“Ah-choo!”
The traveling merchant sneezed violently. She rubbed her nose and muttered, “Just who is badmouthing me behind my back?”
However, the moment she glanced at her scaled horse, she quickly became happy again.
“Come on, Zebra!” she encouraged her companion, whom she had named Zebra. “Once we finish this trip, you can have premium feed with soybeans and leech burgers! We’re going to make a fortune this time!”
Wen Ling hadn’t expected that her spur-of-the-moment trip would actually lead her to a shelter that had only recently been activated.
It was just that…
Compared with the shelter administrators she’d encountered before, this shelter’s administrator was far too out of place.
She was gentle yet imposing. When she looked at Wen Ling, there was even more of a merchant’s calculating gaze in her eyes than in Wen Ling’s own. For a moment, Wen Ling almost felt as though the woman was measuring her worth with nothing but her eyes.
Everyone knew that before the wasteland, there had been an era of prosperity so extraordinary that even after the passage of countless years, it remained difficult to imagine.
Back then, holographic projections could replace the night sky. People could know everything happening in the world without ever leaving their homes. Anyone could simply tap a few times at home and have clean food and water delivered to their door. Even when they fell ill, they didn’t necessarily have to wait for death—they could replace body parts they were dissatisfied with or that had broken down. Hovercars could cross half of what was now the wasteland in a single night.
The ruined skyscrapers had once housed the remnants of countless civilizations. Whenever some strange piece of technology was unearthed and found to still be functional, it would be sold for an astronomical price.
The shelters that had inherited the previous civilization naturally possessed an innocence and arrogance far beyond this era.
Even the occasional glimpse Wen Ling caught of their world was enough to make her envious.
Wen Ling had met people from those shelters before.
Some believed that the current wasteland was merely a temporary “show” that would eventually reveal its true nature. Some considered wastelanders to be inferior people and trampled all over them without a second thought. Others held themselves high above everyone else and cared about nothing, having become accustomed to extravagant waste.
These people all came from corporations—even the Nine Major Conglomerates.
Dealing with such people required caution.
Some would demand that merchants hand over everything they had, only to be unable to pay even a single nut in return. Some considered giving away a little garbage to be an enormous act of charity. And then there were the rare ones who would casually hand over large quantities of precious resources, only to sell them for practically nothing because they had no idea what they were worth.
Wen Ling had never expected to get lucky enough to encounter the last kind.
But she hadn’t expected to encounter a predator that had just awakened from hibernation.
……
One day earlier.
Wen Ling approached the edge of the area that was supposedly the location of the shelter. Sure enough, she saw a dilapidated fortress-like structure.
Buildings of this shape weren’t actually very common in the wasteland.
However, many relatively wealthy shelters would construct a fortress at their entrance.
She cautiously approached. There had previously been rumors of Night Demons appearing around here. Before coming, Wen Ling had also worried that the shelter might already have been occupied by Night Demons.
But she knew that those people weren’t like her.
There was no way they could have survived the Night Demons’ encirclement and made it back.
Wen Ling first knocked several times on the metal gate. Only after nothing startled inside and came rushing out did she lead her scaled horse down with her.
At the entrance of the shelter, someone was quietly sitting there.
“Welcome, traveling merchant from afar.”
The woman smiled at her.
“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
【Wen Ling (Novice Traveling Merchant, Former Top-Tier Mercenary)】
【Star Rating: 4.5 stars (Traveling Merchant occupation deducts half a star)】
【Age: 24】
【Traits: Combat Instinct, Vigilance, Courage, Optimism, Vision Impairment】
【Attributes: ??? (The target is excessively vigilant and doesn’t want you to see them.)】
【Skills: Same as above】
【Description: A renowned Mercenary King in a certain region, now retired from the profession and hoping to earn a large sum of money so she can live in a mansion and enjoy the finer things in life. Extremely interested in the previous prosperous era.】
【If you want to hire her as a traveling merchant, she’s worthless. If you want to hire her as a mercenary, you can’t afford her.】
Ling Zhao withdrew her gaze.
She noticed that Wen Ling had already sensed something was off, and the way she looked at her had begun to change.
No wonder… she dares to travel alone without even hiring a guard.
She herself is the guard protecting her cargo.
But…
Just how terrible was this woman at being a merchant to have a full five-star rating forcibly reduced by half a star simply because she was a traveling merchant?
Wen Ling was the highest-rated character Ling Zhao had ever encountered. That deducted half-star nearly made Ling Zhao lose control of her expression.
And what exactly did “vision impairment” mean?
“Esteemed administrator, I am Wen Ling, a rookie traveling merchant affiliated with the Raven Merchant Guild here in the wasteland.”
While Ling Zhao was thinking this, Wen Ling revealed a standard professional smile, her eight white teeth gleaming brightly.
“Having heard news of your shelter, I specifically brought a shipment of goods here. I hope there will be something that catches your eye. Of course, I will need a small return from you in exchange.”
Looking at Wen Ling’s obsequious smile, Ling Zhao felt goosebumps all over.
“Speak normally.”
“Of course, esteemed Administrator.”
Wen Ling immediately dropped the smile.
“Here is my merchandise list. Please have a look.”
She took out a notebook and handed it to Ling Zhao. Then she unloaded the supplies from her scaled horse and arranged them on the ground so she could introduce them to Ling Zhao later.
Ling Zhao flipped through the notebook.
After a moment, she pointed at one of the products.
“What is this anti-wolf electric-shock collar?”
“This!”
Wen Ling quickly rummaged through her luggage and pulled out a red collar, handing it to Ling Zhao.
The collar had a ring of black rivet decorations. Looking closely, one could see that the rivets were actually black because they had all oxidized.
“Look at how fashionable this collar is!” Wen Ling exclaimed. “It would definitely become the latest trend in the wasteland. Most importantly, it even has a charging device. Once activated, it can numb anyone who touches your neck…”
Wen Ling was still enthusiastically explaining when Ling Zhao interrupted her.
“This is for dogs.”
“What kind of dog?”
Yellow question marks practically appeared in Wen Ling’s eyes.
“A literal dog.”
Ling Zhao rubbed her forehead.
“Look, there are even dog hairs on it. It’s an anti-coyote collar for dogs, designed to stop wild coyotes from grabbing a dog by the neck, killing it, and eating it.”
Wen Ling: “?!”
“And…”
Ling Zhao delivered the final blow.
“Why do you think someone would have to touch my neck with their hand? Wouldn’t shooting me be faster?”
“Ah… ah, is that so? Hahaha…”
Wen Ling gave a few awkward laughs before quickly switching to another item.
“Then what about this? It was very popular in the previous era! Supposedly everyone had one!”
It was a selfie stick.
Why would an era without cell phones need selfie sticks?
“And this!”
Wen Ling pulled out several cards.
“These might be access cards for other shelters, but I don’t know where those shelters are!”
Ling Zhao finally understood exactly what “vision impairment” meant.
The things Wen Ling was holding were supermarket shopping cards.
The kind children drew themselves.
“Yours is even more worthless than the last one. How much are you planning to sell these for?”
Ling Zhao looked at the cards.
“These are supermarket shopping cards that children use when playing house. They’re meant to be stamped with toy seals.”
“Before, it was three nuts per pack. Now, I’m afraid even one nut might be a stretch…” Wen Ling muttered, putting the cards back into her bag. “Ugh, damn it. I thought the things stamped on them were entry check-in marks…”
It was obvious she really wanted to throw the things away, but this was someone else’s territory, so she couldn’t just litter.
“Do you have anything more useful?” Ling Zhao asked.
She regretted asking that question afterward.
Wen Ling took out quite a few things that looked somewhat useful at first glance but were actually completely useless.
For example, a swollen power bank, a tablet that was missing half its body, a USB drive with a bent connector, and so on…
Ling Zhao kept making quick judgments about each item like an appraiser. After talking until her mouth was dry, Wen Ling’s gaze toward her had completely changed.
“You’re the first person who was willing to tell me what all these things actually are without laughing at me!” Wen Ling said. “So, are you willing to buy anything?”
“I don’t want any of these.” Ling Zhao stopped her movements and gestured for her to take out the largest packages. “What’s in those?”
She didn’t believe a merchant would travel without carrying some genuine hard currency.
“Some food for the road, as well as food I intended to use for trading,” Wen Ling said. “Aside from what I need to eat myself, I have about five hundred jin left…”
With that, Wen Ling opened her packages.
Inside were potato powder, cassava flour, black wheat, a little soybeans, and several bundles of dried meat strips. The meat strips looked extremely chewy.
“These are dried lizard-meat strips. If you’ve never had them before, you can give them a try,” Wen Ling introduced them. “As for the other things, the taste isn’t very good because of where they were grown. I figured you might not be used to them, so I didn’t bother introducing them…”
“I’ll take all of it.” Ling Zhao made the decision immediately. “However much food you have, I want all of it.”
“Ah?”
Wen Ling hadn’t expected to land such a huge order. She had actually managed to sell off even the heaviest goods she was carrying in a single transaction.
“Then, um… do you have any little gadgets from the shelter that you can sell?” Wen Ling asked with great interest. “I can trade a hundred jin of food for them.”
Ling Zhao: …
Her conscience told her that this pile of junk wasn’t worth a hundred jin of food.
But she didn’t have to have a conscience right now.
So she traded a flashlight she had found in the shelter and repaired, a small desktop fan with a USB port, a solar-powered calculator, and a spinning pen holder for a hundred jin of food.
As for the rest…
Ling Zhao handed Wen Ling a cup of water.
“Try it, then name your price,” Ling Zhao said.
Wen Ling downed it in one gulp. She smacked her lips, and her eyes immediately lit up.
“Grade-One Water! This is Grade-One Unpolluted Water!”
“One liter of Grade-One purified water can be exchanged for five to ten jin of food, depending on the food’s taste, type, and freshness.” Wen Ling thought for a moment. “This batch of mine isn’t particularly good food, but it isn’t the worst either. Seven jin per liter.”
“Deal.” Ling Zhao agreed immediately.
【A batch of common coarse grains from the wasteland. They have not been contaminated or subjected to significant radiation. The quality is acceptable, but be careful when storing them and keep them isolated from insect eggs.】
【Suggested price: 10 nuts per jin… Unit conversion detected as this unit is unnecessary. Six jin of food can be exchanged for one liter of water.】
At seven jin per liter, Ling Zhao was actually making a profit.
However, Grade-One uncontaminated water could be sold for an astronomical price in ordinary settlements and settlements without their own water-purification capabilities. There was even less need to worry about selling it in large bases and shelters—they would take as much as she could provide.
If Wen Ling genuinely intended to become a traveling merchant, she could simply travel farther and find a suitable place. She could easily double her profits using this water.
It was a mutually beneficial deal.
“I need you to transport another thousand jin of food to me later. For this batch, I’ll give you one hundred liters of water. The excess will serve as a deposit for your next shipment. If you can come back before winter arrives, I can give you more of whatever you want. The remaining one hundred liters of water will also be settled with you then.”
What Ling Zhao meant was that she could settle the payment with even more water.
But Wen Ling excitedly asked, “Can you give me more little gadgets from the shelter?”
“…” Ling Zhao said, “Sure.”
……
Back to the present, Wen Ling was cooking some mashed potatoes and happily imagining all the things she could buy after selling this batch of water.
First, she needed more scale horses, and she would also have to hire an assistant…
Although that administrator had some rather strange hobbies—making her repeat the process of exchanging a bag of grain for a bottle of water fifty times, to the point that Wen Ling felt as though she had accidentally fallen into an endless loop—everything else about her was pretty good.
It was just a little personal quirk. Nothing too serious.
Wen Ling had no idea how that town mayor was using the ultraviolet lamp, but whatever. It was time to eat.
She had just taken two bites when she suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Why did it seem like there was a foul smell coming from somewhere nearby?
Holding her bowl, she poked around beside her with a branch a couple of times, only to discover a filthy person lying in the grass.
A refugee?
Where had this refugee come from?
Author’s Note:
I managed to get this written this morning. I was busy outside all day yesterday. Tap-tap-tap-tap.