Reaper: Do you take me for a beggar?
Lordmoonlight: Then what do you suggest?
Reaper: You're clearly trying to lowball me.
Apunki: @Lordmoonlight I advise you not to trade with Reaper.
Lordmoonlight: ???
Apunki: The awakener slave he's trying to sell was robbed from D-One.
Lordmoonlight: So???
Lulu: "So???" Are you serious? D-One's the first person who unlocked the chat group function. Our names here are sorted by level, and his has never dropped from the very top.
Apunki: Lulu's right. I also heard D-One sacrificed half his resources and lost a ton of slaves just to capture that awakener.
Lordmoonlight: Hah. So he values this awakener that much? All the more reason for me to trade. You're basically saying I should suck up to some guy in the apocalypse just because his feelings might get hurt?
Apunki: Lordmoonlight, this is just friendly advice. D-One isn't just someone you should mess with.
Lulu: Seriously. We're only saying this for your own good.
Lordmoonlight: Yes, yes, D-One is strong. But don't you ever wonder why he's so desperate for this particular Awakener? I knew exactly who Reaper stole from, that's the reason I'm interested. I couldn't care less about a D-One's delicate feelings.
Lordmoonlight: @Reaper as I was saying, I'm offering you a fair trade.
Reaper: Fair? You call this fair? You want 20 healthy slaves, one ability user slave, and an Arati Artifact… all for just three electric cars… "fair"?!
Lordmoonlight: Do you think electric cars grow on trees? But since you're dissatisfied, fine. I'll withdraw my offer. Trade with someone else.
Reaper: …Okay. I agree to your terms.
Lordmoonlight: Sorry, bud. I just checked my inventory. I can only offer one electric car now.
A scruffy man sat in a darkened room, glaring at the wall. His eyes were bloodshot, unfocused, filled with fury.
This bastard…!
Reaper: ( ^_^ )Can you make it two electric cars, please? I'll be grateful.
Lordmoonlight: Hm. I'm in a difficult spot. But since I value our relationship, I'll make it two, if you add ten more slaves. That brings the total to thirty. Take it or leave it. No negotiating.
Reaper: …Take.
--
The Reaper nearly broke his teeth grinding them, but he had no choice.
When he ambushed the exhausted convoy, he hadn't thought it through before he'd ambushed them, He thought stealing the Awakener would make him rich in the apocalypse.
But contrary to his fantasies no one dared to bid or exchange for the Awakend slave, no one wanted to offend the man considered the most powerful person in the apocalypse.
He'd stayed in hiding ever since, trapped and paranoid, terrified of the D-One's wrath
When Lordmoonlight's offer appeared, he'd thought it was salvation. Instead, it turned out to be daylight robbery.
He regretted ever crossing D-One bitterly.
The Awakener he stole hadn't uttered a single word under days of torture, no matter what he tried. Whatever secret D-One saw in him, the man kept it locked tight. Now Reaper had no choice but to accept this ridiculous deal. This was his only chance to escape.
Going back to D-One with apologies? Impossible. Reaper was no fool. He'd once been a crime boss sentenced to life in prison before the apocalypse freed him. A man like D-One wouldn't forgive him. Capture meant only one thing: a gruesome death.
--
Aron stared at the chat logs, his expression twisted somewhere between amusement and disbelief.
"so this is what passes as a fair negotiation?"
(My horizons have indeed been broaden.)
He closed the chat without replying.
There'd been earlier messages welcoming him when he first joined, but what struck him most was the casual talk of slavery.
Slavery didn't surprise him, human greed was predictable. What was surprising was that even awakeners weren't spared.
(Indeed human greed knows no bounds. All the more reason to grow stronger)
Shaking his head.
He had no business in their trade. His plan was simple: stay here, level up, and collect as many talents as possible before he went to collect compensations from those that wronged him.
Zone C had been too small, with most of its population already turned to zombies. Zone B, however, was vast {thirteen times larger than Earth}. It would take Three to four months of none stop flying on plane to reach the ocean leading to Zone A from zone B check point.
Zone B was the center of commerce for all three zones, home to hundreds of billions. Even after the apocalypse wiped out half of civilization, Zone B remained a treasure vault, and a death trap.
And from the previous chat he found out not just lifeforms had mutated. Even items which was called 'Arati Artifact' had transformed, granting strange enhancements to their users.
Aron would be lying if he said he wasn't eager for what was to come.
Munching on snacks, he drove until he came upon a smashed checkpoint. His mind flickered back to the lanky truck driver he'd seen days ago. With a shake of his head, he passed through.
Car Status: Energy: 26% | Estimated: 3 days left
After the battle with the wolf, the car's energy had drained rapidly. Since then, there had been no major mishaps. The occasional low-level monster lurked near the forest's edge, but with the car's stealth functions, Aron ignored them.
Ever since becoming an Ascender, he found anything below level 10 only gave him a single point.
At his current stage as an Ascender, anything below level 10 was worthless. The leap from 9 to 10 had been like shattering invisible chains, his strength now exceeded human limits. He was certain not even bullets could harm him.
Crossing the border, he maneuvered past scattered zombies until he found a warehouse. Parking inside, he decided not to risk running into a high-level zombie that could damage the car.
He didn't know if one could see past the stealth system like the lunar wolf had, and he wasn't willing to gamble, just the self driving of the car was invaluable to him.
Locking the garage, he wasn't worried someone might steal it. Anyone who tried to force the car open would simply be courting death.
Looking at the sky, he sighed again. Still pitch-black. A full week had passed since the apocalypse began, and there was no sign of sunlight.
He shook his head and was about to activate stealth when...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire erupted.
Aron's brows furrowed. "Who's the idiot courting death by firing guns?"
The shots came from behind. He turned, eyes freezing over.
Cold killing intent suddenly flashed in his eyes.
Four or five people burst from a building, dragging someone bound like a pig. Zombies swarmed from every direction as the group leapt into a truck.
"Target captured! Move, move, move!"
Even at a distance, Aron's sharp ears picked up their voices.
"Heh. When the boss comes back, this haul's enough to move us up the ranks," another laughed.
But then every man in the truck shuddered. A predator's gaze pressed down on them, cold and suffocating.
Feeling uneasy.
"Drive, damn it! Move!" one shouted at the driver.
Aron stood not far away, his eyes icy cold, killing intent filling the air.
Because the captive they were hauling like a pig… was none other than Mateo, Demian's cousin.
***
Cough, cough.
I owe you all an apology for going silent. I was in an accident, not physically hurt, but it shook me more than I expected. My mind just wasn't in the right place to write, and every time I tried, the words wouldn't come.
But today… I logged in and saw that someone had gifted me a pizza. Such a small thing, right? Yet I almost cried. It reminded me that on the other side of this screen, there are real people who care, who cheer me on, even when I falter.
To the one who sent that gift 💥Milo4more💥, thank you very much. To all of you who leave comments, drop power stones, or simply read in silence, thank you. You don't know how much strength you've given me. On days when I feel like giving up, it's your support that pulls me back.
Writing is hard. Some days it feels like climbing a mountain with no end in sight. But because of you, I keep climbing. Because of you, I want to write something worth your time, something that makes you laugh, cry, or feel less alone.
From the deepest part of my heart, thank you for walking this journey with me. ❤️
Cute-lee..