Seeing Feng Jun staring at the IEM with a grim expression, Song Peng understood that he was worried about the radiation harming his body.
"Old Brother Feng, there's no need to worry. It's only 9 helium crystal points of radiation. We'll find two anti-radiation medicines to take later. But why are your stats so low? Haven't you injected any Gene Agent?" Song Peng said, patting Feng Jun's shoulder.
"Oh, is that so! Then I'm much more relieved. Please trouble Big Brother Song Peng to take me later." Feng Jun finally relaxed after hearing that radiation was so easy to treat in the Doomsday.
"Could it be that Old Brother Feng Jun is from a newly opened Refuge? Otherwise, why would he just run out like this? And he even has rare items like canned food and cigarettes on him," Song Peng suddenly leaned close to Feng Jun's ear and whispered.
"Refuge? Ah, no, I'm not from a Refuge. All these things were just lucky finds," Feng Jun was a bit startled by this. He couldn't very well say he was a transmigrator, could he?
Song Peng chuckled, nodded, and said, "Brother Feng Jun, that's right. The one thing you absolutely cannot say here is that you're from a newly opened Refuge. If mercenaries or marauders hear about it, you'll definitely not escape. My and Song Zhan's Refuge was targeted that way back then."
On the way to the Iron Rose Bar, Feng Jun gained some understanding through his conversation with Song Peng. The entire Iron Nail Town had a population of about one to two thousand people, and there were three major forces in the town: Town Chief Chen Jianbin, the Blackwater Merchant Guild, and the Red Hand Mercenary Group. These three parties each possessed a certain amount of armed force and usually coexisted peacefully. Only when faced with a large Zombie Tide or a powerful external enemy would these three forces unite to resist.
Song Peng's two brothers' militia served the Town Chief, and most of his men were pre-war soldiers from Refuges. However, Song Peng and Song Zhan were not free men but slaves of a minor leader under Chen Jianbin. As for the Blackwater Merchant Guild and the Red Hand Mercenary Group, they were external forces. The Iron Rose Bar, where Song Peng was taking Feng Jun, was operated by the Blackwater Merchant Guild.
The Iron Rose Bar was easy to spot: a relatively large tin house with a rose-shaped neon light flashing continuously on the sign at the entrance. There was an entrance fee. However, with Song Peng leading the way, the two mercenaries at the door directly let Feng Jun into the bar. But as soon as he entered, Feng Jun was choked by the murky smell in the bar and coughed incessantly.
The bar's main hall wasn't large, but there were quite a few people inside. Perhaps because it was already the Doomsday, the people in the bar had strange appearances.
Bald heads were considered the most normal look here; there were artsy youths with 'Killing Matt' hairstyles, wasteland mercenaries covered in grenades, and bare-chested strippers covered in scars. These people were either guzzling an unknown liquid or smoking low-quality hand-rolled tobacco.
Feng Jun followed Song Peng and found a spot at the bar to sit down. Soon, a beautiful woman walked over with a glass of wine.
"Boss Song, why are you here today? Didn't you say you were on duty at the entrance this morning?" the beautiful woman asked Song Peng as she put down the glass.
"Hehe~ I don't have any money on me today, so I'm not here to drink. This brother of mine is here to do business, and I was thinking of you. So I brought him to you," Song Peng said, pointing to Feng Jun, who was sitting beside him. "Brother Feng Jun, this is Miss Jiang Xueling. She's usually in charge of this bar. You can do business with her."
"Doing business?" Jiang Xueling leaned closer and scrutinized Feng Jun. "I wonder what kind of business this handsome young man wants to do?"
It was then that Feng Jun noticed that Jiang Xueling's arms had been modified into mechanical arms. The arms were shaped like the mechanical skeleton of a terminator in a movie, with precise bearings and sensors at the joints, allowing for multi-angle free movement. Each finger could independently extend and rotate, indistinguishable from a real human arm.
"This isn't the place to talk, Miss Jiang. Just take him to the back to make the transaction," Song Peng had already picked up his glass and started drinking on his own.
"This drink costs money," Jiang Xueling glared at Song Peng, then turned and led Feng Jun upstairs to the second floor.
The environment on the second floor was much better than on the first, at least there were private rooms and sofas. After closing the door, Jiang Xueling leaned directly on a sofa and crossed her legs, a pair of black stockings swaying in front of Feng Jun's eyes. Feng Jun sat opposite her and couldn't help but glance at them a few more times, confirming that these legs were real and not machine-modified prosthetics.
Seemingly sensing Feng Jun looking at her legs, Jiang Xueling chuckled softly. She took a box of tobacco from beside her, rolled a cigarette herself, and started smoking. "If you're looking for a woman, you can just find any slave in the market. If you have something to trade, then hurry up and take it out."
Feng Jun also felt a little embarrassed, so he took out his backpack and started rummaging.
Originally, Jiang Xueling still looked at Feng Jun with disdain, thinking what good could this young punk have. If not for Song Peng's sake, she wouldn't even bother with Feng Jun today. However, when she saw the beef cans Feng Jun placed on the table, she was immediately stunned and quickly picked one up for a closer look.
Feng Jun wasn't afraid of her finding anything. He had already wiped off the production dates from all these beef and luncheon meat cans, so he wasn't worried about her discovering anything. A total of ten boxes of luncheon meat and ten boxes of beef were placed in front of Jiang Xueling. Feng Jun felt it was a bit little, so he also took out ten packs of cigarettes.
The original meat cans had already excited Jiang Xueling greatly, but it was only after seeing Feng Jun take out the cigarettes that she was truly surprised.
Jiang Xueling's reaction to the cigarettes was even more exaggerated than Song Peng's. She carefully unwrapped the cigarette packaging, pinched a cigarette out with her fingers, and sniffed it repeatedly. After lighting one, she took a deep puff, and her facial expression immediately relaxed. She didn't care that Feng Jun was still sitting there, leaned back, nestled directly into the sofa, and smoked puff after puff.
Feng Jun didn't disturb the woman and just sat quietly, waiting for her to finish smoking.
Soon, Jiang Xueling finished a cigarette and awoke from the pleasant sensation brought by the nicotine. It had been a long time since she had smoked a real cigarette. Remembering that Feng Jun was still waiting beside her, Jiang Xueling immediately sat up. Smoothing her disheveled hair, Jiang Xueling felt a bit embarrassed, and her tone of voice became much softer when she spoke again.
"Mr. Feng, I apologize. The pressure in this Doomsday is too great. I haven't smoked in a long time, which is why I lost my composure. I've also tried them, and what Mr. Feng brought are all top-notch goods. I'm willing to purchase them at the current highest price. I'll buy each can for 60 helium crystal points, and each pack of cigarettes for 100 helium crystal points. So, for twenty cans plus ten packs of cigarettes, that's a total of 2200 helium crystal points. How does that sound?"
After hearing Jiang Xueling's offer, Feng Jun pondered for a moment before nodding. This price was not much different from the price he had learned from Song Peng.
Once the deal was settled, the rest was easy. Soon, someone brought over several helium crystals. As for how to check the energy points inside, it was also very simple: just scan them directly with an IEM. Feng Jun scanned the 2200 helium crystal points with his IEM, which was neither too much nor too little.
After the transaction was completed, Feng Jun stood up, ready to leave. Jiang Xueling quickly stood up and tried to persuade him to stay.
"Mr. Feng, since you've come all this way, why not stay and sit a while longer? I haven't even offered you a drink," Jiang Xueling said, placing her mechanical arm on Feng Jun's shoulder to try and keep him.
"Next time," Feng Jun shook his head. A woman with a pair of mechanical arms was still a bit too much for him. Moreover, the drink Song Peng was drinking downstairs earlier, he didn't know what it was made of; the dark green liquid even emitted a faint green glow. After realizing he had been exposed to radiation, Feng Jun dared not eat or drink anything in this Doomsday, fearing he would suffer from radiation-induced cancer.
As he was leaving, Feng Jun also asked Jiang Xueling if she had heard of something called a "gene seed," but Jiang Xueling said she hadn't. By the time Feng Jun returned downstairs, Song Peng had already drunk most of that glass of wine. He didn't know what was mixed in the wine, but after drinking it, Song Peng's lips glowed faintly green.
"Are you two done?" Seeing Feng Jun and Jiang Xueling come out one after another, Song Peng was a bit surprised. According to his experience, it shouldn't have been that fast.
"Yes, thanks to Big Brother Song Peng, my transaction with Miss Jiang was very pleasant." Walking on the street, Feng Jun expressed his gratitude to Song Peng. If it weren't for his introduction, he probably wouldn't have sold it for such a good price.
"What are you thanking me for, Old Brother Song? Let me ask you something, didn't that woman try to keep you for something just now?" Song Peng suddenly asked Feng Jun with a lewd expression.
"For what?" Feng Jun then remembered that when he was about to leave, Jiang Xueling had put her hand on his shoulder and said she wanted him to stay for a drink.
"Oh, brother, you missed out! That woman wanted to keep you and have a good time with you!" Song Peng said with a look of regret. "Don't look at that woman's mechanical arms; her figure is absolutely top-notch, especially her legs, they'll definitely make you feel incredibly good."
Song Peng probably hadn't been with a woman in a while. After hearing what Feng Jun said, he looked full of regret, wishing he had followed Feng Jun to the second floor to do business together earlier.
Next, Song Peng took Feng Jun to a hospital in town, though it was more like a small medicine stall. Feng Jun bought two anti-radiation Gene Agent there, which were said to be effective for three months after one injection, provided one didn't go to areas with particularly severe radiation, such as city centers or near nuclear bomb craters.
This shop originally also had a few gene seeds for sale. According to the boss, injecting them could promote human evolution. Feng Jun originally intended to buy one to try but was stopped by Song Peng.
"Just buy some anti-radiation medicine here; forget about the gene seeds. They might even be fake or inferior. Brother Feng Jun, if you really want to strengthen your physique, just travel a bit further to Huaicheng District. They have genuine gene seeds there."
Hearing Song Peng say this, Feng Jun no longer rushed to buy gene seeds and followed Song Peng to explore Iron Nail Town. When they walked past a street stall, Feng Jun suddenly stopped and scrutinized the display at the front of the stall.
The stall owner wasn't selling food or mutated beast meat, but rather some broken machine parts, mechanical arms, or mechanical legs. However, what attracted Feng Jun wasn't these futuristic technologies that looked very sci-fi in his eyes, but rather a lotus cushion that the stall owner was sitting on.
The boss seemed to recognize Song Peng's identity and immediately stood up to greet them warmly.
"Boss, what is that lotus cushion you were just sitting on made of? Is it for sale?" Feng Jun asked.
This lotus cushion looked a bit dirty, but its original color could still be seen as gold. Feng Jun used to work in gold recycling, and he remembered that some aged gold looked like this. If it was truly gold, such a large piece would weigh at least one hundred pounds.
"This lotus seat, ah, I picked it up from a ruined temple in the suburbs a while ago. If you want it, ten helium crystal points will do."
Ten helium crystal points was indeed not much. Just as Feng Jun was about to speak, Song Peng interjected quickly.
"Ten helium crystal points? You're dreaming! Don't you think a gun only costs 20 helium crystal points right now? Gold is useless in the Doomsday; at most, I'll give you 2 helium crystal points."
The stall owner still wanted to raise the price, but seeing Song Peng's menacing expression, he had no choice but to give up.