Chapter 4

When his feet stepped onto the precious wooden floor covered in dust, it was just a moment for Jiang Chen.

Checking the energy bar on his wrist, Jiang Chen was taken aback; the energy consumed by this穿越 (time travel) was only 40%.

Does the capacity of the energy bar upgrade with the number of charges?

Jiang Chen shook his head. This was undoubtedly good news, but his knowledge was certainly insufficient to explain this phenomenon. He decided to just accept it as it was.

Sitting quietly on the high-end sofa, Jiang Chen enjoyed the luxury that was hard to come by in the present world. He lit a cigarette and waited for time to pass.

Through the moldy wooden window, Jiang Chen faintly saw the figure of Sun Jiao walking down the street. After confirming with the binoculars, Jiang Chen got up, went downstairs, and opened the villa's door to let Sun Jiao in.

"The gold you wanted," Sun Jiao threw the bag to Jiang Chen. His hands sank slightly, but his heart was elated. The weight was not light, probably a few kilograms. However, this woman had thrown the few kilograms of gold as easily as a paper ball, which was quite frightening.

Jiang Chen glanced at her arms; the delicate lines showed almost no muscle.

"I'm exhausted. The bank hall was full of zombies. I almost emptied two batteries of ammunition to clear those disgusting things. The bank's vault was sealed with thick steel plates, and I couldn't open it. These gold bars were found in a room called the VIP room."

Sun Jiao wiped the sweat from her forehead and then casually threw her backpack aside. Although the gold didn't seem like much, it weighed a few kilograms. Adding the weapons, equipment, and supplies she carried, Sun Jiao had been traveling a long distance with a load of about 20 kilograms. The distance from the bank was still considerable.

"Here."

"Huh? This is..." Sun Jiao took the cola Jiang Chen threw to her and looked at it in surprise.

"I noticed you like it." Jiang Chen felt a bit embarrassed under her gaze and smiled.

Sun Jiao's lips pursed slightly, but she didn't say anything. After a brief silence, she resumed her usual bold demeanor, pulled open the can, and took a big gulp of cola.

"Glug glug... Ah! Refreshing! This damn weather, helping you transport gold outside, I'm about to die of heat. Hey, it's still cold?" Sun Jiao gave Jiang Chen a suspicious look.

"The fridge in the kitchen still works. The solar power system of this villa is surprisingly intact." Jiang Chen wasn't lying. Although most electrical appliances were damaged by the EMP, the solar power system on the roof of the villa had unexpectedly survived, and the fridge was still working.

Perhaps someone had lived here before and repaired some of the appliances. However, from the thickness of the dust on the ground, it seemed like that had been a long time ago.

"Whatever, I doubt you'd tell me where you got it from." Sun Jiao waved her hand in resignation and threw the empty can on the ground. "So, what's next? If we want to blow open the vault and move the gold here, we'll need the help of professionals. At least... we need powerful explosives or a skilled hacker to crack the electronic lock."

"Where can we find these two things?" Explosives were hard to come by. In a harmonious society, buying food was easy, but getting such prohibited items was almost impossible, especially since Jiang Chen was just a regular citizen. After a moment of thought, he asked.

"Many survivor bases have them, like Luting Town," Sun Jiao had a nostalgic look on her face, her eyes drifting to the window. "It's one of the more interesting places in this wasteland..."

"Is it far from here?"

"Not too far, but it's expensive." Sun Jiao narrowed her beautiful eyes. "Besides the locals with 'property' and the 'laborers' who have lost their freedom, tourists need to pay 1 energy unit of sub-crystal to enter, or an equivalent item."

"1 energy unit of sub-crystal?" Jiang Chen frowned in confusion.

"Like this." Sun Jiao casually pulled out a greenish-black crystal from her pocket. "This sub-crystal has about 37 points left, which can be detected with Epaid. It's hard to get. Only powerful mutated creatures can form this biological crystal in the back of their heads. If possible, I really don't want to encounter those guys..."

A monster that could scare even her? Jiang Chen found the thought terrifying.

Taking the dark crystal, a faint energy pull sensation came from his right hand. Jiang Chen was shocked; this thing could charge his bracelet?!

However, Jiang Chen didn't show any reaction on his face. He casually played with the sub-crystal in his hand and then returned it to Sun Jiao.

"What can 1 point of sub-crystal exchange for?"

"About one-tenth of a can of meat or half a can of low-quality food, 10 nutrient syrups, 1 C-type battery, or 3 energy weapon clips. There are too many things you can exchange for. This energy material can be used as currency in many survivor bases. You can even find a woman to sleep with in Luting Town." Sun Jiao glanced at Jiang Chen with a teasing look, finding it amusing to tease this young man.

"Cough, 37 points of sub-crystal, how about I exchange it for 4 cans of food?"

"Deal." Sun Jiao threw the sub-crystal back to Jiang Chen without hesitation. But then, as if she remembered something, she sighed and hesitated to add, "To be honest, although I know you eat a lot, this exchange is definitely a loss. If you trade like this with others, you'll be seen as a fool..."

"Hmm?" Jiang Chen shrugged, not really caring about the 3 points of sub-crystal.

"Though 10 points of sub-crystal are worth a can of food, it depends on what kind of can... Most cans in Luting Town are made of mutated fish meat, and many even contain sand. But that's the best case... Some cans might even contain human flesh..."

The helplessness and numbness in her words made Jiang Chen feel suffocated. He swallowed hard and couldn't speak for a while.

"Curry chicken, braised beef... I've never tasted such delicious food in my life," Sun Jiao said with a lingering tone, giving Jiang Chen a meaningful look before looking away. "Traders in the wasteland usually use mutated cattle to transport goods. I once had the chance to eat mutated beef. The dry texture was already very satisfying for me."

"I believe you." Jiang Chen's voice was soft.

He suddenly felt a bit scared. Compared to Sun Jiao, he was nothing. If she coveted his "wealth," she could easily take care of him in an instant.

Believe? Jiang Chen now felt a chilling fear. He even had the urge to grab the gold and teleport back to the modern world, leaving everything behind, regardless of the end of the world or the wasteland. These few kilograms of gold were enough to make him a millionaire.

He realized that he had underestimated this world.

However, perhaps driven by greed or a strange sense of pride, after a fierce internal struggle, Jiang Chen finally calmed down and suppressed the urge to run.

He tried to hide his fear and maintain a calm expression.

"Believe?" Miss Sun Jiao sneered, but a hint of indescribable emotion was still visible in her eyes. However, this distant word had long vanished in the wasteland filled with hunger and death. Although Jiang Chen said this heartwarming word, Sun Jiao's facial muscles only instinctively showed disdain.

Sighing, Sun Jiao walked towards the kitchen.

"Your naivety is really troubling... but I don't dislike it."

"..." Hearing this, Jiang Chen gradually relaxed and let go of the tension in his heart.

Perhaps he had made the right bet. Sun Jiao didn't intend to harm him.

Otherwise, she would have had many opportunities to take care of him and wouldn't have dragged it out until now... The heavy stone on Jiang Chen's heart was finally lifted.

"Since you're my employer, besides protecting your life, I think... I also have an obligation to ensure you're not deceived by people with ulterior motives. Hmm... how to put it, if someone covets your wealth, it's also a trouble for me. In the future, if you trade with others, it's best to bring me along."

Sun Jiao, who had reached the door, suddenly turned her head and said.

"..."

Is this... tsundere?

"Stop looking at me like that! Damn, I'm getting goosebumps, cough..." Sun Jiao nervously avoided Jiang Chen's gaze and darted into the kitchen. However, soon a surprised scream came from inside. "Ah! How, how is this possible? The fridge!"

The excuses, the belief, and even most of Jiang Chen's words were fake, just to avoid unnecessary trouble and danger.

However, that moment of genuine emotion was real.

In that instant, Jiang Chen unexpectedly found that this wild woman wasn't so hateful... and even a bit, cute?

"Don't eat canned food. Tonight we'll have fresh vegetables! To celebrate... celebrate my first employee!" As if to vent his joy, Jiang Chen laughed and rushed into the kitchen.

Sun Jiao, standing in front of the fridge, was so stunned that she forgot to argue about the "employee" title. She just stared blankly at the tomatoes... and eggs in the fridge.

These fresh ingredients were put in by Jiang Chen before she returned.

"You..." Sun Jiao turned her head stiffly and spoke in a dazed tone.

"Don't ask yet. I know you have many questions. We'll discuss them during dinner. Now... um... can you cut tomatoes?"

Leaving the stunned Sun Jiao behind, Jiang Chen walked to the fridge with a smug smile, took out a few tomatoes and eggs.

"Tonight, we'll have tomato and egg stir-fry!"