Supplies were too important to him. Han Xiao sighed, counted out 150 bullets, and was just about to pay.
The bearded man wagged a finger and raised the price on the spot. "180 bullets."
Han Xiao's eyes flashed with anger. You fucking profiteer, raising the price on the spot! May your children be born without assholes!
Seeing this, the bearded man cried out theatrically, "Oh, what a scary look! Are you going to kill me or something? Everyone, come and see! Someone's trying to kill me!"
At his words, dozens of wanderers nearby gathered around. Some even picked up weapons like crowbars and iron rods, eyeing Han Xiao menacingly.
"This is our turf. You dare cause trouble here?"
"Fine, you win. 180 bullets it is. Hope you choke on them." Han Xiao ground his teeth in anger. Not wanting to cause more trouble, he forced the words out between clenched teeth and tossed the bullets onto the ground.
The bearded man smiled smugly, had the goods brought over, and handed them to Han Xiao.
After checking that the map and supplies were all there, Han Xiao gave the bearded man the middle finger. Not wanting to stay another second, he turned and left.
Then the bearded merchant spoke again. "Hey, are you planning to walk out of this forest?"
"What, do you have a problem with that?" Han Xiao stopped and snapped.
"I have an old pickup truck. Want it?" The bearded man spoke casually, as though their unpleasant exchange had never happened.
"I can't afford your prices," Han Xiao shot back.
"You can." The bearded man pointed at Han Xiao's backpack. "You have so many bullets, you must be carrying plenty of guns. Pay with those."
High-quality firearms were highly sought after by wanderers, who generally relied on hunting for food. One more good gun meant one more hunter.
Han Xiao's bag was full of the Night Owl Squad's equipment. It was all high quality, and included sought-after items like sniper rifles and bulletproof vests. It was more than enough to trade for an old pickup truck, but he shook his head and declined the bearded man's offer.
The tracks left by a vehicle in the forest would be far too obvious. It would be practically the same as pointing them out to his pursuers and saying, "See that? This is the way I went." If he did not want to race a helicopter, he was better off walking.
He had another consideration as well. These guns were all standard-issue Germinal weapons. If a Germinal squad came to the settlement and found the organization's standard-issue weapons, the settlement would face disaster. Selling the guns would be the same as killing people indirectly, and it would leave a clue that he had passed through, preventing him from shaking off his pursuers.
Although the merchant had just ripped Han Xiao off, he was not so deranged as to do that.
The bearded man still refused to give up and was about to press his sales pitch when a booming voice suddenly rang out beside them.
"Kailo, you're cheating outsiders again!"
A burly man in beast-skin hunting clothes strode over. The crowd parted of its own accord wherever he went; he clearly commanded a great deal of respect in the settlement.
The bearded Kailo's face fell. "Hu Hongjun, I finally managed to make a sale! Don't meddle!"
Hu Hongjun snatched the bullets from the bearded man and held them out to Han Xiao. "The things you wanted aren't worth much. They're yours for free. Here, these are your bullets."
Han Xiao was taken aback and looked Hu Hongjun over carefully. The man was East Asian and powerfully built, with graying temples and a sharp gaze. He spoke with a hearty confidence, and his honorable act of returning the bullets immediately made Han Xiao warm to him.
"Hey, what about me?" Kailo cried.
Without looking back, Hu Hongjun said, "It's just a little food. I'll pay you back tomorrow."
Kailo was furious. He had finally made a sale and found a customer to fleece, only for Hu Hongjun to turn it into an even trade. Do you even know what business is?
Hu Hongjun was very hospitable. "You've come a long way, so you're our guest. You look worn out. You're not used to life in the forest, are you? Come stay at my place tonight and set off tomorrow."
Han Xiao hesitated for a moment, then agreed. He did want a good rest, and his first impression of Hu Hongjun was that he was a straightforward, generous man who did not seem like a bad person. Of course, even if the man had bad intentions, Han Xiao would not be afraid.
The two left together, and the wanderers watching also dispersed. Only the bearded Kailo remained, stamping his feet and beating his chest, angry but afraid to speak. He had no choice. Hu Hongjun was one of the settlement's hunters, and everyone depended on him to bring back food. He was also generous and well-liked, so Kailo did not dare offend him.
Hu Hongjun took Han Xiao back to his tent. Lifting the flap as he entered, he called out, "An, I have a guest. Make extra food today."
"All right," a woman answered.
Han Xiao entered the tent and saw the woman called An. She was plain-looking and wore a simple cloth dress. Han Xiao noticed that her eyes were unfocused; she was clearly blind.
"This is my wife," Hu Hongjun said with a smile.
"Hello." Hearing Han Xiao's voice, An smiled in his direction. She felt around for pots, bowls, and utensils, along with dried meat and wild vegetables, and began cooking over a simple stone stove in the center of the tent.
Since his hosts were so welcoming, Han Xiao made himself comfortable, sitting on the ground and chatting with Hu Hongjun.
After talking for a while, Han Xiao confirmed that Hu Hongjun had no ulterior motives and was simply hospitable. He could not help lowering his guard a little.
"I noticed just now that most people in this settlement are white. How did you end up banding together with them?" Han Xiao asked.
The intelligent species on Planet Aquamarine was human, and there were four races in total: black, white, East Asian, and Shanu, all products of evolution by natural selection. Darwin had said that natural selection favored the fittest; the harsher the environment, the hardier the life it produced. The Shanu were more robust than black people.
"There's no special reason. There was a war on, and I happened to run into this group of wanderers. An was sick and needed care at the time, so I stayed. Our homelands and races may be different, but we're all survivors of the old era, people who've lost our countries. Why make distinctions between us? We're just people in the same predicament, huddling together for warmth." Hu Hongjun's tone was wistful.
Planet Aquamarine had originally had over a hundred countries. After coming into contact with interstellar civilizations, its people realized that having so many countries on one planet was a complete waste of its limited resources. Without unification, there would be endless internal strife. If it continued, civilization would be trapped on the planet once its resources were exhausted, losing its chance to enter the universe.
So, with certain parties helping things along, the social climate changed drastically over several decades. Through war, negotiation, economic pressure, and other peaceful or unpeaceful means, the weaker nations were weeded out, until only the Six Nations remained.
Of those who lost their homelands, some chose to join the Six Nations, and some chose to join Germinal. The rest became wanderers.
Planet Aquamarine's world was going through the birth pains of the transition from the old era to the new. The people whose countries had been annexed, destroyed, or dissolved were steeped in grief and disillusionment. Everyone hoped their own country would survive, but when the wheels of history decided they had stopped long enough and needed to move forward, some things that seemed indispensable could only accept being abandoned by the times, reduced to a few words in a history book. To give a few simple examples, there was the wave of layoffs in the early nineties, when countless iron rice bowls were shattered. Then there was Huaxia's five-thousand-year history: it was not until the Republic era that the imperial system, which had lasted thousands of years, collapsed. Before that, everyone had taken the existence of an emperor for granted. Another example was the dark religion of the Western Middle Ages.
The progress of civilization was like a surging river, impossible to stop. Every person, every event, and even every country was merely sediment swept up in its waters, carried along by the current.
People with limited individual power could only vent their grief online or in protests, or brood over the past glory of their countries. The more radical refused the Six Nations' offers of citizenship and became wilderness wanderers, banding together in settlements in the wild. Wanderers accounted for thirty percent of the planet's population.
Meanwhile, some soldiers who had once given their blood and sweat for their countries opposed the Six Nations through more extreme actions. The Germinal organization was a behemoth born of this social climate. United against a common enemy, it sought to overthrow the Six Nations and was the undisputed leader of the underground world.
Maintaining the status quo was easy, but reform always came with pain. Even when faced with knowledge accepted throughout the universe, some stubborn people were still unwilling to accept it. When choosing between private interests and social progress, some would always choose the former: after they were dead, what did they care if a flood swept the world? These people usually played the role of "resistance" on the road of evolution. After all, self-interest brought tangible benefits, while the greater good was only an intangible belief. Truly selfless people were a rare breed. Otherwise, "selflessness" would not be considered a virtue, and there would be no need for the annual Moving Huaxia awards. Were they not held to tell everyone, "Look, there are still good people in the world. Learn from them, and give the organization one less thing to worry about"?
Hu Hongjun said, "Ever since the Battle of Andia, history has been divided in two. The past several thousand years are called the old era, while the present is the new era. Sometimes I wonder what was so bad about life before. It was peaceful and stable, yet the so-called theory of internal strife stirred up war. I'm afraid the consequences were worse than the strife itself. Besides, even if it had happened, it would only have been hundreds of years later. Leave future problems for future generations to solve. What did they have to do with us?"
Han Xiao sighed.