Chapter 251 The Gray Area of Trade Between Humans and Demons
Outside the Jianghuai defense line, there was once an abandoned highway hub.
A full month has passed since Lao Ding crushed the throat of the law enforcement captain in the subway station and announced the establishment of the "Sanren Alliance".
Following the bloody conflict that shook the Yellow Zone, the powerful clans and hunter guilds in the Green Zone surprisingly did not immediately send in large numbers to suppress the unrest. The reason was simple: they "dared not."
Someone has to fill the meat grinder defense line in the yellow zone. If the lower-level scattered cultivators are pushed too far and turn against the enemy, the demon kingdom's beast tide will sweep straight in and overwhelm the green zone's defensive array. Losing some "mortals" is better than losing cultivators. It's better to concede some benefits.
Compromise is the most instinctive reaction of capital in the face of profit. The powerful clans reluctantly accepted the existence of the independent alliance and tacitly designated this massive high-speed hub as a "no man's land" vacuum.
In just three months, this camp built around the highway overpass, like a deformed tumor on the wasteland, has grown wildly into a border town with a population of over 100,000—the black market hub "Bloodstone Town".
As night falls, Bloodstone Town welcomes its most bustling moment.
"Don't miss out! The latest cracked version of the fire control chip from the Academy of Sciences! No guild backdoor certification required, just plug it in and it works!"
"A freshly slaughtered mutated bull! Tier 2 Heart's Blood, supports bartering armor parts, no Green Zone Credits required!"
Little Stone was wearing a faded tactical vest, the dark red bio-root on his back rising and falling actively with his breathing. He wore a tactical detection device he'd bought on the black market over his left eye, and was sitting expertly behind the counter of a small shop, tallying up the squad's loot for the day.
Little Stone is no longer the rookie who trembled at the roar of demonic beasts. Continuous exposure to demonic blood and life-or-death battles have hardened his face to a resolute, chiseled look, and his muscles have developed an extremely lean and streamlined shape. Every move he makes exudes the ruthlessness of a predator.
"Stone, bring out the searchlights and heavy tungsten armor-piercing cones that we seized yesterday."
Old Ding lifted the tarpaulin covering the shop and strode in. He wasn't wearing any exoskeleton armor, just a black trench coat. But the life force emanating from him caused several experienced hunters passing by to instinctively give way.
"Uncle Ding, what are we going to do with those heavy things? Our team doesn't use these purely physical blunt weapons." Little Stone asked as he deftly dragged two heavy wooden boxes out from under the counter.
"It's not for us, a 'big client' wants it." Old Ding's lips curled into an extremely strange smile. "It's almost time. Open the roller shutter door at the back and turn on the jammer."
Little Stone hesitated for a moment, but still did as instructed. Behind the shop was a hidden culvert leading straight into the depths of the wilderness.
A few minutes later, accompanied by extremely heavy footsteps that were deliberately kept low, two tall figures shrouded in large black cloaks slowly walked into the shop.
As the other party approached, the bio-root on Little Stone's back suddenly contracted, and an extremely strong sense of danger—that he had encountered a high-level predator—rushed to his head instantly. His hand instinctively reached for the high-frequency vibration blade at his waist.
"Don't be nervous, Stone. You know the rules: in Bloodstone Town, we only talk about transactions."
Old Ding raised his hand and pressed down on Little Stone's shoulder, then looked at the two cloaked figures.
One of the cloaked figures abruptly extended a hand and lifted the hood.
Little Stone's pupils instantly shrank to the size of a pinhead.
That wasn't human at all! It was a mutated gray wolf with long silver fur on its face and eyes that shone like deep green gemstones!
What's even more absurd and horrifying is that this wolf not only walks upright like a human, but it also has several human-made bulletproof steel plates roughly sewn onto its body, and a tactical pack hanging from its waist.
"Ding... Boss Ding."
The wolf opened its gaping maw, full of fangs, and emitted a harsh, metallic sound, like two pieces of rusted metal rubbing together. It was greeting people in human language!
"Silver Moon, you're half an hour late this time. The guild patrols on the outskirts of the Yellow Zone haven't been idle lately." Old Ding's tone was calm, as if he were talking to a skilled human smuggler.
"The patrol...were killed. They took a detour." The wolf known as Silver Moon answered in an extremely curt tone, his voice carrying an undisguised bloodlust.
Then, Canglang untied his tactical marching pack from his waist, placed it heavily on the counter, and unzipped it.
An extremely pure and rich herbal energy, so potent that it made every pore on one's body open up, instantly permeated the entire shop.
Little Stone peeked out and his breath caught in his throat.
The pack was stuffed with over a dozen blood-red ginseng roots emitting a faint glow, and several large, extremely fresh pieces of gallbladder from a mutated giant python, radiating early-stage second-tier spiritual energy. These were top-grade spiritual herbs that could only grow in the deep mountains and rivers controlled by the demon race. For a lone hunter who desperately needed massive amounts of energy to nourish his body and regenerate his spiritual roots, the value of these items was immeasurable!
"As agreed... what we want." Canglang's eerie green eyes were fixed on Lao Ding.
Old Ding kicked open the lid of the wooden crate on the ground, revealing neatly arranged searchlight accessories and heavy tungsten armor-piercing cones inside.
"It's all here. This batch of tungsten cones is the latest stock from the guild's supply depot; it's extremely hard. And these high-powered searchlights are also what you specifically requested," Old Ding said, pointing to the goods.
The wolf stepped forward, stretching out its clawed hands to carefully stroke the cold metal armor-piercing spikes, its eyes revealing an extremely human-like greed.
"Excellent. Sharp. Hard. Our warriors... need this."
Seeing this, Little Stone's mind was in complete chaos.
Humans and demons were locked in a bloodbath in the meat grinder trenches ahead, both sides frantically plundering each other's bones, blood, and inner cores. Yet, in this border town, deliberately forgotten by their respective leaders, they were conducting a remarkably peaceful black market transaction!
The demon race offered rare and exquisite spiritual herbs unique to the deep mountains, as well as the essence blood of wild beasts that they considered their "reserve food"; while the human wanderers offered heavy industrial metallurgical crystals and technological equipment that the demon race coveted.
The exchange of goods and services is utterly absurd, yet it perfectly aligns with the coldest survival logic of this wasteland.
"I've never understood..." Little Stone watched as the wolf hoisted the wooden crate onto its shoulder and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "You demons are so strong, what do you need our searchlights and these blunt weapons for?"
The wolf turned its head, a hint of mockery flashing in its green eyes.
"It's dark in the mountains. We need to... dig something."
"Digging for something? What are you digging for?" Little Stone asked curiously.
With extremely awkward vocabulary, Canglang pieced together a chilling truth: "That sun called the nuclear bomb... Oh no. Our king said we must make our own... black rocks that can explode."
The small stone felt as if it had fallen into an ice cave.
The demon race is not only learning human tactics and wearing human armor, but they are now even trying to understand and replicate human heavy industrial civilization! They need searchlights to mine day and night in the deep mountains, and they need tungsten armor-piercing cones to equip their massive, heavily armored demon beasts with weapons!
"Alright, Silvermoon. Go back and tell your commander that if we have better quality Heart's Blood next time, I can consider getting you a few sets of anti-aircraft turret parts with fire control radar."
Old Ding waved his hand, interrupting Little Stone's shock.
"Deal." Canglang nodded, pulled his hood up again, shouldered the heavy wooden box, and skillfully retreated into the boundless darkness through the culvert.
The shop was quiet again.
Little Stone looked at the top-grade spiritual herbs on the table, swallowed hard, and said in a dry voice, "Uncle Ding, if we sell these military supplies to them, aren't we just aiding the enemy? Once they've thoroughly studied the equipment, they'll turn around and kill us instead."
"Do you think they can't get their hands on it even if we don't sell it?"
Old Ding picked up a blood-red ginseng and roughly bit off half of it, the rich juice dripping from the corner of his mouth. His bio-root, like a greedy glutton, instantly devoured the enormous medicinal power.
Old Ding's face flushed red, and his bones emitted a series of extremely dense popping sounds.
"Stone, this world is a giant millstone. The powerful clans in the Green Zone want us dead, and the Demon King of the Demon Kingdom wants us dead too."
Old Ding stuffed the remaining half of the ginseng into Little Stone's hand.
"We sell them scrap metal in exchange for their top-grade elixirs. They are evolving, and so are we! It's a death race where it's a race to the finish. Only by squeezing every last resource out of them through the most extreme means can we, the lowest of the low, survive this mass extermination!"
Old Ding's gaze passed over the dilapidated roller shutter and looked towards the dark sky in the distance.
"Forget about aiding the enemy. As long as our fists are stronger than theirs, those tungsten armor-piercing cones will eventually return to our hands. What we need to do now is survive and become stronger."
"..."