Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 386 - 21 This is Cigarette

Chapter 386: Chapter 21 This is Cigarette

"Why do you want a map? I myself am a living map! Every street in Moscow, even every inch of soil around a hundred kilometers, bears my footprints," Old Pavel patted his chest, introducing himself to Tang Zheng, "This is not a boast, just ask around. How far can these excellent ears hear?"

"Sure, any adventurer above the age of thirty knows the geography of hundreds of miles around," a shabby resident of the wasteland bearing an AM47 approached Tang Zheng. After refuting Old Pavel, he laughed and said, "We can’t help it, everything edible in the city and suburbs has been cleared out. We have to go further afield for scavenging."

"Beat it," Seeing someone poaching his business, Little Pavel immediately got angry and pulled out his gun to threaten him.

"Ha, brave one, aren’t you? Are you willing to waste that bullet? If you are, shoot it here!" the adventurer laughed cheekily, pointed at his forehead, and showed no concern for Little Pavel’s threat.

"No idle chatter, just get me the map!" Tang Zheng’s tone was cold, startling the cavalier adventurer instantly.

"That old piece of paper is expensive, though. Military-grade, I happen to have one. Ten bottle caps, or three hundred rounds of 7.62mm bullets." The man frowned, reluctant to part with the map he held.

Without any action from Tang Zheng, Yin Shangwu had already taken the map, glanced at it, and then threw it back at the man’s face.

"Trying to scam with a civilian map, are you begging to die?"

Lu Fan pulled out the revolver that was plugged into his waistband, aimed it at him, "Go, unless you want holes in you!"

Civilian maps aren’t easy to come by either," the swindler was still talking when a bullet skimmed his forehead. He stopped talking immediately, picked up the map that had fallen on the ground, and scurried away.

After this interlude, those who wanted to hoodwink onlookers immediately restrained themselves.

"I need a guide, but I trust my own eyes more, and some plans also require a military map. So, Old Pavel, find me a seller," Tang Zheng smirked coldly. "Don’t tell me there aren’t any."

"Leader, that’s hard to find, even before the war, military maps were rare, let alone a hundred years later when nobody is producing them, every one that’s lost its an irreplaceable loss, people treasure them so much that they hide them away," Old Pavel replied with a troubled face.

"Doesn’t the Steel Council have them? Isn’t there any in the black market?" Qin Yan surveyed the street, noticing that entertainment venues were still busy.

Those single adventurers don’t know whether they can survive the next round of scavenging. Beyond purchasing weaponry, they go to bars to enjoy life.

"Yes, but they are not only expensive but also missing parts," scoffed Sholokhov, not believing in Tang Zheng’s idea. "Just give it up, even those large-scale armed forces are making do with civilian maps."

"Isn’t there usually one in the military camp? We might as well go look ourselves," Pang Meiqin tried to show her worth, but her suggestion was refuted immediately.

"All the camps around Moscow have been flipped upside down countless times, they are the favorite haunting ground for scavengers, who doesn’t want to find an armory?" Little Pavel thought this woman had no brains, "If you’re looking for a map for this purpose, just give it up."

"Here we are, this is my home."

This was already in the west district’s second floor, what appeared in front of everyone was a cave dwelling. Upon entering the wooden door, a feeling of cramped dreariness hit them, making everyone feel stifled.

The room seemed to function both as a living room and storage annex kitchen, filled with all sorts of odds and ends, including a toilet.

"It’s only thirty square meters!" Lu Fan crinkled her nose, an odor wafting in the air. She tiptoed to check the inside of the house while seeing that it was even smaller. It didn’t have room for much more than a bed. A woman sat on the floor making crossbow arrows, next to her a thin little girl of about eleven or twelve was busy sharpening a rusty machete on a sharpening stone. She seemed to have noticed the disturbance outside and sneaked a peek, but didn’t dare to come out.

"Hehe, this is a house worth one thousand bottle caps! To be able to set up a cave dwelling in the West District is our biggest dream," Old Pavel boasted, completely oblivious to the contempt and disgust in the eyes of the models, "My father and I, we saved bottle caps for over twenty years for this."

"Over twenty years?" The models yelped with shock. They knew their strengths; none thought they were better at surviving than Old Pavel.

"So amassing ten thousand would take a hundred and fifty years?" Several models turned pale at the thought.

"Ten thousand? Stop daydreaming; leave it to your grandchildren to fulfill that dream!" Little Pavel put down his weapon and went to find his sister, completely unaware of the shock his words caused among the newcomers.

"So where did you live before?" Pang Meiqin, preferring a tent to staying here, asked.

"North District. Five bottle caps monthly get you five square meters, you can set up tents as you wish," Old Pavel rubbed his hands and yelled, "Old hag, we have guests, light the fire, I’m freezing."

Ever since he entered the house, a happy smile has adorned Old Pavel’s face. Even when he was scolding someone, there wasn’t much anger. It was more about showing his respect and attentive care for Tang Zheng and the others.

"I didn’t expect that in the post-nuclear war world, not only would housing prices rise, but the conditions would also worsen. It’s almost unbearable!" Gao Yu was an ordinary worker, and he couldn’t help but sigh upon hearing this. The corner of Tang Zheng’s mouth also twitched a little. Without the diamonds, he too would be a miserable guy who had to exchange his points for RMB.

"This place is too crowded, can we rent a house?" Pang Meiqin’s statement obtained the agreement from the model girls.

"Go to the North District, or live in inns. But all of you would presumably have to pay five bottle caps, while I only need two." Old Pavel never considered the issue of environment. However, after seeing the beautiful faces of Yin Shangwu, Qin Yan and others as they removed their triple defense masks, he was absolutely stunned. He then comprehended what they detested and his cheeks turned slightly red due to embarrassment.

"My home is clean enough as it is, unless you all want to live on the third floor." Old Pavel gave a final persuasion, hoping to keep these guests at his house.

"Don’t bother, let’s just find a house on the second floor." Tang Zheng had many matters that weren’t convenient to be known by outsiders. They had to find a place to live.

"Alright then, ya’ll assign someone to come with me to the police station to handle the rental procedures." Old Pavel sighed, giving up resisting.

"Dantai, Gao Yu, you two go. Be careful on the way." Tang Zheng tossed over the heated bottle caps, which the two didn’t refuse. Carrying their rifles, they followed Old Pavel onto the street.

Twenty minutes later, Tang Zheng and his group moved into a house that was similar to Old Pavel’s in layout. The house lacked any form of furniture and reeked of decay and dampness. A few steps around the room stirred an inch-thick layer of dust into the air.

"Don’t stand around, start cleaning." Lu Fan took out gloves and masks proficiently. After putting them on, he handed out other cleaning tools to the model girls, supervising their work. "If you don’t work, there won’t be any food."

"There should be some recruitment for group members around here, right?" Standing on the main street, Tang Zheng handed a cigarette to Old Pavel. "Don’t worry, I will keep hiring you as our guide."

"A cigarette?" Old Pavel was hugely surprised, nearly popping his eyes out. This was a luxury, a commodity that cost ten bottle caps per pack. After receiving the cigarette, he couldn’t help trembling; he had only ever smoked one cigarette stub in his life.

"No, don’t light it." Seeing Tang Zheng handing over a lighter, Old Pavel hurriedly refused, before carefully stowing the cigarette in his clothes. He wanted to enjoy the cigarette bite by bite back at home.

Gao Yu laughed, then was choked by smoke. But Old Pavel didn’t mind, he took a deep breath, enjoying the secondhand smoke nearby. Then he revealed a blissful expression as if he had ascended to heaven.

"Ah, it’s so delicious!"

"This is too pitiful." Seeing Old Pavel’s intoxicated expression, Lu Fan couldn’t help but shudder.

"Most recruits gather in bars. I know some group leaders who are pretty decent." Old Pavel furrowed his brows and added, "You want to join a team? Makes sense. If you want to settle down here, you should familiarize yourself with the terrain first."

"Tang Zheng, we have no water or firewood. How are we going to cook?" Qin Yan, like a housewife worried about the family’s livelihood, questioned, "We can’t keep using our reserves, can we?"

"Locals have water vouchers and can get water in limited quantities every day. Itinerants like you will have to buy them." Old Pavel stepped forward, hurriedly explaining, "But I have some water at my house; you can use it first."

"No need." Lu Fan refused and pulled Qin Yan to a corner, whispering to her. The Alice apron of Little Lolita once again came in handy. The purified water she had brought filled over a thousand gallons. It should be more than enough for each person to take a bath. Of course, that would also only last for two to three months. There was no other way, as no one had anticipated how long this mission would be.

"Let’s go and show us the way to the bar." After instructing Qin Yan for a while, Tang Zheng left with Old Pavel.

"Eh, what are they spraying inside the house? It’s quite fragrant." Old Pavel lingered reluctantly as he suddenly noticed that these people had taken a variety of items out of their backpacks.

"Air freshener." Gao Yu answered. He realized too late and closed his mouth.

"What’s that?" Old Pavel was confused. He then saw Little Lolita stuffing her face with food and swallowed his saliva, asking, "That red item is sausage, right? But what’s that dark thing? It has a pretty plastic wrapper."

"Chocolate. Be helpful and I’ll give a few pieces to Little Molly." Tang Zheng looked at Dantai and laughed, "Don’t you have anything to ask?"

"Despite the harsh conditions, after over a hundred years, they should be able to cultivate some crops and develop agriculture, right?" Dantai looked at the worn and dirty streets and the faces filled with hopelessness and despair, puzzled. "They shouldn’t be this bad, right?"

"Ah, there isn’t a good governance system, just like the Steel Council kind. They simply don’t care about ordinary people’s lives." Old Pavel’s face was full of despair. "Seeds are easy to find. In the past, there were people who risked planting in places with less radiation. But just when they were about to harvet, others would come to reap. Not only could they not keep the crops, but they might also lose their lives in the process. Over time, no one wanted to engage in these types of strenuous and thankless tasks anymore." (To be continued. If you like this novel, please come to qidian.com to recommend and vote for it. Your support is my greatest motivation.)