CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: "FITNESS CARRIAGE".

What kind of concept is 50,000 units of iron ore?

From the time he started building the train to now, he hadn’t spent that much iron ore in total.

Chen Mang waved his hand, got up, and left the stall. The price was too high, so he decided not to consider buying slaves for the moment. He would think about procuring slaves once the train’s strength was sufficient in the future.

Moreover, many times, the train lacked resources not because there weren’t enough slaves, but because finding mines in the wasteland wasn’t easy. Even if you found a mine, the corpse tide would remind you of God’s care from time to time.

...

As he walked around, he noticed the market had all sorts of strange things, everything imaginable.

For example, various daily necessities, white spirits, vacuum-packed snacks, and so on.

There were also resources for sale like copper ore, iron ore, and accessory blueprints.

And...

Chen Mang looked towards a stall, where a woman knelt on the ground, her ankles bound by chains. She was quite clean, even had full makeup on, and wore rather exquisite clothing, clearly carefully dressed up, which made her somewhat out of place in a post-apocalyptic world.

On the wooden board beside her, two lines were written.

"Popular frontline actress, seeking fate."

Behind her, there were several other women with decent looks, as well as three young men who had also been meticulously dressed up, looking very tender and handsome, also celebrities.

"..."

Chen Mang looked at these people with a calm expression. To be fair, these women were quite attractive. Having full makeup in the apocalypse was already a dimensional reduction attack, not to mention their pretty good foundations. Coupled with their fame, they were indeed rare items.

"Master Mang..."

Old Pig approached quietly, whispering in Chen Mang’s ear, "Isn’t this woman Ji Chuchu, who was particularly viral on variety shows before Doomsday? Did he capture a pre-Doomsday troupe?"

"The other people are the main guests on that variety show."

"All very popular."

"But it might be difficult to sell them at a high price, as no one is willing to spend too many resources to buy a woman unless... he sells by the time, maybe someone would be willing to try it out."

"What’s the price?"

Chen Mang withdrew his gaze from the women and looked at the vendor, asking aloud.

Upon hearing the voice, the popular actress kneeling on the ground instantly looked at Chen Mang with a pitiful, expectant expression. She forced a smile that evoked sympathy and bitterness, easily arousing a man’s protective instincts.

The Train Captain sitting at the stall brightened up at the sight of the Soaring Dragon Assault Rifle in Biaozi’s arms, "Any blue-grade accessory blueprint, you can take it straight away. If not, 50,000 units of iron ore or copper ore will do as well."

"If those don’t work, tell me if you have rare green-grade accessory blueprints or any special tools. We can discuss those too."

"This is Ji Chuchu, top-notch in dancing!"

"Absolutely worth the price!"

Chen Mang had no reaction, only looked at the young men behind, "What’s the price for these boys?"

"These prices are slightly lower."

The vendor seriously replied, "I’ve been urging them to exercise regularly, and their physiques have always been good. If, brother, you’re into this, they’re perfect for you."

"Moreover—"

The vendor pulled one of the young men out from the back, stripped him of his clothing, revealing his well-toned abs which he patted with emphasis, "Look at these abs. Maintaining abs like these in the apocalypse cost me a lot of effort!"

"The price is a bit steep, I’ll have another look."

Chen Mang glanced up and down, then sighed softly, turned, and left the stall. Had everyone gone mad? Or was he the only one in a state of scarcity? A celebrity, and you dare ask for 50,000 iron ore?

Why the hell not ask for 100,000?

...

After seeing Chen Mang and his group leave, the smile on the vendor’s face vanished, and he turned with a gloomy face to slap Ji Chuchu, "Didn’t I tell you to display a pitiful look when customers come? Why would you give me a bitter smile?"

"Are you acting in a melodrama?"

"Has your lousy acting never improved all your life?"

"I..." Ji Chuchu, kneeling on the ground, whispered with tears in her eyes, "Liu, I..."

"Liu? Call me Master Liu. Do you think I’m still your agent? Still someone you can command at will?"

The vendor slapped again furiously, then sat on the ground, his chest heaving, eyes flickering. Ji Chuchu was undoubtedly a good product, a popular frontline actress, certainly worth a good price, but in the Desolate Wilderness, everyone’s strength was limited. No one could afford it.

He came to the market every time and had never sold her.

Should he head to... Kunlun Mountain?

Kunlun Mountain was on the far west of the Desolate Wilderness, where resources were more abundant, but of course, the dangers were greater too. The 3rd-level Cannibal Spider Boss Monster which could be a boss in the Desolate Wilderness would be at most a sub-leader among monsters there.

The trains capable of developing there would have to be stronger, and they could definitely afford the price.

However, given the strength of his train, going there would mean never coming back.

Moreover...

With such a huge disparity in strength, who would buy from him? They would just rob, and he didn’t even have the power for mutual destruction.

...

Afterward, Chen Mang asked about the prices of goods sold at several stalls.

For instance, tobacco.

The price of a carton of cigarettes was 200 units of iron ore.

And then... fitness equipment.

"Sir, let’s think long-term here. How do we make slaves extract more resources in a day? Isn’t a strong body necessary?"

"You buy these dumbbells and treadmills and set up a dedicated fitness carriage. Let the slaves exercise for a few hours in the fitness carriage after mining every day. In the long run, wouldn’t it greatly increase the efficiency of slave mining?"

"Everything packed here is only 1,000 units of iron ore. They were meticulously brought out of the ruins of cities by my men, and they’re almost as good as new. If you’re interested, we can negotiate the price."

"..."

Chen Mang said nothing, only looked at this vendor, who was enthusiastically pushing his wares, as if he was looking at an idiot. Then he looked at the "Guaranteed Sales Strategy" paper book at the vendor’s feet, paused for a moment, and slowly walked away.

Are this guy’s subordinates all idiots?

Treadmills, such large and heavy items, how did his subordinates manage to carry these things from city ruins onto the train? Pure brute force?

He finally saw it clearly.

They sold everything at this market. Many Train Captains, when they couldn’t mine, would rummage through city ruins for things to trade for iron ore at the market.

But what they found wouldn’t always be useful.

If they found hard currency like tobacco, it would easily convert to money. But if they found things like dumbbells... that required sales skills or hoping to meet a fool.

In a post-apocalyptic environment.

Even if the god of sales came, it would be hard to sell combs to monks.

Unless they were stupid monks.