novelraw Chapter 264 - 255: Wholesale Price: 9.9
Chapter 264 - 255: Wholesale Price: 9.9
Under Gu Xi’s calm, profound gaze, the Mutated Rat King shivered, clutching its front paws. Its pair of golden, furry ears twitched uncontrollably...
A minute later, it shakily and reluctantly produced another brown, oval-shaped object.
It was identical to the one it had produced from the small tube earlier.
The others in the room were stunned. The Mutated Rat King actually possessed a rare Space Skill!
And it even knew how to keep a private stash!
It was so cunning it defied belief!
The Mutated Rat King held its front paws high, presenting the item to Gu Xi with a crafty look.
It even flashed an ingratiating, toothy grin.
Gu Xi: "..."
Seeing this, the little green sprout shot out from Gu Xi’s fingertip. It instantly wrapped around the fruit, snatching it to its master, and took the opportunity to lash the crafty creature with a vicious whip.
’You dare touch my stuff? If you weren’t at least a little useful... Hmph.’
The Mutated Rat King, fuming but not daring to show it, shiveringly prostrated itself at Gu Xi’s feet. Its bootlicking posture made everyone chuckle.
Qin Yi circled it twice, then turned to ask Gu Xi, "Gu Xi, how did you know it was hiding another one?"
Gu Xi lowered her eyes to the fruit in her hand. "Probably because I know that person fairly well."
’That man, Yun Ye... He would either send them all back or none at all. He would never do something like sending one and keeping another.’
Gu Xi had simply been too shocked when she first saw the fruit to think of it. Once she calmed down... the little rat’s trick was obvious to her.
Still, this little rat had certainly surprised her.
The sprout’s fruit emitted no aura whatsoever. Even she couldn’t sense its effects, yet this little rat knew it was something good and even tried to stash one away.
It was clear that an animal’s intuition was, in some ways, far more acute than a human’s.
’Yun Ye probably had no idea that the mutant rat he’d randomly picked would be this interesting.’
After a moment of thought, she pulled a pre-apocalypse map from her storage space and looked up at Qi Xiang and the others. "According to the map, there used to be a bustling commercial center near here. Want to go exploring?"
Qi Xiang and the others were taken aback, but Fang Rui, the psychologist, glanced thoughtfully at the Mutated Rat King groveling by Gu Xi’s feet with an ingratiating expression.
’Is Gu Xi suddenly suggesting an expedition because of this Mutated Rat King?’
’Could it have some other special ability?’
...
Half an hour later, the Farming Team, with the Mutated Rat King who had just "voluntarily" joined them, slipped silently out of the camp.
Fang Rui and Ouyang had wanted to go too, but Shen Yue had already taken more than half of their combatants. The ones left behind were a motley crew of shady characters and the sick and wounded, leaving the camp’s defenses weak. After some thought, the two decided against it.
Lin Jin and Zhao Li, however, used the excuse that their injuries hadn’t fully healed and they still needed ongoing treatment from Gu Xi. They eagerly joined the expedition under the envious stares of the others.
Along the way, Qi Xiang kept shooting the two of them sarcastic looks. ’This is the Farming Team’s first outdoor team-building exercise. Do these two have no tact at all? Why did they have to butt in?’
’It’s only because Gu Xi is so good-natured, and Wei Heng always sides with outsiders...’
At that thought, Qi Xiang started feeling disgruntled with Wei Heng as well.
Wei Heng: "..."
The rain had stopped, but the sky remained a gloomy gray. The group followed the map, stopping periodically to get their bearings.
An hour later, amidst the sprawling mutant plants, the group finally spotted the faint outline of city ruins.
"This should be the place," Qi Xiang said, crouching down. She pointed to a few shards of a glass curtain wall, half-buried in the dirt, with only a corner exposed and glinting faintly.
There was no point hoping for anything from the surface buildings. Not even the sturdiest structures could have withstood decades of relentless destruction from the plants. After being exposed to the elements for so long, anything useful inside would be long gone.
The only places they might get lucky and find supplies were in pre-apocalypse underground structures.
The most experienced person for this kind of work was, in fact, Wei Heng.
After leaving the Special Service Team, he had spent over half a year drifting between various civilian exploration teams.
Soon, thanks to the combined efforts of Wei Heng and Qi Xiang, the group found a partially collapsed underground entrance.
The Mutated Rat King was the first one to scurry inside.
Once inside, Gu Xi saw that it must have been an underground shopping street before the apocalypse. As far as the eye could see, the storefronts were all dilapidated and caked in dust.
Thick plant roots snaked through everything, and the air was damp and muggy. After a moment’s thought, she took out several gas masks and distributed them to the group.
Zhao Li and Wei Heng cleared the way ahead. The two of them cleared a small patch of ground and started a fire.
Lin Jin pressed the walkie-talkie on his shoulder, and a burst of static crackled through.
He fiddled with it for a moment, and soon Ouyang’s voice came through. "Lin?"
Lin Jin breathed a quiet sigh of relief. It was good to be in contact with the camp. "Ouyang, any word from the captain’s team?"
Nearby, Qi Xiang was staring at the shifty-eyed Mutated Rat King, while Qin Yi and Qin Shi cautiously explored a nearby storefront.
Zhao Li and Wei Heng took the map from Gu Xi and headed toward the area marked as a parking lot, hoping to find some fuel or solar panels in the decades-old abandoned cars.
After ending his call with Ouyang, Lin Jin walked over to Qi Xiang. "How about we team up?" ’His luck had always been terrible; he really wanted to see what it was like to be around someone lucky for a change.’
Qi Xiang lifted her chin slightly, brushed the dust off her clothes, and stood up. She took a few steps, then backed up, poking the Mutated Rat King’s belly with a branch she’d picked up from somewhere.
"Let’s go. Time to work."
The Mutated Rat King didn’t want to work, but after a glance at Gu Xi sitting by the fire, it reluctantly wobbled to its feet and followed along dejectedly.
Qi Xiang casually picked a store and went inside. Once through the door, she gave Lin Jin a slight, confident lift of her chin.
’Let me show you how a pro does it.’
Lin Jin began rummaging around, but all he could find was a pile of useless "new clothes."
He tore open the plastic packaging only to find they were all short-sleeved T-shirts that would have sold for a dirt-cheap 9.9 yuan wholesale before the apocalypse.
Lin Jin: "..."
He looked up at Qi Xiang and raised an eyebrow, his expression clearly asking: ’So, Miss Good Luck, is this it?’
Qi Xiang felt her nose start to itch. She frowned, patted the dust from her chest, and bent down to pick through the pile of junk Lin Jin had found. After a moment, she stood up and dusted off her hands in disgust.
’This can’t be right.’
’When did my luck get so bad? Could it be...?’
Qi Xiang suddenly had a thought. She turned and sized Lin Jin up from head to toe. She’d heard a long time ago that the twins from the Special Service Team had notoriously bad luck...
Just then, the Mutated Rat King, which had been trailing behind them, suddenly twitched its nose.
"SQUEAK!"
It let out a sharp cry, pointing in a specific direction.
At the same time, Qi Xiang had already turned and walked over to what must have been the store’s changing rooms.
Using a piece of root she’d picked up, she slowly hooked aside the plastic curtain.