CHAPTER 319: CHAPTER 3: BANKNOTE_2

What could the items traded between supernatural entities be?

Supernatural entities? Memes? Or some other things?

"This paper currency, long obsolete in the world of human civilization, could it possibly still serve as hard currency in the ’Surrendered Area’?" Sun Hang wondered as he raised the crumpled paper currency toward the car’s reading light. The warm yellow light passing through the thin paper cast the value printed in Chinese characters on the front into sharp relief.

Even middle school students know that paper currency holds no intrinsic value and cannot serve as hard currency—the true hard currency comprises things with actual worth, such as precious metals like gold and silver, or resources like food and industrial raw materials. If placed in the world of supernatural entities, perhaps memes could barely count as a kind of "hard currency"...

As for paper currency, calling it money is actually more akin to a "credit voucher."

For paper currency to circulate, it first needs a nation or government with enough power, wealth, and credit.

Could it be that supernatural entities have established a "supernatural entity nation" in the Surrendered Area?

If this speculation were to spread in the human world, it would probably shatter many people’s worldview.

"No... it shouldn’t be possible..."

"This paper currency likely has limitations; it may only be a ’tool’ usable under specific conditions, rather than currency..."

Sun Hang recalled a case he’d seen on the research institute’s intranet.

At that time, he had just escaped from a supernatural office building and had developed an interest in environment-based supernatural entities, so he specifically sought out similar cases to study.

That case described an amusement park that turned into a tier-G supernatural entity, where all the park’s attractions became deadly "instruments of torture"—for instance, the water in the water slide was replaced with gasoline, and as players slid down, the slide and the pool at the end would ignite instantly; another example was a pirate ship with a massive axe above it, which would sweep across whenever the pirate ship swung to its highest point, cutting down everything exceeding the ship’s railing.

According to a surviving investigator, the axe was invisible when stationary, and he survived purely because he was short enough...

Additionally, there was a Ferris wheel with randomly disappearing cabin floors, a haunted house with genuine "supernatural" entities, and a magic show that could "greatly change the deceased"...

People who inadvertently entered had to use two crucial tools if they wished to leave alive—tickets and game coins.

Tickets would automatically appear in the pocket of each person entering the mysterious amusement park. With every attraction played, another stamp would appear on the ticket, and they needed to collect all the stamps to reach the park’s exit...

But that wasn’t the end... In addition to collecting stamps, players also needed to gather enough game coins. The way to obtain game coins was simple: exchange them with points earned from playing various attractions; the higher the score, the more game coins they’d get.

Players needed to pay enough game coins to redeem their bodies and completely leave the amusement park... Otherwise, what would come out from the exit would only be disjointed body parts.

And playing through all the attractions once would never earn enough game coins to redeem oneself; if they wanted to leave the park alive, they had to keep replaying the comparatively less dangerous attractions... to grind for game coins.

Could it be that the paper currency in his hands is the same kind of thing as the tickets and game coins from the amusement park?

Is this wasteland actually a super-large environment-type supernatural entity?

Five minutes later, Sun Hang started the car.

He drove in the direction the "old woman" had come from.

He remembered clearly that when he saw the "old woman," there was a faint dirt road beneath her feet... but as soon as the "old woman" disappeared, so did the road.

Remaining in the original place was certainly not a solution, as he was planning to head in that direction anyway, so he might as well continue driving and see where she came from.

After driving straight for about twenty minutes, Sun Hang finally saw something different on the wasteland.

A rust-covered road sign stood abruptly in an open area.

Sun Hang got out of the car and walked over.

The paint on the front of the sign had completely peeled off, and the characters originally printed were no longer visible... but on the back, an arrow was carved, along with some crookedly etched words: "Coastal Road, 3KM ahead, Maoyun Town."

In the Xiazhou Federation, many cities have roads named "Coastal Road," so Sun Hang couldn’t determine his position based on this name... But one has to say, in such a wasteland where not even a puddle is visible, the name Coastal Road is quite ironic indeed.

As for Maoyun Town, Sun Hang had never even heard of it.

He returned to the car, turned on the car’s navigation equipment, and entered the name "Maoyun Town" in offline mode.

"Seventeen results matching the criteria found," the navigation device announced, "Unable to navigate in offline mode, please reconnect to the GPS network or browse in map mode."

Sun Hang clicked "map mode."

The seventeen "Maoyun Towns" were marked on the map, yet none were located in the Yundian Region.

Sun Hang realized the problem—this navigation device updates its data daily, and once the Yundian Region was designated a Surrendered Area, its relevant data would have been deleted... Otherwise, if the navigation software accidentally guided someone to the Surrendered Area, they’d be in serious trouble.

To obtain detailed geographic information on the Yundian Region, he’d have to buy maps from decades ago... Such things are not hard to come by in Tianfu City, but for Sun Hang now, he had no means to acquire them.

"White joy," Sun Hang pursed his lips and pressed the accelerator.

Since the road sign pointed in a direction, he might as well head toward this "Maoyun Town" and take a look... Even if it’s a trap, it’s better than wandering the wasteland like a headless fly.

Even though his capabilities had faded... for some reason, after encountering the "old woman," his fear and dread toward supernatural entities had diminished significantly...

Could it be because the "old woman" was too kind and benevolent?

But who could guess that such a kind and benevolent old woman, in the mirror, is a grotesque human-shaped mass of flesh?

Sun Hang hummed indistinctly to the theme of "Ultraman Tiga," cautiously adjusting the car’s direction to ensure he drove as straight a route as possible...

Finally, scattered dots of light appeared in the distance, and under the glow of these lights, a vague outline of low buildings could be seen.

Sun Hang immediately turned off all the car’s lights.

Using these lights as a guide, he drove the car slowly closer.

However, less than five minutes later, Sun Hang’s plan to "sneak quietly into the village, don’t use the gun" was dashed.

A searchlight lit up without warning, bathing Sun Hang’s car and illuminating a guard tower just ahead.

The guard tower had previously blended almost entirely with the darkness, and Sun Hang hadn’t noticed its presence at all.

Under the guard tower, an old man with an armband so dirty that its original color was unrecognizable approached and tapped on the car window with a rubber baton, asking in a stern tone, "Where did you come from? Where are you going?"

"I... I’m going to town to buy some food," Sun Hang replied after a moment of thought.

"Buy food? Do you have money?" the old man questioned.

"I do," Sun Hang replied, pulling out the paper currency.

"If you’re just buying food, not stealing or robbing, then go openly... why sneak around like a thief?" The old man’s tone seemed filled with dissatisfaction.

"Just trying to save some electricity," Sun Hang offered a random excuse.

He wanted to retort that the other side lurking in the darkness was more like a thief, but following the thought of avoiding trouble, he held back the urge to retort.

The old man did not hassle Sun Hang any further. After Sun Hang turned on the car lights, the old man returned beneath the guard tower and turned off the searchlight.

Sun Hang noted that after returning to the guard tower, the old man turned his back to him and stood motionless... almost like an abandoned mannequin left there.

Sun Hang said no more. He carefully drove a short distance forward and glanced at his rearview mirror.