The construction of the outpost base requires tools,
and a considerable amount of them at that.
For example, forging requires tongs and hammers, chopping trees requires axes, and saws are needed for cutting wood. There are also small tools like screwdrivers, screws, nails, and wrenches, among others.
Without these tools, many tasks would either be difficult to carry out or highly inefficient.
For instance, the plastering knives used by gamers in the outpost base for wall repairs are makeshift substitutes handcrafted from wood by Mosquito.
In the early years of the wasteland era, these tools could easily be found in hardware stores, department stores, and repair shops. Thanks to the advanced material technology before the war, these tools were usually of good quality.
However, now that two hundred years have passed, the easily scavenged places have long been stripped bare. Resource-rich locations like supermarkets and repair shops were often the strongholds of survivors in the early years and hardly anything remains in them.
However, nothing is absolute. Just like how scavengers can still find some meager supplies on the wasteland after 211 years, there are always some good things left behind by careless individuals.
These items are usually sold by scavengers in nearby survivor settlements, displayed as junk on the shelves for passing merchant caravans to pick through.
Light Chu's idea is simple. He plans to pretend to be a merchant caravan and travel to the nearby Brown's farm to trade for the supplies the outpost station needs.
Before setting off, they changed into the clothes they had picked up.
Light Chu, accompanied by Nighten and Tomorrow, departed from the south gate of the wetland park, avoiding Street 76, and headed southeast along a dilapidated path.
The distance from Bette Street to Brown's farm is about the same, roughly three kilometers in a straight line according to the map. The only difference is that one is in the due south and the other in the southeast.
As for why they chose Brown's farm, the reasons are simple. Firstly, nobody there knows them or their background. Secondly, the route to Brown's farm is relatively easier to traverse, with fewer ruins to navigate through.
But even so, the actual distance they have to travel on the wasteland is far more than just three kilometers.
The group walked and stopped along the way, bypassing impassable ruins. During this time, they not only needed to be wary of mutants but also had to be careful of hostile survivors.
Finally, before 9 o'clock in the morning, the group arrived near their destination.
At the end of the muddy road, they saw a wide steel gate with concrete blocks forming a surrounding wall.
The wall wasn't tall, only about three meters, and had aluminum alloy awnings and steel bars attached to it, seemingly added using industrial waste to increase its height.
The wall was riddled with bullet holes, and a gallows with hanging skeletons outside the wall clearly indicated that the people here weren't easy to mess with.
From the roadside sign, it could be seen that this place used to be a rural-style farmhouse before the war.
All the signs indicated that survivors who fled the city occupied this place during the initial collapse of order.
Unlike Bette Street, Mr. Brown, the farm owner of Brown's farm, was a true landlord, and there weren't as many freemen here as in Bette Street.
The people living here had only two identities: either thugs working for the farm owner or farm serfs.
However, Light Chu wasn't too worried about them acting maliciously. Any force with two plots of land to cultivate was rarely proactive in attacking outsiders. After all, those wearing shoes had to consider whether it was worth bullying those barefoot.
They stopped about ten meters away from the steel gate.
Light Chu raised his right fist, signaling the two gamers behind him to stop.
At the same time they stopped, a black gun barrel emerged from between the aluminum alloy plates on the wall.
Showing a weapon signifies no hostile intent.
It seemed that the contact this time was relatively successful, and Light Chu breathed a slight sigh of relief.
The man standing on the wall shouted aggressively, "Hey, stop! Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"We mean no harm, just want to trade with you," Light Chu said calmly, his expression unchanged, gesturing to the gamers behind him.
"Trade?," the man glanced quickly at the cart behind the three of them, keeping his index finger on the trigger, and continued to scrutinize Light Chu with suspicion.
"I haven't seen you before. Where are you from?"
Light Chu used the prepared pretext.
"We're from the wilderness, recently migrated to this area."
The man asked hesitantly, "Nomads?"
Light Chu shrugged, giving him an ambiguous answer.
"It depends on how you interpret it."
Nomads were not uncommon in the wasteland, especially in the outskirts. They were even considered a relatively common presence.
These people usually didn't enter the urban areas and mainly roamed the wilderness between cities.
They didn't engage in farming but lived off herding and hunting. They followed the tracks of mutants and animal herds, migrating from one area to another. Occasionally, they would trade like merchants, exchanging their hunted games and scavenged junk for daily necessities.
Of course, they also occasionally engaged in robbery and pillaging.
On the wasteland, there were no absolute good or bad people. Under specific circumstances and conditions, anyone could become a marauder.
Here's the translation:
The man did not immediately trust the three individuals in front of him, but the guns in their hands made him hesitate to act rashly, especially since he didn't know how many people were in their "tribe."
"What kind of goods do you have? And what do you plan to exchange?" he asked.
"We have 50 kilograms of smoked jerky, 20 kilograms of smoked fish, and 10 pieces of mutated hyena fur... We need hardware tools and crops grown in the field. I assure you, once the trade is done, we'll leave immediately, without staying here for an extra second," replied one of the three individuals calmly.
Finally convinced that these people were here for a trade, the man slowly withdrew the gun he had pointed at them from behind cover and warned, "Wait here, I'll go and consult."
"Please do," responded Light Chu.
After saying that, Light Chu stood quietly in place, waiting. The two gamrs behind him whispered to each other.
"This survivor base is quite impressive... I'm talking about the architectural style here; it has a post-apocalyptic vibe."
"Yes, it seems there have been many updates this time."
"Is that the new NPC?"
"Probably, but I have no idea what he's babbling about."
"Who knows, all I can say is he looks like he's asking for a beating..."
"I agree."
No one likes having a gun pointed at them, and Light Chu was no exception. However, since he couldn't be resurrected and had to exercise restraint when venturing outside, he had to endure it.
They didn't have to wait long before the steel gate in front of them opened. A wooden cart, pulled by a serf wearing ankle shackles, came out from within the compound under the surveillance of the two gunmen.
The cart was loaded with sacks of food and wooden boxes filled with tools. The man who had called out to Light Chu from the wall earlier also walked out of the gate and stared at him intently.
"January Liu."
"Light Chu."
The two briefly shook hands and quickly let go. January continued speaking while looking at Light Chu.
"I want to know what kind of meat is on your cart."
"The smoked jerky is mutated hyena, and the smoked fish is catfish and crucian carp. You can check them if you want," Light Chu replied calmly.
He knew what this person was worried about.
January didn't waste any words and walked up to the cart, lifting the plastic sheet covering it and carefully inspecting the contents, paying particular attention to the smoked bacon. He took out a small knife from his waist, randomly picked a piece of jerky that looked decent, cut off a thumb-sized portion, and handed it to the serf pulling the cart.
"Eat it."
That serf didn't dare to resist and quickly stuffed the jerky into his mouth, afraid of getting beaten if he was too slow. After chewing for a while, he hurriedly said, "It's meat from mutated hyenas, no salt, completely air-dried."
The lack of salt taste was normal since they were inland. January didn't say much, he closed his eyes slightly and waited silently.
About ten minutes passed, and seeing no abnormal reactions from the serf, his eyebrows relaxed slightly. He turned to Light Chu and used his hands to gesture numbers, saying, "1 kilogram of smoked jerky and fish for 2 kilograms of green wheat or 2 kilograms of horn yucca. Fur for tools, one piece for one tool."
Horn yucca were a tuberous crop with a texture somewhat similar to potatoes, shaped like a goat's horn.
Due to its high carbohydrate content and easy storage and cultivation, horn potatoes, like green wheat, were the main staple food for survivors in the nearby area.
When Light Chu was in Bette Street, he had seen survivors planting this stuff in front of their houses. For example, the Yu family across the street did.
Light Chu had tried planting them before, but quickly gave up.
It wasn't because he couldn't grow them, but because he had to scavenge outside every day and no one was watching over his home. The first batch had just sprouted a little when he found out it had been taken by someone...
Buying some horn yuccas to plant in the outpost might be a good idea.
"One kilogram of smoked jerky is worth at least five kilograms of grains, half green wheat and half horn potatoes. In addition, these furs are all high-quality furs, and one piece is worth at least three tools," Light Chu shook his head and said, "I've been to Bette Street, don't think I don't know the market."
Reporting this price was just to start bargaining.
However, to Light Chu's surprise, after hearing his offer, January didn't bargain but looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Did he quote too high?
Just as Light Chu was thinking about whether to take the initiative to make a concession, the man in front of him finally came to his senses and nodded strangely.
"...Deal."
Do these people not bargain when doing business?
Light Chu was taken aback at first, but his past sales experience immediately made him understand what was going on, and he cursed inwardly.
Damn it!
That dog-fucked mayor!
He even dares to mess with the grain prices!
The two gamers next to him were completely confused throughout the conversation. After all, they couldn't understand the exchange between the NPC and the "natives."
But seeing the man nodding...
The deal seemed to have been reached?
However, for some reason, the face of the Governor seemed unpleasant.
A total of 50 kilograms of smoked jerky and 20 kilograms of smoked fish were exchanged for 350 kilograms of green wheat and horn yuccas, filling up dozens of sacks.
The remaining ten pieces of fur were exchanged for thirty tools.
When Light Chu was selecting the tools, he chose the ones with better quality, preferably alloy products produced before the war.
Don't be fooled by these two-hundred-year-old antiques.
In terms of quality, they were much stronger than the imitation products made of iron or pure steel by the indigenous people on the wasteland.
January didn't say anything and didn't care about Light Chu's selection.
Obviously, there were still plenty of tools in the farmhouse, most of which were sold by scavengers who picked up junk nearby, and the passing merchants picked the leftovers.
After weighing the grains, they were all loaded onto the cart.
January shook hands with Light Chu, and a stiff smile finally appeared on his face, which had been tense due to mistrust.
"Welcome to come again."
"I will."
"We also have some mutant tobacco leaves here. Do you need them?" January took out a small handful of dried tobacco leaves from his pocket and tried to sell them to Light Chu. "They can relieve fatigue and add flavor when wrapped with food. They're very useful."
"Next time, we don't have anything else to trade."
If possible, Light Chu would have wanted to buy one or two slaves to help out, but as he said, he had nothing else to trade.
Perhaps next time?
"No, no, my friend, this pack is free, it's a gift for you."
January smiled and handed it to Light Chu, his smile much more skillful than before.
Since it was a gift, Light Chu didn't refuse and accepted it decisively.
Although he didn't smoke this stuff, he could probably exchange it for one or two chips.
Smoke it himself?
Impossible.
The transaction was finally completed.
Light Chu instructed Tomorrow to pull the cart and hit the road. Finally, he shook hands with January Liu and managed to squeeze out a stiff smile on his face, which had been tense due to mistrust.
On the way back, Light Chu was filled with pleasant mood.
This trade was such a bountiful harvest.
Two gamers that came with him were also happy.
"Is this place called Brown's farm?".
"Yeah, I remember that name... If nothing goes wrong, today's test should be the trading system and a new neutral base! That's just my guess. Next, a brand new trading gameplay should be updated within two versions!" Tomorrow speculated.
"Wow, I'm so excited for the open beta!" said Nighten.
"But come to think of it... Are you sure Light Bro can't hear you when you mention Dog Planner here?" Tomorrow took a sharp breath.
"Ah... Damn, I'm getting nervous after you said that. I apologize, Light Bro, I was wrong! You're like my father!"
Light Chu: "..."
Forget it.
Pretend I didn't hear it.
As a diligent NPC, Light Chu didn't participate in the gamers' discussion. His gaze naturally swept around, seemingly casual, but actually observing every potential shadow of danger.
It was around ten in the morning, which was considered a relatively safe time.
But they couldn't let their guard down.
Anything could happen in the wasteland.
"Did you hear any sound?" Nighten, who was joking with Tomorrow, suddenly stopped and frowned, looking around.
"Sound?"
Tomorrow was slightly startled. Although he didn't hear anything, he also stopped walking.
Light Chu's brow furrowed, and he looked around alertly. His index finger instinctively disengaged the safety of his gun.
He also heard the sound...
It was the breathing of a mutant!
Light Chu raised his head abruptly and looked at the vine-covered building on the right. He saw a hideous creature crawling on the wall, its gray-black skin almost blending with the concrete structure. Its crimson eyes were fixed on them without any movement.
It had no legs but instead had four long and powerful arms. Its withered fingers were like hooks, firmly anchoring its body to the concrete wall.
The muscles on its chest were gently undulating, and the blood-soaked corners of its mouth were holding a human leg bone. Its hissing breath exuded a craving for flesh and blood.
Light Chu's pupils contracted, almost shrinking to a point.
Crawler!