The true horror of the apocalypse lies not only in the rampaging monsters, but also in the indifference that tramples on life with impunity. When humanity begins to see other humans as mere tools or objects, this spiritual apocalypse is hardly any better than the physical one.
"You go," Zhang Chen said to Shirley.
The latter nodded, reached out, and lightly touched the man's corpse. In an instant, he vanished.
"It seems the two merchants from before have coordinated with this side, which is why the female merchant was so generous just now!" wap.kanshuwu.net
"500,000 [Energy Gathering Crystal Cores], one ton of food, two tons of purified water, one thousand barrels of gasoline, one thousand tons of steel, 120 [Energy Shields]... and a large quantity of snacks and materials..."
[Energy Shield]: When used, it can briefly resist harsh weather outdoors. It disappears after its energy is depleted (it can be recharged with crystal cores).
Shirley looked at the items in the ring, reciting them one by one. It took her a good while to finish listing all the supplies, totaling over 30 different types. Apart from the [Energy Gathering Crystal Cores], none of these supplies were for enhancing combat power. Of course, the other party wasn't foolish either. Would they give Zhang Chen a pile of weapons and equipment to help him wipe them out? Therefore, they only provided necessities. Even if Zhang Chen wanted to kill them, all he could obtain would be crystal cores, food, water, and materials. Now, they had personally delivered the supplies without Zhang Chen having to lift a finger.
Furthermore, this [Energy Gathering Crystal Core] was quite telling. The other party gave him 500,000 at once, equivalent to the crystal cores obtained from killing six or seven powerful late-stage metamorphs in their first stage. With Gromos around, killing people was as easy as breathing for Zhang Chen. However, the survivors killed by Gromos would not yield any crystal cores. So, the other party simply gifted the crystal cores to Zhang Chen, allowing him to reach the first stage of late-stage metamorphosis without having to kill anyone.
Moreover, once at this stage, having more [Energy Gathering Crystal Cores] would be useless. Only [Super Energy Crystal Cores] could be used for upgrades. Therefore, while 500,000 crystal cores seemed like a lot, their utility for Zhang Chen was minimal. These merchants had shown Zhang Chen great respect without enhancing his strength, yet still satisfied his appetite. They truly lived up to the saying that all merchants are shrewd; they were as clever as monkeys!
Zhang Chen stored the steel, gasoline, [Detoxifiers], and [Energy Shields] into his ring. Many of the other items were categorized differently from those in Zhang Chen's ring and would occupy significant space. Zhang Chen simply placed them all into Shirley's ring. Shirley was absolutely loyal, and with her, he essentially had an extra inter-dimensional warehouse.
"Let's go. Since these merchants don't want trouble, we don't intend to waste too much time here!" Zhang Chen commanded. "It's noon now. We'll cross the city, have lunch on the train, and aim to reach the fifth city before dark!" The distances between these cities were too great; just the travel time alone was considerable. Fortunately, the mission's target regions were not on the other side of the globe. Otherwise, given the size of Blue Water Star, Zhang Chen wouldn't be surprised if they spent all thirty days just traveling.
"Okay, our target is the seventh city. Let's try to avoid trouble as much as possible," Xu Ruina nodded and said. "Time is precious, and we can't afford any delays!"
Leaving the station and arriving on the surface, Zhang Chen witnessed a different scene. The people doing business in the black market had varying levels of strength, with many customers and merchants being at the metamorph stage. Therefore, this place was much livelier than the other cities. Shops had been hastily set up along both sides of the street, and sparse pedestrians ambled along. Upon seeing Zhang Chen's large entourage, they proactively moved aside. When they spotted the greenish ring on Zhang Chen's hand, their eyes revealed expressions of disbelief and uncertainty.
"Hey, did you see that? It's a green ring, I've never seen a ring of this color before!"
"Those who appear in the second stage of the apocalypse can only be us, or轮回者 (reincarnators) who traversed later than us. The ring on his hand is different from ours, so he must be the latter."
"No way, a junior轮回者 wearing a green ring actually received special attention from the black market supervisor?"
"Someone as shrewd as the supervisor wouldn't do business at a loss. Let's just trust it and definitely don't provoke this guy!"
"Look, doesn't that little girl beside the man look familiar?"
"Damn it, isn't that the World Destroyer? She looks just like her, only shorter and younger..."
"Could it be that a World Destroyer appears in every轮回 (cycle)?"
"Don't scare me like that. One World Destroyer is already terrifying enough. Even those with yellow rings don't dare to confront her directly. If one appears every轮回, then we might as well not live..."
"Hush, stop talking, they're coming..."
As several people watched Zhang Chen and his group draw closer, they quickly turned their faces away nervously, pretending to be discussing business. However, their gazes couldn't help but drift towards Xiaobai, their hearts pounding uneasily. Anyone who had witnessed the World Destroyer's power would have an indelible impression left on their minds and souls...
The procession continued. Not long after, they found a richly dressed man lying in the middle of the road, still unconscious. His cuff also bore a golden thread. He was a second-tier merchant. Surrounding the man were over a dozen men and women dressed in brown, their attire the same as the man who had died as a gift at the station. It appeared that these individuals were the lowest stratum in this city, akin to slaves or servants.
"This is my master, you must go around!" a young girl shouted with firm resolve.
At this point, bystanders watching nearby called out in strained voices: "Hey, if you don't want to die, quickly move aside. This is a big shot that even the supervisor shows deference to!" "Are you looking for death by blocking his path?"
The girl shook her head, still unyielding, and continued, "Even if I die, I won't let you pass. Master despises anyone stepping over his body the most, so I won't yield even if you kill me!"
"Heh, suicidal fool, then die!" Shirley raised her dagger. She deliberately slowed her movements slightly. This speed was still enough to kill the obstructing slaves. It also gave Zhang Chen an appropriate window to react. If Zhang Chen wanted to stop her, he would have ample time to speak; if he remained silent, it would be considered tacit approval to proceed with the slaughter.
"Forget it, Shirley, there's no need to stir up more trouble. Besides, I've already accepted their gift, and it wouldn't be right to kill someone on their territory!" Zhang Chen said with a smile.
Hearing this, Shirley then lowered her weapon. She led the team a few meters to the side, bypassing the man on the ground who was about to awaken.