There was a huge black wall at the entrance to Bus Town, and this was where most of the people gathered.
Nearby stood the only proper building in the area—the office building that had once belonged to the bus terminal.
Ling Zhao approached the black wall and found one of the staff members nearby. Her group wasn’t particularly conspicuous among the large crowds of Bus Town.
Before entering the town, Ling Zhao had left Sentinel Type I hidden among the ruins. Now, Lin Xiao and Bei You took turns pushing the wooden cart loaded with water.
Yan Xiaochu was useless for this kind of work.
As for Ling Zhao herself…
Well, they couldn’t exactly abuse a disabled person.
Ling Zhao had previously reviewed the résumés of everyone in the shelter. Basically, apart from illiterate people, there were only more illiterate people. All of her current calculations were being handled by the System.
That wasn’t much of a problem…
But it was only after coming out on this trip that Ling Zhao remembered something: she needed at least one person who could read.
She couldn’t possibly handle every future trade with the exile camps herself, could she?
Should she hand it over to Tang Yuan?
But Tang Yuan was already carrying plenty of responsibilities. At the moment, he was managing virtually every construction project in the entire shelter.
Yan Xiaochu was even less suitable for the job.
She might end up selling herself.
Ling Zhao needed someone who could read. If the person proved suitable, she could take them in. If not, they could at least train a group of useful people for her.
Ling Zhao found the administrator responsible for recruitment and said, “I’m looking for someone with a foundation in mathematics. Preferably an accountant, or someone with a decent understanding of numbers.”
There was a white lovebird emblem printed on the administrator’s clothing. From this obvious bird insignia, it was clear that she belonged to the Raven Trade Association.
After quickly flipping through a stack of records, she pulled out several sheets of paper, then took out one final sheet.
“There are some, but…”
Ling Zhao handed her a small bottle of Level-2 purified water, hidden inside her sleeve and passed discreetly beneath the table.
“Please help introduce them to me,” she said with a smile. “Sorry for troubling you.”
Of course, Ling Zhao understood how this sort of business worked.
Compared with posting advertisements outside, finding people, and screening them one by one, she didn’t have that much time. So she chose to directly ask a local employee for recommendations.
After all, she couldn’t see a person’s information panel without seeing them in person.
The administrator was very pleased with the little gift.
Not many people were willing to pay a referral commission, and her job was fairly leisurely to begin with.
Especially after she opened the bottle and took a look at the gift inside, she became even more satisfied.
“These people only know a little basic arithmetic.”
She took several sheets from Ling Zhao’s hand and placed them back on the table.
“They can probably only add and subtract numbers from one to ten.”
“These people are more familiar with numbers,” the administrator continued, pulling out another group of résumés. “They all worked as assistants in trade caravans for a while.”
“Then why are they looking for work now?” Lin Xiao, who had been quietly listening nearby, suddenly asked a sharp question. “As far as I know, training a caravan assistant isn’t cheap. They’re generally employed for life. Why would these people suddenly be out looking for jobs on their own?”
The administrator gave him an awkward but polite smile.
“Well… people always make small mistakes.”
Ling Zhao smiled along with her.
“Then may I ask what kind of small mistakes?”
“…”
The administrator maintained the curve of her smile and changed the subject.
“This group offers the best value for money. They all have excellent work histories. In most cases, either their previous employers ran into trouble, or they themselves became sick or disabled and were dismissed. Now they can only come out and look for work again.”
Ling Zhao examined the résumés one by one.
This batch finally seemed much more normal.
Among the pile of résumés that looked suspicious and vaguely worded, she spotted a single one that was clearly and neatly written.
It immediately caught her attention.
“Linfield… male, twenty-eight years old. Previously served in factory management. Studied at the Shelter 199 Fortress School and obtained a bachelor’s degree. Skilled in management and coordination…”
“Him,” Ling Zhao said. “Where is he?”
“Uh… I advise you not to.”
The administrator showed a troubled expression.
She genuinely wanted the referral fee, but she also genuinely didn’t want to cheat such a generous employer.
In the end, she decided to tell the truth.
“Here’s the situation…”
“That’s all I can say. You should go see for yourself before deciding.”
And so Ling Zhao now stood outside his door.
It was a battered, dilapidated vehicle.
The metal panels on the outside had peeled upward, exposing mottled rust. Unlike the other self-modified RVs, it had no attractive paint and no solar panels on its roof.
Ling Zhao recalled what the administrator had told her earlier.
“…He’s suffering from a severe infectious disease, and he also has symptoms of radiation sickness. Treating him would cost an enormous amount. At that price, you’re honestly better off going directly into the shelter fortress to look for someone.”
Ling Zhao had come to see exactly what kind of infection he had.
An elderly-looking woman sat outside the RV.
Her eyelids drooped, and her hair was streaked with white. When she saw Ling Zhao, she tried twice to force herself to stand but couldn’t get up.
“I’m Linfield’s older sister,” she said. “What can I do for you?”
Ling Zhao had initially thought she was his grandmother.
“I heard about his illness,” Ling Zhao said. “I wanted to see whether it’s related to something I’ve studied.”
“Oh! Then that’s wonderful!”
For the first time, a rare light appeared on the woman’s face.
“Please, come in. It’s a little messy inside…”
“Are you a doctor from Return of the Living?” the sister asked in a thin, weak voice. “I know they have wandering doctors who collect patients with unusual illnesses. You want to take him away, don’t you?”
“I understand. I understand. I definitely won’t ask any questions. I only need you to give me some money… Then I’ll forget that I ever had a younger brother…”
She fell silent.
Her already white hair looked as pale as mourning cloth under the dim light.
There were no lights on inside the RV, making it extremely dark.
The interior had been divided into two narrow rooms.
One contained a bed, on which a grown man was sleeping and snoring loudly.
“Who is that?” Ling Zhao asked.
She had initially assumed he was a family member—perhaps their father or the sister’s husband.
“A tenant,” the sister answered.
“After he got sick, and with me being in this condition, I didn’t have much ability to work anymore. I could only rent out the only room inside.”
She looked at Ling Zhao.
“If you take him away, then I’ll have two rooms that I can rent out.”
Ling Zhao was silent for a moment.
“Then where do you sleep?”
“Huh?”
Apparently not expecting anyone to ask her that, Linfield’s sister blinked.
Her dry lips moved slightly.
“I… sleep in the passageway outside. If someone comes, or if it rains, I sleep underneath the vehicle.”
“Aren’t you afraid I might take him away to do something terrible to him?”
Ling Zhao pointed toward the patient lying on the only battered sofa.
A thick but worn blanket covered his body. His breathing was weak, but he was still alive.
“He’s about to die, and so am I.”
His sister gave a bitter smile.
“If I die, who will take care of him?”
“It’s better for someone to take him away. At least if I can’t see what happens to him, I can still believe that he’s alive.”
“…”
Ling Zhao took a deep breath.
“Forget it. I’ll tell you the truth. I’m here to hire him.”
“Hire him?”
His sister looked inside in surprise, then quickly became worried again.
“But his illness… requires a huge amount of clean water.”
“I know,” Ling Zhao said. “Is there any other problem?”
[Linfield…
Condition: Thirst-Burn Syndrome.
It is caused by long-term consumption of heavily contaminated water sources, prolonged exposure to chemical substances, or extended radiation exposure.
The kidneys suffer severe damage and become unable to filter toxins and metabolic waste from the bloodstream. The main symptoms include crystallization of urine, severe colicky pain, and other complications. In serious cases, it can progress to kidney failure or even death.
Patients require large amounts of purified water to dilute the accumulated contamination inside their bodies, and at times, they may become a burden to their team or family.】
……
Fan Chengde had regrouped the bodyguards and transport slaves and was preparing to leave when his sharp eyes suddenly caught sight of Ling Zhao.
There was no other reason—the group consisted of a wheelchair and a stretcher, making them far too conspicuous.
He noticed that quite a few people had begun gathering nearby. After all, in the wasteland, illness symbolized weakness.
Fan Chengde immediately sensed that something was wrong.
He quickly led his people over and used their numerical advantage to push the others away. Then they joined up with Ling Zhao’s group, making them look like a medium-sized team that was not to be trifled with.
“Boss, are you done here?” he asked with a smile, glancing toward the stretcher.
He had assumed Ling Zhao had bought something that needed to be transported on a stretcher. But when he took a closer look, his expression froze.
“Why is there a person on here?” he asked. “And these symptoms—waxy yellow skin, dry and cracked lips… This is Thirst-Burn Syndrome!”
Thinking of the water Ling Zhao had brought with her, he couldn’t help but feel a pang in his heart.
Even if you wanted to waste resources, this wasn’t how you did it!
How expensive was Grade One purified water?
When he had gone to recruit people earlier, he had casually sold that bottle!
In a place like this, Grade One purified water was far more expensive than it was in the Shelter 199 fortress. It could sell for as much as eight large nuts!
That was eight hundred small nuts!
The cheapest of the people he had hired only cost fifty small nuts a day!
With fifty small nuts, one could buy half a block of the lowest-quality nutrient paste.
“Um… I don’t know whether you were scammed, Boss,” Fan Chengde whispered as he leaned closer. “But this person isn’t worth it. No matter how much water you have, he’s basically a bottomless pit.”
His heart ached as he said, “The people I brought only need two liters of Grade Three water and fifty small nuts per day each. If you see anyone you like, I can help you arrange the handover. How about returning this person? Otherwise, this is just too wasteful!”
Gulp, gulp…
Bei You took out her water cup. Feeling a little thirsty, she took a large gulp.
When she lowered the cup, she saw the dumbfounded expression on Fan Chengde’s face.
“Her? A mercenary?” Fan Chengde felt even more heartbroken. “Why are you even providing a mercenary with water of this grade? This is really too wasteful!”
“Wasteful?”
Ling Zhao stopped walking.
At last, she turned around and looked at Fan Chengde.
“Why… do you think that giving people water to drink is a waste?”
Author’s Note:
Let Ling Zhao see what kind of world this is. Hehe.