Armory

"This thing looks like the carapace of some arthropod mutant beast? A crab? A centipede? No, it ought to be a scorpion."

Xie Lan murmured, the confusion in her eyes not diminishing in the slightest.

"But below Tier Three, there shouldn't be any scorpion mutant beasts I haven't seen... Ah, how could it stay this tough while being so thin?"

Looking at the Soul-Severing Scorpion shell before her, gleaming with a metallic luster, Xie Lan instinctively wanted to examine it again.

But Ye Xiu's hand blocked her.

"If you really like it, name your price. For taking care of Hualing, I'll give you a discount."

Ye Xiu raised a brow.

Having dealt with matters in the cultivation world, Ye Xiu finally had the time to sort through the gains from that battle.

Considering the difference in time flow between the two sides, he naturally preferred to handle the spoils here in the Apocalypse World.

When he had just crossed over and seen Xie Lan inside the room, Ye Xiu had nearly failed to restrain himself from attacking.

Fortunately, after checking with his divine sense and confirming that the formation in the room remained intact, and that Xu Hualing showed no signs of being controlled, his killing intent subsided.

Through Xu Hualing's explanation, Ye Xiu also came to understand what had happened.

After he returned to the cultivation world, Xu Hualing had followed his instructions and remained shut inside the house.

Since her ability was far too ordinary, and she knew she could not become a combatant, Xu Hualing had tried to blaze a different trail.

Thanks to the enormous amount of materials produced by mutated creatures, weapon and armor technology in this world had advanced at a tremendous pace.

Xu Hualing had seized on that point and planned to learn how to make equipment herself.

After all, even ability users could not do without weapons.

In fact, many abilities could undergo a qualitative transformation when paired with weapons.

And Xie Lan happened to be the most skilled manufacturer in the Azure Prefecture shelter, aside from those affiliated with the authorities.

Backed by her immense influence, she even had her own arms factory.

Calling in the favor left over from renting her place, Xu Hualing had wanted to ask Xie Lan to find her a teacher.

Yet after going back and forth, the two of them ended up taking a liking to each other.

Ye Xiu had originally been considering whether to send the materials from the Soul-Severing Scorpion to Starfire for a look, but seeing Xie Lan's reaction now, he knew he had probably saved himself some trouble.

"Yes. However much you have, I'll take it all."

Seeing that Ye Xiu genuinely intended to sell it, Xie Lan was naturally thrilled.

A new type of material had appeared, one possessing qualities that previous materials lacked. It might even directly spark a revolution.

In this Wasteland World, every additional possibility meant one more chance to survive.

As a researcher, of course she understood its significance.

"Don't rush to discuss the price. After all, anything you can offer, the authorities can offer too. Do you think you can outspend them?"

Having seized the initiative in the negotiation, Ye Xiu was in no hurry.

Near the end of his time in the sect, through conversations with other outer sect disciples, he had obtained some information on Fang Qiong.

The cultivation technique Fang Qiong openly practiced was a demonic art focused on the physical body. Rumor had it that the gloomy rain he summoned could even corrode spirit artifacts.

Ye Xiu knew full well that he and Fang Qiong would inevitably face each other in the upcoming advancement tournament.

Although he could no longer raise his realm, that did not mean Ye Xiu had no way to grow stronger.

When two people fought to the death, the importance of intelligence went without saying.

Having uncovered information about Fang Qiong, Ye Xiu naturally had to make preparations tailored to him.

Hearing Ye Xiu's words, Xie Lan's face immediately fell.

She knew he was right. She had no chance at all of competing with the authorities in financial strength.

"This thing is only big enough to make a bulletproof vest that protects the heart. At most, I can offer thirty guns."

Xie Lan spoke with visible pain. Manufacturing firearms also required materials obtained by hunting zombies and mutant beasts; for an independent faction relying entirely on itself, the difficulty was easy to imagine.

"If all I wanted was firepower, I wouldn't have come to negotiate with you."

Ye Xiu shook his head.

He looked at Xie Lan. "Think about it. What advantages do you have over the authorities?"

"Advantages over the authorities?"

Xie Lan blanked for a moment, then immediately understood.

"You mean you want custom weapons?"

"Not just weapons."

A smile appeared on Ye Xiu's face.

That was right. Compared to official research institutes, with their strict reviews and cumbersome procedures, these independent researchers varied greatly in skill, but they possessed one advantage the authorities could not match:

Because they were small in scale, they could focus all their energy on their current customer.

And without so many rules, they could use materials without any reservations.

The official research institutes were not incapable of doing such things, but that required a position of sufficiently high status.

At present, Ye Xiu happened to lack that level of authorization.

"Take me to see your arms factory. If it satisfies me, the payment I can offer will likewise exceed your imagination."

Looking at Xie Lan before him, Ye Xiu spoke each word slowly and clearly.

Xie Lan froze, instinctively wanting to refuse, but when the words reached her lips, she agreed against her will.

Wait, I'm just letting this guy into the factory? What if he has ulterior motives...

The moment she agreed, Xie Lan began to regret it.

After all, the factory was the core territory of every gang, the foundation they relied on to survive in the apocalypse.

But when Ye Xiu directly tossed the Soul-Severing Scorpion shell into her hands, Xie Lan could not stop herself from following him out the door.

Leaving the residential area and winding through a maze of passages, Ye Xiu's group traveled for nearly two hours before he finally saw the massive, thick door.

Pssh.

After five full rounds of password verification, Xie Lan slowly pushed open the enormous, heavy door.

What met their eyes were nearly fifty guards standing in neat rows, fully armed with live ammunition.

One look at their densely layered protective suits was enough for Ye Xiu to conclude that even a nuclear blast would not make these people leave.

"I won't show you the production lines. I doubt you'd be interested in those."

After leading Ye Xiu farther inside, the two entered a massive room.

"Everything our factory can currently produce is in here. The effects and properties are listed on them."

"If you want anything, just make your requests based on these."

"I won't boast about anything else, but when it comes to armor, even those people from the authorities aren't much better than me."

Speaking of her specialty, Xie Lan's face clearly took on an unquestionable confidence.

But in the next moment, Ye Xiu's words made her face fall again.

"In that case, please make a suit of armor that can take an attack at Tyrant level head-on."