Scorpion

About five hundred kilometers from Luan Shi Camp lay a small camp called Po Wei Camp.

One day, a motorcycle arrived at Po Wei Camp. The rider was fully armed, with a cloth mask tied over his face.

That kind of attire was common in the Wasteland. The winds and sand here were too fierce, so wearing a face covering out in the wild was perfectly normal.

Of course, a face covering was also convenient if someone wanted to kill and rob.

The rider bought some fuel and water, then headed back the way he had come.

A few Hunters happened to be in Po Wei Camp as well. Two motorcycles chased after him, but they reacted too slowly and lost his trail.

The rider was Qu Jianlei. Po Wei Camp was already close to the area where Mutated Beasts appeared, and he planned to stay here for a while.

He made a circuit outside the camp to shake off any possible pursuers.

Then, less than thirty kilometers from Po Wei Camp, he chose a sheltered spot and set up a temporary camp.

Qu Jianlei lacked a sense of security to an extreme degree. That mindset had always accompanied him, and even a temporary camp had to be dug into a shelter.

He spent a day and a half digging out a half-open shelter before beginning his cultivation.

Yet on the second night of cultivation, a swarm of Sand Scorpions surrounded him, each one about half a foot long.

Qu Jianlei was delighted at the sight. He was familiar with these Sand Scorpions. They were ordinary insects, edible, and the venom sacs in their tails could also be exchanged for money.

He had been worrying over his dwindling food and water, but had no money to buy more. Who would have thought prey would come right to his door?

The swarm was sizable, numbering several hundred scorpions packed densely together.

He drew his long saber and began hacking away. After nearly an hour of work, he finally slaughtered the entire swarm.

A few scorpions escaped, but that did not matter. The scorpion meat was enough to last him three or four days.

That was only because he was cultivating now. Back in those destitute years, this much scorpion meat could have supported him for twenty days.

But after cleaning up the battlefield, he thought of a problem: what had drawn these scorpions here? He believed the most likely answer was the Mutated Beast Crystals. Other than that, everything else he possessed was perfectly ordinary.

Even if there were more Sand Scorpions here, there should not have been so many more than around Luan Shi Camp.

Unfortunately, the scorpions were either dead or had fled, so he could no longer find any live specimens to test.

Still, it did not really matter. There were not many crystals left in his hands anyway.

These treasures could not only help him cultivate, but also repair the body damaged by the Modified Potion.

By now, more than twenty days had passed since he received the injection. He should have collected at least four doses of antidote to stay alive.

He had only collected two doses. For the third attack, he took a little antidote and consumed some crystals to endure it.

During the fourth attack, he again used some antidote as a primer and consumed more crystals.

Originally, he had tried to repair his body through cultivating the Qi Refining Art, but the facts proved he had been somewhat wishful.

Still, no matter what, the external aids needed to repair his body were becoming fewer and fewer. He was confident he could overcome the crisis with his own strength.

With all that scorpion meat, he began cultivating extravagantly again, and the results improved significantly.

Three days later, only a tenth of the scorpion meat remained. He had no choice but to stop cultivating—he needed to make money.

Sand Scorpion venom sacs were hot commodities. Not only were they highly toxic, they could also ease certain mutation symptoms.

Unfortunately, he had slaughtered them so recklessly that nearly half the venom sacs had been damaged.

There was nothing to be done about that. Although Qu Jianlei had cultivated a sense of qi, he had not studied saber techniques at all.

Back on Blue Star, he had had opportunities to learn some saber arts, but he had never been interested.

Now, brute force had achieved his goal, though the scene was truly too gruesome to look at.

Yet it was precisely because so much venom had leaked out that other animals had been kept away.

Otherwise, how could Qu Jianlei have cultivated so calmly?

He collected a little over four hundred venom sacs. They should still be worth a small sum.

Then he walked to Po Wei Camp, wearing a different face covering this time.

But the camp's general store was rather unscrupulous. The owner nitpicked the fullness of the venom sacs, trying every possible way to drive down the price.

Qu Jianlei was not good at haggling, so his attitude was simple: Raise the price by thirty percent and I'll sell. Otherwise, I won't!

Even with a thirty percent increase, it was far below his expected price, but he did not want to keep wasting time on this.

People really had no limits. The general store owner assumed there was still room to bargain, so he kept cutting the price.

Without another word, Qu Jianlei turned and left.

The shop owner watched him take a few steps with a cold gaze. Only when he realized the man was not joking did he hurry after him. "Friend, wait—"

Before he could finish, a dark gun barrel was already pointed at him, the safety disengaged at the same time.

Qu Jianlei expressionlessly spat out two words. "Rob me?"

"I... I didn't mean that." The shop owner gave an awkward laugh and returned to normal. "I meant the price can still be discussed."

"That would just be more polite robbery," Qu Jianlei said blandly. "My final offer was a fixed price..."

"If you agree, we trade. If you don't, don't follow me. People really can die!"

He did not think he was threatening the other man. He really would shoot! Serious incidents were rare in wilderness camps, but he had no plans to stay here long and felt no attachment to the place.

Besides, his face was covered. Once he left, who would know who had done it?

When he turned away again, a trace of malice flashed across the shop owner's face.

But he still called out loudly, "Wait, I agree!"

He had no choice but to agree. Sand Scorpion venom sacs were far too sought-after right now, and he could make a fortune from them.

Besides, he made his living in Po Wei Camp. He could not openly rob someone in front of everyone.

Once the price was settled, Qu Jianlei did not take any money. He only exchanged for some Nutrient Solution, water, and two first-aid kits.

He exchanged everything else for ammunition.

In truth, he did not end up with much more supplies. The venom sacs had merely made up for the losses of recent days.

"Cultivation really burns money," Qu Jianlei sighed after returning to his temporary camp, then started the motorcycle.

He could not stay here any longer. Remaining in one place for too long would eventually lead to trouble.

That shop owner was clearly a troublesome sort as well. Being targeted by someone like that... leaving early was definitely best.

He was absolutely right. A day later, someone traced the matter here. "So the Sand Scorpion swarm was nearby?"

After Qu Jianlei left, he did not know where to go for a while.

Thinking of how he had already endured two antidote attacks, a sudden curiosity arose in him: I wonder how things are at the Mine?

So he turned his motorcycle around and rode back.

After hiding the motorcycle and all his supplies in the wilderness, he put on his face covering and arrived at the camp where Old Cripple had been.

But to his surprise, the general store had changed owners!

He did not step forward to ask directly. Instead, he took out a piece of rag and wrote a line on it.

"Buying unflowered Purple Flower Lichen in large quantities."

The Wasteland was not completely devoid of plant life. There were simply no large trees, and few shrubs. Wild grasses were more common, and lichen was even more plentiful.

Purple Flower Lichen tasted fishy and rank, but it contained a great deal of water. When people were starving badly enough, they could survive by eating lichen.

But eating too much of the stuff gave people diarrhea, so many people stored Purple Flower Lichen as backup water pouches.

In any case, the stuff was truly worthless. Basically no one bought it specifically.

Since he was willing to buy, people naturally came to sell. Unfortunately, nobody had stockpiled much of it.

Purple Flower Lichen was best harvested before it flowered, when its water content was highest.

And even after lichen was picked, it could still flower. Once it flowered, its water content plummeted.

It was not something that could be stored for long. Poor people gathered some only for emergencies.

It was cheap and available in small quantities. Buyers had trouble gathering it, while sellers had trouble selling it.

So people who knew each other discussed pooling their supplies together for sale, then settling the small accounts afterward.

During the process, the two sides inevitably exchanged a few words.

Until Qu Jianlei casually complained, "None of the general stores sell lichen... They look down on small business."

"Would that count as business to those important people?" a destitute woman replied.

"Old Cripple from your place..." Qu Jianlei stopped halfway through. "Oh, did he go to the Settlement to enjoy life?"

"He's dead," the destitute woman answered indifferently.

"Really?" Qu Jianlei was genuinely surprised. "How did he die?"

He truly was not good at dealing with people, but in his view, his reaction should have been perfectly normal.

The destitute woman opened her mouth to answer, but the man beside her snorted coldly. "Shut up."

Then he glanced at Qu Jianlei before continuing to scold the woman. "Don't you know what can be said and what shouldn't?"

The woman looked displeased, but she finally stopped speaking.

Qu Jianlei grew even more curious and could not help asking again, "Did he offend some important person?"

That was his flaw. He knew he ought to ask indirectly, but once his curiosity was aroused, he could not hold it back.

He usually paid close attention to controlling himself, but this time, his brain had failed to restrain his mouth.

If an ordinary person heard him keep asking like that, they would definitely become wary: Is he here to gather information? Yet the man who had scolded the woman was not ordinary. He had spent a long time at the bottom rung and had seen too many schemes and tricks.

He felt that the other man's reaction was instead pure curiosity—what kind of spy would be this stupid?

If the other man had not continued asking, he might have remained somewhat suspicious. But now... the other man was simply a fool.

So he cleared his throat. "Well... do you know the rules for asking around?"

The rules for asking around? Qu Jianlei thought about it, then shook his head directly. "I'm just curious... I won't pay!"

No matter what, he could not admit that he was gathering information, could he?

The man became even more convinced that this fellow was not a spy—what spy could be so straightforward? He lowered his voice. "Count the lichen from the two of us as half-price... That small matter is fine, right?"

To keep the other party from refusing, he even dangled bait. "Let me tell you, this information is important. You're really getting a bargain."

"After I'm done, remember not to spread it around. Otherwise, I'll die—but you'll die before I do."

At the end, he actually used suggestive phrasing—I know you'll agree.