get a batch of rice to buy the building. Keep an eye out and make sure no one else gets there first."
With that, Zheng Yifan left the Store Rental Registration Office. Five tons of food was quite a lot, and there was no way the tricycle could carry that much rice.
Afterward, Zheng Yifan moved half a house full of rice from a building behind Sun Yang's place before calling Sun Jiang and the others to come and take the rice.
A full five tons of new rice, although it was all of the lowest quality. As for the so-called old rice from Han Sui City Gathering Place, it had been sitting around for who knows how many years, with grains that were even broken inside.
Even so, it could still be exchanged for one.
Zheng Yifan's rice, which had been stored for about a year, could all be considered new. Sun Jiang and his group had no doubts and immediately began moving the rice once they entered the house.
They had long suspected that Zheng Yifan's superpower might allow him to create a storage space; they just hadn’t voiced their thoughts until now.
As for the owner of the house, who knew? Zheng Yifan was merely using it as a transit point.
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