The antibiotics produced by the shelter were indeed remarkably effective. Not long after taking a single pill, the eldest Yu brother's fever broke, and the swelling in his leg wound actually went down. He was even able to get on his feet and limp around for a few steps.
The two Yu brothers offered profuse thanks, swearing they would repay this kindness in the future. Seeing that it was getting late, after bidding farewell to Chu Guang, the younger brother supported his elder brother toward the entrance.
As they passed Fang Chang, Yu Hu paused, pulled a finely crafted knife from his pack—one that clearly had not been manufactured in this era—and handed it to Fang Chang.
It was a prized find from his scavenging trips.
Then Yu Hu spoke in a deep, resonant voice that contrasted with his youthful looks.
"You're strong, dodging my arrow like that. But in a one-on-one fight, I wouldn't lose."
"Hold on to this knife for me, and don't lose it. Next year, we'll have a fair contest. If I win, I'll take it back."
Fang Chang had no idea what the boy was saying, but judging from his gestures, he seemed to be giving him the knife.
Was he thanking him for indirectly saving his relative?
Fang Chang pointed at the knife, then pointed at himself. Seeing the NPC nod, he gladly accepted it.
"You're way too polite!"
Yu Hu couldn't understand what he was saying either, but seeing him accept the knife, he nodded, supported his brother, and left.
Watching the two disappear beyond the outpost's gate, Fang Chang fiddled with the knife in his hand, then suddenly looked toward Gale Force 8 beside him and said with heartfelt admiration:
"The attention to detail in this game is insane. Look at that NPC's expressions—every single frame is packed with detail! Just for this alone, I'd praise it to the high heavens!"
Gale Force 8 asked, "...Did you understand a word he said?"
Fang Chang tossed his head dismissively. "Nope. Doesn't matter."
Ye Shi sidled over and chuckled mischievously. "What if he's planning to betroth a three-hundred-jin tiger girl from his tribe to be your wife, and that knife is an engagement token?"
"Piss off!"
***
Supporting his brother out of the base, Yu Hu glanced back at the wall behind them and said, "Brother, I told you he was no ordinary guy. Back then, I urged you and Dad to marry Xiaoyu to him, but you didn't agree. Regretting it now, aren't you?"
Yu Xiong sighed with mixed feelings. "What's there to regret? The man is our benefactor—stop entertaining unrealistic fantasies... Besides, I never said I disagreed about Xiaoyu, and Dad never said so either."
Yu Hu frowned. "Then why didn't it happen?"
Yu Xiong managed to reach out and rub his thick-headed, silly brother's head. "You kid only think of the best-case scenario. Did you ever stop to think whether he'd even want her? Setting Xiaoyu aside, did you see the girls standing around him earlier? Every single one of those shelter dwellers has fair, clean skin. Would he ever look twice at someone of your rough sort?"
Hearing that, Yu Hu grew anxious. "I might be rough, but our little sister isn't! She was so cute as a kid. Sure, she's a bit thin now that she's grown up, but what does that matter? Once we're back, we'll coax her to eat more meat. I'll give her my share too, and we'll definitely nourish her right up."
Yu Xiong could barely stifle a laugh and shot him a sideways glance. "You're in that much of a rush to marry Xiaoyu off?"
Yu Hu gave a simple grin, yet behind that naive expression was a very sober mind. "Is that up to me? Married or not, Little Sister will come of age next year. By the street's rules, once you're an adult you count as a separate household, which means another mouth to account for. Look at our harvest this year—it's barely enough. Once we have to pay another share next year, how could we possibly afford it?"
According to Bet Street's rules, reaching the age of sixteen counted as establishing an independent household. During the annual autumn mobilization, whether one had started a family or not, supplies had to be scraped together as a full household.
It was essentially a disguised poll tax.
Boys had it slightly better; they could usually start following their elders out hunting and scavenging around thirteen or fourteen, and within two or three years they would become qualified scavengers or hunters—able-bodied laborers. For girls, life in these chaotic times was harsher. Few could make a living on their own at that age, so they were often married off early.
The main reason Xiaoyu had been able to live carefree at home until now was that their father could still work, the eldest sister-in-law hadn't had children yet, and the second brother had yet to start a family. Three men were barely enough to support this extended household.
If they waited any longer, once Yu Hu married or Yu Xiong welcomed a newborn, then no matter how reluctant they were, they would have no choice but to marry Xiaoyu off.
Survival was, more often than not, a heavy topic.
"...Since she has to marry anyway, it's better to find her a good home rather than keep her suffering in ours."
Yu Xiong squinted up at the sky. "The Wang family's third son is also of marrying age. Their family isn't bad, and their younger daughter is growing up soon too. That could work as a match for you as well."
Yu Hu shook his head violently. "No way! I can't stand that kid Wang Defu. He shoved Xiaoyu last time! One look at him and you can tell he's the kind of coward who'd beat his wife once he's married."
"What about the Li family..."
"Uh, that wouldn't be appropriate, right? Mom came from the Li family."
Bet Street had only about a hundred households in total. That was the annoying thing about small places—round and round it went, and you ended up right back where you started.
Rebutted into silence, Yu Xiong merely gave his brother a meaningful look. "Then you'd better think it through. If she marries outside, you'll have to find a wife on your own."
"No problem. Are you really worried I won't find a wife?" Yu Hu chuckled, then muttered after a moment, "I just don't want you guys constantly worrying about me! Whether I do well or not is my own business... How could anyone trade their own sister away?"
***
At dusk, darkness gradually crept in.
The players who had ventured outside returned one after another to the outpost base.
Just like yesterday, many players set up stalls in the open ground inside the outpost's north gate, calling out their wares and haggling over prices in a clamor as lively as a market fair.
"Raw meat for sale! Fresh squirrel meat! Delicious whether you stir-fry, roast, or boil it! One silver coin each, take your pick! Fair prices, high quality!"
"Who in their right mind would buy that! How much meat is even on a damn squirrel?!"
"That's plenty of meat! It's a mutant squirrel, weighs two kilograms a pop! If you go buy meat at the granary, one silver only gets you six liang! Think about it!"
"Got no money."
"Then get lost if you're broke!"
"..."
"Mutant hyena teeth! Perfect for accessories! Only one copper coin each, just ten in stock—get 'em while they last!"
"Who the hell makes accessories out of that? It's ugly as sin!"
"What do you know? What if the game introduces an accessory system later? Gear socketing, inlaying, enchanting—the price of this material will definitely skyrocket!"
"Holy crap, for real?"
"For real! Trust me!"
"Then... give me two."
"Coming right up, heh."
Besides players selling hunting materials, others peddled junk scavenged from the wasteland.
Although it was already Year 211 of the Wasteland Era, if one searched thoroughly, it was still possible to occasionally uncover good items that hadn't been looted in time.
This was especially true behind locked doors, inside cabinets, or buried beneath the rubble.
Some alloy items with good oxidation resistance made excellent weapons with just minor modifications. For instance, Chu Guang saw a fire axe whose rust-resistant paint hadn't even peeled, with a price tag of seven silver coins.
It was certainly worth the price.
Yet few could afford it.
"Anyone want gold? I found a gold chain while searching the row houses! Just three silver coins, can't go any lower!"
"Too expensive! How much food could three silver buy? What use is that gold chain to me anyway? Can't turn it into a weapon, and can't spend it as money!"
"I'll take it. Damn it, I can't afford one in real life, but at least I can get a taste of it in the game."
"...Sigh, spendthrift, absolute spendthrift! If you don't complete primitive capital accumulation now, how are you going to break into the top tier later?"
"Bro, have you lost your mind? It's just a game!"
The most popular stall was still Yaya's.
Every time she finished her party trick of eating giant mushrooms raw, it drew a round of applause and cheers from the players.
These players didn't just watch for free either; the mushrooms at her stall were quickly snapped up.
Yesterday it was three copper coins for one jin of mushrooms, and today it had gone up to four coppers, yet a steady stream of buyers still kept coming.
In addition, using the berries she had gathered, she had concocted a bottle of "Yaya's Secret Jam," priced at just one silver coin.
Unfortunately, this bottle of jam alone couldn't be sold for the life of her.
That slimy green color looked far too sickening.
Next was Xia Yan's weapons shop. Although not a single soul could afford the weapons on the shelves that easily cost upwards of a hundred silver coins, that didn't stop everyone from flocking over to gaze at the lady boss.
"Lady boss, could you please say, 'I'm Kiri from the Empyrean'? Just once, please!"
"The lady boss is too aloof—she ignores us completely! It's definitely because we're too poor! Damn, is this what realistic games are like?"
"Have you guys noticed? The way she looks at the manager is completely different!"
"The NPCs already have a ship? I ship it, I ship it!"
"Ship your ass! Handsome Brother Shuguang is clearly my husband, hands off, boohoo!"
"In your dreams! How much favorability do you even have? How many days have you been moving bricks? Stop running your mouth!"
"Hey, what do you think the NPCs do after we log off?"
"...Wait for us to log back on?"
"Psychopath."
Coincidentally, great minds often think alike.
Though she couldn't understand what these players were babbling about, the expressionless Xia Yan was thinking the exact same thing at that very moment.
"Bunch of lunatics..."
Muttering under her breath, she glanced toward the sanatorium, then back at Chu Guang.
So hungry.
When could she head back into the shelter?
By the way, would there be dessert after dinner tonight?
That chocolate was surprisingly delicious...
***
Perhaps because of the twenty new arrivals, today's market was even more bustling than yesterday's.
Standing in front of the sanatorium, Chu Guang couldn't help but picture in his mind what a lively spectacle it would be once all one hundred players gathered here.
"Life is starting to look up." As the thought crossed his mind, an old-fatherly smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.
He was happier than anyone.
After all, while this was a game to the players, to him it was likely the rest of his life.
Just then, a faint chill brushed against the straight bridge of his nose.
Chu Guang looked up and saw a tiny speck of silvery white drifting lightly down.
Reaching up to touch the tip of his nose, he wiped away the icy dampness. Staring at his fingertip, Chu Guang murmured softly in contemplation:
"...Snow? Or hail?"
The temperature hadn't dropped below freezing yet.
To be precise, it should still be between ten and fifteen degrees Celsius.
There were no cumulonimbus clouds in the sky—not even a thick layer of clouds—and the twilight glow was still faintly visible along the horizon.
A preliminary guess: a strong cold air mass had moved through, met a warm, humid updraft, and condensed into ice crystals at low altitude... or so he bullshitted to himself.
This probably couldn't be called snow, nor could it be considered hail; rather, it seemed like a peculiar weather phenomenon unique to the wasteland.
Regardless, it was not a good omen.
Flicking away the droplet of water from his fingertip, Chu Guang sighed softly to himself.
"...Looks like Old Charlie was right."
"This winter will arrive earlier than usual."
Food.
Fuel.
Along with materials and weapons.
Sigh!
Just thinking about it was enough to make him bald with stress.
Yet human joys and sorrows rarely aligned.
From the distance came the faint, carefree cheers of the players and their cheerful chattering.
It was a female player who had only recently joined the game, gazing up at the sky in wonder.
"Look, it's snow!"
Chapter 57