Chapter 306: A Small Effort

‘Just as I thought, these little things can’t be trusted!’

The command she had given them was to find the missing people.

Based on the timing, they shouldn’t have had time to dispose of them yet.

But who would have thought? The Little Black Cat had found her a warehouse instead.

It was packed with supplies, but… she didn’t have any storage space right now!

‘Looks like this will all just end up going to Song Yiguo!’

Chen Xing issued a new command.

Soon, she received more feedback.

This time, it was underground again. About a hundred meters deeper than her current location, there was a large iron door.

Before she even got close, she heard sounds coming from inside.

‘Seems like there are quite a few people in there.’

Chen Xing knew she had found the right place this time.

After recalling all the black cats, she remained invisible and made the entire iron door vanish.

Inside was a room of about thirty-something square meters, where people were piled on top of each other.

It was clear they hadn’t had time to dispose of the bodies, so they had just been stacked here.

The people inside were already starting to wake up. Seeing the door was gone, they began to crawl out one by one.

In just a few minutes, driven by their will to survive, most of the people had already scrambled out.

A few people remained, unmoving. It wasn’t clear if they were dead or something else.

Chen Xing quietly went to check on them.

Unfortunately, most of them had already stopped breathing.

‘If they’re dead, there’s nothing I can do!’

There was one still alive, but he was on his last breath.

While the man was unconscious, Chen Xing intervened and saved him.

By this time, most of the escapees had run off to find their respective backers.

After so long in the apocalypse, survivors might seem like individuals, but in reality, they all had their own backers.

Soon, even the man who had been on the verge of death escaped the basement, supported by a companion.

For Chen Xing, it was a trivial matter.

No one noticed she had left by the time she returned to her room.

But… she never imagined her actions would disrupt the auction house’s plans.

By early morning, the people who had escaped the basement had gathered to protest in front of the auction house, demanding that Yu Laosan come out and give them an explanation.

They shouted accusations of robbery, murder, and theft…

The crowd was huge. It seemed to include more than just the recently missing people.

The auction, originally scheduled for 3 p.m., had to be postponed.

And… Yu Laosan never dared to show his face.

In the afternoon, a manager came out with a team of people to explain that it was all a misunderstanding, an error made by a subordinate who hadn’t understood the orders. “To give everyone a proper explanation, the person who made this rash decision has been executed! Here is the body…”

With a wave of his hand, someone carried a dead body and presented it to the crowd.

“Our orders were to arrange the best for our honored guests. He misinterpreted them, which led to last night’s mistake. You all should know that we in the North have always valued peace. How could we do something so heinous? Especially in front of so many foreign friends?”

“So… everyone, please calm down! You all came for the auction, and surely you don’t want to see it canceled, right?”

As soon as he finished speaking, a barrage of stones was thrown at him.

“You think you can fool us with some random dead body?”

“We just want Yu Laosan to come out himself and give us an explanation!”

“Yeah! Get Yu Laosan out here!”

“…”

The manager’s head was bleeding, but he patiently continued to explain, “Everyone, listen to me! Old Yu is still out of town. He won’t be back until tonight or tomorrow, so this has nothing to do with him! It was our own incompetence. We hope you will all calm down… please go back for now…”

“We’re not going anywhere until Yu Laosan comes out and gives us an explanation!”

The manager wiped the blood from his forehead. “When Old Yu heard about this, he immediately started heading back. Everyone, please calm down and listen to me!”

“You all know that there will be many novel and rare items at the auction. Many of them are perishable, especially in this weather. Any further delay will be a loss for both buyers and sellers!”

“So… I hope everyone can calm down for now. Let’s hold the auction first, and tomorrow… tomorrow, Old Yu will definitely give everyone a personal explanation!”

There were indeed many rare items at the auction, especially perishable foods.

Hearing the manager’s words, the crowd could only compromise for the time being.

They had brought a lot of food themselves, which would also spoil if they waited too long.

After the manager’s repeated persuasion, the auction was postponed and scheduled to start at six o’clock, three hours later.

In the morning, Lou, who was staying on the same floor as Chen Xing, delivered five hundred Advanced Crystal Cores.

He said that was all he could come up with for now and that he would provide the rest after the auction.

Chen Xing wasn’t too worried about him backing out of the deal.

At five in the afternoon, Chen Xing entered the venue with Song Yiguo and was shown to a private room on the second floor.

Compared to the stuffy heat downstairs, the upstairs rooms at least had electric fans.

But when it got this hot, the fans were not very effective, just blowing hot air around.

Chen Xing was tempted to use her Ice Ability.

“Get two Ice Ability Users in here!” Song Yiguo, sitting bolt upright in his military uniform, could no longer stand it.

Vice General Du immediately called in two Ice Ability Users.

As soon as they used their superpowers, the small private room cooled down as if an air conditioner had been turned on.

In the adjacent private rooms, others also began to summon Ice Ability Users.

After the auction’s manager spouted a bunch of nonsense, the bidding finally began.

At this stage of the apocalypse, supplies were extremely scarce. The items on display were all mundane things from before the end of the world.

There was some cured meat and salted fish, as well as daily necessities like toilet paper, shampoo, and towels…

Later, about a hundred Advanced Crystal Cores were also sold.

“Those five hundred Crystal Cores you have are enough to last you for the rest of your life!” Song Yiguo teased.

‘This silly girl saved someone and didn’t even think to ask for a reward.’

Chen Xing hadn’t expected the price of Crystal Cores to get more expensive the further into the apocalypse they went.

They were more than twice as expensive as they were when she had been alive before.

At that moment, the manager walked up carrying a tray with a transparent glass cover. “This is today’s final item, the emerald ring!”

The moment he said this, Chen Xing saw Cadar in the next room lean over the railing, her entire focus on the emerald ring.

Chen Xing was also surprised.

‘I can’t believe Cheng Fang is actually auctioning the real ring!’

She was so familiar with the emerald that she could tell if it was real or fake at a glance.

‘This one is definitely real!’

This made her a little excited.

But with so many people around, there was nothing she could do but watch.

The auction house manager lifted the glass cover. “Please welcome the owner of the ring, Miss Cheng Fang!”

Chen Xing’s excitement was instantly crushed the moment she heard Cheng Fang’s name.