Chapter 231, Enlarged Revolver

Chapter 231, Enlarged Revolver

In the post-apocalyptic environment, most shelters had similar living conditions.

While lacking food and suffering from hunger, they also had to worry about zombie attacks.

A few shelters fared slightly better.

For example, Flame God's shelter had some modern weapons, settled far from the city, and, after clearing the surrounding zombies, it was relatively safer.

But even then, the difference wasn't that significant.

However, the people at the repair shop shelter were noticeably different.

Blue anti-piercing suits, electric scooter helmets, flashlights and batons on their belts, and hand crossbows in their hands.

They looked like a private militia straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie.

If you said these people were part of an official rescue team, it'd be more believable than thinking they were from the repair shop shelter.

But they were indeed from the repair shop.

The repair shop had refused to join the disaster relief command when appointed by the central station.

"Yes, we heard on the radio about the trade, so we rushed over."

The older man in the passenger seat smiled immediately, leaning forward to speak.

The inspector looked over the car and asked, "How many vehicles did you come with?"

"This one and the one behind us."

The inspector continued, "We need to check if any of you are injured. If everything's fine, you can head inside."

The two men hesitated but eventually opened the doors and stepped out.

They signaled to the others in the car behind to get out and submit to the inspection.

It wasn't a particularly strict inspection.

Zombie viruses infected people quickly.

As long as there were no visible wounds and they stayed outside the checkpoint for three to five minutes, it would be clear if they were infected.

"Alright, you can go in. Just keep driving forward, and you'll see the trading spot," said the inspector.

"Oh, thanks, bro."

The group got back in the car.

Once the roadblock was moved, the two cars drove in.

......

After passing through the checkpoint, they drove straight ahead.

Along the way, they could see some busy people and what looked like patrolling 'skeletons.'

On the radio, the repair shop had already acknowledged the existence of skeletons, but seeing them in person was still a strong visual shock.

No matter what, having a skeleton stand and move defied all logic, far more bizarre than powers like controlling water or fire.

Words like genetic evolution and cellular mutation didn't apply to skeletons at all.

It was straight-up magic.

"Bro, the trade site's just up ahead," said the long-haired driver.

On the side of the road, a sunshade had been set up, with a few people sitting at a table, and nearby were piles of blue bags, with white powder spilling out—likely bags of flour.

The driver was dumbfounded. People were actually trading food for gold in times like these?

"Stop the car!"

The car pulled over, and the older man got out.

He glanced at the pile of grain bags and some beer and instant noodles, the kind you'd see in a supermarket.

The woman under the sunshade asked directly, "What do you want to trade for?"

"We brought gold to trade for some food."

"Take out the gold. We can weigh it here."

The man opened the back door of the car and pulled out a backpack. Inside were some gold jewelry.

Rings, bracelets, and a thick gold chain about the width of a pinky finger.

Two people at the table got to work, one testing the gold, the other weighing it.

Apart from the thickest gold chain, which was fake, the rest were genuine.

"How is that possible? My girlfriend bought me that chain, and I've been wearing it all this time," the man protested.

Ugh~!

The man cursed under his breath as the sound of approaching vehicles came from behind.

Two military-green armored vehicles mounted with machine guns slowly approached, pulling up behind the convoy.

Flame God's shelter!

They had arrived as well.

And they had come early, likely afraid the supplies would be traded away before they got there.

"What do you want to trade for?" The staff urged again.

The man turned back and quickly said, "I'll trade for food."

"Only flour."

"No problem."

"Drive over there to collect it. We've got some beer and instant noodles too. Take a look and see if you need anything," the staff continued.

"Alright, thanks."

The man got back into the car and drove toward the material exchange area.

......

In the bus station.

The door opened, and several figures walked straight in.

Li Yanhong's gaze fell on the person leading them. After sizing him up, she extended her hand and said, "I'm Li Yanhong, head of the repair shop."

The man reached out as well, shaking hands with her, "Ma Zhiyong, from Flame God's shelter."

"So it's Captain Ma. I've heard a lot about you. Please, have a seat."

Ma Zhiyong sat down nearby and got straight to the point, "We came here intending to trade for some solar panels, but I noticed the craftsmanship on your hand crossbows is excellent. Are those up for trade?"

Li Yanhong raised an eyebrow, surprised that he was interested in the crossbows.

These weapons had been handed out by Wu Heng the night before, as defensive tools for the group.

They were easy to use, quiet, and powerful enough to kill zombies.

"This..." Li Yanhong hesitated.

The crossbows were in limited supply.

And whether or not to trade them wasn't her decision. It depended on Wu Heng.

"Is it hard to sell these crossbows?" Ma Zhiyong asked curiously.

Li Yanhong smiled, "Making these crossbows is very difficult, and we only have a few, so it's not easy to sell them."

Crossbow strings did produce some noise, but it wasn't loud, unlike the booming of firearms.

When dealing with zombies, you generally didn't dare fire guns, but using these crossbows wasn't as problematic.

The noise would be drowned out by the zombies' growls.

And delivering a long-range volley could still have a significant impact on the battle.

"Leader Li, why don't we talk about what you need? In times like these, we should be helping each other get through," Ma Zhiyong continued.

Li Yanhong was about to refuse.

Her ears twitched slightly.

Then she said, "We don't really need anything specific. It's more about what Captain Ma has to offer."

Ma Zhiyong, seeing the question returned to him, said, "I'm offering two rifles in exchange for five crossbows and some solar panels."

Li Yanhong shook her head, "Captain Ma, what good are rifles? We've got plenty of guns. Aside from scaring other survivors, you can't fire a shot at zombies. Let's just forget about it."

"You can't say that. Sometimes it's necessary to protect yourself from others."

Li Yanhong shook her head again, "Sorry, we don't plan to sell the crossbows."

Ma Zhiyong sat in silence for a while.

One of the people who had come with him leaned in and whispered something.

Ma Zhiyong spoke again, "Leader Li, we have another weapon. You can take a look and decide whether to trade."

"Alright."

"I'll have my men bring it over. We won't bring in any ammo, so there's no misunderstanding." Ma Zhiyong added.

Li Yanhong glanced to the side, "Qiangzi, go with them to fetch it."

"Got it!"

A few people left and returned shortly after.

A heavy weapon with a massive cylinder was placed on the table.

It looked like an enlarged revolver.

......

"LG4 rotary grenade launcher, weighs 5.58 kilograms, 780 millimeters long, 300-millimeter barrel. It uses 40mm grenades, and each round has the power of a hand grenade." Ma Zhiyong explained confidently.

Li Yanhong, after listening to the explanation, looked at him in surprise.

It wasn't that she fully understood the weapon; she was surprised at the sales pitch.

Even firearm enthusiasts might not be able to explain a weapon like this so thoroughly.

Especially in this country, where such things were rarely seen by civilians.

And with the title of 'Captain Ma' on the radio, she couldn't help but question his identity.

"I don't really have anyone who can use this, plus the ammo..." Li Yanhong hesitated, then asked, "How do you want to trade for it?"

"One of these, with six explosive rounds, for ten crossbows and twenty solar panels."

"You can trade solar panels or food separately. Why insist on the crossbows? When we have more later, we can trade with you again," Li Yanhong said directly.

The repair shop only had twelve crossbows, and he wanted ten of them for one oversized revolver.

Plus, solar panels were essential for all the shelters right now.

Ma Zhiyong wasn't ready to give up, "Leader Li, name your terms."

Li Yanhong paused for a moment, listening intently before continuing, "How many of these grenade launchers can you provide?"

"At most, we can sell you two."

"And the ammo?"

"Twelve explosive rounds."

Li Yanhong thought for a moment, "Two grenade launchers, twelve rounds, and I'll give you eight crossbows, one hundred bolts, and ten sets of solar panels."

"That's a rip-off!" someone from Flame God's shelter complained.

"Captain Ma, those are my terms. Take it or leave it."

Ma Zhiyong's face remained serious as he sat quietly for a long while before finally saying, "Alright, we'll trade."

Li Yanhong nodded and said, "Qiangzi, have them prepare the crossbows for the trade."

"Got it, Sister Hong." Qiangzi nodded.

Ma Zhiyong stood up, "Then we won't bother you any longer. Let's stay in touch if we need anything else."

"Alright!"

......

After they left, Wu Heng emerged from the back room.

It wasn't that he had anything to hide.

But from now on, Li Yanhong would handle the matters concerning the shelter.

She would be the one dealing with other shelters as well.

He would stay mostly behind the scenes.

In a way, Li Yanhong had become his manager and spokesperson.

Li Yanhong hadn't planned to agree to the trade, but Wu Heng had 'Xiaoxiao' whisper the terms to her while invisible.

"What will we use if we give them the crossbows?" Li Yanhong asked.

Wu Heng sat down in a chair, "There will be more crossbows later. The grenade launchers might come in handy."

The crossbows would be produced in Rentam City and could be supplied here.

Since they were so keen on getting the crossbows, it was likely they wanted to take them back to replicate them.

After all, even civilians could make bows and crossbows.

But Wu Heng wasn't too concerned. Whatever they made would never match the professional craftsmanship of a weapon shop.

Whatever they made might work, but in terms of power and accuracy, it wouldn't compare to what they had.

"They're something, though, coming here and wanting everything," Li Yanhong complained, straddling his lap.

"As long as they're willing to trade, it's a good thing for us too."

"Yeah, today went well. Several shelters showed up."

"Today's just the first day. Once word spreads, more people will come," Wu Heng said.

"Yeah!"

At that moment, Qiangzi and a few others came in carrying a crate.

As they walked in, Qiangzi shouted, "Sister Hong, we've brought the—"

But as soon as they walked in, they saw Li Yanhong sitting sweetly on Wu Heng's lap.

They all glanced around awkwardly, muttering, "Wrong room."

Li Yanhong's face flushed red as she stood up quickly, "Have you checked the items?"

"Yeah, two rifles, twelve explosive rounds. The numbers are right, though we don't know if they work," Qiangzi replied.

"Alright, leave them here."

"Got it. We're heading out."

They set down the crate and quickly left.

Wu Heng got up and walked over, opening the crate.

Inside were the weapons and grenades, each about the width of a phone.

Weapons like these...

Wu Heng had never even seen them on TV.

After inspecting them and ensuring there were no issues, he stored them in his space ring.

......

At dusk.

The last shelter's convoy completed their trade.

Everyone packed up and prepared to leave.

Li Yanhong gave a few brief instructions before taking a bag and walking over to Wu Heng.

"A total of 170 grams of gold, along with some silver, all in here," Li Yanhong said.

It wasn't as much as they'd expected.

But still, for the first day, it was a decent amount.

And compared to what they'd initially invested, it was a hundredfold profit.

"Yeah, it's not a bad haul." Wu Heng took the gold and stored it away.

Li Yanhong nodded, looking at him, "I'm planning to organize a good meal for everyone tonight. You want to join us?"

"I'll pass. You go ahead and take care of them."

Li Yanhong stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his waist, "Are you calling me over tonight?"

"I've got some things to take care of. I'll contact you when it's convenient."

"Alright, then I won't let anyone bother you upstairs. You can focus on what you need to do."

"You're so good."

Li Yanhong shyly said, "If you're not spending time with me tonight, I'll have to collect some interest."

Wu Heng lifted her chin and kissed her gently.

After a while.

Li Yanhong finally let go, a bit reluctant.

"I'm going to handle things. Reach out when you're done."

"Will do!"

After Li Yanhong left, Wu Heng packed away all the spoils.

He opened the portal and returned home.

......

Stepping through the portal.

Wu Heng went downstairs, and Minnie was preparing dinner.

Wen Mansa wasn't back yet either.

Seeing Wu Heng come down, Minnie smiled immediately, "Dinner will be ready shortly, Master."

The maids at home were no longer surprised by Wu Heng's comings and goings.

Before, Wu Heng had kept a bit of mystery, hiding some things from Li Yanhong and the maids.

But now, even though they didn't fully understand what Wu Heng was doing, they had accepted it.

They probably had their own guesses.

Wu Heng didn't feel the need to explain, preferring to let things stay as they were.

"No rush, take your time," Wu Heng said.

"Alright!" Minnie replied cheerfully.

Wu Heng went to wash up.

When he came back downstairs, Wen Mansa had returned, along with the skeletons.

"Master."

"Minnie's almost done with dinner. Just wait a little longer."

Wen Mansa smiled gently and said softly, "It feels good to have a home."

"As if things were any different before."

"Hehe." Wen Mansa took off her coat and leaned close, linking her arm with his, "I found those two people who went to Burke's place."

"Oh? Who are they?"

Wen Mansa replied, "I'm not sure who they are, but the owner of the building they went in and out of is named 'Benasev.'"