Although only a few people including Bai Zhongqi had landed on Taoran Star, strictly speaking it was only Bai Zhongqi, Nan Ma, and Hu, and even more strictly, just Nan Ma and Hu, as Bai Zhongqi numbers one through five could not be considered living people. However, Bai Zhongqi was backed by the powerful Star Alliance.
He did not have his hundreds and thousands of warships from the Universe Army or Silver Feather Fleet here, nor did he have millions of warriors, but if necessary, he could invest a large amount of resources here.
Bai Zhongqi did not have an operation base on Taoran Star, nor did he have much support, except for his squad; he only had a few Bionic Warriors controlling a landing spacecraft. On this spacecraft, he had installed a small Atomic Substance Construction device, used to produce relatively small items.
Although it was just a small Atomic Substance Construction device, Bai Zhongqi could use it to produce equipment for a battalion of soldiers in a day, all Star Alliance standard. The Star Alliance's strong manufacturing capability was based on abundant and manipulable atomic-level materials; even a simple rock could be atomically pulverized and reassembled into a complex item through Atomic Substance Construction.
The landing spacecraft had secretly arrived not far from Bei Mountain, collecting some raw materials along the way. Bai Zhongqi had sent two Autochthonous Warriors out, and by the time they returned, they drove back in an armored truck.
When the heavy truck entered the area atop the main peak of Bei Mountain, people from various Shelters could not help but be surprised.
"Which Shelter's truck is this? Is there really that much cargo to be transported?"
"Such a big truck must easily become a target; they're quite bold to just send it over ."
People talked, as they had seen trucks before, and even some Shelters' factories could manufacture them, but the mobility of a truck was not as good as an off-road vehicle. People preferred to use powerful off-road vehicles to tow trailers, rather than making a massive truck.
When the huge truck stopped in front of Shelter 101's vehicle fleet, everyone finally understood the ownership of this truck.
"Is it really Shelter 101's truck?"
"No wonder, Shelter 101 was strong before too, but they had clashed with the crazies at 147, suffering some losses. Looks like they have developed anew this time."
"In my opinion, the folks at Shelter 101 have fried their brains. Whatever they have loaded to sell at the grand market this time, they are bound to be robbed by a large group of people when they leave."
Everyone exchanged glances, saying nothing, but the look in their eyes showed their malicious intentions. On Taoran Star, there was hardly any justice to speak of; any resources were essential for survival for the people of the Shelters, who did not care about committing murder or robbery, much less about restricting themselves with the virtues or laws of human society.
If it were not for knowing Bai Zhongqi's capabilities, they would probably be terrified by now. They needed to participate in the trade market between Shelters to avoid drawing attention, yet Bai Zhongqi had ostentatiously brought a truck, drawing everyone's eyes to it, curious about what exactly was loaded on it.
Bai Zhongqi Number Four opened the large gates of the truck's cargo area, revealing neatly arranged boxes inside. Meanwhile, Bai Zhongqi Number Five, who had driven the truck, took out a list and handed it to Bu, saying, "This is the list of goods we are selling this time, divided into fifteen major categories and over a hundred different products."
Bu stared at the list written in Toroshan, dumbstruck. He had never imagined that one day he would see such an abundance of goods; he had heard that before the nuclear war, the nations of Taoran Star would build supermalls as big as some Shelters. There, people could buy all sorts of life-related items, anything they needed, and pay for them with money.
Bai Zhongqi stood by and instructed, "How to sell them is up to you to decide, but it would be best to receive Eternal Crystal Stones."
Bu did not understand why these aliens were so obsessed with Eternal Crystal Stones. Previously, aliens had organized a grand market for Eternal Crystal Stones, and Bai Zhongqi's group of aliens were also willing to exchange a large amount of goods for these tiny glass shards.
At that moment, Bon jumped onto the truck, incredulously carrying down a box. After opening it, he discovered it was filled with rows of plastic-wrapped bar-shaped items.
Bai Zhongqi Number Four casually told him, "These are chocolate bars, a type of food with very high calories. Eating one when you haven't eaten can restore a lot of energy. Of course, they also taste good."
Hearing they were edible, Bon asked, "Then, can I eat one?"
Number Four responded, "Go ahead, it's up to you; they are given to you to sell."
Bon still glanced at his uncle, Bu, who nodded at him. He then unwrapped it and stuffed it into his mouth.
On Taoran Star today, sugar was a relatively scarce commodity. Even if Shelters produced food, they would not use it to make candy. The original sugar-producing crops of Taoran Star had long vanished or were hidden somewhere now.
After eating an entire chocolate bar, Bon said, "I was a bit hungry just now, but now I don't feel hungry at all. If we carry this on a mission, it would save more space than carrying dry food."
Number Four added, "It's emergency food or a snack."
Bu also broke off a piece to taste, and quickly realized the business opportunity of such items. On Taoran Star, where sugar products were scarce, these could indeed be marketed as energy bars, definitely not appropriate. For those residents of Shelters with some economic means, these could become high-end food.
Following that, the hunters from Shelter 101 unloaded even more promising items from the truck.
Pao held up a pack of cigarettes, exclaiming in surprise, "Are these tobacco products?"
No Shelter on the plain produced cigarettes; in this era, cigarettes and alcohol were extremely precious commodities. A Shelter that could produce these consumer goods could live very well just from the revenues of these products.
Pao laughed, "This is good stuff; I have to keep a few packs for myself, it'd be a pity to sell them all."
The people of Shelter 101 unloading goods, even testing and using them, was witnessed by people from other Shelters, many of whom were envious. Some could not resist the temptation and directly came up to inquire about the prices. Bu immediately organized Pao and Bon to set up Shelter 101's own stall and displayed a sign, declaring what items were for sale there.
Upon seeing these products, Bu also felt a momentary desire to keep some for himself, like the others. But observing Bai Zhongqi and his companions treating these items as nothing special, he understood clearly that in Bai Zhongqi's world, these things were the most ordinary.
"What a material-rich civilization that is."