Nobody wanted any of it.
People always said the same thing; the poor couldn't afford it, and the rich didn't care for it. That reality just let Jing Shu scoop up a bargain. What surprised her even more was that it wasn't just the modification materials; there were tons of things she happened to need.
She found motor oil, antifreeze, thick snow tires, heavy ramming bars, and a bunch of related materials piled in the corner. Once a factory shut down, it could only live off whatever stock it had left. Consumables like these got used up fast, and they weren't something you bought once and never touched again. Back when the apocalypse first hit, Jing Shu had collected plenty, so she knew that when it came to maintenance supplies, the more she had, the better.
She waved her hand, signaling for the items to be moved, and swept all that messy pile of supplies behind her again. By now, the entire display table basically belonged to her. She had only brought ham and seasonings to trade today, and she never expected to return with so much.
If you thought about it, food wasn't even the real issue. Before the apocalypse or after it, good items were always rare and remained in the hands of a few. Their values weren't the same as those of ordinary people. They were willing to trade something precious for something they approved of. That was why her ham and seasonings could be exchanged for this insane amount of materials.
Once she finished wandering the Imperial Capital's black market, her harvest was stacked to the brim. The collection added another layer of security for the long trek ahead. Fan Jianqiang's harvest was big too. He made several thousand points for doing nothing, which sent him straight into the platinum tier. Those points would be useful in the future.
Song Bin also did pretty well for himself. He took the payment she gave him—a small piece of ham—and traded it for a stack of daily necessities. At her suggestion, he especially stocked up on quilts, thick clothes, and even some coal.
Time was running short. Jing Shu returned to her lodgings, sorted all the materials, and packed them into heavy cases. Since these were all acquired through legitimate trades, she couldn't secretly stash them in her space yet, so she would have to transport them back to Wu City like this.
The next morning, she disguised herself in a worn coat and a scarf that hid most of her face, then headed out again. Nobody couldn't recognize her now. She even left Song Bin behind. Of course, she didn't take Xiao Dou either. Xiao Dou stayed in the storage room of Tank, partly to watch over the crate belonging to Wanzi, and partly to guard the growing mountain of supplies. As for danger, with Tank there, she didn't need to worry much.
Still, she made careful preparations. She set up special traps around the perimeter and gave Xiao Dou a life-saving charm. Worst case, if something happened on the bird's side, she would receive the signal immediately. That let her relax and head toward her next destination in the Imperial Capital. It was hard enough to come here once. Who knew when she would get another chance? She couldn't just get supplies; she needed to learn something about the city's hidden culture too.
In the past few days, she had already toured most of the Imperial Capital for official business. Now that her time was tight and her departure was near, she decided to squeeze in something special. Leaving empty-handed felt wrong. She also wouldn't risk exposing any secrets or her movements.
A plain, oversized truck rolled over to the curb, its sides covered in splashes of black and green muck. It picked her up with a rattling groan of its engine. The huge cargo truck possessed only a driver's seat and one passenger seat, which felt like overkill for a single passenger. If not for the mask and gas mask she wore, the stench alone could've sent her straight to the afterlife. It smelled as if the vehicle were hauling rotting manure in the heat.
The driver was a friendly uncle wearing rubber boots and an apron caked in dried mud. One hand held a greasy, rolled pancake, while the other controlled the thin wheel as if he were born with it. Thankfully, they reached the destination soon.
"Hey, little miss, we are here." The driver grinned, showing his big yellow teeth as he chewed. He got paid extra just for dropping someone off at this remote spot. This little miss was odd, though, wrapped up tight and carrying two huge boxes. He wondered what she was carrying. Not that it mattered; his job ended here. He pointed ahead toward the massive structures. Right up there.
Jing Shu nodded, hauling the two big boxes toward the tall, gray wall. She knocked hard on the heavy iron gate, the sound metallic and cold. When it opened, a wave of sterilizing chemicals—the sharp scent of bleach and iodine—rushed out, and the sign inside came into view.
"This is a pre-apocalypse prison. I knew it. Only a place like that would have walls this high and sit in a place this remote."
She stepped through the giant gate as a guide led her forward. They eventually passed through an ordinary-looking heavy door. But once it opened, it was like stepping into another world. Violent crashes, monstrous roars, darkness, and a thick stench filled the air. It felt as if she had walked into hell.
Jing Shu stopped cold, the floor vibrating beneath her boots.
"Are you alright? Are you sure you want to continue? If you would like to back out..." A staff member spoke carefully, watching her reaction. This place was a forbidden zone for a reason. It was dangerous. But there were always reasons for its existence. If it existed, it had value, and if it had value, it possessed research significance.
"I'm fine. Really. This place looks good. Let's go. Show me the target I'm here to take over." Jing Shu smiled behind her mask. No matter how scary this was, nothing was worse than the despair of her previous life.
"Alright." The staffer led the way, assuming she was simply putting on a brave face. Trying to calm the mood, he explained, "This place used to be a prison before the apocalypse, which makes our work easier. Everything here is a mutated species from after the apocalypse began. Some are failed evolutions, some are too aggressive, and some mutated from zoo animals. Basically, aside from research value, they are useless."
Anything capable of reproducing or producing meat, anything with real value, wouldn't ever be thrown here. Those creatures wouldn't be worshiped like royalty in other facilities. The chilling, pitch-black prison held two rows of heavy cells, each containing some unknown, breathing creature.
She even saw something that looked like a mix between a hippo and a pig in one of the wider cells. They rammed into each other nonstop, the bone-chilling thuds of their impacts echoing. The ones that got smashed to death were eaten brutally by their cellmates. Jing Shu wondered if hippos didn't eat plants.
"Oh, that. Those are a batch of failed experimental pigs. Regular pigs couldn't cut it, so they were pumped full of hormones and stimulants. They can't reproduce and can't be eaten anymore. They will be left here to die off, and then we will write a report." The staff didn't care about the creatures' fate at all.
"These are pigs?" She raised a brow, staring at the misshapen mounds of gray-pink flesh. If he hadn't said anything, she would've thought they were hippos. The change was wild.