My Apocalypse Territory

The air suddenly became quiet.

It seemed a cold wind had blown through, causing everyone to look up in surprise, their eyes shifting from the burly man with thick eyebrows, who looked like a henpecked husband, to the proprietress standing proud and upright. For a moment, their understanding of the world seemed to be turned upside down.

They lacked the strength.

But the Soul Fire Deputy Commander was different. Having reached a certain level, in that instant, he perceived a life-threatening danger and understood that if the other had not held back, he would have been at least severely injured by now.

Even the Commander might not have had such strength.

He felt that he had no choice but to yield. After all, he couldn't beat her, and the burly man with the thick eyebrows felt that this multiple-choice question was not difficult.

Taking advantage of the calm atmosphere, he tentatively said, "I wonder if you could introduce us to the Sanctuary Director. This time, we have brought many goods from Heng City, and I believe that among them, many items would be valuable to your Sanctuary."

He looked at the bar owner with anticipation. With her strength, she must have a very close relationship with the Sanctuary Director.

...

Lorraine put the bottle aside on the table and nodded in satisfaction.

She had indeed shocked them with her fearsome demeanor.

Immediately, she frowned slightly, "A lot of goods? How much exactly?"

"There are goods amounting to five large trucks on their way, and we have even more if needed: firearms, melee weapons, specialty materials including minerals, plant seeds, and so forth. You could say that we have everything. A transaction like this, if successful, would undoubtedly benefit your Sanctuary," the burly man explained.

Lorraine rested one hand on her elbow and propped her chin with the other, falling into deep thought.

She had just been summoned here today and didn't know much about the Territory, only vaguely remembering something Winnie might have said to her. But that wasn't important. What mattered was that for such a large transaction, all she needed to do was to find any official from the Logistics Department.

She had their contact information, which Winnie had given her that day. It was a gadget newly developed by the Equipment Department. As long as they were within a certain range, both parties could communicate with each other. Currently, only a few people in the Territory were equipped with it.

Introducing them would not be difficult.

However, under normal circumstances, she would not bother with such a troublesome matter, since bartending was her real job.

"But after all, I am a follower, and I have signed an indenture contract. With all the debts I had accrued and no other options left, repaying them was out of the question. I could only flee, and now I've signed a contract and come to another world—those creditors must be dumbfounded..."

"But the contract also states that as a follower, I have a duty to do things for the Lord, to make contributions to the Territory. The Lord had asked me to be a sniper instructor, and I refused. Now, as a follower, if I ignore matters related to the Territory, that wouldn't be good. If the Lord becomes angry and decides to use the contract to punish..."

Lorraine shook her head repeatedly, quickly dismissing those unpleasant scenarios from her mind.

She ruefully realized that even though she borrowed money on her own merits, she had to pay it back when faced with the Lord.

Suddenly, she nodded, "So be it, I can contact the relevant person in charge for you."

...

...

A cold wind blew.

Moustache and several others squatted near the bar, listlessly drawing circles in the sand with their fingers.

His gaze occasionally drifted towards Soul Fire and the others, his mind somewhat befuddled.

"Things have changed too quickly!"

After Soul Fire put forth a trade proposal, the other three parties did not want to be left behind. And the humbled Soul Fire no longer dared to intimidate with power.

In other words, both sides now had the opportunity to trade with the Green Shadow.

Moustache exchanged a knowing glance with the other two leaders and silently nodded.

"Good, as long as it's a fair competition, we are not necessarily going to lose to Soul Fire."

Even though all the goods were brought from Heng City, the merchandise each group chose to carry was bound to be different. Previously, when they sold items in Lindong, they were always subject to the exclusion and oppression of the big powers, with pitiful sales volumes. But now, they still had a chance.

It all depended on whose goods were favored by Green Shadow more!

Time ticked away minute by minute, and the crowd squatting outside the Night Bar looked around, waiting for the person in charge to appear.

They were helpless, too, as the landlady had promised to attend to their request and then told them to wait outside the bar for someone to come.

The commercial district had only just begun to be built and was quite desolate all around, pitch-black, except for Night Bar not far away, which was brightly lit, with the intermingling sounds of music and raucous noise coming from inside.

On one side, there was great excitement.

On the other side, there was cold and lonely solitude.

Moustache and the others couldn't help feeling as if they had been abandoned.

They had no idea when the person in charge would arrive, and they didn't have the guts to go back in and ask the landlady.

Moustache thought about his previously restrained behavior and felt relieved. If he had gotten carried away and harassed the landlady, he might have really ended up settling in Green Shadow for good, in the kind that lives on top of a grave.

"Did I hear you have a big business deal to discuss?"

"Yes!"

"That's us!"

People from both sides hurried to answer first, fearing that if they were a step slower, the opportunity would be snatched away by the others.

That's when Moustache finally got a good look at the newcomer—a young woman wearing black-rimmed glasses, dressed in a formal suit and stockings, just like a corporate office worker from before the apocalypse.

However, she was just an ordinary person.

Whether it was Moustache or the people from Soul Fire, a flash of displeasure crossed their eyes.

It was one thing not to meet the Sanctuary Director, but now, was Green Shadow really sending just an ordinary person to deal with them?

Despite these thoughts, neither party showed it outwardly.

If there was only one seller, they might have already let their dissatisfaction erupt. But now, it was a buyer's market! Green Shadow had the right to choose to trade with any party!

Moustache and his group, being the weaker side, dared not act rashly and could only speak the words they had prepared.

He took the initiative, opened up a booklet that recorded their goods, and handed it to her, "Let me start by introducing some special items, like this one." He pointed to the most prominent weapon on the opened first page.

"This is a new type of Rocket Launcher developed by the Heng City Military, coupled with armor-piercing rockets. It's accurate against those large-bodied, thick-skinned Demonized Beasts, and the killing power is formidable. Even when facing a Fourth Layer Awakened Demonized Beast, it can inflict significant damage."

"And this, a shield specifically designed to block attacks from Demonized Beasts, which is incredibly tough thanks to the addition of special materials. Even a Third Layer Awakened Demonized Beast would find it not so easy to destroy."

"And these, these, and these…"

Moustache went on calmly, quite pleased to have gotten ahead of those from Soul Fire.

The concept of primacy could be terrifying. As long as their signature goods left a strong impression on the Green Shadow's person in charge, maybe by the time it came to business, Soul Fire wouldn't matter anymore.

He curled the corners of his mouth upwards and quietly waited for a change in expression from the professional woman.

(The next chapter follows.)