Wasteland Hideout: Upgrading from the Sewers

Chapter 73: Gathering Rare Resources—High-Quality Wool

Yu Yuan never expected to see someone mention "spirituality" again just one day later.

He was even more surprised to learn that the Aurora Animal Assistance Association had already developed their experiments with mutated creatures to such an advanced level. The variety of mutated organisms was diverse, and even that giant mutant rat from the sewer couldn't be considered their work—it was just an accidental byproduct.

The problem was, he couldn't even defeat that giant mutant rat yet!

This was rather frustrating.

He now understood why he had suddenly obtained the [Echoes of History] achievement after reading that assessment report last time.

The Aurora Animal Assistance Association was likely the deepest hidden boss in Green Forest City's eastern district.

As for Ning Zhe's situation, that wasn't something Yu Yuan needed to worry about.

Another thing that concerned Yu Yuan was the last sentence Ning Zhe spoke in the video.

If the Aurora Animal Assistance Association had indeed planted people within the police department system even before the wasteland arrived, then the peaceful coexistence between them now wasn't just an ordinary alliance between factions.

It was highly probable that the Black Shield Police Department was merely the public white glove of the Aurora Animal Assistance Association.If that was the case, then the Thug Prison situation became quite interesting.

Were they so eager to occupy Green Forest City's eastern district because they knew who the real boss of the eastern city was?

Also, the Black Shield Police Department had suffered significant losses in their recent battles with the Thug Prison.

Would the Aurora Animal Assistance Association directly intervene?

All these factors were full of variables.

Oh, right, there was also the Burning Fortress. Since they were so relentlessly pursuing the Blood-Hand Gang, they must know the value of the Escape Key. Plus, the escape passage blueprint that dropped from the Flame Priest was meant to be used with the Escape Key.

Now that both items were lost, all suspicion pointed toward the Black Shield Police Department, but among the Flame Knights, some clearly held greater hostility toward the Thug Prison.

What choices would they make?

Various possibilities flashed through Yu Yuan's mind as he considered whether he could develop and strengthen himself amidst the conflicts between these major factions.

After a long while, he let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair.

"I still have too little information! Most of this is ambiguous speculation that can't be relied upon!"

"In that case, I'll just wait and see! Ultimately, it all comes down to strength and intelligence! Fortunately, from the current situation, Carmen hasn't revealed my existence. The three major factions don't know about me, and that's my biggest advantage."

Yu Yuan's mind was very clear.

To forge iron, one must be strong oneself. No matter how he schemed, if his strength wasn't sufficient, he wouldn't be able to seize opportunities even if they were right in front of him.

After getting up to charge Ning Zhe's laptop, Yu Yuan prepared to set out.

He still needed to go to Nightingale tonight—this was his final night to eliminate the [Indulgence Card].

But before that, he had to gather all the materials needed to build the [Treadmill Generator Room].

Insufficient power reserves had become the main factor restricting his shelter's upgrades.

When he had no choice before, it was one thing, but now that the optimized blueprint was right before his eyes.

Today he absolutely had to gather all the optimized materials, and tomorrow he would complete the generator optimization.

Entering the warehouse, he loaded the payment he would use tonight into the Magician's Ring. This time he didn't wear the Enforcer uniform, just an ordinary scavenger outfit.

But just as he was about to equip Mie Mie and leave the shelter, his gaze swept over Mie Mie's already very thick wool, and he paused slightly.

Then he slapped his forehead, showing a look of regret.

"How could I forget about Mie Mie's weekly high-quality wool!"

Today was the eleventh day in the wasteland, meaning he could have collected the wool yesterday, but he had been so busy that he completely forgot.

But now the problem was, he had never sheared a sheep before!

"Hiss... how exactly do you do this?"

Yu Yuan had already found scissors and was frowning slightly as he looked at Mie Mie, who was tilting her head to look at him.

"I think I saw a video before—you lay the sheep down, then use clippers to shave, and the wool comes off in one piece. Without clippers, scissors should work too, right..."

While recalling, Yu Yuan gestured with the scissors around Mie Mie's body.

Finally, he gritted his teeth, tossed a bundle of green grass to Mie Mie, and started shearing from the tail area.

"Whether it works or not, I'll just start cutting first!"

Mie Mie didn't show any particularly stressed reaction to Yu Yuan's actions, just curiously glanced at him before starting to eat the grass on her own.

Instead, Yu Yuan was already sweating profusely.

It had to be said that as a Rare Treasure creature, Mie Mie's fur was simply too perfect. Even without grooming and after carrying Yu Yuan around during this period, it remained clean and silky, with some golden luster visible upon closer inspection.

The hair fibers were fine and soft, about 15 centimeters long, with natural wavy curls. When grabbed, one could feel the fluffiness, warmth, and strong elasticity.

Yu Yuan's movements were initially quite clumsy, but after a few cuts, he gradually grasped the technique, his speed increasing. The sheared wool came off Mie Mie's body like a large coat slowly being removed.

After an hour, with the final cut, Yu Yuan looked at the heavy wool in his hands and let out a long sigh of relief.

Finally finished shearing.

Mie Mie, now shorn of wool, looked more than one size smaller, completely bald all over, with some areas having uneven hair length. She had transformed from a beauty-style pretty sheep into an ugly sheep.

Mie Mie clearly noticed something too, first looking down at her front hooves, then twisting her head to look at her body.

After that, Mie Mie stopped eating grass and just stared blankly at Yu Yuan.

Mie~~?

Yu Yuan's mouth twitched, his expression somewhat unnatural.

Pointing at the wool on the ground and the scissors in his hand, he showed an awkward smile.

"Well... the scissors weren't very comfortable to use this time. Next time I'll find some electric clippers, don't worry! Haha... it'll be fine!"

Two seconds later, Mie Mie finally lowered her head and started eating grass again, but turned her rear toward him, clearly not wanting to see Yu Yuan for the time being.

Yu Yuan smiled awkwardly.

"I really need to find clippers next time, these scissors really aren't comfortable to use."

Mie Mie could produce 20 kilograms of high-quality wool every seven days—no small amount. Combined with the excellent quality of Mie Mie's wool, Yu Yuan carefully gathered all the scattered wool from the ground and packed it together with the large wool "blanket" into a bag.

Only then did he finally complete this task.

And the properties of Mie Mie's wool were quite extraordinary, making Yu Yuan unable to suppress his smile.

[High-Quality Wool]

Quality: Excellent

Fiber Fineness: Supreme Grade (less than 15.5 micrometers)

Fiber Length: 14-16cm

Elasticity: Excellent

Fluffiness: Excellent

Warmth Retention: Excellent

Durability: Excellent

Collection Quality: Extremely Poor

Evaluation: Were the collector's hands engaged in mutual combat?