Chapter 100: Shock and Fervor

Go! Let's go inside!

After speaking, he hesitated no longer, stepped out from cover first, and strode toward Xuanwu City.

The dozen or so team members behind him exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and followed.

When the three squads from different shelters entered Xuanwu City, everyone was shocked by the sight before them.

Am I hallucinating?

The young teammate next to Dao Ban Lian rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

What did he see?

A flat, clean, wide road spacious enough for three heavy trucks to drive side by side.

On both sides of the road stood rows of neatly arranged two-story buildings.

In the air, there was none of the rotting, bloody stench typical of the wasteland; instead there was a … scent mixed with earthy fragrance that they could only recall from memory.

Is… this really still the apocalypse?

The captain of another squad, a shrewd-looking tall and thin middle-aged man, muttered to himself, dazed and disoriented.

He even pinched himself instinctively; the sharp pain told him that everything before him was real.

They had been to Suchen's Three Major Shelters; even the most advanced Deep Blue Matrix's internal environment could not compare to this city!

Just as everyone was stunned by the sight, a simple and honest fat man came up to them, smiling broadly.

Hey there! You must be honored guests who've come from afar!

The person was none other than the head of Xuanwu City's Finance Department, Sun Hao.

Today he deliberately wore a crisp suit, with a Xuanwu Currency pinned to his chest for decoration, giving him the air of a successful person.

Welcome! Welcome! I am Sun Hao, head of Xuanwu City's Finance Department. Our City Lord heard of your visit and specially sent me to receive you! Please come in! Please come in!

His enthusiasm was just right, making people unconsciously lower their guard.

Dao Ban Lian and the others exchanged looks, seeing doubt in each other's eyes.

City Lord? Finance Department Head?

These titles… how formal they sound…

It was as if… they hadn't come to a survivor camp, but to a pre-apocalypse proper company for a business visit.

And just as this group entered Xuanwu City, the city's residents also noticed them; they didn't find it strange for outsiders to enter Xuanwu City, because over this period they had learned that their City Lord had come to Suchen to trade energy crystals with the people here.

What struck them as odd was that this group's attire did not seem to belong to any of the three major powers.

"Huh? These people don't look like they're from Suchen's Three Major Shelters at all! Who knows what's going on?"

Someone couldn't help but ask the person next to them.

"I have a friend who joined the Xuanwu Guard; he told me these people are from Suchen's medium and small shelters."

As soon as he said that, several people immediately gathered around.

"What's the situation? Hurry up and tell us!"

"Yeah! Hurry up and say it!"

Seeing the few people gathering, the one who had just claimed to know the situation regretted speaking so hastily; if he had known, he wouldn't have blurted it out, but now it's too late to regret.

So he relayed what he knew to everyone.

While the residents of Xuanwu City were discussing who these people were, Sun Hao had already led the three squads toward the city center.

Along the way, they saw even more astonishing sights.

They saw farmers humming tunes while leisurely working in the fields.

They saw workers producing various daily necessities in spacious, bright factories.

They even… saw a playground set up especially for children, filled with laughter and joy!

"This… this is… basically heaven!"

Dao Ban Lian watched a little girl laughing as she rode a wooden horse, his eyes unexpectedly reddening.

He recalled his own daughter, who in the early days of the apocalypse was beaten to death over a moldy piece of bread.

If… if they had only encountered such a city earlier…

"Everyone, we've arrived."

Just as everyone's emotions surged, Sun Hao's voice brought them back to reality.

They looked up and saw a massive building before them, with a sign at the entrance reading 【Xuanwu Supermarket】.

"This is Xuanwu City's external trade center."

Sun Hao's face showed a proud smile as he pushed open the supermarket doors and made a gesturing "please".

As everyone entered the supermarket and saw the shelves full of goods and the prices above, someone couldn't help but ask:

"What is this Xuanwu Currency?!"

Sun Hao still smiled as he explained:

"This is Xuanwu City's currency; if you want to trade with us, you must go to a designated place to exchange energy crystals for it!"

He then told them the exchange rate between energy crystals and Xuanwu Currency.

"Damn it!"

Upon learning that a level-1 energy crystal equals one Xuanwu Currency, Dao Ban Lian could no longer contain himself.

Because he found the prices in Xuanwu Supermarket to be astonishingly cheap beyond his imagination.

A ten-kilogram bag of rice cost only two Xuanwu Currency!

You know, in his shelter, such a bag of rice could buy ten young women's purity for a night!

But here, it…

Dao Ban Lian suddenly turned around and roared at his several dumbfounded subordinates:

What the hell are you standing there for! We need to hurry back and tell the leader about the situation here; if we delay, it'll be too late to regret!

Having said that, he bade farewell to Sun Hao and prepared to leave Xuanwu City to return to the shelter's base.

This scene likewise played out in the other two squads.

Watching this scene before him, Sun Hao's face showed a satisfied smile.

He knew, the City Lord's plan, had succeeded.

……

When the leaders of those three squads, bringing back everything they had seen in Xuanwu City, returned to their respective shelters, the entire Suchen's medium and small survivor forces erupted completely!

"Is what you're saying true? In Xuanwu City, there really is an endless supply of food?!"

"One catty of pork belly, for just one…… Xuanwu Currency?"

"My goodness! How could this be possible!"

Although there were still some doubts, compared to before, such doubts had become much smaller.

Quick! Immediately tally up all our Energy Crystals!

At any cost! We must definitely connect with Xuanwu City!

For a time, Xuanwu City became the hottest 'holy land' of the entire Suchen region.

Countless survivor forces, like sharks that have smelled blood, surged madly toward the direction of the abandoned industrial park.

Inside the City Lord's mansion, when Lin Yue, through Black Tortoise's perception, knew that several dozen convoys were heading toward Xuanwu City, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.