Chapter 46: Into the Wild (2/2)

It was a middle-aged man who asked him, “Why are you looking to buy feathers here at the marketplace? What can you do with them anyway?”

Luo Yuan looked at the man squatting down in front of him. “I’m making bulletproof equipment with it. I’ll pay you a good deal if you have any!”

The man nodded as he said, “No doubt the equipment will be sturdy, but you’re going to need a lot of feathers just to make a single piece.”

“To make something truly bulletproof, I shall need at least three to four layers, so approximately thirty four feathers.”

“That much?” the man mumbled.

Luo Yuan laughed. Judging by the man’s reaction, he was bound to have some feathers at hand. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be asking so many questions.

“I wouldn’t be buying them at any price if I didn’t need a lot of them.”

The man hesitated for a moment. “Well, I have a few at hand, but I’d like to hear how much you’re willing to pay first.”

“If my calculations are correct, a military bulletproof vest would cost a 100-gram rice coupon. How about I pay you a 3-gram rice coupon per feather?”

“That’s way too low! You can’t compare conventional bulletproof equipment to biologically enhanced equipment,” the man said as he shook his head. “Biological equipment might be in limited supply, but I’ve heard that it is much better in all aspects compared to conventional equipment! Three grams is definitely too little. How about a 5-gram rice coupon per feather?”

The two of them bargained for several minutes, as neither wanted to end up on the losing side of the deal. Finally, they reached an agreement, setting the price at a 4.5-gram rice coupon per feather. The middle-aged man was more than delighted to settle at 4.5 and he ran out to bring the feathers. While he waited, Luo Yuan succeeded in making a second deal, so by noon he had bought a total of thirty dark owl feathers. Just as he was about to leave, a man suddenly stopped in front of him.

He was tall and large in built, so big that his presence alone was enough to intimidate someone. He stood there and looked at Luo Yuan, his stern face looking confused.

“Boss Luo? Is that you?”

Luo Yuan looked up at the man. He looked a bit familiar but he couldn’t quite recall who it was. Then suddenly he smiled.

“Qian DakuiI! Long time no see! When did you get here?”

“I was supposed to be on the third group, but I was detained for a while for starting a fight in Hedong City, so I just got here recently.” He spoke in an obnoxiously loud volume that prompted many looks from the people around them. Most of them would have beaten him if it wasn’t for his size.

“Have you got any of these? I’m looking for dark owl feathers.”

“Yeah, I’ve got some alright. I saw a bird get shot down by one of them machine guns in the outskirts. I’m sure it’s these same feathers, but they must be rotten by now. Do you still want them?”

“Yeah, of course! Where can I find them?”

“It’s a very dangerous place. I stumbled upon them while I was running for my life! But it shouldn’t be a problem for Boss Luo, of course!” he said, bursting into laughter. He knew what Luo Yuan was capable of. He had seen him effortlessly kill an armed man using only his sword.

“Wait a minute. You’ve been into the wild? I thought the army was guarding the exits,” Luo Yuan said. He was certain that the borders of Hedong City were being heavily guarded by the military.

“Guarding my ass! We do all their dirty work for them! We hunt down the food and then they buy it from us for nothing. They even give us the weapons to do it! Where do you think the city gets its food supply from?”

Luo Yuan knew what Qian Dakui was insinuating. Watching him got Luo Yuan excited about hunting, not to mention that he was also tempted by the idea of successfully casting his own set of blue rank equipment. He wondered how many feathers a single black owl could provide him.

“Alright, I’m in. Just tell me when and where.”

“That’s the spirit! How about tomorrow morning? Let’s meet at the marketplace and I’ll introduce you to my comrades.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Luo Yuan nodded in agreement.

They talked for a little longer, and then left the marketplace without exchanging any contact information.