Chapter 24 Camp
After his teammates left, Ji Xun cautiously walked towards the direction of the campfire.
He climbed down the rusty stairs and from halfway down, he could already overlook the bustling camp.
The camp was shrouded in mist from the campfire, with people crowding inside.
It was a mechanical small town. Treasure hunters used the dismantled iron plates and huge rivets from the ruins to patch together a tall steel wall.
The town was brightly lit, bustling with people, roughly estimated to have tens of thousands of people. Almost every building had smoke emerging from chimney pipes.
Ji Xun had previously felt that the steam technology tree in this world was a bit crooked, and now he saw that it was indeed the case.
At a glance, he saw the steam train in the town like a giant steel python, with large mechanical crane arms lifting various goods. Even the workers carrying goods had some strange mechanical exoskeletons, allowing them to easily move tons of goods.
He was a bit worried about his attire being noticed and causing trouble, but after observing the attire of hunters in the camp, Ji Xun immediately felt relieved.
Tactical vests with boots, this was the standard outfit on Randa Street.
Seven or eight out of every ten hunters in the camp wore this outfit, the styles of even their gas masks were almost the same.
Ji Xun also relaxed and climbed down the stairs, landing on the ground.
Walking over, the camp gate was wide open, with several hunters leaning against the watchtower, lazily scanning around.
As long as it wasn’t a monster attack, no one would care who entered the camp.
There were many people coming and going, excitedly discussing various stories from the ruins.
Ji Xun mingled in the crowd and smoothly walked in.
This was a camp built for exploring the ruins, with all facilities inside serving the hunters.
Card shop, weapon shop, machinery modification shop, potion shop, material merchant shop, in short, various supply shops.
Ji Xun passed by those shops, looking at the array of firearms and individual mechanical equipment, feeling envious.
He had thought his revolver was pretty good before, but now it seemed quite basic in comparison.
There were even dozens of types of bullets, like armor-piercing rounds, incendiary rounds, demon-banishing rounds, burning rounds.
He glanced at the price tags outside the shop:
【Armor-Piercing Rounds】: $3
【High-Explosive Grenade】: $300
【M127 Revolver】: $1300
【Double-Barrel Demon-Hunting Gun】: $2550
【Individual Mechanical Power Assist Skeleton (800KG)】: $32500
Clear prices.
His own large-caliber gold revolver was only worth $1300, while more advanced equipment cost tens of thousands.
There were also daggers, leather armor, tactical boots, grappling hooks.
In short, as long as you had the money, you could buy a better set of adventure equipment.
Equipment was a hunter’s tool for survival, so hunters naturally didn’t hesitate to spend money. These shops were filled with all kinds of hunters.
Ji Xun walked along, buying a tactical backpack and updating some essential equipment.
He didn’t even consider looking at the mechanical skeletons.
Too expensive.
Too bulky.
He continued walking forward, and there was a large shop in the core of the camp with a sign that read “Heisen Merchant Guild’s Card House”.
There were exquisite glass display cases at the entrance, displaying various colored magic cards.
【Wind Blade Card】: $3000
【Explode Card】: $5000
【Arcane Chain Shot】: $15555
【Second Level Hellfire】: $30000
Most of the cards in the display case were disposable skill cards, as well as blank storage cards, energy cards, various incomprehensible spiritual cards, and armament cards.
Ji Xun glanced inside but didn’t enter the shop, muttering to himself, “It must be because they are cheap.”
Previously in the different dimension, he had seen both Chu Jiu and the hired mercenaries use several types of magic cards.
But they were rarely used.
More commonly used were firearms.
Now looking at the prices, he immediately understood why.
The power of magic cards was indeed much stronger than firearms, and they could satisfy various combat needs.
But the prices were outrageous. A grenade was only $300, while a first-level Explode Card cost $5000.
The physical damage was similar, but the price difference was more than tenfold.
But he had no trouble understanding this.
Firearms could be mass-produced on a factory assembly line, and in this world where steam machinery was advanced, the manufacturing cost was definitely not high.
On the other hand, cards involved magic and magic sealing, which currently seemed to require manual processing.
Expensive for a reason.
Plus, the upper limit of magic cards was clearly higher.
A grenade was already one of the most powerful ammunitions in personal equipment, but it was only roughly equivalent to the lowest-level card’s power.
The outrageously priced high-level cards hinted at their incredible power, with some extraordinary magical effects.
For example, a card priced at over a hundred thousand, 【Chain Lightning】.
The skill effect was instantaneously causing group lightning damage and paralysis to the targets in the area.
Being able to control the power of lightning physically?
This was very difficult even with advanced technology in the previous life.
Ji Xun looked in amazement, while also full of expectations for the extraordinary powers humans could wield in this world.
Next door, there was also an apothecary with some seemingly mystical alchemical potions.
Ji Xun looked at the rows of various potion labels and almost got dizzy. He picked a few necessary basic potions and didn’t look further.
High-level potions were still pricey!
Ji Xun had only a few cash he scraped off the mercenaries’ bodies in his pocket, and couldn’t afford high-level potions at all.
He was not clear about the price level in this world, nor did he know the purchasing power.
But he soon found a reference.
There was a crude tavern in the camp, where a group of hunters were eating, drinking, and chatting inside.
Walking on the street, he glanced at the prices: Black bread $15/piece, drinking water $3/Liter.
Not too expensive.
Having walked for a while and feeling hungry, he took out money to buy a piece of black bread the length of his arm.
Holding it in his hand, it looked like a baseball bat, hard and crispy.
He tried it.
Surprisingly, besides the risk of breaking a tooth due to its hardness, it tasted good.
After chewing it and breaking it down, the carbohydrates were broken down by saliva, and a sweet aroma swept over his taste buds.
It was like the compressed biscuits from his past life, not caring much about the texture but prioritizing energy supply.
After a few bites, he quickly felt his calorie needs were satisfied.
Everything in the Devil’s Cross camp was new to Ji Xun.
As a newcomer, if possible, he planned to explore the surroundings or sit in the tavern.
Hearing what people were chatting about, he could learn more about what this world was like.
But now was clearly not the time.
Ji Xun bought some supplies and hurried towards the train station behind the camp.
On the way, he also observed his surroundings.
The camp was not large, more like the size of a small town. After walking for a short while, he arrived at the train station.
It was a rudimentary platform that looked like an ancient ruin, with traces of the years everywhere.
The station was bustling with people coming and going.
Workers were busy loading various goods found in the ruins onto the train, while the treasure hunters who had a fruitful harvest joyfully gathered in groups to board the train.
After treasure hunting, if you didn’t die, then you must have earned something.
The hunters would take this train back to the City of Innocence and then spend a long period of indulgent life.
Ji Xun’s observational skills were unusually keen, and he immediately noticed something unusual.
“Blackwater Mercenary Group’s people.”
In the busy crowd, Ji Xun immediately spotted a few guys who looked suspicious.
While other hunters were eager to board the train, they were scanning around in the crowd as if looking for something.
Ji Xun wasn’t sure if those guys were looking for him.
But even if they were looking for him, their information was very limited. Perhaps all they knew was that it was a man and a woman?
Previously in the different dimension, wearing a gas mask, even Cao Jia’s Fourth Young Master didn’t get a clear look at his face, so there weren’t many clues exposed.
As long as he didn’t reveal any flaws, the probability of being found out was low.
But this world did have extraordinary powers.
Ji Xun didn’t dare to be careless.
Mimicking the carefree steps of the pedestrians, he blended into the crowd, showing no signs of being timid or avoiding as he boldly walked towards the train.
(End of the chapter)
