Chapter 436 Friendship (1/2)

Although it took a while to log off last night, when the sun rose in the morning, the White Bear Knights still appeared at the entrance of the Petra Fortress Market as scheduled, and saw Old Boomer who had been waiting there for a long time.

The old man who had changed his clothes no longer looked as embarrassed as before. Not only did he look much more energetic, but he finally looked like a businessman.

"Are you going to exchange the goods for money, or are you going to barter?" Looking at the benefactors who came to him, he said respectfully, "I recommend the latter. After all, you have also seen... The desert is not peaceful now. , it’s not a good idea to hold money in your hands.”

Having discussed it with his teammates beforehand, Sisi said.

"We need to stay here for a while, so let's exchange it for money."

Old Boomer nodded, without saying any more words, and began to help find buyers in the market who had the strength to buy the batch of goods they had.

There was no need for high-profile publicity. After hearing that there was devil's cloth produced in the eastern provinces, a group of businessmen quickly gathered around.

Taitail and Rourou, who couldn't wait, followed curiously and watched the excitement.

Sesame Paste originally planned to follow him and take a look, but he was touched by a black and white cat. He squatted on the ground dumbfounded and helped the cat, which had already turned over and lay down, smooth down its fur.

Sis left the matter of finding a buyer to Bulma, found a place nearby that was less noisy, and sat down. He spread out the "Silver Moon Holy Word" he just bought on his knees and read it quietly. .

The status of this book is probably equivalent to the "Bible" of the Camelback Kingdom, and its content is roughly the "interpretation" of the teachings of the Desert Spirit by local believers.

If "The Oasis under the Dhobar Mountains" explains the local humanities from the perspective of a scholar, then this "Holy Word" recommended by the academy's researchers analyzes the spiritual core of the locals from the perspective of a believer.

Under the protection of the Zhuobar Mountains, the Camelback Kingdom's unique geographical advantages make it almost free of alien harassment.

The main threats basically come from the sea.

It is rich in salt, camels, bighorn cattle imported from Borneo, and a wide variety of fruits and grains. The local backwardness and prosperity coexist, with developed handicrafts and commerce. The citizens are relatively wealthy. In some city-states, there are even merchants who are not loyal to the feudal lords. , and the city lord elected by the citizens.

It is precisely because of this that the local people's attitude towards religion and the royal family is not as respectful as the people of the other four kingdoms.

If the falcon is classical militarism, the destroyed honey badger is an enlightened monarchy, the golden lizard they failed to achieve is a feudal dynasty that pursues mysticism, and the lion that is caught in the war is a feudal dynasty that is following the path of inner saints. Well it's more like classical republic here.

The twelve city-states have a high degree of autonomy. Not only do the local residents have more secular living habits, they have even established a secular "Protestant"——

That is, the "Silver Moon Sect".

The sect's belief in the spirit of the Sand Sea was infused with the animist theory of the Southern Islands. It invented a "lover" named the Silver Moon Goddess for the spirit of the Sand Sea, which had neither gender nor wife, and gave it Divinity is infused with a touch of humanity.

According to the explanation of "Silver Moon Holy Word", the spirit of the Sand Sea is the lord of the desert, rules the Luoxia Province, and is destined to rule the world.

But south of the Zhuobal Mountains, Silver Moon Bay, which is irrigated by rivers and "river banks", is the territory of the Silver Moon Goddess, and is governed by two gods.

The locals agree with the mainstream sects’ interpretations of doomsday doctrines such as “the world will eventually be swallowed up by yellow sand”, but they also put forward new viewpoints based on this.

For example, "The world will burn out one day, so we should cherish this last dusk", "Candlelight can dispel darkness, and lighting it at dawn can delay the end of the world" and so on.

The former corresponds to the secular concept of carpe diem, while the latter has evolved into a worship culture.

At the beginning of every month, believers in the Camelback Kingdom will light a candle at home, worship toward Mount Zhuobar and recite scriptures and pray. They can even hire three unconverted pagans to do this for them, instead of being like those in mainstream denominations. Believers pray like that every day.

"...It seems that the Luoxia Province is really big, and five completely different cultural concepts have evolved in one desert."

Sisi muttered something under his breath while flipping through the book, and at the same time silently made up his mind to collect more works written in the Wasteland Era during the trip, translate the contents and put them on the forum.

After all, it was something that Dog Planner finally made up. It wouldn't be a pity if no one found out.

And she always had a feeling.

What I am doing may be able to reconnect the cultural bloodline of this world that was cut off by war and radioactive fallout.

Although this does not bring about the benefits of silver coins and contribution points, in an open world game with such a high degree of completion, it would be a pity to be a mission master with no feelings.

Just think of it as a hobby.

Although the noise in the market was noisy, it did not affect her reading.

The bargaining probably lasted until noon. There were too few merchants who could take out so much money at once, and the White Bear Knights were unwilling to barter.

Old Boomer's mouth went dry as he spoke under the shed, finally letting him wait for a buyer who had the strength to eat this batch of goods.

This businessman was short in stature, with a slightly darker complexion. Judging from his almost deformed accent, he was obviously from Borneo Province in the southwest.

He planned to bring these fine silks and those weird products back to his hometown.

Including those black silk and white silk stuff.

These magical chemicals greatly interested him. The only flaw was one thing——

"Why only black and white?" he asked, confused.

Tails was startled.

"Eh? Doesn't it look good?"

"It's not that it doesn't look good," the businessman thought while stroking his chin, "Don't you have any dyes there? Why don't you consider dyeing it in various colors..."

Sis closed the book in his hand and stood up from the carpet with a slightly subtle expression.

"That would be ugly."

Colorful and stuff...

Whether in reality or in the game, she didn't want to try it, but the tail on the side showed a thoughtful expression.

Hopefully she wasn't thinking about it too seriously.

The businessman smiled sheepishly.

"Anyway, it's okay. I'm very satisfied with your goods... Let me do the math, how about 5 million gold camel coins?"

When he heard the number five million, Taitail exclaimed, quickly looked at Rourou next to him and whispered.

"Five million...what is this concept?"

Rourou also whispered.

"I don't know! But the cattle here only cost three to four thousand each..."

Tails was instantly startled, his eyes sparkling.

"I giao! More than a thousand cows! Rourou, let's herd the cows from now on!"

Rourou refused without hesitation.

"I don't want it! We are the White Bear Knights, herding cattle is too shameful! And we promised to be the president of the mercenary union! O'Wei, have you forgotten your dream!"

Tails scratched the back of his head.

"Hmm...it's a bit hard to decide."

Sesame paste, who was holding the cat, smiled shyly.

"Ha ha……"

Bargaining is Sisi's job. Among all the people, she is the only one who has the best Renlian language. Not only can she communicate at a basic level, she can even roughly understand some uncommon words that are not easy to understand.

Although her level is not as good as those of the big guys who have entered the game in the "ancient times" such as Crow Crow and Teng Teng, at least she has reached the T1 level in terms of language skills. She is about to catch up with someone who is just short of Paper Man. The big brother got married.

After some haggling, the goods were finally sold for 10 million gold camel coins.

Although the guy looked like his wallet had been squeezed dry, Si Si always felt that there was a secretly amused smile hidden behind that frustrated expression.

As for the other members of the White Bear Knights, they are currently immersed in the joy of success.

Especially after hearing that the goods worth hundreds of thousands of silver coins were exchanged for gold camel coins that could buy more than three thousand cows, the tail and fleshy eyes almost turned into the color of silver coins.

Based on the average price of a cow of five thousand silver coins...

Fifteen million silver coins? !

Tails clenched his fists excitedly.

"Giao! Si! We are rich!"

Rourou also said excitedly.

"Oh oh oh! I want to ask the manager to order an exoskeleton like Jun Jun!"

"This is too... amazing." Sesame Paste was stunned, and the cat in his arms almost dropped.

Si Si looked at his companions and curled his lips.

"It's not like I'm going to get rich, but I did make a little bit... By the way, Awei, and Rourou, remember not to show off on the forum."

Tails and Rourou nodded almost simultaneously.

"Uh-huh!"

"Don't worry! I will watch this tail!"

Seeing that these two guys agreed so readily, Sisi felt a little uneasy.

But to be honest, this profit is not too exaggerated. The most difficult thing about running a business in the wasteland is not bargaining, but transporting the goods back safely.

Even if these more than a thousand cattle were transported back to the Frostspear Ranch without any loss, deducting the grain, fresh water, hiring expenses, natural fat loss of the animals, and changes in market supply and demand along the way. If we buy all the cattle and transport them back, it will be very difficult to make half of the actual profit of 15 million.

And considering the limits of ranch capacity and the risks hidden in the freight cycle, it is difficult to make money stably in the long term with this method.

Although the ROE of factories that sell bricks, cement, steel, aircraft, tanks, and cannons is not high, the alliance's demand for these products is almost unlimited.

That’s the real money printing press.

Many T0 and T1 players no longer disclose their earnings on the forum.

Although there is no direct evidence, Sis conservatively estimates that the value of the assets they hold will not be less than 100 million, or it may even be more exaggerated.

It’s just that the profits are not withdrawn and turned into “cash” through dividends...

…

The two parties rented a warehouse and completed the delivery of the goods and the counting of gold coins.

Looking at the boxes of gold coins on the ground, the businessman patted the dust on his hands with success, looked at Sisi and his group and said with a smile.

"Seeing that you have made me a fortune, I will give you a piece of advice. No matter what business you are here for, I advise you to quickly exchange your golden camel coins for dinars, or other Something that holds value.”

Tails tilted his head.

"Why?"

"When the Legion comes, all this money will be turned into waste... Look at the people in the refugee camps and slums. Their pockets are filled with gold lion coins and gold badger coins, but they can't even buy a piece of bread. I heard that in Silver Moon Bay, many wealthy businessmen are exchanging golden camel coins for dinars or ships going out to sea. "

After all, they were doing business on someone else's territory. The merchant didn't speak too directly and stopped talking.

The entire Honey Badger Kingdom fell within a week, and the Lion Kingdom lost half of its territory. Compared with the Falcon Kingdom, which was supported by the Legion, these ancient kingdoms were not on the same level in terms of equipment or military theory.

In his opinion, Luoxia Province is no different from being finished.

The Hump Kingdom's final fate will probably be like the Falcon's, surrendering to the Legion and circulating dinars as legal currency.

"Then... what about changing it to gold?" Sesame Paste asked in a low voice.

"Gold..." the businessman shook his head, "I don't recommend it."

Although many local forces in the wasteland use gold to mint coins, the embarrassing thing is that gold itself is not valuable.

There are many deep-seated reasons for this, including the large amount of gold mined in space left over from the Prosperity Era, the total social product value being far lower than the total value of the precious metals in stock, and the lack of understanding of "tomorrow will be better" in the cultural form of the Wasteland Era. expectations and yearning for a better life, etc...

The biggest difference between the wasteland and the troubled times is that people in the troubled times do not doubt in their hearts that the troubled times are only temporary and will end sooner or later. As for the people in the wasteland, not many people hope that the dead civilization can be resurrected.

Therefore, the most valuable thing in the wasteland is never precious metals, but confidence, which is more expensive than gold.

A currency that lacks confidence will soon be worthless.

As for factors such as force, productivity, technology, culture, etc. that can provide added value, although they also determine the value of currency, they are only one of the superficial factors.

The businessman looked at Sisi. He felt that she should be able to understand the meaning of his previous words, so he took off his hat and said goodbye.

"...Thank you again, generous and beautiful lady. Your shipment brings a perfect ending to my journey to the East. I also sincerely advise you to leave this right and wrong before it's too late." place."

"Thank you for your advice, I will pay attention to it." Without making any comments on his words, Si Si waved his hand and said goodbye to the merchant in front of him.

Old Boomer on the side saw the guest walking away, and finally couldn't hold back a curse.

"Petra Fortress will never surrender to the Legion, we are different from those cowards!"

The tail is full of energy.

"Oh! Of course, as long as we create Petra, everything will be fine!"

Although Old Boomer didn't understand what she was saying, he could feel that it was a compliment to his hometown, and his originally indignant face suddenly turned happy.

Rourou couldn't help but complain.

"Awei, you played the wrong game."

Watching the secretly happy figure disappear at the corner of the street, Sisi glanced at the coin with the camel printed on it in his hand, then at the filled boxes behind him, and after thinking for a moment, he looked at Old Boomer.

"I plan to open a bank. People who have fled here from the Golden Lion Kingdom can exchange their golden lion coins for golden camel coins... Speaking of which, are private banks allowed here?"

This was not an impromptu idea on her part.

But what the businessman said just now made her see new business opportunities.

"This... no one said no," the cheerful old Boomer was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly tried to dissuade him, "Convert these money into gold lion coins? What do you want gold lion coins for?"

Sisi: "Isn't it possible?"

Old Boomer said dumbfounded.

"This is not a question of whether it is possible...but that the Lion Kingdom is almost destroyed, and their currency will soon be worthless."

Although he emotionally believed that it was absolutely impossible for the Petra Fortress to fall, it was hard to say for the Lion Kingdom next door.

Once the city of abundance falls.

It was only a matter of time before the kingdom fell.

Sisi nodded, thought for a moment and said.

"Then... exchange it at an exchange rate of 6 to 1."

6 golden lion coins are exchanged for 1 golden camel coin.

Although it is not enough to allow those poor people to live the same life of food and clothing as in their hometown, it can at least prevent them from starving to death.

Hearing this exchange rate, Old Boomer smiled bitterly.

Six to one...

Even if it's six hundred to one, what you get in exchange is a pile of rubbish...

Tai Tai tilted his head and looked at Sisi.

"But don't we want to buy cattle back?"

"Well, that's what it is said, but as long as we win this war and drive the legion out of Luoxia Province, we can buy more cattle back..."

With excitement flashing in his eyes, Si Si was halfway through speaking when he suddenly thought of something and stopped talking.

"Ah, by the way, how about we share the dividends first."

"Dividends?" Rourou tilted his head, "Why are you here?"

Sisi thought for a moment, calmed down and said.

"Well... this is just in case. After all, investment is risky, and I can't guarantee that my judgment will be correct."

No matter how careful a plan is, there is always the risk of something unexpected happening.

If you succeed, the income will be gratifying, but if you fail, you may not only get money, but also friendship that is more valuable than money.

These boxes of golden camel coins are almost all the belongings that everyone has saved since the server was launched, including most of the profits from the previous dungeon.

Once you lose.

Don't say half a year's hard work has been in vain.

She believed that her companions were not the type to put profit above all else, and that was why she enjoyed being around them.

But she was sober after all.

It is difficult for a sober person to convince himself to believe in the probability of human nature.

What's more, even if her teammates would forgive her mistakes, it would be difficult for her to forgive herself for letting everyone's efforts go to waste.

She admitted that she was not as brave as others thought.

She is not afraid of many things.

But I’m just afraid of taking the blame…

"If that nuclear bomb really blows up the river embankment, you might lose money even if you win. If you are worried about losing your principal——"

"Don't say that kind of thing to others."

My shoulders were suddenly surrounded by a warm feeling.

Sisi, who was calmly analyzing just a second ago, suddenly had an unexpected blush on his cheeks, and his mouth was open and unable to speak.

He hugged her shoulders from behind, smiled and leaned close to her face while shaking his cat ears, and said in a cheerful voice.

"I actually know that Sisi always thinks a lot, and is super reliable when thinking about problems calmly. Although I am just an ordinary teacher in reality, and my game skills are average. I am not as good as you, but we are partners... Please also trust us more!”

"If you have any plans, just tell us. Don't carry so much psychological burden. Just go ahead and do it boldly!"

"That's right!"

Rourou, whose eyes were shining from just now, raised his paw and said excitedly, "Although I don't understand it very well, it sounds so powerful!"

She is also not a very strong high-level player. She selects support instantly when playing games. She also likes to hide behind the ADC when she is weak. Not to mention timid, she is addicted to losing. To win the championship, she has to DD her teammates on the public screen. After all, It's better to trick strangers than to trick acquaintances.

To this day, she still doesn't know why the operator chose her, and she was lucky enough to get a heterogeneous character with "exploding initial attributes."

However, this is not the luckiest thing.

The most fortunate thing in her mind is that she can meet a group of friends who never dislike her clumsiness and are willing to grow up with her.

Even if something like "the MT was frightened and ran away, causing the team to lose the front row", everyone would not blame her for being a loser, but would patiently encourage her, help her adjust her equipment and research new playing methods...

It was great to meet them.

Tails also raised his hand enthusiastically.

"Oh! Everyone has no objections, and Tails agrees! But we have to set aside funds for treasure hunting. We have agreed to explore the ruins, so don't spend all your living expenses!"

Rourou glanced at her sideways and complained.

"No one would do this except you, okay?"

"Giao!!"

Tails showed a shocked expression after being complained about by Rourou, but it was obviously just a joke between friends.

Seeing everyone supporting him, Sisi's eyes were touched, and the explanations that came to his lips were finally condensed into two words.

"Thanks……"

"I told you not to be so outspoken."

Letting go of Si Si's shoulders, Sesame Paste picked up the cat she had placed on the ground again and smiled sheepishly.

"Speaking of which, are there any plans for the ruins of Lost Valley?"

With a confident smile restored on his face, Sisi said in a serious tone.

"That's what I was going to say."