Chapter 14: Profiteers from Boulder City
Fortunately, Chu Guang did not encounter any unmanageable dangers along the way.
Not only that, but when he walked near Bett Street, he happened to see the caravan from Boulder City unloading goods at the entrance of Bett Street.
The old man, Walter, was carrying a shotgun while standing aside, smoking his homemade tobacco. Old Charlie was talking happily with the leader of the caravan, while the scavengers beside him were unloading the cargo under the supervision of the gunman.
The leader of the caravan was called Mr. Li, whose full name was unknown. Chu Guang only knew that he was from Boulder City. He had eight gunmen and twenty mutated yaks.
Every once in a while, he would bring people and animals to Bett Street to sell some supplies, at the same time taking away the "specialties" here.
On wasteland, especially in urban areas, cars were not as reliable as beasts.
The roads were full of abandoned cars and collapsed ruins. In addition, a large number of roads weren't maintained. The surface was severely cracked, and even the roots of vegetation had sprouted out of the ground, so most wheeled vehicles couldn't drive on such a road.
In contrast, donkeys, cows, and horses were all good things. Although they couldn't walk fast, they could walk on almost any road.
The most important thing was that they were cheap and easy to maintain. They only needed 30 kilograms of grass per hundred kilometers.
Technology was not always reliable, at least here.
Of course, if it was a long journey across provinces, that was another situation.
Chu Guang once saw a half-wheel and half-track truck with a chimney on top. It looked like something straight out of a steampunk movie.
However, such bulky trucks generally did not drive into the city. They would usually unload their cargo outside the city, trade with small and medium-sized caravans active in nearby areas, and leave when they were done.
Chu Guang also noticed that there was actually a woman wrapped in a robe in the supplies sent to Bett Street this time.
She had shackles on her hands and feet, and a striped code printed on her ankles. Her delicate and white skin was unlike a survivor's on the wasteland, but more like a fairy from a movie.
In other words, "commodities" cultivated by petri dishes.
"A clone?"
Chu Guang had only heard of the slave trade in Boulder City before, but it was the first time he's seen it with his own eyes. But this kind of "luxury" could only be consumed by the town mayor.
Chu Guang did not step forward immediately, but quietly waited for the transaction to be completed in the shadow of the ruins.
The "cowboys" were very busy and didn't stop here.
After loading the goods, Mr. Li put his hand through his sleeves, took out a few white chips, and threw them to a group of scavengers like giving money to a group of beggars.
Then, in a grateful compliment, together with the gunmen, he drove the mutant yaks full of bags on the road.
Chu Guang followed far behind and walked past two streets.
However, at this moment, the man who was next to Mr. Li suddenly stopped and looked straight at his side.
Chu Guang was slightly surprised when he was discovered.
There was at least a hundred meters in between, how did this guy find him?!
However, since he had been discovered, there was no point in continuing following them.
Chu Guang walked out of the ruins, first raised his hands to signal that he was not malicious, and then walked over with a black plastic bag.
At a distance of ten meters, he stopped under the slanted sign of a cafe.
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This was the safest distance for both parties.
In the event of a conflict, the carbon nano body armor that he wore was enough to buy at least five seconds for him to escape.
As long as it wasn't a headshot...
"I have no ill intentions, I just want to make a deal with you."
The man named Mr. Li squinted his eyes and put away the shotgun in his hand.
"Are you a scavenger on Bett Street?"
"Chu Guang."
"I don't care what your name is. We don't do small business," The man looked at the plastic bag in Chu Guang's hand with a mocking look. "It's better for you to throw this thing to your old man named Charlie."
Chu Guang didn't speak and opened the plastic bag, revealing the goods inside.
The man could obviously recognize the goods in the bag, the expression on his face becoming stiff. Obviously, he didn't expect that what the plastic bag contained was not used parts and batteries, but such good things.
Chu Guang noticed that an imperceptible greed flashed in his eyes.
"Where did you get it?" The man asked.
Chu Guang looked at him and said calmly.
"The sewer, next to the mutant leech nest, but even if I tell you where it is, do you want to go there?"
"Don't get mad, I was just asking."
The greed in his eyes faded a bit, and the man handed the shotgun in his hand to his entourage and walked to Chu Guang.
"How do you want to sell it?"
The recycling price of this thing on Bett Street was a little bargaining chip per 50g, but the true value of this thing was definitely more than that!
Chu Guang was silent for two seconds before deciding to take a gamble and bid at five times the price of the Bett Street recycling bin.
"There are 2000g here, I want 200 chips!"
"Deal."
Seeing that the man agreed without any hesitation, Chu Guang immediately realized that his offer was still too cheap.
Sure enough, the price the town mayor sold to these merchants must be more than that!
‘Damn that town mayor! He is just like those man-eating leeches!'
Chu Guang silently wholeheartedly ‘greeted' the town mayor and his whole family in his heart, wishing him to be unable to get an erection tonight.
"Let's make friends. My name is Liszt."
The man stretched out his right hand, no longer showing the condescending attitude, with a smile on his face, "I rarely do business directly with scavengers, but you are an exception... I am very interested in you."
Chu Guang was neither overbearing nor sycophantic, and shook his hand.
"Thank you, my name is Chu Guang."
"I know, you just said it."
Releasing his hand, Liszt stared at Chu Guang and continued, "Then first of all, I hope that the old man named Charlie will not know about our transaction today."
Chu Guang said. "He won't. I don't want to cause trouble."
"Haha, you are a smart man." Satisfied with Chu Guang's answer, Liszt nodded with a smile and continued. "I can pay you 200 chips right now, but... you're going to use these chips to exchange things later on anyway, so it's better to buy them directly from me. In that way, you'll save a lot more. There are some remaining materials here. I can give you a 20% discount. What do you think?"
Chu Guang didn't believe his so-called 20% discount nonsense. Anyway, it was impossible for him to know how much the goods were sold for in Boulder City.
However, as long as he sold it cheaper than Bett Street, he had no reason to refuse.
"I need a weapon, do you have one?"
"Of course, which one do you want?"
"Gun."
"A gun?" Liszt touched his chin. "How about a 9mm bolt-action iron-barreled rifle? It only requires 200 chips, and I can give you 30 rounds of bullets. If you want to purchase additional bullets, it will be 1 chip per bullet. This price is absolutely fair."
"What about the 20% discount?"
"This is already after the 20% discount. If you think it is too expensive, there are, of course, cheaper ones here. For example, the iron-barreled pistol with a caliber of 5mm is worth 100 chips. It is still very useful against marauders, but it is not recommended to be used against mutants."
‘It was already 20% off!?'
‘I would be an idiot if I believed you.'
Chu Guang stared at him and said.
"A 9mm bolt-action iron-barreled rifle plus 60 rounds of ammunition. In addition, I need 20… no, 25 chips to buy food and other supplies."
Looking at Liszt, who shrugged, Chu Guang continued with a serious tone.
"There are more than 2 kilograms of mushrooms in the mutated leech's nest, but I can only pick the one near the nest… Do you know what I mean?"
"Do you want me to invest in you?" Liszt looked at Chu Guang with interest, "Interesting."
Chu Guang continued, "Why not? I bet that even at this price, you can still make a lot of money. And if you invest in me, next time I can bring ten times the amount of goods more than today! Are you not tempted by it? "
Liszt was tempted.
To be honest, this was indeed a good proposal.
If he successfully took the 2 kilograms of Blue Umbrella Mushroom to Boulder City, let alone a bolt-action iron-barreled rifle, he could even buy ten of them.
These hillbillies living in the outer suburbs had no idea what anti-radiation agents and radiation-reduction agents meant to people living in cities.
Good things were all hidden near those nuclear craters!
"In general, few people can take the chips from my hands."
Liszt gave his assistant a wink and asked him to take off an iron-barreled rifle and 60 rounds of ammunition from the mutant yak next to him.
"You are an exception."
Counting out 25 white chips from his pocket, Liszt handed it to Chu Guang along with the goods.
"20kg Blue Umbrella Mushroom… Fine then, I'll just treat it as an investment. I'll wait for your good news."
"I will come here again at the end of the month, and if there are no further changes, it should be the last time this year."
"I hope I can see you then."
Mutant leeches.
No one wanted to provoke that thing.
Only God knew how many disgusting bugs were hiding in that thing's lair, the most terrible thing being that ordinary penetrating firepower was not effective in dealing with them.
Its terrifying regenerative ability and vitality could even allow them to split into two new individuals after they were cut off from the middle, let alone make a few small holes in the body.
As for fire...
Not to mention whether it could be lit, even if it could be set on fire, valuable things would be burned along with it.
The gain was totally outweighed by the loss.
"By the way, for 20 kilograms of Blue Umbrella Mushroom, I will just count that as 2,000 chips, so you can place an order with me. There is no need to pick the goods that others don't want."
Liszt reminded him after seeing Chu Guang fiddling with the weapon in his hand.
Chu Guang stopped his hand movement, looked at him and asked.
"How do I know what you have?"
Liszt snapped his fingers.
The person next to him handed over a square tablet computer.
"There are photos on it. Swipe left and right to select... Oh, you know how to use it. In that case, I don't need to teach you. I can guarantee that the quality of these goods is decent, but I can't guarantee that the goods you actually receive will look exactly the same as the photos."
After receiving the tablet, Chu Guang glanced briefly, and found that there were quite a few good things on it.
Especially when he saw what he needed most.
"Have you chosen anything?" Liszt urged, looking at Chu Guang who seemed to be taking his time.
"Mhm," Chu Guang said after returning the tablet, looking at him, "10KW firewood generator and KV-1 powered exoskeleton."
"You have sharp eyes. Although the KV-1 is a basic model, it is also the most durable. But what do you want a generator for? If you are worried about running out of electricity, it is better to buy a few more batteries. I provide a trade-in service, which is very cheap."
Generators were not cheap, it cost 1,200 chips.
In contrast, the KV-1 powered exoskeleton only needed 800 chips, and a matching chemical energy battery was only 150 chips.
No matter how expensive it was to replace a battery, it would cost less than one thousand.
Besides, even if he bought this stuff, where was he going to put it?
The exoskeleton could also be worn inside clothes, but something like a generator was not something that an ordinary scavenger could afford.
Seeing through Liszt's concerns, Chu Guang said. "Don't worry, I won't take it back to Bett Street."
"I was just asking. How you deal with it has nothing to do with me. Anyway, even if you say that I sold it to you, I will not admit it. In the end, it will be you who is in trouble." Liszt shrugged and glanced at the sky in the distance, "It's getting late. See you next time."
Chu Guang stopped him.
"Wait, I want to ask, is there a 20% discount on the items I just ordered."
Liszt laughed and waved his hand without looking back.
"The price you saw is after the discount."
Chu Guang: "%¥#¥%"
‘Motherf***!'
‘Just you wait, I will definitely bleed you dry in the future!'
Watching the caravan leave, Chu Guang turned and left with a darkened face