By the time Hwa Jian reached the vegetable market, the early shoppers had already come and gone. All the good-quality ingredients had been snatched up. The only things left were Class E, F, and even some Class G ingredients.
Class G food had a mutagenic virus content of 80% to 90% and was the cheapest one available. Hwa Jian glanced at it, considering his options.
If he bought the Class G ingredients, his hundred crystal cores could get him a full five pounds!
But after looking at the mutagenic virus levels again, he decided against it.
The two elderly people at home were already suffering from illness; he wanted to give them food with the lowest possible mutagenic virus content whenever he could.
Sometimes, Hwa Jian regretted not being awakened with water-type or plant-type ability. People with water-type abilities could sell water, and those with plant-type abilities could control the growth of plants—they never had to worry about food like he did.
But unfortunately, he was awakened with mental-type ability, and not even one of the more useful kinds. His ability only gave him a heightened sensitivity to numbers.
Regrets wouldn't help, though. Hwa Jian continued browsing through the market, hoping to find something suitable.
He spotted someone selling fresh wood ear mushrooms not far away. He had no idea what the mutagenic virus content was, but if it was manageable, he wanted to buy one.
Wood ear mushrooms are his Mom favorite.
Hwa Jian quickened his pace, almost reaching the mushroom stall when his nose caught a sudden whiff of a fresh, fragrant scent.
What's that?
He paused, looking around curiously.
Hwa Jian had always had a sharp sense of smell even before the apocalypse, and it had only grown more sensitive since. Now, just catching a whiff of this scent made him feel invigorated!
He completely forgot about the wood ear mushrooms and followed the aroma instead.
It wasn't long before he spotted a young man with his back turned to him, sitting on a piece of cloth spread on the ground, carefully placing something on it.
It looked like he was setting up to sell something.
From his current angle, Hwa Jian couldn't see what the man was arranging, but the fresh fragrance only grew stronger.
"If you're setting up a stall, this spot is too hidden. Your goods seem pretty good, so you might want to move closer to the entrance of the market. You'll get more customers there." Not everyone had as sharp a nose as Hwa Jian.
He didn't know why he felt the sudden urge to offer this piece of advice, but for the rest of his life, he would be thankful that he did.
This single remark would completely change his life.
The young man with his back to Hwa Jian turned around, revealing the item in his hands.
In that instant, Hwa Jian's breath caught in his throat, and his pupils shrank in shock!
..
Kim Haru stood in line, waiting to enter the Pyeongseong Safe Zone. Everything went smoothly; he blended in with the rest of the crowd.