Chapter 338: Mocking
The Market they had passed earlier was only eight or nine hundred meters from where Vikram and the others were trading. The vehicles returned to the stone building in a few minutes.
To avoid attracting attention, Vikram put the vehicle into his space before they got too close, and then the group walked towards the bustling building.
During this time, the group of seven remained silent. Vikram had nothing to say.
Radhika and Geetanjali were too stunned by Vikram’s strength to speak.
They knew Vikram was powerful before, but only to the extent that he didn’t lack food. In fact, not too few Survivors in the Wasteland could achieve that.
After all, if one found a resource point with food, even a small one, they wouldn’t have to worry about food and drink for at least one or two months.
But the vehicle the two had just ridden in was a completely different matter.
To possess such a four-wheeled vehicle meant he was at least capable of clearing underground Zombie lairs.
Don’t be fooled into thinking the most powerful Zombies in some underground lairs were only Epic-level Zombies; those were Epic-level Zombies on the verge of advancing, with all four-dimensional stats at least 75 points or higher.
At least with their current strength, they were still far from being able to defeat them.
Moreover, Vikram’s vehicle was clearly not ordinary. Its heavy body and the signs of modification all over it convinced the two that it was definitely not a normal Epic-level vehicle.
"Is it a purple-gold quality vehicle about to become Legendary-level, or is it already Legendary-level?"
The more the two behind Vikram thought about it, the more they realized something was off, and their admiration for Vikram’s back grew.
At this moment, they were both glad they decided to accompany Vikram to the Market.
The two exchanged a subtle glance, both seeing a hint of joy in each other’s eyes.
It was the joy of having found a truly powerful backer today.
Vikram didn’t know that so much drama had unfolded in the minds of the two behind him in such a short time.
As they approached on foot and finally reached the stone building, Geetanjali’s reminder sounded from behind them.
"It’s indeed a temporary Market opened by White Fox Shelter. There are even members of White Fox Shelter guarding the entrance."
Geetanjali immediately noticed the White Fox head badges hanging on the chests of the two guards at the entrance.
Although a bit crude, it was not easy to create such a badge as a symbol of identity in the apocalypse.
Vikram looked at the Market right in front of him.
The entire Market was indeed built of stone, but compared to the thick stone walls of Crimson Desire Shelter, these seemed to be only temporary structures, so the walls were incredibly thin.
A quick glance showed that the surrounding walls were only about 20 centimeters thick, enclosing the space inside.
Vikram had no doubt that a strong wind could blow down these stone walls.
As they approached the Market, several Survivors had already gathered nearby.
They were queuing, waiting for the gatekeepers to let them into the Market.
Vikram and the four women patiently waited in line for a while.
He had initially thought that these people still knew how to queue, and it wasn’t as chaotic as Radhika had described.
However, before they even entered the Market, a survivor in front of Vikram suddenly turned around.
He brazenly stared at Vikram, sizing him up and down, then a sly smile spread across his lips as he said, "Kid, first time here, huh?"
"Want me to tell you the rules? It’s not expensive, just ten ordinary crystals."
The man in front of him had a mouthful of yellow teeth, his left hand gestured for money, and his right hand was already poised to rest on Vikram’s shoulder.
However, before he could actually touch Vikram, and before he realized what was happening, his arm was seized.
"No need. Get back in line, and keep your hands to yourself, or I can’t guarantee what might happen."
The man’s expression froze. He had intended to say more to trick this new Survivor, but noticing that his right hand was held firmly in the other’s grip, he immediately gave up the idea.
"Let... let go. I just wanted to sell you some information, it’s fine if you don’t want it, there’s no need for this."
"Help!!!"
This person was clearly a repeat offender. Seeing that he couldn’t afford to provoke Vikram, he immediately yelled at the top of his lungs.
This instantly drew an angry shout from the guards at the Market entrance, "What’s going on back there? Get in line properly, or don’t blame me for being impolite."
It seemed such situations were commonplace for the gatekeepers. Before he even finished speaking, he had already pulled out a pistol and aimed it in Vikram’s direction.
Seeing this, Vikram snorted coldly and released the man.
He was only here to try his luck at the Market, not to cause trouble.
With the White Fox Shelter members guarding the gate, it would be difficult for him to kill this person.
"All of you, behave yourselves! Next time, there won’t be a warning!"
The gate guard glared at Vikram and the man in front of him, saying.
Seeing his right hand released, the man in front of him gave Vikram a triumphant look.
It was as if he was saying, ’No matter how powerful you are, you still have to behave when you see the White Fox people.’
"If it weren’t for your decent strength, I would have extorted you to death today."
He sneered at Vikram before finally turning his head to queue up properly.
Anjali, who had witnessed everything, clicked her tongue and said with an indignant expression, "It really is like this. We haven’t even entered the Market yet, and we’ve already encountered such people."
Radhika shook her head, "It’s still early. This is already the most strictly guarded area."
"After all, even if White Fox Shelter doesn’t care about the lives of these Survivors, they still need them to go inside and spend money before they die."
"Once inside, it is said that in the vast Market, there will only be one patrol team."
"And they basically don’t bother to manage anything; they’re just putting on a show."
While Radhika was speaking softly, the queue in front had already reached Vikram.
The man in front of him entered the Market, made a throat-slitting gesture of provocation towards Vikram outside the wall, and then it was Vikram’s turn to be at the very front.
"New here?"
"If you want to enter, take off your mask, and each person must hand over two ordinary crystals."
Vikram’s eyes narrowed at this, "The people before me didn’t hand over any crystals. Why do I have to?"
While queuing earlier, Vikram had observed for a long time. Taking off masks was indeed a rule; everyone had to do it to enter.
But he hadn’t seen anyone take out crystals.
"Less nonsense. If we tell you to pay, you pay. Don’t forget you caused trouble outside just now, and we spared your life, which is why you escaped unscathed."
"Otherwise, do you think you’d still have the chance to stand here and talk to us properly?"
This was, of course, just an excuse, merely their way of earning some extra money.
As for why they didn’t extort money from the Survivors in front, it was because those people had White Fox Market consumption tokens and were all regular customers, so they couldn’t be tricked even if they wanted to.
Today, they finally encountered Vikram and his group of new faces, so they naturally had to get some profit from them.
After hearing the two gatekeepers, Vikram, who already didn’t have a good expression, looked even worse.
He wasn’t a fool; he could tell with his toes that the other party was doing it on purpose.
If he hadn’t gone inside to see the situation yet, he would have wanted to kill these two scoundrels on the spot.
"What are you looking at? Either pay up, or scram."
"Exactly. If you can’t afford it, hurry up and get out of the way. Haven’t you seen the large crowd of people waiting behind us?"
Ordinary crystals had long been useless to Vikram. Even the Survivor with the lowest physique in his territory, had already reached the limit of improvement that ordinary crystals could give her.
So, Vikram, having nothing else to do, naturally wouldn’t carry them around, taking up space in his backpack.
Now, to get in, he could only temporarily have Ron send the crystals to him through a trade.
However, before the crystals even arrived, not only were the gate guards impatient, but even the several Survivors waiting in line behind them began to urge them on.
"What the hell? Why are you so slow? Are you missing a leg or have a sprained ankle? Just go in."
"Hmph, hmph, these look like newcomers. They’re probably being asked for crystals by those gatekeeping dogs, and that’s why they’re so slow right now because they can’t produce them."
"Tch, dressed so nicely, but you can’t even pull out crystals. Why are you even coming to this Market?"
Radhika and Geetanjali were also a bit anxious, but they didn’t think Vikram lacked these few crystals. They thought Vikram wanted to contend with these guards.
After all, the other party was indeed deliberately making things difficult, and in their imagination, a big shot like Vikram would definitely not tolerate such an insult.
Fearing that Vikram would truly clash with White Fox Shelter, the two women quickly stepped forward.
"It’s alright, Big Shot, let us handle it. This area is close to our Shelter, so consider us fulfilling our duties as hosts."
Radhika smiled sweetly and paid the fourteen ordinary crystals that seven people needed to hand over, and only then did they finally enter the Market.
As soon as they entered, before they had even walked two steps, the two Survivors guarding the gate behind them loudly mocked, "Oh my, in this day and age, no matter how hard you work, it’s not as good as having a pretty face. I used to think only women were like this, but I didn’t expect pretty boy men to be just as popular."
It seemed like a joke, but in reality, anyone could hear the meaning in their words. The Survivors still waiting in line outside the gate all burst into laughter after hearing it.
"Hahaha, gatekeeper, if you keep spouting nonsense, those little beauties next to that kid are going to come over and beat you up."
Because they had to enter the Market, the six women around Vikram at this time could not cover their faces with masks.
Divya, Sophia and Anjali, of course, were both stunning beauties with looks scoring ninety points and above. Plus, they never lacked any food or nutrition, and didn’t have to do too much dirty or tiring work, so their skin remained as fair and lustrous as it was on Earth. Luna is the most beautiful of them.
The other two, though not as striking as Divya and Anjali, still had looks that scored at least seventy or eighty points.
And being surrounded by so many beauties, who even paid for Vikram, Vikram was naturally regarded by the people behind him as a pretty boy, a male favorite.
"I am a member of White Fox Shelter. What can those little small fries do to me?"
"If they dare to make a move...hehe, I wouldn’t mind having some fun with these four beauties."
"Yes, look at these little faces, so tender."
Completely disregarding Vikram’s gaze, the two gatekeepers immediately eyed Luna, Sophia, Divya and Anjali greedily, causing the women to look disgusted and repulsed.
"Especially the girl closest to that kid, tsk tsk tsk, even dressed so thickly, her figure can’t be hidden. If I could really have some fun, I’d be willing to live two years less."
Although these gatekeepers said so, they actually didn’t dare to make a move.
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