Chapter 689: Exchange
The two of them stepped out of the elevator onto the first floor and walked toward the weapons warehouse in the back.
As they passed by the entrance, Baili Changqing cheerfully greeted an old man standing guard.
"Brother Wu, you're on duty today?"
The old man beamed the moment he saw Baili Changqing.
"Yeah. Huh? Your friend here looks unfamiliar. Is he a new team member?"
The man, named Wu Zhengheng, looked curiously at Zhang Yi.
Baili Changqing smiled. "He's a friend from Tianhai City, here to assist us. His name is Zhang Yi."
As he spoke, Baili Changqing introduced the man to Zhang Yi.
Zhang Yi had already noticed that the old man looked like he was pushing sixty.
But in the apocalypse, people tended to age quickly. Maybe he was actually younger than he looked.
Still, his body seemed tough and sturdy.
His hair was streaked with gray, and his face showed the wear of time.
Zhang Yi greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Uncle Wu!"
Wu Zhengheng nodded back with a smile. "So young, and already participating in Blizzard City operations as an Outer City Awakened—you’ve got talent!"
Zhang Yi chuckled, "Not really, I’m just an ordinary guy."
Baili Changqing said, "Brother Wu, we've got things to handle, so we'll get going. I'll treat you to a drink next time!"
Wu Zhengheng's eyes lit up. "Sounds good! It’s been ages since we had a drink together. Don’t forget, alright?"
Alcohol in Blizzard City was ridiculously expensive—something average folks couldn't afford.
So treating someone to a drink was considered a huge luxury.
It was like treating someone to a five-star dinner before the apocalypse.
Baili Changqing laughed, "Haha, I won’t forget!"
After saying goodbye to Wu Zhengheng, the two headed to the weapons warehouse.
Zhang Yi asked, "Is he one of your comrades from the army? He seems a bit… off."
"You mean something’s not quite right?"
Baili Changqing’s expression dimmed.
"Zhang Yi, guess how old he really is?"
Zhang Yi thought for a moment. "Looks around 50 or 60... Fifty-eight?"
He went with a middle number.
But Baili Changqing gave a bitter smile.
"He's only forty-six this year."
Zhang Yi looked shocked.
"Forty-six? But his hair’s completely gray!"
Baili Changqing said, "Like I told you, the earliest Awakened in Blizzard City weren’t just mutants. A big group came from military personnel who were part of genetic experiments."
"Captain Bian Junwu is considered one of the success stories."
"But Uncle Wu—he was a failure. The experiment messed up his body badly, wrecking his functions and even cutting his lifespan short."
"And he didn’t awaken any ability. The higher-ups took care of him by giving him a security role at the Operations Center."
Zhang Yi fell silent.
Blizzard City had clearly gone through a rough and brutal past.
Baili Changqing suddenly smiled. "Honestly, his ending isn’t even the worst. At least his life is secure now."
"Some of our brothers didn’t even make it through the agony of the experiments. They died."
As they chatted, they arrived at the weapons warehouse.
Zhang Yi handed over his points card.
According to Major Yan Yun, Zhang Yi had high clearance, so he could exchange for much better gear and supplies than other Outer City Awakened.
Baili Changqing jumped in. "Didn’t you want the black battle suit? Just tell them directly."
He turned to the quartermaster managing the warehouse and said, "Exchange for an SLDS2 Battle Suit!"
The quartermaster scanned Zhang Yi’s points and clearance level through the system, then replied calmly, "SLDS2 Battle Suit: 50 million points, requires A-level clearance or higher. You meet the requirement. Current point balance: 420 million."
Then he saw a new note in the system—a special authorization from the Commander’s Office.
Usually, exchanging black battle suits came with quantity limits.
Even Investigation Team members couldn’t request a second suit unless the first one was damaged.
But this time, Zhu Zheng had personally approved unlimited exchanges for Zhang Yi.
"There’s no quantity limit for your exchange. How many would you like?"
The quartermaster asked Zhang Yi.
Zhang Yi thought it over, then asked about Compound No. 5.
"Can I exchange for Compound No. 5 with my clearance?"
The quartermaster nodded. "Compound No. 5 requires A-level clearance. Cost: 100 million points. You meet the criteria. Would you like to proceed?"
Zhang Yi sucked in a breath.
"This stuff is more expensive than the battle suit?"
Baili Changqing laughed, "Told you—life-saving items aren’t something everyone can afford. I’ve only got one myself."
"But honestly, once you use it, don’t expect a second time!"
Baili Changqing laughed again.
But to Zhang Yi, that laugh sounded a bit bitter.
It was obvious the side effects of Compound No. 5 were serious.
Still, Zhang Yi chose to exchange for one.
No matter how big the side effects, if it could save your life in a critical moment, it was worth it.
Besides, to Zhang Yi, its biggest use wasn’t for himself—it was to bring it back to the Sanctuary for Zhou Ke'er and Lu Keran to analyze its ingredients and see if it could be replicated.
Since he was already getting Compound No. 5, Zhang Yi got curious about the other compounds as well.
He asked about their functions and prices.
The quartermaster patiently explained everything one by one.
"Compound No. 1: Helps awaken abilities, increases awakening probability by 20%. Cost: 150 million points."
Baili Changqing whispered, "They say 20%, but in reality... don’t expect much."
Zhang Yi nodded. "Probability—I get it."
He’d played enough gacha games to know how that worked.
"Compound No. 2: Enhances Awakened abilities and may help them evolve, but the effects vary depending on the user's aptitude. Cost: 120 million points."
"Compound No. 4: Military stimulant. Boosts Awakened abilities by 20% for 12 hours. Significant side effects including dizziness, vomiting, and dehydration. Cost: 20 million points."
The quartermaster finished explaining all the available compounds.
But Zhang Yi noticed something was missing—Compound No. 3 wasn’t on the list.
"What about Compound No. 3?"
The quartermaster looked at him calmly. "Compound No. 3 is not available for exchange."
Baili Changqing said, "These drugs are developed by the research division. Some of them have special functions and aren’t public. Even I don’t know what some of them do—or that they even exist."
"But these things are crazy expensive!"
Except for the stimulant, every dose cost over 100 million points.
He had thought that with 420 million points, he could go on a wild shopping spree.
But reality hit hard.
Baili Changqing winked at him. "If you join the Investigation Team, you’ll be an official member. You’ll get internal discounts on this stuff!"
Zhang Yi suddenly understood.
These high prices were for external users—regular soldiers, civilians, or Outer City Awakened.
But members of special forces like the Investigation Team or Yan Yun Guards got better deals.
Made sense. If you developed your own products, it’s only fair to offer them cheaper to your own people.
Zhang Yi whispered, "Can you help me exchange them and I transfer you the points later?"
Baili Changqing gave a sheepish grin. "These special items are all registered. Not smart to try sneaky moves."
Zhang Yi spread his hands helplessly.
After weighing his options, he decided not to get the black battle suit for now.
He figured Old Zhu wouldn’t be stingy about giving him one during missions anyway.
For now, he wanted to get those compounds back for Lu Keran and Zhou Ke’er to research.
In the end, he exchanged for four types of compounds, spending a total of 390 million points.
Just like that, he only had 30 million left.
Still a decent amount—enough to trade for a ton of food or weapons.
But Zhang Yi didn’t lack those, so there was no need to stock up.