Sunlight shines through the forest and leaves a shadow on the ground. A haggard face poked out from the bushes. The escape has been seven days. Xiao consumed all the cookies and water. Only the equipment from the night owl squad is still in his bag.
He sacrificed the low durability light power arm to stick the dagger of Silver Blade. Then even with 50 HP, he could beat the agent ass in a close fight. He has the blueprint. Thus, he is not pitiful about the broken equipment as he can make a new one if he has materials. Breaking equipment is quite common for a machinist.
He has no medicine in the forest. Luckily, his endurance is high enough so that he doesn't have to worry about inflammation of wounds. He took out bullets with pain and let the wound heals themselves. The bullets from snipers were troublesome. They were stuck in the shoulder blades and it took Xiao more than half an hour just to recover from the after-pain.
Thank god Xiao didn't meet any beast along the way. Several rabbits jumped to him were in his belly already. The beasts in blue planet can be violent. Some of them even awaken wisdom. They attacked some cities in history and caused huge casualties. Although Xiao remembers the map of Blue Planet, he has no idea where he is at the moment. He can only run towards the direction of sunrise and sleep in trees at night. He is woken up by mosquitoes seven or eight times every night. The most annoying creature in the world!
"When could I get out of this forest?" Xiao wants a rest. Suddenly, he notices there is a camp far away. Wood and scrap metal made fences and spikes. They are the simplest defence. There are dozens of simple tents inside. Cooking smoke rises from the camp. This is a common straggler gathering camp in blue planet. Xiao is very glad to see such a camp. He needs supplies.
He walks towards it and suddenly his face changes and he rushes back. There is a net rise from the ground. Some of the net hold is filled with thin sharp metals. This is a dangerous trap. Thankfully, he reacted quickly; otherwise there would be new wounds.
"That guy escaped my trap!" A young teenager with long hair walks out from a tree. He is wearing a mixed beast skin cape like a straggler. He looks at Xiao with malignity and points Xiao's head with a home made shotgun. He shouts arrogantly "Stop! Don't move!" This boy is obviously a resident of the camp. Xiao doesn't want any conflict. He raises his hands and says "I am just a passerby."
"A pass-by?" The boy notices Xiao's full bag and says greedily, "What's in your bag? Take everything out!" Then Xiao realises that he met a robber. That's why the size of the net is just enough to hold a person. The world is in chaos. Most stragglers are from a conquered nation who don't want to join the Six Nations. The field is poor and dangerous which makes them greedy like hyenas. Killings and robberies are common for them.
"Are you deaf! Take things out!" The boy gets angry and points the muzzle at Xiao's head. The guns in the bag are all from the Sprout. Xiao couldn't risk taking them out. "Take things out! Or eat my bullets" The boy releases the safe and threatens. It is at this moment Xiao takes the move. He strikes the boy's chest with his elbow. He swiftly snatches the homemade shotgun before the boy is hit back.
"Damn! He is fast." The boy covers his chest with his hand and is in panic. He tries to get away from Xiao with his hands and feet. Xiao cuts the net blade trap and takes a thick string from it. He ties the boy to a tree before he can run away. He takes a look at the shotgun. It is a very rough one. The barrel is crooked and would explode when fire. This proves that this boy is bluffing. He has never shot anyone before.
The boy becomes more panicked when he sees Xiao pick up his shotgun and pled "B ~Bro~, It was a mistake. Let me go please." Xiao pats on his head and shouts "A mistake?" The boy is not arrogent any more and says "My mistake. My mistake.""What mistake?" The boy hesitates for a while and says carefully "I should bring one more gun?" Xiao laughs about his dumb answer. "Please let me go, just like releasing a fart." The boy pretends to cry.
"Fu*k off, I don't have a big fart like you." Xiao knocks him out with the barrel and sighs. This boy is a resident of the camp. He needs to buy food and water there. It's better not to start a conflict by killing the boy. Xiao has to knock him off and tie him. "You are lucky today" Xiao whispers.
…
After half an hour of walking, Xiao enters the camp. The residents here look at him with precautions. The field is dangerous. The stragglers gather together. The outsider is rare. They look at Xiao like watching a monkey in the zoo. Their lifestyle is like gypsy. They move often. Almost every tent gets a small pickup near it. Those pickups are all modified and usually quite rough. Some of them only have the frame. A waterproof cloth covers the engine.
One pickup stands for one family. The camp is small with only dozens of families. But it gets everything. Xiao finds the market. A white guy with a beard holds a place in the back of a pickup.
"Outsider?" The businessman glances at Xiao, "Do you know our rules?"
"What rules?"
"Barter only!"
That's nice. I don't have any money. "I need a map. Three jars of water. Five kilos of food, dry meat or bread. I will pay with this." Xiao takes out some bullets from the bag.
"Bullets?" There is light shining in the businessman's eyes. He notices Xiao's full bag. He becomes greedy. The bullets are more useful than money to them. All stragglers need bullets and guns. Bullets are harder to make than a rough gun. They can make some bullets. But the amount is limited. "150 bullets. You have your stuff." He says.
"Bombast!" Xiao is not happy. He just asks for daily supplies. It's not possible to be over 300 blue dollars in the market. Xiao's bullets are made from assembly line. They are high-quality brass bullets. 150 bullets are at least 1500 Blue Planet Coins. Xiao only has 300. The beard guy asking for 150 bullets is definitely bullying him.
"You can choose to go away. " The beard guy plays with his nails and acts like he is chill with this trade.