First Patnership

A drop of cold sweat dripped down his forehead, as Ye Yang stared at the machine-gun in front him. "Name?" The busty girl asked. She was wearing a Red leather jacket, with a pair of jeans that has started to fade after too many washes. Yan Yang's heart swelled with regret and fear.

"Ye Yang…" He swallowed, as he responded truthfully. As a civilized man himself, he has never seen a girl so barbaric.

The girl raised her eyebrows. "What a funny name?"

[Why don't you ask my father? Dammit!] Of course, he could only say that in his head. He feared that the moment he opened his mouth, a bullet would create a new hole on his forehead. "I am not interested in your name."

[God, you were the one that asked.] Jiang Chen swore in his mind, as his face paled.

"You have the potential to be a great looking guy." the beauty smiled, as she approached him. She touched Ye Yang's face with the side of her whip. "You are going to answer my questions. If you dare to lie, I don't mind creating a few scars on your lovely face." [Oh please my face is no problem to begin with!!]

"Where are you from?" The girl questioned as she gazed directly at him. "I am from Far in East." Ye Yang responded with a lie. Of course, he never believed that the girl could see through him.

"This bottle where did you find it?" The girl's pronunciation was odd as if she has never heard someone ask about Tea before.Ye Yang felt the girl's voice transform as her breathing rapidly grew. The tone was filled with an intense lust, or greed?

"Green Tea… it's a type of Leaf Tea." "No sh*t! I know it is Tea. I am asking you, where it is from!" The girl chugged the Tea. As soon as she finished, she exhaled with relief. Then she threw the can onto the ground, and lashed her whip onto the poor Tea once again. Ye Yang stared directly at the odd looking gun pointed directly at his forehead.

He steadied his breath as he tried to remain calm. "I can't explain that."

"Do you want to die?"

"Is this the way you treat someone who just saved your life?" With a sudden burst of courage, he argued back. After a brief moment of silence, she let out a slow sigh. She put the gun away and threw the whip onto the ground. "Fine, I did cross the line." Despite admitting her fault, she had no intention of letting Ye Yang go.

[Since she only whipped the Tea, she probably has no ill-intention after all.] Jiang Chen thought in his head.

"Trust me. I have no harmful intentions," She said. However, Ye Yang was uncertain about how long her conscience would last, so he continued to make up stories.

"No harmful intentions?"

"Like how I saved you from starvation? If I told you anything today, it would make both of our lives more complicated than it needs to be." Ye Yang continued to respond with a secretive tone.

"Haha," the girl forced a careless laugh. But the uncertainty in her eyes was clearly evident.

"Maybe we can partner up! I just got here and… how can I explain this. Everything here is terrible. I need a guide, and I can pay you handsomely for it." He proposed an offer with a luring hint in his voice. He was using the stick and the carrot strategy.

"Oh? You are from some Alliance?" The girl asked with her eyebrows raised.

On this Forgotten-land, if there are any signs of law and order; it must be the distant alliance on the northern area. They were not a target of the nuclear destruction, nor were there any infectious disease breakouts. Hence, order remained on the land far away.

However, order was a relative term; they lacked real justice because slavery, corruption, and civil war all still existed on the land. Only the slightly higher food production made the area, made it somewhat more attractive. Overall, it was no better than the anarchic in Fallen City.

"No, I am only from somewhere relatively well off. Hmm, and I am collecting some useful resources for someone. At the same time, surplus commodities are disposed- like the can of tea you just finished, or the three cans of food that you devoured clean." Ye Yang did not continue with the disguise as a member of the Alliance. What if she realized he was lying after all. The best idea right now was to say that he came from a distant place. A place that nobody visited before. The girl blushed as she heard the words "devoured clean" and she realized that her etiquette at the time must not have been the finest.

"I don't know what you guys want in this city. All the supermarkets, storages, and even refrigerators are raided clean. There is no way you can even find one piece of bread."

"My fair lady, what is your name?" Ye Yang said, shaking his head.

"Wei Qiao," She responded, as she again raised her eyebrows. With a devious smile on her face, she said, "Let me get this clear, if the partnership involves anything strange, I might blow your head up."

"Don't worry, miss." Ye Yang sighed. There was no way he would get in bed with a girl that could kill him at any moment. "I only need an experienced guide and, do you think I lack food?"

"Then what exactly are you searching for? Could it be… for slaves?" Wei Qiao paused for a second before she maliciously gazed at Ye Yang.

Of course, if he had plenty of food, then he must have farms or plantations, and related production facility. Wei Qiao's first instinct was that this guy might be a slave trader. Slaves were the finest labor force on the wasteland and slave trading was considered to be the norm. However, Wei Qiao thoroughly hated slave trading because a slave trader abducted her sister. It would be fine if she got sold into a factory, but if she got sold into prostitution or even to the cannibals, it would be a complete nightmare.

"No, no, no. This is a complete misunderstanding," Ye Yang explained. "I don't need slaves. I need technology."

"Technology?" Wei Qiao seemed confused.

"Yes, technology. Just like the laser gun you are holding and the computer on your arm. While we have those things, we can't produce them ourselves. Therefore, we decided to come to this deserted city to find some old technology."

"These things?" Ye Yang question caused a mixture of confusion and suspicion. "These things are hard to make? In Zero Zone a lot of people can assemble these."

[Dammit,] Ye Yang swore in his mind, but he remained calm.

"That was only an example. Our technology in food production and transportation is highly advanced, but our general technology is rather lackluster. Which is why I am here." He explained, impressed by his improvisation as it was far better than he thought.

He noticed that while this world had previously made significant technological advancements in the past, the civilization was in complete ruins after the nuclear war. Especially since infections broke out across the land, it was a miracle that humanity still existed.

The state of this wasteland after the fallout was rather strange. Highly advanced levitated cars existed simultaneously with internal combustion engine vehicles. While some advanced technology were preserved, the civilization undoubtedly regressed.

"Whatever." Wei Qiao shrugged. With interest in her voice, she opened her mouth. "Now, let's talk about my compensation."

"What do you want to be paid in," After a short pause, Jian Chen asked. He was unsure what the currency was in this world.

"C-type battery, food, and crystals are all fine. Though personally, I prefer food." Wei Qiao responded. Then with desire filled eyes, she asked, "Oh, do you have more of those curry chicken?"

"You finished them all." Ye Yang sighed with a fake heartbroken look. He has never even seen batteries or crystals before.

So without a doubt, food would be the best choice.

"Oh, I am sorry," Wei Qiao said with an awkward tone. All of a sudden, she turned back into her usual malicious character and forcefully stepped onto the armrest. Then she bargained, "salary will be ten cans of food per month. You are also responsible for my meals!"

"Deal!"

Ye Yang's direct response made Sun Jiao guilty about her rather unreasonable demand. Although on this wasteland only fools had a conscience, conscience always existed inside people's heart.

Cruelty was only a protective response for survival.

"I will be responsible for your safety." Wei Qiao added as guilt overwhelmed her.

[No sh*t! If I die, who will pay you?] Ye Yang responded viciously in his head. The compensation was nothing for him, but it would still cost him around one hundred dollars.

"Ok, my beautiful bodyguard, can you untie me now?" The crisis was finally alleviated as Ye Yang finally let out a long sigh. His limbs almost losing all sense of feeling. Sun Jiao casually took out a dagger and sliced through the rope.

Ye Yang moved a little as he stared at Wei Qian with a sad look. Then, he went and picked up his empty backpack.

Wei Qian forced an awkward smile and pretended that she never searched his bag.