CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 48: "BIG BROTHER, DO YOU HAVE SOME MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT ME, YOUR LITTLE BROTHER?

"Hoo..."

After seeing yet another customer turn up their nose and leave, the merchant finally couldn’t hold back any longer. He furiously slapped his subordinate on the head and shouted angrily, "I told you to gather resources, what the hell were you thinking bringing this stuff back?"

"Do you think this crap can sell right now?"

"Huh?!"

"I..." The muscular man behind him looked a bit aggrieved and muttered, "Master Fang, we didn’t find anything good at the time, and I thought we couldn’t come back empty-handed, so we just grabbed whatever we could from a gym that hadn’t been completely looted."

The merchant, angrier still, put his hands on his hips and laughed, "So you’re saying you two are strong, huh?"

"Well, yeah."

The muscular man nodded proudly, "We’ve been strong since we were kids."

...

Chen Mang passed by this stall and continued into the depths of the gathering, spotting all sorts of weird things for sale, including paperback novels going for just 1 unit of iron ore each.

He inquired about the price at each stall mainly to get a sense of the market.

His desire to buy wasn’t very strong.

After all, he didn’t have much in his pocket. The main currency was iron ore, and he only had 600 units of iron ore in his train.

But he still bought a little something.

Like...

The old hen that Old Pig was holding. A hen can lay eggs without a rooster, though the eggs will be infertile and can’t hatch chicks.

Before Doomsday, almost all the eggs sold in supermarkets were infertile, and those hens might have never seen a rooster in their lives.

This chicken cost him 400 units of iron ore.

The price was acceptable.

Besides the daily egg it might lay, if he happened upon a rooster, he could raise more chicks and even dedicate a train carriage to chick raising, making it part of a closed ecological cycle.

Finally—

Chen Mang reached the end of the gathering and saw a rugged man sitting on the ground, with a wooden board in front of him that read "Bloodthirsty Bull." He was the one Chen Mang had initially agreed to trade with at the gathering.

He was very hairy, the kind of guy who, if drinking at a night market, most people would avoid.

Chen Mang slowly walked over, crouched down, and whispered.

"Hey, I’m from the Fixed Star."

"How much spider silk did you bring?"

"It’s you!"

The rugged man’s eyes lit up immediately, and he grinned as he pulled out a large amount of spider silk from a box behind him and placed it in front, "It’s all here, a total of 4,500 units of Level 1 Fine Spider Silk. Though it doesn’t meet your initial request, you can ask around for more, it should be enough."

"Name your price, old brother."

"Here’s the deal."

The man’s smile faded, and he seriously said, "Though there’s not much utility for spider silk, as far as I know, it’s only used for ’Spider Legs’ and ’Spider Venom,’ it’s a rare material. You can’t find it in mines; it only drops from killing Cannibal Spiders."

"I’m offering you a sincere price."

"5,000 units of iron ore."

"That’s a one-to-one exchange, and this price isn’t high at all, considering it’s a rare material after all."

Chen Mang waved a hand, and Old Pig pulled out a "Handheld Zombie Perception Shield" and placed it in front of the man, while Chen Mang spoke again: "Look at this item, I can trade it for the silk, but you know the value of this, so you’ll need to add a little extra."

Along the way.

He wasn’t just wandering; he mainly wanted to understand market prices and learned that any special tool commands a high price, as they have unique effects and can be game-changers at critical moments.

Like the "Handheld Zombie Perception Shield," "Hell Staff," and "Train Order."

If he were to sell his Hell Staff, he could probably get someone as famous as Ji Chuchu, though few could afford it, and he wouldn’t want to sell anyway.

Remotely controlling the train from miles away offers more than just convenience. It means the train could become like an extra limb, maneuverable with surprise tactics.

...

"This..."

The rugged man took the special tool from Chen Mang, which looked like a walkie-talkie. After examining the panel, he was slightly stunned—this is indeed a good item!

This tool can block the perception of Level 1 zombies nearby. Whether searching for resources, in other situations, or even if surrounded by the Corpse Tide, it’s very useful. With a bit of luck, it might save a life.

More importantly to him—

This tool can be much more valuable in his hands!

A rare-grade green vehicle accessory, the "Car-mounted Zombie Perception Shield," requires this "Handheld Zombie Perception Shield" as a material, and he happens to know a Train Captain with the blueprint for this accessory.

After buying that blueprint and crafting this accessory, he can upgrade it, allowing him to ignore Corpse Tides on the wastelands completely in the future.

His safety will greatly improve.

He won’t have to worry about being disturbed by Corpse Tides while mining, which is invaluable.

Certainly, spider silk is a rare material and harder to obtain than iron ore, but for him, it’s not particularly useful and has been sitting unused for a while. Trading 4,500 units of spider silk for a "Handheld Zombie Perception Shield," he indeed needs to add a bit more.

"..."

Chen Mang narrowed his eyes, carefully observing the man’s reaction. Seeing this response, he was roughly assured and softly cleared his throat: "Forget it, let’s not use this for the trade, Biaozi, go to the train and get a few people to bring down 5,000 units of iron ore."

"No... wait!"

The man, caught in his daydream and eager to prevent Biaozi from taking the shield, quickly blocked his hand with a sheepish smile, "Let’s not rush, let’s talk more, I really like this item."

"But you know, it only shields Level 1 zombies, its effects are quite limited."

Yet, he quickly changed his tune, hurriedly adding.

"Okay, I’ll add something else."

The rugged man took a deep breath and pulled out a tall female slave from behind him: "I’ll throw in this woman too, 4,500 units of spider silk plus this woman, how about it?"

"..."

Chen Mang looked expressionlessly at the woman behind the man; she was quite tall, around 1.87 meters, even taller than him.

Her height gave her a large frame, which lost some appeal, though her face wasn’t bad.

But...

"Old brother, do you have some misunderstanding about me?"

"I think I’ll just trade my iron ore for your spider silk."