Chapter 216 What to Buy?

Chapter 216: Chapter 216 What to Buy?

The truck continued speeding toward the fortress while Ling Xuan quietly observed the road ahead. The closer they got, the thicker the smoke became, and from time to time, several monsters could be seen wandering along the highway. Most of them were feeding on the corpses scattered on the road, while a few immediately raised their heads after hearing the approaching vehicles.

"Three approaching from the left!" One of the soldiers shouted.

Gabriel immediately moved toward the firing port and raised his rifle. The soldiers beside him did the same, and several gunshots echoed from the truck as the first monster fell. The remaining two continued running after them, but the second vehicle quickly opened fire and forced them back.

Ling Xuan didn’t pay much attention to them. Compared to the monsters they had encountered underground, these weren’t enough to make her worried. What bothered her more was the situation inside the fortress. From this distance, she could already hear continuous explosions and gunshots coming from the valley, which meant the battle was far worse than Laurel originally thought.

’Laurel, how long do you need?’

"Give me a minute. I’m checking the trade section."

’You said that already.’

"Do you think I’m buying vegetables? The system has so many things, and half of them cost enough to make me bankrupt!"

Ling Xuan frowned slightly. ’Just choose something that can kill those beasts.’

"That’s what I’m trying to do."

Ling Xuan didn’t reply again. She knew Laurel cared a lot about the crops and supplies they had accumulated, but right now, keeping them wouldn’t mean anything if the fortress was destroyed.

She looked toward Gabriel. "How much ammunition is left in this truck?"

Gabriel quickly checked with the others before answering, "Not much. Most of us have around five magazines, and there are two boxes of grenades. The second truck should have about the same."

Ling Xuan nodded. It wasn’t enough.

There were only around thirty soldiers returning with them, and judging from the sounds coming from the fortress, there were probably hundreds of monsters attacking the valley. Even if the soldiers were well trained, sending thirty exhausted men directly into such a battlefield would only increase the casualties.

Her gaze slowly moved toward the sword beside her.

"Commander, there is another one ahead!"

Ling Xuan looked up and saw a large four-legged beast standing in the middle of the highway. Its body was covered with black hair, while several bone-like spikes protruded from its back. The moment it saw the approaching truck, it lowered its body and rushed toward them.

The driver instinctively moved his hand toward the steering wheel, intending to avoid it.

"Keep driving straight," Ling Xuan ordered.

The driver hesitated. "But Commander..."

"Straight."

"Yes!" He gritted his teeth and stepped harder on the accelerator.

The monster continued charging toward them. Just as the distance between them shortened, Ling Xuan stood and opened the small side hatch. Gabriel immediately understood what she intended to do. "Commander, it’s too close."

"I know." Ling Xuan pulled out her sword. The moment the monster jumped toward the front of the truck, she leaned outward and swung her sword. A dark purplish light briefly appeared around the blade before cutting directly through the creature’s neck.

Black blood splashed across the side of the vehicle as the monster’s body rolled beneath them. The truck shook violently, but the driver managed to keep it steady.

Ling Xuan calmly wiped the blood from her sword before sitting down again.

Gabriel stared at her for a moment before looking away. He had seen her fight several times now, but he still couldn’t understand how someone could look so calm after almost throwing herself out of a moving truck.

Inside the farming space, Laurel didn’t have time to pay attention to what Ling Xuan was doing.

Several translucent panels floated in front of her while Luo stood beside her, occasionally moving his small head from one screen to another.

[Grade D Explosive Energy Rifle]

[Grade C Beast Piercing Cannon]

[Grade C Portable Plasma Cannon]

[Grade B Defensive Energy Dome]

[Grade C Automatic Energy Turret]

Laurel frowned as she continued scrolling through the available items. Most of the weapons were extremely expensive, and some required materials she had never even heard of.

"Why does everything cost so much?"

Luo looked at her. "Master Laurel, these are weapons from another dimension. Of course they wouldn’t be cheap."

"I know that, but five hundred thousand grams of crops for two weapons?" She opened the description again.

[Grade C Automatic Energy Turret]

[Effective Range: 1.5km]

[Automatic hostile-lifeform detection.]

[Energy Source: Beast Core / System Energy Core.]

[Package: Automatic Energy Turret ×2 + Energy Core ×20]

[Exchange Requirement: 500,000g Grade C Crops + 600 Coins.]

Laurel stared at the price for a long time. Five hundred thousand grams sounded terrifying, but after thinking about the amount of crops stored inside the space, she knew they could afford it. The purple room and expanded farmland had increased their harvest significantly, and they still had crops growing outside.

The problem was that she hated spending so much at once. "Can this thing distinguish between humans and monsters?"

[Yes.]

"What about infected people?"

[Infected organisms are classified as hostile lifeforms.]

"Awakened humans?"

[Classified as humans unless hostile targeting is manually activated.]

Laurel became thoughtful. "How powerful is it compared to the weapons Alexander made using the meteor rocks?"

The system remained silent for several seconds before another notification appeared.

[Calculating...]

[Current fortress meteor-based weapon technology is incomplete.]

[Grade C Automatic Energy Turret possesses approximately 278% greater penetration capability.]

Laurel’s eyes widened slightly. That was much stronger than she expected. She looked at the price again before closing her eyes painfully. "Buy it."

[Would Host like to confirm the exchange?]

"Yes." She muttered under her breath.

Ding!

[Trade successful.]

[500,000g Grade C Crops deducted.]

[600 Coins deducted.]

[Grade C Automatic Energy Turret ×2 obtained.]

[Energy Core ×20 obtained.]

Laurel looked toward the storage area as though she could somehow see the crops disappearing from there. "My crops..."

Luo quietly moved closer. "Master Laurel, crops can be planted again."

"I know." She said with a tired sigh.

"Then why do you look like someone died?" Luo tilted his head almost as if he was mocking her.

Laurel turned toward him.

Luo immediately took two steps backward raising his hands in surrender. "I was just asking."