Chapter 538.4: Countless Possibilities

Boulder Town might be a fine starter village, but those diplomatic personnel were valuable talent and were honed over time. They couldn’t be sacrificed for no reason.

If things turned deadly, the situation would escalate even further, and it would be even harder to contain.

Cheng Yan nodded solemnly. "I’ll take care of it!"

Watching him leave, Chu Guang was about to call Luca to begin finalizing those precautionary arrangements when someone knocked on the door that had just been closed behind Cheng Yan.

This time, it was Charlie, the director of the Merchant Guild.

Seeing the serious look on his face, Chu Guang skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point. "What is it?"

"The president of Boulder Town Bank, Mr. Malvern, would like a meeting," Charlie reported.

Malvern?

Chu Guang wasn’t surprised the man wanted to meet him.

He figured Boulder Town’s banking sector had to be close to collapsing. In the end, their only option was to come begging.

Chu Guang suddenly found himself curious how Malvern planned to explain away the recent bank runs and the city hall’s seizure of outbound cargo to the New Alliance.

"When did he want to meet?"

Charlie replied respectfully, "He’s already downstairs."

...

Outside the gates of Boulder Town, it was usually a desolate place buried in snow during the winter months. But it was different that year. Winter felt more like a festival than a season of scarcity.

From the doors of the Wind from Afar Hotel all the way to the checkpoint at the great wall, the road was jam-packed with merchant stalls, crowding the streets until there was barely room to move.

Traveling merchants led two-headed oxen to and fro, mercenaries and travelers in flamboyant garb mingled amongst them.

Those wastelanders were like hyenas lurking in ruins. They had all smelled the stench of blood in the air, and couldn’t wait to get in and take a bite.

"... Grains, sausages, and jerky being popular I can understand, but why the hell is soap such a hot item too?" Night Ten grumbled loudly after spotting a stall sign nearby.

Barter deals accepted only grains, sausages, dried meat, or soap.

If someone wanted to pay in currency, only silver coins, CR, or Dinars would do.

Some stalls went further and simply glued chips to their price boards and crossed them out with red paint, treating them as worthless garbage.

They weren’t in the inner city and most of the traveling merchants weren’t locals anyway. Naturally, no one was enforcing regulations there.

Gale, walking beside him, glanced at the stalls and commented casually, "They have long shelf life, are compact, easy to carry, have stable demand, and solves hygiene issues. Also, you can wash anything with it. In times of consumer scarcity, cheap and effective soap is more sought after than specialized goods like shampoo or body wash. It’s also easier to price. After all... In extreme scenarios, scent, brand value, and user experience don’t carry a premium."

Night Ten scratched his head and mumbled, "That makes sense."

People who went too long without bathing smelled worse than livestock. That wasn’t just a hygiene problem either. It would be a serious safety issue in the wasteland.

Experienced hunters could track prey by scent. And savvy merchants could avoid danger just by catching a whiff of the corpse-stink on a marauder.

"Wow, Uncle Gale knows so much!" Pineapple Jiujiu nodded enthusiastically, eyes sparkling like she had just learned something profound.

Night Ten overheard and couldn’t hold back his laughter. "Hahaha! Uncle Gale!"

Embarrassed, Gale shot the siblings a glare and fell silent. Old White, walking nearby, chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "Let them enjoy their youth. In a dozen years, all of us will be old fools.”

Realizing she had misspoken, Pineapple Jiujiu’s eyes spun around playfully and said with a mischievous grin, "Whatever! We’re talking in-game here. Game characters change! 10 years ago, you guys were the cool big brothers!"

Old White laughed out loud. "Hahaha, if only Night Ten knew how to talk as well as you, things would be different! Right, almost forgot, you guys are a family."

Night Ten, who had been laughing moments before, instantly stopped smiling. "What the hell do you mean?!"

Gale coughed. "Let’s just pretend you’re not dumb."

Night Ten screamed, "What the hell do you mean pretend?!"

Old White couldn’t help chuckling at the side. "Hahaha!"

Bickering and bantering, the group made their way toward Boulder Town’s outer gate. Despite the noise, they looked more like survivors from the wasteland than a pack of adventurers.

This time was different from the past.

They brought Pineapple Jiujiu with them, the slacker who came just to join in the fun, the jokes between the few guys became a lot more proper. They didn’t dare to call themselves the others’ fathers so often. Their conversations were also much lighter and more casual.

Recently, the few old timers of the Bull and Horse Club had been hanging around Boulder Town.

Ample Time had somehow gotten his hands on a stash of chips and, with the help of the conniving Fred, managed to buy out several factories supplying the Boulder Town Arms Industry.

The Bull and Horse Factory didn’t just poach equipment, they poached people too. Especially skilled engineers and veteran workers. Not only did they offer personal relocation packages, but they also helped resettle entire families.

The generous benefits didn’t just move those who got recruited, even the bosses who lost staff ended up jealous.

And so far, the Bull and Horse Club had paid only in increasingly worthless chips and small amounts of silver coins.

Yes.

Even though chips were losing value, they were still the official currency. Within Boulder Town, one still needed them to buy things.

Certain categories of goods and raw materials were still transacted in chips, and prices hadn’t really risen much.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

One could even negotiate a discount.

That was one of the classic symptoms of an economic freeze. While prices of finished goods were dropping, the cost of raw materials had entered a sluggish phase.

The shady merchants of Boulder Town were surprisingly generous. They would proactively slash prices, or even sell premium assets at a loss.

But in return, they often hinted that payment had to be made in CR or silver coins for an extra handling fee.

For those stingy bastards who insisted on paying only in chips, the inner circle of Boulder Town merchants wouldn’t even acknowledge them.

No one wanted to be taken for a fool.

Everyone with half a brain still recognized what real money looked like.

Compared to those cheapskate wastelanders who acted dumb to get a bargain, the New Alliance’s buyers seemed far more respectable when it came to those issues.

And so, the Boulder Town’s merchants always favored guests from the New Alliance.

Finally squeezing their way to the city gate, Old White pulled out some chips to pay the entry tax, only for a guard standing at the gate to push him back.

Old White frowned. "What’s this about?"

The guard replied with a blank expression, "Something’s going on outside the city. No one’s being let in today. We won’t stop you from leaving, but we can’t say when you’ll be able to come back."

He paused, then warned them with a meaningful glance. "If anything happens out there, don’t say we didn’t warn you."

Night Ten raised an eyebrow.

Nonsense... We get a new life every three days... What the hell am I afraid of?

Am I the type to shy away from trouble?

But just as he was about to step forward, Old White and Gale grabbed him and dragged him back a good 10 meters.

"What the hell! You guys chickened out?!"

Seeing Night Ten’s expression of indignation, Gale calmly explained, "Cool it... Judging by the signs, something serious really might’ve happened in Boulder Town."

Old White nodded solemnly. "Yeah, Ample Time mentioned it in the group chat before. If the worst-case scenario’s happening... We’ll have to wait before going in, or at least find out what’s going on first."

Gale quickly suggested, "Should we check the official forums?"

Old White looked around. "Let’s split up and ask the nearby NPCs. Maybe other players have picked up something too."

As the group broke into small teams, Night Ten stood still in stunned silence. "Wait a second, what did that dog Ample Time say again? Why didn’t I hear about it?"

Gale rolled his eyes. "Go dig through the chat logs yourself!"

Quietly standing next to the old men, Pineapple Jiujiu didn’t say a word.

However... Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

Hot damn!

Something big really is happening!