Chapter 35

The construction of the outpost requires tools.

And a considerable amount at that.

For example, tongs and hammers for forging, axes for cutting trees, and saws for breaking down wood, as well as small tools like screwdrivers, screws, nails, and wrenches, etc.

Without tools, many tasks are either difficult to start or, even if started, are extremely inefficient.

For instance, the players at the outpost are currently using wooden substitutes made by [WC真有蚊子] for the trowels they use to repair the walls.

In the early years of the Wasteland Era, these tools could be easily found in hardware stores, department stores, repair shops, and the like.

Thanks to the advanced material technology before the war, the quality of these items was usually very good.

However, two hundred years have passed, and places that were easy to loot have long been stripped bare. Places rich in resources, such as department stores and repair shops, were often the strongholds of survivors in the early years, leaving little behind.

However, nothing is absolute.

Just as scavengers can still find a bit of pitiful supplies from the wasteland even 211 years later, some good things are always left behind by careless people.

These items are usually sold by scavengers to nearby survivor settlements, where they are displayed on shelves as junk for passing caravans to choose from.

Chu Guang's idea is simple.

He plans to take two players, disguised as a caravan, to the nearby Brown Farm for a trade to obtain the supplies needed for the outpost.

Before setting out, they changed into scavenged civilian clothes.

Chu Guang, along with Ye Shi and Fang Chang, left through the south gate of the Wetland Park, avoiding 76th Street, and headed southeast along a broken and battered path.

The distance to Bet Street and Brown Farm is about the same, roughly three kilometers on the map, with the only difference being that Bet Street is directly to the south, while Brown Farm is to the southeast.

The reason for choosing Brown Farm is simple.

First, no one there knows him or his background. Second, the route to Brown Farm is slightly easier to navigate, with fewer ruins to cross.

However, even so, walking on the wasteland means the actual distance traveled is far more than just three kilometers.

The group walked and stopped along the way, avoiding impassable ruins, and had to be wary of mutants and hostile survivors.

Finally, before 9:00 AM, the group arrived near their destination.

At the end of the muddy road, there was a wide iron gate, with concrete blocks piled up on both sides forming a wall.

The wall was not high, about three meters, with aluminum awnings and steel bars inserted on top, apparently using industrial waste to increase the height.

The wall was riddled with bullet holes, and a gallows with hanging skeletons outside clearly showed that the people here were not to be trifled with.

From the road sign, it was clear that this place was once a rustic farm before the war.

Various signs indicated that in the early days of the collapse of order, survivors who fled from the city had occupied this place.

Unlike Bet Street.

Mr. Brown, the owner of Brown Farm, was a true landlord, and unlike Bet Street, there were no large numbers of free citizens here.

The people living here had only two identities: either the landlord's henchmen or serfs.

However, Chu Guang was not too worried about the other party having malicious intentions. Any group with land to cultivate rarely attacks outsiders, as those with shoes always have to consider whether bullying the barefoot is worth it.

Stopping about ten meters from the iron gate, Chu Guang raised his right fist, signaling the two players behind him to stop.

At the same time, a black gun barrel also emerged from between the aluminum panels on the wall.

Displaying weapons meant no hostility.

It seemed this contact was successful, and Chu Guang felt a bit relieved.

The man on the wall shouted aggressively.

"Hey, stop! Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"We have no ill intentions, we just want to trade with you." Chu Guang looked at the man without changing his expression and signaled the players behind him not to be nervous.

"Trade?"

The man quickly glanced at the cart behind the three, but did not remove his finger from the trigger, still staring at Chu Guang with a suspicious look.

"I've never seen you before, where are you from?"

Chu Guang used the prepared excuse.

"From the wasteland, we recently migrated to this area."

The man hesitated and asked.

"Nomads?"

Chu Guang shrugged, giving him an ambiguous answer.

"Depends on how you see it."

Nomads are not uncommon in the wasteland, especially in the suburbs, where they are quite common.

These people usually do not enter the city, but mainly wander in the wilderness between cities.

They do not farm, but live by herding and hunting, following the tracks of mutants and herds, moving from one area to another, and occasionally trading like merchants, exchanging hunted game and scavenged junk for daily necessities.

Of course, they occasionally engage in robbery as well.

In the wasteland, there are no absolute good or bad people; anyone can become a plunderer under certain conditions and circumstances.

The man did not immediately trust the three at the gate, but the guns in their hands made him cautious.

Especially since he did not know how many people were in their "tribe."

"What do you have to trade? What do you want to exchange for?"

"50 kilograms of jerky, 20 kilograms of smoked fish, and 10 pelts of mutated hyenas... We need hardware tools and food grown from the land. I promise, once the trade is complete, we will leave and not stay a second longer."

Finally, the man believed they were there to trade, slowly pulling back the gun from the cover and said in a warning tone.

"Wait here, I'll go ask for permission."

"Go ahead."

After saying that, Chu Guang stood quietly and waited.

The two players behind him whispered to each other.

"This survivor settlement is pretty impressive... I mean, the architectural style has that post-apocalyptic feel."

"Indeed, it seems this update has a lot of content."

"Speaking of which, is that the new NPC?"

"Probably, but I don't know what he's saying."

"Who knows, I just know that his expression looks like he's asking for a beating..."

"Me too."

No one likes being pointed at with a gun.

Chu Guang doesn't like it either.

But since he can't respawn, he has to be more restrained when adventuring outside.

The iron gate opened soon after.

A wooden cart, pulled by a serf with shackles on his feet, was escorted by two gunmen, coming out from behind the wall.

The cart was piled with burlap bags of grain and wooden crates of tools.

The man who had shouted at Chu Guang from the wall also came out, staring at him intently.

"Liu Zhengyue."

"Chu Guang."

The two men shook hands briefly and quickly let go.

Looking at Chu Guang, Liu Zhengyue continued.

"I need to know what kind of meat is on your cart."

"The jerky is from mutated hyenas, the smoked fish is from catfish and carp, you can check it yourself." Chu Guang said calmly.

He knew what this man was worried about.

Liu Zhengyue did not waste words, walked up, and lifted the plastic cover on the cart, inspecting it closely.

He paid particular attention to the jerky.

He took out a small knife from his waist, picked a piece of jerky that looked decent, cut off a thumb-sized piece, and threw it to the serf pulling the cart.

"Eat it."

The serf did not dare to resist, quickly putting the jerky in his mouth, afraid of being hit if he was slow, and after chewing for a while, said hurriedly.

"It's the meat of a mutated hyena, no salt, just air-dried."

The lack of salt was normal, as this was inland, and Liu Zhengyue did not say much, closing his eyes and waiting quietly.

After about ten minutes.

Seeing that the serf had no abnormal reaction, his eyebrows relaxed, and he turned to look at Chu Guang, using his hands to gesture numbers.

"1 kilogram of jerky or smoked fish for 2 kilograms of green wheat or 2 kilograms of yam. Furs for tools, one for one."

Yam is a root crop, with a texture similar to potatoes and a shape like a goat's horn.

Due to its high carbohydrate content and easy storage and cultivation, it, like green wheat, is a staple food for survivors in the area.

When Chu Guang was in Bet Street, he had seen survivors growing this crop in front of their homes, such as the Yu family next door.

Chu Guang had tried growing it before but quickly gave up.

Not because he couldn't grow it, but because he had to go scavenging every day, and no one was at home to watch it. The first batch had just started to grow a little when it was taken by someone.

Buying some yam to plant at the outpost might be a good idea.

"1 kilogram of jerky for at least 5 kilograms of grain, half green wheat and half yam. Also, these furs are of high quality, one for at least three tools," Chu Guang shook his head and said, "I've been to Bet Street, don't think I don't know the market price."

The price he quoted was just for negotiation.

However, what Chu Guang did not expect was that after hearing his price, Liu Zhengyue did not counteroffer but looked at him with a stunned expression.

Was the price too high?

Just as Chu Guang was thinking about whether to make a concession, the man finally came to his senses, looking at Chu Guang with a strange expression and slowly nodding.

"...Deal."

Do these people not haggle when trading?

Chu Guang was initially stunned, but his experience in sales quickly made him realize what was happening, and he inwardly cursed.

Damn!

That damn mayor!

Even the price of grain is messed up!

The two players were completely confused, as they did not understand the language and could not follow the conversation between the manager and the "native."

But seeing the man nod...

The deal must have been made?

Just why the manager's face didn't look good, they didn't know.

50 kilograms of jerky and 20 kilograms of smoked fish were exchanged for 350 kilograms of green wheat and yam, filling up about ten burlap bags.

The remaining ten pelts were exchanged for thirty tools.

When selecting tools, Chu Guang chose those of higher quality, preferably pre-war alloy products.

Don't be fooled by the fact that these are 200-year-old antiques.

In terms of quality, they are far superior to the imitations made by the wasteland's inhabitants using iron or pure steel.

Liu Zhengyue did not say anything, not caring about Chu Guang's picky selection.

Clearly, there were still many tools in the farm, likely sold by scavengers and left over by passing merchants.

The grain was weighed and loaded onto the cart.

Liu Zhengyue and Chu Guang shook hands, and the tense expression on his face finally relaxed into a stiff smile.

"Welcome to come back."

"I will."

"We also grow some mutated tobacco leaves, do you need them?" Liu Zhengyue took out a small bunch of dried tobacco leaves and tried to sell them to Chu Guang, "They can relieve fatigue and add flavor to food, very useful."

"Next time, we have nothing left to trade."

If possible, Chu Guang would have liked to buy a couple of slaves to use, but as he said, he had nothing left to trade.

Maybe next time?

"No, no, my friend, this pack is free, a gift for you."

Liu Zhengyue smiled and pushed it into Chu Guang's hand, his smile more natural this time.

Hearing it was a gift, Chu Guang did not refuse and accepted it.

Although he did not smoke, he could probably trade it for a couple of chips.

Smoke it himself?

Impossible.

The trade was finally completed.

Chu Guang instructed Fang Chang to pull the cart, shook hands with Liu Zhengyue one last time, and then turned to follow Ye Shi.

On the way back, Chu Guang was in a very good mood.

This trade could be described as a bountiful harvest.

The two players who came with him were also in high spirits, excitedly discussing.

"Is this place called Brown Farm?"

Fang Chang: "Yeah, I remember the name... I think today's test is about the trading system and new neutral settlement! Just a guess, but I think the next update will introduce a new trading gameplay. Do you remember what the game designer said before? The economic system of Wasteland OL will be designed based on a completely realistic supply and demand system, and trading with other survivor settlements is essential! I estimate this content will be updated within two versions!"

Ye Shi: "Wow, you make me so excited for the beta!"

Fang Chang: "The beta is probably still a long way off. This game company has big ambitions, and there's probably a lot more to test. But I feel that even before the beta, the game content will already be quite rich!"

Ye Shi: "But... are you sure you can talk about the game designer here, and Light Brother won't hear?"

Fang Chang gasped.

"Whoa... damn, you make me so nervous. Light Brother, I'm wrong, you're my father!"

Chu Guang: "..."

Forget it.

Pretend I didn't hear it.

As a dedicated NPC, Chu Guang did not join the players' discussion, his gaze naturally scanning the surroundings, seemingly casual but actually observing every possible shadow that could hide danger.

It was around 10:00 AM, a relatively safe time.

But one cannot be too careful.

In the wasteland, anything can happen.

"Did you hear something?" Ye Shi, who was chatting with Fang Chang, suddenly stopped, frowning and looking around.

"Sound?"

Fang Chang was slightly stunned, hearing nothing but still stopping.

Chu Guang's eyebrows furrowed, looking around alertly, his finger unconsciously pushing the safety off his gun.

He heard it too...

It was the breathing of a mutant!

Chu Guang suddenly looked up, toward the street building covered in vines to the right, and saw a hideous creature crouching on the wall, its gray-black skin almost blending with the wall, its blood-red eyes fixed on them.

It had no legs, instead having four long, powerful arms, with withered fingers like hooks, firmly gripping the concrete wall.

Its chest muscles rose and fell slightly, and its blood-stained mouth held a human leg bone, its hissing breath filled with a desire for flesh.

Chu Guang's pupils contracted sharply, almost to a point.

Crawler!