Chapter 67

Outside the South Gate.

Twenty or so yaks were herded by nine well-armed gunmen, stopping fifty meters away from the South Gate.

Without a foundation of trust, this was a relatively safe distance for both sides.

There were quite a few players active nearby, some chopping trees, others transporting stones. Upon seeing this group, they stopped their work and gathered at a distance, whispering to each other.

"Look at that guy's arm, is it a prosthetic?"

"What prosthetic, that thing is a mechanical limb!"

"Damn, what's the difference?"

"The difference is... it sounds more cyberpunk. And look at the second person from the left, his entire eye is mechanical! I bet it's not just a mechanical limb; they must have installed some kind of implant or bionic organ!"

"Did you see their guns? That scorpion-type barrel is so cool!"

"Ugh, when can I buy such a cool weapon?"

"Don't think too much, the game developers are just showing it to you. You won't be able to afford it until you're at least level 10."

The people in the caravan also looked at these blue-coated figures with strange expressions.

They had traveled with their boss to many places, as far as the prosperous Far Eastern coast. They had seen at least as many shelters as they could count on two hands, but never such a peculiar one.

"What are they doing?"

"Probably building a house."

"Aren't they supposed to live underground?"

"…Maybe they're tired of it?"

"Maybe they found the coats."

Lister, on the other hand, didn't care what these people thought, his face full of impatience.

These country bumpkins were always so curious, always wanting to look at everything, without considering whether it was polite to stare at others.

However, their blue coats were interesting. He had never heard of a shelter near the Linghu Wetland Park.

But from the way they were struggling to build, it seemed to be a small community shelter with a low protection level, typically accommodating 1 to 100 people. Such shelters usually lacked a fully self-sustaining ecosystem and were equipped with only a few hibernation pods.

They must have either run out of food or power, forcing them to come out and seek a living.

Perhaps this would add a new location to his trade map.

Lister thought to himself.

At this moment, Xu Hu had already jogged to the South Gate and said to Chu Guang, who was walking out,

"Brother Chu, I've brought Lister's caravan… be careful."

The scavengers of Bet Street didn't know Lister's full name.

To them, such a big shot was on the same level as the mayor, and wouldn't bother with small talk. Only Brother Chu was more approachable, having lived as a neighbor with them for a while and not turning his back on them after leaving.

"I will be careful."

Chu Guang nodded, indicating that he understood, and then led a few players forward.

Seeing the plot about to unfold, the surrounding players fell silent, and those who didn't were pulled aside by other players.

"I always thought you were a scavenger from Bet Street. It seems I was mistaken," Lister said with a light smile, his tone pleasant. "It looks like I made another good investment."

"I'm glad you think so," Chu Guang gestured for the players to put the burlap bags on the ground, getting straight to the point. "This is the goods you asked for. You can weigh them."

Lister signaled to one of his subordinates.

The man with the electronic eye and mechanical limb understood and stepped forward, extending his alloy right hand to lift the burlap bag. He then turned to his boss and nodded.

Lister's face broke into a pleasant smile.

"Very good, you've kept your promise. It seems my trip wasn't in vain."

He then signaled to a few other subordinates to unload the goods Chu Guang had ordered from the yaks and place them next to the burlap bags containing the blue mushrooms.

The 10KW wood-fired generator was disassembled into parts and packed in two boxes. The other box, about half a person's height, contained the KV-1 power exoskeleton.

"There's a manual in the box. We buy directly from the factory and don't provide assembly services, but we guarantee that every part mentioned in the manual is in the box. You can count them on the spot. The exoskeleton is already assembled, so you can try it out."

Even if he didn't say it, Chu Guang would have done it anyway.

After all, there was no such thing as after-sales service in the wasteland.

First, he checked the generator parts twice with the manual, then took the exoskeleton out of the box and put it on.

The exoskeleton was very light, weighing less than 30 pounds, and looked like a skeleton.

It exposed all the necessary parts and some unnecessary ones, with the only solid parts being the humerus on the arm and a few alloy ribs on the chest.

"You shouldn't expect it to protect you from bullets. The KV-1 power exoskeleton is made of aluminum alloy and a small amount of special steel, known for its lightweight and powerful design. Twelve motors can respond in milliseconds and provide an additional 200 kilograms of load capacity."

"Additionally, it has a 12-hour battery life and an adaptive gait system... of course, these are the basics. You can refer to the manual for more details."

"If you plan to use it in combat, remember to add more steel plates. I've seen mercenaries do this, but it sacrifices some mobility."

Chu Guang read the manual carefully.

In summary, this thing was great for moving bricks, with endurance rated A, burst strength C, and decent mobility. It offered almost no basic protection, but the skeletal design gave users room for imagination, allowing them to weld steel plates or weapons as needed.

It was like a tank's engine and a tractor's chassis.

Perhaps the tank factory produced too many and couldn't sell them, so they modified them and sold them cheaply to mercenaries and laborers.

Chu Guang estimated that the cost of this thing wasn't too high, probably something he could save up for if he worked hard before Xia Yan's downfall.

Chu Guang even began to doubt whether this thing was really worth 800 points.

After all, the tokens issued by Boulder City had strong purchasing power.

"Have you finished testing it? I should remind you that the battery life is only 12 hours. You don't need to keep it on all the time. Turn it off when you're not using it and treat it as a form of exercise," Lister urged, seeing Chu Guang continue to test it.

Every second he stayed here was a cost. Since the transaction was complete, he was ready to leave.

"Finished... I'm quite satisfied," Chu Guang nodded, turned off the power, and took off the exoskeleton.

This thing could be sold to players in the future.

With their creativity, they could find many uses for it.

He planned to organize a caravan to go to Boulder City and buy a batch of these, preferably trading the remaining blue mushrooms for more.

Lister didn't know what Chu Guang was thinking. To him, 20 kilograms of blue mushrooms represented nearly half a month's production from this survivor's base, and it might have cost several lives to obtain.

Trading a wood-fired generator and an exoskeleton for so much was a good deal for him.

"Great cooperation! By the way, do you need anything else? I have some good stuff left. Salt, weapons, and some daily necessities. Take a look, there's bound to be something you can use. Even if you don't, your companions might."

As he spoke, Lister deliberately raised his voice.

However, to his surprise, the surrounding people showed no reaction, still watching with a curious expression.

"What's that NPC saying?"

"Who cares, just watch it like a movie without subtitles."

"Wow, our manager got an exoskeleton!"

"Work hard and try to get him a full set of power armor. Wouldn't that be cooler than an exoskeleton?"

"To be honest, the game's details are really impressive. Player actions drive the game's progress, which in turn promotes the prosperity of the base, and the NPCs' equipment changes accordingly. It's a perfect cycle!"

"Please, the development team, start the beta test soon! I'll go straight to V10!"

Lister's face was full of confusion.

"?"

What were these people saying?

Surely there must be someone interested in what he was selling?

Chu Guang stifled a laugh, cleared his throat, and ended his awkwardness.

"We can discuss the trade further."

"But I don't have many tokens, so I can only trade goods for goods."

"No problem," Lister regained his composure and continued, "bartering is exactly what I'm looking for."

Besides the generator and exoskeleton, Lister's caravan had a lot of other good stuff.

For example, some bolt-action rifles in 9mm or 7mm calibers.

Chu Guang realized that most of the things this guy sold were leftovers and parts from Boulder City's military factories, bought cheaply and modified in small workshops.

For instance, the barrel of the 9mm iron tube rifle was clearly the same model as the 9mm pistol Xia Yan used, even with matching rifling.

The receiver was even more interesting.

The 9mm iron tube rifle's receiver was highly similar to the 9mm pistol, almost the same gas-operated mechanism, except for the missing piston. It was essentially a semi-automatic modified to full-auto, with a longer barrel and a 90-degree bolt.

In game terms, this meant a lower jam rate, improved mid-range accuracy, and a slight increase in mid-to-close range power.

The 7mm iron tube rifle's barrel and receiver were similar to the 7mm assault rifle Xia Yan had repaired, with the same idea of converting automatic to bolt-action and full-auto to single-shot.

For the survivors in the countryside, a high rate of fire wasn't very useful. Cheap, powerful, and easy to use were the top choices for most wastelanders.

After some selection, Chu Guang bought two of each caliber of bolt-action iron tube rifles.

At first, Lister insisted on a price of 200 tokens per rifle, but when Chu Guang revealed the "secret" of these rifles and mentioned that a well-made assault rifle could be bought for 150 tokens in the store, Lister finally gave in.

Incidentally, this price was obtained from Xia Yan.

"You don't know... what we've been through to bring these things from Boulder City! This wasteland is full of mutants and bandits, and I'm only asking for 150 tokens. Is that too much? Not at all!"

"We like doing business with honest people. A 150-token assault rifle on the shelf, its receiver and barrel are worth at most 50 tokens, and your cost? At most 30 or even 20. After all, I don't expect you to use the best parts, probably just leftovers from the production line."

"This is slander!" Lister's face turned red, clearly hit a nerve.

Chu Guang smiled.

"I prefer to call it a rational analysis. By the way, migrating reindeer and hyenas are different. They don't belong here and won't enter the city. They move along the edge of Qingquan City to the southeast. Let me guess... wild animal skins must sell well in your place, right? Why not buy some reindeer skins to take back? You could make a good profit."

If it was just for some junk, there was no need to go north. After all, the city, full of ruins, clearly had more valuable things to scavenge.

Lister's expression stiffened.

"I know, you don't need to tell me."

"Eight reindeer skins for four rifles and 120 rounds of ammunition? I remember you gave me 30 rounds per rifle last time."

"Ha, the price was 200 tokens last time. No way, at least 12!"

"12? You mean hyena skins? If it's reindeer skins, you'll need to add 2 kilograms of coarse salt."

"Who the hell wants hyena skins! You're crazy, more greedy than a vampire!" Lister cursed, but only once.

The wealthy women and young ladies in the inner city always craved beautiful furs and the adventure stories behind them. The big shots also enjoyed using these rare items to show off their grandeur and prestige.

These reindeer skins would definitely be in high demand.

Thinking about this, he finally nodded his proud head.

"I need to see the goods first."

Chu Guang smiled and nodded.

"Sure."