Chapter 1840: Secretly Watching (Part 2)

Chapter 1840: Chapter 990: Secretly Watching (Part 2)

Dong Tai heard this and shook his head with a smile:

“I’m afraid we don’t have that, we don’t have many left. I’m truly sorry.”

“Alright then,” Chen Er said disappointedly.

Dong Tai’s eyes shifted, and he asked cautiously:

“With the solar radiation outside being so intense, it must have been tough for you coming all this way, right?”

Chen Er sighed, nodded, and said, “Ugh… you said it, two of our cars broke down halfway and didn’t follow us here.

Thinking back to the storm we had a while ago, it still gives me chills.”

Looking at Chen Er’s expression, Dong Tai speculated a bit.

So he asked, “It shouldn’t have affected you too much, right?”

Chen Er’s brows furrowed with sadness as he waved it off and said, “Better not to speak about it, better not to speak about it, these times are getting harder.”

Dong Tai nodded in agreement and said, “Yes, it’s not easy for anyone.”

Just then, Ju Tianrui walked in from outside the door.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting, I was held up for a few minutes,” Ju Tianrui said with a smile.

“No hurry, no hurry, just relaxing a bit. The sun outside is practically lethal, the radiation is so strong,” Chen Er said, quickly standing up upon seeing Ju Tianrui enter.

Glancing at Ma Yingxue beside him, Chen Er suddenly asked:

“By the way, where is Xiao Jun, Captain Xiao this time? Haven’t seen him. Do you know where he is?”

Upon hearing Chen Er ask this, Ma Yingxue immediately perked up and listened carefully.

Ju Tianrui explained:

“Oh, he has returned to the Headquarters Base. It might be a while before he comes back.”

“I see, understood,” Chen Er nodded thoughtfully.

Ma Yingxue, sitting beside them, kept her head lowered while drinking water, hiding the disappointment and regret in her eyes.

Ju Tianrui walked to the table and gestured for Chen Er to sit down.

“Please sit down. Let’s get straight to the point. What have you brought for exchange this time?” Ju Tianrui said, taking a seat.

Chen Er seated himself and said:

“Based on your exchange rate for 100 tons of fuel, we’ve brought a truckload of medicine, 25 tons of salt, and 15 tons of sugar. We’re trading all of it.”

Ju Tianrui did the math in his mind; the agreed ratio was three to one for medicine and two to one for salt and sugar.

It seemed the supplies Chen Er brought were just about right.

He nodded and said:

“No problem, we’ll stick to the previous terms. We can proceed with the transaction soon.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Er beamed with a smile and said, “Collaborating with you is refreshing, your honesty shines.”

Ju Tianrui shook his hand dismissively and said, “Cooperation and mutual benefit. If you’re good, I’m good.”

“Hahaha, makes sense, makes sense,” Chen Er laughed heartily.

Finally, the tension in his heart relaxed a bit.

The hasty departure this time was truly out of necessity.

They lacked power at the base! And were short on fuel.

When the rain first hit, they tried setting up an indoor farm in the base.

No sunlight during the storm, but an ample water supply.

Supplemental lighting could provide illumination, but these lights required a power source, hence they used diesel generators for continuous power generation.

After the storm passed, the indoor crops grew well.

But after more than two months, their diesel reserves had significantly dwindled.

They considered moving the crops outdoors, but the solar radiation outside was too intense.

Never mind if the crops could survive, even many trees along their route dried up under the sun.

So.

They devised a way to harness sunlight, refracting it to soften its intensity for the crops.

The climate now is unpredictable, who knows what crazy changes might happen next?

It’s best to trade early and stockpile fuel; nothing is more vital.

Earlier, they also worried Oil City might be overrun by the Zombie Tide during the storm.

If that happened, securing fuel through trade would be nearly impossible for a while.

Fortunately, they discovered Oil City still stood upon arrival.

It makes sense; given the powerful forces backing Oil City, it’s unlikely they’d let it fall to zombies.

With the cooperation settled, everyone relaxed.

The group chatted about mundane topics.

Before leaving.

Chen Er cautiously asked:

“By the way, Captain Ju, since we’ve collaborated several times, is there any possibility of expanding the scope of our trade?”

“Oh? What do you want to trade?” Ju Tianrui asked curiously.

He wondered what other items they might offer.

Then Chen Er spoke:

“Look, we can trade medicines, salt, and sugar from our side. I don’t know if there’s any chance you might have food available for trade?”

Ju Tianrui heard this, looked deeply at Chen Er, and said:

“Haha, you’re joking, right? In these doomsday times, food is more precious than anything. We’re short on food too.”

“Forget I said anything, forget I said anything. Haha, hopefully, you won’t mind. Of course, if your base is interested, we’ll show enough sincerity for a trade,” Chen Er quickly replied.

“Hmm, maybe later.”

Ju Tianrui couldn’t make that decision, but based on his judgment, Chen Er’s request wasn’t feasible.

“Then shall we start trading now? Can we meet at the usual place?” Chen Er asked.

Ju Tianrui nodded, turned towards Dong Tai, and said:

“The weather is dry and hot; fuel is flammable. Move carefully during transport.”

“Okay.”

Then, Zuo Ruxue escorted Chen Er and his team out.

After they left, Dong Tai quickly said to Ju Tianrui:

“They seem anxious, do you think something’s happened on their side?”

Ju Tianrui shook his head and said:

“Not sure, but since they’ve come to trade, let’s make the exchange. Director Li approved it.

Oh, by the way, when you go out for the trade, keep an eye on their supplies. Check them thoroughly.”

“Got it, I’ll get everything ready now.”

“Good.”

…

Outside Oil City.

Amid ruins and rubble.

By a half-collapsed wall, a few people peered at Oil City through telescopes.

“There’s a car heading over, wait no, they parked it outside the main gate.”

“Someone got out and went inside.”

“Everyone quiet! Wen Sheng, are these people together?”

Upon hearing the question, Wen Sheng surveyed the closer convoy through the telescope.

He said, “Probably not. These vehicles didn’t follow inside, could be from another faction.”

Another faction?

The strong man thought: Oil City is still a mystery, and now there’s yet another faction.

As they speculated, time slowly passed.

Twenty minutes later.

They saw the gates of Oil City open, and the two people who went inside walked out and returned to their convoy.

“What are they doing?” someone asked curiously.

Wen Sheng considered and said:

“From the looks of it, this closer convoy likely isn’t affiliated with Oil City. Look, the distinctive feature is they have ten tanker trucks.

This few vehicles don’t need so many tankers, so it likely involves fuel.”

The strong man nodded, “Let’s keep watching.”

Then he told the others, “Stay vigilant, don’t get spotted.”

“Understood.”

Soon.

They saw Oil City’s gates open again.

More vehicles came out, some carrying barrels, others were tanker trucks.

“What’s this?” Wen Sheng had a rough idea.

They watched the vehicles from inside approach the outside convoy.

Dozens of people got off, some were wearing Radiation Protection Clothing, armed with guns, standing alert around the area.

They watched a hose siphoning from barrels into the tanker trucks of the outside convoy.

Suddenly.

They saw someone carrying a box off a truck.

“Is that… sugar?” Wen Sheng exclaimed in surprise.