Chapter 134
Chloe had barely walked around the Trade Market before she started feeling bored.
Just as she was about to leave, her eyes were suddenly caught by an old lady, who was sitting quietly in the corner.
What really grabbed Chloe’s attention was the sudden fluctuation in the spiritual space.
The lady’s hair was completely white, and her clothes were filthy and tattered. She sat hunched in the corner, clutching an emerald pendant in her hands, her brows furrowed in worry.
The pendants looked just like the emeralds one would see on TV the legendary kind. It had been centuries since anyone had dug up an emerald like that; they were practically unheard of these days.
When the lady saw someone coming, she hurried over and tried to take Chloe’s hand.
Chloe instinctively stepped back, and the lady’s hand closed on nothing but air. The lady looked a little embarrassed.
She said, “Miss, do you want to buy this pendant? It’s a top–grade emerald, passed down from my ancestors.
“My husband hasn’t eaten in three days. Please, I’m begging you, could you spare some food?”
Back before the apocalypse, an emerald pendant this size could’ve easily gotten one a house, no matter where one was.
But now, nobody would even trade a pack of bread or pasta for it
The old lady was so emotional that her voice rose, instantly making her the center of attention.
Some people watched her with obvious interest, while others tried to pretend they weren’t looking.
If Chloe really took out any supplies to trade, there’s no way the lady would make it out of the Trade Market in one piece.
Chloe shook her head and said, “Honestly, I wouldn’t know what to do with an emerald like this.”
The light in the lady’s eyes faded instantly. Her hand dropped limply to her side, and she started to sway, as if the last bit of strength holding her up had just vanished.
It was like the very thing that had kept her going was gone.
“Careful,” Chloe murmured, giving the lady a gentle, almost imperceptible support as if helping her keep her balance.
At the same time, she discreetly tucked a few plastic bags filled with muffins, ham, and hard–boiled eggs into the woman’s clothes, making sure no one noticed.
The woman felt the warmth against her chest, and her eyes shot up in surprise.
Realization dawned on her, and her voice grew heavy with emotion.
She said, “Thank you, Miss. I’ve got no family left, and this pendant means nothing to me now. Just take it.”
Hunched over and clutching her stomach, she staggered away.
As soon as Chloe got her hands on the pendant, a mechanical voice suddenly echoed in her spiritual space.
The voice asked,“Congratulations, Host, on obtaining a precious energy stone. Would you like to absorb it into your spiritual space?”
Chloe quickly stuffed the emerald into her pocket, but in reality she transferred it directly into her spiritual space.
14:47 Sat, Jan 3 0 DG.
Chapter 134
会 15%
35 vouchers
Chloe thought, ‘Am I imagining things, or did my connection with the spiritual space just get a whole lot tighter?
‘It looks like these rare emeralds are actually super beneficial for the spiritual space!
The Trade Market was huge, so Chloe took another lap around. She came across all sorts of gold, silver, and jewelry, but nothing really caught her eye.
Chloe glanced around and quickly noticed an empty spot near the bend, just big enough for a small stall.
She squeezed herself into the space and slipped off her hiking backpack.
To her left was a big lady with a tough–looking face, narrow slanted eyes, and a mouth that looked like it could cut one down in seconds. She was definitely not someone one wanted to mess with.
Right in front of Bertha was a pile of charcoal: super rare stuff in the apocalypse. Anyone passing by couldn’t help but steal a look.
Bertha’s voice was loud and piercing as she called out to the passing customers, “Need some charcoal? It’s freezing out. Light a fire, and you’ll be nice and warm.”
A man was clearly interested, hesitated, and then asked, “How much for the charcoal?”
As soon as someone asked about the price, Bertha shot up one finger, her eyes gleaming with hope.
“Food for charcoal, pound for pound,” she declared.
The man looked like he’d just seen a ghost and started waving his hands like crazy. He said, “No, no, I’m not buying.”
Then he took off in a flash.
Food was worth its weight in gold these days. A pound of it could literally be traded for a human life.
Only someone out of their mind would swap food for charcoal now.
Bertha’s expression flipped like a switch, and she spat in disgust at the man’s retreat.
“Poor bastard! If you didn’t at least look presentable, I wouldn’t have wasted my breath on you,” she snarked.
Muttering curses under her breath, Bertha spotted someone in shabby refugee clothes eyeing her from the roadside. She immediately shot them a death glare.
She barked, “What are you staring at? Like you could ever afford it. Move along, scram!”
Chloe had barely sat down when Bertha was already busy cursing out the passersby.
Her round face was streaked with charcoal, but she was bundled up in thick clothes. Selling charcoal in times like these, she looked better off than most.
At least she wasn’t going hungry.
When Bertha saw Chloe sit down, she shot her a fierce glare and snapped, “Why are you crowding me?”
As she spoke, she scooted her hefty body even further to the right, making it crystal clear she didn’t want Chloe anywhere
near her.
“You look like some sly fox,” Bertha spat, her eyes full of jealousy as she glared at Chloe.
Bertha absolutely hated pretty women. She thought, “There are plenty of places to set up a stall, but she just has to come crowd me.
14:47 Sat, Jan 3 ODG
Chapter 134
She probably wants to park herself next to someone plain just to show off her looks.
‘She’s not really here to sell anything. She’s just hoping to snag herself a rich guy!
སཏྟཱ 1573T
36 vouchers
Chloe just rolled her eyes. The spot was supposed to be about six and a half feet wide, but Bertha had already claimed half of it. Still, Chloe didn’t bother arguing.
Luckily, the siblings next to her shifted over to give her some space.
“Miss, come scoot over here. We’ve got more space,” the little girl called out, her tone friendly and inviting.
She just grabbed a foam board and handed it over. She said, “My brother says if you sit on this, you won’t freeze your butt off.”
Chloe gave her a warm smile and said, “Thanks.”
She spotted a little cart in front of the siblings, loaded with a few wooden planks and some winter coats with holes.
Chloe thought, “They must be struggling to survive. Nobody will sell their only winter coats in weather this cold unless they are truly desperate.
‘Or maybe they just scavenged them off someone who has already died!
When the little girl saw Chloe looking over, she got a bit shy. She said, “My brother picked all this up when he went out scavenging with the team.”
Her face looked parched, and her lips were so chapped they were bleeding.
Whenever she talked, she kept licking her cracked lips, trying to soothe them.
Chloe dug out a stick of lip balm and handed it to her. “Thanks for the foam pad,” she said.
The little girl, probably only eight or nine, glanced at the lip balm and instinctively looked over at her brother.
She waited for her brother’s nod before accepting it. She said, “Thank you, Miss.”
Chloe just smiled and shook her head.
She settled onto the thick foam pad, then realized she hadn’t brought anything to use as a table. So she glanced over at the brother and sister.
“Are you selling these boards?” she asked.
The boy looked to be about Chloe’s age, maybe eighteen or nineteen. He nodded when she asked.
“Yeah, I picked these up while scavenging,” he replied.
“Actually, I want to set up a stall. How many cores would you ask for these boards?” Chloe said.
The little girl stared at Chloe in shock, her jaw dropping when she heard the word “cores.”
“You’d trade cores for boards? Who’d spend something that precious on a few boards?” the little girl blurted out.
The boy seemed reserved, a flicker of confusion passing over his weathered face. “Whatever you think is right is fine,” he replied.
It was just a few boards; he wasn’t holding out for much.
But Bertha, a big lady sitting right next to them, started throwing shade with her usual sarcasm.
14:47 Sat, Jan 3 ODG
Chapter 134
235 vouchers
She snarked, “Oh, come on, kid, don’t let this little vixen play you. That’s exactly what she’s after. She might just hand you a fistful of dirt and ask if you’d trade for it. Would you really go for that?”
Chloe frowned and thought, “This woman is seriously annoying
AD
