Chapter 38: The Eccentric Old Zhang

As dusk began to fall, Lin Huang returned to his hotel room after dinner. He spent some time drafting a list of items he intended to purchase the next day, then began searching on the Imperial Heart Network for information about the primary wild zones near Outpost 7D121.

Outpost 7D121, known locally as Snow Mountain Town, faced east with towering snow-capped mountains at its back, forming a broken bowl-like barrier that encircled the settlement. To the east lay a vast canyon, semi-circular in shape, stretching hundreds of kilometers at its widest point from north to south. Beyond the canyon, several dozen miles further east, the land opened into sprawling grasslands.

The surrounding mountains, those below three thousand meters in elevation, were all classified as primary wild zones. The canyon itself, though expansive, was also a primary wild zone, but it saw frequent human activity; monsters here were often hunted, so their numbers remained low. The grasslands east of the canyon were boundless, with a considerable population of monsters, though their distribution was sparse.

Lin Huang carefully examined the distribution of monsters across each region.

"In the wild zones atop the snow mountains, there are indeed many avian monsters, but they're difficult to hunt, and the terrain is rarely flat—hardly suitable for practical blade training."

"The canyon area sees monsters coming from both the grasslands and the snow mountains, but they're routinely cleared out by travelers, making it impossible for me to gather monster shards in bulk."

"Therefore, the grasslands to the east are the most suitable wild zone for me."

"Battle wolves make excellent prey—being pack creatures, they allow me to quickly accumulate card shards. And as mounts, they're much more impressive than Sand Butchers, not to mention far more comfortable to ride. Then there are the Lion-headed Giants, monsters whose presence is truly imposing; as summon beasts, their prestige is unrivaled. The Bull-headed Demons are also good choices, heavily muscled and massive, intimidating just by standing there..."

"In terms of abilities, the battle wolves' Blood War, the Lion-headed Giants' Magic Eye Intimidation, and the Bull-headed Demons' Gigantic Strength are all quite useful..." After a thorough analysis, Lin Huang quickly locked onto the hunting grounds best suited for his needs.

The next morning, Lin Huang had a leisurely breakfast before heading toward the Credit Administration Bureau. It was a government office that didn't open until nine, so he wasn't in a hurry. He wandered around the park in front of the bureau until it opened, then walked in immediately.

It took him about ten minutes to convert all the life crystal shards he carried into credit points, causing his balance to surge to over three and a half million. These shards were all spoils he had previously taken from Xue Jie.

After the exchange, Lin Huang made his way to the flea market.

The flea market of Snow Mountain Town was situated at its heart, not large but densely packed with over a thousand shops. Everything was for sale: food, daily necessities, firearms, ammunition, blades, swords, spears—almost nothing was missing.

Perhaps due to the proximity of wild zones, there were as many as twenty or thirty stores specializing in combat gear. In Lin Huang's own outpost, there were only three such shops.

Lin Huang's main objective was to find specialized ammunition for the Grey Hawk 17 and armor-piercing explosive rounds, as well as other wilderness survival supplies. He planned to camp out in the wild for the entire week.

He inquired at seven or eight shops in succession, but none had the Grey Hawk 17's specialized ammunition or explosive rounds. This new "aristocratic" firearm wasn't commonly used by ordinary people, so smaller outposts rarely stocked its ammo. Especially the explosive rounds, which were expensive to procure and risky to keep in stock—if they didn't sell, they'd be a loss.

"The ammo you're looking for won't be found in shops like ours. In a place like this, we might not see a single person with a Grey Hawk 17 all year—no one here would bother to stock it. You might try Old Zhang's shop in the west of town; he enjoys dealing in odd and rare items. If he doesn't have it, it's truly unavailable. But be careful—Old Zhang is sly and loves to gouge customers. Prices will likely be two or three times higher than normal," a shopkeeper kindly advised, figuring that anyone who could afford to play with a Grey Hawk 17 must be wealthy and thus best not offended.

After circling the flea market and gathering all his other supplies, Lin Huang asked at a few more shops before finally giving up.

He hesitated for a moment, then headed west.

Old Zhang's shop was tucked away in a deserted alley in the west of town. In such a small outpost, even a storefront in the flea market wouldn't cost much to rent for a year. Yet this man chose to open his shop here—clearly a person of peculiar temperament.

Lin Huang had to ask several people along the way to find the exact location.

The sign above the door bore the words "Cloud's Edge," which made Lin Huang chuckle inwardly; this must be a lofty old eccentric.

He stepped inside. Contrary to expectations, the shop was not chaotic but rather meticulously organized, with all manner of goods arranged neatly on their respective shelves. Even the decor was tastefully chosen, prompting Lin Huang to raise an eyebrow.

"Is the shop owner here?" Lin Huang didn't call out the name directly—after all, the man was elderly, and it would be impolite. At least, Lin Huang considered himself a well-mannered young man.

"If you need something, just look through the shelves yourself. Bring what you want over and call me to check out." The man's voice rang out before Lin Huang saw him; it sounded less like an old man and more like someone in middle age.

"This business model is a bit like a supermarket on Earth..." Lin Huang muttered under his breath.

Seeing that Old Zhang didn't like being disturbed, Lin Huang refrained from asking and went straight to the firearms section.

When he saw the weapons on the shelves, Lin Huang couldn't help but raise his eyebrows—there were models from Black Iron all the way up to Gold grade, and all were expensive limited editions.

"It seems Old Zhang is quite wealthy!" Lin Huang thought to himself.

After browsing for a while, he went straight to the bullets beneath the firearms and soon found the specialized ammo and armor-piercing explosive rounds for the Grey Hawk 17. However, only a sample box of each was displayed. Lin Huang took one box of each and returned to the counter at the entrance.

"Shop owner, I've made my selection, but the quantity isn't enough."

"Let me see."

A bald, bearded man with dark skin emerged, appearing just over forty years old; if he shaved, he might look even younger.

Lin Huang had no doubt that this was Old Zhang. Though his appearance was ordinary, his temperament matched the shop perfectly. Lin Huang did find it a bit odd—he wasn't an old man, yet people called him Old Zhang.

Old Zhang sized Lin Huang up, then glanced at the bullets he'd chosen, raising his eyebrows. "So, you're a wealthy young master. How many of these do you want?"

"I'm no rich young master—the gun was a gift," Lin Huang replied, not wanting to be taken for a fat sheep to be fleeced. "What's the price for these two types of bullets?"

"Same as on the Imperial Heart Network," Old Zhang said with a smile.

Lin Huang felt a pang of suspicion. He'd heard that Old Zhang loved to gouge customers, selling at double or triple the normal price. Selling at the standard price made him wonder if these bullets had been tampered with.

"Are these bullets genuine?"

"What, did someone tell you Old Zhang likes to gouge customers—won't sell unless the price is doubled or tripled?" Old Zhang smiled at Lin Huang.

Lin Huang hesitated, then admitted, "Someone did say that."

"Whoever told you, they're not wrong. I do like to gouge customers. But it depends on the person. Today, I find you agreeable, so I'm selling at the standard price. It's that simple." Old Zhang added, "The goods are genuine, untouched. Whether you want to buy is up to you."

Lin Huang met Old Zhang's gaze for a moment, judged him not to be lying, and nodded, "Alright, I'll trust you this once. I want three thousand rounds of Grey Hawk 17 ammo, and three hundred armor-piercing explosive rounds."

"Are you planning a massacre?" Old Zhang was momentarily taken aback, then quoted the price: "That'll be one hundred sixty-five thousand credit points in total."

"Do you have enough stock?" Lin Huang couldn't help but ask.

"Don't worry—I've got plenty! Whatever you want, however much you want, I've got it. If you can pay, I can even get you artifacts." Old Zhang grinned.

If anyone else had said it, Lin Huang wouldn't have believed them, but after seeing Old Zhang's collection, he felt the man really could pull it off, though it did sound a bit boastful.

"Alright, I'll come to you for artifacts in the future!" Lin Huang couldn't help but smile.