Chapter 141: Attempt

The South City official shelter quickly sent people to Xuanwu City.

In Xuanwu City, the head of the newly established Foreign Affairs Department, Dai Xing, personally received this team.

Lin Yue established this Foreign Affairs Department precisely because he foresaw that many cities would inevitably interact in the future; rather than constantly deciding who would liaise with whom each time, it was better to directly set up a department, and thus the Foreign Affairs Department came into being.

Moreover, the head of the Foreign Affairs Department, Dai Xing, had been the public relations director of a listed company before the apocalypse, making him perfectly suited for the position of Foreign Affairs Department head.

When Dai Xing learned that people from the South City official shelter were coming, he immediately brought a few members of the Foreign Affairs Department to wait at the city gate.

Of course, this was the first time the Foreign Affairs Department had received visitors since its establishment, which is why he did this; once the department stabilizes later, he will no longer need to come in person.

"Cheer up! Don't embarrass the City Lord!"

Dai Xing whispered instructions to the few Foreign Affairs Department members behind him, then immediately gave an increasingly bright smile and extended his hand to the leading South City officer.

"Everyone, welcome to Xuanwu City! I am Dai Xing, head of the Foreign Affairs Department of Xuanwu City."

"Hello, Department Head Dai!"

The person leading this South City shelter team is named Lin Hai, a burly middle-aged soldier.

He merely shook Dai Xing's hand lightly and let go, then began to survey this legendary Xuanwu City.

"This is... the city built on a turtle's back?"

A young soldier behind Lin Hai couldn't help but let out a low exclamation, his face full of disbelief.

Not only him, but every member of the squad Lin Hai brought had faces filled with undisguisable shock.

Before coming, they had made countless guesses, but upon seeing it with their own eyes, they realized all their imagination was painfully barren.

Dai Xing took in everyone's expressions, his smile unchanged, while a surge of pride welled up in his heart.

"Captain Lin."

He turned sideways and made a "please" gesture.

"Please."

The group followed Dai Xing into Xuanwu City.

The deeper they went, the stronger the shock felt by the members of the South City reconnaissance team became.

Level roads, orderly buildings, the air filled with the fresh scent of earth, and even the laughter of children could be heard.

Everything here was the complete opposite of what they imagined the apocalypse to be; instead, it felt like returning to before the apocalypse arrived.

"Is... this really the apocalypse?"

A young team member couldn't help but mutter softly, his eyes full of incredulity.

Lin Hai remained silent, his heart on high alert.

Soon they arrived before a spacious, bright large building, with four large characters emblazoned above——【Xuanwu Supermarket】.

Pushing open the glass door, a warm wind mixed with food aromas and fresh air blew toward them.

Inside the supermarket, lights blazed, and shelves were filled with a dazzling array of goods.

Rice, flour, cooking oil, fruits and vegetables, canned meat... and even some snacks and drinks that were extremely rare even before the apocalypse.

This left the members of the South City reconnaissance team completely stunned.

They widened their eyes, their breathing grew rapid, their eyes filled with shock, longing, and... an intense sense of hunger.

"How... how is this possible?!"

Lin Hai let out an involuntary exclamation; for the first time, his stern face showed an uncontainable emotion.

He bent down, casually picked up a ten-kilogram bag of rice from the shelf, turned it over to glance at the price tag.

【Premium Rice (10KG Pack)】

【Price: 2 Xuanwu Currency】

"Department Head Dai, what is this Xuanwu Currency?"

Although shocked, Lin Hai had not forgotten the purpose of this trip.

Dai Xing's face still bore his signature smile as he produced an antiquated copper-colored metal coin from his pocket and handed it to Lin Hai.

"This is the sole circulating currency of our Xuanwu City. To buy things in Xuanwu City, you must first exchange energy crystals for our Xuanwu Currency at a one-to-one rate."

"Of course, the exchange rate for tier-2 energy crystals is one to ten; for tier-3 energy crystals it is one to one hundred, and so on."

Lin Hai stared blankly at the Xuanwu Currency in his hand, listening to Sun Hao's explanation.

This meant that one or two tier-1 energy crystals could be exchanged in Xuanwu City for ten kilograms of rice!

In the South City shelter, one tier-1 energy crystal could only be exchanged for a day's rations!

"How is this possible?"

"Everyone, prices in our Xuanwu City are fair and honest to young and old alike."

Being able to become the public relations director of a listed company, Dai Xing is certainly no ordinary person; he instantly saw what Lin Hai was thinking.

But this is also normal; when we first traded with Suchen, the other party also didn't believe it.

But Dai Xing believed that faced with such cheap food, the other party would definitely attempt to trade with them.

"Department Head Dai, I've pretty much learned everything I needed to know."

Lin Hai took a deep breath; this trip to Xuanwu City was far more complex and shocking than they had imagined,

"I need to return to the shelter as soon as possible to report the situation here to Commander Luo."

"Sure, sure."

Dai Xing smiled and clasped his hands,

"Then I won't see you off. I hope you'll come again next time not just as passing visitors."

……

Three hours later, the South City shelter command center.

When Lin Hai reported what he had seen and heard to the shelter's higher-ups, the entire command center instantly exploded in an uproar.

"You said all of this is true?!"

Luo Tiancheng looked toward Lin Hai and confirmed again.

"Commander, it's absolutely certain!"

Lin Hai nodded firmly.

"Commander, I believe we must spare no expense to establish a stable trade relationship with Xuanwu City!"

The intelligence department head's eyes flashed with excitement; he could hardly wait to go to Xuanwu City himself to have a look.

However, someone also raised an objection.

"Commander! Could there be fraud here?"

The operations department head frowned.

"Such cheap supplies—could they be a trap set by the other side to paralyze us?"

"Exactly! We cannot be careless!"

Another officer agreed, he simply couldn't believe Xuanwu City would be so kind.

"How could that be? Suchen has already traded with them more than once—how could there be fraud?"

"Why impossible! Anyway, I oppose trading with them!"

Arguments between supporters and opponents continued.

"Alright, stop arguing!"

Seeing the situation was wrong, Luo Tiancheng quickly spoke up to stop it.

"I understand your concerns, but based on the information from Commander Zhao and the intelligence brought back by Lin Hai, I really can't think of a reason for them to deceive us."

The operations department head opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was stopped by Luo Tiancheng raising his hand.

"Of course, your concerns are also valid."

Luo Tiancheng took a deep breath and issued the final decision.

"Lin Hai!"

"Present!"

Lin Hai immediately straightened his back.

"You'll endure another hardship, head to Xuanwu City! This time you have only one task: bring back enough supplies for me."

"Yes! Commander! I guarantee to complete the mission!"

Lin Hai understood the importance of this mission and dared not be the slightest bit careless.

PS: New book, please urge updates, please collect.