130 Thriving

Chapter 130: Thriving

Translator: _Min_Editor: Lis_

The next morning, Jiang Chen personally led a group of five who needed an injection as well as five Fishbone soldiers into Sixth Street.

He chose to go with a team because first, he was curious about any changes Sixth Street had undergone after the crusade and two, for market research purposes.

Now that Sixth Street's purchasing power increased, the goods they traded with them would no longer be limited to food.

Once the initial burst of rapid production settled down, the highly utilized production lines would equip everyone with potent weapons, lowering the demand for firearms because of the market surplus.

An increased hunting ability meant the number of acquired crystals would rise as well. Survivors would even expand the hunting radius and venture into the city center to obtain more crystals.

After food—the most basic necessity—was fulfilled, people with a pocket full of crystals would begin to look for ways to increase their quality of life.

With demand for other goods, numerous small factories would emerge like bamboo sprouts after the rain. Small workshops would gradually expand based on market demand, and a variety of other products would fill the store shelves. Small talk between friends would change from, "Did you get any nutrient supply today?" to "How many crystals did you get today?"

Order would appear once more on this part of land. Prosperity would return under freedom. But the catalyst behind these changes was a war that lasted a mere few days.

-

"Welcome to Sixth Street, my friend." Zhao Chenwu held a cigar in his mouth as he extended his arms to Jiang Chen from a few paces away.

"Nice to see you again. Did you get a return on the money you invested on me?" Jiang Chen laughed.

"Of course." Zhao Chenwu handed him a cigar. "Delicacy from before the war, ten crystals for one."

He didn't have to think about it; since Jiang Chen stood here, that meant the danger to Fishbone Base was alleviated and the batch of food was transported into Wanghai City.

Jiang Chen took the cigar and lit it up. After being injected with the genetic vaccine, his smoking addiction was now almost gone—but it was hard to refuse the offer.

"Seems like you've made some money?" Jiang Chen laughed.

"That's right, and about to make more." Zhao Chenwu cracked a smile, then warmly placed his hand around Jiang Chen's shoulder. "Let's go. It's pretty cold outside; we'll talk in the car."

The five who needed the injections were taken by Zhao Chenwu's people to the clinic while the accompanying soldiers returned to the base.

He clambered onto Zhao Chenwu's vehicle, and they drove towards the inner circle.

"So, my friend, what wind blows you here?" Zhao Chenwu looked at Jiang Chen with a bright smile.

Orders were normally completed through transmission, and details that needed to be sorted out could be done through an augmented reality conference.

"One, I needed to bring some new people to be injected, and two, to see any progress made and deliver the order." Jiang Chen glanced out of the car and gave the graphene card to Zhao Chenwu.

It was the same wide gate, and through it, the daunting cannon remained unchanged, but the malnourished faces were now full of confidence.

Construction materials lay in emptied spots as construction vehicles busied themselves outside Sixth Street working on what seemed to be an expansion project. There were barely any people in the ghetto, making it feel quite empty.

Zhao Chenwu could sense Jiang Chen's shock. He smiled while holding the graphene card and pressed the initiate button. He said casually, "These buildings are part of the newly expanded industrial area. The wall needs to be expanded out by several hundred meters, and the ghetto no longer sells people ever since the council pushed out a new regulation to start a buyback of the ghetto refugees."

"Buyback?" Jiang Chen was unfamiliar with this new term.

"Anyone registered in Sixth Street can be repurchased for the price of ten crystals. The repurchased refugees are not permitted to leave Sixth Street, but they'll work at the factory of whoever bought them back for three years before obtaining their freedom."

"So population trade is no longer supported?" Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows.

"Officially, yes. Refugees are no longer the burden of Sixth Street, but I do recommend that you go to the free market. There are plenty of merchants from other survival camps with slave dealers specialized in that business." Zhao Chenwu scrolled through the list on the graphene card to confirm Jiang Chen's order.

"Five hundred Reaper rifles, twenty Ghost snipers, five hundred bulletproof vests, four boxes of regular grenades, general combat equipment, five 20mm machine guns.... That's a lot. Are you planning on creating an army?" Zhao Chenwu asked perplexedly.

"Shipping out of the province," Jiang Chen replied concisely.

[It's true that it's being traded to the modern world.]

"Okay, but with quantities like this, let's push the trade date to the tenth. I still need a bit more, so I'll have to make an order to the factory." Zhao Chenwu took out a paper-thin phone from his pocket and pressed a few buttons.

"One thousand jackets, one thousand snow boots, twenty tons of C-type steel, ten tons of Carm tree sap? These are easy—I can get the bulk price." Zhao Chenwu read through the list.

Carm tree sap was obtained from the mutated Carm tree. It was used as the raw material for multiple types of plastics, an industrial material common on the wasteland. Although the polluted soil could not produce any edible crops, plants that survived through natural selection remained, and Sixth Street had a few small tree farms specifically dedicated to producing this tree sap.

Together with the sap and C-type steel, as well as the electronic parts obtained through the survivor groups, most of the components required to manufacture the hummingbird drone would be collected.

"Then I'll leave it to you. The trade date is set for the tenth then. This batch should be sufficient for three months, so the next trade should be set for the following January?" Jiang Chen smiled.

"No problem." Zhao Chenwu nodded in reply.

The car drove to the inner circle and stopped in front of a restaurant called Lihua. Zhao Chenwu explained that it was his restaurant in the inner circle.

Jiang Chen gladly accepted the invitation for lunch, but when the dishes were brought out, he was shocked.

Curry chicken, potato pork, vinegar cabbage. Three dishes in total, two types of meat and one vegetable.

The problem was not the dishes themselves, but they were all canned food?

Jiang Chen was taken aback at Zhao Chenwu's eagerness to eat.

When comparing the quality of life, the respected council member of Sixth Street ate worse than the modern-day homeless man.

Jiang Chen ate until he was eighty percent full. He sat in a luxuriously renovated restaurant, eating starchy bread and microwaved canned dishes.

It was quite a comical feeling.

Especially since the person sitting across from him was devouring the meal.

After the meal, Zhao Chenwu used a napkin to wipe his mouth before leaning back against the chair with a smile at Jiang Chen. "I do have to praise Fishbone Base's food. It's delicious."

"Thank you." Jiang Chen smiled.

"Oh, since you're here, I have something you may be interested in." As if he suddenly remembered something, Zhao Chenwu sat upright in his chair and lowered his voice.

"Oh? What is it?" Seeing this, Jiang Chen became solemn as well. This man was part of a group of ten council members. The news he was leaking had to be taken seriously.

Zhao Chenwu smiled mysteriously as he dropped a bomb on Jiang Chen. "Based on Sixth Street's new proposal, we're about to establish a bank. The feasibility of the proposal is still under debate, but it will most likely happen."

"A bank?" Jiang Chen was stunned.

[Opening a bank in the apocalypse, what is this?]

"The average income is steadily increasing, so it's a necessity for Sixth Street, especially since we have the capability to do so. People can store unused crystals in the bank to acquire an interest, and start-up factories can borrow crystals to invest in the plant. The blood is already flowing—now we just need a heart." Zhao Chenwu laughed confidently as he shot an energetic gaze at Jiang Chen.

In the future, the introduction of the bank would likely begin a tidal wave of new factories.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows. "Not a bad idea, but does it have anything to do with me?"

"Of course." Zhao Chenwu smiled, lowering his voice and continuing, "Don't you want to be a shareholder of this bank?"

It was an interesting way to phrase the question.

Jiang Chen's expression turned strange when he heard Zhao Chenwu. He asked rhetorically, "Don't you want to be?"

[If there is something good like this, you would be kind enough to ask me?]

Guessing at Jiang Chen's thoughts, Zhao Chenwu continued, "Of course, but based on the regulation, the council members' share limit is set at seven percent, each contributing one hundred thousand crystals. The remaining would be sold to the public at a premium."

"So what you're saying is that your cake has already been divided, so you thought about your old friend, me." Jiang Chen laughed.

"That's right, are you interested?" Zhao Chenwu crossed his fingers as he stared at Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen didn't immediately answer, but rather scratched his chin as he thought.

[The ten council members are each limited to 7%. Therefore, their influence is equal to one another. This is to prevent one person from exerting too much influence on the decisions of the group. The reason why Zhao Chenwu leaked the information to me is in the hopes of having me purchase some shares. Because of our alliance, he would obtain more influence in the bank. Since my orientation remains in the "headquarters," I shouldn't care about influence but only bank dividend.]

Considering Sixth Street's recent developments, this bank posed significant meanings, or else Zhao Chenwu wouldn't have become so involved in it.

It was the "heart" that would become the bloodline.

A mischievous smile grew on Jiang Chen's face as he had made a decision.

He realized he was becoming more skilled at politics.

"And the bank's investment criteria is?" Jiang Chen asked stoically.

"Provide the factory, store, developer, mercenaries, and a potential hunting team with loans." Zhao Chenwu replied.

"What about the purchase requirement?"

Zhao Chenwu immediately smiled upon hearing Jiang Chen's question.

He could tell Jiang Chen was tempted.

"One percent of the share is twenty thousand crystals. The purchaser is required to have at least two hundred square meters of fixed assets on Sixth Street. Also, they must be a free person without any chip injections."

Jiang Chen burst out laughing and extended his right hand. "Thank you for the information. I'm very interested. If the proposal passes, let me know."

"Definitely. We share the same interests, don't we?" Zhao Chenwu grasped Jiang Chen's hand and shook it forcefully.

"Of course."