Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Trade, Slave Market, Lin Feng Level 4

Lin Feng yawned and slowly woke up.

This was the most comfortable sleep he’d had since awakening on the wasteland.

Glancing at the old-style clock hanging from the dashboard, it was only noon. He’d only slept for a mere four or five hours, yet it wiped away the accumulated mental fatigue.

Even the injury on his right leg was nearly fully healed.

Sleep is the best way to restore state, although it’s also related to his increased strength.

The higher the enhancement level, the stronger the self-healing ability.

Ding Yi, lying on the middle bunk, also woke up.

The two followed the captain out of the vehicle, seeing under the bus’s photovoltaic panel, Boss Huang with slicked-back hair and sunglasses, using the car battery to power an electric stove, cooking a meal.

The sizzling sound of frying wolf meat filled the air.

The aroma of meat was everywhere.

A folding table and four stools were already set up beside them, feeling like a wilderness camping trip.

With the fragrant fried wolf meat out of the pan, divided into four plates, it was served on the table.

The sumptuous lunch feast officially began.

“Enjoy the master-level craftsmanship!”

“For this wolf meat, I added the most precious cumin seasoning!”

Boss Huang clasped his hands together in a gesture of gratitude, then eagerly picked up a knife and fork to start tasting.

The other three seated people also began to try it.

The barbecued flavor combined with the medium-rare wolf meat, the seasoning excellently masked the gamey taste, making the texture and flavor exceptional.

Each person had a pound of meat on their plate, which was extra provided by Chen Shanshan, while Boss Huang’s share was considered the processing fee.

For this meal, the bus owner also specially provided each person a cup of sea buckthorn wine with a wasteland flavor.

“This is a farm specialty, made with quality sea buckthorn fruit and grass root juice, naturally fermented.”

“The price of a liter of sea buckthorn wine is half a pound of jerky; it’s rare to come across desert wolf meat, so it’s a bargain for you!”

Boss Huang raised his glass and continued to celebrate:

“Come, let’s toast to this damned world!”

Everyone raised their glasses and clinked them together.

Lin Feng tasted the light, sweet and sour orange wine; it had a low alcohol content and a rich fruity aroma.

“The vitamin C content in sea buckthorn fruit is twenty-five times that of lemons, known as the king of vitamin C, and it’s in demand in the wasteland too.”

Ding Yi introduced the juice material.

Lin Feng recalled seeing deserters initially, whose long-term malnutrition led to black teeth and bleeding gums; perhaps this was related.

After finishing a cup of sea buckthorn wine, they were full and satisfied.

A gentle warmth spread throughout the body from the stomach.

Lin Feng glanced at the attribute panel in the corner of his eye; both life value and physique were nearing the upper limit of twenty. He estimated that the next enhancement upgrade wouldn’t be far off.

Chen Shanshan wiped her mouth, put her mask down, and slowly got up, ready to set off.

To avoid attracting attention, the three discussed and decided that Ding Yi would stay behind to guard the home, while also taking care of the forty pounds of wolf meat in the compartment. The remaining two took the rest of the wolf meat and innards for trading and headed to the central market of the Fifth Village.

Once dried, the wolf meat shrank by more than half; the original sixty kilograms were only a little over sixty pounds. Chen Shanshan took twenty pounds of it, along with twenty pounds of innards and a batch of wolf bone.

Not long after leaving the bus, Lin Feng asked why Ding Yi was left to guard the important wolf meat supplies, worrying about unforeseen events.

Chen Shanshan shrugged:

“You can run away, but the temple can’t. Besides, a motorhome is worth much more than a few pounds of wolf meat. Old Huang is a registered villager of the Fifth Village with an official identity, and with the strength of a late-stage enhanced person, no one dares to make a move.”

“Official villagers can brandish guns, unlike us outsiders.”

Lin Feng nodded silently. After having a meal, he also noticed that the standard of living among the convoy residents was much better than that of the deserters behind them.

No wonder so many deserters racked their brains trying to squeeze in.

After experiencing the convoy’s lifestyle, who would want to continue wandering in the barren and dangerous wilderness?

Based on what he saw and heard in the Fifth Village, Oasis Town’s resources weren’t actually scarce, at least there wasn’t a lack of water.

With water and solar energy, it’s basically got everything.

Luxury to the point of using grain to brew alcohol, establish bathhouses, the abundance of materials, enough to support thousands of deserters.

But they didn’t do so…

Lin Feng looked up, gazing a kilometer away at a steel giant beast tens of meters high, with lush greenery, quietly parked and standing in the wilderness.

That is the moving oasis, the core of Oasis Town.

The place where the upper class resides, the true paradise of the wasteland, and the unsurpassed existence that thousands of vehicles closely follow and tens of thousands of deserters look up to.

They are the architects of the wasteland order.

Lin Feng licked his lips, wondering when he would have the qualification to board this steel giant beast.

However, for now, it’s better to find a way to settle and root in the convoy following it, escaping the hardships of constant running around.

Following Chen Shanshan all the way, they entered the central area of the Fifth Village, encountering many small car shops selling all sorts of goods.

From food and water sources to daily home supplies, it felt like a traditional market day, or much like a wholesale market.

Due to the inconvenience of carrying the hundreds of pounds of jerky and bones in the hands of the two, Chen Shanshan headed straight to a clothing store, and exchanged half a pound of wolf meat for two large woven bags.

They packed the supplies into them before continuing their trading.

“Isn’t it troublesome to barter and haggle without a unified currency here?”

Seeing the bustling market with people moving back and forth, all carrying bags or pulling carts, Lin Feng couldn’t help but ask.

Chen Shanshan had already locked onto her target and explained:

“That’s because most of the Deserters live day by day, and money is a burden in their hands. Food and water are more practical. Jerky is the hard currency here.”

In short, the scale of the market’s commodity economy is insufficient to support the issuance and circulation of currency.

Lin Feng nodded and continued following her.

The captain, now in shopping mode, transformed from her usual silent and reserved self in the Wilderness, into a talkative person, and was relentless in bargaining.

In the end, she spent ten pounds of wolf meat and ten pounds of innards to exchange for a pile of things.

Including cakes baked from plant roots, a water filter, and an iron water bucket containing two hundred liters of water.

Enough for three people to consume solidly on the wasteland for a month.

And Holy Spring Day is when freshwater is cheapest.

Besides, what surprised Lin Feng the most was that the captain also exchanged for a solar cooker.

It’s actually just a light-gathering mirror of one meter in diameter, with a reflective metal film attached to the concave side, capable of forming a focal point on an iron stand.

Placing an iron kettle allows for boiling water, and an iron pot can steam or cook.

Just a bit slow, needing a couple of hours.

Not as straightforward or convenient as having a car battery.

But it excels in its simple structure, not prone to aging or damage.

Bringing this along has made hunting on the Wilderness a bit more convenient, no longer living a life as a wild savage.

After buying most of the living materials, the two carried their goods to the end of the market.

Suddenly, Lin Feng smelled an inappropriate stench, the smell of urine and feces, although not strong, was quite abrupt in a relatively clean market.

Following the direction the smell came from, the scene before him left him dumbfounded.

He saw countless ragged men imprisoned in rusty iron cages, while outside the cages were women in handcuffs and shackles, similarly languished and scantily clad.

“This is the Slave Market, the third largest business in the wasteland besides food and freshwater.”

Chen Shanshan’s voice came from beside him. Having been accustomed to it, she was once part of it:

“Don’t look. Slaves from this kind of place are only bought by convoys or large households in villages to be exploited to death, with no combat capabilities.”

Saying this, Chen Shanshan found a vacant space by the Slave Market, laid out the remaining innards and Wolf Bones from the bag, along with eighteen spare Fine Steel Wolf Fangs on the burlap:

“You guard here. If someone wants them, sell them. I’m going to trade for other supplies; medicines need to be at specific places. I’ll push the cart here after buying.”

“Wolf Fangs can be sold at a higher price, and for these, setting the price more expensive than twenty pounds of jerky would be fine.”

Lin Feng nodded and sat in front of the stall.

These items are actually purchased by the authorities too, but they will only offer the minimum base price. If no one else buys, they consider the Hunting Wilderness Guild.

“Ca…Captain…”

“Captain Chen…”

At this time, several very weak calls came from the iron cage not far away.

Lin Feng looked up and saw several familiar faces. However, compared to their previously emaciated selves, these former team members who left with Qi Mountain are now tortured beyond recognition.

Sunken eyes, protruding cheekbones, haggard appearance.

Chen Shanshan didn’t even glance at them. She picked up the remaining ten pounds of jerky and walked away without a word.

Lin Feng watched her leave, then turned with a cold sneer, took out the wolf jerky he kept in his pocket, stuffed it into his mouth, and drank water heartily.

This jerky is from the hind leg of a Desert Wolf, rich in nutrition, capable of enhancing one’s enhancement level.

As he devoured jerky and drank water extensively, those former team members in the iron cage watched, eyes bulging with envy and jealousy, blood vessels standing out, shaking the rusty bars.

The Slave Master beside immediately scolded and wielded a whip.

Lin Feng carefully scanned around, noticing that Qi Mountain’s lackeys, including the woman who played double act with him, were not among them.

They were all potential threats.

Soon after, with the digestion of the wolf meat in his stomach, a very comfortable warm flow spread throughout his entire body.

Lin Feng completed his upgrade, advancing to a Level 4 Mid-stage Enhanced Human:

「Lin Feng, lv4/9」

「Life Value 24, Physique: 24, Spirit: 23; lv4 attribute upper limit 25」

「Item upgrade upper limit has increased to lv4」

「Can consume 1 point Life Value to upgrade lv3 Fine Revolver」

「Can consume 1 point Life Value to upgrade lv1 Water Filter」

「Can consume 1 point Life Value to upgrade lv1 Solar Cooker」

However, before Lin Feng could finish looking, two figures stopped in front of the stall:

“Are these iron teeth Wolf Fangs?”

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