"Hah..."
After watching yet another unimpressed customer walk away, the fitness equipment vendor finally snapped. He slapped his subordinate hard on the back of the head and roared, "I sent you out to gather supplies! What the hell were you thinking, hauling this junk back?"
"Look at it! Do you think anyone's going to buy this crap?"
"Huh?!"
"I..." The muscular man behind him looked aggrieved. "Boss Fang," he muttered, "there wasn't much to scavenge. I figured we couldn't return empty-handed—we had to bring something back. We found a gym that hadn't been completely looted, so my brother and I just carried everything back."
The vendor put his hands on his hips, so angry he was almost laughing. "So you two were just too eager to prove how strong you are, you dragged this back?"
"Well, yeah," the brawny man nodded with a hint of pride. "We've both been strong since we were kids."
Chen Mang bypassed the stall and continued deeper into the gathering. Along the way, he saw all sorts of random items for sale—even paperback novels going for one unit of iron ore per book.
He asked for prices at every stall, mainly to get a general sense of the market. He didn't have much desire to buy anything. After all, he didn't have deep pockets. The main currency was iron ore, and he only had 600 units back on his train.Still, he did buy something.
In Lao Zhu's hands was a live hen. Hens could lay eggs without a rooster, though the eggs would be unfertilized and couldn't hatch. Before the apocalypse, nearly all eggs sold in supermarkets were unfertilized—most of those hens had probably never even seen a rooster in their lives.
The chicken cost him 400 units of iron ore. The price was acceptable.
Besides getting an egg almost every day, if he was lucky enough to find a rooster later, he could breed more chicks. He could even dedicate a whole car to raising them, making it part of his train's self-sustaining ecosystem.
Finally, Chen Mang reached the far end of the gathering. There, sitting on the ground, was a man who radiated a wild aura. The wooden board in front of him bore the characters: "Bloodthirsty Bull." This was the man he had arranged to trade with.
The guy was extremely hairy—the kind of person most people would cross the street to avoid at a night market.
Chen Mang slowly walked over, crouched down, and spoke softly.
"Brother, I'm from The Stellar."
"How much spider silk did you bring?"
"It's you!" The wild man's eyes lit up. Grinning, he pulled a large pile of silk from a box behind him. "It's all here. 4,500 units of Level 1 fine spider silk. It's a little short of what you asked for, but if you ask around, you should be able to find enough to make up the difference."
"Name your price, brother."
"Here's the deal." The man's smile faded as his expression turned serious. "Spider silk doesn't have many uses—as far as I know, it's only needed for 'Spider Legs' and 'Spider Venom' components. But it's still a rare material. You can't mine it; you can only get it by killing Cannibal Spiders."
"I'll give you an honest price," he continued. “5,000 units of iron ore. It's a one-to-one exchange rate. That's fair, considering it's a rare material."
Chen Mang simply waved his hand. Lao Zhu pulled a "Zombie Perception Blocker" from his coat and placed it in front of the man. "Take a look at this," Chen Mang said. "I can use this to trade. But you know what this is worth. You'll need to add something on top."
He hadn't been just wandering around earlier—he had been assessing the market. From his inquiries, he learned that any 'special item' commanded a high price. Special items had unique effects that could be game-changers in critical moments. Things like the Handheld Zombie Perception Scrambler (Blocker), his Hell Staff, or a Train Token.
If he were to sell his Hell Staff, getting an A-list celebrity like Ji Chuchu in return wouldn't be a problem. The issue was that few could afford it, and he wasn't willing to part with it anyway. The ability to control his train from a kilometer away wasn't just for convenience—it meant the train was like a fifth limb he could command at will, opening up all sorts of unexpected attack strategies.
"This..." The wild man took the walkie-talkie-like device. After reading its description panel, he was surprised. This thing was a real treasure!
The item could mask the user's presence from Level 1 zombies. Whether scavenging for supplies or caught in a zombie horde, this device would be incredibly useful. With a bit of luck, it could even save your life.
But more importantly for him—this item would be even more valuable in his hands!
He knew of a rare, green-grade vehicle component called the "Vehicle-Mounted Zombie Perception Blocker." One of the materials needed to craft it was this exact handheld version. And he happened to know a Train Captain who had the blueprint. If he could buy that blueprint and craft the component, then level it up, he could practically ignore zombie hordes in the wasteland from then on. His safety would increase drastically. He wouldn't have to worry about hordes interrupting his mining operations. The value was immense.
True, spider silk was a rare material and much harder to obtain than iron ore, but it was useless to him. He'd been sitting on it for a while. Trading 4,500 units of it for a Handheld Zombie Perception Blocker... yeah, he would need to add something to the deal.
"..."
Chen Mang's eyes narrowed, carefully watching the man's reaction. Seeing it, he knew he had him. He cleared his throat. "Forget it. Let's not trade this item. Biao Zi, go to the train and have a few men bring down 5,000 units of iron ore."
"No, no!" The man, jolted from his thoughts, immediately pressed down on the hand Biao Zi was extending to take back the blocker. He forced an awkward smile. "Hold on, hold on, let's talk. I quite like this item."
Then his tone shifted as he quickly tried to haggle. "But, you know, it can only block Level 1 zombies. Its use is quite limited."
"How about this?" he said, taking a deep breath. "I'll add something more." The wild man pulled a tall woman from behind him. "I'll throw this woman in. 4,500 units of spider silk plus this woman for your special item. How about it?"
"..."
Chen Mang stared blankly at the woman. She was tall—really tall. At least 187 cm (6'2"), even taller than him. Her height made her frame look a bit unbalanced, ruining the aesthetic, though her face was decent enough.
But...
"My friend," Chen Mang said slowly, "do you have some kind of misunderstanding about me?"
"I think I'll just use the iron ore to buy your silk."