After Da Fei handed all the contribution points from that batch of goods over to Zhou Zhiye, he said, "Didn't think people would still be buying skincare at this point. Shame there's not more of it. If there was, we could've made a killing."
Zhou Zhiye chuckled. "If you want more, go ask them for it."
Da Fei froze, then asked, "Boss, you mean… but where am I supposed to find them? Capital city base is huge."
"There's a condoms store on the commercial street. You know the one. Go there and you'll find them."
Da Fei stared in surprise. "That shop's theirs? No wonder. I was wondering how there was still one outside. We've already cleared out so many places, there's nothing left, yet they're selling openly. Why would they sell to us?"
Zhou Zhiye sighed. "Of course they won't, but can't you ask for something else? If they can bring out skincare, they've got other good stuff too. They wouldn't put things on the market unless they wanted contribution points to trade for what they need. Unless they're just clearing out stock. And if that's the case, even better."
Funny enough, Lan Jin's group really was just clearing out stock. Both sides happened to hit on the same idea, so it was no wonder the black market business clicked so easily.
But that was later.
For now, Da Fei had another matter to deal with, so seeking out Lan Jin would have to wait.
…
The shop had been open half a month, and business was steady almost every day. Lao Gao checked Nana's resident pass. After subtracting the 5,550 they'd earned from the black market trade, they'd still managed to bring in 2,300 contribution points over the past two weeks.
Was business booming?
Not exactly. The key was that their prices were high.
Was business bad then?
Not really. Just on food and lodging alone, those contribution points could cover the four of them for months.
Whether before or after the apocalypse, business was always good money.
…
Just as everyone was getting used to the calm, alarms started blaring all over Capital city.
"Attention residents, mutant creatures are attacking. If you're at home, close your doors and windows immediately. If you're outside, find a sealed space at once. All ability users, report to the base gates immediately…"
The alarms here were way more detailed than back in H city, playing for quite a while even though they only repeated a few warnings.
The four of them couldn't stay in the shop. They locked the door, hopped on their bikes, and rushed to the base gates.
By the time they got there, ability users were already crowding the entrance. They squeezed through and found Captain Zhang, asking nervously, "Captain Zhang, where are the mutant creatures? We don't see them."
"They're not here yet. We've already stationed people at the gate."
Lan Jin and the others breathed easier. The commercial district was a ways off, and even pedaling hard it had taken them more than ten minutes to arrive.
Still, the broadcast system here was way more advanced. Mutants hadn't even shown up yet, and the alarms were already going off. Not like in H city, where the warning came only when the creatures were practically on the doorstep. No wonder Captain Zhang had camped at the gate back then.
…
Everyone's eyes were glued to the gate. Minutes later, the scouts finally spotted the things in the distance.
Lan Jin started forward, but Captain Zhang grabbed her arm and whispered, "Wait. We came late. Stealing the spotlight won't look good."
He also wanted Capital city's base to see what people from H city could do. That way, their position here would be more secure. Of course, he wasn't about to gamble with lives. When it came down to the wire—
Lan Jin realized what he meant and asked, "Is this really okay? Is it?"
"If you jump in now, it'll just look like you're trying to snatch credit. Trust me, don't move. Even if we don't fight this time, there'll be plenty of chances later."
As soon as he finished, Captain Wang chimed in, "Yeah, listen to your Captain Zhang, he's right."
"Fine. Not like I'm dying to meddle anyway."
Moments later, the creatures came close enough to see clearly. They were nothing but oversized ants and cockroaches. Not especially aggressive, but disgusting to look at, and there were swarms of them. For weaker abilities, wiping them out in one go was basically impossible.
Worse, in the middle of the swarm, a car was crawling along.
The doors were sealed tight, moving slowly, but the thing was crawling with mutant bugs. Driving like that?
The answer became clear soon enough. With the windshield spray and wipers, the driver could clear just enough to see, but the speed was painfully slow. Seeing a vehicle in trouble, the ability users at the gate unleashed their powers. Together, the mix of abilities lit up the battlefield.
Their powers weren't strong, but taking out small numbers wasn't hard. The problem was the sheer quantity. Some bugs slipped past and tried to rush into the base. That couldn't be allowed. A second wave of ability users immediately stepped in to block them.
But the results were… less than ideal.
…
Hearing the shouts from the base defenders, the car edged forward, then stopped halfway.
The vanguard kept blasting mutants while creeping closer, trying to check the car.
"Where are you from?" someone shouted.
A muffled voice replied from inside, "We came from the research base. We already contacted Captain Zhou earlier."
The moment "research base" was mentioned, everyone understood. But the vehicle was sealed under a writhing carpet of bugs. With the base's current strength, there was no way to escort them through safely.
"Stay in the car! Don't open the doors no matter what!" one of the ability users shouted back.
Then he grabbed his radio and reported everything to Captain Zhou inside the base.
Captain Zhou wasn't far from Captain Zhang. Hearing the situation, he knew it was time.
Captain Zhang leaned in. "Captain Zhou, need our help?"
Captain Zhou rolled his eyes. "What kind of question is that?"
Truth was, he also wanted to see just how strong these four really were.