Chapter 180: Shopping, Little Antique Treasures

The ""slums""—more accurately, the shantytown—was a nickname for a certain area in the base. It was where people who couldn’t afford rent or even basic living expenses gathered. Sometimes a dozen people would cram into a dilapidated house, or just huddle under an eave to eat and sleep. The whole street was lined with communal sleeping mats, filthy, chaotic, and noisy. Naturally, all sorts of people mixed together there, and it became the go-to place for shady business.

Black market deals, human trafficking, secret experiments—plus, many of the most ruthless criminals from before the apocalypse had set up their so-called bases and headquarters there. Bian Changxi’s impression of the place was nothing but squalor and vice, though she herself had spent a few tough nights there in her previous life.

She slowly pieced together the information she’d gathered: Wen Mingli had come back from somewhere yesterday afternoon in a foul mood, then ran off to the chaotic slums—clearly up to no good and looking for someone to scheme with. The person she met with could even get into Area A, the central administrative and research district where people like Commander Zhuge Yunma, Deputy Commanders Ge Jianhua, Xu Chang, and others lived.

The next day, Zhuge Yunma took Wen Mingli, Qu Yi, and the others away.

Given Zhuge Yunma’s zombie research project, Bian Changxi was sure this was at least partly aimed at her, and that Wen Mingli was highly suspicious.

She tossed a flashy but useless batwing top back into the pile and stood up. “Let’s go. No need to keep staking out the place.”

The dark-faced man looked up. “We’re leaving already? The target’s just shown her true colors, we—”

Bian Changxi waved him off. “No need. I just wanted to confirm something, not catch a criminal or collect evidence.”

Ever since Gu Xu had tipped her off about Wen Mingli acting strange, she’d thought about having someone keep an eye on her, just to be sure.

She didn’t have many people she could trust, and didn’t want to trouble Gu Xu, so she’d asked Chen Guanqing and Chu Hao for help—two people she trusted, though the tricky part was that they’d entered the base with her and were recognizable faces. She’d had them go undercover and stake out the area, planning to check in regularly herself, but then she’d ended up sleeping for two days straight after getting absorbed in her research on control abilities.

Later, people like Chen Yisha, Lin Rongrong, and Zhang Bubai—folks she’d grown close to and could trust—were all called in by Gu Xu. When she saw Zhang Bubai, she worried that Chen Guanqing and Chu Hao might blow their cover after two days, so she had Zhang Bubai replace them and pose as a street vendor.

Zhang Bubai also had a group of similarly down-and-out “comrades”—guys who, in the army, were stuck doing odd jobs like fixing vehicles or guarding supplies. After Gu Xu promoted him and his life stabilized, he naturally reached out to help others, gradually gathering a small following.

The man with the blackened face in front of her was Zhang Bubai, and the “we” he mentioned referred to his little group.

Hearing Bian Changxi’s words, he packed up his things. At that moment, Zhu Yunhua from the shop across the street saw her, having just sent off two customers. He greeted her warmly, “Miss Bian, fancy seeing you here! Won’t you come in and have a seat?”

Zhang Bubai, seeing him, acted casual, shouldering his basket and walking off as if he had nothing to do with Bian Changxi. She smiled lightly, “Just browsing, about to leave.” She glanced up at the shop sign—Yunhua Weaponry—and couldn’t help twitching her lips. A quick look inside revealed the weapons all had a cartoonish, game-like style—eye-catching, yet still sharp and well-crafted.

Before the apocalypse, Zhu Yunhua had worked in the gaming industry. Afterward, of course, no one played games anymore, but he used the character and weapon designs from games as inspiration for real weapons—combining practicality and aesthetics, which made them quite popular.

He was quite capable, too. He worked with several hunting teams, buying exotic beast materials to craft weapons, and often led teams on missions himself, earning a solid reputation.

But lately, he’d been troubled. Several hunting teams seemed to be pulling out of their partnerships with him. A new type of mutant crocodile had appeared—their armored hides could be made into leather and protective vests, their strong bones into daggers, knives, even bows. His staff had already designed blueprints for these, but the hunting teams refused to deliver, instead selling to his rivals—the same group that had copied his ideas before the apocalypse. One or two crocodiles wouldn’t matter, but if this kept up, his business would be squeezed out entirely.

He had plenty of enemies in the business world and couldn’t figure out who was behind this. But since he’d had good relations with Bian Kuang before, and thus indirectly knew Gu Xu, and now had some connection with Bian Changxi, his network in the base was solid. People treated him with respect. So why was he suddenly being squeezed out?

He had a vague feeling it had something to do with the woman in front of him.

Bian Changxi, of course, had no idea what he was thinking. As she turned to leave, she suddenly asked, “That Mr. Qu Yi who works with you is really something—published several papers, and his inventions are incredibly useful. I imagine he’ll be recruited into the base’s research institute soon? Mr. Zhu, you’re in for some good fortune.”

Zhu Yunhua was taken aback, then smiled bitterly. “Standing out isn’t always a good thing.”

He thought of how Qu Yi had become increasingly arrogant, barking orders and scolding people at will—sometimes even giving him the cold shoulder. It annoyed him. Qu Yi had been his best friend, coming to him after the apocalypse, and they’d planned to build something big together. He’d always considered Qu Yi his right-hand man. But now…

Ah, people change so easily!

Seeing the slight frown and downturn of his lips, Bian Changxi knew he was troubled, but she didn’t care about that. She continued, “I heard you used to be the boss of a big company—a real rising star. After the disaster, a lot of your employees followed you. I had a classmate who once mentioned a distant cousin named Zhang Xiaoqi, who interned at Yunhua Entertainment Tech or something like that. I can’t quite remember the company name, but I wanted to ask if you knew her.”

Zhu Yunhua thought for a moment, then a look of pain crossed his face. “Yes, Xiaoqi was my junior at university. She interned at my company, but on the very first day of the apocalypse, she was bitten by a zombie…”

Bian Changxi raised an eyebrow, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and left, thinking, As expected, Zhang Xiaoqi is dead. In her previous life, Zhang Xiaoqi had been one of Zhu Yunhua’s favorites, thanks to her ability to sense treasures. She was probably the first to realize Bian Changxi’s jade bracelet was no ordinary item.

In her past life, Bian Changxi died before Zhang Xiaoqi, but this time, Zhang Xiaoqi died on day one. There was no way that was a coincidence.

She thought it over. There was only one explanation: the reborn person had killed her. With their memories, they didn’t need a treasure-sensing ability user to help them find resources—so they simply eliminated her.

She exhaled. If that person really was Wen Mingli, then that woman was truly ruthless.

This time, she wasn’t going to sit back and wait. She wouldn’t be at peace until Wen Mingli was dealt with. But for that, she’d need Gu Xu’s help.

At the next intersection, she ran into Zhang Bubai again. His basket and old clothes were gone, his hat was off, and his face paint washed away—though he was naturally dark-skinned, so he still looked rather swarthy.

She teased, “You’ve gotten clever these days. I remember you used to be a bit slow.”

“How could I not learn to be clever? Major Gu thinks highly of me. If I kept acting like a fool, wouldn’t that embarrass him?” He scratched his head sheepishly. “Actually, every day when I get back, everyone analyzes what happened and teaches me how to handle things. If I don’t remember, they threaten to beat me, so little by little, I’ve changed.”

Bian Changxi smiled. “You know this area well, right? Show me around. I want to rent a shop.”

Zhang Bubai nodded. “Miss Bian, you want to start a business?”

“Mm, not for me. For a friend.”

Leaving Dongqing Street, they arrived at a commercial trading market—a bit like the old farmer’s markets. It was about the size of a soccer field, divided into sections where all sorts of vendors set up stalls. Buyers strolled around, browsing for whatever they needed.

Compared to the shops on Dongqing Street, this market was lower-end, but the rent was much cheaper, whether for long-term leases or by the hour. Anyone wanting to do small business came here, so the variety of goods was impressive.

Bian Changxi was intrigued and stepped inside.

Zhang Bubai was a bit worried. “Miss Bian, this place is full of all sorts, and you’re—well, important…”

Bian Changxi sighed. “I’m not that important, and I’m not fragile either. I’ve been at the base for days, and this is my first time visiting a place like this.” In other words, don’t spoil my fun.

She’d been restless in the barracks since noon, said she’d go back to the villa, but ended up wanting to walk instead. Her two bodyguards had tried to stop her, so she’d had to show off a little to prove she wasn’t so easily kidnapped or hurt. Even so, they were still following her at a discreet distance.

She felt a bit awkward—maybe she wasn’t cut out for this “VIP” lifestyle.

As she wandered the market, she found the variety of goods impressive.

Watches, Swiss Army knives, shoes, hats, dishes, cups, all sorts of useless trinkets—even portable fans, bundles of tissues and toilet paper, lockers, solar-powered phones and computers—all very cheap. There were also fresh items, like mutant beast meat clearly butchered that morning, fresh leather, and people selling five-colored herbs and other plants, touting their insect- and ant-repellent properties.

Bian Changxi spotted a stall full of little antique-looking trinkets and smiled. Zhang Xiaoqi had loved browsing these stalls. Some old items seemed to mutate too, becoming “treasures.” Some, like her jade bracelet, could turn into spatial tools under the right conditions; others had special magnetic fields that would alert you to powerful beasts or plants nearby; some would change color when near inedible food, helping you avoid danger. There were all kinds of strange and useful things.

**Author’s Note:**

Thanks to Luo Qin for the safety charm!

Thanks to Xiao Yin 1990 for the safety charm!

Thanks to rosalyn for the safety charm and pink ticket!

Thanks to Homebody Cat for the pink ticket!

Recently, things have gotten busy again at Xifeng’s house. I have to get up early every morning, am busy all morning, and need to nap and rest in the afternoon. I can only write at night, so updates are unstable. This will probably last at least a week. Sorry, the second update isn’t done yet—it’ll be very late."