Chapter 89 Sanctuary 3

Chapter 89 Sanctuary 3

In her view, these people could fool others temporarily, but not indefinitely. No one would keep risking their neck if they kept coming up empty-handed.

In other words, zombie kills might spike in the short term, but it wouldn’t make much of a dent in the 50,000 total.

Figuring this out, Su Han tuned out the rest of the chatter and instead focused seriously on finding someone.

Zhong Rui had always been the one who stood out in any crowd. Once he appeared, everyone else faded into the background. Therefore, after doing a quick once-over of the outer circle without spotting her companion, Su Han realized he either hadn’t arrived yet or had gone to the inner circle.

Figuring she might as well scope out the whole place and get a general understanding of the situation, she headed to the entrance.

"Entry fee’s 100 grams of food, and you must leave before 4 p.m.," the guard stopped her.

Su Han shrugged and chucked him a pack of ramen—exactly 100 grams.

The guard nodded and stepped aside. "You’re good."

Su Han entered calmly.

After a quick scan, she noticed a stark contrast between the inner and outer circles. The outer circle resembled a disaster camp, while the inner circle had an almost normal, pre-disaster small-town vibe. Not only were there single-person residences for rent, but shops were also open for business.

Su Han did a quick once-over and spotted a variety of stores—a general store, a small supermarket, a bakery, and even a trading post specializing in bullets and gasoline.

Wooden boards lined the streets, displaying job postings. Some advertised for new employees for merchant caravans, promising good pay and urging folks to sign up.

Folks in the inner circle went about their business looking mostly at ease, rarely showing signs of anxiety or distress.

...Overall, everything was fine—except she still couldn’t find her companion.

Su Han was getting seriously annoyed, wondering where Zhong Rui had run off to. Where the hell was he hiding? Did he ditch the rocket launcher deal or what?!

But there was nothing she could do—he simply wasn’t here. After some thought, she entered the trading post.

"Hello," the greeter flashed her a polite but practiced smile as soon as she stepped in. "Is this your first time shopping here?"

"Yes, first time," Su Han replied, curiously glancing around. The trading post was furnished with solid wood furniture and adorned with a crystal chandelier overhead, looking downright fancy.

"Got it. Right this way," the greeter led the way.

Su Han quickly followed.

Soon, they arrived at a small room in the corner. The greeter stopped and gestured for the customer to enter alone. "Please go in."

Su Han shoved the door open without hesitation.

The room was small, containing only two chairs and an octagonal table. A white-haired old-timer sat on one of the chairs, sipping tea. Seeing someone enter, he greeted kindly, "Have a seat."

Su Han sat down calmly but couldn’t help asking, "What’s with the cloak-and-dagger routine?"

The old man stroked his beard and replied leisurely, "Most buyers prefer to keep their shopping private, so our shop places great emphasis on protecting clients’ privacy."

"No wonder," Su Han nodded in understanding. Then, she got straight to the point. "So what’s the good stuff? Let’s see it."

The old man smiled and handed her a small booklet. "All the products we sell are listed here."

Su Han took it and flipped through, finding illustrations and descriptions that were vivid and detailed—though the sketches were obviously done by hand.

Suddenly, she recalled the job postings she had seen earlier.

Regaining her composure, Su Han asked, "The booklet only lists various bullets and the simplest Type 54 handguns for sale. Don’t you have any other good items?"

"Such as?"

"Timed explosives, RPGs, submachine guns, grenades." Su Han listed four items in one breath.

She thought to herself that if Zhong Rui had accidentally gotten lost, she could always get her hands on RPGs and go wild with the weapons. After all, she didn’t necessarily have to give the rocket launcher to Zhong Rui—if the opportunity arose, she could keep it for herself.

The old man shook his head regretfully. "Apologies, but other items aren’t available for regular sale." For the safety of the shelter, the types of goods they could sell were very limited.

Su Han felt pretty bummed. But at the same time, she realized—it wasn’t that they didn’t have them, just that they weren’t selling them to outsiders.

"I’ve always believed that there’s no deal that can’t be made, only prices that don’t tempt people enough," Su Han said slowly.

"What kind of price can you offer?" The old man was really curious. In fact, certain special customers were indeed worth making exceptions for, but in all his years of work, he had only met one such person. Most people just thought they were special and deserved preferential treatment, when in reality...

"Rice, flour, instant noodles, biscuits, perfume, toothpaste, body wash, toothbrushes, soap—I have some of each, more or less," Su Han replied casually.

Hearing this, the old man’s eyelids twitched, struggling to keep a straight face. He wondered to himself—did she loot some secret stash? Or was she actually a shopper for some big group? How could she have such a variety!

Su Han suddenly grinned widely and asked knowingly, "Do you think it’s worth making an exception?"

The old man gave a bitter smile. "Even so, all I can let you have are grenades."

"Then I’ll take 20 grenades and 70 bullets, Desert Eagle model," Su Han said decisively.

Next, the two haggled fiercely over pricing. By the time they reached an agreement, an hour had passed.

Finally, Su Han said flatly, "Tomorrow at nine in the morning, we’ll exchange goods for payment. No funny business—it won’t benefit anyone." The reason she didn’t complete the transaction immediately was to avoid exposing the existence of her Portable Storage.

"Of course," the old man agreed with a smile.

Su Han waved goodbye and left without another word.

However, as soon as she stepped into the lobby, she spotted a familiar figure.

A chubby man was eagerly escorting Zhong Rui out of a room, bowing and fawning with a beaming smile, as if he were entertaining a deity.

Su Han was dying to know what her companion had bought to receive such VIP treatment.

Perhaps her gaze was too intense, because Zhong Rui seemed to sense it and automatically turned. When their eyes met and he recognized Su Han, the corners of his lips curled slightly as he greeted her, "Just arrived, or about to leave?"

"Finished negotiating, just about to go," Su Han replied.

"Let’s leave together," Zhong Rui said naturally, moving closer before walking side by side with his companion.

They walked in silence.

Once outside the exchange, the two were on the same page and found a quiet corner before starting their quiet talk.

"When did you leave the last virus level?" Su Han asked first.

Zhong Rui thought to himself—what was the point of staying if you weren’t there? "I left after looking around a bit. Saw on the forums—some mentioned a major battle later, but I didn’t get involved."

"That’s good," Su Han sighed in relief before immediately getting to the point. "What did you just buy, and at what price?"

Zhong Rui said casually, "Thirty bundles of timed explosives and fifty grenades. I traded away all the food, daily necessities, and drinks I didn’t want, then threw in some medicine. Right now, medicine is scarce—worth its weight in gold. If you’re willing to trade medicine, anything’s negotiable."

After a pause, he added regretfully, "Too bad they don’t sell rocket launchers. Otherwise, no matter how high the price, I’d have gotten one."

Then he shifted gears, "The good news is, the Portable Storage finally has one empty slot. God knows how long it's been packed full!"

Su Han thought to herself, this poor guy. Several rounds in, and he still hasn't managed to get a rocket launcher.

She turned slightly and tossed out a rocket launcher from her Portable Storage, handing it over casually, "Here, take it."

Zhong Rui, "!!!"

At that moment, his mind went blank except for one thought, "Where did this come from?"

"Bonus for clearing the stage," Su Han replied nonchalantly. "Take it."

Without a rocket launcher, his side gig would be worthless. So Zhong Rui didn't hesitate and accepted it. But occasionally, his eyes would gleam differently when they landed on Su Han.

Dropping his gaze, he pretended nothing had happened and calmly asked, "What about you? What did you buy?"

"20 grenades and 70 compatible rounds," Su Han said with great relief. "Finally, I can clear some inventory! The supplies have been piling up in the Portable Storage for so long, no matter how much I burn through, it never seems to run out. Plus, my Innate Ability triggers irregularly, so I end up getting more supplies than I can use."

It wasn't an exaggeration to say her supplies were nearly overflowing—it was the plain truth. She really didn't want to put on a show of creatively discarding food in a survival game...

After chatting a bit more, the two decided to stay in the outer circle for now—the inner circle was safer, but a pain to move around in.

Paying two boxes of milk as tent rent, Su Han and Zhong Rui scored a temporary spot.

Su Han considered cooking instant noodles, but realizing the strong aroma might start a riot, she abandoned the idea and opted for chocolate cake instead.

**

Night fell.

Residents who had gone out during the day to fetch water, search for food, or scavenge supplies gradually returned. The shelter was hopping, with cooking smoke curling up, creating a lively scene.

After telling her companion, Su Han stepped out of the tent and moseyed around.

But before long...

"I thought you didn’t want to go to the shelter?" A childish voice rang out behind her, sounding both surprised and oddly familiar.

Su Han, "..."

She turned around and, unsurprisingly, saw the little girl she had encountered earlier that day.

"Best-laid plans," Su Han said meaningfully.

The little girl pouted, thinking this chick was weird.

Su Han awkwardly changed the subject, "How did your mission go? Did you succeed?"

"Don’t even mention it," the little girl grumbled. "It technically succeeded, but it might as well have failed."

"How's that?" Su Han raised an eyebrow.

"I lured away all the zombies at the entrance, then quickly checked the situation while the others were still far away," the little girl said, pursing her lips, annoyed. "The house was filled with large barrels. I opened one and found it filled with a pale yellow liquid. Not only did it reek, but it was also undrinkable."

"In other words, total bust," she drooped her head, dejected. "Maybe the place wasn’t hidden at all—just that people found it but couldn’t be bothered, so the stuff was left behind."

At the same time, Su Han went on high alert. Pale yellow liquid, large barrels, reeked... She instinctively thought of diesel.

Author's note: Zhong Rui (earnestly): With you rolling like this, I might just have to wife you up.

Su Han: ...Are you sure you didn’t pick up the wrong script?