77

Gao Shuai, staggeringly carrying a 25-kilogram bag of rice, knocked on the iron door of the scrap yard.

The metal door creaked open, and the scrap yard owner stood behind it, cautiously sizing up the tall, skinny, scoundrel-looking boy before him. "What do you do?"

"Wow, uncle, you finally opened the door. My hands were almost peeling from knocking. Now, I want to get some scrap from you. I won't take it for free. I'll give you rice in exchange." Gao Shuai said with a warm smile, putting down the bag of rice on his shoulder.

Then he diligently opened the rice bag and rummaged through the rice with his hands. "Look, this is real Northeastern pearl rice. It smells delicious when cooked!"

"You said you wanted to exchange rice for scrap from me?" the boss asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Yeah!" Gao Shuai nodded vigorously.

"No, are you crazy?" The boss was even more confused.

In Donghai City, which was hit by natural disasters, the food crisis became more and more serious. More and more refugees starved to death because of lack of food. This silly boy actually exchanged rice with him for scraps, and he offered 25 kilograms at a time.

"How much scrap do you want to exchange for me?" the boss asked tentatively.

It’s not that he thinks this pile of scrap metal is more useful than rice. After all, he has several large warehouses full of things. If the natural disaster is over, he still has to rely on this pile of junk to make a living.

Gao Shuai waved his hands casually. "I can't change much. I'll just take a look and take whatever I can use. Look, I don't drive, so how much can I carry with just two hands?"

Just when the boss was still hesitating, Gao Shuai walked up to him and said sincerely, "Don't think about it, just sell it to me. Uncle, uncle, I beg you!"

Finally, the boss waved his hand impatiently and motioned him to go and get it.

"Thank you, uncle. Thank you so much. Let me kowtow to you!" Gao Shuai said cheerfully, "Uncle, do you need a son?"

"Take it and leave quickly. I don't want to see you. You're really noisy." The boss said speechlessly.

The scrap in his warehouse is really just a pile of scrap. Now that the natural disaster is coming, the previous owner doesn't want it anymore, so he has nothing to lose.

If this silly boy wants it, just give it to him. Besides, he really can't take much.

As soon as the boss finished speaking, he carried the rice and ran back upstairs to eat noodles. He had just made boiled noodles, and if he didn't eat them now, they would become clumpy.

Gao Shuai watched his boss go upstairs, raised his hand to salute, then walked to the scrap warehouse and began scanning frantically.

One piece of scrap after another was scanned and turned into the metal, cloth and bioplastic needed to upgrade the shelter ship. He could finally upgrade to a fourth-level shelter ship. Awesome!

Just then, there was another knock on the iron door.

"Who is it?" the boss upstairs asked impatiently.

"Uncle, I want to exchange scrap with you. Would you like to do so?" said a young man outside the door.

Gao Shuai's expression instantly became serious.

Tao Sai immediately leaned against the iron plate next to the beam, keeping his eyes and ears open, carefully searching for his target.

She had clearly seen the muzzle of the gun spewing sparks just now, but when she rushed in instantly, there was nothing there. How was this possible?

Unless the target is invisible.

If the other party possessed similar invisibility skills as Tang Yingxue and no longer reflected visible light, then Tao Sai would not be able to see him with the naked eye.

But there is a way. Tao Sai quietly equipped himself with the skill [Energy Perception] and then activated it.

Radar-like light patterns spread out in circles, and the energy fluctuations within the detection range were clearly displayed in Tao Sai's consciousness. Although the sensing range was as long as 20 kilometers, the clarity of perception actually began to decline after 1 kilometer.

However, Tao Sai was sure that the target must be within 1 kilometer away from her. As long as he used his skills, Tao Sai could instantly lock the target's position.

However, the energy ripples spread out in circles, at least within close range, without any abnormal fluctuations. The target hadn't used the invisibility skill, yet had magically vanished.

There are two possibilities. One is that the player really left, and the other is that he did not use any skills during this period and secretly hid in the dark.

Tao Sai had no intention of attacking him. She treated him as an ordinary neutral player. She thought that both parties would tacitly pretend to be ignorant of each other and leave after getting what they needed.

But he had the murderous intention first and shot her companion to death.

He broke the delicate balance and deliberately provoked a war, which ignited a strong desire for revenge in Tao Sai's heart, but the target of her revenge slipped away right under her nose.

"Sister Sai, are you okay?" He Zhaonian got up from the ground and ran to the bottom of the warehouse and asked nervously.

The previous accident made He Zhaonian learn to be very careful. He held the skill [Dispersion] tightly in his hand. If he was attacked again, he would disperse himself into the air as soon as possible.

Tao Sai was still afraid that their conversation would be eavesdropped, so he chose to speak in the alliance channel.

[Cx330 (Lv4)]: I can't sense his location. He must be hiding in the scrap yard. It's not safe here. We have to evacuate quickly.

[Three Feet of Life (Lv3)]: Okay, then let’s go to other scrap yards!

After reaching a consensus, Tao Sai jumped down from the beam and looked back at the huge scrap yard, feeling an indescribable weirdness.

After exiting the iron gate, Tao Sai and the other two quickly ran to a secluded area. Without stopping, they activated [Space Warp] and traveled to the electronics city, more than ten kilometers away. The two locations were roughly one in the east and one in the southwest of the city, so even if someone was secretly observing them, the distance would certainly be enough to avoid them.

"Sister Sai, what's going on?" He Zhaonian breathed a sigh of relief and was finally able to communicate normally.

Tao Sai shook his head gravely. "I don't know. In that scrapyard, I felt like I was being watched. There was this inexplicable sense of oppression. I can't put my finger on it. It was like I was being enveloped by something."

He Zhaonian couldn't help but take a breath. The other party must be no simple person, as even Sister Sai could feel oppressed.

"How did we happen to meet other players?" He Zhaonian asked.

"After finishing Season 1, many players should have reached the requirements for level 4. What they lack is materials, so it is natural for them to come to the scrap yard to exchange materials. Donghai City is one of the few safe cities in the country, so meeting players is not a coincidence." Tao Sai analyzed.

"Then Sister Sai, let's get the supplies as soon as possible and then return to the ship." He Zhaonian nodded in agreement. He felt that nowhere was safe now, and everyone seemed to want to snipe him.

In fact, he had relaxed for a while because of the death of the player's public enemy, but after Hailan was attacked and killed by a mysterious murderer, a shadow was completely cast on this world where virtual and reality are intertwined.

Even a player of Hailan's level can be killed in one blow, let alone a shrimp with average combat power like him. In short, it is better to be safe than sorry. Whenever he goes out, he always keeps his life-saving skill [Diffusion] firmly in his hand.

Tao Sai was silent for a while, with a cold light flashing in his eyes. This matter was not over yet.

The distance was far enough that the player at the scrapyard could be ignored for now, but they still had to be wary of other players entering Donghai City. With the appearance of Cao Yu and Hai Lan's true killer, the relationship between players had become strange. They might share a common hatred and discuss everything on the world channel, but in real life, they were wary of each other. Players from different alliances could never be honest with each other, and even those in the same alliance might backstab each other.

But there is no need to worry too much. After leaving the shelter ship, the players are actually no different from ordinary people. As long as they do not use supernatural skills and do not reveal themselves in their words and actions, they will not be recognized even if they pass by other players.

The three of them carefully entered the electronics city street.

Most electrical appliance stores are still closed because the power outage has affected Donghai City. Donghai's power supply basically relies on submarine cables, and electricity is transmitted from inland. But a few days ago, a swarm of insects destroyed the inland power station, causing the entire island city to fall back into the era of no electricity.

Without electricity, electrical appliances naturally lose their value.

However, not all electrical appliance stores were closed, and a few were selling generators, which was the only item that still had a chance to be sold.

Diesel generators are no longer available because diesel is unavailable. The only products still selling are solar panels and wind turbines, along with their accompanying batteries.

But it is actually very difficult to do so. In this extraordinary period of natural disasters and the end of the world, residents generally realize that food is the most precious commodity, and it is not very cost-effective to exchange food for generators.

"What? You're going to exchange a rotten cabbage for my photovoltaic panels? Are you fucking dreaming? Get out of here!" Lao Zeng roared almost hysterically and drove out the man in front of him who was carrying cabbage.

"If you don't want to change it, then don't change it. What the hell are you going to do?" The man was pushed to the side of the road and staggered, shouting back.

"My photovoltaic panels are rotting in the warehouse, but I would rather not sell them to someone like you who doesn't know the value of them! Get lost!" Lao Zeng closed the glass door in frustration.

These solar photovoltaic panels are of the highest quality, using cutting-edge monocrystalline silicon technology and boasting a very high photoelectric conversion rate. If he hadn't already saved enough for his own home, he would never have been willing to sell them.

The key point is that their family’s food reserves are too small. He has spent all the capital for opening a store on goods. When it is time to stock up, he does not have much money to stock up. The home appliances in the store cannot be sold, so he originally wanted to sell photovoltaic panels.

But these guys are simply taking advantage of the situation. Some of them took several kilograms of rice, some took more than a dozen tubes of bananas, and now someone is even trying to target him with a rotten cabbage!

The more Lao Zeng thought about it, the angrier he got. He decided not to sell it anymore and not take this humiliation! If I'm going to be hungry, then I'll be hungry. The sooner I die of starvation, the sooner I'll be reborn!

He was about to pull down the shutter door when three young people, two men and one woman, suddenly came in. One of the girls asked, "Boss, do you have any photovoltaic panels for sale?"

Tao Sai considered the question carefully before opening his mouth. Simply asking about photovoltaic panels would not reveal the player's identity, because after a major power outage, not only the players, but everyone would need a generator. Photovoltaic panels are different from waste materials, which are almost only collected by players, so they are easy to be exposed.

"Just tell me what you want in exchange." Lao Zeng looked gloomy.

He didn't have any hope at all. It was nothing more than taking advantage of the situation and using some tattered food to entertain him.

If they dared to take a rotten potato, he would probably hit them out with a stool!

He Zhaonian opened the backpack he had prepared in advance to conceal his identity, took out a 1-kilogram bag of self-raising flour from the [warehouse], and waved it in front of Lao Zeng.

"This is a 2-pound bag of flour, self-raising flour. No yeast is needed. After mixing with warm water, the flour will ferment on its own. One bag can be used to steam a lot of steamed buns." He Zhaonian said.

When Lao Zeng saw the flour package, he perked up a bit; it was decent. But he didn't show it too obviously. If he got too excited about the flour, it would be hard to bargain for the price.

"This thing is okay, isn't it?" Lao Zeng said, craning his neck to see what else was in He Zhaonian's backpack. "Nothing else?"

He Zhaonian quickly and tactfully turned to the other side to avoid his gaze. His true identity must not be exposed. They were not meant to be suckers, so they would use as little supplies as possible.

"Of course there are, but we also have to first check the quality of your photovoltaic panels, and then discuss how to replace them," said Tao Sai.

"Don't worry about my photovoltaic panels, they are of first-class quality and use the latest technology..." Lao Zeng boasted and praised his photovoltaic panels to the sky.

Tao Sai naturally had reservations about the merchants' boasting. If he wanted to buy the most cost-effective product, he would have to haggle back and forth several times.

Tao Sai insisted on inspecting the goods, and Lao Zeng readily took her to the warehouse. He removed the foam and cardboard, revealing the photovoltaic panels covered in protective film. Tao Sai knelt down and touched them. Of course, she couldn't tell whether they were good or bad, but she just wanted to put pressure on the boss.

"One bag of flour for ten square meters of photovoltaic panels." Tao Sai first gave a price.

Hearing this, Lao Zeng waved his hand firmly. "No, no, no, at most three square meters. Sister, take a good look at this. These are the best single-crystal silicon photovoltaic panels! You don't know much about photovoltaic panels, right? If you don't believe me, check it out online and make sure you recognize my brand."

"Boss, can you make it cheaper? We buy a lot, so let's just give you a wholesale price." He Zhaonian said in a gentle tone.

"No matter how much you buy, you will lose a lot of money, young man." Lao Zeng's attitude remained firm.

"Hey, boss, think about it. It's the end of the world. What's the point of talking about whether you make a loss or not? Filling your stomach with food is more important than anything else." He Zhaonian continued to persuade.

Tao Sai stood up from his squatting position and sighed, "I took a look. Your photovoltaic panels are indeed good, but we can't just look at the quality. As for the price, we should compare prices. Let's go to other places first and ask. If they are not as good as yours, we will come back."

She signaled to He Zhaonian, who understood immediately and followed quickly.

"Hey! Wait a minute." Lao Zeng took the initiative to call them.

"Girl, if you go to other places, you will definitely be ripped off. I am an honest man. I have been in this business for decades and have a good reputation throughout the street. Why don't you buy from me? I will charge you five square meters. How about that?"

"We really bought a lot," said Tao Sai.

Lao Zeng hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and made a firm decision: "Okay, eight square meters is eight square meters!"

"Hey, Xiao He, are the two stores at the corner of the street open?" Tao Sai turned around and asked.

"Ten square meters, ten square meters! I'm so impressed!" Lao Zeng breathed rapidly, his hands on his hips, his heart bleeding. He then asked, "How many square meters do you want?"

The price was finally brought down, and Tao Sai breathed a sigh of relief. Then he pointed to the area and said, "I want all the photovoltaic panels you have here."