Translator: AnubisTL
Soon, Chen Jiang had distributed the sixteen rifles on the table.
He then spent five items to enhance their ammunition capacity to +2.
[Ding! Consumed two one-star items.]
[Enhanced the ammunition capacity of the one-star item Steel Sword Rifle to +1.]
[Effect increased from the original 100 rounds to 300 rounds.]
[Ding! Consuming three one-star items.]
[Enhancing the ammunition capacity of the one-star item Steel Sword Rifle to +2.]
[Effect increased from 300 rounds to 500 rounds.]
Five hundred rounds.
That should be enough for now.
Chen Jiang tossed the remaining six rifles to Scar Dog. "Tell me which ones you want enhanced, and I'll give them a quick upgrade. Then put on the clothes I bought you in City 18 and let's head out."
Scar Dog nodded instinctively, then realized what he'd agreed to and asked, bewildered, "Head out? Where are we going?"
"It's daytime. Moving around too much now will make us easy targets."
As he spoke, he pulled out the new suits they'd bought in City 18 from a nearby bag and put one on.
Scar Dog picked up a polished piece of iron and stared at his reflection—himself in a suit and tie. He clicked his tongue in admiration.
"I don't know why you bought two suits, Brother Jiang. They're not exactly practical for moving around, and wearing this in the wilderness isn't exactly safe."
"But I have to admit, wearing a suit makes me feel a lot more... solid."
"Especially for skinny guys like me, we're natural clothes hangers. Suits look really good on us."
"For a moment, it felt like I was back in civilized society. Those three months of wilderness survival felt like a surreal nightmare."
"Alright, enough."
Chen Jiang shook his head slightly, a hint of exasperation in his eyes, as he put on his newly purchased suit. "Stop talking so much. Why are you chattering like a woman?"
"I used to hate talking too, but now I realize how much of a luxury it can be."
"Especially now. Every word I speak makes me feel more alive."
"Oh yeah, Brother Jiang, you still haven't said why you bought these suits."
"For business."
Chen Jiang spat twice into his palm, then picked up the gleaming metal plate in front of him with a serious expression, using it to style his hair.
He hadn't dared visit a barber in City 18 to get his hair done.
After all, human players could expose their identities not only when attacking others, but also when being attacked themselves.
What if the mechanical barber accidentally nicked his scalp while trimming his hair, causing blood to well up and the words "Player Chen Jiang" to pop up on his head?
That wouldn't be a pleasant situation.
"Do business?" Scar Dog looked at Chen Jiang, bewildered. "With whom? The mechanical race or the human race?"
"If it's the mechanical race, we might as well just rob them. If it's the human race, we might as well just rob them too."
"These days, everyone's just doing zero-yuan purchases. Who even bothers with legitimate business anymore?"
"..."
Chen Jiang glanced at Scar Dog, slightly speechless. "So, you're just living the 'gun in the wilderness, freedom every day' life, huh?"
"We'll do business with the boss of the wasteland."
"I thought about it carefully last night. For us, semi-functional items are precious enhancement materials, but for the wasteland, they're just garbage waiting to be disposed of."
"These items are worthless to them, so we could potentially pose as members of the mechanical race and trade with the wasteland."
"We'll pay, they'll supply the goods."
"This way, we can acquire a large quantity of semi-functional items in a short amount of time."
"I've run the numbers several times. It's feasible, and the risk of exposure isn't too high."
"But..." Scar Dog hesitated, looking puzzled. "We could just sneak in at night and scavenge the semi-functional items ourselves. After all, we've already taken care of Ma Zi."
"Why waste credit points buying these semi-functional items?"
"You're thinking too small," Chen Jiang said, shaking his head. "Scavenging at night would be too slow."
"By spending a little money, we can acquire a large quantity of semi-functional items in a short amount of time."
"Besides, credit points are just the mechanical race's currency. They're not particularly useful to us."
"Alright, get ready. Let's move out."
Soon, the two of them slipped into the wasteland.
It was daytime, and the crane was still operational. They had to be extremely cautious to avoid being spotted by the crane operator.
Unfortunately, Ma Zi's vehicle was stored inside a shipping container in the wasteland, making it difficult to drive out during the day.
Renting a vehicle in City 18 was even more absurd. All vehicles there were connected to the enforcers, who held absolute authority.
Including the sealed doors, if anything went wrong, that thing would be like locking themselves in a coffin.
Even if they could break the windows, it would still waste precious time.
Therefore, the two had no choice but to take a detour and walk to the main gate of the wasteland on foot.
"Tsk," Scar Dog clicked his tongue as he gazed at the wasteland's main gate. "After being in this world for so long, this is the first time I've seen the gate to this wasteland."
The gate before them was indeed the epitome of dilapidation.
A tattered gate hung limply, with a security booth standing beside it.
It was clear that City 18 hadn't bothered much with the wasteland's exterior.
Yet there were still some visible defensive measures: an electric fence, machine guns, and exposed mines.
These exposed mines were laid bare on the ground, designed to deter beasts but not humans.
The defensive measures were, at best, mediocre.
After all, City 18 clearly didn't value this wasteland, or they wouldn't have placed it in the wilderness outside the city.
If a horde of mutated beasts were to assault the wasteland, it wouldn't receive any fire support from City 18.
It would simply have to quietly await its fall.
But then again, no one would care if a wasteland fell.
Only Chen Jiang and his group cared.
"No shit!"
If they hadn't had the wasteland as shelter for the past three months, they would have been dead long ago.
The wasteland had no defensive firepower at the rear, but for some reason, the mutated beasts stopped pursuing them once they took refuge there and simply dispersed.
Boom!
A muffled gunshot rang out.
A mechanical voice rasped, "Halt!"
A man in a security guard uniform emerged from the guard booth, his expression strange, holding a rifle pointed skyward. He had fired the warning shot.
"What's your business here?"
The voice remained hoarse and emotionless, sounding like a decades-old radio forced to power on, emitting crackling static.
Chen Jiang narrowed his eyes, sizing up the man before him. His gaze naturally drifted to the man's throat.
It wasn't a normal human Adam's apple, but an exposed mechanical one. Had this man replaced his throat with a mechanical one?
While these thoughts raced through his mind, Chen Jiang smoothly drew his hand cannon from his chest and raised it into the air.
This gesture served both to demonstrate his own firepower and to signal his lack of hostile intent.
"I'm with the Cold Wolf Gang. Our boss wants to propose a collaboration with your wasteland's leader."
(End of the Chapter)
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