Arriving at the next bus stop, they both alighted and headed towards the meeting place. There, they met the land agent.
He was a chubby guy with glasses who wore an orange floral shirt with trousers. Seeing them from afar, he thought they were potential clients due to the designer brands they wore and the aura of wealth around them.
"Greetings, beautiful ladies," he said, rubbing his hands together. "How may I help you? Are you looking for rentals, houses for sale, land? Whatever it is, I can help you with that."
Yunxia stopped, looking at the pig-like guy in front of her. To her, he was weak and probably wouldn't survive a week in the apocalypse. Besides, he seemed really shady. Deciding to focus on finding the guy she had booked an appointment with, she responded curtly, while Mei looked around.
"We are looking for a guy named Lou Femin 罗泽民. Do you perhaps know him by any chance?"
The man paused, his actions freezing for a moment. Then he looked at her with a much more composed and professional smile.
"Oh, I see. Well, you've come to the right place then. You must be Lady Yunxia. Please, follow me."
He led them to his office. It was a bit shady, but manageable.
"You can take a seat. According to what we discussed on the call, you are looking for land, correct?" Yunxia nodded lazily.
"Although you weren't very specific, you claimed you wanted somewhere high above sea level, but with enough space to build a small city. You also required the land to be close to a large source of water and fertile enough for farming…" he continued, reading from the paper on his desk. He seemed really trustworthy despite how he had acted earlier. Professional, even—it was like he knew what he was doing.
"…Alright, is that all the requirements?" he asked, finally putting the paper down.
Mei looked at Yunxia with a knowing expression, as if realizing her entire plan from the list of requirements. Meanwhile, Yunxia nodded in confirmation. Looking at Mei, she asked, "Is there anything you want to add to it?"
"N-no, I'm good. But it would be nice if you could buy parts of the land below the mountain."
Lou Femin immediately jotted that down and placed a few phone calls.
After a while, he returned. "I have a few suitable places. Would you like to visit them or watch them from a drone?"
Yunxia, who was in haste to get things done, agreed to the drone suggestion and watched the feed from the screen, while Mei had already begun making designs in her head.
…
Location 1:
"This place is situated close to the north, previously known for its glaciers and rare stones. There's a small lake running across it, but unfortunately, the land isn't suitable for farming," Lou Femin explained.
"It's not suitable at all," Mei said, already sighing, at which Yunxia commanded,
"Next!"
…
Location 2:
"It's a high mountain surrounded by forestry, but there are wild animals living in the area. If you are in need of fertile soil, the place is good, with herbs and fruits growing near it. However, the land below the mountain is already owned, as there are villages around it." He continued, beads of sweat already forming on his head. It seemed there were issues with the land acquisition. In other words, Yunxia had competition.
Yunxia decided to look at the other locations before deciding. Although the land was good, it did not have a great amount of water. Moreover, by the time the apocalypse began, not only would the animals mutate and attack, but the plants might evolve and gain consciousness, which could prove a good opportunity to raise her strength. Still, the risks were high—after all, plant-type mutants were not easy to deal with.
…
Location 3:
"This one meets all the requirements, although it's a bit far from here," he continued, scratching his hair—a habit he displayed when extremely nervous. "The issue is that multiple people have requested to buy it."
And no, this wasn't a tactic to increase the price. The problem was partly caused by Mei telling Yunxia's friends that they were planning to create a bunker.
Lou Femin continued, "It's located at the coastline, with a beach area to the west. It's close to a few islands and has multiple transportation routes. To the north, there's an abandoned village with lots of fertile land. The villagers were compensated and migrated to major cities. This was because the government had planned to turn it into a dam, but the project was held off due to these strange reoccurrences. It measures about 100 hectares, and the mountain is at least 60 meters above sea level—the height of at least one skyscraper."
He looked at Yunxia to judge her expression, but seeing confusion, he coughed lightly. "I mean, it's as big as a city and as high as a skyscraper," he said, trying to break the measurements down for her while still being professional and polite.
Yunxia nodded, seeing the guy in a completely new light. She looked at Mei for her opinion, glad she had brought her along.
"Let's get it, Yunxia. I think I can work with it," Mei responded, already writing out a quotation for the design and calculating the price range.
"Alright then, how much is the price, Mister Lou?" Yunxia asked while checking her bank balance and preparing to sell all assets.