Chapter 181: Poor Judgment
“[Bai Zhao Subsidy]?”
Cheng Xing thought for a moment, then smiled. “You’re talking about Zhao Feiyan’s [Bai Zhao Subsidy] company, right? Turns out they’re the ones who drove us over.”
She concluded, “We got pretty lucky.”
Among explorers, there’s a subtle competitive relationship because the safe, exploitable zones on the outskirts of the wasteland are limited. Each well-established convoy on the wasteland has some level of rivalry with others.
However, [Bai Zhao Subsidy] is decent. Aside from Zhao Feiyan’s relentless money-grabbing, there’s not much to complain about.
If it had been another convoy present at the time, they might have gotten the points, but it wouldn’t have been as easy to pull off a high-speed drive.
She briefly explained this to Huai Yu and was about to thank her for her efforts when she noticed Huai Yu’s interest was elsewhere:
“So, that uncle’s name is Zhao Feiyan?”
Cheng Xing couldn’t help but laugh, “It’s not the ‘yan’ from swallow. It’s from the character ‘Yan’ in Yanchangqing.”
She didn’t finish because Huai Yu’s eyes were so clear and innocent, clearly not understanding.
After a pause, Cheng Xing changed her approach: “You know Liu Yanchang, right? The guy from Three Saints’ Mother. That Yan.”
“Oh!” Huai Yu immediately understood, “You should’ve said so earlier! I thought he had a quirky name.”
“Don’t underestimate the name,” Cheng Xing said. “As explorers, not only do we need to be capable, but we also need to have distinguishability.”
“You think Zhao Feiyan’s name is interesting, and others do too. So it’s always easier for him to attract clients.”
All of Fanta and their group are named after beverages. Aside from kids who want to drink soda, it’s also about having a high degree of recognizability.
However, Fanta and the others had some other tests to do, so Huai Yu hadn’t met them yet.
At this moment, Uncle Zaozixi was curious and asked, “What’s going on with you? You’ve got experience, yet you almost got wiped out this time?”
“Also, where’s your boyfriend?”
He hadn’t asked earlier, thinking it might make Cheng Xing upset, but seeing the two girls chatting without any signs of distress about a lost loved one, his curiosity piqued.
Huai Yu was also alert, eagerly waiting.
Cheng Xing: “…”
This was a bit embarrassing, and she’d wanted to delay talking about it.
But…
“He’s dead. Chen He is dead.”
“How did he die?” Uncle Zaozixi craned his neck, full of anticipation.
Cheng Xing sneered, “He got torn apart by magpies.”
Huai Yu gasped, “The magpies on the wasteland are eating people now?”
“Well, not exactly,” Cheng Xing tugged at her lips. “He was unlucky. It was breeding season for the magpies, and their mutated bodies made their nests unstable.”
“So, when Chen He was half-dead, their family tore him apart and used his bones for nest-building.”
Huai Yu was left speechless for a moment, unsure whether it was more terrifying for them to use bones for a nest or to eat people.
But Cheng Xing sneered again. “It’s lucky the magpies acted first. Otherwise, I would’ve had to help tear off his arms and legs!”
“Now, at least, he died cleanly and didn’t have to suffer.”
Her voice was full of malice, but Uncle Zaozixi, impatient, cut in. “Oh, stop with the dramatics! Who cares about him dying or living? Get to the point!”
Cheng Xing huffed, “The point is embarrassing to say, I had to gather my thoughts first!”
After a moment of silence, she continued, “It’s simple, just like you told me the other day, Huai Yu—if you’re going to strike, make sure it’s thorough, or else the opponent might strike back unexpectedly.”
Her expression twisted for a moment as she spoke.
Because she had considered guarding against Chen He, but infighting among explorers is the worst thing that can happen. With Chen He’s lack of skills, without them, he would’ve never made it back on his own.
But sometimes, you can’t predict the thoughts of a fool.
Chen He, holding a grudge and feeling humiliated by his lack of status, accidentally found an orchid in the wasteland that everyone else was wary of. Instead of warning anyone, he covered it with dry twigs and called Fanta over to help gather branches.
Fanta, a straightforward kid, didn’t like Chen He, but if Cheng Xing liked him, he accepted it. Everyone on the wasteland was alert to their surroundings, but no one thought Chen He’s branch-gathering spot would lead to trouble.
When Fanta suddenly collapsed, Chen He laughed triumphantly and tried to drive back on his own.
But after driving only a few meters, without Cheng Xing’s powers laying the road, the car’s chassis was pierced by mutated plants.
As he scrambled out, dragging a broken leg, the blood attracted more mutated plants and magpies searching for building materials.
The rest is unnecessary to explain.
The strongest fighter in the team, Fanta, fell, and Seven-Up, with his wood-based powers, had to use his abilities to control the toxins. Snowball, with water-based powers, was limited in ability, and was also injured by mutated plants on the way.
“Eventually, we encountered another small team at a temporary camp. They didn’t harm us, but they took advantage of the situation and jacked up the price of oil by 20 times.”
Huai Yu immediately felt a pang of pain, “How many points was that?”
Cheng Xing, however, was relieved, “The team we met was actually decent. They charged a high price, but they didn’t do anything else to us.”
Otherwise, with their combat power at the time, that small team could have easily wiped them out. Explorers are expected to bring back anything from the wasteland, and anything they bring back, including cars and points, is considered fair game.
At the same time, losing a life is also considered acceptable.
Compared to that, the other team just hiked up the price and sold them good oil, which Cheng Xing considered a pretty good deal.
Seeing how seriously Huai Yu was listening, she explained further: “Actually, in the wasteland, a 10-20x price markup is not uncommon. Every piece of material could save a life. Even buying a bottle of clean water could cost a fortune.”
This was the unspoken understanding among all explorers.
The only thing that left Cheng Xing feeling embarrassed was her poor judgment in choosing men. The more she thought about it, the more she felt ashamed and unlucky. She could only mutter bitterly:
“Really, he died too easily!”
Huai Yu, however, took a lighter view: “It’s fine as long as you’re alive!”
“Maybe your judgment wasn’t great because you didn’t choose enough. Next time, pick more and take your time—it’ll work out. Just don’t bring them to the wasteland.”
She spoke with ease, but Cheng Xing had already made up her mind to cultivate herself into a more stable woman and repay her debts.
Thinking about how much she owed to the young girl living in the Rose Corridor made her feel embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Huai Yu was comforting her:
“You can earn the points slowly, I’m not in a hurry.”
“By the way, I feel like your car is in really bad shape. To do a good job, you need good tools—Cheng Xing, how much would it cost to fix your car? I can lend you some points.”
“This isn’t urgent,” Cheng Xing explained. “We’ll leave it with Zhao Feiyan. If he wants to use it, he’ll help fix it as rent and then come talk to me.”
