Chapter 29: Joining the Hunt

Rebuilding civilization without any obstacles... However, Xie Han quickly calmed himself, realizing upon careful reflection that he was being somewhat greedy. Setting aside the impact of advanced technology on the modern era, he had to consider his own capabilities—he might not be able to swallow all of it at once. Before he possessed the power to protect his enterprise, he needed to avoid bringing any of these things back to the present as much as possible. “It seems I should look for some gold; after all, gold is the foundation of any high technology.”

With this decision made, Xie Han spent his time wandering, aiming only to familiarize himself with the technological level of the apocalypse. Still, considering that Qi Feiwu was a young woman, it would be unreasonable to stroll through the market and not buy anything. So Xie Han generously told her, “If you find something you like, just buy it. Food won't be a problem.” His words moved Qi Feiwu; in this world, food was the most precious commodity, yet he said it was no issue—a sentiment that went beyond ordinary friendship between men and women.

Taishan looked at Qi Feiwu with envy and teased, “Feiwu, if I were you, I’d never let go of such a generous man as the boss, haha...” Qi Feiwu felt her cheeks burning, glanced at Xie Han, and saw him laughing awkwardly. She then glared at Taishan, saying resentfully, “Taishan, what nonsense are you spouting? There’s really nothing between Xie Han and me.” Unfortunately, the more she protested, the stranger Taishan’s expression became, making her stomp her feet in frustration.

Since Xie Han had already spoken, Qi Feiwu made no further effort to be polite. She exchanged seven or eight compressed biscuits for several outfits she had her eye on. These clothes, if bought three and a half years ago, would have cost at least ten thousand yuan, yet now they could be traded for just one or two compressed biscuits. Nevertheless, Qi Feiwu didn’t only think of herself; she bought a set for everyone. As a result, Taishan ended up draped in clothes, carrying two rice cookers, so disgruntled he almost wished himself dead. “While they’re shopping, what am I here for? Isn’t this just my bad luck?”

Oddly enough, in this flea market, besides goods and prostitutes, people with special skills were also present, holding up pieces of cardboard listing their abilities and the price for a single service. Xie Han examined them closely—their talents covered all aspects, and before the apocalypse, each would have been worthy of an engineer’s title. Xie Han salivated at the thought: if only he had enough food, what would happen if he started a company in the apocalypse and gathered them all together? Their current worth was merely the ability to feed themselves and their families.

His spatial storage, even if he leveled up to the second stage of genetic evolution, was only two cubic meters—far too little to hire them. Most crucially, the source of his food was too mysterious, bound to attract attention if anyone suspected something. Should this secret be discovered, the consequences would be unimaginable. Of course, it wasn’t entirely unusable; if he went out hunting, he could use the spatial storage to exchange goods back and forth. This way, the supply of food would be explained, he wouldn’t return empty-handed from hunting, nor face the sea of zombie corpses—it seemed a win-win situation.

With this idea, Xie Han’s mood brightened, and he said to Qi Feiwu, “There are still some biscuits left in the bag; go ahead and spend them all.” Qi Feiwu was delighted, having spent three biscuits just for a bottle of facial cleanser. Xie Han and Taishan were speechless at this—clearly, women were born vain, unaffected by threats of survival.

By the time the biscuits in the bag were all spent, the harvest was quite satisfactory. After returning their purchases to their room, everyone was overjoyed—each now had decent clothes and no longer feared being called shabby.

Xie Han called Taishan and Xu Qiang over; the three went downstairs. With a tone that was part consultation, part command, he said, “Tomorrow I want to go hunting. What do you two think?”

Taishan and Xu Qiang were stunned at first. Taishan was the quickest to respond, shaking his head exaggeratedly, “Boss, I disagree. This profession is too dangerous, and we might not even find food.” Xu Qiang, however, was indifferent. “I don’t mind. I understand the principle of sitting and eating away the mountain. We just fought with the distribution office staff today; since they didn’t come for revenge this afternoon, they’ve probably cut off our supply rights, intending to starve us to death.”

Xu Qiang’s words echoed Xie Han’s own thoughts. He said, “Qiangzi’s right. If we sit idly, the food at home will only last for tomorrow. If we don’t figure out a way to get more, we’ll all go hungry.” Taishan hesitated, “But with just the three of us?”

Xie Han’s plan required only three people. But considering Taishan had more than ten followers, using them as a decoy seemed a good idea. After all, to strengthen one’s power, many people were needed; ten more mouths to feed wouldn’t matter to him. “Taishan, gather your brothers. Those willing to hunt will be brothers from now on. If I have food, I won’t let them starve. If they don’t want to go, don’t force them.”

Seeing that Xie Han’s decision was final, Taishan didn’t hesitate further. He wasn’t lacking in courage; though hunting was dangerous, it wasn’t enough to make him shrink back. “My brothers have been through wind and fire. What’s hunting to us? I’ll gather them now—we’ll sign up together.”

Taishan’s men all lived in this district, so within minutes, more than ten people gathered. These were the same group from the morning. When they learned they’d hunt with Xie Han, excitement swept through them all. Everyone knew that this leader was incredibly fierce; he could twist steel pipes like pretzels. Hunting was dangerous, but not without opportunity.

After the group finalized their plan, Taishan turned to Xie Han, “Boss, did you bring any vehicles when you arrived?” Xie Han nodded, but thinking of their battered minibus, felt a bit embarrassed and replied vaguely, “Why?”

Taishan explained the hunting rules: “Although the base allocates vehicles and weapons for hunting, that’s just the official line. What’s really distributed depends on the vehicles you registered when you escaped here, and the same goes for weapons. Weapons can be borrowed in exchange for a share of the spoils.”

Hearing this, Xie Han felt a headache coming on. With only their decrepit minibus—not to mention hunting, even reaching Wangtian City would be a challenge. “Can vehicles be exchanged for a share of the spoils?” Taishan shook his head, “Cars are lost one by one and can’t be replaced; the base only produces weapons. Those without vehicles have to negotiate with those who do.”

“So hunting really is a thankless task,” Xie Han muttered, frustrated. Not only did the base take half the spoils, but to suppress the zombies with firepower, heavy weapons were needed, and those weren’t available to ordinary teams. The only option was to rent them from the base in exchange for a portion of the harvest. Factoring in the cost of vehicles, even if they managed to seize something, less than thirty percent would end up in their own pockets.

Taishan smiled bitterly, “If it weren’t for desperation, who would risk their life hunting? It’s easier for men like us, but what about families? Children are growing, and four buns a day? Even if they don’t starve, lack of nutrition...” He trailed off, shaking his head. Taishan had seen many cases like this; lucky ones returned with something, the unlucky lost their lives, plunging their families into even greater misery.

Xie Han shook his head and sighed, “This is the apocalypse—life is the courage to struggle.” Even as he lamented, hunting remained essential. After registering, Xie Han applied for necessary repairs to the minibus. The staff didn’t make things difficult—it was such a ramshackle vehicle, a model over a decade old without any smart systems, so what could be improved?

(ps: The vote count is rather quiet...)