Heart-Wrenching Cries Aren't Necessarily Caused by Wrongdoing

A man about Cheng Shaofeng's age was sitting in the shed, eating beans.

Cheng Shaofeng's beans.

"Crunch~ Crunch~ So disgusting. Crunch~"

The beans were yellowish-brown with some burnt black bits, clearly stir-fried.

Seeing this, Cheng Shaofeng breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ajie, I'm back."

The young man in the shed glanced at the person entering, put down the knife in his right hand, and looked excited.

He ran over and slapped Cheng Shaofeng on the back.

"You're actually still alive?"

"Damn! If you hadn't saved up so many beans before, I don't think I could have guarded your belongings. I'm so sick of eating beans these past few days! Quick, quick, quick, how was the haul this time? Let's go trade for some greens and bread!"

The young man stopped talking mid-sentence, his brow furrowed.

"Where's your bag?"

Cheng Shaofeng: "I ran into Raiders."

The man glanced at the messy marks on Cheng Shaofeng's body and the faint Radiation traces on his hands.

"Damn! You're lucky to be alive. To escape from those green-skinned muscle-heads... No wonder you're two days later than budgeted. What a shame. I'll have to buy a new bag from the mayor's shady shop again. The money will come out of your supplies."

"Alright."

The man before him was Wu Jie, a Scavenger.

It wasn't just hunters who formed groups; scavengers also looked out for each other.

In the Wasteland, mutual aid was the key to human survival.

There was an unwritten rule among scavenger partners: they never teamed up for scavenging trips, but in town, they were inseparable.

Scavengers carried all their supplies with them when they went out.

However, Cheng Shaofeng and Wu Jie were a bit different because Wu Jie was lucky.

After Cheng Shaofeng's parents died, before he partnered with Wu Jie, his life had been extremely difficult. If not for the slight help from his parents' friends, he might have starved to death.

But after partnering with Wu Jie, he discovered his luck had improved!

Every time they went out, they managed to find something.

Whether it was a change in luck or a coincidence, the two had been partners ever since.

Gradually, their belongings accumulated. Since one person going out to scavenge was enough for both of them to eat, they took turns scavenging, with the other staying behind in town.

This was safer.

This time, Cheng Shaofeng had gone scavenging, and Wu Jie had moved all his supplies into his own home for safekeeping.

Cheng Shaofeng inventoried his supplies and picked up a few well-preserved circuit boards.

These were his stored goods, intended to be traded for something good when the merchant caravan from Colossus City arrived.

Colossus City needed these high-quality pre-war items, which were useless in Salt Well Town.

Selling them directly to the town would significantly reduce their price.

Since they had enough resources to eat, they decided to wait for the Colossus City caravan to get a good price.

For other scavengers, they had to sell anything they found immediately or starve.

'Zero, can you use the items in my hand?' Cheng Shaofeng asked mentally.

Zero: "Scanning..."

A sapphire-blue AR display appeared over the shed in front of Cheng Shaofeng, showing the scanning progress, which was increasing rapidly.

A few seconds later.

Zero: "Scan complete! The circuit boards you have can yield a total of 4 sets of Electronic Components."

'Good! Then we're stable.'

With the Electronic Components in hand, the next step was to acquire some Prey from the base as Biological Raw Materials to create Clones.

'Players shouldn't die in the future, or collecting resources will be too troublesome for me.'

The cost of materials needed to make one Clone, converted into beans, was enough for him to eat for over a month.

Besides these circuit boards, his collection also included 28 jin of beans, 343 yuan, and various miscellaneous items.

The money was issued by Colossus City, a shiny iron coin that could be used in a large area around Colossus City.

In all his years, Cheng Shaofeng hadn't heard of any place that didn't accept Colossus City's currency.

Or perhaps it was because he had never traveled far.

"This money should be enough to buy 3 large Prey."

Seeing Cheng Shaofeng carefully inventorying his supplies, Wu Jie looked surprised. "Brother Feng... you've changed. You seem like a stranger."

Cheng Shaofeng was startled.

Some of my little habits are different from my predecessor's, did he notice?

That's right!

Wu Jie and Cheng Shaofeng had been partners for two years, so they must have known each other very well. If someone else had replaced this body, Wu Jie would have been the first to know!

Cheng Shaofeng said vigilantly, "No... I don't think so. Maybe I'm just too tired these days."

Wu Jie looked up towards the outside of the shed. "You never used to count your supplies in front of me when you came back."

Cheng Shaofeng: "..."

Wu Jie: "You don't trust me anymore... you don't even count them at your own home."

"This... this is just it? Don't misunderstand me, I just want to tally my assets and buy some things."

"Oh? You lost the bag I bought last year, remember to buy a bag first."

"Uh, okay."

"Right! Draw me your route from this time. I'm going out scavenging this afternoon. I've been cooped up in town for days. You watch my supplies... especially that talking silicone doll. That's my lifeline. Until I find a woman, I'm relying on it!"

"..."

Cheng Shaofeng looked at Wu Jie, who was already packing his things, feeling a bit awkward.

If he hadn't arrived, perhaps the two of them would still be happily scavenging.

But... he wasn't the Cheng Shaofeng from before.

"AJie, I'm leaving."

Wu Jie: "Leaving? Where are you going? You look like a mess, go wash up and rest. I'll go buy some flatbread and wrap some vegetables later. After I eat, I'll set off. You came back empty-handed... so according to the theorem of conservation of luck, I'm bound to have a breakthrough this time. I might even find a gun, after all, it's Red City."

Red City, a pre-war city ruin that most scavengers hadn't explored yet.

If one dared to go, there was a chance to find a lot of supplies.

Of course, most scavengers who harbored a sliver of hope never returned.

If it weren't for the fact that his luck had been good since partnering with Wu Jie, Cheng Shaofeng wouldn't have dared to go there.

"AJie, I'm going to leave Salt Well Town for a while. I've met some friends outside, and we're going to do something together..."

Wu Jie's hand trembled slightly.

"You want to break up the partnership?"

"Yes."

"Scavengers live together, die apart. Did you forget?"

"Isn't that just a tomb-robbing story we heard from the old folks in town..."

"Oh, you're really leaving? There's no safer place than Salt Well Town in the Four Mountains. Your future partner might not have as much luck as I do. The old saying goes that the people who live the longest aren't the strongest hunters, the most skilled tailors, or the shrewdest merchants, but the luckiest people."

"I'll call you over when the time is right in the future."

"I hope you live to see that day."

Wu Jie pursed his lips and walked out of the shed to buy flatbread at the town's general store.

From Cheng Shaofeng's memories, Wu Jie was a very reliable partner. However, he now had too many secrets, and his strength was too weak. The matter of summoning players couldn't be exposed. When he became stronger and could explain everything logically, he could then help Wu Jie.

"Can good luck really give others buffs? It sounds a bit mystical."

He felt that Wu Jie's so-called good luck couldn't last forever. It was just that the two of them happened to be luckier before. To treat it as a buff status was truly disrespectful to science.

The hunters hadn't returned yet. Cheng Shaofeng casually browsed his supplies, looking to get rid of the sundries he had on hand.

He couldn't wait for the caravan from Colossus City to arrive here.

Most of the people who stayed in town during the day were women and a few... old people who had very good luck in this life.

Those with work did their work, and those without... gathered to chat.

"Lately, I feel like it's getting colder and colder here. I've been feeling uncomfortable and always want to bask in the sun."

"It's like this in places that are always in the shade. It's good enough to be alive. Why don't you go find a Raider camp outside? They're in the open, you can soak up the sun to your heart's content."

"Did you guys hear strange noises from the mayor's house last night? I thought I heard a woman screaming..."

"Haven't you heard the old saying? What's carried on the shoulders isn't necessarily responsibility, the one stabbing you in the back isn't necessarily a knife, the one kneeling on both knees isn't necessarily begging for mercy, and the heart-wrenching cries aren't necessarily grievances."

"Ew~ So that's how it is... I thought it was... Sigh! The mayor really has a good time."

Cheng Shaofeng smiled knowingly as he passed by and headed to the store.

There was only one store in town, selling everything and buying anything of value.

The proprietress was Zheng Juan, the mayor's fifth wife. She was in her early thirties, still charming, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses produced in Colossus City. Her hair was tied up in a bun at the back, and her large, ample breasts were propped on the table, looking very beautiful.

She was more beautiful than most of the women in Salt Well Town.

Second only to the mayor's sixth and seventh wives.

"Shaofeng, selling again?"

"Hmm, how much are these things?"

After placing all the groceries, Zheng Juan glanced at them and gave a price.

"20 yuan. I'll take it all."

"Deal. Just exchange it for 20 jin of beans."

"Yo~ I can't exchange it for 20 jin. The price of beans went up by 2 mao per jin. I can give you 16.5 jin at most, but..."

Zheng Juan leaned her face closer to Cheng Shaofeng, sniffed, and said with a charming laugh, "But if little brother can sell me something else, I can give you the old price."

Cheng Shaofeng looked at the table, which trembled with Zheng Juan's large bosom, his expression unchanged.

"My brother bought a bag last year. Please get me another one of the same style. Thanks."

Zheng Juan: "?"

After placing the bag at Wu Jie's stall, Cheng Shaofeng boiled some beans and ate them while waiting for the hunters to return.

"This taste is really just average. I'll have to get players to hunt more prey for me to eat in the future."

Cheng Shaofeng didn't notice that in the time both of them had left the stall...

Under his bed... a pink flower had appeared.

It was releasing a faint gas.