Trade Terminated

The loudspeaker on the sedan behind them wasn't very good. It was loud, but the sound was distorted, and all they could make out was a man's voice.

Lu Xi'an glanced back again and saw a speaker on the sedan's roof. The wiring must have run into the car.

There seemed to be only one person inside. The passenger seat was empty, and no heads appeared to be sticking up in the back.

Still, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei couldn't rule out the possibility that someone was crouching in the passenger seat or the back, ready to ambush them.

Lu Xi'an raised his submachine gun.

"Time to trade! Got anything to trade?"

"Car parts, food, clothes—anything's fine."

"I've got some good stuff here, too. Cigarettes, anyone? I've got cola!"

"Have you ever had cola, buddy? It's fizzy. Take a sip and—damn, it's so good! It'll put you in a great mood and make you forget about killing yourself!"

"Same with cigarettes. One puff and you'll feel amazing!"

"Car up front, slow down a little!"

"But let me make this clear first: don't even think about robbing me. I've got a gun, and I've taken on ten guys by myself!"

The person in the car seemed like a chatterbox. Once he started talking through the loudspeaker, he just wouldn't stop.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei ignored him completely and kept driving, their foot on the gas.

Then the man caught up, pulled alongside Yao Wei's car, rolled down his window, turned toward Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, and grinned broadly.

His long hair was a mess, his beard was scruffy, and he wore sunglasses. They couldn't see his clothes, but he seemed to be wearing a long coat that reached below his knees. He looked rather sharp.

He was just about to say something when Lu Xi'an raised his submachine gun and rested it on the window.

The man's eyes widened behind his sunglasses. "Holy shit!" He slammed on the brakes and vanished from Lu Xi'an's view in an instant.

But the car had merely fallen behind them. It showed no sign of turning away, and the speaker on its roof blared again:

"Brother, you wanna trade that gun? I've got an airplane!"

"..."

Lu Xi'an fell silent for a moment, then complained to Yao Wei, "This guy sure talks a lot of crap. If his car could fit an airplane, I'd trade my gun for his car!"

Who wouldn't want a Space Treasure!

Yao Wei smiled and kept driving.

But as she drove, she had already freed one hand to grip her gun.

She had never seen Lu Xi'an shoot and wasn't very confident in his marksmanship.

"Look! This airplane's awesome! All cleaned up! Still has the packaging! I'll even throw in the batteries for free. How's that for generous?"

The speaker behind them started blaring again.

Lu Xi'an turned to look through the rear window and saw a hand reaching out of the sedan's driver-side window.

The hand held a rectangular box. It was badly damaged, with only half of it left. A slightly curved cylindrical object, shaped like a cup, protruded from the bottom half. The top half of the box showed a naked body.

He knew what it was. He asked Yao Wei, "Do you call these things airplanes around here?"

Yao Wei glanced in the rearview mirror. "The box says 'airplane.'"

"Fine."

Only then did Lu Xi'an notice that the remaining half of the box really did have the two characters for "airplane" printed on it.

The character for "cup" should have been below them, but it was gone.

He took another close look and shouted, "Can't you see it says 'cup' on that thing in your hand? You think an airplane cup is an airplane? Dream on! I'm not buying. Get lost!"

"Careful. Don't provoke him," Yao Wei warned.

She stayed level-headed, avoiding any possible conflict.

Lu Xi'an said, "Sorry, I lost my temper for a moment. That guy got me worked up. He doesn't seem like the kind to start a fight over nothing."

Even so, he kept a firm grip on the submachine gun, its barrel angled slightly backward as he prepared to fire at any moment.

But the man in the car behind them didn't seem angry. After a brief silence, the sedan's loudspeaker blared again:

"Damn, you're impressive, big brother! You know other languages too?! I've got books in other languages. Wanna take a look?"

The man pulled his hand back, then quickly stuck it out again, this time holding a book. It was tattered, with its corners all curled up.

The book's cover was pitch-black, but they could still make out a naked woman posing provocatively.

She had long, wavy blond hair, with the English letters spelling Playboy printed above it.

Good grief, where had this guy dug up all these treasures?

Did this world have Playboy too?!

But the Playboy in this world looked a lot classier than the one in his previous life.

"Take a look, big brother!"

"Big brother, these are the real deal, all good stuff. Things like this are hard to find these days."

"Are you even a man, big brother?"

The speaker behind them kept blaring its lewd calls. The old Playboy fluttered in the wind, like the man in the car was waving a flag.

Yao Wei frowned, annoyed. She felt like slamming on the brakes and ramming the sedan hard with the rear of her car.

Her car was much sturdier than the sedan, after all. If they collided, the sedan would definitely take more damage.

But it wasn't worth it.

"How about I fire a shot and see if I can scare him off?"

Lu Xi'an had given up trying to talk to the chatterbox.

The man was a typical clingy pest. Give him an inch and he'd take a mile. No matter how rudely Lu Xi'an spoke, the man just kept playing along.

Just look at him. He was clearly older than Lu Xi'an, yet he still called him "big brother" every other word, more warmly than he'd address his own big brother.

But before Lu Xi'an could fire, gunshots rang out from somewhere else.

They didn't come from behind, but from ahead and to the side.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei looked toward the sound. A car suddenly burst onto the road from the left, heading straight for them.

"We couldn't find a single car before, and now two show up at once."

Lu Xi'an tensed up, feeling his heart thump hard in his chest.

The loudspeaker behind them blared again. "Shit! Those guys must've come from the highway and gotten ahead of us! Trade's off, big brother. We'll talk another time."

The engine roared to life. The sedan that had been behind them suddenly accelerated and shot past.

The engine in that sedan had definitely been modified. It wasn't the original.

Lu Xi'an was certain of it.

But the sedan sped away, while the car approaching from the side ahead didn't chase after it. Instead, it headed straight for them.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two more shots rang out, but the aim was poor. Neither bullet hit Yao Wei's car.

Lu Xi'an relaxed a little. Good. At least their aim wasn't as good as Yao Wei's.

He didn't bother conserving ammunition. Staying inside the car, he stuck his gun outside and squeezed the trigger at the vehicle that was nearly turning onto the road ahead and to their side.

"Bangbangbangbangbangbangbang—"

A torrent of fire poured out—half a magazine in one go.

Flames spat repeatedly from the muzzle, making for an intimidating sight. The car up ahead slammed on its brakes and stopped in the middle of the road.

Yao Wei had no choice but to jerk the steering wheel and swerve off the road.

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