Chapter 47: "Fitness Carriage"

What does 50,000 units of Iron Ore even mean?

From the time he built the Train until now, he hadn't spent that much Iron Ore in total.

Chen Mang waved his hand, got up, and left the stall. The price was too high, and for now, he wasn't considering buying Slaves. He'd think about purchasing Slaves later when the Train's strength was sufficient.

Moreover, most of the time, the Train's lack of resources wasn't due to a shortage of Slaves, but because finding Mines in the wasteland wasn't an easy task. Even if you found one, the frequent Corpse Tides would make you understand what "God's care" truly meant.

As he walked further, he noticed that the items at the gathering were all sorts of bizarre things.

For example, there were various daily necessities, liquor, vacuum-packed snacks, and so on.

There were also resources like Copper Ore, Iron Ore, and Accessory Blueprints for sale.

And then...

Chen Mang's gaze fell on a stall where a woman knelt on the ground, her ankles bound by chains. She was neatly groomed, her face fully made up, and her clothes quite exquisite. Clearly, she had been carefully dressed up, standing out starkly from the disheveled people of the apocalypse.

On a wooden board beside her were two lines of text:

"Top-tier female celebrity, seeking a destined one."

Behind her were several other women, all quite attractive, and three young men who were also meticulously dressed. They looked fresh-faced and handsome—clearly celebrities too.

"..."

Chen Mang calmly observed them. To be fair, these women were quite beautiful. In the apocalypse, having a full face of makeup was already a game-changer, let alone their naturally good looks and the added allure of fame. They were indeed rare commodities.

"Lord Mang…"

Lao Zhu leaned close to Chen Mang's ear, his expression odd, and whispered, "Isn't that woman Ji Chuchu, the one who was super popular on that variety show before the apocalypse? This guy... did he kidnap an entire pre-apocalypse film crew?"

"The others are the main guests from that show too."

"They were all really popular."

"But it's probably hard to sell them for a high price. No one's willing to spend too many resources to buy a woman, unless he sells them by the session. Maybe someone would be willing to try them out for a novelty."

"What's the price?"

Chen Mang turned his gaze away from the women and asked the vendor.

Hearing his voice, the kneeling top-tier female star immediately looked up at Chen Mang with pitiful, hopeful eyes, forcing a heart-wrenching, bitter smile. It was the kind of expression that easily stirred a man's protective instincts.

The Train Conductor sitting at the stall, upon seeing the Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle in Biao Zi's arms, immediately brightened up: "Any blue-tier Accessory Blueprint will do. If you don't have that, 50,000 units of Iron Ore or Copper Ore will also work."

"If you don't have that either, if you have any rare green-tier Accessory Blueprints or special items, you can bring them out too. We can discuss it."

"This is Ji Chuchu we're talking about! She's a top-tier dancer!"

"She's definitely worth the price!"

Chen Mang showed no reaction, instead turning his gaze to the young men behind her: "What's the price for these guys?"

"Their prices are slightly lower."

The vendor at the stall spoke earnestly: "I've been making sure they've been working out regularly these days. Their physiques have been maintained well. If you're into that, they're perfect for you."

"And—"

The vendor grabbed one of the young men, pulled off his clothes, and slapped his well-defined abs: "Look at these abs! Maintaining abs like these in the apocalypse has taken a lot of effort on my part!"

"It's a bit expensive. I'll think about it."

Chen Mang sighed softly after a quick glance, then turned and left the stall. Had everyone gone mad, or was he the only one in a state of poverty? A female celebrity, and you dare ask for 50,000 Iron Ore?

Why not ask for 100,000 while you're at it?

Seeing Chen Mang and his group leave, the vendor's smile immediately vanished. He turned around, his face dark, and slapped Ji Chuchu across the face: "Didn't I tell you? When a customer comes, you need to act as pitiful as possible!"

"What was that bitter smile of yours?"

"Are you performing a tragedy?"

"Has your crappy acting never improved?"

"I…" Ji Chuchu knelt on the ground, tears in her eyes, and whispered, "Old Liu, I…"

"Old Liu? Call me Lord Liu! Do you think I'm still your manager? Or someone you can boss around?"

The vendor, even angrier, slapped her again, then sat down, his chest heaving as his eyes darted around. Ji Chuchu was definitely a good product—a top-tier female celebrity. She could fetch a good price, but in the desolate wasteland, everyone's strength was limited. No one could afford her.

He'd been coming to every gathering, but he'd never been able to sell her.

Should he try heading to Kunlun Mountain?

Kunlun Mountain was at the far west of the desolate wasteland. The resources there were more concentrated, but the dangers were greater too. The level 3 Man-eating Spider Leader Monster, which could serve as a boss in the wasteland, would be nothing more than a small leader among the monster hordes there.

The Trains that could thrive there were much stronger and could definitely afford her.

But with his Train's current strength, going there would be a one-way trip.

And...

With such a huge disparity in strength, who would bother buying her? They'd just take her by force. He didn't even have the ability to ensure mutual destruction.

Later, Chen Mang inquired about the prices of goods at several other stalls.

For example, tobacco.

A carton of cigarettes cost 200 units of Iron Ore.

Or... fitness equipment.

"Sir, think about it in the long term. How can you get your Slaves to extract more resources in a day? Isn't a strong body essential?"

"If you buy these barbells and treadmills, you can set up a dedicated Fitness Carriage. After your Slaves finish mining, they can spend a few hours exercising in the Fitness Carriage. Over time, won't that greatly increase their mining efficiency?"

"This bundle is only 1,000 units of Iron Ore. My men put in a lot of effort to bring these out from the City Ruins. They're practically brand new. If you're interested, we can negotiate the price."

"..."

Chen Mang said nothing, just looked at the vendor who was passionately trying to sell his wares as if he were an idiot. Then he glanced at the book at the vendor's feet—"The Ultimate Guide to Closing Sales"—and after a moment of silence, he walked away.

Were this guy's subordinates all idiots?

How the hell did his men manage to carry something as big and heavy as a treadmill from the City Ruins onto the Train? Pure brute strength?

He was starting to see the pattern.

At this gathering, everything was for sale. Many Train Conductors, when they couldn't find Mines to dig, would scavenge things from the City Ruins and bring them here to trade for Iron Ore.

But not everything they scavenged was useful.

If they found something like tobacco, a hard currency, it was easy to sell. But if they found stuff like barbells... then they'd need some serious sales skills,

or they'd have to pray for a fool to come along.

In the apocalypse.

Even the god of sales would struggle to sell a comb to a monk.

Unless the monk was an idiot.

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