pertwk Chapter 139 Market Signals
Chapter 139 Market Signals
Chapter 139 Market Signals
After his patrol ended in the afternoon, Xu Mo did not immediately return to the courtyard. He turned a corner and headed towards the Hunter's Guild Hall, which was still bustling with people.
This has almost become a habit for him recently, not to take on missions, but to use this information hub to peek into the subtle deviations in the operation of the huge machine that is Jiangcheng.
The huge electronic screen and bulletin board were still crowded with people, noisy and bustling. Xu Mo's self-light quickly swept over the scrolling task lists.
The most prominent feature remains the overwhelming number of construction-related tasks.
[Grade F] Transporting precast cement slabs, construction site in the East Second Ring Road area, daily pay, one meal provided.
[F-level] Assist in leveling the foundation. You need to bring your own tools. Contribution points are calculated based on the area.
[Level E] City Wall Construction Assistant Worker: Requires a certain level of physical strength; long-term commitment preferred.
These tasks are low-paying but numerous and simple, clearly serving as the main channel for the "New Homeland" program to continuously absorb low-income laborers.
They are like the capillaries of a giant beast, continuously supplying the most basic manpower to the construction front.
Besides these, the second most numerous task Xu Mo saw was the cleanup mission.
[Level D] Clear the wandering zombies in the H6 area outside the Red Star Industrial Zone. Squad recommended. A clearance report is required.
[Level C] Cleared suspected zombies in the abandoned factory area in the western suburbs. There are Level 1 mutated zombies present. High risk. Heavy firepower recommended.
These missions mostly revolve around a few known, relatively active, and stubborn areas, especially in the direction of the Red Star Industrial Zone. The mission levels and rewards are significantly higher than construction missions, attracting hunter squads with combat experience who are eager to earn contribution points more quickly.
Judging from the frequency and area of mission releases, Jiangcheng's work to purify and "suppress" the surrounding areas is still proceeding in an orderly manner, but there seems to be no sign of a large-scale outbreak of new threats.
As for the rest, there are some scattered exploration, reconnaissance, and small-scale resource recovery missions, as well as the occasional special missions marked "assisting the research department," which are often demanding and vague in their description.
Overall, the composition of the task list has not changed significantly compared to the previous period. Construction remains the dominant theme, cleanup is a regular supplementary task, and exploration and special tasks are interspersed throughout.
This confirms Xu Mo's earlier judgment: while Jiangcheng is fully committed to building a "new home" after successfully launching the satellite, its strategic focus remains firmly on internal consolidation and expansion, while maintaining a steady defensive and monitoring posture externally, without showing any signs of being eager to explore the outside world on a large scale or actively provoking conflict.
"It seems that, at least on the surface, everything still revolves around construction and farming," Xu Mo thought to himself, feeling slightly relieved, yet also harboring a vague and inexplicable doubt—did this calm mean that a bigger storm was brewing in the distance?
Leaving the noisy hall of the Hunter's Guild, the scorching air outside hit him. Xu Mo didn't go home immediately, but instead turned and walked into a relatively quiet alley.
Deep in the alley, there is a small restaurant that looks quite old. The wooden sign hanging at the entrance is a bit white from the sun, and it reads "Old Chen's Home-Style Dishes" in faded paint.
Xu Mo stumbled upon this place a few days ago while wandering around. It's said that the owner is an old chef from before the cataclysm, with excellent skills and reasonable prices even in the post-apocalyptic world.
After eating dry rations and compressed biscuits for several days in a row, Xu Mo felt that his mouth was quite bland. Although those things provided the necessary energy, the numbness of his taste buds and the monotony in his stomach required occasional relief.
As soon as Xu Mo pushed open the shop door, he felt a wave of heat, mixed with the smells of cooking oil, old wood, and faint food, rush out.
The shop is small, with seven or eight square tables, and there are three or four tables of customers at the moment.
A middle-aged man who looked like the owner and waiter was leaning against the counter, fanning himself. When he saw Xu Mo come in, he merely raised his eyelids slightly.
Xu Mo found an empty seat by the window and sat down, picking up the greasy, plastic-sealed menu on the table.
As the light swept across him, Xu Mo's brows furrowed slightly.
Many of the original printed dish names on the menu have been replaced with handwritten, crookedly written slips of paper.
Meat dishes, in particular, were almost entirely lost. "Braised Pork Belly," "Twice-Cooked Pork," "Spicy Chicken," and so on—
Each one was crossed out in red or marked with "sold out".
The remaining dishes were mostly vegetarian: "Stir-fried bean sprouts", "Mapo tofu (minced meat limited)", "garlic water spinach", and "Stir-fried greens". Flipping to the drinks and snacks section, the most expensive item was "fried peanuts", which even cost more than some of the vegetarian dishes.
Xu Mo glanced at the customers at the next few tables. At one table were two men in work clothes, their faces covered in sweat, with a nearly empty plate of Mapo Tofu and a dish of stir-fried vegetables in front of them, engrossed in their meal. At another table were three people who looked like small vendors. Their table was slightly more lavish, with a plate of minced meat and eggplant with noticeably little minced meat, a dish of stir-fried bean sprouts, and a small dish of peanuts—the peanuts were indeed few, just a thin layer at the bottom of the dish.
The alcohol they were drinking wasn't from the store; it was from a plastic jug they brought themselves with blurry labels.
Helpless, Xu Mo could only order the last remaining dish on the menu, "Minced Meat Eggplant," which barely contained any meat, along with "Stir-fried Bean Sprouts" and "Garlic Water Spinach."
While waiting for the food to be served, Xu Mo's thoughts drifted away.
This small restaurant is like a microcosm of Jiangcheng's food supply chain. Millions of people consume grains and vegetables daily...
Meat and eggs amounted to an astronomical figure. The summer harvest solved the staple food problem, but the supply of non-staple foods, especially vegetables and meat, was clearly in short supply.
Judging from the current situation, Jiangcheng's greenhouse and livestock farming industries, as well as other food-related industries, have either not fully recovered or their production capacity is far from meeting demand. Meat, in particular, is in short supply. The risks of hunting in the wild have increased dramatically since the disaster, and large-scale farming requires time and a stable environment. Even fish are now difficult to obtain due to the threat of mutated creatures in the rivers. The shortage of meat will likely continue for a long time.
Just as he was pondering this, the restaurant owner brought the stir-fried dish to Xu Mo's eyes.
Coming to his senses, Xu Mo frowned as he looked at the dishes in front of him.
The so-called "minced meat and eggplant" dish had a generous amount of eggplant, glistening with oil, but the so-called "minced meat" was really just a few scattered dark red bits of meat, almost invisible unless you looked closely. The stir-fried bean sprouts and garlic water spinach were of a decent portion, but they were both a bit wilted, clearly having been stored for a while.
Xu Mo glanced at the minced meat and eggplant dish on the next table, and it looked the same. Since that was the case, he had nothing more to say. He picked up his chopsticks and silently began to eat. The taste was acceptable; the owner's skills hadn't been lost, and there was enough oil and salt—a rare delicacy in the apocalypse. However, the few scattered bits of minced meat were hardly enough to satisfy his body's primal craving for protein.
When paying the bill, the amount of contribution points made Xu Mo realize once again how expensive food was in the apocalypse. A simple home-cooked meal with almost no meat cost him almost half a day's worth of patrol fees.
Stepping out of the restaurant, the afternoon sun was still scorching. Xu Mo pondered whether he should take a stroll through the trading market. On one hand, he wanted to see if he could find any useful odds and ends or unexpected gains; on the other hand, he also wanted to get a more direct feel for the real situation of the flow of goods.
However, as soon as he stepped out of the alley, Xu Mo's gaze was drawn to a somewhat familiar figure not far ahead.
It was a young woman, tall, wearing faded denim shorts and a simple white cotton T-shirt.
She wore a T-shirt and a pair of sturdy-looking sneakers. Her hair was tied in a neat ponytail, and she was walking alone at a leisurely pace down the street, seemingly heading towards the main road leading to the trading market.
Xu Mo had a good memory and quickly retrieved the relevant information from his mind. The first was the ice-type ability user, Sister Weiwei. He had just arrived in Jiangcheng and was eating at a wonton stall when he ran into her and her teammates, who were also eating wontons.
At this moment, Sister Weiwei is dressed casually, without any teammates by her side, and it seems to be a rare personal rest time.
Xu Mo's heart stirred slightly. In Jiangcheng, people with superpowers were a relatively rare and highly regarded group. Their movements and status could often reflect some information.
However, Xu Mo did not intend to follow him intentionally, but since they had the same destination, he kept a distance that was neither too close nor too far and strolled along behind him.
Perhaps it was the keen senses unique to those with superpowers, or perhaps Xu Mo's self-illumination lingered a little too long, but Sister Weiwei, who was walking leisurely ahead, suddenly stopped without warning, turned around, and precisely aimed her self-illumination in Xu Mo's direction. Her brows furrowed slightly, her eyes filled with scrutiny and doubt, and she lingered on Xu Mo for two seconds, as if recalling and recognizing him.
Xu Mo remained calm and continued walking without stopping. Meeting the other person's gaze, he gave a slight, composed nod as a greeting. Then, without changing his pace, Xu Mo passed Sister Weiwei, who was standing still, and continued walking towards the trading market. His gaze naturally swept over the shops and pedestrians on the street, without giving her another second glance.
Xu Mo's movements were natural and fluid, without any panic or attempt to conceal his presence after being noticed. As he passed Sister Weiwei, he could feel her gaze still fixed on his back, filled with scrutiny. But soon, the oppressive feeling in her gaze vanished.
Xu Mo caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that Sister Weiwei stood there for a few more seconds, her brows slowly relaxing, as if confirming that this was just a normal chance encounter in the same direction. Then she also started walking forward again, but intentionally or unintentionally, she kept a little distance from Xu Mo.
Xu Mo chuckled inwardly; this Sister Weiwei was indeed very vigilant. But that was fine too, as it avoided unnecessary misunderstandings.
The entrance to the trading market seemed more crowded than usual; even before entering, the cacophony of noise and a cacophony of smells assaulted the senses.
It's more chaotic and disorderly here than the streets of the inner city, but also more vibrant and lively.
All sorts of stalls lined both sides of the road and open spaces, selling a wide variety of things, from rusty tool parts, broken electronic products, yellowed books and magazines, and oddly shaped ornaments, to various dried herbs, unknown mineral specimens, homemade simple weapons and protective gear, and even some "antiques" that are hard to tell the difference between real and fake.
Xu Mo blended into the crowd like a drop of water, and began to browse aimlessly among the various stalls.
Soon, Xu Mo squatted down in front of a stall selling used tools and parts, picked up a half-rusted vise, and chatted casually with the stall owner about the price. However, his eyes scanned the other items on the stall. In the end, he bought a small screwdriver set that was still in good condition for a few contribution points.
After buying that, Xu Mo stopped at a stall selling all sorts of adventure finds, listening to the stall owner boasting enthusiastically about a strangely shaped stone, saying that he had picked it up from the edge of some unknown area and that it might have special energy.
Xu Mo picked up the stone, weighed it in his hand, circulated a wisp of his qi and blood to sense it slightly, and found nothing unusual. He then smiled, shook his head, put it down, and left amidst the stall owner's disappointed gaze.
However, as Xu Mo visited more and more stalls, he gradually noticed a phenomenon that was different from before.
That is, food stalls in the trading market have almost completely disappeared.
In Xu Mo's memory, there were always some stalls in the market selling homemade dried meat, preserved fruit, or expired but still edible packaged foods salvaged from some dilapidated shop. These stalls were usually very popular, and the bargaining was the most intense.
Today, after wandering through most of the market, I only saw one or two stalls selling some shriveled, unidentified wild fruits or sun-dried vegetables that had turned black from the sun. Few people were interested, and the quality of the produce was extremely poor. More often, however, I saw the opposite phenomenon – stalls buying up produce.
Several relatively conspicuous locations displayed simple cardboard or wooden signs with bold lettering that read: "Long-term bulk purchase of all kinds of canned goods, meat and fruit preferred, high prices!"
We are buying compressed dry rations and military rations! Price negotiable!
We accept all types of food that can be stored for a long time, regardless of expiration date! We'll take as much as you have!
Behind these stalls sit not emaciated individuals, but rather people who appear confident and shrewd businessmen, or simply a few taciturn, burly men, clearly backed by powerful figures.
They didn't shout; they just sat quietly, but the words on the sign and their confident posture themselves conveyed a strong signal of demand.
What caught Xu Mo's attention most was a sign that prominently displayed in red pen: "Canned Fruit - Highest Price!" Next to it, another sign listed "Canned Meat" at a similar price, while "Compressed Dry Food" was priced a level lower, but still far exceeded the prices of non-food items normally available in the market.
This is rather unusual.
Compressed dry rations and military rations are post-apocalyptic hard currency; they have long shelf lives, high energy density, and are easy to carry and store, so it's understandable that they are bought at high prices. Canned meat is equally valuable, as protein sources are scarce. However, it's somewhat intriguing that canned fruit is priced at the "highest price."
In a post-apocalyptic world, fruit is a rarer luxury than meat. It's difficult to preserve for long periods, and growing fresh fruit requires a stable environment and time, making canned fruit almost the only reliable way to obtain vitamin C and other fruit and vegetable nutrients.
In the event of a prolonged lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, the human body will develop various vitamin deficiencies, affecting immunity and health. For a large shelter like Jiangcheng, which is attempting to establish long-term order and maintain the health of its population, a stable supply of vitamins may be as strategically important as protein and calories.
Jiangcheng may have reserves or channels, but it is clearly insufficient to meet all the demand. These private buyers are either astute businessmen who have seen the huge profits involved, or they are purchasing agents serving certain specific groups with urgent needs.
Regardless of the cause, they all point to the same fact: Jiangcheng's non-staple food supplies are about to be in short supply.
This weighed even more heavily on Xu Mo's mind than not being able to find meat in restaurants. Food can sustain life, but a balanced diet is what allows one to live healthily and with the strength to fight. If even ordinary people start frantically hoarding vitamin supplements, the pressure on Jiangcheng will only increase.
Xu Mo continued strolling around without making a sound, but he had already memorized the information in his mind.
After browsing around for a while longer without finding any more valuable information or worthwhile items, Xu Mo took the tools he had found and headed back.
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