"Smooth my ass," Lan Jin muttered. "I was feeling my way the whole time. The first day I went out, I walked through the parking lot and tripped over a corpse. It was my first time seeing one. Scared the hell out of me. I was afraid of the body and afraid my protective suit might tear, but luckily it stayed intact. Then I kept moving, because those supplies… if I lost them, I'd feel even worse."
So it seemed, Lan Jin really carried some guts with her.
Even knowing that these supplies were stolen by Lan Jin, the others didn't covet them. During the poisonous fog, it was deadly out there. A single mistake could mean a gruesome death. These supplies had been taken with Lan Jin's life on the line. None of them dared to be greedy.
To reassure her, Lao Gao said, "Sister Lan, don't worry. Even if we know how your supplies came to be, we'll still act as we should."
Lan Jin hadn't expected Lao Gao to bring this up again, and she was a little speechless. "Let's not talk about that now. It's nothing, really. We're all going to the base together. Inside, we'll be helping each other anyway."
Of course, the help was understood without being said. People like them didn't need everything spelled out to get it.
…
Black Market.
Top Floor.
A man leaned back in a leather armchair, lighting a cigarette. He set down his lighter and, without looking up, asked Da Fei, "Capital city base invitation? Who wants it? Did you check?"
Da Fei hesitated, then said, "There's a man and a woman who fought in our underground match before. The man is called Gao Mingwei (Lao Gao), the woman is Ling Jiang. Another one is younger, apparently a soldier's kid. And there's a woman with a fierce dog." He paused, then added, "I thought Lao Gao would be in charge of this group, but when they came to trade the invitation last time, it seemed like the dog lady was calling the shots."
The items they were trading were unusual, so checking backgrounds before a deal was normal. Still, among the four, Lan Jin looked the most ordinary, yet she subtly led, which puzzled Da Fei.
Maybe it was just his imagination.
In a world where people were scarce, getting this much information was already impressive. The man didn't mind Da Fei missing some details. He wasn't interested in the woman, but he liked the dog. "Dog? What kind of dog?"
"A Rottweiler. I asked someone here who knows dogs. The dog's just over a year old, but huge and strong. They said it could probably take down several adults."
That was without powers. Now with powers, who knew?
The man inhaled smoke and smiled. "Interesting."
Da Fei forced a smile, thinking, "Interesting is all you have to say? Do I leave or stay?"
As Da Fei stepped aside, the man pulled a card from his jacket pocket and asked, "When's the trade?"
"We agreed a week from now. Tomorrow marks a week. Unless there's freezing rain, they should show up."
The man handed over the card, nodded, and let Da Fei leave.
…
Next day.
Same time as last time, they reached the 25th floor…
Yes, after another freezing rain, their exit improved from the 24th to the 25th floor.
It was improved, but not by much. Walking down was still difficult.
Lao Gao grew impatient. "One floor, just jump down."
He jumped, but Lan Jin couldn't. "Think about others. How can I jump from such a high floor?"
She took a long ladder from her space and set it up. Seeing Lao Gao below, she said, "Hold it for me."
Lao Gao steadied one side. "I'm just getting down early to help you."
"Thank you."
Huang Jinghe, helping with the ladder on the 25th floor, couldn't resist chiming in, "Yes, yes."
After the three got down, Ling Jiang carried the ladder back. After some distance, she retrieved the car from the space.
The snow below didn't allow her to hide the car well. Their building was in a visible spot. She couldn't just pull it out, or the space would be exposed.
Finally, they reached a secluded spot. Lan Jin took the car out.
The Hummer's trunk was huge. Lan Jin stuffed in three boxes of small umbrellas, filling it. The two bags of charcoal went on the back seat. Ready, they departed immediately.
…
Black Market.
Da Fei had sent someone to wait at the door. As soon as the car arrived, someone would notify him.
Black market trades were simple: cash for goods. Three boxes of condoms and two bags of charcoal were carried off. The invitation ended up in Lan Jin's hands.
Before leaving, Lan Jin examined the invitation carefully. It was identical to hers, and she pocketed it with relief.
"All good, no problem."
Da Fei's side had to inspect carefully. Charcoal was fine, but the condoms needed checking. When they saw all high-quality brands, they were shocked. "Didn't expect you'd have such good stuff."
"I didn't think it was so valuable either. Just got lucky before."
"All right, payment completed. Next time, bring any good items, we'll trade at a fair price."
Lan Jin's goods were carried off by the underlings. What they didn't know was, a man had observed the entire process.
After Da Fei stored the goods, the man called him over. "That woman you mentioned… the one who just came over?"
Da Fei was surprised. "Yes, that woman, plus another who came with her, but didn't join the trade."
The man nodded and let Da Fei leave.
…
With the invitation secured, back home, Lao Gao placed both invitations side by side and examined them. Seeing they were identical, he finally relaxed.
"Really, no mistake. It's genuine. Finally got it."
Ling Jiang also breathed easier. "Got the invitation. When do we leave? Wait for the extreme cold to end?"