Chapter 40: Azure Cloud Resort
After Lu Yunping finished speaking, Chen Feng took over:
"That’s the situation. Whether or not you want to join us is entirely up to you. We believe in complete freedom of movement here; we never force anyone."
Han Ning pondered for a moment. He was not currently lacking in food, but he was in dire need of other resources, such as intelligence, energy, practical tools, and crop seeds.
"Alright, I’ll join," Han Ning decided.
Chen Feng did not seem surprised by this answer. He fumbled into his coat and produced a black card with a unique texture, handing it over:
"Welcome to the 'Biyun Awakened Exchange Association.' This is the key card for a room at the Biyun Resort, and it also serves as your membership credential."
"With this, you can live in that room and freely participate in all association activities."
"Our association currently has 57 Awakened and over 100 ordinary people. People are constantly dying and being replaced."
"There is a marketplace here open all day for trading supplies. Once you arrive at the resort, just register your basic information. It doesn’t need to be detailed; just list the general direction of your awakened ability."
"57? That many?! Do you know how ordinary people become Awakened?"
Han Ning took the cold, black key card. It felt similar to a standard five-star hotel card, etched with a simple cloud pattern and a room number.
Chen Feng shook his head.
"Heh, we’ve recruited almost all the Awakened in the eastern resort area, which is why there are so many of us."
"As for how ordinary people become Awakened, it remains a mystery. We only know that when a person experiences a drastic emotional shift, there is a higher probability of them becoming an Awakened."
"Consuming the flesh of local monsters also carries a slim chance of mutation, though more often than not, it results in malignant mutations."
"Eating monster flesh can also cause awakening?"
"Yes! But the success rate is very low."
Chen Feng’s expression turned serious.
"Different people have different physical reactions to consuming different monster flesh. We are still in the exploration stage, and I don't know much more than that."
As if just remembering, he asked, "By the way, brother, what should I call you?"
Looking at Chen Feng, it seemed he didn't want to elaborate further on that topic. Han Ning decided not to press him and replied:
"Han Ning. Why were you two out there?"
Chen Feng answered:
"We usually operate in that area, responsible for recruiting new members or hunting monsters."
"Our partner, an Awakened with mental perception abilities, had an urgent matter today and couldn't come. So we could only patrol the outskirts of the fog zone to see if we could hunt a few stray lizard-crocs. We didn't expect to run into you."
At this, he squeezed out a smile.
"To be honest, by recommending capable newcomers to join the association, we guides receive some rewards from within the organization."
"In the future, if you meet anyone suitable, you can recommend them too, and you'll receive rewards as well."
Han Ning realized then why these two were so proactive—they were working on commission. It made sense; it was an incentive mechanism to help grow the organization.
"Understood." Han Ning nodded, tucked away the key card, and asked, "Is it convenient to take me to the marketplace now? I’d like to get familiar with the environment."
"Of course."
Chen Feng agreed readily.
"I also need to go back and tend to my wounds anyway. Let's go. The resort isn't far from here, just closer toward the city center."
...
The Biyun Resort was located within a relatively intact complex of buildings, some distance from the edge of the white fog.
The main structure was a luxury hotel building over a dozen stories high, surrounded by auxiliary villas and entertainment facilities. Some areas had been converted into defensive fortifications, and people could be seen patrolling.
Entering the hotel lobby, the space had been repurposed as a simple front desk for the association. The interior was dim, relying solely on faint natural light.
After a brief registration of his information, Chen Feng said to Han Ning, "The paperwork is done. Yunping and I need to head to the medical room to treat our wounds, so feel free to look around on your own."
"The banquet hall on the second floor is the marketplace. If you have any questions, just ask the people there; they all know the rules."
"If you want to trade anything, just set up a stall or talk to someone directly. Everything is free here. When you're done, you can head back to your room or leave the resort whenever you like."
"Alright, thank you both." Han Ning nodded in acknowledgment.
Chen Feng and Lu Yunping turned and left. Han Ning followed the signs toward the second-floor banquet hall. As he reached the staircase, he could faintly hear the clamor of voices above, a stark contrast to the quiet atmosphere of the lobby.
Pushing open the heavy doors of the banquet hall, he was hit by a complex scent of sweat, mold, and food.
The hall was large. The original tables and chairs had been moved to the perimeter, leaving the center floor filled with dozens of tables of various sizes. Some tables held items, with people sitting behind them. Beside most of them stood or were posted crude cardboard signs, with the names of items and trading terms scrawled in crooked handwriting.
It was much livelier than he had imagined; at a glance, there were at least several dozen people. They were standing or sitting, some whispering, some haggling, and others simply sitting silently behind their stalls, staring into space. The light came mainly from candles provided by the stall owners, giving the place a dim, eerie quality, much like an old-fashioned ghost market.
*So many people?* Han Ning guessed that most of them were likely the families of the Awakened.
Other ordinary people could be abandoned, but families were hard to leave behind.
He walked in with Xuebing and began to stroll slowly along the aisle.
When the people in the banquet hall saw the robust and ferocious-looking Xuebing, they were startled at first. But upon seeing it following the stranger as docilely as a pet, their tense expressions relaxed.
Han Ning ignored their nerves and scanned the items on the tables.
The items for sale generally fell into these categories:
1. Food and water: This was the most common. Compressed biscuits, canned goods, vacuum-packed rice and flour, bottled and barreled water, vegetables and fruits that didn't look very fresh, as well as dried meat and fish. Han Ning hadn't seen anyone selling seeds yet.
2. Daily necessities: Toothpaste and toothbrushes, soap, towels, toilet paper, lighters, matches, batteries, candles, sewing kits, tape, rope, plastic bags...
3. Tools and weapons: Fire axes, crowbars, steel pipes, sharpened rebar, kitchen knives, daggers, wrenches, hammers, screwdriver sets... Han Ning even saw two well-maintained compound bows and a small bundle of arrows at one stall, though they were priced quite high. Some owners were also selling homemade Molotov cocktails.
4. Medicine: These were high-demand resources. There were few stalls, and the stock was mixed: common cold medicine, painkillers, anti-inflammatories, gauze, bandages, iodine, alcohol...
5. Energy: Gas canisters, gasoline, diesel, solid alcohol blocks, batteries.
6. Clothing and protective gear: Raincoats, windbreakers, heavy-duty work pants, durable boots, work gloves, motorcycle helmets...
7. Other strange things: Books, cigarettes, electronic products.
8. Intelligence.
9. People and other animals...
"The variety is quite rich."
When Han Ning reached a relatively secluded corner, a rather abrupt scene caught his eye.
A young woman sat behind a small table. She had a delicate face, wore no makeup, and was dressed in a loose shirt. On the cardboard in front of her, it was written in red ink:
"Overnight: 2 cans or equivalent food/credits."
The woman kept her head down, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her shirt. Only occasionally would she cast a quick glance at the passersby, her eyes filled with a trace of shame.