These people have managed to reach the camp.
They must have some skills to do so.
Zhao Ming wouldn't miss a chance to recruit talent, would he?
He immediately walked over and started chatting with the others.
Humans are distributed randomly when entering the Spirit Realm, making it difficult for influential forces from the real world to impact the Spirit Realm.
Especially before they exit the Descent Forest, it's challenging to find people from the same city in these small camps.
Old Zhao realized that he must establish a dual-force strategy in both the real world and the Spirit Realm to lay a more solid foundation for the future, so he needs more talent!
A young woman, not even thirty, walked over: "Hey, handsome, your equipment is really cool, can I touch it?"
Zhang Xiaoqiang found his eyes glued to her like a magnet, unable to pull them back.
The woman might not be exceptionally beautiful, but she was full and voluptuous, boasting a D-cup scale, and stood a head taller than him, probably a model.
Most importantly, her clothes had long been torn apart, leaving only leaves to cover her three points.
It was even more visually striking than a bikini!
Giving the illusion that a light breath.
Could reveal an endless vista of spring.
The voluptuous woman glanced at Hang Yu, who wore a mask and appeared completely unapproachable, almost as if he had "I don't want to make friends" tattooed on his forehead, and then at Zhang Xiaoqiang, who was blushing and secretly glancing her way; she immediately chose to chat with Zhang Xiaoqiang.
Being casually flattered by the voluptuous and exposed woman.
Zhang Xiaoqiang found himself a bit lost.
Jiang Nan snorted disdainfully under her breath.
She stayed by Hang Yu's side, having dismissed someone trying to cozy up.
Once the two of them sat down in an unobtrusive corner, she commented, "I didn't expect so many people to come at once!"
"Don't just see them as being in tatters and looking pitiful; actually, getting through the forest by themselves requires a bit of luck and skill," Hang Yu said, glancing at the campus belle. "Old Zhao and Xiaoqiang are all making friends; aren't you going to meet some new people?"
"No, no, I'm too clumsy; what if I meet bad people?" Jiang Nan adorably scratched her head, then wrapped her arms around her fair and slender legs, scooting closer to Hang Yu, "Hehe, I'll keep the Great God company and chat for a bit to entertain you!"
The campus belle had quite a strong sense of self-preservation.
In the Spirit Realm, with no laws or moral constraints, anything could happen here.
A girl as lovely as jade, with equipment that anyone would envy, yet with relatively weak combat power, was indeed safer to remain cautiously by Hang Yu's side.
Jiang Nan had her little calculations; rather than risking making potentially malicious friends, it was better to maintain a reserved and demure image, to solidify her relationship with the Great God, and leave a better impression on him!
Right now, the only truly reliable one was this Great God!
Hang Yu also had no intention of making friends. He would remain as low-profile as possible at this stage, and wouldn't temporarily ally with or tie himself to anyone, including Zhao Ming, Jiang Nan, or Zhang Xiaoqiang.
He would team up with them twice purely because he happened to have needs.
This didn't mean Hang Yu considered them as his people.
Nor did it mean Hang Yu would always carry them along.
Hang Yu's advantage lay in his invaluable memories and experiences, so he should strategically develop himself under the radar and try to stay ahead of more people before other big shots could adapt.
To maximize his advantages into tangible benefits.
Hang Yu needed to avoid being dragged down by anyone.
If cooperation could yield better returns, Hang Yu certainly wouldn't mind collaborating a bit; but if others might bog down his plans or reduce his benefits, Hang Yu would have no hesitation in going solo. It's as simple as that.
Of course.
Hang Yu also wasn't forgetting to make some connections.
People like Old Zhao might be worth paying more attention to; maintaining good relations could be extremely beneficial.
Jiang Nan suddenly heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and she immediately became as vigilant as a cat, quickly picking up a crossbow and aiming at the newcomer, "What do you want… Stop!"
A bulky man, exceedingly hairy and muscular, over 1.9 meters tall with a broad back and shoulders like a bear, stood there.
This guy didn't look friendly; with his copper-bell eyes, stubbled face, and rugged, fierce expression akin to a bandit or fugitive, no wonder Jiang Nan was nervous.
"Don't misunderstand, I'm not here with ill intentions, just seeing if there might be any business opportunities." The bear-like man quickly explained, "Buying Crystal Stones, Equipment, and fruit; anything from the Spirit Realm, I'm buying, using RMB, fairly priced."
Interesting.
Starting a business already?
Jiang Nan huffed, "We don't even have enough for ourselves, we're not selling!"
"Young lady, don't say that. I'm not picky, I'll buy anything," the bear-like man seemed unwilling to give up, quickly appraising both Hang Yu and Jiang Nan: "You two clearly have better equipment now; can I buy the shorts you switched out for fifty thousand apiece? Ladies' petticoats might fetch a little more."
Jiang Nan was taken aback, "Huh? Buying Crystal Stones, Equipment, and fruit I can understand, but what use do you have for shorts?"
Hang Yu found the campus belle's intelligence amusingly touching.
How on earth did she get into Yanjing University?
Hang Yu coughed lightly: "Just look at the camp and you'll know. Only about one-tenth of the people have clothes to wear. As more people arrive, underwear will become a rare commodity, capable of fetching high prices."
What?
Trading underwear!
Was I hearing this right?
Jiang Nan was dumbfounded.
Stock trading, gold speculation, real estate speculation are one thing.
Have humans become so insanely crazy they're speculating on underwear too!
Although it's a mind-boggling idea, there's no denying that underwear indeed will be in high demand and is currently a safe-haven asset.
Just think.
Generally, those who make it to the camp have died at least once or more.
Whenever you die, your only piece of underwear will definitely get blown away.
Even if you can keep it now, you can't guarantee you'll keep it in the future.
Judging by the camp's current situation, less than one-tenth have clothes to cover themselves, while the rest can only use leaves and vines for modesty, which is inconvenient for both jungle navigation and combat.
The goblin camp sells weapons like wooden sticks, short crossbows, and short knives, but doesn't stock clothes; if you accidentally die outside and your underwear gets wrecked, there's nowhere to replenish it.
Overall, most people will be in the embarrassing situation of having nothing to wear for quite a long time.
Underwear will become scarcer, demand will grow, so rare items will have a significant market!
Besides, the Spirit Realm invasion has caused a tidal wave in the current world financial system, with major fluctuations in the currencies of this world, possibly leading to hyperinflation. A safe-haven asset is needed to prevent wealth depreciation.
So what asset is best at this time?
Gold, food, gasoline? Definitely not!
The most potential assets should be from the Spirit Realm!
But Spirit Realm assets are scarce right now, and underwear is the most abundant Spirit Realm item, naturally acquiring safe-haven attributes!
Don't be fooled by this guy's bear-like appearance; prior to this, he had already persuaded five men and two women with just his words to abandon their principles and sell their underwear and slips at seemingly astronomical prices.
He plans to buy and hoard large quantities of underwear, using it as a hedge against inflation in the currencies of this world while speculating the price and cashing in, reaping profits and potentially striking it rich overnight.
Hang Yu asked, "How should I address you, sir?"
"Hehe, my surname is Bear, I'm called Xiong Wanjun, you can just call me Old Bear."
This guy's appearance is deceptive; he looks like a big brown bear, but is actually very shrewd.
"If you have any extras, you must sell them to me. We can still negotiate the price," he smiled wryly, "If you have anything else good, come to me as well. I know lots of rich people. Even if I can't take it myself, I can connect you."
Hang Yu decided to remember this guy.
For no reason other than how cunning Old Bear is.
Why didn't Old Bear go to Zhao Ming but approached Hang Yu and Jiang Xiaonan?
Because Old Bear could tell Zhao Ming was a bigshot, the kind of person who wouldn't bother with a small fry like him. In the eyes of Old Bear, Hang Yu had something that ordinary people didn't.
This guy is interesting.
Hang Yu sold the two extra pairs of underwear for 150,000.
One was Hang Yu's own, the other had dropped from Fatty Brother after being killed by a goblin. The two made the transaction through the Spirit Realm assistant, which had functions akin to this world's apps, including transfer functions, making it very convenient.
Jiang Nan resolutely refused to sell her changeable slip.
Selling the slip now, if something happened and she accidentally lost the clothes she had on, wouldn't she be left with nothing to wear?
Would she end up like that seductive vixen trying to lure Xiaoqiang, using leaves to cover the vital areas?
Although Jiang Nan was quite confident in her figure.
Just imagining that scenario felt so embarrassing!
So she had to be prepared for contingencies!
Old Bear was quite satisfied with the transaction results; two pairs of underwear were sure to go up in price, earning profits without loss!
"Can we add each other as friends? If you find any good items in the future, you can come to Old Bear. If you want to purchase any good items, you can find me too!" Xiong Wanjun laughed happily and patted his hairy chest, "I intend to do business long-term, so I certainly guarantee credibility, I won't scam people."
Hang Yu agreed to the friend request.
He found this guy somewhat interesting.
Seeing that the Great God added him too, Jiang Nan also added Old Bear.
Time was up, Hang Yu didn't linger, and he said goodbye to Jiang Nan and Zhao Ming, promptly clicking the option to return to this world.