Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Combat Suit, Level 5 Hundred-Bullet Pistol, Bathing

The store manager at the Dawn Store was a middle-aged man with a severed leg. Despite leaning on a crutch, he still exuded a strong presence.

He was an evolver above level 9.

When Lin Feng asked a question, he responded calmly:

“Five points for glass material, resin material is a bit more expensive, ranging from ten to twenty points. If you’re nearsighted below 300 degrees, it’s included in the package. For every degree above 300, an additional two points is charged.”

“Our store does not bargain.”

Lin Feng was startled, somewhat amazed.

He didn’t expect glasses to be so expensive, just a bit cheaper than a watch.

Making solar panels requires glass sheets and resin films, and glasses are considered a subsidiary branch of the industry’s production in Dawn Village.

“What’s the difference between the two, with a price difference of more than double?”

Lin Feng asked, puzzled.

The manager picked up a pair of glasses and held them under the light:

“Glass is heavy, fragile, but has good light transmission and is not easily scratched; resin is light, not easy to break, but has average light transmission and tends to get many scratches over time.”

“Older people can choose glass ones, while young people who need to go out on tasks should choose resin ones.”

Lin Feng nodded and then pointed to the camouflage combat suit hanging in the glass cabinet:

“How much is this set?”

The manager glanced at the combat suit and said flatly:

“Fifty points for just the jacket. A full set would be a hundred points, but since it’s been stored for a long time, I’ll give you a twenty percent discount.”

Lin Feng took a deep breath. Eighty points are still not cheap.

Right now, he has, at most, fifty kilograms of dehydrated jerky and, together with the points from selling the photovoltaic rock armor, roughly a third, totaling only a hundred points.

One combat suit would deplete eighty percent of his savings.

No matter how much he desires it, he must suppress this impulse in the face of its high price.

But as the saying goes, it’s better to make than to buy.

Lin Feng planned to craft a fitting combat suit himself.

Then use the upgrade system to improve its quality.

But his tailoring skills are abysmal, and he is utterly clueless about threading needles, stitching, and joining pieces.

But soon, a figure appeared in his mind.

Bowing out of the Dawn Store, Lin Feng exited the hall and entered the corridor, where Chen Shanshan and another person awaited.

She was chatting idly with the security guard Uncle Wu at the entrance.

When Chen Shanshan was young, Uncle Wu, who was a hunter back then, was familiar with her mentor and had some connections.

Meeting old acquaintances isn’t easy for elderly people, and chatting with Chen Shanshan put Uncle Wu in a good mood, letting them linger for a while.

The guild hall, including the corridor, strictly prohibited loitering unless necessary, especially for Lin Feng and Liu Mingfei, who were still identity-less deserters. One of Uncle Wu’s duties was to chase away those enjoying the air-conditioning without reason.

Seeing Lin Feng approaching, Chen Shanshan bid farewell to Uncle Wu and led the two out of the guild, returning to the tricycle.

“What, did you see something you wanted to buy? How many points do you need?”

On the way back, Chen Shanshan asked.

Lin Feng shook his head:

“A set of combat suits, but it’s too expensive, not really worth it.”

Chen Shanshan replied with a plan of her own:

“I think we should switch to a shield and then go to Mechanical Village to install a suspension damping system on this tricycle. This way, when driving over the Gobi Desert or rubble piles, it’ll be more comfortable, and the speed can also increase.”

“We were lucky this time that the wolf pack didn’t chase us. If next time they target us, things might not go as smoothly.”

Lin Feng nodded in agreement:

“Exactly, the driver’s seat also needs to have an iron cover welded on, as does the top of the carriage. The tires should be changed to thicker ones, and if there’s any money left, we could add a motor assist.”

“Unfortunately, I just saw the price of solar panels, and even a single square meter costs nearly a hundred points.”

“To save for a four-square-meter roof on the tricycle, we’d need to go out hunting at least twice, and that’s assuming we hit the jackpot each time.”

Chen Shanshan shrugged, already back at the rear of the bus, turning the vehicle, and securing it under the rear hook of the bus.

“We’ll see. For now, let’s rest and relax.”

With that, she leaped onto the rear platform of the vehicle.

Lin Feng and Liu Mingfei followed suit.

During this time, Lin Feng asked Liu Mingfei if he wanted to go to the bathhouse together, but the latter wasn’t too keen and planned to discuss it with his sister first.

Once inside the bus, Chen Shanshan eagerly found Boss Huang. Using a pound of wolf meat, she managed to get three all-access tickets from him.

Old Huang knew the owner of the bathhouse.

Unlike the deserters who go to worship on Holy Spring Day, who have to travel over ten kilometers under the scorching sun to earn three or four liters of water through devout prayer,

all registered permanent residents from the Five Major Villages have their own quotas, fifty liters every half month per person.

The purchase price is also very low, with only a symbolic two pounds of jerky required.

This is the largest source of water for the bathhouse’s use.

Many permanent residents who neither work nor go out cannot possibly use up all this water, so the bathhouse owner acquires this portion of the quota, rewarding the contributors with bath tickets for their generosity.

In fact, Boss Huang’s family had two quotas.

He also had a son, who was only seven years old and was attending the church school in Holy Spring Village with free tuition. It was a boarding school, so he rarely came home.

So, the quota of a hundred liters is largely traded to the bathhouse owner. Besides being able to bathe for free, there are also five general tickets every half month.

Old Huang naturally uses these bath tickets as a marketing tool to attract customers.

It’s just that Chen Shanshan and her companions are already exempt from this half-month’s vehicle tickets, so a pound of wolf meat was accepted as a substitute.

After getting the general ticket, Chen Shanshan packed her clothes and toiletries for the trip.

Ding Yi only has a set of clothes, and other toiletries need to be used from the team leader’s supplies.

Lin Feng’s preparation was even simpler; he planned on just wearing a new outfit since the old clothes were not worth cleaning and could be discarded.

The sleeveless thin vest, sewn with Scavenger Vulture feathers, Lin Feng tested, and the system directly determined it as a zero-level object with no quality.

It’s just too purely natural.

Even if you wanted to upgrade and enhance a set of clothes, it must meet the minimum requirements.

No matter that Lin Feng’s current long pants and short sleeves received the system’s evaluation as trash, without upgrade potential.

It would only waste Life Value.

Lin Feng estimated that it should at least have basic protective functions to be worth upgrading further.

Before leaving, Chen Shanshan didn’t forget to bring her most important equipment, the Titanium Gun, and Lin Feng naturally carried the already upgraded Level 5 pistol:

“Hundred-Bullet Pistol Level 5, White Quality”

“Basic Attributes: Damage 20, Effective Range 400 meters, Remaining Normal Ammo: 100, Wolf Fang Bullets: 6; Upgraded to Host Level Limit”

“Extra Attributes: Bullet Recovery 1/1s, Space Magazine for 100 rounds, Wolf Fang Bullet Damage +5”

“Evaluation: A pistol with a hundred rounds of ammunition has power comparable to standard rifle bullets, boasting high damage of twenty points and a range of four hundred meters. One shot can kill a Mid-stage Enhanced Human. Use with caution.”

A hundred rounds of ammunition is equivalent to three rifle magazines, and can restore one round per second. This is only a Level 5 pistol; if upgraded to Level 9, Lin Feng feels he can easily kill a Level 9 Mutated Desolate Beast and even challenge an Evolver with tier jumps.

But the premise is that the opponent is unarmed.

Otherwise, if they wore something like Titanium Exoskeleton Armor, he would only have the option to surrender and flee.

As Lin Feng checked the pistol, Boss Huang came to say goodbye.

Before leaving, seeing the excitement of the two women, Old Huang patted Lin Feng on the shoulder and said earnestly:

“Just enjoy the thrill, but don’t let things get out of control.”

Lin Feng paused, tucked the revolver into his waistband, somewhat puzzled:

“I have the safety on.”

Before leaving, Ding Yi carefully hid the jerky and locked the sliding door of the compartment, then caught up with the other two, entering the three-wheeled trailer at the back of the vehicle.

Setting off again, Chen Shanshan quickly located a bus set up as a bathhouse among the smoke-filled convoy.

Outside hung a sign with the word ’Bathhouse’ clearly visible from afar.

The three attached their tricycle at the rear and walked inside.

The modified bus divided into two areas, the front as the large bathhouse and the rear as compartments.

However, the large bathhouse only opens on Holy Spring Day, with shared bathing tickets priced cheaply so that many Deserters Squad could spend half a piece of jerky to wash collectively.

But when departing from Oasis Town, the large bathhouse was no longer open. Instead, the more than a dozen square meters pool was drained entirely, stored in over ten large barrels, filtered, purified, and kept for next use.

The moving pool acts like a tanker, creating wave-like surges that damage vehicle structures, so it’s no longer open during travel.

Furthermore, large area evaporation would cause water loss.

The bathhouse is managed by a middle-aged couple.

After handing in the tickets to the boss lady, the three were led to the rear compartment car.

“The general ticket can be used for both the large bathhouse and the private compartments. Now, during travel, the large bathhouse is not open, only private compartments, with each person allotted one barrel of water, please understand.”

“If you really want to bathe, you can choose a double room with a two-meter-long wooden tub over a meter wide, accommodating many people, but it requires at least two people’s water ration to be sufficient.”

Lin Feng opened it to check.

The private compartment contained a sixty-centimeter-diameter, over a meter high oil barrel, filled with more than half of water, over two hundred liters.

The boss was right; this amount of water seems barely adequate even for rinsing, certainly insufficient for soaking.

Two barrels are too few; three barrels are just right.

Nonetheless, this is filtered, clean water, while the large bathhouse is mixed bathing.

Who knows what previous bathers have done.

Bathing is possible now, but it requires at least two to start.

The three present exchanged glances.

“It’s been so long, only a soak can scrub thoroughly,”

Chen Shanshan said in some discontent, wanting to submerge into the pool, thoroughly relaxing her skin.

But with one man and two women, the only way was for Ding Yi and herself to bathe together, just about manageable.

They tried pouring two barrels of water into the wooden tub.

Nearly five hundred liters of clean water filled the large wooden tub, about half a meter deep, not quite enough for a proper soak.

Chen Shanshan frowned, glancing at Lin Feng, about to enter the opposite private compartment, hesitating:

“How about we share?”

But Lin Feng suddenly froze.

Not due to Chen Shanshan’s invitation, but because he saw a “familiar figure” emerging from the nearby compartment.

The person was still soaked, clothes sticking to them, accentuating a graceful silhouette.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep