22: Chapter 22 Lettuce Seeds

Chen Ze had expected to spend more effort convincing her, but he didn't expect her to agree so readily.

But on second thought, in such a world, who would refuse such a safe shelter?

"Hmm, since that's the case, you should go back and pack your things."

Wang Yalan's home was just an ordinary flat, and her talent was average, offering little practical value, so Chen Ze decided for now to let her abandon it entirely.

"Oh right, take these two backpacks with you! It'll save a lot of trouble."

"Mhm!"

Wang Yalan had already witnessed the magic of the f-grade backpack before, so naturally, she didn't refuse.

She reached out to take the backpacks, but the movement seemed a bit too abrupt, pulling at her wound and causing her to frown in pain.

Chen Ze saw this but said nothing.

In this different world, if she couldn't even endure this little bit of pain, even if she stayed in his Blockhouse, she would only become a complete vase. Chen Ze didn't want someone by his side who would only drag him down.

After giving a few more instructions about the location of the bear traps at the entrance, Wang Yalan went off to pack her things.

Chen Ze grabbed some food and opened the regional chat channel, wanting to see if he could gather any useful information.

Little Drill Wind Comes to Patrol the Mountain: "Brothers, does anyone know where to get the various materials needed to upgrade a Fortress?"

I Love Drinking Coconut Juice: "OP above, you're already preparing to upgrade your Fortress?"

AAA Building Materials Boss Gao: "Brothers who need materials to upgrade your Fortress can contact me. One unit of material only costs ten survival coins. The price is fair, and I never cheat customers!"

Arbitrary Eternal Desolate Heaven Emperor: "Ten survival coins per unit of material? That means 100 units of each of the three types of materials would cost over 3000 survival coins? Buddy, why don't you just go rob someone?"

Tianba Lin Shu: "Profiteer, an absolute profiteer! Everyone, don't buy his materials! Let them rot in his hands!"

Seeing this, Chen Ze couldn't help but frown slightly. This AAA Building Materials Boss Gao must have gone out this morning and collected a huge wave of upgrade materials, which is why he had the confidence to do this business.

Originally, he could have reaped a huge harvest as well, but unfortunately, he ran into those three blind fools. It seems he missed the first wave of opportunities to accumulate wealth.

At a Loss: "Where exactly did he get his materials? Does anyone know?"

Saint Descending Upon the World: "Stone, wood, and steel can all be obtained from those breached Fortresses."

Chen Ze had some impression of the ID Saint Descending Upon the World; it seemed to be the same person who had reminded the survivors to kill zombies last time.

Wild Bull Jumping Full Gear Bro: "Damn, no wonder I saw a few people sneaking around those ruins this morning. So they were collecting materials. Oh man, I feel like I missed out on a hundred million!"

Kiss Too Realistic: "Big Boss Saint Descending Upon the World is the real deal. That so-called Building Materials Xiao Gao is just a profiteer, trying to scam everyone's survival coins with materials he picked up. How shameless!"

For a moment, the entire chat channel began to denounce AAA Building Materials Boss Gao. Boss Gao initially tried to explain, but facing the overwhelming accusations, he quickly couldn't handle it and slinked away, saying nothing more.

Saint Descending Upon the World: "Actually, everyone doesn't need to be in such a rush to upgrade their Fortress. At this stage, you should prioritize increasing your combat power. I also suggest that several households gather together for joint defense; that way, it will be easier to survive!"

It had to be said that what Saint Descending Upon the World said actually made some sense. There is strength in numbers, and joint defense is much better than fighting alone.

But Chen Ze knew in his heart that there were many problems with this. People's hearts are unfathomable; who could guarantee that those who cooperate wouldn't turn against each other for profit?

In this apocalypse, trust is the most luxurious thing.

Seeing this, Chen Ze decided to stop lurking. Since they were all compatriots from the Dragon Kingdom, he decided to share some of his judgments.

Shanghai Li Yunlong: "Has everyone noticed? The number of zombies encountered by each Fortress is different. According to my speculation, it might be related to the total score of the Fortress."

As soon as these words were spoken, the chat channel seemed to pause for a moment, followed by even faster scrolling.

Big Smart: "Now that you mention it, you really have a point, it seems to be the case!"

Only Smoke Xuanhemen: "My Fortress rating is F-grade, and yesterday 20 zombies attacked."

Gummy Bear: "Mine is E-grade, and there were over thirty zombies!"

...

Suddenly, everyone started sharing in the chat channel. Chen Ze watched carefully for a while and found that the facts seemed to be about the same as his guess.

Overall, it looked like F-grade was around 20, E-grade was thirty, and D-grade was 50. As for C-grade, he hadn't seen any yet.

Chen Ze's Fortress rating yesterday was C-grade. Although he had added the "Tycoons Armor" talent, the level hadn't increased. It was likely because the Tycoons Armor hadn't started stacking and hadn't been able to bring any substantial reinforcement to the Fortress yet.

Seeing that the chat channel was starting to get chaotic, Chen Ze decided not to continue watching.

He opened the trading channel and found that there were indeed people selling upgrade materials, but the prices here were even more outrageous. The cheapest wood was selling for about 12 survival coins per unit, and it looked like there was a trend of it rising further.

Chen Ze also wanted to buy some; after all, upgrading the Fortress was imperative. However, he only had 60 survival coins left, so even if he bought any, he could only afford a few units.

"Sigh, yesterday I felt like a rich man, and today I've become a pauper!"

Chen Ze shook his head helplessly and continued to browse the trading information.

Suddenly, he saw a very inconspicuous piece of information.

For Sale: F-grade lettuce seeds.

Item Description: Consuming mature F-grade lettuce increases all attributes by one point, effective only once.

Note: F-grade lettuce must be planted in an F-grade or higher-grade planter box; otherwise, it cannot survive.

Well, isn't that a coincidence? Chen Ze happened to have an F-grade planter box on hand. Originally, he had been thinking about purchasing some ordinary crops, but now this was perfect—he had an F-grade one right away.

"Buy it, I must buy it!"

Chen Ze directly messaged the seller privately.

Shanghai Li Yunlong: "Brother, how are you selling these lettuce seeds?"

AAA Building Materials Boss Gao: "100 survival coins!"

Chen Ze didn't expect the other party to be the Boss Gao who had been denounced earlier, and that he was asking for such a high price.

Shanghai Li Yunlong: "Manager Gao, this price is a bit too outrageous. For 100 survival coins, I could buy an emergency repair kit!"

Chen Ze wasn't usually the type to haggle, but since he only had 60 survival coins right now, he had to bite the bullet and try.

AAA Building Materials Boss Gao: "Outrageous? Do you know how many days the growth cycle of this F-grade lettuce is? Only seven days! If I hadn't failed to acquire an F-grade planter box, do you think I would be selling it? 100 survival coins, take it or leave it!"

Manager Gao seemed to be quite angry from the previous barrage of comments, and his tone was very blunt. It was mainly because he had indeed encountered many people who only asked for the price but didn't buy.

Looking at the message Manager Gao sent, Chen Ze wasn't angry at all; instead, he became even more excited!

"Seven days! Only seven days! If I plant it in my F-grade planter box, wouldn't it be ripe in three days?"

"When the time comes, I can harvest a batch of seeds and replant them. The generations will be endless!"