Chapter 12: Short of Money
Chapter 12: Short of Money
These seven or eight people were all thin young men, each of them was skin and bones, and their faces looked relatively clean.
They ran into the light and shrank back in fear when they saw Lan Yuzai. Some of them obviously knew Lan Yuzai.
But when they saw the figure wearing a mask and a baseball cap behind Lan Yuzai, their eyes lit up and they shouted:
"Boss! Do you need me to lead the way, boss?"
"I know all the fun places in downtown! I can take you there! You only need to pay me two starch sticks! I can even wait for you outside!"
"Boss, I can take you to an absolutely exciting place! The excitement you can't imagine!"
Obviously, in their perception, those who come to the lower city in secret are all bosses from the middle and upper cities who come to "consume".
"Get out of here! I'll kill you if you dare to come over here!"
Lan Yuzai had a ferocious expression on his face, swearing at the top of his voice and pretending to kick someone.
The group of teenagers were so scared that they dodged one after another, but kept shouting. If Lan Yuzai hadn't shown the tattoo on his arm, they would have rushed over to grab the person.
Lan Yuzai dropped his shirt sleeves and muttered:
"A bunch of little devils who eat people without leaving any bones! Is this my first day here?"
After getting rid of the young men, the two men walked into a long passage.
Lan Yuzai's expression became a little awkward, and he whispered:
"Oh, um, big brother... can you bring these up? I won't run away. I want to hang out with you and learn some skills! I really want to become stronger and make them all afraid of me! It's just that... after all, I'm a well-known big brother in our local area..."
"Are you famous here too?"
Wang Jixuan took the bag of emergency food that had used up Lan Yuzai's two-month food quota with his right hand, while his left hand was still pinching Lan Yuzai's right elbow.
Now is the most dangerous moment, and Wang Jixuan's spiritual perception has been maximized.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a big deal, but there’s still a little bit!”
Lan Yuzai held his head high and his chest puffed out. He suddenly looked very proud. He strode forward with Wang Jixuan, saying:
"Besides, I am a loyal man with a wide network of contacts. I have acquaintances in all seven major gangs. I will ask you to pretend to be my little brother later... By the way, what are we doing here?"
Go and destroy the Black Fire Gang directly?
If Wang Jixuan had reached the Golden Core Realm, he would not have hesitated at all, but now... reason told him that he should first make some low-level talismans and prepare a few magical weapons, so as to better deal with the large number of guns of the gang.
He said, "I heard there are some grocery stores in downtown that sell all kinds of things."
"Yes, there are many, all on several streets, but most of the shops are barter shops, and they are all shady, and are run by gang members themselves."
Lan Yuzai asked in a low voice:
"What do you want to buy? I have a few shops that I frequent.
"You have a gun, do you want to buy bullets? That stuff is expensive, more expensive than the gun!"
As they were talking, the two turned a dark corner and entered a neighborhood covered in bright orange and yellow lights.
Wang Jixuan remained extremely vigilant and walked behind Lan Yuzai.
In his perception, there were many people ahead, and these people...
lifeless.
The spiritual energy here has fallen into a quagmire, and everywhere is filled with turbid air released by the human body.
As far as the eye can see, a fairly spacious straight street extends inward, and at the end of the street is a psychedelic scene illuminated by billboards and neon lights.
On both sides of the street are narrow rusty iron houses. In each room, there are several people lying or sitting. Most of them are skinny and half-naked, and it is impossible to tell how many there are at a glance.
The two rows of low street lamps on the roadside are the only light sources these people can get.
Wang Jixuan walked here with a frown on his face.
He had thought the lower part of the fortress would be in bad shape, but he certainly hadn't expected it to be like this.
This is almost the same as the scene recorded in the master's scriptures of famine years in the secular world with starving people everywhere.
Lan Yuzai was no longer surprised by this. He showed his shoulder tattoo and looked around fiercely. Those who were looking at them immediately lowered their heads and dared not speak.
The end of this street.
Several well-dressed men and women were chatting and laughing while smoking. They were all wearing military vests and had pistols and magazines on their waists. Two of the men were holding submachine guns with large magazines.
Looking past these men and women, you can see a group of low buildings covered with signboards and neon lights.
There are people coming and going there, and there are some simple means of transportation.
Lan Yuzai, who had been so arrogant just now, immediately tucked his tail between his legs, lowered his head and pulled Wang Jixuan, took out two pieces of emergency food from Wang Jixuan's bag, and took out a crumpled paper bag from his shirt pocket.
Lan Yuzai tilted his head and warned: "Don't speak, don't make a move, they all have guns, there are rifles on those roofs, this is the territory of the City of Joy."
As soon as he finished speaking, several men and women guarding the street looked over.
"Oh hey! Rotten fish boy!"
"Hey! Brother Zhang! Are you guarding the street today? You must have worked hard."
Lan Yuzai nodded and came closer, taking out a few cigarettes and a skull-shaped lighter from the paper bag.
Wang Jixuan silently held five pencils and calculated the angle of attack.
As long as Lan Yuzai dares to ask for help...
These gang members from the City of Joy took the cigarettes with a smile, took out their button cigarette lighters and lit them up, and took the two bags of emergency food that Lan Yuzai handed over.
"Rotten Fish, didn't you just come down a few days ago? What's the matter? Has your territory expanded and you have too many blood bags?"
"Hey, I'm on the thirteenth floor. You know there's not much money to be made there, and the captain who just arrived is also very ruthless."
Lan Yuzai's eyes were as pure as a primary school student at this moment:
"I want to get a gun and bring it up there. There's some unrest going on over there."
Get a gun?
These people said:
"Carrying a gun on the thirteenth floor? Do you want to die? You are not allowed to carry a gun from the twenty-eighth floor onwards, don't break the rules, kid!"
"I heard that there was big news on the thirteenth floor. Black Fire's Big Mouth Hua was killed! This guy is so lame. I heard that he wanted to play with a female doctor, and then the female doctor stole his gun? Is this true or false?"
"The Black Fire Gang has been sending people up there these days. That female doctor seems to have some background and someone is protecting her. What's going on?"
Lan Yuzai scratched his head: "I don't know the details, but it is true that something like this happened. The Black Fire Gang also offered a lot of conditions, asking us locals to find the two people involved."
"What's wrong with your neck?"
"Someone got it," Lan Yuzai said with a wry smile, "Come and get a gun. We must get it back!"
"You are such a loser, come in."
"Hey, thank you, Brother Zhang, thank you, Brother Zhang!"
Lan Yuzai turned his head and glared at Wang Jixuan: "Why are you standing there? Call him Brother Zhang!" "Brother Zhang," Wang Jixuan called calmly.
"My new little brother is still a little bit shy," Lan Yuzai said with a smile, "I'll take him in to have some fun."
"Go."
The gang members waved their hands impatiently. Lan Yuzai clasped his hands together and shook them to express his gratitude. He smiled and led Wang Jixuan into the colorful muddy ground.
'He didn't ask for help.'
Wang Jixuan stepped forward and casually grabbed Lan Yuzai's elbow, staring at the street ahead with a frown.
Everywhere there are two- or three-story buildings, and members of the "City of Joy" gang can be seen walking back and forth on the rooftops.
These people occupied the areas with the best views and controlled the lighting sources on the street.
The streets were filled with people, and everyone looked so busy.
Thin men in simple clothes sit on their rickshaws, waiting for the next business to come.
Young waiters were either standing on the street waiting for customers or cleaning the windows. There were all kinds of goods in the windows, the most common of which were men and women wearing sexy clothes. Under the dazzling lights, they posed in various seductive poses to seduce the customers.
Many well-dressed people can be seen on the street, including some in the light blue uniforms of the Midtown Security Team.
The smell in the air also became dull and greasy.
The two streets in front and behind seem like two different worlds.
At a certain moment, Wang Jixuan seemed to see a colorful giant python coiled in an underground space more than 30 meters high, spitting out its tongue and staring at him with a pair of cold eyes, as if it wanted to swallow him in one bite.
"Boss...Boss? It hurts so much!"
Lan Yuzai called out in a breathy voice.
Wang Jixuan came to his senses and realized that he had subconsciously squeezed Lan Yuzai's elbow too tightly, so he loosened his fingers.
Lan Yuzai's face flushed with pain.
"Don't look at it, we can't afford this place," Lan Yuzai covered his elbow and muttered with tears in his eyes.
"Find a grocery store," Wang Jixuan ordered.
"This side... Don't worry, I'm not going to run away. The Black Fire Gang's territory is on the 49th floor. This is the 46th floor, which is the territory of the [City of Joy] and the [Silver Party]. The Silver Party and the Black Fire Gang are not on good terms... I really want to learn skills from you and become awesome!"
……
There are two basic items required to make a talisman:
Talisman paper and talisman liquid.
If you are more particular, the talisman pen must also be made of fine monster hair... At the moment, Wang Jixuan is unable to be picky about these.
The so-called grocery stores are actually shops that cover an area ranging from a dozen square meters to several dozen square meters.
Some shop owners are more diligent and organize all kinds of items neatly. Most shop owners show a mentality of letting things go as they please, and the goods piled up on the shelves present a messy beauty.
There were all kinds of items inside, too numerous to mention, but there were not many brand new products.
Wang Jixuan was soon disappointed.
Talisman paper is usually made from the pulp of spiritual trees. Next to the cave where Wang Jixuan has been in seclusion for many years, there are several thousand-year-old trees. The spiritual liquid extracted from them exudes a rich spiritual energy.
Among the shops on these forty-six floors, Wang Jixuan only found a small amount of blank paper.
These papers are all recycled paper and have been reused countless times. It cannot be said that they have no spiritual power, but they can only be said to be completely useless.
As long as he can find the right talisman paper, he can actually make some talismans for emergency use.
Because blood is the most common talismanic liquid.
Evil-breaking talismans mostly use the blood of cock combs, while five-element talismans mostly use the blood of spirit beasts with corresponding attributes.
At worst, Wang Jixuan could just bite his fingers and draw talismans. His blood was now tainted with a trace of spiritual energy.
"What kind of paper are you looking for, sir?"
Lan Yuzai asked in confusion:
"Are you really not here to buy weapons? You should go to another street to buy bullets."
Wang Jixuan asked: "Why should I buy weapons?"
"Fuck those people!"
Lan Yuzai looked around guiltily:
"Boss, why are you buying paper? Do you want to write something? Isn't there paper in Midtown? Some of the paper here was obtained by us in Midtown."
Wang Jixuan glanced at him.
It was also his request that Lan Yuzai could not leave his range of two steps, otherwise he would attack directly.
Wang Jixuan said: "Don't ask too much."
"Okay," Lan Yuzai looked outside at the street. This street of shops dominated by the Silver Party was the third most prosperous area on the 46th floor. He also wanted to go shopping.
——If the boss can let him go free.
Wang Jixuan suddenly stopped, looked down at a messy shelf, and carefully pushed aside some bone fragments that came from nowhere.
Did he sense it wrongly?
Why is there obvious spiritual power remaining on these black broken bones?
what is this?
He searched carefully and soon saw a faded label on a shelf with similar black bone pieces.
Low-level blade beast exoskeleton, scavenged items.
——There are no prices on the labels here.
Blade beast?
Yes! There are monsters in this world! And humans were driven out of the earth by blade beasts, and built fortresses to survive!
Wang Jixuan's eyes lit up a little more and he quickly searched on the nearby shelves.
Soon he made a new discovery.
A large dusty glass bottle was filled with a light pink liquid. The label was [Deactivated Blade Beast Blood], and the purpose was specifically written as [Collectibles].
Most of the spiritual energy within it has dissipated, but some of it still exists.
'If you soak ordinary paper with this liquid, it will give the paper spiritual power! If you want to make an elixir in the future, monster blood is also essential! Good stuff!'
Wang Jixuan's thoughts suddenly became extremely lively.
He turned his head to the side and glared at Lan Yuzai who was picking his nose.
"Do you... have the coins that can be used here?"
Lan Yuzai nodded stupidly: "Yes, yes, this is the most prosperous floor of the lower city. I have saved some Happy Coins from the Universal Casino. We can also exchange the food we brought with us. The rule of the City of Joy is that robbery is prohibited."
Although Wang Jixuan tried his best to remain calm, he still looked away a little embarrassedly.
"Lend me some...I'll pay you back later..."
(End of this chapter)