Chapter 30: Wealthy, but Not Quite

A few hours later, in a secluded residential building on the outskirts of Hanshui City.

Xu Lie sat across from Chen Jian, dividing a pile of softly glowing gold into two portions of different sizes before speaking to him:

"There are 2,160 grams of gold here in total, all of which are spoils from our recent trip to Chuansha and the 'transaction' at Xiamazhen."

"Of the two piles, the larger one weighs 1,500 grams. I am giving this to you in full as an advance on your bounty."

"After deducting the transportation costs you previously agreed to and the payment for that girl to purchase the ballistic calculator, based on an eighty-twenty split, you still have 4,000 grams of gold remaining. I will pay you that once we reach Jinling and collect the full bounty."

"By then, all our financial matters will be settled."

Once he finished, Chen Jian nodded and said:

"That is very fair. What about the cost of this property and these two storage batteries?"

"Consider it a gesture of friendship from the Hall of Holy Blood; that's on us," Xu Lie said with a generous wave of his hand, continuing:

"I have already sent Zeng Yi to procure a batch of basic living supplies, and they will be delivered later."

"Don't feel like this is a transaction. As I said, the fact that this hunt went so smoothly is largely due to your efforts; we were merely running errands. Therefore, we are happy to provide some compensation within our means."

"Then, thank you."

Chen Jian did not stand on ceremony. On one hand, he knew what Xu Lie said was the truth; on the other, he had long since perceived the other party's intention to recruit them.

In this strange world, his squad had yet to find its footing. Since a larger power was looking to win them over, why not go with the flow? Even if their philosophies differed, that was a matter for another time; it didn't prevent him from taking some benefits now.

Seeing Chen Jian's reaction, Xu Lie smiled with relief. He had truly feared that these "God-Chosen" might reject his goodwill, but thankfully, they were not so unreasonable.

He immediately continued:

"You likely saw the value of gold at the market earlier."

"Roughly calculated, one gram of gold is just enough to buy the food and water an adult needs for one day; its value is determined based on this logic."

"However, because gold is quite heavy and difficult to divide, most people do not use it directly in transactions—it is more of a... measuring tool?"

"So, if you need to buy small amounts of supplies or conduct daily business, the best method is to first exchange your gold for items that are easier to partition—like ammunition, metal, or cloth—and then use those to trade."

"The prices for these commodities are generally stable, and there is no shortage of buyers. Even if you take a slight loss, it won't be significant."

"Understood."

Through Xu Lie's words, Chen Jian gained a basic concept of the world's monetary system. It was clear that this world was at the tail end of a barter economy. The concept of using gold as an equivalent had emerged, but due to various practical issues, it had not yet been directly or widely integrated into transactions. One still needed an extra step to make things work.

Still, having an equivalent was better than nothing. Although cumbersome, at least the logic of currency existed, saving him from total confusion. If it were pure bartering, that would be a nightmare.

Chen Jian gestured for Lei Jie to put away the squad's share of the gold, then asked:

"What's next? Where do you plan to go?"

"We also intend to rest in Hanshui City for a while, perhaps a month or two."

"We will be taking on new hunting missions, and if you are interested, you are welcome to join us."

As he spoke, Xu Lie stood up and said:

"In any case, our quarters are in the building across the street. If you need anything, feel free to come find me."

"Well, I need to get some sleep. Tomorrow, I'll take you around to see Hanshui City properly."

"So, goodbye?"

"Goodbye."

Chen Jian subconsciously reached out his hand, but Xu Lie raised his left hand at a forty-five-degree angle, pressed it against his chest, and bowed:

"May the Holy Blood protect you."

Chen Jian was taken aback by the gesture. He coughed, hesitated for a moment, and finally gave him a salute.

Xu Lie turned and left, leaving the four people in the room to look at one another.

Shen Yue was the first to speak:

"Where did they learn that gesture? These 'Holy Blood' people aren't remnants of the 'Source of Life' project, are they?"

"Forget it..." Chen Jian waved his hand. "No matter how powerful 'the Little Mustache' was, he couldn't have influence over East Asia. It's likely just a coincidence."

"Never mind that. Everyone, bring out the gear; let's take inventory."

At his command, everyone moved immediately. They removed the camouflage from their equipment and placed it piece by piece on the floor. The other three counted each item, while Chen Jian repeated the numbers and updated their supply status on his PDA.

"The electronics are mostly fully charged, which is good. Electricity is scarce, but not as extremely difficult to come by as I imagined."

"It mainly depends on the state of the gear."

"Special Equipment 1: Tactical nuclear warhead, status uncertain."

"Special Equipment 2: Six micro-missiles (no launcher), damaged, awaiting repair."

"Special Equipment 3: Unknown model of mechanical exoskeleton, damaged, awaiting repair."

"Thermobaric grenades: 3."

"Fragmentation grenade: 1."

"9x19mm submachine gun rounds: 65."

"5.8mm rifle rounds: 216."

"12.7mm sniper rounds: 29 (including 12 armor-piercing incendiary rounds)."

"7.62mm general-purpose rifle rounds: 91—though most were scavenged from those crude homemade guns; reliability is poor."

"DCV05 5.8mm suppressed pistol rounds: 4."

"I won't count other miscellaneous items like shell casings or rifled barrels..."

After checking all combat supplies, Chen Jian shook his head and set down the PDA.

"We are truly dirt poor... with this little, we can barely handle a close-quarters engagement, let alone go after those monsters."

"But the good news is, we have money."

"According to the local prices in Hanshui City, where one gram of gold buys two to three 7.62mm rounds, our current funds are actually quite sufficient."

"That's not really 'sufficient'..." Shen Yue laughed self-deprecatingly. "1,500 grams of gold, converted by basic price standards, would be at least 150,000 RMB back in our time, yet it only buys 3,000 rounds of ammunition. Damn, a fifty-fold price increase—not even the Americans would play like this..."

"What else do you expect? Look at what time it is." Chen Jian glared at Shen Yue, then said:

"In any case, what we need to do now is convert this money into gear and supplies as quickly as possible."

"Especially 7.62mm rounds; we must replenish them to a level sufficient for Shen Yue's machine gun."

"Additionally, we must try our best to find new heavy weapons."

"Lei Jie’s sniper grenade launcher and my LG6 are almost impossible to find new ammo for, but we are extremely lacking in heavy firepower, so we’ll have to scavenge what we can."

"However, let's leave that for tomorrow; it's too late now."

As he spoke, Chen Jian checked his watch; it was past 7:00 PM. Outside the window, the unpowered Hanshui City had sunk into darkness. The dim candlelight projecting from the windows of buildings actually gave Chen Jian a strange sense of peace.

Someone knocked on the door. Chen Jian opened it to find Zeng Yi, who had delivered the living supplies. His expression remained respectful, and after dropping off the items, he performed the "Holy Blood" salute just like Xu Lie and turned to leave.

Chen Jian lit a candle, arranged the night watch rotation, and collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

This period had been exhausting. A week of field training had already drained him, and he never expected to be transported to another world right after it ended. The series of battles he had endured now felt like a fever dream.

In his half-asleep state, Chen Jian did dream. He dreamed he was back in Zhurihe, driving a Mengshi vehicle through a dust storm, racing straight toward Man Guangzhi's command post. Man Guangzhi was laughing uncontrollably in the command post. As the Mengshi charged close, he raised his hand, and a tactical nuke fell from the sky.

With a massive roar, Chen Jian and his vehicle were flipped over.

When he sat up again, he was gripping the Type 191 rifle he had placed by his bed.

"Explosion!"

Chen Jian scrambled off the bed, grabbed his helmet, and put it on. Shen Yue, who was on watch, had already aimed his rifle out the window.

"Explosion flashes about a kilometer away. There was a whistling sound before the blast—it sounds like mortars!"

As he spoke, another whistling sound tore through the air. A shell struck the edge of Hanshui City.

"Boom!"

The explosion echoed, and Chen Jian expected the whole city to descend into chaos, but in reality, no one seemed to care.

"What the hell is this?"

Chen Jian grabbed his radio, but before he could speak, Xu Lie's voice came through the earpiece.

"God-Chosen! God-Chosen!"

"I'm here!" Chen Jian replied immediately.

Xu Lie spoke unhurriedly:

"Don't worry. It's just some high-level 'Terror Demons' from the Blood Skulls harassing the city. They have weak combat power and just fire blindly; they pose no threat."

"The city guards will handle it. Rest easy..."

Rest easy?

Chen Jian chuckled to himself.

Resting easy was fine, but sleep... that was out of the question.

These so-called "high-level Terror Demons" might be slightly smarter than the water ghouls he had seen earlier—they could even use weapons.

But they were only "capable of using" them.

Since that was the case... why not hand over your weapons to those who need them more!