Chapter 344: Changes In Thought
"No way. Who knows if you’ll go back on your word and not give me the item after I go to meet your boss with you."
This statement made him difficult again. He wanted Vikram to go with him first because he was afraid that he would take the item and then go back on his word.
Even though he was indeed quite afraid of failing the task of his unpredictable boss, he couldn’t be so foolish as to give away an item for free.
As for why not just use the Survival Platform’s video communication to let Vikram meet his boss?
Since it was a meeting, his boss naturally wanted to play some tricks. What tricks could be played in a video meeting?
"How about this, you just tell me how much this thing costs, and I’ll buy it now."
"We can talk about meeting later, but the meeting place cannot be your shelter. How about that?"
"If it works for you, let’s trade now. If not... then I’ll just have to go somewhere else."
"Anyway, the Crimson Desire Shelter seems to have this too? I can just go find Lilith then."
Originally, when Vikram said he wanted to buy the item separately and discuss meeting next time, Sokka was a hundred percent unwilling.
But upon hearing that the other party knew Lilith, Sokka barely hesitated and directly handed the bead to Vikram.
"Young man, there’s no need. Although I don’t know the exact use of this bead, it’s just an Epic-level item, not very valuable. Consider it a gift from our Shelter’s boss to get acquainted with you."
"Let’s add each other as friends. We can always arrange to meet our boss again sometime."
Sokka acted nonchalant, but inwardly felt a pang of regret. Epic-level items might not be much to the boss of a Shelter, but to him, a high-ranking member, they were still worth a lot.
In the Wasteland, physical prowess was king. People with Vikram’s physique, even if not recruited, would generally not be offended.
The White Fox Shelter and the Crimson Desire Shelter were already hostile to each other.
Failing to bring Vikram to meet Jade was a small matter, but if the other party turned around and colluded with Lilith, causing trouble for his Shelter...
Then Jade might even flay him alive.
Therefore, he could only give this item to Vikram first to build some goodwill.
"Oh! You’re too kind."
"Then please thank your director for me. See you next time if there’s a chance."
Vikram unceremoniously took the Luck Orb, casually added the other party as a friend, and then, without any hesitation, turned and left.
This left Sokka behind, speechless, yet unable to act.
If it weren’t for Vikram’s strength, why would Sokka waste so many words with him? He would have just abducted him directly.
But the other party was someone who wasn’t even afraid of hot weapons. What could he use to stop him?
Walking out of the Market gate, the few Survivors from the White Fox Shelter outside the Market were somewhat surprised to see Vikram, who was completely unharmed.
After they stopped him and confirmed his identity using the Survival Platform, Vikram and his four companions were finally allowed to leave.
Despite successfully leaving the Market, seeing the actions of these people, Vikram sighed inwardly.
He thought to himself that he had been too naive, believing that if no one saw them, they could just slip through.
Given their current situation, it was clear that his face had already made the rounds within the White Fox Shelter multiple times.
"Sigh."
Having left the Market by nearly a hundred meters, Radhika heard Vikram’s sigh and asked with some confusion, "What’s wrong, Vikram? Didn’t you get what you wanted? Why the long face?"
Vikram didn’t answer directly, but shook his head and said, "After this, if you can avoid getting close to the White Fox Shelter, it’s best to do so. It’s just a small piece of advice; whether you listen or not is up to you."
"Don’t forget, we didn’t disguise ourselves when we entered the Market today. That means if they’re willing to spend the time, finding us shouldn’t be difficult."
Upon hearing this, the two women’s faces gradually turned pale.
They weren’t fools either.
Yes, they had escaped a disaster today entirely because Sokka was wary of Vikram’s strength.
But the White Fox Shelter members who were guarding the gate earlier were indeed killed by their group.
Even if Vikram wasn’t afraid, what about the two of them?
Don’t even mention that a physique above 50 points is already quite good; for the White Fox Shelter, which has opened several Markets in the Wasteland, it’s nothing.
Being able to open Markets, their Shelter’s least lacking resource is crystals.
With more crystals, it’s inevitable that there would be more powerful individuals in the Shelter.
Didn’t they see that even the people responsible for tracking them just now had physiques of fifty points?
The two women, who had just happily found what they wanted in the Market, were now trembling slightly as they held their items after Vikram finished speaking.
However, they ultimately suppressed their fear and slowly spoke, "It’s okay, at... at worst, we’ll just move the Shelter further away. It shouldn’t be a big deal."
Geetanjali’s voice grew weaker halfway through her sentence, clearly lacking any confidence.
"Don’t be so anxious. For now, nothing should happen."
"If I were the White Fox Shelter, with such a large enterprise, I wouldn’t bother with two common small fry."
"If you really get targeted later..."
Vikram looked at the two women, hesitated for a long time, then pointed at the Survival Platform on his left wrist and continued, "If you really get targeted, you can contact me."
"No matter what danger there will be, I will save you guys."
"That’s all for now. It’s getting late, let’s head back."
The incident of killing the White Fox Shelter members was indeed done by him alone; the two women merely watched from the side and didn’t take action.
So, he felt he should be responsible for their safety, although they themselves decided to come along. But killing was his thing, so he felt it was his fault.
Hearing his promise, they both gave a relieved smile, they had already seen how much stronger Vikram was.
Vikram was also getting a small benefit, he have now the long-term, stable source of fuel.
Logically speaking, a gas station, even a Level 3 gas station, has a maximum storage capacity of 60,000 liters.
Not to mention, he didn’t know if the gas station they found would be even larger.
At least from this perspective, until Vikram found a gas station or a large oil storage room in a factory himself, the two female Survivors were quite important to him.
After driving for a long time, at four o’clock in the afternoon, Vikram’s vehicle slowly drove into the thick walled iron gate.
From the large patches of blood on the front of the car, it was evident that he had still run over many zombies on the way back.
"Boss, Brother Vikram, welcome home."
As soon as they heard the sound of a vehicle, all the shelter members, except the women, came out to greet them.
They were now developing the area of Territory 3. Since Snape’s rule was over, no one was left to trouble them.
Many buildings had already been constructed, and a large area had been allocated for farming. With the help of his Plant Mages, many facilities had already been developed.
Even a large parking lot had been built in Territory 3.
To reach Territory 1, Vikram first had to pass through Territory 3, which was still under development, and then Territory 2, where all the survivors lived, except for his family, the plant beings, Pinku, and the goat.
As for Territory 1, it was reserved for Vikram and his family. Pinku, the goat, and the plant beings were also considered part of his family.
Pinku had become lazier than ever. Occasionally, when she was in the mood, she would lay a Treasure Box for him, but even that happened only rarely.
As for the goat, it simply bleated, "Maa... maa..." and provided milk.
"Just park the car here, Boss. I’ll drive it to the cleaning area later."
"Then I’ll trouble you, Harry Bro."
The one speaking was Harry. Vikram handed him the car keys, and Harry drove the vehicle to the cleaning area.
"Boss, did we really need to develop this area? It’s so large, and it will require a lot of resources, yet only a few of us live here," Ron asked.
Since Territory 1 covered only about one square kilometer, everyone understood why Territory 2 was needed to accommodate the survivors who had joined Vikram’s territory.
However, Territory 2 was four times larger than Territory 1, which was already more than enough for Ron and the other forty or so members.
Not only was it enough, but it was more than sufficient. Even now, several buildings still stood empty.
So, developing Territory 3, which was four times larger than Territory 2, simply didn’t make sense to them.
Vikram looked at him and smiled, but without replying to him, he and the two women slowly made their way back to Territory 1.
Until the Treehouse was upgraded, Territory 1 was the most durable shelter. It has all the facilities, and entertainment.
But instead of focusing on the entertainment or anything, Vikram gives a look at the Luck Orb.
He was just going to give it to Divya, when he noticed Divya and Anjali sprawled motionless on the retractable sofa.
Sophia and Luna are already sitting there.
"What’s going on? Are you two that tired?"
The two shook their heads, but they looked a bit downcast.
"What’s wrong?"
"Do you think I’m too stingy, unwilling to give you two sisters a hand and some support?"
After hearing Vikram’s words, the two waved their hands repeatedly in denial.
"Radhika and Geetanjali have their own ideas, and they’ve managed to survive on their own until now, which is far more impressive than we expected. We’re not worried about them."
"Besides, you also said you’d help them later, so there’s nothing to worry about."
The two women understood what was truly important. To them, Vikram’s territory was their real home, and they had no intention of prioritizing outsiders over the people they cared about.
"It’s just..."
"After seeing the Crimson Desire Shelter and the White Fox Shelter over the past few days, I feel like the forces in the Wasteland World are developing far too quickly."
"Vikram, you have the pay-to-win version of the Survival Platform, and you never have to worry about food or basic resources. So why aren’t you recruiting more survivors? The more people we have, the more food we can produce, the more materials we can gather, and the more information we can collect about the outside world."
Divya frowned slightly, her expression filled with concern.
"Right now, we may seem safe because your strength is overwhelming, but we can’t assume we’ll always stay ahead. Every passing day, other shelters are growing stronger. They’re expanding, recruiting talented people, and gathering resources at an incredible speed. If we keep relying on only a few people, we’ll eventually fall behind in terms of manpower, even if our individual strength remains high."
After all this time, they had long regarded this place as their home.
Having witnessed the rise of the major forces over the past few days, Divya had been unable to stop worrying.
"Hmm."
Anjali, who had been listening quietly, nodded in agreement.
"And there’s another problem."
"The physiques of the survivors are improving too quickly. In the Wasteland, a person’s strength can change drastically in just a week."
She looked at Vikram with a serious expression.
"I think we should make time to clear more zombie nests. We need more Crystal Cores to improve our physiques as quickly as possible. We can’t afford to fall behind."
She paused before continuing.
"If you hadn’t been there today, Sokka wouldn’t have wasted time talking to us. We would’ve been killed on the spot."
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