"This... how about you repair the mecha's core?"
"After all, your Wang family has researched it quite a bit over the years!"
Sun Zhizhi, with temples turning gray, did not get angry at Wang Kun's words. Instead, he smiled at Wang Kun, his expression amiable.
"Hmph! A bunch of coarse fellows who only know how to dig rocks in caves!"
Wang Kun didn't respond to Sun Zhizhi's words and simply turned his head away.
"Cough, cough~"
At this moment, the white-haired elder at the head spoke again, "I didn't call you all here late at night to quarrel."
"Tell me, how should we handle the issue with the core? You all know how important this thing is!"
As the white-haired elder finished speaking, all eyes around the oval table met, and then everyone fell silent.
"Hoo!~"
After a long while, the white-haired elder sighed, "If there are no other good ideas, we'll continue our public recruitment for armor smiths tomorrow and expand the scale a bit. Let's try our luck!"
Upon hearing this, everyone present became even more silent, and their expressions turned grim!
This was not the first time they had publicly recruited armor smiths. Ostensibly, it was to attract talents to the mecha city for training, but in reality, it was to find people with suitable arcane energy attributes and a unique understanding of arcane runes, and to see if they could repair the core...
"If there's nothing else, meeting adjourned!"
The white-haired elder swept his gaze over the people with varying expressions around the oval table and spoke.
As soon as the words fell, the crowd got up and left. Wang Kun was the fastest, whistling as he exited the room first...
Before long, only the white-haired elder and Shen Qing were left in the spacious room.
"Ah Qing, have you made any progress on that matter?"
The white-haired elder looked at Shen Qing, and a hint of anticipation flickered in his usually calm eyes.
"City Lord, your subordinate is incompetent and has not found any clues regarding the Core Record!"
Shen Qing looked guilty, his tone laced with helplessness.
After all, he had been searching for the Core Record for nearly 30 years, yet he had found nothing...
"It's not your fault~ It was pure chance that we obtained the Core Record back then~"
The white-haired elder sighed deeply, his expression somewhat dejected. "Ah Qing, it's late. You should go back and rest early!"
Shen Qing opened his mouth but said nothing, leaving with a bitter expression.
After Shen Qing left, the white-haired elder sat in his chair, looking somewhat dispirited, staring blankly at the night outside the window.
After a long time, a flash of light appeared in his hand, and a slightly yellowed photograph materialized.
The photograph showed a middle-aged man in his 40s and a boy of seventeen or eighteen.
The elder gently caressed the photo, "Shen Lang, Shen Lang, in order to explore the secrets behind the Core Record... since you left, my old shoulders can no longer bear the heavy responsibility of this mecha city..."
...
As the sun just began to rise, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao got out of bed.
Today, they were going to leave the outer city and explore the inner city, and the journey was quite far.
After breakfast, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao rode their horses and headed quickly towards the inner city. Of course, Zheng Huizi was still their guide.
Although the sun had only just risen, the streets were already crowded.
After all, people in the apocalypse generally worked at sunrise and rested at sunset. Nights were too dangerous, and under normal circumstances, everyone stayed at home. Therefore, they cherished the time when there was light...
-----------
After yesterday, Xiao Xiao had mastered the skill of riding a horse. Today, she did not share a horse with Ye Feng but enjoyed the pleasure of riding by herself.
Around noon,
The three finally arrived at the inner city of the mecha city.
Compared to the outer city, it was much more prosperous. The most obvious difference was the abundance of cars on the road and the more elaborate clothing of the pedestrians.
Of course, the most expensive part was the entrance fee, which was 30 Arcane Yuan coins per person. This was different from when Ye Feng was on the outskirts and in the outer city earlier. This 30 Arcane Yuan coin was a genuine entrance fee.
Due to the high entrance fee, Zheng Huizi did not enter the inner city with Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao, and Zheng Huizi could not act as Ye Feng's guide inside, as he had never been in himself...
...
"Hoo~"
"It feels like returning to the bustling commercial streets of my past life!"
Walking on the streets of the inner city, Ye Feng felt a sense of emotion.
Looking around, there were towering buildings, rows of shops, dazzling arrays of goods, and large crowds of leisurely shoppers, with occasional shouts...
"Big brother, did you used to live in a prosperous place like this?"
Hearing Ye Feng's muttering, Xiao Xiao blinked and asked.
Ye Feng had always rarely talked about his past, so Xiao Xiao was very curious...
"Uh... something like that~"
Ye Feng chuckled and walked forward, clearly not wanting to elaborate on the matter.
Although Xiao Xiao was curious, seeing that Ye Feng did not wish to speak, she did not press further.
Next, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao strolled through this bustling commercial street, and Xiao Xiao was quickly attracted to various items she had never seen before.
"Big brother, what is that round, red thing?"
"That's Tanghulu!~"
"Tang... hulu, tang... is it edible?"
"Let's buy two skewers, I haven't had it in a long time!"
"Big brother, why is that person putting rice in a pot and cooking it without water? Can it be eaten like this?"
"That's called popcorn!"
"Boss, one scoop of popcorn!"
"Big brother, what is that blackened thing being burned by wood?"
"That's roasted sweet potato!"
"Da..."
"Buy!"
...
"Big brother, what is that boss cooking? It smells so bad, and people are still eating something so smelly? Ugh~"
"That's stinky tofu~"
...
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao walked and browsed, stopping to look occasionally and eating various delicacies.
Xiao Xiao, who had never seen so many interesting things, was very happy, her small face flushed with excitement. Ye Feng also fully enjoyed the various snacks, which were once familiar but now seemed somewhat strange.
...
Around three in the afternoon,
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao finally stopped their wandering. It wasn't because either of them was tired of shopping, but because Xiao Xiao had discovered a business opportunity and had become a boss herself.
It turned out that after passing by a cosmetics store, Xiao Xiao curiously went in. Someone saw the sunscreen on Xiao Xiao's face and arms and asked which brand of cosmetics she used...
After a brief chat, many elegantly dressed and refined people gathered around Xiao Xiao... Thus, Xiao Xiao transformed from a customer into a boss...
"This Xiao Xiao... she used all her pocket money to buy cosmetics..."
Looking at the pile of small bottles and jars on Xiao Xiao's table, Ye Feng was speechless.
There were moisturizers, sun hats, whitening essences, hydrating sprays, lipsticks, foundations... and even a pack of face masks...
The women of a certain status who saw them had their eyes widen, and they scrambled to buy from Xiao Xiao. Even the cosmetics store owner rushed to buy, and eventually, a bidding war broke out.
Ye Feng, though surprised by the near-crazy buying frenzy not far away, could understand it.
After all, Xiao Xiao's cosmetics were finely processed high-quality industrial products. Although this mecha city had a developed arcane energy civilization, its chemical industry craftsmanship was clearly inferior to that before the cataclysm. The sunscreens and other cosmetics applied to the women's faces were quite rough.
After all, it wasn't as simple as directly applying aloe vera to the face for skincare...
And given the preciousness of arcane energy, it was unlikely to be used for products like cosmetics.
In less than half an hour,
All the cosmetics Xiao Xiao brought out were sold out, and she had a heavy cloth bag filled with Arcane Yuan coins.
"We're rich, we're rich~!"
Xiao Xiao's face was full of smiles, and she hopped over to Ye Feng.
"Big brother, here!"
She handed the heavy cloth bag to Ye Feng. "Big brother, there are complete Arcane Yuan coins inside~ I specifically requested them when I was selling things just now!~"
"This..."
Upon hearing this, Ye Feng was surprised and then deeply gratified.
He pinched Xiao Xiao's rosy cheek, which had reddened with excitement, and lightly counted the Arcane Yuan coins in the cloth bag.
"My goodness... over fifteen hundred..."
After a brief count, Ye Feng was astonished.
He took out the Arcane Yuan coins from the cloth bag, but he only took the complete survival coins, leaving the remaining thousand or so for Xiao Xiao.
Afterward, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao resumed their pleasant shopping spree.
Suddenly, a place in the distance, where a large crowd had gathered, attracted Ye Feng's attention. He recognized a familiar figure among the crowd – it was Zheng Huizi.
"Huh~ Zheng Huizi, how did you get into the inner city?"
"Didn't you say the entrance fee was too expensive and you wouldn't come in?"
Ye Feng walked over, looking puzzled.
...