Chapter 8
The Tulip Hotel sat between the borders of the inner and outer circle. The location was near Sixth Street’s most prosperous market, and it was the most secure and guarded place.
The roof cast a humid and dark vibe to onlookers. 50 anti-air machine guns guarded the lavishly furnished hotel, despite the rather odd contrast, it demonstrated the hotel’s strong force. On the lawless piece of wasteland, safety was the number one priority.
Only backed by the Sixth Street official could anti-air machines be placed on the roof. Only the wealthy and important people lived here. Therefore, the issue of security was emphasized to the max. According to Sun Jiao, if any intruder entered your room without permission, the law permits the intruder to be shot on the spot.
The reason why they lived here was to get rid of the “tail” that followed them.
They sat on the extravagant leather sofa as Jiang Chen swallowed a piece of orange from a can of fruit. He would have never eaten these things before, due to the ridiculous amount of preservatives and sweeteners in it. However, since he only ate junk food for the past few days, he needed to ingest some fruit. For vitamins, and to maintain his health.
“Don’t look at me like that; I’ll save you some.” Jiang Chen rolled his eyes as he saw Sun Jiao stare at the fruit, full of desire. He turned towards the person on the ground, who was also staring at the fruit, swallowing. “Why don’t we get rid of this problem and have dinner?”
Hui Lei was completely tied up on the ground as he felt someone’s vicious stare behind him. A chill went down his back. He stared at the smiling man on the sofa but felt a sense of fear from the bottom of his heart.
Cold sweat appeared profusely on Hui Lei’s forehead as he felt the gun pointed to the back of his head, “I… I am… you guys got the wrong person! I, I didn’t…”
Sun Jiao whipped the gun barrel around and, without any hesitation, pointed it at his face. She then stepped on his head as she interrogated him in a dangerous tone. “I am not asking if you followed us, I am asking you…” she slowed down her voice as she flipped open the switch of the laser rifle, the light hum echoed across the room, “…who sent you here?”
That was the voice of a predator. Even Jiang Chen, who sat comfortably on the sofa, shivered. This was the first time she acted so viciously, well maybe not the first time. After Sun Jiao caught him, he immediately said he did not know anything. Other than a name, he didn’t give them any useful information. He insisted that he was a refugee who lived in the ghetto.
But would a refugee appear in the most prosperous place on Sixth Street?
“I don’t know anything! You guys are using illegal forces! The guards at Sixth Street will not let you guys go!” Hui Lei screamed as his eyes opened wide. He was so naïve that he began to threaten Jiang Chen. Naïve, but dumb.
If he didn’t trust Sun Jiao’s abilities, Jiang Chen would almost believe he was just an ordinary person.
“You have ten seconds to reconsider. Of course, to help you think, I will break one of your nuts every ten seconds,” with a stern voice, Sun Jiao kicked Hui Lei as she flipped him over.
“Don’t do it! No!” Hui Lei let out a frightened scream as he looked hysterically at Sun Jiao and tried to move away from her.
“9.”
“I, I don’t know anything! Miss, please let me go,” Hui Lei begged with his life, but he could not see the slightest hesitation nor compassion in this devil like woman.
“7,” Sun Jiao immediately picked up a steel beam
“I, I…”
“1,1,” Sun Jiao raised her hand.
“Nooooo!”
“Wait a second.” Jiang Chen suddenly opened his mouth.
Sun Jiao paused with the steel beam still in mid-air.
A filthy smell began to fill the room. Jiang Chen sniffed the air and looked at the twitching Hui Lei with disgust. They didn’t even start, and he had already peed his pants. If he wanted to be brave, he at least needed not to pee himself. Although when Sun Jiao said she was going to break his nuts, Jiang Chen also felt a chill seep down his pants. This move was surprisingly effective against males.
“I don’t like to use violence to solve problems.” Jiang Chen smiled at Hui Lei.
As if he saw an oasis in the middle of the desert, Hui Lei crawled in front of Jiang Chen and firmly kneeled in front of him.
“Thank you! I, I ….”
“But if you continue to pretend like this, I don’t mind giving my assistant some advice. Like putting a hungry mutant dog right in front of your nuts. I am sure it would enjoy a delicious meal.”
Jiang Chen’s cold words froze the smile that just appeared on Hui Lei’s face and immediately collapsed into a look of despair.
Jiang Chen also shook both of his legs as he finished the sentence. The idea also made his nuts hurt. Jiang Chen swore in his head, but his face was still expressionless.
“Of course, compared to violence, I prefer doing deals. I am a merchant by nature, and if you are willing to cooperate, this is yours.”
A soft glowing purple crystal appeared in front of Hui Lei. The eyes full of terror slowly turned into greed.
A crystal worth 100 energy unit, it was no doubt a significant amount of money on the wasteland.
“Of course, you could lie to me with some elaborative story, but if I were you, I would not do that. Would your boss give you this much money? I can, if you promise to work for me.” Jiang Chen was pleased to see Hui Lei’s facial expression change. He knew the good cop bad cop strategy worked.
The rest of the problems were simple, Jiang Chen easily got the information he needed from his mouth.
Huizhong Mercenaries, a group of mercenary, was known for human tracking and raiding survivors. They also provide the occasional protective service for special groups of customers. The mercenary was located at a school in Song Jiang city. It used the walls there to build a strong defense. The reason they spotted Jiang Chen was merely a coincidence. Huizhong Mercenaries were just finishing a trade on Sixth Street when the leader, Zhou Guoping, saw Jiang Chen taking out a can of food from his backpack. Jiang Chen was then immediately invited to the VIP room which triggered Zhou Guoping’s interest.
Of course, to be the leader of a trade team, Zhou Guoping had the brains to strategize and plan. Obviously, kidnapping on Sixth Street was impossible. If he broke the rules here, the dead bodies outside of the market were clear indications of the consequences he would face. Huizhong mercenaries also needed Sixth Street to trade for necessities. No one dared to make enemies with Sixth Street.
But if they kidnapped outside of Sixth Street, there would be no problems. The rules only applied when they were within the walls of the Sixth Street.
Zhou Guoping’s head was filled with greed as he saw Jiang Chen’s full backpack, but he still moved carefully. He knew that many forces traded on Sixth Street. If he messed with the wrong group of people, even his commander would not be able to save him. Zhou Guoping did not intend to kidnap them, as he only sent people to follow them. He sent one person to keep an eye on them, and another to find out more about their backgrounds.
After he had seen Jiang Chen enter the vaccine store, and then immediately went to the ammo store, Zhou Guoping was full of surprise and joy. He believed that both of them were lone travelers on the wasteland because most of the powerful forces would not exchange crystals with ammo. They usually possessed their own production line.
Take Sixth Street, for example; the enormous ghetto is not meant to be a safe heaven. Immediately beside the ghetto was a massive factory. The factory contained all kinds of production lines extracted from all over the wasteland. Some of them are even improved to utilize the highly efficient crystals. They melted old metals into ammo, mixed mutant proteins with fat to create nutrient supply, and farmed vegetables and fruits with special fertilizers. To continuously survive on the wasteland, production was a necessity. The officials of Sixth Street knew that by heart.
This was even more critical especially given all the stores of Wanghai city were raided clean more than ten years ago.
As he confirmed that they were lone travelers, Zhou Guoping immediately contacted the headquarters of the mercenary group and tightened the watch on the two. These two were more wealthy than any group he has ever raided. Although the woman made Zhou Guoping felt a slight danger, Zhou Guoping was determined to strike the “gold.”
Jiang Chen silently listened to Hui Lei’s confession as he began to ponder.
“Ha, haha, boss. Don’t you think you should give me that crystal now?” Hui Lei smiled, but his eyes were fixed on the crystal, full of greed.
100 energy worth of crystal! He would be set for life.
One energy unit was good enough to buy ten nutrient supply. Oh, why would Hui Lei even need nutrient supply? Even if he went to the most expensive place on wasteland, New Ray Hotel, it would be enough for a month! Hui Lei could not contain his excitement, even though the crystal was still in Jiang Chen’s hands.
[Since this man still needs me, I will not die. He will probably even give me more crystals in the future.] Hui Lei fantasized about his future life. He imagined lying around while being served by a hot blonde maid.
A black pistol shattered his fantasy, as his eyes met with the pitch black barrel.
“Dumb*ss.” Jiang Chen sighed as he pulled the trigger.
Bang! Blood splattered everywhere, with some white liquids mixed in between. He looked at the smoke coming from the pistol, his hand trembled. Although he was mentally prepared, and the guy was deserving of his death due to all the crimes he committed, seeing the head split open was still traumatizing.
Hui Lei kept his mouth closed before was not because he feared the Huizhong Mercenaries’ influence. For if he wanted to hide, it would be impossible to find him. Even for a dominant force like Sixth Street, it would still be difficult to trace a wanted person. So, if he managed to leave the area, he would not need to worry about his safety. However, he kept his silence because of how worthless a human life could be. He was worried that the second he let any information out, he would be executed. However, the combination of extreme fear and an incredible offer from Jiang Chen, turned Hui Lei into a stranded traveler who saw an oasis in the middle of a desert. Thus, he spilled everything.
Hui Lei was too naïve to believe that he could form an agreement with Jiang Chen. He thought he could be a double agent in the Huizhong Mercenaries. However, loyalty was a joke to him because true loyalty never existed on a wasteland where the ultimate goal was to survive.
As predicted, his plan ultimately came short. The moment he finished his sentence, his value was completely gone.
Therefore, it was a wise decision to execute the spy immediately. Jiang Chen was not worried that he would be found.
Blood also splattered onto Sun Jiao. She was slighted disgusted but was used to such gruesome scenes. She shrugged. “It’s difficult to wash blood stains off of clothing. Also, next time, you can leave these types of things to me.”
The hint of care, hidden in her last sentence, touched Jiang Chen’s heart dearly.
He took a deep breath to calm his conscience. He then closed the safety and tossed the gun away.
“I will get used to it.”
A smile broke out on Sun Jiao’s face as she approached Jiang Chen. She sat on Jiang Chen’s leg and hugged him. The bold move slightly surprised Jiang Chen. The softest part of Sun Jiao took away any doubt he had.
“You are going to stay, right?” She whispered into his ear, with her red lips.
“You know..?” He asked in a concerned but rhetoric tone. He hugged her gorgeous body. It was Jiang Chen’s biggest secret, and a secret he could never tell.
“Girls are very sensitive,” she replied with a grin in her voice. “You don’t belong here, but I hope you don’t leave me.”
“I will never,” Jiang Chen said in a soft, but determined voice.
He had already made a choice that night.
Yes, he initially wanted to take the gold from this place and live like a millionaire in the modern world. But now, he could no longer separate himself from this world.
There was someone he cared about. Therefore, it was impossible to leave. If in the future, there was a way, maybe he could time travel with Sun Jiao into the modern world. The wasteland wasn’t exactly the best place to stay.
“I also believe you.” This sentence came from the bottom of his heart.
“If this place didn’t smell like blood, I would “eat” you right here.” Emotion and joy overcame Jiang Chen as he whispered into Sun Jiao’s ear.
“But, I want to take a shower first.”
“I don’t want to let go.” Jiang Chen smacked her butt and grinned as he listened to the soft moans by his ear.
“Then you’ll have to take a shower with me.” Sun Jiao playfully bit onto Jiang Chen’s ear. Her long and agile legs held onto him tightly. In a seductive voice, she said, “let me see if the gene vaccine made you any stronger.”
A roar and a scream ensued. Shirts, pants, and underwear scattered across the floor… There was a battle between man and woman in the washroom.
“It looks like the gene vaccine was effective after all. My feet didn’t even touch the ground.” After a while, Sun Jiao collected her breath as she finished enjoying herself. She poked at Jiang Chen’s chest with a grin.
His once flat chest now had muscles. But since the gene vaccine only increased muscle strength and not the appearance of muscles, Jiang Chen’s body didn’t look too different from before. Though his strength, was now far more superior.
“Satisfied, my princess?” Jiang Chen lightly embraced the delicate figure. With a smile, he wanted to slap her butt again.
“Call me your queen,” Sun Jiao said. She playfully avoided Jiang Chen’s hand. She then covered her body with a towel. “It’s now time for business.”
“Time to eat dinner?” Jiang Chen said smiling as he also grabbed a towel.
“Of course, but before that, we need to take care the unfortunate guy that’s outside.”
He watched Sun Jiao leave the washroom with a forced smile. It was a bit too crazy to have sex with a dead body in the house.
[It looks like I need to learn how to control myself. Yes, more control]