Ian followed Ron as he stepped into the gathering place, and a familiar yet unfamiliar feeling came over him. The place was more organized than outside the city, and the environment was slightly tidier, but it still revealed a clear apocalyptic character.
"Kane, let's meet your new teammates first." Ron beckoned.
Ian shook his head helplessly, "I haven't agreed to join yet." Ron responded, "You don't have much to go on right now, it just so happens that I need manpower on my side, so come and help out, and when the characters are completed, your share will not be small."
Ian shrugged , didn't say anything, it was considered as a default, for Ian, despite having Kane's memories, he himself was still just a college student, he had almost no experience in surviving the end of the world, and now that he could follow Ron to do the mission together, it was considered as a good acclimatization process for him.
In the central area of the gathering place, a few survivors were sitting around organizing their equipment in a simple but sturdy building. They looked up at Ian, their eyes tinged with curiosity and caution.
"This is Kane, an old teammate I mentioned before who survived." Ron introduced briefly.
Sitting in the center seat was a lean young man with sharp, alert eyes, he nodded slightly and said, "I'm Mark, glad you could join us."
Next to Mark was a female survivor with short dry hair and a steely gaze, "I'm Alyssa, welcome back."
The last member of the team was tall and strong with a simple face, he spoke slightly shyly, "I'm Bruno, strong, welcome back."
Ian nodded his head and smiled in response, "Nice to meet you all, I hope we work well together."
Ron pats him on the shoulder, "Well, the small talk will come later. Today's mission is to look for supplies outside of the city, we're aiming thirty kilometers northwest of the city, I've been tipped off that there's an abandoned bomb shelter with a large amount of food and water, we'll need equipment and supplies."
"That's right," Mark added, "It's getting more and more dangerous outside of the city lately, and the rate of depletion of supplies is increasing, we need to be well prepared."
After the group sorted out their equipment, they followed Ron to the trading center of the City of Ashes. It was a huge open market, with all kinds of goods stalls placed in a messy manner, and the air was filled with a thick atmosphere of trading.
The place was bustling with crowds and various shouts of selling and selling. Ian noticed that the transactions in this market were not using traditional currencies, but a special kind of crystal.
"This kind of crystal is known as source crystal, a product of the aftermath of radiation, which can be used not only for trading, but also for strengthening psychic abilities." Ron explained, "Source crystals vary in value based on purity and size, and are categorized into low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade."
Ian picked up a piece of crystalline source crystal and scrutinized it carefully, inwardly slightly marveling, a strange energy fluctuation was vaguely emanating from this kind of crystal.
Ron continued, "The current trading rules of the city are simple, supplies, equipment, and intelligence can all be exchanged for source crystals. However, due to the scarcity of the crystals, the competition is also very intense."
"There are two main ways we usually obtain source crystals," Mark added, "One is to hunt and kill mutated creatures outside the city, with a certain probability of finding them from the bodies of the mutated creatures, and the other is to complete the quests issued by the forces within the city."
Alisa calmly interjected, "But be careful, the market is full of cunning merchants, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled when buying supplies and be careful of being cheated."
"That's right," Bruno nodded nervously, "Last time I was almost sold a scrap iron knife, luckily Mark realized it in time."
The crowd smiled and the atmosphere became a lot lighter.
Ron clapped his hands and signaled the crowd to move, "Alright, everyone hurry up and go replenish your equipment. Meet at the city gates in half an hour and we'll leave immediately."
Ian followed his teammates in the market to pick out suitable equipment. He gradually familiarized himself with the use of source crystals and gained a deeper understanding of the trading rules here.
He chose a sturdy longsword and some basic protective equipment, and after trading with a few source crystals, he felt a lot more solid in his heart.
After organizing his equipment, Ian quickly rushed to the city gates to meet up with his teammates.
"Are you ready?" Ron inquired seriously.
The crowd nodded their heads in greeting, and Ian took a deep breath, a new fighting spirit igniting in his heart.
"Let's go."