CHAPTER 22: CHAPTER 22: AN OVERWHELMING SURPRISE

Qu Jianlei used the short dagger to scrape the small stone twice, revealing a slightly reddish sheen inside the brown stone.

"Is this..." His eyebrows slightly raised, unable to suppress his excitement.

He glanced at the other person, probing, "A Mutated Beast Crystal?"

The honest man kept his head down, saying nothing; once this item was discovered, there really was no need to say anything more.

Qu Jianlei had heard about such legendary things, said to be produced by B-level or above Mutant Beasts.

Mutant Beasts are ranked, like the black-skinned bristle rat he wanted to hunt, which is an unranked Mutant Beast.

With enough skill and luck, one could kill it with a high-frequency oscillation blade.

More formidable Mutant Beasts are C-level; a Gauss Automatic Rifle could solve those, but usually, one Gauss Gun isn’t enough insurance.

For those above C-level, at B-level, at the least, you’d need a Gauss Machine Gun or a Laser Sniper Rifle.

However, not all B-level Mutant Beasts contain crystals; on the contrary, B-level crystals are rarely seen.

If you had to say a probability, it might be higher than one in ten thousand but definitely much less than one percent.

Because of this, the price of Mutated Beast Crystals is exceptionally high.

Generally, a B-level Mutated Beast Crystal could roughly exchange for the type of armored vehicle Morrison rides.

Plus, a significant amount of ammunition could come along as a bonus.

It’s said that someone once exchanged a Mutated Beast Crystal for residency rights at the Hongsi Settlement and received a large amount of wealth in addition.

Qu Jianlei never expected that he could encounter something that seemed to be this kind of treasure.

Truly, "murder and loot bring quick wealth, while building bridges leaves no corpses," the fastest way to riches still lies along the path of daring crime.

However, he was not entirely sure, hence his questioning.

Seeing the other remain silent, he raised his hand and chopped off the other half of the guy’s foot, "Helping you recall a bit!"

The honest man writhed on the ground in pain, constantly whimpering, "Spare me, I said, can you guarantee not to kill me?"

"I’ve already given you the answer," Qu Jianlei said calmly—it was up to him to take a gamble.

"It’s half a crystal," the honest man replied, gasping, "I picked it up by chance!"

He wasn’t one to look past life and death; surviving so long alone with silent ambushes clearly showed a strong survival instinct.

Just now, he didn’t answer mainly because he thought he was doomed; only now did he realize that beyond death, pain was unbearable too.

Picked up by chance... Qu Jianlei would have to be a fool to believe that pretext.

But it wasn’t important; what mattered was his curiosity, "Which Mutant Beast did this half crystal come from?"

"I truly don’t know," the honest man answered, gasping.

His honest face was contorted by pain, "The Mutant Beast truly wasn’t killed by me."

Qu Jianlei pondered and asked again, "With this crystal, why not go to the Settlement and avoid doing such heinous deeds?"

The honest man snorted, gritting his teeth, "With my strength, once word spread, I’d die even faster!"

Qu Jianlei was suddenly silent, having forgotten this factor!

Once upon a time, he too was someone afraid to earn money because he was too weak.

In fact, even now, Qu Jianlei was unsure if he could safeguard this half crystal.

He glanced at the other, shaking his head helplessly, "Sorry, I really didn’t mean to... the surprise you gave was too great."

The honest man no longer pleaded, only asking softly, "Can you give me a swift end?"

"As you wish!" Qu Jianlei raised the Laser Gun and decisively pulled the trigger.

Watching the other fall to the ground, he shook his head, "I can only say, your luck was just too bad."

Afterward, he wasn’t in a hurry to find the old limper but instead curiously stared at the crystal in front of him.

He watched for quite a while before taking out a broken pair of tweezers, attempting to place the crystal back into the box.

However, at the moment the tweezers touched the crystal, his mind suddenly trembled, as if craving something.

Qu Jianlei raised an eyebrow: was this the influence of some unknown energy?

But immediately afterward, at his dantian area, there seemed to be a faint gas quivering slightly, likely due to this crystal.

Next, his entire body experienced very strange sensations, and his entire being inexplicably felt intense hunger!

This was clearly abnormal; although he had trekked a distance and fought a battle, earlier, he had consumed eight whole Nutrient Injections!

Amidst it all, Qu Jianlei also felt an odd sensation, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.

He knew something wondrous was happening, but evidently, this wasn’t the time to ponder over it.

The Wasteland was far too dangerous; he needed to return to the Chaotic Stone Camp to slowly organize thoughts and conduct tests.

Returning to Chaotic Stone took him over an hour, during which he buried the old Gauss Gun outside to conceal it.

He quietly returned to his room and began pondering over the crystal.

After pondering for more than half an hour, he found that the crystal not only effectively enhanced brain vitality but also repaired the body.

In other words, the components in those antidotes could very well contain something similar to the crystal!

But this was purely speculation, and it wasn’t currently convenient to verify.

Since he just dealt with that honest man, Qu Jianlei didn’t want to find the old cripple for now, to avoid others making connections.

But he also didn’t want to go to the junkyard, so he simply went to a camp to ask around about the black-furred bristly rat.

This time, he encountered a small caravan from the Hongsi Settlement.

The small caravan mainly came to purchase goods, saving the survivors the trouble of going to the settlement, earning a bit of commission.

They didn’t sell many goods; otherwise, the grocery stores in each camp wouldn’t agree.

The small caravan sold Qu Jianlei a piece of information, the charge was not high, two silver coins, and if lacking currency, settlement with nutrient injections was also acceptable.

However, there was an additional requirement that if Qu Jianlei hits the black-furred bristly rat, besides what he uses himself, he should sell the rest to them first.

This requirement barely held any binding force, mainly it was selling a connection.

But Qu Jianlei still agreed, making it convenient for others makes it convenient for himself too.

However, just as he expressed his stance, a three-person hunter team invited him, claiming to have news of a C-level mutant beast.

They hoped to form a four-person team to hunt the C-level mutant beast, which is certainly better than hunting small rats.

But Qu Jianlei politely declined; in the Wasteland, one can never be too careful.

This upset the other party a bit, a big man disdainfully remarked: "You little lad, don’t tell me you have no guts?"

Qu Jianlei had the patience for this, smiled and didn’t respond: "Do you get to decide whether I have the guts?"

And due to these three people, he decided to delay hunting the black-furred bristly rat, to prevent being targeted by the other party.

As for whether the information fee might go to waste? He really wasn’t very concerned about it.

When he was penniless, he naturally valued every nutrient injection, but now, it’s unnecessary.

After leaving the camp, the three hunters exchanged a glance, "That little guy is very vigilant."

A small-statured man complained a bit, "It’s nothing but a Gauss Automatic Rifle, your Na Jie... really too stingy huh?"

The big man, who mocked Qu Jianlei earlier, straightened his face upon hearing this.

"Na Jie is very generous in her dealings, if she lends someone a weapon for a fight, she’s prepared for it not to come back."

"Mainly because I heard about it, I just felt indignant; killing is one thing, but dares to snatch the weapon?"

The Na Jie he referred to was the one who lent the Gauss Automatic Rifle to two subordinates of San Ye.

After killing the two, of course, Qu Jianlei claimed their weapons as spoils, careless about their origin.

Na Jie didn’t seek justice from him, just casually mentioned it to a friend.

However, this big man took it seriously, thinking that the young brat really didn’t know the ropes—shouldn’t you inquire before stretching your hand?

Na Jie somewhat understood that Sha Qu was no longer the Sha Qu of the past, yet she just mentioned it casually, without elaborating.

The big man remembered it but didn’t probe further, merely considering to educate this guy when they crossed paths.

Unexpectedly, they really ran into him after a few days, so he planned to lure him out of the camp.

However, Qu Jianlei was very cautious, unconcerned about saving face, his plan didn’t succeed as his companions thought he was meddling.

Indeed, most hunters are desperados, but risking life for nothing seems awkwardly foolish.

Qu Jianlei’s weapons were actually decent, which means, when in a fight, the danger also increases.

If it was the big man’s personal issue, his two companions might have helped, but for another woman... it truly felt pointless.

Qu Jianlei wasn’t aware that there actually were other entanglements between him and those three hunters.

But even if he knew, he probably would just sigh, "The Wasteland really isn’t vast."

As he gradually became stronger from obscurity, a series of repercussions and grievances were bound to follow, inevitable.

Time flew by in a blink, and in a flash, it was time to demand the antidote again.

During these days, Collins and others desperately searched for the whereabouts of the pink mecha, completely neglecting scavenging.

However, in the end, none of them figured out what exactly the pink mecha was about.

Rather, a dirty woman got a piece of information: Mechas shouldn’t be pink.

So that mecha was probably custom-made, this information was a bit frightening when thought deeply.

On the night of departure, Qu Jianlei only appeared around the junkyard.

Someone already couldn’t hold back, "What were you up to these days?"

Qu Jianlei put on a look of innocence, "I was gathering information, after all, you’re not letting me into the mine, right?"

Collins finally couldn’t contain the fire inside, "Weren’t you just being lazy?"

Even if I were lazy, it’s not your place to manage me, is it? Qu Jianlei was rather annoyed.

However, he also knew he wasn’t good at communicating with people, his words often ended up spoiling the matter.

So he pretended not to have heard the remark.

Morrison spoke upon hearing this, "Xiaoqu isn’t a scavenger, so how is it up to you to comment?"

His business recently was still good, and he could maneuver the goods to his advantage, living quite comfortably.

Now the boss was being troubled, he naturally needed to step forward to protect.

(During the uploading period of the new book, seeking all sorts of support.)