CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 51: NEW HOME

The survival conditions of the Hongyi Residence Area are much better than Hongsi.

Here, it is backed by the Endless Mountain Range, which not only has low shrubs but also a small amount of arable land.

There are even some mountain springs that can be drunk, though not many.

Qu Jianlei was thinking, "What’s the situation on the other side of the Endless Mountain Range?"

Crack’s face turned pale upon hearing this, "You want to cross the Endless Mountain Range?"

Qu Jianlei knows that the center of the Endless Mountain Range is a forbidden area, with harsh climate conditions and powerful beasts and mutant beasts.

But whenever he thinks of Mr. Sai, he feels uneasy all over, thinking his situation is quite dangerous.

His sense of security is really poor, "Do you have any news from the other side of the mountains? If so, then we’re clear."

Nurture you for one winter, exchange it for a bit of news, that’s not excessive, right?

"Over there..." Crack hesitated for a moment, but still answered, "It should be wasteland too, with other settlements."

Qu Jianlei’s brow furrowed, "How’s the order there?"

"How good can it be?" Crack shrugged his hands, slowly responding, "If the order was much better, it would have spread long ago."

"Not necessarily," Xiao Jing contradicted him, "If someone deliberately set up an information barrier, who would know?"

He had heard the words "information barrier" said by Brother Fugui before, but it made a lot of sense to him.

Usually, Crack is lifeless, with a look of no interest in life.

But upon hearing Xiao Jing’s words, there was a gleam of light in his eyes, "It’s rare that you could think of this..."

"But I’m just a regular adventurer, knowing a bit more about what’s outside."

Qu Jianlei asked again, "Is it still a settlement beginning with the Hong character over there?"

After thinking for a moment, Crack shook his head, "Probably not... The General Settlement starting with Hong is on this side."

Qu Jianlei asked again, "Have you been to the General Settlement starting with Hong?"

"I’m not worthy," Crack returned to his half-dead state, "Ordinary people are not qualified to enter."

"That’s the way it is," Xiao Jing nodded along, "Even official residents of the regular settlements aren’t qualified to go."

Crack glanced at him upon hearing this, unable to resist asking, "You know a lot about the settlements?"

He had been mixed in for so many years, only entering a settlement twice in total, yet this kid...

"There was trouble at home," Xiao Jing replied blandly, "Only I survived, and I had to mix around outside."

Crack, hearing this, asked thoughtfully, "Got into trouble with someone?"

The identity of an official resident in a settlement is not something easily deprived, even if one becomes an orphan.

Xiao Jing remained unperturbed, "Someone coveted it, couldn’t defend the family assets, and I didn’t want to die."

On the Wasteland, people’s lives are really cheap, he spoke as if narrating someone else’s story.

Crack thought for a moment and looked at Qu Jianlei, "You also got into trouble if you want to cross the Endless Mountain Range, right?"

"Tsk," Qu Jianlei clicked his tongue in dismay, replying gloomily, "As a survivor, who hasn’t got a few enemies?"

Like those adventurers such as Flower Scorpion, although he resolved the grudges, it’s hard to say upon meeting again.

No survivor can kill all potential enemies.

Existences like Mr. Sai have probably already detached from the "survivor" category.

Crack didn’t doubt his words, just curiously asked again, "Have you never been to the Hongyi Residence Area?"

After a winter had passed, he somewhat understood the situation of these two.

Upon hearing, Qu Jianlei silently nodded, he could not explain that the ones he offended were from the General Settlement.

But with Crack’s experience, how could he not guess that he might be wary of something?

He spoke in a low voice, "The order in Hongyi is actually quite good, even if someone really comes looking for trouble, they have to consider the consequences."

Qu Jianlei looked at him expressionlessly.

Crack thought for a moment and spoke again, "If you want to cross the Endless Mountain Range, you must give up vehicles and many supplies."

This really hit Qu Jianlei’s sore spot, was it easy for him to gather this property?

Opportunistic gains can’t happen again, let alone he escaped from the encirclement of a dozen cars.

He smiled helplessly, the problem is his sense of security is really poor, "At worst sell them."

Though he spoke this way, there were also many essential items on the car.

If he sold everything, how would he cross the Endless Mountain Range?

Crack guessed his thoughts, "How about this, temporarily stay here for a while..."

What he meant was that during this period, besides consuming some items, they can occasionally go into the mountains to check.

This counts as early adaptation, and they can hunt some beasts conveniently.

If any trouble happens in Hongyi, the three can sneak away quietly.

The key is, now that winter has just ended, the Endless Mountain Range is still incredibly cold.

Even if they have to go, it’s best to choose summer.

Crack also suggested, "I’ll try to scout, see if I can get a map, having a smuggling team would be even better."

Qu Jianlei was finally persuaded, though the last sentence still surprised him, "There really is smuggling?"

Crack shook his head expressionlessly, "Who could tell?"

"That’s true," Qu Jianlei nodded, "Then... let’s find a place to stay for now."

Outside the Hongyi Settlement, there were far more houses than in the Hongsi Settlement, roughly estimating, there might be a hundred thousand of them.

The population here also greatly exceeded that of the Hongsi Settlement.

As the vehicle approached the outskirts of the city, many people turned to look at this foreign vehicle.

Qu Jianlei suddenly said, "From now on, call me Fugui."

Lie Feng showed no expression, just nodded slightly.

Xiao Jing thought for a moment and mimicked, saying, "From now on, call me Bai Tian."

When the vehicle got closer to the settlement, a road appeared.

Although it was paved with gravel, it was still quite good, at least giving a sense of modern civilization.

But even so, a light truck loaded with supplies was relatively rare.

Immediately, a motorcyclist came over and asked if they were selling their supplies.

Lie Feng was adept at handling such matters, he didn’t explain, just indifferently waved his hand.

Soon, they reached the cluster of houses outside the city, and another group of people came forward, asking if they wanted a shop.

If not for the simplicity of the houses, these successive waves of brokers indeed had a bit of a market economy feel.

Lie Feng still ignored these people and parked the vehicle in an empty space, placing a sign on the windshield.

"Seeking to rent a residential courtyard, can park, no intermediaries please."

This approach truly worked, and soon someone came to inquire.

It took about two hours for them to settle on a house, a small courtyard at the very edge with four rooms.

The business here was truly developed, the landlord even accepted items in lieu of rent.

But the rent was not cheap either, a Gauss Automatic Rifle could only cover a month’s rent.

Lie Feng haggled with the other party for half a day, finally negotiating two rifles for three months’ rent.

In the end, he was somewhat grudging, "This guy can resell it for another profit."

Qu Jianlei shook his head, calmly saying, "You have to let the other party earn a bit, only then will they make things convenient."

Lie Feng waited for this sentence, "I also need some capital to gather information, right?"

Qu Jianlei looked at him in surprise, "I thought you’d want weapons."

"That’s not urgent," Lie Feng answered frankly, "just carrying a Long Blade is enough, taking a gun can easily get out of control."

Indeed, he’s a seasoned old hand! Qu Jianlei couldn’t help but secretly sigh, knowing the resolve to kill comes with a concealed weapon.

But he didn’t have much in terms of silver coins, only taking out two pieces, one Hongsi and one Hongyi, "You know how to use these, right?"

"Understood," Lie Feng nodded, thinking to himself that this person actually had silver coins, "First exchange them quietly at a distance."

The three of them thus settled down quietly.

In the following time, Qu Jianlei focused single-mindedly on cultivation.

Although Xiao Jing was also exercising, he was still a young boy at heart, occasionally going out for a walk.

Living around the settlement really was convenient, most daily necessities were readily available.

Qu Jianlei also didn’t sit idly by, he had quite a talent for mechanical repair.

This past winter, he managed to filter out some useful garbage, making small items from time to time, he could also exchange them for some goods.

In less than half a month, word got out that this tenant had strong repair skills, even receiving some requests for help.

For such requests, Qu Jianlei usually declined because he didn’t like being constrained.

He preferred to create little things on his own terms, how they turned out was up to him.

Repairing or customizing items based on others’ requirements made him feel uncomfortable.

Not to mention, many people had demands on deadlines, which he disliked even more.

However, after turning down two families, Lie Feng raised an issue: your lack of cooperation is not helping me gather information.

The nearby people knew the three of them were together, he barely established some network, yet recently, people were constantly mentioning him.

Qu Jianlei thought about it and agreed, unfamiliar with the place, he couldn’t afford to estrange everyone.

So his answer was: simple repairs, he could help, but the person’s temper must be good.

Another point was, there couldn’t be a time restriction, this was very important.

Lie Feng was not very satisfied with this answer, but the issue was: Fugui truly didn’t care about the repair fees.

He could only comfort himself: fine, better than nothing.

Thus, things became a bit strange, asking Fugui for help was useless, but asking Lie Feng might just be effective.

However, Lie Feng really had a good eye for people, taking on two jobs that were well-paying with little hassle.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed, Qu Jianlei found himself at a bottleneck again.

At the fourth layer of Qi Refining... he had basically reached a peak, and half of the third Mutated Beast Crystal was used up, progress felt slow.

He decided to take a trip to the Endless Mountain Range, see the wild beasts there, and see if he could encounter any Mutant Beasts.

When Xiao Jing heard this, he insisted on accompanying him.

Qu Jianlei straightforwardly refused: if we run into trouble, I won’t be able to look after you!

Besides, Xiao Jing had an important task—to look after the house!

During this month, Lie Feng had somewhat integrated into the small group, but... it still wasn’t enough to fully trust him.

The most crucial point was: Lie Feng wandered around all day gathering information, someone had to watch the house, after all.