Miao Jia had been worrying about his own portable device, finally managing to retrieve their modified vehicle. However, the food inside and some collected daily items were all gone.
Climbing into the modified car, Miao Jia noticed some of the metallic components inside had been damaged.
This deeply saddened Miao Jia. Some of these items had been specifically designed by Tang Xuhai to facilitate his work.
"My darling!" Miao Jia's voice trembled as he inspected his super-configured notebook. Its casing had developed cracks and deformities. Thankfully, the internal components remained intact, and the screen hadn't cracked. With Tang Xuhai's help, fixing the casing and restoring the completely wrecked antenna would suffice to resume its use.
"These clueless fools who don't understand the importance of electronic products!" Miao Jia bitterly cursed, mimicking Shi Zheng's words: "Destroying treasures."
It was the lack of understanding of the value of these items that led to their destruction.
Feeling disheartened, Miao Jia carried the portable device and quietly made his way towards the library where Fu Shiwu and the others were resting after a night of battling, utterly exhausted.
"However, Hai-ge is strong, Wu-ge is sturdy, and even Wen-ge seems tough now..." Three sturdy, powerful legs—Miao Jia couldn't help but feel grateful.
Having such reliable three companions was especially reassuring in this chaotic world.
Miao Jia, holding the portable device, gently pushed the door open. None of the three inside were resting; instead, they were quietly discussing how to handle the people from Pingnan Prison.
"...We can't just leave these people behind," Wen Zhaoming furrowed his brow.
It was unclear whether he worried for the survivors oppressed by Shi Zheng or because his prosthetic was causing him pain, causing the same furrow.
"But we didn't consider how to deal with these people before, did we?" Fu Shiwu uneasily said, sitting on Shi Zheng's lavish leather couch. He appeared frail, a far cry from the internal strength he possessed.
Tang Xuhai leaned comfortably against the huge sofa, saying, "Back then, we were focused on rescuing people and didn't think about these suffering civilians."
Observing their manner of speech, Miao Jia couldn't help but chuckle, feeling Tang Xuhai sounded like their former director.
"Yeah," Wen Zhaoming nodded understandingly. As one of the rescued, they were all too preoccupied to spare noble sentiments for these suffering people: "But now that it's like this, we can't just do nothing. If we ignore this, many people will fall into chaos."
Fu Shiwu agreed, "Before, Shi Zheng's oppression kept these people in check. Now that Shi Zheng is gone, the supplies left by the Wild Wolf Gang will certainly spark riots."
While scanning the surroundings in the visual data, Fu Shiwu had noticed the vast reserves the Wild Wolf Gang had hoarded. They monopolized Pingnan City, and compared to the secluded survivors in Cloud City, they were exploited but managed to amass substantial wealth from the city.
Gold and jewelry were stacked in boxes, crammed in corners, along with barrels of gasoline, tobacco, food, clothing, blankets, and more...
Even Fu Shiwu found himself enticed by these items, let alone the conservative, exploited survivors.
Wen Zhaoming pondered, "Given our current situation, we can't manage them. The best solution is to guide them to the military base survival site."
"Take them with us?" Tang Xuhai expressed surprise.
"Yes, the best scenario is to let them manage themselves," Wen Zhaoming suggested regretfully, "If they have their own base, it'd be a good foundation from our help. Unfortunately..."
Fu Shiwu looked at him speechlessly. Wen Zhaoming's ambition seemed vast, perhaps aiming to become a regional force like Shi Zheng. Although it was exciting to contemplate, any weak base would crumble in the face of the increasingly aggressive creatures.
Tang Xuhai chuckled. He detested such troublesome matters. Managing his own small team was enough; he needed someone specifically handling logistics. He was a soldier who took action, not those administrative personnel. He'd leave these grand ideas to Old Wen!
"We're few in numbers ourselves, and our supplies are limited," Wen Zhaoming continued, "It's better to distribute most of the goods to the survivors. We'll take what we need the most."
Miao Jia got excited upon hearing this. He eagerly suggested, "Great! Let's mainly take the gold and jewelry!"
Tang Xuhai promptly tapped his head, remarking sternly, "Do you even realize the weight of these items? Besides, their value lies in their scarcity. Imagine dumping a ton of gold in a small market; suddenly, it's worthless!"
Wen Zhaoming agreed, "Xuhai's right. Gold and jewelry have significantly depreciated now. While they'll regain their currency value eventually, in the current chaotic state, they're as good as scrap."
"Why?" Miao Jia asked, puzzled. "Even during previous wars, gold was considered a hard currency."
"That was when the entire human society could still function normally. Only when one country was in turmoil did it not affect the international price of gold. But now, with the global economic system collapsed, what foundation supports gold's value?" explained Wen Zhaoming.
Miao Jia scratched his head in confusion. It was too complex for him to grasp.
Even Fu Shiwu, looking perplexed, couldn't comprehend. It was too esoteric for him.
Tang Xuhai, arms crossed, had an air of indifference. He didn't really understand either but was definitely not in favor of carrying those worthless goods.
"Alright, what's the most valuable now?" Miao Jia, after feeling disheartened, humbly asked the professional businessman, Wen Zhaoming.
"It's us ourselves. The most valuable thing right now is the abilities possessed by those with unique powers!" Wen Zhaoming said matter-of-factly.
"Huh??" Miao Jia was utterly perplexed by this statement.
"We ourselves?" Fu Shiwu repeated.
"That's correct. Everything in this world derives its value from human beings. But with the appearance of Source Molecules, everything has changed. There's been a significant transformation in the entire human society, heralding a new era!" Wen Zhaoming explained, having gained insights from the previous explosion and now sharing it with his comrades. "Haven't you realized? With these abilities, we can obtain everything we need for survival. Therefore, we only need to take what we require. When the need arises, with these abilities, we will somehow acquire it."
Fu Shiwu felt complicated. Even though Wen Zhaoming made sense, his ability wasn't something extraordinary. He felt a bitter sense of being excluded from the group.
Tang Xuhai nodded, "Now I understand. Relying on our own strengths to grab things."
Wen Zhaoming was stunned by Tang Xuhai's bandit-like summary. How did his profound insight turn into that?
Miao Jia suddenly realized, "Might is right?"
Wen Zhaoming felt a black cloud hovering over him. Book smarts met with brute force!
Only
Fu Shiwu chuckled. Finally, it wasn't just him who got teased by Tang Xuhai's mouth.
"Alright! That's settled. Arrange for maintaining order, let them divide things. I'll go pick out what we need and check on our vehicle," Tang Xuhai clapped his hands, standing up.
Miao Jia swiftly ran to his side, ingratiatingly saying, "Hai-ge, about my portable device, could you help me fix it... and also, the antenna on our modified car got damaged by them..."
Miao Jia kept on talking to Tang Xuhai, who reached the door and turned, "You two take a nap during this time. I'll wake you when it's time to leave."
Wen Zhaoming lowered his head against the sofa backrest, feeling desolate, muttering to himself, isolated in his thoughts. Fu Shiwu waved cheerfully to him.
Tang Xuhai quickly fixed the damaged metallic components in the cabin. He picked up a portable hard drive thrown in a corner, asking, "Miao Jia, take care of this."
Miao Jia was adjusting the satellite signal, eager to connect to the internet. Glancing up, he replied, "That's not mine."
"Not yours?" Tang Xuhai repeated, looking at the item in his hand, recalling it belonged to Fu Shiwu. "It should be Shiwu's. Keep it safe here, you take care of it."
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