Bai Xi was overjoyed and quickly sent her demands to Chen Du.
"I want two hundred bottles of water, ten boxes of bread, or fifty pounds of rice. Hehe." She added a mischievous giggle at the end of her message.
Seeing the list of supplies, Chen Du couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. These items, when converted, weren't cheap. It was almost equivalent to the price Chen Du had once auctioned off the Fortress Wall for. However, although the price was steep, Chen Du could still afford it. As long as it was exchanged for daily necessities, there was no need to worry about not being able to afford it.
But Chen Du didn't want to be taken for a fool. Although the blueprint for the arming sword was good, it definitely wasn't worth this price. After all, there was still a hefty material cost. If the crafted arming sword didn't fetch a sky - high price, it would be a losing deal. So, Chen Du wanted to play hard to get and lower the price as much as possible.
"Ho ho, go rob someone else. There are plenty of supplies in the zombie hordes. I can't afford this blueprint. Go find someone else to buy it." Chen Du scoffed with a hint of mockery.
Bai Xi was genuinely anxious. If Chen Du didn't buy it, it would really rot in her hands or have to be sold at a low price.
"1945, we're old acquaintances. I'll give you a discount!"
When Chen Du saw Bai Xi's message, he felt a bit annoyed. He typed out his reply word by word: "Old acquaintances? You mean like well - done friends on a spit? That's for sure! We don't have that kind of close relationship. It's just that you tried to trick me and ended up trapping yourself. Don't try to cozy up to me."
Bai Xi felt a bit embarrassed. It was true that she had tried to scam Chen Du last time. If it were anyone else, they would have probably blacklisted her or even hunted her down. The fact that Chen Du was still talking to her after all this time was already quite lenient.
"1945, I admit I was wrong last time. But you almost burned me to death too. If I hadn't been lucky enough to dig my way out, you wouldn't be seeing me now. So, let's call it even. As for this deal, it's an online transaction. You don't have to worry about me cheating you again!"
It seemed she was really eager to exchange it for daily necessities. Maybe she was running out of food?
Chen Du chuckled to himself as he went through Bai Xi's series of ingratiating messages. He naturally wanted the arming sword. It seemed like it was time to haggle.
"Humph, then lower the price. Fifty bottles of water and twenty pounds of rice. That's a fair price. If you agree, I'll let bygones be bygones, and we can talk about future collaborations."
When Bai Xi saw the price, she immediately objected and replied with obvious dissatisfaction: "That price is absolutely impossible. It's too low."
Chen Du didn't waste any more words.
"Then keep it. I'm not interested, and I can't offer a higher price." He said indifferently, showing no signs of compromise.
But Bai Xi suddenly sent a threatening message: "1945, how about I ask for the same amount of supplies in exchange for a video of you?"
Then, Bai Xi sent a short video of Chen Du driving away from a horde of zombies. It was unclear how Bai Xi had managed to capture it, but Chen Du's face was clearly visible in the video.
Chen Du's expression darkened. If his identity were exposed, it wouldn't be a good thing. Too many people coveted 1945's supplies. Even though many survivors had already moved into the villa area where Chen Du lived and knew that 1945 was inside the Fortress Wall, they only knew that 1945 was there, not what he looked like. Chen Du had hidden himself well. Whenever he and Xie Li went out to gather supplies, they sat in the car wearing hats or masks. And within the villa, the tall Fortress Wall perfectly concealed their internal situation. As for the survivors who sneaked into the villa, Chen Du never left them alive. Therefore, what 1945 looked like was unknown to most people.
If Bai Xi released this video, Chen Du would really be in a situation where everyone was his enemy. Even when hunting zombies outside, he would have to be wary of other survivors. This would be too inconvenient. He must find Bai Xi's location as soon as possible and get the video from her! Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Chen Du promptly bought an uncharged drone camera from the trading platform and started charging it.
The trading platform now featured a wide variety of electrical appliances—rice cookers, washing machines, drones, and more.
However, most people didn't lack these items but rather lacked the electricity needed to power them.
Once the drone was fully charged, Chen Du launched it to track down Bai Xi's whereabouts.
By coincidence, Bai Xi wasn't far away.
It almost seemed like she had intentionally positioned herself near the villa district where Chen Du lived.
Her motives remained unclear.
But because of their proximity, the drone Chen Du sent out quickly located her position.
Without delay, Chen Du set off towards the forest where Bai Xi was hiding.
It had to be said, Bai Xi's decision to hide in this particular forest was a smart move.
Many survivors avoided such areas, fearing they were crawling with zombies.
In truth, however, the zombies in this park's woods had long since been wiped out.
Only a handful of stragglers—if any—remained.
Zombies operated in hordes; when their numbers dwindled in one area, they instinctively regrouped into new clusters elsewhere.
This explained why zombie hordes always seemed endless—once you thought you'd cleared them, another wave would inevitably form.
Chen Du knew the surrounding environment well, including the fact that this forest was now devoid of zombies.
Yet many still believed it to be dangerous.
Clearly, Bai Xi excelled at gathering intelligence.
Chen Du moved fast.
At full sprint, he matched the speed of a cheetah.
But just like a cheetah, he couldn't sustain such extreme velocity for long.
After a short while, Chen Du plunged into the woods.
Meanwhile, the drone overhead continued feeding him real-time updates on Bai Xu's location.
Bai Xi stayed put.
At that moment, she furrowed her brows deeply, her face etched with confusion.
Why hadn't 1945 replied to her messages after all this time?
Unbeknownst to her, someone was stealthily creeping up behind her.
Suddenly sensing something amiss, Bai Xi spun around to check her surroundings.
Nothing.
She brushed it off as paranoia brought on by fatigue, murmuring under her breath, "Am I losing sleep again? My mind must be playing tricks on me."
Snap!
A sharp crack echoed through the air as a branch broke behind her.
Instantly alert, Bai Xi whipped out her crossbow and turned sharply toward the source of the sound.
All she saw was dense foliage.
Her brow furrowed further.
She had definitely heard the snap—it couldn't have been caused by anything other than heavy pressure.
So why did she see nothing when she looked back?
If it were a person or animal, how could they vanish so quickly?
Just as doubt clouded her mind, a searing pain shot through the base of her neck.
Before she could react, her body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
At that very instant, Chen Du emerged from stealth, stepping into view before her.