Chapter 75 Hey handsome, can I leave my contact information?
The voice-based ability user loudly introduced the double-edged sword, making many people in the audience eager to try it out.
The D-class nightmare beast, the Giant Stone Turtle, has an extremely hard shell, comparable to the hardest granite. The key is that only supernatural abilities can cause damage to it; ordinary cannonballs are useless against it.
The giant stone turtle moves very slowly, is about a meter long, and looks like a stone. It usually appears alone and looks like an ordinary stone when it is by the roadside.
When someone approaches, the stone will extend its hard claws, trip the person, and then pin them down with its body.
Don't let their slow walking speed fool you; their minds are surprisingly sharp. They can strike their prey with lightning speed while someone is pinned down by them.
Of course, all of this is under ideal circumstances; generally speaking, it is difficult for giant stone turtles to hunt so successfully.
Because they are naturally slow, even though their brains are much faster than their limbs, they are still slow in the eyes of many superhumans.
Moreover, many people sensed something was wrong just as they were about to trip and attacked.
However, once the giant stone turtle senses something is wrong, it will retract its entire body into its hard shell, making it impervious to ordinary supernatural attacks.
They are very defensive, but their offensive capabilities are too weak, so they can only be rated as D.
It's hard to kill, but it's not very lethal; it just annoys people from time to time, which is really annoying.
Upon hearing that the knife could pierce the shell of the giant stone turtle, almost everyone present was tempted.
Nan Guishang whispered in Shan Ran's ear, "Master Yu Feng is a dual-elemental user of metal and fire, one of the C-level ability users in our safe zone. However, she is only C-level in metal; her fire element seems to be D-level at the moment."
Master Yu Feng is obsessed with using metal-based supernatural abilities to research new metals. She rarely appears in public and spends most of her time in her own laboratory.
She was originally the commander of a small base, but she didn't really manage anything; she just liked making weapons. My mom poached her, built her a lab, and then everyone from her base came over.
Nan Guishang's expression was slightly smug, proud of his mother's exceptional abilities in recruiting talent.
Their safe zone is much better than those top families on the First Continent!
Shan Ran understood. No wonder he could forge such a long sword. It turned out he was a C-level metal-type user with a D-level fire-type user as a secondary ability user.
Nan Guishang noticed the eager glint in Shan Ran's eyes.
"want to?"
Shanran nodded.
At this moment, the shop assistant who had just spoken continued, "Ladies and gentlemen, that's enough of the introduction. Let's begin the auction!"
As soon as he finished speaking, bids poured in from below, and the bidding was fierce.
Shan Ran smiled, her lips curving upwards beneath her mask. She hadn't expected the knife to start bidding right away; her timing was too perfect.
This means the knife must belong to her.
Seeing her determined look, Nan Guishang leaned closer and whispered, "Go ahead and bid. I've hardly used any points; I have plenty."
Shan Ran turned her head to look at him, her eyes sparkling, as if she were looking at her God of Wealth.
She had only been in the safe zone for a short time, and she was still planning what supplies she would use to exchange for them when the God of Wealth delivered himself to her doorstep.
Then she wouldn't stand on ceremony.
We'll exchange it for something else when we get back.
Or maybe give him another kiss to boost his powers even more?
Seeing the girl staring intently at him, Nan Guishang's ears began to burn. He looked away somewhat awkwardly, then turned to the shop assistant next to the display case and began to loudly call out the price.
When Shang Shao made his move, he overwhelmed everyone else and quoted a price that was difficult for others to match.
The scene fell silent.
The shop assistant looked at the two "gods of wealth" with a smile, and was about to make a third decision when suddenly a sentence was interrupted.
"A C-grade nightmare beast's core."
Everyone turned around, and the one who spoke was a man standing on the periphery.
He was surrounded by several people who had just come in from outside.
"Old Zhao, didn't we already agree on this? Why did you start bidding before I even arrived?"
The man who spoke was very tall and burly, bald, with small eyes. Although he was speaking with a smile, there was no hint of a smile in his eyes, and his tone carried a hint of ferocity.
The shop assistant, Lao Zhao, maintained his usual formulaic smile, seemingly unaffected by the other party's attitude. "Captain Cai, the time was announced in advance, and everyone here arrived early. If we keep you waiting too long, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me."
The bald man snorted coldly, showing no intention of continuing the pursuit.
After all, someone who can set up a weapons shop here must be someone with powerful connections; they shouldn't be offended lightly.
"I have a C-grade nightmare core here. Although it doesn't have as many points as theirs, its total value is much higher."
There are few C-level ability users now, and the number of C-level monsters is also very small. Even if you encounter one, you may not be able to kill it.
Moreover, once a monster reaches rank C, its intelligence clearly increases; if it can't win, it will run away, making it no easy task to hunt one.
People are now developing ways to use crystal cores. In addition to directly consuming them, they can also be used in construction, forging, and many places even use crystal cores as currency.
Master Yu Feng's longsword contained a C-grade crystal core.
At this moment, hushed discussions could be heard from the crowd.
"Oh no, these two have run into a tough opponent. The captain of the Night Squad is not someone to be trifled with."
"That was close! I was bidding right in front of that red-haired guy, and I almost ran into Cai Siling. Oh, his sister is here too. These siblings are no pushovers."
"Let's fight! Let's fight! Let's fight..."
"That's enough, Lao Niu. Stop looking like you're enjoying the show, haha. Do you think the staff at the trading market are pushovers?"
"Hey! You don't even need to tell me. With Old Zhao in charge, who would dare to make a move? I just like to watch the show and have some fun, hehe."
"......."
Having overheard most of the conversation around her, Shanran finally understood the identities of the people at the door.
The bald man who just spoke is the team leader, Cai Siling, and the girl with bangs next to him must be his sister.
Shan Ran has only been here a short time and has never heard of this team.
Nan Guishang had heard of them, as they were a well-known team in the safe zone. However, he only interacted with official teams and had no contact with any spontaneously organized teams outside. His knowledge of the Night Squad came solely from the forums.
“That bald guy’s name is Cai Siling,” Nan Guishang whispered to Shan Ran. “His sister next to him is Cai Sihan. One of them has a dark ability, and the other has a very rare weather ability.”
Weather-related?
Shan Ran sighed inwardly.
This ability is extremely rare; it can alter the weather within a certain area.
When the level is low in the early stages, the range is small. But once you reach a high enough level, wouldn't you be able to change the weather of an entire area?
If that's the case, coupled with the emergence of wood-type ability users, the plant group's experiments will definitely progress rapidly.
Thinking of this, Shanran's eyes lit up.
Noticing Shan Ran's gaze, Cai Sihan looked over, frowning as she sized Shan Ran up and down. Chewing her gum, she impatiently shifted her gaze to Nan Guishang beside her.
Nan Guishang wore a hat and a mask, unlike Shan Ran who wore sunglasses; his eyes were also visible.
His pupils were a light brown, his eyebrows and eyes were clear, but there was an untamed spirit in his eyes that was hard to hide. His high nose bridge pushed the mask up in a smooth arc.
Cai Sihan's eyes lingered on Nan Guishang, which annoyed him greatly, and he frowned and glared back.
Unexpectedly, the man's behavior did not deter Cai Sihan at all; instead, it made her smile with a playful expression.
After weighing the options, Lao Zhao determined that Cai Siling's offer was of higher value, so he prepared to make the final decision.
At this moment, the girl who had been silent next to the red-haired man spoke up.
"I'll add two C-grade Nightmare Beast Cores."
As she spoke, she rummaged through her things, as if she had just taken two C-grade crystal cores out of her pocket.
The onlookers erupted in uproar.
The bustling weapons shop attracted many people, including those who weren't buying weapons. The shop was packed with people, and even the area outside was surrounded by crowds.
Upon hearing that the girl could produce two C-grade crystal cores, the crowd became even more excited.
"Wow, wow! This girl is amazing! I've never even seen a D-level nightmare beast, and she can produce two C-level crystal cores!"
"Truly, heroes emerge from among the young! No, they emerge from among the young women!"
"A boy can also be expressed as a girl."
"Mind your own business! I just want to emphasize that this is a young girl, is that not allowed?"
"Who is this? I've never seen him before. Why is he covered up so tightly? Let me see him!"
"They're here to bid. If they don't cover themselves up properly, they'll have the Night Squad reporting them when they get back."
"Sigh, that's right. This girl has messed with the Night Squad. She's really messed with a hornet's nest."
Old Zhao took the C-grade crystal core handed to him by Shan Ran, examined it carefully, and after confirming that there were no problems, continued to host the event with a smile.
"This young lady has the highest bid so far. Are there any other bidders? If not, this double-edged sword belongs to her!"
When Cai Siling heard Lao Zhao say that there was no problem with the crystal core, she knew that she had no chance.
He gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at the couple.
A few days ago, their team found out about a location with a C-level nightmare beast. They went there to ambush it for two days. He and his sister fought with all their might, with one member dying and two others seriously injured, before they finally killed the C-level nightmare beast and obtained its crystal core.
Their team was quite large, and the brother and sister were not exactly disciplined people. They usually spent a lot of points, and in order to win the auction, they specifically planned this hunting operation as a precaution.
After their hard work, they received some basic treatment from the healing team and then went to the weapon shop. Unexpectedly, someone was able to produce two C-grade crystal cores!
Even though he was unwilling, he could only watch helplessly as Old Zhao accepted the crystal core and then handed over the double-edged sword.
Just as the two were about to leave and brushed past the night patrol team, Cai Siling spoke up: "Little girl, see you later."
Shan Ran glanced at the bald man, said nothing, and simply nodded.
Before they could take two steps, someone stopped them.
To be precise, they blocked the merchants returning from the south.
Cai Sihan chewed her gum and whistled at Nan Guishang.
"Hey handsome, can I have your contact information?"
Nan Guishang took a step back in disgust to avoid getting too close to the other party before uttering two words.
"Get out of here."
Upon hearing this, the people following behind Cai Siling all surrounded them, keeping a close eye on the couple.
Cai Siling didn't say anything, she just stared coldly at the two of them.
Cai Sihan sneered, walked up to the red-haired man, looked up at him, and curled her lips into a cruel smile. "Your eyes are quite beautiful. I wonder if they would look even better if you gouged them out and kept them at home as a keepsake?"
Her voice was very soft; only those around her could hear it.
"you....."
Nan Guishang was about to make a move, his face full of anger, when Shan Ran stopped him.
She walked up to Cai Sihan, looked down at her, and said loudly, "What? You can't win the bid, so you want to come and snatch it from me?"
The girl's voice was loud enough for everyone around to hear.
The crowd's attention was already focused on this, and upon hearing this, they immediately erupted in uproar.
"Have the Night Squad become this arrogant now? They dare to make a move right here in the trading market?"
"There's no way around it, the Cai siblings are riding high right now. The younger sister is a weather-type, controlling the local weather. When it's cloudy and gloomy, visibility is poor, and that's when the older brother's dark-type can come into play. The combination of the siblings is just too amazing."
"Tch, even if they're strong, can they be stronger than our Shanran?"
"That's not the case. Shan Ran could take on both of them with one hand!"
Merchant returning from the south: Your family? Whose family are you?
Shan Ran, who was inexplicably mentioned, subconsciously pulled her mask up a little, covering her face even more tightly.
Old Zhao pushed through the crowd and came over.
"Captain Cai, we're all just doing business peacefully, there's no need to make a scene like this."
Cai Siling frowned. He was only angry that the woman had taken the knife he wanted, but he didn't intend to make things difficult for her here.
Fighting is prohibited in the trading market. The staff have all gathered around. What could have driven him to cause trouble here?
But he knew his sister's temper all too well. She was impulsive, easily angered, and irritable. She would do anything to get what she wanted, and she wanted the person she wanted even more. If she couldn't get them, she would be obsessed with them and would rather destroy them than let go. She had always been like this since she was a child.
But not here, not now.
Cai Siling glanced at her younger sister, signaling her to stop making a fuss.
The brother and sister were of one mind, and the sister quickly understood, but she was still angry.
How dare this man refuse her!
Seeing that her younger sister still looked unwilling, Cai Siling had no choice but to step forward and pull her behind her.
"Old Zhao, you've misunderstood. We didn't mean anything by it. We just wanted to get to know this young lady. After all, someone who can produce two C-grade crystal cores must be no ordinary person."
"Excuse me, miss, could you please remove your mask so we can see you?"
Shan Ran didn't even glance at him, and said indifferently, "No need, I have other things to do, I'm leaving."
After saying that, she pulled Nan Guishang, who was still furious, along with him as they left the weapons shop.
The commotion had already attracted the attention of law enforcement officers at the trading market, who recognized Nan Guishang and Shan Ran while scanning their identities.
Seeing the confusion here, he came over to guide them and led them out of the trading market through another passage.
Cai Siling stood there stunned, not expecting the other party to be so disrespectful to him.
But by the time he realized what was happening and chased after them, the two had already vanished.
After the crowd finished watching the spectacle, they gradually dispersed, leaving only the small group of night travelers behind.
Cai Sihan stood on tiptoe and looked around, trying to find the red-haired man.
She hadn't even seen what the man looked like, how could she be willing to accept that?
Just as her younger sister was about to dash out, Tsai Szu-ling grabbed her in time.
"Xiaohan, go back first!"
"But brother..."
"Enough!" Cai Siling interrupted her sister, pulled her close, and said through gritted teeth, "I won't let them get away with this."
Cai Sihan finally calmed down. The image of imprisoning and tormenting that man flashed through her mind, and she laughed happily.
But soon, her laughter stopped and she let out a scream.
She stretched out her hand and saw the sticky, sweet-smelling, and steaming substance on it, which made her yell a few more times in anger.
"What is this thing? How did it get in my pocket? Who put it in? Who was it??"
She shook her hands to get rid of the sticky stuff, but it wouldn't come off. Her pants pocket was also sticky, with a hot mochi lying inside. After she stirred it up, the filling came out and became even stickier.
Her pants were filthy, even though they were her favorite pants! Clothes are so expensive these days!
"Aaaaaah, who is it?! I'm going to kill him!!!"
The merchant from the south had already left the trading market. He scratched his ear, feeling as if he had heard some unpleasant howling.
Did you hear anything?
Shan Ran smiled, her face revealing an inscrutable expression.
"Perhaps it was that woman who was just flirting with you, who suddenly had a hot, sticky mochi in her pocket."
"Huh? What?"
Nan Guishang didn't understand. Later, when he was packing up the bags in his hands, he felt that something was missing, but he couldn't remember what it was.
Shan Ran didn't explain further and led Nan Gui Shang Chao in the opposite direction.
The further you go, the more people there are on the street, and their clothes become dirtier and filthy. People's spirits are noticeably lower than those of the people you saw before.
It wasn't until you left the western district, passed through the inner city walls, and arrived at the outer city that you could see an even greater difference.
Unlike other bases, the safe zone has accepted many ordinary people, with the proportion of ordinary people in the outer city being much higher than that in the inner city.
The outer city is also divided into four districts: east, south, west, and north.
This area is larger, and because it was built around the inner city, the buildings are more dispersed.
Unlike the inner city, the houses here are scattered in patches, and the buildings are not very tall.
The construction of high-rise buildings in the inner city is very troublesome. At present, it has not been fully popularized inside the city, and the outside cannot be taken care of for the time being.
Moreover, there are even more people in the outer city, with new people pouring in every day, and the construction of houses cannot keep up with the growth of the population.
Many people were crammed into a large dormitory or a makeshift shed where families or friends lived together, and even people who were not very familiar with each other squeezed together.
There are also trading markets in the outer city, where the rent is very low, just to provide people with a safe place to trade.
But even with such a small number of points, many people don't have them and can only trade them privately.
Transactions between acquaintances are fine, but transactions between strangers depend on luck.
If you're lucky, you'll encounter honest people; if you're unlucky, you'll encounter sellers who renege on their debts or buyers who try to get something for nothing—these are common occurrences.
Not long after Shan Ran and her companion entered the outer city, someone began to stare at them.
The reason is simple: the two of them were dressed too cleanly.
Some people in the outer city don't even have the ability to earn points.
They were mostly ordinary people with weak bodies.
The apocalypse stopped the progression of deadly diseases in ordinary people, but it did not completely eliminate them. Their health was already poor before the apocalypse, and they still carried the diseases after the apocalypse, and their bodies could not recover to their best condition.
However, those who have survived to this day are considered to be in relatively good health.
Those in more serious situations don't even have the strength to escape, so there's no chance they'll be found and rescued by the safe zone.
After these individuals pass the screening and are determined to be incapable of earning points, the safe zone will provide them with meals twice a day to ensure their survival.
But that's all.
In this world, the majority of the upper class disregard the lives of ordinary people. People like Lu Wenrou, who still care about the vulnerable people under the harsh conditions of the apocalypse, are extremely rare.
When Shan Ran and Nan Guishang arrived at the outer city trading market, it was already past three in the afternoon, just as the second relief meal was being served at the entrance.
The number of people queuing at the entrance far exceeded Shanran's expectations.
The screening process in the safe zone is very strict; anyone with even a little bit of ability to earn points is not allowed to come and receive relief food.
Therefore, most of the people here are the elderly, children, and some able-bodied men and women who are not in good health.
They all looked unwell. Some were helping each other walk, while others stood alone in the crowd, their eyes blank as they held their rice bowls.
The older people seemed to be more optimistic.
Apart from the safe zone, no other base would take them in. It's already a stroke of luck that they've survived until now and their serious illnesses haven't worsened.
Every extra day we live is a bonus.
A group of children were standing at the end of the line.
These children were dressed very simply, even in tattered clothes.
They are generally eight or nine years old, or possibly older, but malnutrition makes them appear younger.
The children were emaciated, with sallow skin, and their large eyes gleamed with fear. They looked around anxiously, seemingly unable to adapt to their new environment.
Shan Ran stopped and looked at them, a scene that touched her slightly.
She originally came to visit the safe zone, but was chased by a C-level monster and decided to stay here temporarily, using it as a temporary shelter.
But for these people, it is a real sanctuary.
As the procession moved forward, a child, lost in thought and with his head down, failed to notice what was happening. The starving people behind him couldn't resist shoving him, and the child was about to fall.
Just as Shan Ran was about to step forward to help, a figure quickly arrived beside the group, steadied the child to prevent him from falling, and even patted the dust off his clothes.
The person had their back to Shan Ran, and had long, golden hair tied in a low ponytail. They looked very familiar.
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