Ruan Ning got straight to the point: “I want the colourless, transparent crystal cores. Do you have any?”
Gan Lan thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “I do, but how many are you asking for in exchange?”
Colourless crystal cores were easier to obtain compared to those with specific attributes. Gan Lan had a few saved up, having not used them all for upgrading her abilities. However, she wasn’t sure how many Ruan Ning wanted. If the number was too high, she might not be able to offer them right away.
Ruan Ning thought back to the parts of the story dealing with crystal core exchanges and, considering the current situation, said, “I’ll trade this crystal core for ten of yours.”
Though the exchange ratio seemed high, Ruan Ning’s request for ten cores wasn’t unreasonable—it was actually quite modest. Once the safe zones were fully established, the going rate for an exchange like this would be at least one-to-twenty.
Currently, at least five out of every ten zombies had already evolved, and their heads contained crystal cores. It was much easier to kill ordinary evolved zombies compared to the rare mutated ones, which made acquiring colourless crystal cores more common.
If Ruan Ning wasn’t in urgent need of the ordinary crystal cores, anyone else in her position would have asked for cores with attributes instead. No ability user would willingly trade their attribute core for a common one—that would be a terrible deal.
Even with a one-to-twenty exchange rate, those with mutated zombie cores would still be at a disadvantage. So, the fact that Ruan Ning was willing to settle for ten ordinary cores made this an easy trade for Gan Lan.
“Deal,” Gan Lan agreed readily. She knew this trade was in her favour. Though she didn’t understand why Ruan Ning was willing to exchange the core this way, she gave her all the crystal cores she had as a gesture of gratitude for solving her urgent problem.
Ruan Ning glanced at the woman with some confusion but ultimately accepted all the cores without refusing.
It seemed that not only did she now have enough to replace the ones for Gu Yicheng, but the extras could be useful in the future if she ever needed to heal herself again.
Just as she began to feel relieved, having resolved one of her major worries, Ruan Ning noticed someone suspiciously following her.
At first, she thought she might be overreacting, but after being followed for two streets—always at the same distance, with the person making every turn she made—she couldn’t deny it. Someone was definitely tailing her.
Given how well-covered her face was, it wasn’t likely they were after her identity. It had to be the backpack on her back that attracted their attention.
Ruan Ning was aware that carrying a backpack drew unwanted attention, but she had planned to trade food for the crystal cores. Without the backpack, it would have been inconvenient to take out food in the middle of the market—she couldn’t just make food appear out of thin air.
Why did these thieves always target her? Ruan Ning thought in frustration.
Just because she was short and had a petite frame, did that make her an easy target? These people judging by appearances would definitely get what they deserved sooner or later!
If she had known in advance that she would be trading crystal cores for crystal cores, she wouldn’t have brought the backpack at all.
After her experience with Lin Yang, when someone had tried to rob her backpack in broad daylight, Ruan Ning realized that this safe zone was far more chaotic than she had originally thought.
Although Ruan Ning passed by a few people along the way, she didn’t ask for help, and the person following her didn’t leave either.
Ruan Ning didn’t ask for help because she knew that, in this post-apocalyptic world, most people were just regular civilians who only wanted to survive peacefully. No one wanted to invite unnecessary trouble.
Acts of bravery required the strength to back them up. Some might have the heart to help but lacked the ability, so even if they wanted to assist, they could only pretend not to see anything.
Unless she ran into someone she knew—like a member of her squad or one of the three people from Gu Yicheng’s group.
But there was no time to go looking for them now.
Ruan Ning roughly estimated the distance between herself and the person following her and noticed that he had quickened his pace. He would likely catch up to her soon.
Instead of waiting for someone else to rescue her, it was more reliable to save herself.
Ruan Ning picked up her pace, jogging while keeping an eye on her surroundings. She veered off from the path toward the villa and turned onto a quieter, less populated street.
At the same time, she discreetly retrieved a gun from her space, hidden by her pocket.
Since she couldn’t shake off her pursuer, she decided to lead him to a more isolated area. This way, she could still rely on her gun and perhaps turn the tables, taking control of the situation.
Once she reached a spot where there was no one else around, Ruan Ning stopped and turned to face the man following her.
Finally, she saw the person’s face clearly.
The man was dressed in a grey tracksuit, with regular, decent features. Just by looking at him, you wouldn’t think he was the type to rob someone.
He looked respectable enough—why had he chosen this crooked path? Ruan Ning couldn’t help but wonder to herself.
Just as she was about to pull out her gun to see if she could scare him off, the man, whom she had assumed to be a “robber,” suddenly spoke with an excited tone: “Ruan Ning, it really is you!”
Hearing the excitement in his voice and the familiarity with which he spoke her name, Ruan Ning’s first reaction was to wonder how this person knew her name. Her second reaction was: “Who are you? Do we know each other?”
Seeing the obvious confusion on Ruan Ning’s face, the man continued, “You don’t remember me? I’m Qin Renhao, the guy from the class next to yours. One time, when you were walking past the basketball court, I accidentally hit you in the head with the ball, and I took you to the infirmary afterward… Ring any bells?”
“Qin Renhao?” Ruan Ning thought for a while before finally recalling who he was and what he looked like.
…It turned out this person really was someone the original Ruan Ning had gone to school with at First High School.
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