Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 275 - 165: Going to the Market

Chapter 275: Chapter 165: Going to the Market

As the system underwent update after update, ordinary players also began searching for a way forward into the future. For the time being, small base players could still scrape by because they hadn’t yet hit their last line of defense: food. Even through the winter, the system left a lifeline for Fishing players. However, those in the know saw that if one couldn’t produce food as in real post-apocalyptic life, sooner or later, it would become unsustainable.

The currently recognized most reliable way to obtain food was farming, but farming required large outdoor plots, and this was where small bases fell short. During this Fishing event, some players seemed to have found the version’s answer in Outpost Cards. Occupying a restaurant with Outpost Cards costs 1 labor point per day and yields 1 unit of food daily. A small base with three people could make use of three Outpost Cards to get 3 units of food per day. Everyone believed that even if the versions updated, the value of Outpost Cards would not decrease.

But the problem was that Outpost Cards were too rare. In this Fishing event, only one small base player in North Town managed to get one Outpost Card. In the Waste City mission, Maya only obtained an Outpost Card by exchanging points. Upon hearing that players had Outpost Cards, Stone immediately contacted them through the radio, expressing his willingness to trade for the card. The other party told Stone that Invincible Base was also interested in this Outpost Card. If Shadow Base wanted it, the bid would take place tomorrow morning at ten o’clock at the factory crossroads.

President Stone faced a dilemma. Given Shadow’s current net worth, they could undoubtedly get the Outpost Card, but a direct competition would inevitably have negative implications. Subsequently, Stone contacted Invincible to inquire if they intended to bid, and after getting a positive reply and explaining that they had been invited to bid, he decided not to participate since Invincible was confident in acquiring the Outpost Card.

Maya was puzzled by this. From a tactical and strategic level, it was almost impossible for Invincible to offer any more help to Shadow. With vehicles and personnel already available, Invincible no longer held any value. Stone agreed with what Maya said, but asserted that living in a slum area required conduct appropriate for the slum—showing off wealth or turning on allies were both undesirable behaviors.

Stone gave an example of two noodle shops on the same street inevitably being at odds, whereas two office buildings on the same street, both dealing in noodle exports, would not have such a poor relationship and might even cooperate. The larger the business, the more amicable the attitude and behavior when facing competition in the same trade.

Shadow started as a noodle shop and would eventually become a noodle company, so maintaining a fundamental corporate image was beneficial for future growth.

However, Stone himself also said that he was unsure whether it was necessary to consider so much in the game, which was why it was tough for him to make a decision.

...

Days passed, and the last month of winter arrived. Today was the first market day in Left County following a blizzard. Left County is flanked by North Town to the north and Southward Town to the south, as their names imply. Based on information gleaned from previous market day trades, it was clear that Southward Town did not house any particularly powerful bases. Of its two medium-sized bases, only one had an owner, which had lost 80% of its key personnel during the first defense.

This was Lin Wu’s first time at the market. After it opened at one o’clock in the afternoon, Lin Wu and Shana teleported from their base to the market.

The market overall comprised a square and four streets, where every player could rent a stall, with the rental fee being one unit of any one of the five major resources. Then, they could display their goods for sale at the stall and go about the market. When someone inquired about a product, a market-exclusive earpiece would activate, allowing the stall owner to bargain with the interested party.

Another feature of the market was its shops. Around the square, there were numerous storefronts offering services such as hair salons that could change one’s hairstyle, tattoo parlors, foot baths, nail salons, etc. A single unit of any one of the five major resources was enough to receive a service.

Hearing about the hot springs, Shana immediately ditched Lin Wu to go soak in them. Lin Wu did not set up a stall either; his goal for the day was to find and purchase a dagger-class weapon with positive execution effects.

The four streets were divided into Weapon Equipment Street, Material Street, Miscellaneous Street, and Strange Objects Street. There was no strict requirement to display corresponding goods, but most stall owners, to facilitate sales, still chose the appropriate street. The length of the streets and the number of stalls were directly proportional.

Lin Wu first visited Material Street, finding that most stalls were selling building materials, with a few offering fuel packs, ammunition packs, and medical packs. Food packs were exceedingly rare. Out of curiosity, Lin Wu asked a stall owner for prices, getting a standard exchange rate response: 1 food pack for 3 building material packs, or for two fuel or medical packs.

The prices of the four major resource packs were stable, except for ammunition packs, whose pricing was erratic—some asking 3 food packs for one ammunition pack, others trading two ammunition packs for one food pack.

These trivial matters were Stone’s concern; Lin Wu was merely having a look.

Then, Lin Wu went to Miscellaneous Street, which mainly sold materials, favoring metals like iron blocks at tiers 2 or 3. Lin Wu traded two handgun bullets at one stall for 30 electronic components before being caught by Maya.

Lin Wu pulled Maya aside for a whispered conversation; only then did Maya realize Lin Wu had such a sinister plan, intending to rob the safe house of Nightmare and not even telling her about it. Maya told Lin Wu to go have fun, leaving the matter to her.

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