The next morning, Sun Jiao was sent by Jiang Chen to explore the Commercial Bank building located in Qingpu. When she asked why the bank was worth investigating, Jiang Chen gave her a straightforward answer.
"I need the gold there."
In this world, treasures were everywhere. Advanced civilian technology could likely outperform the lab prototypes still under development in Jiang Chen's world. However, taking these high-tech products back to the modern world to sell was clearly not feasible. The only valuable asset that was easy to liquidate was gold.
Jiang Chen speculated that, in this chaotic, lawless post-apocalypse, gold might hold no value at all. After all, with everyone struggling to survive, no one would trade their precious food for shiny gold.
Turns out, he was right.
Though Sun Jiao was curious about the usefulness of gold, Jiang Chen clearly had no intention of sharing any details, so she dropped the subject.
There was a small incident that morning.
When Jiang Chen handed her a piece of bread after waking up, Sun Jiao quickly snatched it from his hands, eyeing him warily as if expecting something.
"So, what's your game?" she asked.
"My game? Didn't you say I should handle the food?" Jiang Chen rolled his eyes. "Come on, I'm not brain-dead enough to try anything. With some cash, I could have ten models back in my world, but I'm certainly not about to sleep with a woman who could bite off my... well, you get the idea."
"Food?" Sun Jiao was taken aback for a second, before she remembered their agreement from yesterday.
"Breakfast. Three meals a day. But you'll probably have to eat outside for lunch. I'll grab you a can of food." Despite having her bag rummaged through, Jiang Chen still had some spare food stored in his inventory. It was enough to spare a few cans for now.
Sun Jiao froze for a moment, feeling an unfamiliar warmth in her eyes. She had seen people kill for food in the wastelands, and met cannibal raiders who'd have no hesitation in turning her into stew. But it was the first time someone had actually cared whether she ate.
Grabbing the can, she glanced away, her eyes flickering. Honestly, she'd once considered robbing this guy and using him as a hostage to trade for food with his "friends" in the rear. The thought had crossed her mind, but it was fleeting, and now it made her feel an intense guilt.
"Breakfast... What's that?" she asked, chewing the bread with a hasty, unclear tone.
Her manner was a bit rough, but watching her wolf down the bread was strangely entertaining.
"Skipping breakfast can lead to stomach problems," Jiang Chen muttered, nearly forgetting that this was the apocalypse, where most people couldn't even get a full meal. "Ahem... Anyway, eating something in the morning will help keep your energy up."
"Th... thanks."
"What?" Jiang Chen didn't catch her whisper.
"Nothing," Sun Jiao mumbled. After finishing the bread, she licked her lips, savoring the crumbs, then looked at her greasy hands. For some reason, she suppressed the urge to lick her fingers. It was the first time she felt this strange notion of "face," a concept that hadn't occurred to her in a long time.
Why? Why didn't she want him to see her doing that? The feeling was inexplicable.
"I'll try my best to find the gold in the bank vault," Sun Jiao said after a moment of silence. "But getting it back here might be harder than finding it."
Indeed, the ruined city was littered with abandoned vehicles. However, the EMP (electromagnetic pulse) caused by the nuclear war had crippled most electronic devices in the city. Advanced technology had ironically become a hindrance to the survivors' ability to function. Every car on the streets was a high-tech marvel, but with no one able to repair them, even the internal combustion engine vehicles were dead in the water.
"Unless we find an expert to repair them, finding a working car in the wasteland is like chasing a dream," Jiang Chen said. "But no need to force it. Just focus on scouting the area. I need to know the layout of the bank, the level of danger, and the exact location of the gold... Just try to get back before nightfall."
"Yeah, I know," Sun Jiao waved him off, checking her gear one last time. "The night in Wanghai City is dangerous. There are zombies everywhere. And they're much smarter at night."
"By the way, can you show me your EP status?" Jiang Chen asked, still curious about the stats of the woman who had subdued him so easily.
Sun Jiao paused, then casually showed him her EP wrist device, leaving Jiang Chen stunned.
User Profile: Sun Jiao
Muscle Strength: 44
Bone Density: 61
Reflexes: 40
Brain Activity: 13
Notes: C-level tissue repair vaccine. T-virus vaccine.
Jiang Chen couldn't even begin to comprehend it.
Her delicate arms packed more than three times the power of his own...
Was this really a human being?!
While Sun Jiao went off to explore the bank, Jiang Chen didn't sit idly. After confirming she was far enough away, he immediately traveled back to the modern world.
The passage of time between the two worlds was synchronized, so there was still plenty of time left for him.
Charging his device couldn't be done in his apartment; the household wiring would take forever to provide enough energy. If Sun Jiao came back and found him gone, it would be a problem. So, to speed things up, Jiang Chen resorted to an underhanded method.
Sneaking into the power distribution box of a nearby apartment complex, he felt a pang of guilt as he used a knife to cut into the rubber insulation of the power cables. With a deep breath, he gripped the wires.
A powerful surge of electricity sparked wildly, quickly filling the energy slot in his wrist device.
At the same time, the entire building went dark.
"Damn it, not again! Stupid power company! Just when I was about to play ranked!" a voice shouted from upstairs.
"Oppa, why's the power out? Ugh, this is so frustrating!" Another voice complained.
Jiang Chen quickly bolted from the scene, his heart racing. He'd chosen this old neighborhood precisely because it didn't have security cameras.
Full of guilt, he fled back to his rented apartment.
"Ugh, I really need to figure out a better way to handle charging," Jiang Chen grumbled. "Hiring someone to rewire the place? That would be hard to explain... Maybe I should move somewhere else, or rent a commercial warehouse with high-power capacity? Damn it, if only there was an alternative energy source."
He marked the energy levels on the side of his device, using a pen as a scale.
Humming to himself, he packed food into his backpack and bulk-ordered more cans, instant noodles, and bread online. Looking at the dwindling balance in his bank account, he wasn't discouraged. He knew that in a short while, the money he'd spent today would be nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
The gold in the bank vault... That was a fortune beyond imagination.
Even if the gold hadn't been secured yet... Well, a sudden windfall was probably the only way to describe what Jiang Chen was feeling at that moment.
The next day, after securing some basic medical supplies—bandages, antibiotics, and the like—Jiang Chen also stocked up on two crates of canned food and four crates of instant noodles, spending about 10% of his energy reserves. Given that he'd likely be stuck in the wasteland for a while, better safe than sorry, even if accessing these supplies required some energy.
Lighting a cigarette, Jiang Chen plugged his fingers into the socket and settled in to wait for his energy to recharge. After all, it was only 10 units of electricity; going outside to steal that much wasn't worth the trouble—too risky and unnecessary.
While waiting, Jiang Chen fiddled with his wrist computer. The radiation levels still bothered him. He didn't want to end up with some disease from radiation exposure. He clicked on the help option for radiation levels, and after a quick read, a small smile appeared on his face.
[...When radiation levels exceed the 50 threshold, it can affect the user's health. It is highly recommended to store iodine in EP to help control radiation levels...]
After swallowing nervously, Jiang Chen clicked the iodine extraction button. A small syringe popped out from the side of the EP device. Hesitant for a moment, Jiang Chen grabbed the iodine tincture from the table and carefully inserted the syringe into it.
The iodine tincture slowly lightened, eventually turning clear. Watching the iodine fill up and the radiation levels drop, Jiang Chen felt a surge of joy. The problem that had been worrying him was solved so easily.
Now, he just needed to buy some iodine tablets from the pharmacy, and the radiation issue would be taken care of.
Once his energy was fully recharged, Jiang Chen stretched lazily and walked to the kitchen. He pulled out ingredients from the fridge and cooked a delicious plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes and stir-fried pork with green peppers. He also grabbed a can of beer.
Enjoying his simple but satisfying lunch, Jiang Chen took a swig of cold beer and sighed, thinking about how much this meal would be worth in the wasteland. Perhaps not just a few pounds of gold, but tons of it? In that chaotic world, gold was barely worth more than rocks. When he saw Sun Jiao's face light up with sheer happiness and satisfaction while devouring a cold can of food, Jiang Chen realized just how precious food was in that world.
He even believed that if he pulled out a can of food in Liuding Town, many beautiful women would be more than willing to sleep with him in exchange for it.
Finishing his last bite of rice, Jiang Chen chewed thoughtfully, his mind drifting to distant thoughts. What if... what if, in the near future, the Third World War broke out in this world as well, and everything that happened in the wasteland was just a prelude to what was coming here?
He shivered, not daring to entertain the thought further.
"Heh, why am I thinking about this nonsense? I should just focus on my own life for now," Jiang Chen laughed bitterly to himself, shaking his head. He tossed the empty beer can into the trash.
In any case, first things first—get the gold, exchange it for money... then, enjoy the life of a rich man for a while before thinking about anything else.
A villa—yes, definitely a villa. And a car, of course.
Girlfriend? With money, who needs to worry about that?
After cleaning the dishes and setting them aside, Jiang Chen grabbed his heavy backpack and walked toward the living room.
Wait...
He paused, as if something had just occurred to him. He stopped, his hand hovering over the portal device.
Returning to the kitchen, Jiang Chen opened the fridge and grabbed a can of Coke.
The portal activated.