Trade

The group had entered the exchange area and went to the different counters available. Some went to replenish the amnution or exchange others goods. Liushi went to a free counter.

"What do you want?" the soldier asked politely, looking in approval at the sight of his equipment.

"I don't know wether you have the things I need. I'm looking for raw materials, such as titanium, cobalt, ..." he named several chemical compounds such as hydrogen peroxyde and some acides, mostly components used in biological chemistry.

While he could use the Starseed to extract what he wanted from something, it used a lot of energy. The amount of energy used to extract the material could be roughly the same as the amount used to mix it with other elements or even transform it, if not more. Having pure, refined material at hand could divided the energy cost by at least 2.

The more complex the material, the more energy was required. Chemical compounds, especially organic ones, were too energy expensive to deal with using the Starseed, and he was quite eager to have some enhancement serums. And to make them without the Starseed would require complicated machinery, which also needed a lot of energy, but much less than direct chemical manipulation. To reduce the energy cost, refined materials were necessary.

The soldier was surprised. Survivors hardly asked for the materials Liushi named. They were basically industrial materials. Not food, medecines, weapons or something used for mechanical repairs, which were what the survivors usually wanted. He had to ask Liushi to wait as he checked if the materials were available. He came back after a few minutes.

"Sorry, but most of what you asked, we don't have it, and what we have we can't spare."

"Then..."

"Iridium? What do you need that for?" a voice interrupted. "It can be found in our university."

Liushi turned toward the voice and found a man seemingly in his sixties, with dirty clothes and mud on his hands.

"Your university?" Liushi asked. "Is it going to be pure?"

"Yes, our university labs have several iridium crucibles."

"You mean Jingling University?"

"Yes."

Liushi felt like smacking himself in the face. Jingling University was near Zhuying's former appartment. He knew universities had labs, and some could very well have the materials he asked. Especially the chemical compounds. He had focused his attention on industrial sectors because until now he mostly needed large amount of metal for his vehicles, and it was an unofficial rule to avoid populated areas such as commercial centers, hospitals, transportation stations, and universities. He was also schools, not wanting to see zombies kids or kid corpses.

"You seem to know a lot about the university."

"Of course I do. I worked there as astronomy professor for years."

"I see. Do you know of any other place where I could aquire high grade materials in Nanjing and its surroundings?"

"Let me think for a bit... Ah, a new industrial park was built a few years ago. It was 'Special Metal Technology Company'. There headquaters and warehouses should be in the south-west area of the city, at the edge of the industrial zone. It's not an area I'm familiar with so I can't give more precise directions."

"Thanks a lot for the informations. Please stay nearby, I have items and food to trade. I'll give you some as thanks."

At that time, Zhuying showed up and called her brother to join her. He joined her, where she and her team had gathered around a table. They opened a path for him as he approached, surprising the regulars soldiers and survivors who were familiar with Zhuying and her team. They looked at his gear in surprise and envy.

"Check it" she said, holding a long samurai sword to him.

It was about 150cm long, looking almost exactly like the one used by Ming Dynasty general Qi Jiguang, a wodao. There were only a few differences because it was custom made for Zhuying's use. It was made of high grade steel alloy, with high temperature resistance and good conductivity. It was a blade of war, strong and fast.

"Very good" he said with a smile. "This alloy has excellent properties to complement your ability."

The soldier who brough the blade placed a box on the table with some difficulty. From within, he took out a chain, around 5m long, with an adjustable lock at the top.

"This one is to be connected to the ring above the sword handle" said the soldier. "It's made of the same alloy as the blade. Dozen crafters have worked on the blade and chain, day and night."

"This will be devastating in your hands, Zhuying" Liushi said. "Congratulation."

"The price has been settled before, so that will be 5 tons of monster meat."

When the bystander survivors heard it, they got shocked and envious. In the new world, 5 tons of monster meat was a treasure.

"We have the required amount" stated Liushi. "And more."

There was a rear area for vehicles to discharge of take in cargo. The freezer truck was taken there by Haizi, while Liushi brough his armored car, towing the double trailer with the corpse parts of the mutant dog on top. Soldiers and survivors alike were dazzed by the appearance of Liushi's vehicles. The freezer truck was first to discharge. Slowly, countless pieces of meat were added to the balance until it reached 5 tons.

"All right, the meat is enough" said the soldier in charge of the weighting. "The sword is yours."

The transaction was finalised, and Zhuying patted her new weapon with a wide grin on her face.

"It's my turn now" Liushi said as he motioned toward the mutilated corpse on his double trailer.

The soldiers around helped take down the pieces and put them on the balance. It reached 5 tons.

"There is more" Liushi said as he opened the forward section of the trailer.

He started to take out pieces of meat, and they were added to the balance until it reached 7 tons. It was the meat from the mutant boar. He had 3 tons left, and decided to sell 2 tons, keeping 1 for the inhabitant of his truck.

"What do you want for that?" asked the soldier with a slight waver.

"I'd like to discuss that with a higher ranked member of the camp. What I want isn't ordinary."

After taking a good look at him, and his gear, the soldier agreed and left to inform one of his superiors. While the soldier was away, Liushi went to the professor to give him some monster meat and medecine. The man graciously accepted the rewards, under the jealous gaze of the surrounding soldiers and survivors. Soon, the soldier taking care of him came back and led him away. He was taken to the office of a higher up.

"Good day to you" said the uniformed officer from behind his desk. "I am captain Long, in charge of the trading section of this camp."

"Good day to you sir, and thanks for receiving me. I'm Jiang Liushi, former university student from Jiangbei."

"I was told that you have something particular you want to trade?"

"Yes. I've been told that the military gave 1 ton of monster meat in exchange for a monster core. I was told you use it to study the virus. I wish to buy cores from you, 2 tons of meat per core, 3 cores for 6 tons of monster meat."

"I am afraid I can't do that. Our orders are to aquire these core and not sell them. They are too important for research."

"Even if I provide you with military hardware, as well as the location of a stash of military gear, including tanks? You will want to get them before other survivors got their hands on it."

That had the captain stop and think. What people wanted most aside from food was weapons and amnutions. Especially the military.

"In their explorations they are bound to find it sooner rather than later. Especially if I sell them the information. What is there is more valuable than 5 mutant beasts."

"All right. We can spare 2 mutant beasts core."

"3 tons of meat plus the information about the military equipment."

"What proof do I have that the information is real?"

"Samples and photos. Want to see the samples?"

"That would be appreciated."

Thus, they left the office and Liushi led Long to his double trailer. He went into the back section and took out a sample of each weapon he aquired, from pistol to rocket launcher, for the captain to check. Satisfied, the captain agreed to the deal. He left for a moment, while the 3 tons of meat were taken, and came back later with a metal box. Inside were 2 cores. After receiving the cores, Liushi took out the photos he had made about the military train. He had taken them because he had intended for the army to aquire the rest. It would be stupid to leave it abandonned and unused.

"... That's a lot of corpses" said Long as he looked at the photos.

"It took a while to take them down. The constant sound and shaking caused by running them over non-stop was becoming the regular background noise and movement associated with navigating a sea of bodies" Liushi said with a slight grimace.

"That's a small treasure trove you found for us mr Jiang. It will be very helpfull for Satellite Town. You have my thanks mr Jiang."