Chen Ye quickly grasped the survival laws of this convoy.
Ordinary people made up most of the convoy. Their limited abilities made valuable supplies hard to obtain, so it was difficult to find good things to trade with them.
The only viable trading partners were the Sequence Beyonders before him.
The convoy’s leader was naturally Chu Che, of the Pathfinder Sequence. It was said that Beyonders of this sequence were born leaders, yet his management style mirrored his personality: loose and unstructured.
Chu Che had only one requirement for the convoy: fairness.
Whether it was Chu Che himself or the most common survivor, if anyone wanted supplies, they had to either go out and scavenge for them or offer something of equal value in exchange. It was just like the transaction Chen Ye had witnessed the previous night, where someone crawled into another’s tent; as long as one could pay the price, they could survive.
Chen Ye had no objections to this. In the backdrop of the apocalypse, finding someone who still adhered to the concept of fairness was rare enough.
Seemingly to welcome Chen Ye, Chu Che, Nana, and the wounded Titan Beyonder arranged a small trading session. Many who had escaped Apricot Blossom Town had brought supplies; this would let them exchange what they had for what they needed.
There were no special rules for the exchange; mutual consent was the only law. The market was scheduled to last exactly two hours. Once time was up, they had to hit the road.
For survivors under constant strain, the market was like a spring rain. Rare smiles appeared on their faces.
The trunks of the vehicles were thrown open. The occupants hauled out their stockpiles and laid them out for display. Chen Ye followed suit, arranging the goods from his motorized tricycle—though, naturally, he kept his stash of cigarettes well hidden. These were not for trading.
Aside from Chen Ye’s tricycle and a smattering of motorcycles and bicycles, the convoy possessed four four-wheeled vehicles: Chu Che’s and Nana’s modified off-roaders, the bus belonging to the Titan Sequence giant, and a small sedan.
The sedan turned out to be the property of the convoy’s legendary female celebrity.
She was in her early twenties, wearing plain jeans and a white shirt. Her long hair was well cared for, and even with little makeup, her fine features were attractive and pleasing to look at. Chen Ye found her familiar but could not recall her name.
“Hello, I’m Zhou Lan. Nice to meet you,” she said, approaching him.
Hearing the name, realization dawned on Chen Ye. “Chen Ye. I’ve seen your work. It’s very good.”
“Thank you,” she smiled politely. “I heard you have some women’s clothing. May I take a look?”
Chu Che’s trunk was nearly half-filled with expired biscuits and cola—enough to ensure he wouldn’t go hungry in the short term. But tucked away in the corner, Chen Ye spotted something he had wanted for a long time: a foldable solar charging panel.
Hikers heading into the mountains often carried such panels to recharge phones and cameras. If Chen Ye obtained and upgraded this one, it could even supply power for an electric vehicle.
Unfortunately, what Chen Ye needed right now wasn’t electricity, but gasoline.
Chu Che had collected shell jackets, fleece, and quick-dry clothes—clearly a deliberate choice, and well suited to the apocalypse.
There were also two large barrels of gasoline.
Chen Ye noticed some strange animal pelts piled to one side. One blood-red pelt, in particular, caught his eye.
“I found that pelt while escaping Jiang City,” Chu Che said, noticing Chen Ye’s gaze. “I don’t know what it does, so if you’re interested, I can give you a discount. Just give me that bag of rice you have.”
Chen Ye blinked. Chu Che was eyeing his rice. Trading a bag of life-sustaining grain for a pelt of unknown utility? That was impossible.
Chen Ye politely refused.
“Tsk, stingy,” Chu Che grumbled. “Fine, how about giving me two cartons of Huazi cigarettes instead?”
What an outrageous price. Chen Ye decided not to take this grasping captain too seriously.
“Stingy!” came the complaint. Chen Ye pointed to the two barrels. “What do you want for the gasoline?”
Chu Che rubbed his chin, calculating. “One box of instant noodles, ten Snickers bars, and five catties of rice.”
Chen Ye frowned in thought. The price was steep. He decided to shop around; Chu Che wasn’t the only one with fuel.
He moved on to Nana’s trunk.
Nana’s off-roader had a large trunk, but clothes took up nearly half of it. Snacks and instant noodles made up most of the food, along with several well-packaged portions of cured meat whose expiry dates he did not know.
What stood out were several handheld gaming consoles.
“Chen Ye, these handheld consoles are the latest models. Want them? I can give you a good price—just trade me that bag of flour.” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Chen Ye had zero interest. It was the apocalypse; who had time to play games? His gaze shifted to the weapons inside the vehicle—several knives, both long and short.
“I found these in a villa a while back,” Nana said, following his gaze. “If you want one, I can give you a discount. How about that long knife for ten catties of flour?”
Chen Ye looked at her incredulously. “Ten catties? Why don’t you just rob me directly?”
He pointed to the fuel cans in her car. “How much for the gasoline?”
“Twenty catties of rice!”
Chen Ye: “…”
Finally, he arrived at the bus’s supply station.
The bus had the most supplies. Some belonged to the Titan Beyonder, and others to his passengers. Many people browsed the stall.
There were canned beef and fish, rare finds, as well as baseball bats, instant noodles, underwear, toilet paper, several Fruit-brand laptops, and even a box of Fruit Phones.
He spotted a camping power station with a capacity of two kilowatt-hours. He had seen these before: better models cost over ten thousand, cheaper ones several thousand. With charging so difficult now, this large battery was little more than an ornament.
There were several rice cookers and microwaves too.
But then, Chen Ye saw it. The thing he actually needed.
It was a repair kit containing screwdrivers, socket bits, and wrenches.
When he had upgraded the motorcycle-tricycle hybrid, the system had charged him extra Slaughter Points specifically because he lacked the tools to disassemble the parts himself. Now that he had been branded with the “Mechanic Sequence,” walking around without a toolset was simply unacceptable.
“Mr. Chen, have you taken a liking to this set?”
A balding man in his thirties, wearing glasses, stepped forward with an ingratiating smile.
“You are a Mechanic Sequence Beyonder, Mr. Chen. These tools would make your work much easier. If you want them, we can offer a discount.”
Chen Ye considered it. “How do you plan to trade?”
“Ten catties of rice or two boxes of instant noodles. How about it?”