“Although these eggs contain rare healing energy, my injuries are too severe for them to fully cure me,” Xie Yuan said calmly. “But I’m still very grateful to you—for rescuing me from the Refugee Camp and providing me with precious medicine and food…”
Xu San San watched as the young man’s eyes gradually reddened and felt somewhat embarrassed. She waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, that’s only because you saved me first! I’m just repaying the favor. Besides, you’re the one who provided this spot to pitch the tent! We’re mutually benefiting each other! And as you know, my memory isn’t great right now—I’ll probably need to ask for your advice on many things…”
As she spoke, she guiltily glanced away, thinking to herself: Whether I can quickly understand this apocalyptic world depends entirely on you—you’re my apocalyptic version of Baidu Encyclopedia!
Xie Yuan knew that although his upper body could move, his arms couldn’t exert much strength. To put it bluntly, he was still practically disabled. Without an Optical Brain, being an unregistered resident in the apocalypse meant he couldn’t accomplish much.
Actually, he had planned to leave in a couple of days…
But since she said she still needed him, he would do his utmost to provide assistance…
After organizing his thoughts, Xie Yuan quickly stepped into his new role:
“Have you considered reinforcing this small tent?”
Xu San San slapped her thigh:
“Oh right! I completely forgot about the important tasks! I gathered lots of vines and reed stalks today—I plan to use the vines to build a fence and weave some reed mats…”
Xie Yuan didn’t want to interrupt her enthusiastic planning, so he waited until she finished before explaining: “You should know that since these two eggs possess such rare functions, they’ll definitely fetch a good price. After exchanging them for Contribution Points, you could upgrade all the plastic sheeting around us to metal panels.
Metal panels aren’t actually that expensive. The remaining Contribution Points should be enough to exchange for a brand new set of heat dissipators to install on the ceiling and walls. That way, the room won’t get so hot, and supplies stored inside won’t risk spoiling.
After all that, there should still be some Contribution Points left to buy a locking metal door… which would significantly improve security…”
Xu San San couldn’t deny she was tempted by his suggestions, but she still frowned:
“But didn’t you say these eggs could help your injuries? How can we sell them?”
Xie Yuan’s lips moved wordlessly for a moment before he responded. He hadn’t expected her to want to keep both eggs for him. Suppressing his emotions once more, he shook his head and offered a faint smile:
“Even if I consumed both, I wouldn’t fully recover—at best, I’d regain some more functionality. Besides, this tent really isn’t secure enough. Do you want all the supplies you worked so hard to find to get ruined or stolen?”
“You might not remember, but after Flame Season comes Wind Season and Snow Season. The strong winds during Wind Season could easily blow this tent away, and mobility outdoors becomes greatly restricted, making it harder to find supplies. Since the Wasteland and ruined cities become extremely dangerous during Snow Season, people generally avoid going out Scavenging then. That’s why we need to start stockpiling supplies during Flame Season to prepare for winter…”
What?!
So that’s what this apocalypse is really like?!
Flame Season is actually the easiest season?!
“So, how many days does the Flame Season last? Is the Wind Season coming soon?”
Xu San San felt utterly exhausted. Suddenly, she missed home so, so much!
Xie Yuan transformed into a walking encyclopedia and continued his popular science: “The Flame Season is quite long, generally stable at 125 days.” The Wind Season is relatively shorter, usually lasting around 60 days, while the Snow Season and Rainy Season are each 90 days. A year totals 365 days.”
…
Alright, today is Star Calendar year 336, Flame Season day 69. There are still 56 days left until the end of the Flame Season. Not bad, not bad—still nearly two months to go…
Xu San San thought to herself: if the environment is going to be this harsh later on, then Xie Yuan’s suggestion does make sense. However… she glanced at the thin young man. In her memory, he was clearly tall and sturdy…
“You said, if we only exchange one egg, could we buy a cooling device?”
Xu San San felt that the most urgent issue to solve right now was the temperature problem.
“Hmm… If we go to the official exchange point, it should be worth at least 500 Contribution Points.”
Actually, Xie Yuan wasn’t sure exactly how much it could be exchanged for either. Because healing-type energy was extremely rare, he had never encountered it before and could only make a rough estimate based on restorative potions with similar healing effects.
“A set of cooling equipment generally costs over 400 Contribution Points. The stronger the functionality, the more expensive it will be, with no upper limit…”
Xu San San nodded, having already decided to keep one egg for Xie Yuan and use the other to improve their living conditions.
“But,” Xie Yuan suddenly thought of something, “it’s currently the Flame Season. Cooling devices are in high demand. The official exchange point might have been out of stock for a long time.”
“Ah? Then what should we do?”
Xie Yuan hesitated, unsure whether he should speak up. He was afraid that the information he provided might not help but instead put her in danger. So he pursed his lips and remained silent, carefully weighing his words.
Seeing that Xie Yuan clearly had more to say but was holding back, Xu San San patted her chest and assured him:
“Don’t worry! If you have any alternative methods, just say it. I definitely won’t shortchange you!”
Xie Yuan found it somewhat amusing.
She’s not very big, but her attitude is not small.
So he explained: “It’s not some special method. It’s just that this place is quite dangerous. I’m worried you might get into trouble…”
Xu San San raised an eyebrow.
Dangerous? Well, that might be a deal-breaker. She was most afraid of danger.
But she had just made a bold promise—she couldn’t let her persona collapse so quickly.
So she had to ask: “What place?”
Xie Yuan: “The Black Market.”
…
Star Calendar year 336, Flame Season day 70, early morning 05:30.
Xu San San was awakened on time by her alarm clock. Another round of fixed routines: getting up—public toilet—”arming up”…
After the tent’s plastic sheet was lifted and quickly dropped again, a woman wrapped in a headscarf, wearing a sack-like garment, with a large belly, pulling a small handcart, slowly made her way toward the Base’s South City Gate.
This person was none other than Xu San San. She passed by many people from the Shantytown who were just heading out to board ships at the docking point. Perhaps her clothes were too shabby, or perhaps her handcart was completely empty—even though she was walking against the flow of people, she didn’t spark the slightest curiosity in passersby.
Xu San San watched as the crowd approached and then hurried away, secretly letting out a sigh of relief. Her right hand, which had been gripping the handcart and was already soaked with sweat, relaxed slightly, but her left hand remained pressed tightly against her stomach.
How could she not be careful? Was she really just carrying her stomach?
No, she was carrying her family’s radiator!
Timing it perfectly, she arrived at the South City Gate just as the clock struck 6 a.m.—the exact time the gate opened for residents outside the Base.
Xu San San, familiar with the route, entered the city and quickly made her way to the official exchange center, following Xie Yuan’s instructions.
The exchange center was a spacious four-story building, with two large counters on the first floor—
The left side was the Contribution Points exchange, and the right side was the material goods exchange.
Although she had timed her arrival perfectly, the hall was already packed, especially the Contribution Points exchange, where a long queue had formed.
Tsk tsk tsk, it seemed the residents outside the city didn’t dare to hoard large amounts of supplies at home. Indeed, it was safer to exchange them for Contribution Points and store them in their Optical Brains.
Just as Xie Yuan had said, even with the Patrol on duty outside the Base City, as long as no one was caught in the act, the authorities wouldn’t intervene. The Shantytown wasn’t as safe as one might think!
Xu San San, with her protruding belly, shuffled over to the material goods exchange on the right. There were hardly any people here, so no queue.
She walked directly to the window and asked:
“Excuse me, do you have any radiators for sale now?”
The staff member, perhaps suffering from morning grumpiness, replied rather haughtily: “What are you thinking? Radiators have been out of stock for 30 days. You’ll have to wait.”
Just as expected…
Xu San San twitched the corner of her mouth to show she understood, then turned and resolutely headed toward the legendary Black Market.