"Hey, what are you doing here? This is private property." A man with a hoarse voice said, his tone carrying one of annoyance.
Laurel stood up and walked closer to him. Her smile almost faltered the moment she saw how huge the man was, and his expression was so serious, as if he was saying he had no time for nonsense.
The sunlight reflected on his bald head like a mirror. The long rifle in his hands was something that made Laurel's eyes widen with interest.
"Hello, I saw this land was up for sale and I wanted to take a look around. I hope you don't mind?" Laurel said cautiously.
"Oh, I see. This way ma'am." The man lowered his gun. He turned and opened the gate which seemed like it might fall anytime.
Laurel swallowed, her fist tightening as she followed after the man. A part of her wanted to turn around and go back home and come again with an agent.
However, this had to be done in secret and although the man looked like he would be hard to take down, hopefully Ling Xuan could handle him.
Back in the apocalypse, fighting was never her strong suit as she focused more on healing.
"Ling Xuan, if anything should happen, can you handle this man?" Laurel muttered under her breath but she knew Ling Xuan could hear her.
"Sure, I have no problem handling him. But what is he holding?" Ling Xuan asked, a little intrigued.
"You don't know what that is? I thought you said you had gone through my memories." Laurel rolled her eyes inwardly in disbelief.
"Well, I couldn't go through everything, it seemed like it was suddenly locked away, so I can't access it anymore. So tell me what that strange-looking weapon is?"
Laurel glanced to the side of the gate, and she saw another man snoring as he hugged his gun to his chest.
"It is called a gun, that thing can kill faster than an arrow, and it is very dangerous," Laurel said as she followed after the man.
"That sounds very cool. If only I had something like this during the war, maybe I wouldn't have died and I wouldn't have lost so many men." Ling Xuan turned cold and distant. "I want it."
"That would be later," Laurel replied, her eyes scanning the surroundings. The warehouse was huge and it was just a one-story building.
Behind the warehouse was a huge plot of land that stretched far to the rocks forming a wall around it. The soil was rich and there was direct sunlight. Although it required some work as there were bushes everywhere.
The source of the stream was the rock from which water was coming out, and to the sides of the warehouse was a lot of space.
"Why is this place abandoned?" Laurel asked the man.
He cleared his throat. "This was a research center for drugs, and it had big people funding it. The place was abandoned when the scientists failed to produce the drugs they intended, so the big shots pulled out their money.
So the scientists are in debt and need to return the money. The place has been put on auction for a long time, but no one was willing to buy it because of the location, so the price lowered every passing year."
Laurel nodded her head as they headed inside the warehouse. Laurel's mouth opened wide, although the place was covered in dust, the warehouse was connected to a research base, where everything she needed was available. Even a small greenhouse for special plants was on the roof of the building.
Laurel was drooling at how perfect the place was.
"Do you like it?" The man asked the moment they stepped outside the building.
"I do, but 400,000 dollars…"
"Don't worry, we can give it for 350,000 dollars." The man didn't let Laurel finish before cutting in.
Laurel raised one of her brows. She nodded. "I'll make it 500,000 dollars, I just want you to make sure this place is properly secured, and you won't leave after it is secured."
She needed someone who could guard the property for her. And the man looked tough and strong.
The man's eyes widened. "Sure, Ma'am."
Laurel brought out the card and quickly made the transaction.
"When will the paperwork be ready?" Laurel asked for formality's sake.
"Tomorrow, Ma'am."
"In case you see people bring things over, just know they are working for me," Laurel said with a smile of relief.
"Yes, ma'am." The guard gave a nod of acknowledgement.
Laurel left the place and headed back to her car. She let out a deep sigh of relief.
[System Alert: Congratulations to hosts for completing the mission]
Reward: 10 points.]
[Mission 002: Secure the field.
The field has been claimed, but it is not yet safe for farming. Clear all threats and establish basic security.
Requirements: {Eliminate environmental hazards}
{Ensure the field is safe for sustained activity.}
Reward: {15 points}
Unlock: {Basic land analysis}
Time remaining: 47:59:59]
Laurel stared at the system. "Can't we decide when to accept missions?"
[No. Hosts must reach the intermediate level before they can negotiate with the system]
The system disappeared, before she could even ask more questions.
"Can we go get those guns now?" Ling Xuan asked almost impatiently. She wanted to see what was so special about that strange weapon.
Ever since her eyes caught sight of it, she felt an undeniable pull towards it. She had a feeling that it might become her next favourite weapon.