CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: OPENING THE TREASURE CHEST

The situation inside the Settlement is about what Qu Jianlei had imagined.

Mostly low houses, with a few two-story buildings, and three or four three-story buildings.

The main road isn’t exactly narrow, it’s about ten meters wide, enough to hold five cars side by side, but the alleys are much narrower.

Although Xiao Jing hadn’t been to this Settlement, he still had a relatively clear understanding of its general layout.

The two of them didn’t bother asking for directions, just rode their motorbikes through the streets and alleys.

After wandering around for a half day, they found that the bustling markets of the Settlement were mainly located in the East Market and West Market.

The south is the wealthy area, the north is the adventurer area... that’s the basic layout.

Xiao Jing suggested, "Given this layout, the place where the treasure chest is stored should be in the south."

Qu Jianlei agreed, curiously asking, "Xiao Jing, your family used to... live in what kind of place?"

"Of course, in the wealthy area," Xiao Jing said, with a face-covering scarf hiding his expression, but his tone revealed a hint of melancholy.

Qu Jianlei didn’t provoke him further, "Let’s check the prices of various goods first, then directly cash in once we get something."

The two arrived at the market.

Though both wore face-covering scarves, which wasn’t uncommon here, some still figured out they were newcomers.

Someone approached them, offering guidance for the lowest price—just one Nutrient Injection.

Xiao Jing rudely asserted, "You’re in cahoots with the sellers, as if I wouldn’t know that?"

Qu Jianlei found the whole thing amusing, though such schemes weren’t surprising; Blue Star was similar.

He was merely curious about how a seven or eight-year-old kid could know so much.

Thinking of Blue Star’s kids, being able to tie their shoelaces independently at seven or eight was already considered capable.

The saying goes: ’Poor people’s children grow up early,’ but Xiao Jing’s family conditions were top-notch.

Maybe... this is the Wasteland.

After roughly gathering market information, evening arrived, and lacking credentials, they couldn’t stay at an inn, so they had to settle for the street overnight.

Qu Jianlei noticed that there were quite a few people on the streets, some even carrying firearms.

Some folks eyed them with unfriendly intent.

Luckily, Qu Jianlei was equipped with two knives—one long, one short—and Xiao Jing also had a Short Dagger, both deliberately displayed.

The unsavory characters hesitated for a moment, ultimately departing sullenly.

They probably gauged the cost and deemed it unworthy.

Qu Jianlei wondered: why were there no night patrols?

Xiao Jing explained: there were too many homeless to thoroughly check.

Thus, only the wealthy area had patrolling personnel, while other zones were left unattended.

Of course, if gunfire rang out, guards would certainly be drawn.

Still, such instances were rare; after all, those who entered the Settlement were verified.

Hearing this, Qu Jianlei couldn’t help but lament, "Able to enter the Settlement, yet some still end up on the streets... even with guns."

The hairless creature calmly replied, "Opportunities abound in the Settlement, and some people were once glorious."

The rest of the night went by silently.

At dawn, the two arrived at a breakfast stall; it was Qu Jianlei’s first dining experience in the Wasteland.

The breakfast stall primarily offered processed nutrient injections mixed with other ingredients, tasting better than raw nutrient injections.

There were also breakfasts made of grains, but not entirely grain-based, mixed with vegetables—maybe wild vegetables?

Even meat was sold, albeit in small quantities, very expensive,

Qu Jianlei ordered a grain-based breakfast, barely found the taste satisfactory, losing all desire to try more.

After breakfast, they continued gathering various information.

Once they had enough information, Qu Jianlei bought two large pieces of meat, then casually inquired.

"I have something to store in a treasure chest, but I rarely visit Hong Wu, how do I get there?"

The shopkeeper wasn’t suspicious; anyone who could buy so much meat surely had a good background, so he pointed them in the right direction.

Qu Jianlei’s inquiry was critical; on the road to the wealthy area, there were checkpoints and guards.

Upon seeing the Silver Token, a guard even asked, "Do you know the way?"

Xiao Jing retorted arrogantly, "You’re not making any money off leading the way."

Though his words were snide, the other guard’s eyes gleamed as they departed, "I’m going to take a break."

The guard understood, couldn’t help but hum a tune, "Keep your eyes peeled, some folks aren’t to be trifled with."

The other replied with a thin smile, "Don’t worry; I know who can be messed with and who can’t."

Taking a treasure chest without revealing your identity is sure to raise suspicions... perhaps the Silver Token was found, who knows?

Qu Jianlei rode his motorcycle with Xiao Jing, reaching the treasure chest storage area in minutes.

It was a shop selling Energy Blocks.

Energy Blocks weren’t produced within the Settlement’s range; only those with great influence could afford such a store.

Before even entering, someone stopped them and spoke harshly, "Disheveled appearance, no entry."

They were not only in shabby clothes but also both wearing face-covering scarves.

This style wasn’t rare in other districts, but in the wealthy area, such attire was unusual.

As the rich, showing your face is the right way, being sneaky like this attracts too much attention.

Xiao Jing doesn’t say much, he raises his hand to reveal the Secret Silver Token.

Someone in the distance sees this scene, and his eyes light up instantly, muttering quietly, "Oh, we’re in for some external wealth?"

The person blocking the way also recognizes the Silver Token, but insists, "Your clothes are disheveled, you can’t enter, just wait here."

At this point, Xiao Jing is at a loss because he only knows the general situation and doesn’t grasp the details.

Qu Jianlei snorts at the sight, "We want to put a few more things in, do we need to change clothes for that?"

The opponent isn’t angry but also refuses to back down, expressing with neither humility nor arrogance.

"I’m just doing my job, why make things difficult for me? Let me report to the supervisor."

Such a speaking style feels out of place with the Wasteland, Qu Jianlei even senses a hint of Blue Star’s flavor.

Before long, a well-dressed man comes out.

He doesn’t mind their unusual attire, having seen many wealthy folks, he naturally knows some have peculiar habits.

After checking the Silver Token, he’s somewhat surprised, "Fifty years old... It’s close to expiration, why didn’t you come earlier?"

Without waiting for Xiao Jing to speak up, Qu Jianlei calmly replies, "Coming or not is our own business."

The man is taken aback by the response, then coughs slightly, "Please wait, I’ll check if it’s expired."

Qu Jianlei and Xiao Jing remain silent, appearing somewhat fearless to outsiders.

Soon the man returns, speaking with a slight air of indifference, "There’s just over two years left until expiration, you’ve come just in time."

Qu Jianlei doesn’t bother saying much, slightly tilting his chin, "Lead the way."

The treasure’s location isn’t street-facing.

The man leads them into a courtyard, passing three Guardians, and arrives at a warehouse.

The interior of the warehouse is very tidy, the lights are bright, and rows of cabinets are neatly arranged.

The man guides them to a cabinet, speaking solemnly, "This was stored over forty years ago..."

"We can assure you it hasn’t been touched, but the contents inside have changed over time, we’re not responsible for that."

"We’ll assess ourselves," says Qu Jianlei.

Xiao Jing is even more direct, "Now, please leave us."

The supervisor turns and leaves, Qu Jianlei places the Silver Token into a recess of the cabinet, and the cabinet emits an extremely slight tremor.

The tremor lasts for about half a minute, when it stops, he raises his hand and pulls, the cabinet door opens accordingly.

The cabinet isn’t small, but the doors and walls are considerably thick, the space inside is less than half a cubic meter.

Seeing the golden glow radiating from inside, both Qu Jianlei and Xiao Jing utter a soft exclamation.

It’s unexpectedly two thick layers of gold bars.

On top of the gold bars is a partition, with a stack of documents next to a small box.

Looking through the documents pulled out, they’re all property deeds and such.

Opening the small box reveals a dark ring with intricate patterns.

Qu Jianlei doesn’t ponder much and directly puts the ring back in the box, casually slipping it into his pocket.

Looking at the two layers of gold, he feels a bit troubled, though small in volume, it’s certainly over a hundred kilograms.

How should this be carried?

Gold is heavy, and particularly dense, making it extremely difficult to transport.

A hundred kilograms of grain is much easier to move than a hundred kilograms of gold.

After pondering for a moment, he walks to the warehouse door, gestures to the supervisor, "Could you come over here, please?"

The supervisor was avoiding suspicion earlier, but when a client calls, he certainly comes over.

In fact, he’s quite curious himself, "What can I do for you, sir?"

"I need a sturdy bag," says Qu Jianlei with a frown, "that can hold two hundred kilograms, I’m willing to pay a high price."

The supervisor pauses, then replies, "Bags are easy to arrange... but what’s to be packed, is there any corrosiveness, can it withstand knocks?"

Qu Jianlei thinks for a moment and leads him to the cabinet, "For carrying gold."

Seeing the golden radiance, the supervisor’s mouth can’t help but twitch, his expression fluctuates.

"This really is... a treasure from over forty years ago, but now gold trading is banned."

Qu Jianlei and Xiao Jing are also at a loss, nowadays in the Wasteland, gold is indeed a regulated material, buying and selling it is illegal.

However, Qu Jianlei isn’t too worried, while gold is regulated, enforcement isn’t very strict.

Having previously mingled in the junkyard, he’s well aware of this, many discarded components can extract gold.

That gold eventually doesn’t follow official channels, it’s processed privately.

In the end, prohibited is prohibited, but the scrutiny isn’t intense— even Sister Fatty dared to accept gold.

Remembering Sister Fatty, Qu Jianlei’s heart twitches again: hundreds of lives... lost because of me.

Then he can’t help but feel anxious, "Gold can be traded... just don’t let the words slip out."

"Gold... of course it can be traded," the supervisor is momentarily stunned before seriously responding, "it’s feasible now."

He doesn’t expect the opposite party to be ignorant of this, so he earnestly suggests, "We buy gold, the price is fair."

(Update ongoing, during the new book period, asking for all kinds of support.)