Li Xuan hadn't quite figured out the meaning of the sign, but what happened next made everything crystal clear.

A short man who looked about fifty years old walked up to the woman with a smiling face, "One night, half a pound of food!"

"No way! I want 300 grams! And half a pound doesn't get you the whole night, maximum one hour!" the woman retorted, her face showing no embarrassment as she calmly traded her body for sustenance.

"Too short! Not enough!"

"What are you pretending for? You think you're some superhuman?"

As the two haggled, the surrounding survivors all looked completely accustomed to the scene, nobody showing any surprise. Another woman with somewhat dark skin even proactively approached, offering herself to the fifty-something man.

Li Xuan silently watched, believing this woman hadn't been like this before the apocalypse, wouldn't have sold herself on the streets. The apocalypse had forced her into this.

A bit of food was enough to make a woman betray herself—this was the apocalypse, merciless and cruel.

Though Li Xuan had mentally prepared for all kinds of apocalyptic scenarios, actually witnessing its darkness still stirred pity in his heart.

He didn't plan to discard that sense of compassion.

People should still have bottom lines.

He would also use the darkest, most malicious thoughts to speculate about others to avoid being deceived himself.

Li Xuan passed by the three people bargaining and ventured deeper into the base.

Once Li Xuan's figure disappeared, the bargaining concluded.

The man sighed, "What a pity, the fat sheep didn't take the bait. Outsiders are getting colder these days—people used to take pity and share some food with you."

The darker-skinned woman returned to her spot, "Anyone who can survive alone out there until now isn't ordinary. They're ruthless."

The woman with the sign licked her lips and snorted coldly, "That huge backpack, yet he turned out to be a miser. Wouldn't even spare a bit of food for someone pitiful. Hope he doesn't choke on it!"

The surrounding survivors' expressions remained unchanged. They'd long known about the trio's scam, but nobody warned Li Xuan—indifference had seeped deep into their hearts.

To live long in the apocalypse, you avoid making enemies.

These three dared to run their scam right at the base entrance because they had backing. If nothing else, the sign woman had slept with every transformer in the entire base. Anyone warning Li Xuan would be making enemies of all three!

As for why nobody tried to rob Li Xuan's travel bag?

Obviously because he was holding a knife, and the bag looked full even after entering the base—definitely a tough character with real capability.

Li Xuan went deeper into the base and encountered the minor celebrity the bald soldier had said was too expensive.

Her face wasn't top-tier, but she had a great figure, fair skin, and that celebrity halo—quite attractive to men indeed.

Seeing Li Xuan's bulging travel bag, the minor celebrity's eyes lit up. She quickly approached, getting close to Li Xuan while putting on an affected, coquettish voice, "Big brother, what do you think of me? I've acted in TV dramas before, done short films, had 100k followers on Douyin! Just eight pounds of food! I'll stay with you all night! You can do whatever you want!"

Li Xuan looked down, his cold eyes fixed on the minor celebrity, "The square-faced man at the gate said you cost five pounds."

The minor celebrity's expression didn't change, though she mentally cursed the square-faced man as a stupid pig ruining her business. Next time he came, she'd charge him eight pounds!

To make up for what she lost this time!

"So you're Brother Zhang's friend. That's the friend price. Since you know Brother Zhang, I'll give you a discount—five pounds is fine."

Li Xuan took out a pack of biscuits, "I'll ask you some questions. Answer honestly and this pack is yours."

"Really? Just questions, nothing else?" the minor celebrity hesitated.

"Really."

"Okay, come with me. My place is quieter."

The minor celebrity led Li Xuan to a simple wooden shack. The room was small, containing just a bed and a small table.

"Make yourself comfortable. Your clothes are cleaner than my bed," the minor celebrity joked.

After sitting down, Li Xuan scanned the room and noticed the minor celebrity didn't have much food stored.

She seemed to read his thoughts, "My prices are high, so not many people hire me. I have enough food to eat, but can't save much. Still, I'm satisfied—at least better than those women who have to entertain every day."

Li Xuan understood and got straight to the point, "How many transformers are in the base?"

"You came to the right person! Most people don't even know this," the minor celebrity raised her eyebrows proudly.

"There are about forty-one transformers. Most transformation abilities aren't very useful, only about a dozen are relatively powerful."

Li Xuan nodded and continued, "Who leads the base?"

"I don't know his name, everyone calls him Bear Lord. His transformation is a black bear. I heard when the darkness descended, he was eating bear paw." The minor celebrity swallowed saliva at the mention.

"How many transformers in the base have absorbed supernatural characteristics?"

"Two, but not Bear Lord. One is Sister Hua—her transformation is a falcon, can fly, very fast. She absorbed defense enhancement. The other is Scar Tiger—transforms into a fierce tiger. I don't know what supernatural characteristic he absorbed, but I know even with it he can't beat Bear Lord in a one-on-one."

That black bear hasn't absorbed a supernatural characteristic yet?

Li Xuan remembered intelligence indicated the base leader had absorbed a supernatural characteristic, and the transformation matched—both were black bears.

His eyes lit up as he thought of a possibility.

The black bear hasn't absorbed the external skin enhancement characteristic yet!

The other party absorbed the supernatural characteristic only shortly before the mutated zombie golden eagle attacked the base!

Two words appeared in Li Xuan's mind: intercept and steal!

"Even with a supernatural characteristic, the fierce tiger can't beat the black bear?" Li Xuan found this strange.

An ordinary fierce tiger had decent odds against a black bear in a fight to death—black bears were even on tigers' menus.

The minor celebrity spread her hands, "I found it strange too. Heard the supernatural characteristic Scar Tiger absorbed provided almost zero combat improvement—a worthless characteristic. That's why Scar Tiger doesn't talk about it publicly."

Next, Li Xuan asked several more questions. Some the minor celebrity could answer, others she couldn't.

From her, he learned the base originally had very few tents. The continuous heavy rains made ordinary tents completely inadequate. Only after the sun reappeared did the base distribute a batch of tents to survivors.

The minor celebrity lived in a wooden shack and didn't need a tent, so she sold hers to Li Xuan for two cans of beef.

Before leaving, Li Xuan gave the minor celebrity an extra small pack of biscuits.

Sitting in her room munching biscuits, the minor celebrity muttered to herself about what a wealthy man he was.

Li Xuan chose a relatively remote spot to pitch his tent. Remote meant risk—choosing crowded areas was safer—but he had many secrets he didn't want discovered.

He contacted Yun Xiuzhi via phone. After getting the message, Yun Xiuzhi grabbed the little white snake and flew into the base.

After entering the tent, Yun Xiuzhi couldn't help saying, "The living conditions here are too crude, completely incomparable to the official survivor base."

"The base is built on a mountain with limited manpower and resources—crudeness is normal. The official survivor base has better conditions because they built in the city," Li Xuan explained.

The little white snake lay on Li Xuan's palm, "Can I change back to human? This form is so uncomfortable."

"Endure a little longer," Li Xuan gently stroked the little white snake.

"Okay," the little white snake said quietly.

After comforting the little white snake, Li Xuan told Yun Xiuzhi, "Keep an eye on the base leader Black Bear for me. He'll capture a mutated zombie soon—notify me when it happens."

Yun Xiuzhi nodded, "Understood. Intercept and steal, right."

Li Xuan thought of Sister Hua and added, "There's someone in the base whose transformation is a falcon—very fast. Be careful. If you encounter her, use my name, but prioritize saving your own life."

Yun Xiuzhi's expression turned serious. Flying in the air, even mutated zombies struggled to kill her, but a falcon was different—faster flight speed, sharper claws. One strike could kill her in pigeon form.

"Troublesome. Couldn't we just kill her first? Then we wouldn't have to worry about her ambushes," Yun Xiuzhi suggested.

Li Xuan pondered, "I'll think of a way."

"I was joking! She hasn't shown hostility toward us, no need to kill her. Maybe we can cooperate with her later," Yun Xiuzhi quickly stopped him.