CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 34: BIG TROUBLE

Morrison came over, of course, to mooch some food. Although he had some assets, he barely ate meat twice a year.

Especially when he saw that there were almost four pounds left in Black Heaven’s pot.

The Wasteland is mostly filled with hearty eaters, but sharing a little shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Yet now these two eyebrow-less guys, one big and one small, actually spat in disdain.

Spit... to be honest, Morrison didn’t really mind, but he did have to consider his pride.

With a sullen face, he said, "I’ve already eaten. I’m here to ask if you want help dealing with the Iron Palm Gang?"

Qu Jianlei furrowed his brows and asked confused, "Help me deal with it?"

Morrison calmly replied, "You think kicking Second Snake was for nothing? Someone will come looking for you!"

"But if you’re willing to pay two silver coins, I can help smooth things over, and it’ll all blow over."

Upon hearing this, Qu Jianlei’s first reaction was to glance at the hairless freak: So, does this mean the beating he took was for nothing?

The second reaction was: Morrison, are you trying to secure a long-term meal ticket?

In the end, though, he reminded himself: hold back!

So he just asked, "The three silver coins yesterday, only a setup fee?"

"Of course," Morrison answered confidently, "I explained clearly yesterday, a deal is a deal."

What deal, Qu Jianlei knew very well; yesterday he got extorted for money.

The hairless freak had gone out to inquire if outsiders setting up residence always had to pay a setup fee.

Everyone he asked just laughed without comment, some laughs were even quite mocking—as if looking at an idiot.

He immediately informed Brother Black Heaven.

Qu Jianlei didn’t mind; he had anticipated the possibility of extortion.

However, he was sure Morrison wasn’t simply extorting him; just by the fact he dared ask, he had some strength.

Paying up to keep peace wasn’t shameful; three silver coins seemed a bit much, but adequate attention afterwards was fine.

As long as the attention was sufficient, paying once every so often was no big deal.

But since the effect of the last payment hasn’t been fulfilled yet, charging again now was shameless.

He wouldn’t sweat those three silver coins; just avoid dealing with them in the future, "Since a deal is a deal, I’ll handle it myself."

Morrison was a bit surprised at his words, but he couldn’t beg him for help, could he?

He turned and left, leaving a parting comment, "Once they come for you, asking for my help won’t be this price."

Qu Jianlei didn’t respond, picked up his spoon, and started gobbling down his food.

After eating, Qu Jianlei continued meditating.

Practicing the "Eight Pieces of Brocade" and "Five Animals Qigong" after a meal would help digestion, but he didn’t want the camp to notice.

After about four hours of meditation, he heard the hairless freak speak up, "Brother Black Heaven, can I go out with you tomorrow?"

Qu Jianlei responded without thinking, "Stay home and watch the place."

The hairless freak said again, "I don’t want to get beaten up again, let’s take the cart out."

Qu Jianlei straightforwardly replied, "If he dares hit you again, I’ll break his arm."

There were some unwritten rules in the camp—if you failed a first theft and immediately tried a second, it was challenging the rules.

Those who challenge the rules naturally wouldn’t receive rule protection, and those in gangs should understand this better.

The two lay in the shallow pit, Xiaojing asked in a low voice, "Can you lend me an Overclocked Oscillating Short Dagger?"

This poor kid didn’t even have a decent weapon for self-defense, just like Qu Jianlei three months ago.

Qu Jianlei replied lightly, "Go to sleep, you don’t need to fight him."

He soon fell asleep, not noticing that Xiaojing stared with eyes open, only falling asleep three hours later.

The next day, Qu Jianlei woke up early and saw the redness in Xiaojing’s eyes, "Didn’t sleep well?"

"Well..." the hairless freak hesitated and answered, "How about we work on the residence today?"

"Residence... this might not be a place to stay long-term," Qu Jianlei hesitated, then shook his head, "let’s wait a few more days."

Newcomers trying to integrate into a camp wasn’t easy, and he knew this well.

But this time, his high-profile entry might invite different kinds of trouble.

He hadn’t realized this before, but the past couple of days made him realize.

If he couldn’t properly handle the Iron Palm Gang and Morrison, he might not stay here long.

But you couldn’t blame him; when moving, don’t you bring all useful things?

Could he possibly have to go to the Xianxia World to find a Storage Bag?

Qu Jianlei now realized that cultivation couldn’t be completed at an outdoor camp.

First, he had no money, and couldn’t take enough resources to seclude in cultivation.

Secondly, while cultivating, some disturbances would occur, unsuitable for outdoor camps.

Not to mention, practicing a set of the "Eight Pieces of Brocade" was unsuitable for the camp; easily attracting attention.

He wasn’t worried about others learning it; they were just some fitness techniques, learning would take skills.

But this kind of training didn’t quite fit the Wasteland’s style.

If anyone wants to dig too deep, it’s difficult to explain clearly, which could easily cause unnecessary trouble.

So, in this Sweet Water Camp, Qu Jianlei didn’t plan to stay long; there was no need to painstakingly build houses.

In the blink of an eye, he had been in the camp for seven or eight days, and the supplies were dwindling day by day.

One day, while Qu Jianlei was exercising, a sudden gust of wind blew over, making him shiver.

"It rained again yesterday, it’s a bit chilly."

Then he remembered, it seemed winter was approaching.

During his stay at Sweet Water Camp, he also inquired about the routes to Hongyi and Hongsi Settlements.

The people in the camp hadn’t accepted him, they were vague about the Hongyi Settlement, but knew the direction to the Hongsi Settlement.

Qu Jianlei had been away from the Chaotic Stone Camp for a long time and suddenly had an impulse to go back and take a look.

After all, he felt a vague uneasiness, suspecting that the junkyard incident might have some repercussions.

Thinking of this, he turned back to the camp to give the hairless monster some instructions, then rode off on his motorcycle.

Little Jing wanted very much to go with him, but Qu Jianlei said, it’s inconvenient to take you along.

Actually, he also wanted to bring him along since having another person could better disguise his identity.

However, considering there was a certain risk in this trip, it was unnecessary to let Little Jing follow him into danger, he might even become a burden.

Long story short, it took Qu Jianlei six days to find the Chaotic Stone Camp through twists and turns.

He hid his motorcycle fifty kilometers away, then approached the camp under the cover of night.

However, just as he saw the camp clearly, he was completely startled, his whole body turned cold instantly.

The Chaotic Stone Camp... had already been destroyed, most of the buildings were demolished, destroyed from the outside in.

After the initial shock, he lifted the night vision binoculars, cautiously approaching while observing.

After some investigation, it was just as he thought, the entire camp was empty, most of the supplies had disappeared.

There remained only some less valuable items, such as charcoal, abandoned metal.

Sister Fat’s general store was also swept clean, leaving almost nothing.

Qu Jianlei’s own house had its roof turned over, inside it was a mess, seemingly not much had been taken.

The crucial point was that there was nothing valuable in his collection!

Qu Jianlei pondered for a while, then suddenly furrowed his brows, "Could it be that?"

He hastily went outside the camp, cautiously approached a rock.

He walked up to it, observed carefully for a while, then took out the Short Dagger, carefully brushed away the surface dirt, the pit below was empty.

"Sure enough," he sighed in frustration, it really was that Alloy Ring.

When Mr. Sai gave the Alloy Ring, he said there was an urgent message, which could send out an alert, receivable from a long distance.

Qu Jianlei speculated in his mind that if it could send a signal from a distance, it could possibly be detected from afar.

So before he left, thinking he might not come back, he buried the Alloy Ring near the camp.

To avoid being detected by the other side, he handcrafted a rough Faraday Cage and placed the Alloy Ring inside.

The result is that the Faraday Cage is now missing, "Damn, this is the Faraday Cage... second time frequency omission?"

The first frequency omission caused him to travel here after getting electrocuted.

The second omission made Mr. Sai realize he had slipped away quietly.

Qu Jianlei couldn’t help furrowing his brows: Could this Faraday Cage be my natural nemesis?

However, the next moment, he had no time to complain, he must face the current situation.

The Chaotic Stone Camp was destroyed, definitely because he escaped, and Mr. Sai vented his anger on the camp.

Anyway, the General Settlement’s style, Qu Jianlei had long experienced it, ruthless and decisive.

Then the death of the old cripple at the other camp was obviously because of himself... or perhaps Morrison as well.

Qu Jianlei first buried the sand back, then silently left several kilometers away.

He chose a rock to hide behind and calmly considered the issues he faced.

Thinking it over, it ultimately came down to four words: Big trouble ahead!

Mr. Sai would definitely not think he planned to find a place to quietly wait for death, which was why he buried the Alloy Ring.

That being the case, he had two reasons to look for him.

One reason was certainly the news of the Pink Mecha, why run away for no reason? Perhaps there was some information.

The second reason was: He managed to survive the poison without using the antidote... that was Genetic Transformation Potion!

Qu Jianlei could even guess: The second reason would provide Mr. Sai with greater motivation.

The originally failed potion requiring expensive medications for assistance, someone actually cracked it?

No doubt, Mr. Sai would guess that he most likely mastered the method to take the potion without harm.

A failed potion turned into a successful one in the blink of an eye...

There was no need to mention the profits involved, this was a groundbreaking discovery in itself.

Having figured this out, Qu Jianlei felt his mind was in disarray: Do I have to be on the run now?

(During the new book period, I ask for various kinds of support.)