Chapter 111: Buying a Blade

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Buying a Blade

After the first day of the agricultural trade fair ended, the Lords dispersed for various activities. Some went to procure supplies, while others met with friends and family. To ensure the Lords’ safety, the Safe Zone arranged for free hotel accommodations and Guard Teams.

Xiaqing stored the treasures she’d traded for at the hotel. Without applying for protection from the Guard Team, she slung her backpack on and headed out. ’Protection is really just another form of supervision.’ There were many things Xiaqing wanted to do on this trip back to the Safe Zone, and some of them she didn’t want anyone else to know about.

Xiaqing’s first stop was Weapon Street. She entered a nondescript knife shop and placed her large machete on the counter. "Uncle Huo, do you think this can still be repaired?"

The shop owner, a man with a fleshy, fierce-looking face, raised his puffy eyes to glare at Xiaqing. "You’re still alive? What a surprise. A real surprise."

Huo Lei, a Level 4 Strength Evolver, had made his living forging cold iron weapons even before the Natural Disaster, and he continued the trade after. Xiaqing’s machete, slingshot, steel balls, dagger, and even her kitchen knife were all bought or traded for at his shop. For a while after her father passed away, Xiaqing couldn’t even get enough to eat. She had shamelessly come here and pestered him, swinging a sledgehammer for Huo Lei for two months just to get the machete she now carried.

"I went out to farm. My luck was decent. This is some of the grain I harvested a few days ago. Have a taste." Xiaqing smiled and took out two sealed, two-pound bags of wheat and green beans, placing them on the counter. A sticky note with her current phone number was attached to the sealed bags.

Huo Lei swept the grain into a counter drawer with his huge, fan-like hands before he began to examine the blade. "Scratched by an Evolutionary Animal?"

Xiaqing nodded. "Yes. Do you think it can be repaired?"

"The scratches are too deep. Even if I fix it, it won’t be durable. Get a new one." Huo Lei turned and went into the back room, then came out with a long box for a knife and placed it on the counter. "Open it. Take a look."

Xiaqing lifted the lid, and her eyes were immediately captivated. Inside the box lay a set of three matte black knives: one large, one medium, and one small. Having spent a few months forging iron herself, Xiaqing could tell at a glance that this set was at least two grades higher than her old machete.

Xiaqing started to bargain with Huo Lei. "I want all three. Can you give me the employee discount?"

With a cigarette dangling from his lips, Huo Lei immediately started cursing, "What the hell kind of employee are you?! Two thousand points. I won’t sell it for a single point less."

For knives this good, two thousand points was an absolute steal. Xiaqing immediately took out her card and paid the points, thanking him sincerely. "Thank you so much, Uncle Huo."

Huo Lei glared. "Thank me my ass. I’m running a business here. Do I need your thanks? Now that you’ve bought it, hurry up and scram. Stop being an eyesore."

You got it!

Without missing a beat, Xiaqing tucked the smallest knife into her belt, put the other two back in the box, stowed it in her backpack, and turned to leave.

With the cigarette still in his mouth, Huo Lei watched her leave and said fiercely, "Bring me some rice next time you’re back."

Xiaqing looked back and smiled. "Okay. I’m going to get some rice seedlings tomorrow. As soon as I harvest it, I’ll bring some over for you."

After the shop door shut with a CLANG, Huo Lei, a cigarette butt hanging from his lips, actually smiled. His fleshy face was even more terrifying when he smiled than when he didn’t. A young man who poked his head out from the back room was startled by the sight and stammered, "Master, the temperature is ready..."

"What are you shouting for?! I haven’t even warmed my seat yet!" Huo Lei grumbled and cursed, shuffling toward the back room in his straw sandals.

Walking down the street, Xiaqing heard the commotion from the knife shop and a faint smile touched her lips. Uncle Huo’s shop was hot all year round. It was the warmest place in the entire Safe Zone. She then went to hardware and carpentry shops to buy some necessary tools and farm equipment. After dropping everything off at her hotel, she finally headed to her meeting with Xu Juan.

This was a route Xiaqing had chosen in advance.

"Brother Jie, look! Isn’t that Xiaqing?"

"You’re just seeing her now? I saw her this morning when the Lords were entering the city. She was carrying a bag that must weigh dozens of pounds. Who knows how much good stuff she has in there. Brother Jie, we can’t let her get away!"

"Yeah, we have to get our revenge for what happened five months ago!"

Zhao Jie spat viciously. "Go, get a few more guys. I refuse to believe we can’t take her!"

Xiaqing, walking with the crowd under the lights, pretended not to hear Zhao Jie and his gang, and headed straight for an eatery. This restaurant was a gathering place for the General Evolvers who lived on the outskirts of the Safe Zone. After earning points on missions, people would often come here to treat themselves to a meal.

Xiaqing pushed the door open and was immediately hit by a wave of stuffy heat, noise, and the aroma of food.

"Xiaqing, over here!"

Xiaqing passed two groups of people who were silently sizing her up, and entered a private room, shutting the restaurant’s clamor out behind her. "Sister Juan, you’ve been doing well for yourself lately?"

"If it weren’t for your rare visit back, I wouldn’t have splurged on a private room," Xu Juan said, pouring Xiaqing a cup of hot tea. "Why didn’t you ask Shi Du to come join us?"

Shi Du also went on missions frequently, so of course he and Xu Juan knew each other.

Xiaqing took a sip of the tea, which was made with filtered water, and set the cup down. "If you wanted to invite him too, Sister Juan, you should have just called for him back at the mission hall."

Xu Juan laughed out loud. "You’re still as blunt as ever. Are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Mhm," Xiaqing responded. Suddenly, she heard a very familiar voice coming from the adjacent private room. It was Jiang Quan, the head of the Hui San Territory Management Department, and Secretary Wang from Hui Yi Base One, who had been chatting so enthusiastically at the agricultural trade fair today.

"We don’t have enough of the new materials. We can’t achieve full territory-wide signal coverage like the Main Base can." Jiang Quan’s voice was tinged with envy.

Secretary Wang’s voice sounded more cheerful than it had in the afternoon. "We’ve only managed to cover a twenty-five-kilometer radius outside the Safe Zone. Other areas still have to rely on walkie-talkies or satellite phones for connection, just like here at Hui San Base."

"I heard the main research institute has made another breakthrough in new materials research. The Main Base should have full coverage by the end of the year." Jiang Quan’s voice held a probing tone. "Secretary Wang, the production plant for these new materials must be in the planning stages already, right?"

Secretary Wang deftly deflected the question. "Our department is only responsible for territorial affairs. I really don’t know about the progress of the base’s other projects."

Xiaqing picked up her teacup, pondering the new materials they were discussing. ’They must be strong enough to withstand those rodent-like insects. I wonder if a material like that will be sold to the public.’

"Try this pheasant. I caught it on a mission a couple of days ago." After a large, steaming pot of stewed chicken was served, Xu Juan immediately urged Xiaqing to eat.

Xiaqing picked up a piece with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. "Delicious."

Seeing Xiaqing enjoying the food, Xu Juan took a sip of tea and brought up Feng Wen. "After Feng Wen spent all of her brother’s death benefits, she got together with Tang Rui. He’s probably the one who told her to find you. The whole business with the Green Dragon Team and the Tang Family fighting over territory north of the Safe Zone is the talk of the town."

When Xiaqing saw Feng Wen in high heels and perfume that afternoon, she had guessed the woman had found a well-off man to be her meal ticket, but she never expected it would be Tang Rui.

Tang Rui was Tang Zhengsu’s son, and he was notorious for being a womanizing playboy who changed girlfriends faster than he changed clothes. Xiaqing really couldn’t understand what Feng Wen was thinking.

Xu Juan ate her meat with a smirk. "Feng Wen is dreaming of marrying into the Tang Family. She really has learned nothing all these years."