Chapter 54: A Little Knowledge of Machinery

Crack, crackle.

Inside the vast, abandoned factory, the space felt somewhat empty. A dozen or so people surrounded a bonfire of dry wood, the atmosphere turning chilly.

The shrinking flames continuously devoured the dry wood, making crackling sounds, and finally grew strong again, spreading a wave of warmth all around.

“Hoo~”

Someone silently exhaled a breath of cold air.

KIKI reached out and grabbed Lin Xian’s sleeve, her eyes filled with a bit of fear and unease.

“What do you mean by ghosts? What’s the difference between them and those zombies and anomalies?” Lin Xian asked.

“I don’t know. The reason they’re described that way is mainly because these incidents are often accompanied by supernatural phenomena, like that 1542 radio frequency we just mentioned.”

Lin Xian’s brow furrowed deeply.

Supernatural phenomena. The very sound of it was unsettling.

Seeing the mood turn cold, Jiang Yun spoke up to break the silence.

“Those of us who have survived these past few months have all seen plenty of strange things. This information might be useful, or it might just be rumors. Survival right now is the most important thing. Let’s not waste time on other things. Let’s each introduce what we want or what we have to trade. No need to waste time. After we’re done, we’ll trade what needs to be traded and hit the road if we need to.”

“That’s right.” A man in glasses wearing a shirt and a bulletproof vest looked up, his expression somewhat gloomy.

“That Infinity Team, you need red beans, right?” he said, carefully taking one out of his waist pouch and placing it in his palm, his expression somewhat numb. “I’ll trade for anything. Energy, food, weapons, we’re short on everything…”

Lin Xian nodded. “How much can this thing be traded for?”

“100 liters of gasoline, or supplies for 10 people for 7 days. As for weapons, it depends on their condition and the demand.” Jiang Yun spread his hands. “For other things, it’s basically based on need. It’s normal to trade more for less. But this thing is currently used as a standard by the Federation’s Phoenix Society and various wanderer organizations, so its value has been anchored, and it might become more and more valuable.”

“It’s that valuable?” KIKI said. “Isn’t this thing just used as an antenna? Does it have other uses?”

“You don’t know?” At this moment, someone in the crowd exclaimed, “This thing has a significant enhancing effect on abilities. The Phoenix Society believes it might be a material that promotes ability evolution, and it’s also a key item for researching the power of the polar night. Of course, it’s valuable.”

“And this thing can only be found on those monsters. You can’t possibly not know how troublesome those monsters are, right?” another middle-aged man with a blood-stained face and messy hair said in a hoarse voice.

Someone else nodded in lingering fear. “A little carelessness, and a small team can be wiped out. I think 100 liters of gasoline is cheap.”

Lin Xian’s pupils shrank. He instantly understood the value represented by this red bead.

That large red bug and the fog spider were both extremely troublesome things. It would be difficult to deal with them without heavy firepower, and it often resulted in heavy losses.

If what they said was true, that this thing could be used to help with ability evolution, then a mere 100 liters of gasoline was indeed nothing.

Lin Xian said, “Alright, we’ll go by that. Energy, food, weapons, whatever you want. You can come to my vehicle later to trade.”

“Okay!”

The man in glasses nodded, put the bead back, his face still wooden.

From the looks of it, he seemed to have just experienced some tragic battle, which was why his expression was not good, and he didn’t haggle with Lin Xian.

“Let’s stick to the old rules.”

Jiang Yun stood up to take charge. “Let’s start with special requests. Other basic supplies can be used for exchange.”

Everyone nodded. Energy, food, weapons—these were things almost everyone needed. Everyone was more or less lacking some. Except for those in dire need, these were left for later discussion. The most urgent needs were brought up first.

“Then let’s go in order,” Jiang Yun said, looking at a middle-aged man in a cotton coat. “This big brother’s surname is Xu. You came first, so let’s start with you.”

“Okay.”

The middle-aged man named Xu Jin, sitting on the outermost rubble, didn’t waste words and said directly, “My team needs a water purifier, preferably a reverse osmosis one. Activated carbon is also fine, but the filter membrane needs to be a newer type. Who has one?”

As soon as he spoke, he scanned the circle. Only the woman named Shu Qin raised her hand.

“We have a reverse osmosis one.”

Hearing this, Xu Jin’s eyes immediately lit up.

“But…” The woman shrugged. “There’s a problem with it. It’s not working right now. Something might be broken. Does anyone here know how to fix it?”

As soon as she said this, everyone looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

Damaged equipment was worthless, and carrying it on the road was a waste of space. Shu Qin’s team had a replacement. The reason she hadn’t thrown away this broken one was mainly because water purifiers were too precious. She had always thought that if she could find someone who knew how to fix it, even if she had to trade some supplies to get it repaired, it would be more valuable, whether for her own backup or to trade for more supplies.

“I know a little.”

At this moment, Lin Xian, who had been silent in the corner, suddenly spoke up.

“Really? You know how to do repairs?” someone asked in surprise.

“If it’s in the mechanical field, I’ve dabbled a bit.”

Lin Xian didn’t know that his words were like lighting a fuse. The oppressive atmosphere from the discussion about anomalies was instantly swept away, and many surprised gazes shot towards him.

“Then can you fix cars?”

“We have a heating unit that’s broken…”

“What about an infrared detector?”

“Can you fix drones?”

…

Lin Xian hadn’t expected that his one sentence would suddenly trigger a string of responses. He was a little surprised.

“Me and a teammate on my vehicle, we both know a bit about mechanics. If it’s just a small problem, we should be able to solve it, but some things also require tools.”

He didn’t make any grand promises, nor did he reveal that he used his ability to repair things.

With Lin Xian’s mechanical ability, if it was just a problem with some components, as long as he scanned the whole thing, he could use suitable materials from his decomposition space to repair it, and the problem would basically be solved.

But for missing core components, where he lacked both materials and blueprints, it was impossible to repair them out of thin air.

“Really?”

Not far away, Jiang Yun looked at him with great interest. “Looks like I invited the right person. In this apocalyptic escape, technical personnel are very rare.”

At this moment, KIKI, next to Lin Xian, heard his nonsense, and the corner of her mouth twitched, feeling it was harder to suppress than the recoil of an AK.

Lin Xian glanced at this little missy and deliberately cleared his throat.

“I just know a little. I can’t guarantee I can fix it. You can let me take a look first.”

Lin Xian said modestly, not wanting to present himself as a tool man. “If I can fix it, I’ll name my price.”

“No problem.” Jiang Yun nodded. “In that case, everyone can discuss their equipment-related problems with you privately later. That will save us even more time. Let’s move on to other needs.”

“Okay, then I’ll state mine.”

Lin Xian’s gaze swept over the crowd, and he said in a stern voice, “I know some of the friends here might be ability users, so I want to know some information related to ability evolution. Also…” He looked at Jiang Yun. “I’m very interested in your Ethereal Fluctuation detector.”

Jiang Yun frowned.

“Sorry about that, I only have one set.”

Lin Xian shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. Because I didn’t receive the information announced by the Phoenix Society before, I just want to know the manufacturing principle of this thing. Or you can let me study it.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yun’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You’re not trying to say you want to build a set yourself, are you?”