With Harry's shouts echoing through the air, over a hundred men emerged from various mine shafts, their muscular bodies covered in black soot and grime, exposed in the fading sunset. Their massive masculine features swung heavily between their legs as they walked.
In this era, clothing was a precious commodity. A decent set of clothes often cost several tons of coal, and no one would waste their coal on such luxuries. What they lacked was food. In their minds, trading for food was the only sensible option.
Cart after cart of coal was pulled out by their strong, powerful arms. The amount each man mined varied, but most averaged around five hundred kilograms. Some managed seven or eight hundred, while others barely scraped together three to four hundred.
Even as they gritted their teeth, these men had little trouble dragging over five hundred kilograms of coal from the mine shafts. Radiation and viruses had degraded the environment, but they had also gifted the people of this era with extraordinary strength.
Pushing his coal cart, Soren felt the strain. His sixteen-year-old body hadn't fully developed yet. Fortunately, the effects of Prime Restoration were still active, so he wasn't completely unable to push the load.
In the distance, Harry shouted vigorously, urging people to hurry with their coal so they could exchange it for food. Before the exchange, he needed to weigh each load. Two guards followed vigilantly behind him like bodyguards, their eyes fixed intently on every approaching man.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Harry hammered loudly on the wooden crate behind him, which contained the food these men desperately wanted to trade for. Under their hungry gazes, Harry approached the scale. A burly man had already placed his coal on it, the weight—a full eight hundred kilograms—lifting the counterweight high.
"Not bad, eight hundred kilos. What would you like to trade for?" Harry asked, eyeing the man with satisfaction.
"Sir, I want canned food and water," the man said loudly after glancing at the crate behind Harry. In truth, Harry's crate contained more than just food and water—there were books and newspapers too. But who would trade for books when they couldn't even fill their stomachs?
There were also items like daggers, but those were prohibitively expensive. A simple iron dagger cost five tons of coal, and no one here was willing to make such a trade.
"Alright, you hungry beast. Here you go. Eight hundred kilograms of coal gets you eight hundred grams of food. This can is five hundred grams, and this water is five hundred grams. But I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you a thousand grams!" Harry said generously, pulling two cans from the wooden crate.
"Thank you, Master Harry! Thank you, Master Harry!" The man repeatedly expressed his gratitude, his rugged face filled with humility as he took the food and walked away, envious eyes following him.
"Next!" Harry's meaty hand slapped against the wooden board again, clearly pleased with the previous man's display. Another man placed his coal on the scale.
"Clang!" The counterweight rose to the same height as the previous man's—another eight hundred kilograms.
"Not bad, kid. You've got a decent amount too," Harry said approvingly, reaching into the crate behind him and generously pulling out two packages of food.
"You want food again?" Harry asked, weighing the two cans in his hand.
"Yes, sir. Canned food, of course," the man said loudly, as if afraid Harry wouldn't hear him.
"Here you go," Harry tossed the cans to him and motioned for the next person to step forward.
...
The process of a hundred men exchanging their coal for food took considerable time. During this period, Soren let his gaze wander around his surroundings. The world he saw was completely different from what others perceived. People with health bars floating above their heads moved back and forth in his vision. Rows of data appeared in his mind.
Soren was certain that before the System had bonded with him, none of this had ever appeared! Soon, he found himself drawn to the information before his eyes.
Most people here had a Strength rating of around seventeen, while their Agility was considerably lower, averaging only nine points. Compared to their Agility, their Intelligence was even lower, a mere six points on average.
Great strength, average speed, and dull minds—that was the System's assessment of these people. Of course, Soren wouldn't actually consider these people stupid just because of the System's evaluation. No place was ever devoid of clever individuals.
These statistics were based on Soren's observations of the coal miners. When he looked at the rifle-carrying soldiers, he saw an entirely different set of numbers.
Strength: 30
Agility: 13
Intelligence: 14
This data came from the two soldiers flanking Harry. Clearly, compared to the miners, these soldiers had superior overall abilities, outclassing them in both combat prowess and intelligence. Seeing this, Soren couldn't help but focus his attention on Harry.
"???"
The ability that allowed him to see data on everyone else only returned unknown indicators when applied to Harry.
"Could this man's power exceed the System's detection range?" Soren wondered, his face growing serious. He realized this world might not be as simple as he had initially thought. At the very least, Harry's presence itself was no simple matter.
"Next!"
As the crowd thinned, it finally became Soren's turn to exchange his coal. Hearing Harry's call, he struggled to place his coal on the scale.
"Five hundred kilograms?"
"Hmm, ugly kid, what do you want to trade for?" Harry asked, showing a rare smile as he looked at the boy whose face was covered in calluses.
"Food and water."
Licking his lips, Soren forced himself to look away from the wooden crate behind Harry. This body was simply too hungry.
"Kid, this food won't be enough for you. I heard you're taking care of your sister too?" Harry said, handing over a three-hundred-gram can and two hundred grams of water.
"Yes."
Soren gripped the food tightly, eyeing Harry warily.
"Kid, don't be so tense. Staying alive these days isn't easy," Harry said, seemingly noticing Soren's wariness. Instead of saying more, he handed over another can.
"Thank you—"
Soren took the can and thanked Harry.
"That's enough. This is what you owe me," Harry waved dismissively, not interested in Soren's gratitude. He had done this thousands of times before, and he wasn't after a simple thank you.
"Sir, do you believe this young man can support that girl?" one of the soldiers asked, approaching after Soren had left.
"When the Great Collapse happened, no one believed humanity would survive either, did they? Yet here we are," Harry replied, motioning for the next person to come forward as he continued distributing cans.