After leaving the final fortress, Wang Lan led Sun Muchen toward the market.
There were various stalls on both sides of the market, basically one person per stall, both men and women, sitting listlessly on the ground, with scrap iron, tattered clothes, wild vegetables, matches, and firewood in front of them.
Overall, it's practically a giant junk market.
When Wang Lan appeared in the market carrying a blood-soaked sack, all eyes turned to him.
Some people even raised their heads, swallowing hard, their eyes flashing with malice, as if they were eager to kill and rob. Sun Muchen was so frightened that he grabbed Wang Lan's sleeve tightly and moved even closer.
Wang Lan paused, took out the dagger, and held it in his hand.
"Don't be afraid."
Wang Lan quietly comforted Sun Muchen.
This situation almost always occurs every time I come to the market.
In these chaotic times, even wild vegetables are considered rare delicacies, let alone fresh meat.
The carcass-pecking bird is so ferocious that it can twist a person's head off in one bite and devour a person in just a few bites.
Not everyone has the ability to hunt!
Most people would be terrified at the sight of a corpse-pecking bird, perhaps because the once gentle animal has mutated into a ferocious and brutal beast, stimulating the fear ingrained in human genes.
But for someone with the same vital signs as you, this fear is easily diminished.
Just like how they were staring at Wang Lan like wolves and tigers at that moment.
Wang Lan's gaze was cold and disdainful as she led Sun Muchen straight to a shop whose signboard only contained the character "杂" (meaning "miscellaneous").
An old man inside the house immediately beamed with joy upon seeing Wang Lan enter. He walked over and exclaimed, "Haha, I was wondering why the whole street smelled so tense! Isn't this Little Wang here?!"
Wang Lan put the sack on the ground, too lazy to talk to him, and asked directly, "Where are the books?"
Upon hearing this, the old man immediately went back to the back room and came out a moment later carrying two stacks of books. "Five years of college entrance exams and three years of mock exams, including math, Chinese, foreign languages, and biology, etc. I went through a lot of trouble and dug up countless ancestral graves to find these for you!"
As he spoke, his eyes darted around, and he held up two fingers, chuckling, "Trading two of your chicken wings isn't too much to ask, is it?"
"Not excessive at all!"
Wang Lan answered directly, "It's reasonable to increase investment in order to learn knowledge."
The old man immediately beamed with joy.
But he didn't notice that Sun Muchen was staring at the two stacks of books, gritting his teeth in anger.
Wang Lan took two chicken wings out of the sack and handed them to the old man.
Seeing him smiling so happily, his wrinkles all twisted into a chrysanthemum shape, Sun Muchen said with a forced smile, "Uncle Wang, remember to eat quickly, lest the meat be snatched away by outsiders before you even get a chance to eat it."
"Pah! What a jinx!" The old man's expression immediately changed. "Little girl, you can't speak properly!"
"But it's true."
Wang Lan tied up the burlap sack, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and picked up the books, ready to leave.
"etc."
The old man called them back again.
The two turned around. "Is there anything else?"
The old man walked over and said with a smile, "I heard some good news the other day, which is said to be related to entering the final fortress."
Wang Lan and Sun Muchen exchanged a glance. "Tell me about it."
"It is said that the Final Fortress is going to study a kind of bird, but there has never been a sample of this bird. However, the Final Fortress has released a message that no matter if it is alive or dead, no matter how many people are mobilized, as long as it can be captured, the Eternal Night will be ignored and a spot will be obtained to enter the Final Fortress!"
The brother and sister were taken aback. "Such a good thing?"
“It’s absolutely true,” the old man said with absolute certainty, “but not many people know about it. I only heard about it through special channels.”
Wang Lan pressed further, "What kind of bird is that?"
The old man thought for a moment, "I don't remember the name, but the bird is characterized by its brightly colored feathers and its ability to speak!"
Wang Lan was taken aback and looked at Sun Muchen, "You're well-read, do you know this kind of bird?"
"I'm not good at biology, I'm more into humanities."
Wang Lan, "..."
The old man then said, "Young Wang, I'm only telling you this news. You see, I'm getting old, and the eternal night is almost here. When that time comes, could you..."
"Will they protect you a bit?"
"Ah, yes, yes, yes!"
"No problem!"
Wang Lan grinned.
The old man happily saw Wang Lan and Sun Muchen off, closed the door, and prepared to enjoy his meal.
Walking through the market, Sun Muchen whispered to Wang Lan, "Brother, do you really want to protect him?"
"Of course it's fake!"
Wang Lan spoke frankly and confidently, "Once the Eternal Night is over and you enter the final fortress, he will be of no value to us. Whether he lives or dies is irrelevant. I only agreed to his request because I didn't want him to keep nagging."
"Ugh—" Sun Muchen smacked his lips, "You're really mean!"
"Rolling, rolling, rolling..."
Despite the scolding, Wang Lan still led Sun Muchen into a clothing store.
Wang Lan meant that after the Eternal Night, Sun Muchen would be going to live in the Final Fortress, where he would be of a higher status and could no longer wear shabby clothes, as it would be a loss of face.
Therefore, I must get a few new outfits to make a good impression.
"Isn't this Xiao Wang? Come quick, come quick!"
The shop owner was as strong as an ox, and it was a mystery how he had become so fat and bloated in this chaotic world. But he was overjoyed to see Wang Lan, since the appearance of Wang Lan, a skilled hunter, meant that it was time to have some meat.
Wang Lan threw the sack on the ground with a loud thud. "Boss Niu, there's plenty of meat. I want the best clothes for my sister."
"good!"
Upon hearing this, Boss Niu began carrying clothes out in large and small bags.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
