Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

Chapter 573: Chapter 139 Going to the Market_1

After the apocalypse, being beautiful had become a woman’s biggest weakness—or rather, the biggest hurdle to survival.

Similarly, women who were still beautiful and enjoyed a good life were all intelligent.

And smart people are very clear about their own identity and status!

The three women around Qin Shiyuan included one who was the mistress of Sequence Number 94, and two others who were the wives of nearly Sequence-class powerhouses. These women clearly understood how they should behave in front of this handsome man—it was never too much to be respectful and cautious.

As for Arthur, he paid no attention to the three affected women. He brought a gift box, placed it on the coffee table, and then walked to Qin Shiyuan’s side.

The ’best friend’ who always sat next to Qin Shiyuan smartly vacated a spot for Arthur.

”Why are you back?”

”The fighting is over. I came to check on you.”

Arthur slid the gift box on the coffee table towards Qin Shiyuan.

”Take a look, it’s a gift for you.”

”What is it?”

”It’s just a little something from the material reserves... Although I’m not part of the military, I was still given a lot of rewards for this battle.”

Qin Shiyuan slowly opened the gift box, which contained a set of exquisite and magnificent jade jewelry.

She gently caressed the items in the box, a joyous look appearing in her eyes.

The jewelry looked fancy, but in reality, during the end times, these once-expensive ornaments might not have been as valuable as a piece of dried meat.

What Qin Shiyuan treasured was likely the sentiment contained in the jewelry...

After inspecting it for a while, Qin Shiyuan closed the gift box and asked Arthur with a laugh,

”Didn’t you bring anything for Nicole? Watch out, she might cling to you again~”

Arthur shook his head with a bitter smile and pulled out a brand-new large doll from his space ring.

”By the way, where is Nicole?”

”She’s upstairs sleeping.”

Arthur knew the real reason: Nicole simply found the three surrounding women too noisy.

The three women were also very self-aware; they exchanged a glance before one of them interjected,

”Yuanyuan, we’ll take our leave now.”

With that, they turned and prepared to leave.

”Wait.”

Arthur called out to the three women.

”Come again tomorrow. I’ll accompany you to the market.”

Then, Arthur lightly held Qin Shiyuan’s hand.

”Go if you want to. I don’t think Qin Tian will mind.”

At this moment, just like Wen Yu, Qin Tian was wandering within the treasure land of Eternal Sky City.

In the previous battle, Qin Tian had also played a significant role. Although he wasn’t military personnel, Lin Haifeng didn’t withhold any benefits and instead decisively gave Qin Tian access to the treasure land.

For Lin Haifeng, it didn’t matter how many people entered the permanently accessible treasure land; granting access was a normal act of goodwill.

Although the rewards in the treasure land were limited, for Qin Tian, it was still better than nothing—certainly better than doing nothing at all.

After Qin Shiyuan and Arthur decided on their outing to visit the market the next day, Qin Shiyuan informed Qin Tian about the plan.

Initially, Qin Tian intended to refuse, but after hearing Arthur’s promise to protect Qin Shiyuan for the entire trip, he reluctantly agreed.

In his eyes, his sister wasn’t some delicate flower to be kept sheltered; it would be good for her to go out and relax. Besides, Arthur would be with her.

As for the relationship between Arthur and Qin Shiyuan, Qin Tian had no plans to interfere—his sister was of marriageable age, and Arthur, overall, seemed like a pretty suitable choice...

And so, what seemed as inconsequential as a casual stroll down the street—a minor event no one would pay much heed to—quietly unfolded right under everyone’s noses.

This signaled the start of Lin Haifeng’s ”Sea King Control” plan.

「The next day.」

Arthur arrived at Qin Tian’s residence early in the morning.

Qin Shiyuan had gotten up even earlier than Arthur. After getting thoroughly dressed and made-up, she was in the living room making small talk with five ”upper-class ladies” who had arrived early.

”Where is Nicole?” Arthur asked Qin Shiyuan, ignoring the polite gestures of the five ”upper-class ladies” who stood up and nodded in greeting.

”She’s still upstairs. She doesn’t want to go.”

Arthur nodded.

”If she doesn’t want to go, that’s fine. Shall we go now?”

As he finished speaking, Arthur gallantly extended his right hand and bowed his head slightly, making an inviting gesture to Qin Shiyuan.

Qin Shiyuan gave a gentle smile, disregarding Arthur’s courtesy. She moved forward and took Arthur’s arm, her breath as sweet as orchids as she spoke.

”You brought enough money, right? I want to buy a lot of things today...”

Watching Qin Shiyuan’s natural expression and actions, Arthur knew in his heart that she had come to hold him in high regard, and he grinned broadly.

”Of course, the money is enough, but let’s agree beforehand, we’ll only shop until five o’clock in the evening...”

”Why...” Qin Shiyuan pouted, playfully pretending to be upset.

Lowering his head, Arthur leaned close to Qin Shiyuan’s ear and whispered,

”I’ve booked a restaurant for five o’clock. It’s rather well-known in the Yanjing Assembly Site. I thought... maybe we could have dinner together? Just you and me... only the two of us...”

Hearing this, Qin Shiyuan laughed lightly behind her hand, her eyes filled with an extra touch of something as she looked at Arthur.

”That will depend on your performance today then.”

A market fair was an age-old tradition of the Cathay nationals.

In large cities, before the apocalypse, market fairs had slowly faded away, replaced by shopping malls that operated year-round. However, after the apocalypse, market fairs resurfaced within the Yanjing Assembly Site.

Firstly, some scavengers found their harvests severely undervalued by unscrupulous merchants—these scavengers were not going to accept it, as their finds were, after all, earned by risking their lives.

Secondly, after the end of the world, apart from the military, no one had the resources to maintain large, comprehensive shopping malls.

Thirdly, as wars could break out at any time, the military’s management of any kind of market was unusually strict.

The most critical point was that the supply of goods was unstable, and consumers with spending power were few and far between.

Furthermore, there was no targeted buying or selling of merchandise.

A mixture of these factors led to the re-emergence of market fairs in the lives of survivors.

Every Sunday, scavengers, traders, and professionists looking to buy materials or tools would gather on a specific street in the outer city zone of the Yanjing Assembly Site. There, they would sell or purchase goods and items. The military tacitly allowed this form of trade. Each time, they would dispatch personnel to oversee the order and security of the entire market.

This formed a seemingly chaotic but orderly, seemingly dangerous but safe, unpredictable yet bustling market.

This was the origin of the Yanjing Assembly Site’s traditional market fair.

And this particular market was the first one in the outer city zone after the Demon Realm’s Gate had opened. With the manipulation of ”certain individuals with ulterior motives,” this market fair was the largest ever.

Of course, as far as Arthur and Qin Shiyuan’s group were concerned, the larger the market, the more people, and thus, the livelier it was. Under the protection of the pro-soldiers brought by the few ”upper-class ladies” and Arthur, there would be no trouble or danger. Indeed, the livelier it was, the more Qin Shiyuan enjoyed her shopping.

Women, after all, always enjoy shopping at busy places...