Chapter 60: Inside Out (7)

Chapter 60: Inside Out (7)

Okay, were here. The group were trading with today should be in front of that small basin.

Oh, I see it too. The sand in that area is a little weird. They dug in and covered themselves with some tarp.

Gyosu stretched his body stiff from the long wait, then checked over his equipment.

Hmm? Are you helping? You really dont need to. This is just a normal trade. It will be gentle and peaceful.

Normal, my ass. Why dont you put down that bag first?

Gyosu looked at the mountain of boxes containing the trade products for today, then at Ian, who was putting that much more gunpowder into his bag.

Hm? Oh, this? This is just a kind of comfort doll. When I carry this with me, my nerves settle down, and I talk much nicer, so we cut off a lot of the unnecessary bickering. Its a sort of business tip of mine, yknow?

Vex, is that true?

Vex just shrugged at Hwayoons question and then continued to check his own equipment.

Okay, times up. Area [45.150.204], at 4 p.m.

But dont they usually set up the trade location far away from their headquarters? That mountain of junk behind the guys hiding place, isnt that their base?

Thats usually the case, but this ones different. This is a pretty hefty trade. The clients are a scavenger group thats currently in a territory war, and the enemy is watching their every move, so they thought that if they set up the trade spot somewhere far away, they would just lose all of their gear on the way back. So they risked the fact that we knew their base and decided to just trade here. In short, they were too scared to transport expensive goods, so they asked to trade right in front of their house.

Clunk, clunk, creaak

After packing all of the goods into the back of the Buggy, Ian put on his backpack and then started up the Buggy towards the destination. Gyosu sat in the back of that vehicle, keeping alert in all directions.

Not long after, Ian stopped the car where the clients were hiding.

Ahem. Oi! Were from Spicy Life! We got the goods, so come take them!

Rustle, rustle!

When Ian yelled loudly to them, the odd mounds of sand started to move, and the scavengers revealed themselves.

Hm? Uh, this.

There were twelve scavengers wearing sand-colored ponchos. Even taking into account that there were a lot of goods and that they were in a war, there were far too many people for a simple trade.

Ian must not have noticed that yet, or just didnt care, as he put on the grin of a salesman, revealing both white and silver teeth.

The skinny man, who was the only one of the scavengers with decent clothing, spoke up,

Woah, woah. You dont need to be wary of us, so put away those guns! We have our own situation here, you know. Like, if the trade itself was a trap or that merciless spice merchant was actually paid by those Lately guys to kill us

Ah, we know, we know. Its an exciting yet dangerous process of making new friends in the Wasteland. Im glad my client isnt an idiot. Now, as you can see, we have the goods right here, so why dont we get started?

Hahahah! Sounds good! Dont worry. Im one of the more reasonable people in the Wasteland.

..I must have worried too much. Anyway, where did this guy go? I havent seen him for a while now.

Unlike his concerns, the trade seemed to be going smoothly. Gyosu loosened his grip on the trigger and was looking for Vex, when he saw something shiny blinding his eyes.

A mirror signal? Who is that?

It wasnt difficult to find the origin of the light signal. He could see something blinking like a light from the groups base, a little further away from the trade spot. He confirmed that it was a short man shaking a little object. It was Vex.

This. SOS? Its an emergency signal?

Gyosu immediately got prepared for battle. Vex had gone off separately to scout the enemys base and was now sending him a rescue signal. Due to the limited communication and the risk of the other seeing the mirror signal, he would have simplified the message as much as possible.

Hes in an emergency. That means this trade is a trap!

While Gyosu was figuring that out, Ian and the scavenger were finishing up the trade.

Boss! All of the goods count up correctly! And theyre all good quality!

Listening to the scavengers comment, Ian checked the sack he received and scrunched up his face.

Oi, scavenger. They said all the products were there. But. I think my side of the deal is being cut a bit short, dont you think? Do I look like an idiot to you? Or were you trying to pretend these ballsacks of metal were gold?

Shingle!

As Ian threw the heavy sack in front of the scavenger, the man started to let out a menacing laugh.

Keheheh. You should have pretended not to notice and just left, Metal Jaw. Quit the macho act. You dont have any lackeys with you, and I know that its just you and that guy. Hey, I already gave you a hint. Im a reasonable person. Reasonably thinking, if there were two idiots that brought a bunch of valuable goods up to my front lawn, should I pay the full price for them or just kill the two idiots and take the goods for free?

The scavengers hanging around and the ones moving the boxes from the Buggy were all snickering. After sending Gyosu a look, Ians expression also spread into a vicious smile.

Kehehe. So, if we leave all this gear and take those brass knick knacks, youll spare our lives?

Two? That reminds me, Vex suddenly disappeared and signaled me back there. Was this already talked out?

Draaag

Thump!

Guys like these always have a second group waiting at the base. In an open field like this, the ones that are outnumbered are always at a disadvantage, so he went to cut them off. The guys at the base said something about killing you guys, so thats why I sent a signal.

Vex had collected all of the firearms and bullets the tattered corpses were holding and dragged them towards the other two, then sprawled out next to Hwayoon and gulped down water from his canister.

Ah, can I have some too?

Hmm? Did you not bring yours, Hepburn?

I drank all of mine.

When Vex handed his canteen over to Gyosu, he sprayed the water over his head. The feeling of the water droplets after the vigorous battle felt fantastic.

Ugh. I hate the feeling of dust plastering itself onto you after you wet yourself like that.

Sorry, I couldnt help it.

And after a short break, the three of them went around the area and looted anything remotely useful and crammed it into the back of the Buggy. Most of the weapons were worthless ones, like pipe shotguns, but there was a decent amount of scrap in their bases, so it took a while dragging all of them to the Buggy.

There wasnt anything extremely valuable, but this is still a huge profit!

I was wondering how you guys made that much money.

Honestly, in Gyosus eyes, Ian didnt look like the type to be rich. He recklessly threw around expensive explosives when he wanted to and bought what he liked without considering the price, so it definitely looked like he was using more money than he had gained.

He said the deal was off [this time again]. Its no wonder he makes money, finding deals like these that make over double the profit.

Even though Ian was a famous merchant, he was still a private seller. Most organizations that actually had the money usually sent an order to the Domes Life and Murder Co., not someone like Ian.

Was this what you were aiming for?

Hmm? What do you mean?

This. A decent quality, but decently shabby as well. Just the type of business lackeys with no money would go to buy weapons. To guys like these, its a win to sell weapons for profit, and even if they attacked, it would be a win by just shooting them down and looking at their goods.

Ians face turned serious at Gyosus statement.

Oi, Gyosu. My business looks shabby to you?

Isnt that what you were trying to go for? You dont even have a catalog for your items. All of your advertisements on the Community just say, Selling Various Weapons. and thats it.

Its supposed to be in style for only the regulars to know your business! And do you know anyone else in the Wasteland that knows guns better than I do? The customer just needs to say, Im using it at a party. A bold and heavy one, please and Ill choose the right one for them. Its my own unique service, you know?

Not even the neighborhood drugstore works like that man.

But it still pays well?

How is this making money from selling? Youre just using the goods as bait to reel up the idiot fish.

Its okay, Hepburn. I thought it was ridiculous at first, too, but you get used to it after a while. Kehe!

Oi, Vex. You have a hole in your arm.

What? I just went to the hospital today and already got another hole!

Just use this bandage for now. My house isnt far from here. You can get proper treatment when we get there.

Oh! Already?

Yeah. My house is on the outskirts of Area 47.

Thunk, thump!

So they packed up all of the goods they brought and the extra scraps they looted into the trunk, and then the three of them melted into the seats of the car, exhausted.

[Life definitely wont be boring with these guys around!]

Borings not the problem. Theyre just going to be a pain in the ass.

Not long after, Hwayoon let out a sigh as he saw the outer scenery slowly becoming the familiar place he knew.

Way down~ we go~ ho- ho- ho- ho~

Snoor-gghhhhh! Snort! Ghhhgt! Sgnnn, cough cough. snore

He finally felt like it was really happening. He was going to be living with these chaotic guys.