"After we unload some of the goods in Green Shadow, we might as well stay there to rest," Gao suggested, noticing the dimming sky and the weary Awakeners behind him.
"Sounds good," Moustache said, holding a precious map bought from Lindong, "This area is only a three-star intermediate danger zone. Although we are not at all vulnerable camping outdoors, it's always better to stay overnight in a Sanctuary. It minimally ensures that we avoid those Demonized Beasts' disturbances, and we might even get a good night's sleep."
"Right, but that's assuming the Green Shadow Sanctuary's strength is formidable. If it's like those smaller Sanctuaries we've encountered with barely any defense, then I'd rather spend the night outdoors to avoid being dragged down by them."
They drove several vehicles reinforced with steel plates, following the direction indicated on the map.
The starry sky twinkled, making the wilderness even more perilous at night, and the Demonized Beasts became even more volatile.
These people weren't afraid of the ordinary Demonized Beasts, but they were still on high alert, carefully watching their surroundings.
But the stillness only deepened.
"Have you noticed we haven't come across any Demonized Beasts for a while?"
"Indeed, and even the wailing of the Demonized Beasts is seldom heard. Something feels off."
"No, no, no, if the Green Shadow Sanctuary is truly a strong fortification, then it would make sense for the surrounding Demonized Beasts to have been cleared out."
"But is Green Shadow really that powerful? I heard it's just a small Sanctuary with a thousand people. No matter how strong they are, it seems impossible to clear out the Demonized Beasts for several kilometers around, right?"
As they discussed and drew nearer, their field of view expanded, revealing towers standing tall in the wilderness.
Moustache and the others realized they had entered Green Shadow's territory.
Awakeners returning from hunting Demonized Beasts or completing quests dragged their exhausted bodies back to the Sanctuary.
Faint lights were visible ahead, and many Awakeners arriving from different directions glanced curiously at their convoy but quickly quickened their pace and vanished from sight.
However, Moustache and his companions were somewhat surprised. Their greater strength and sensitivity to aura allowed them to sense the aura of the passing Awakeners from afar.
"Awakening Second-tier, Awakening First Layer, Awakening Second-tier, Awakening Third Layer..."
These Awakeners were mostly Second-tier, with the occasional powerful Third-tier Awakener.
Even though they didn't consider Third-tier very significant, in the smaller Sanctuaries they had visited, Third-tier was already a substantial force. Most Sanctuary Directors operated at this level, with only the slightly stronger ones breaking through to Fourth Tier.
Yet in Green Shadow, they had already seen several Awakeners at such levels.
"It seems the Green Shadow Sanctuary isn't just reputable by name but actually holds decent power. For a small Sanctuary to achieve this much is remarkable. I'm quite curious about what kind of person the Sanctuary Director is."
"Yang, you'll meet him soon. With such a big transaction, the Director himself will surely come out to negotiate. Even if Green Shadow is strong, it's still a small Sanctuary. This amount of cargo will surely astonish them."
Moustache patted the steel plates on the truck, "We've got a diverse range of products. Take firearms, for example; we have newly developed guns from Heng City, specially designed to combat Demonized Beasts. There's also ingeniously structured shields that can deflect most of the force from a Demonized Beast's attack. These are equipment that Awakeners favor most."
"There's also this spicy fruit, a specialty from our region, which can completely replace chili peppers. In the apocalypse, seasoning is a rare commodity..."
He recalled the astonishment in the eyes of other small Sanctuary Directors when they saw these goods.
Even though Green Shadow might be stronger, strength doesn't represent foundation. Many of these goods, even Awakeners from Lindong, would vie to buy them, not to mention a small Sanctuary like Green Shadow.
If it weren't for the inability to compete with the larger powers, Moustache wouldn't have thought of selling to these small Sanctuaries, but now it seemed that this move was the right one, after all, it earned more.
"Awakeners of Green Shadow are stronger, possess more Source Crystals, I believe we can make a hefty profit..."
Moustache laughed heartily, pondering how to utilize the Director's lack of experience to inflate the value of his goods as he faced him from Green Shadow, feeling he was getting better and better at making money.
He had never considered, however, that the situation might, perhaps possibly, be somewhat different from what he envisioned.
At the entrance of the Sanctuary, Moustache and others registered briefly.
"Yang, why not just have their Director come out and negotiate with us? And it's also strange; they don't even ask about our cargo," muttered Moustache.
Leader Yang gave a mysterious smile, "That's because you don't understand. Since we're planning to stay overnight at Green Shadow, there's no rush to sell the goods. Let's first observe and understand Green Shadow's foundation, then we can price our goods at their limit and make more."
"As for these trucks of goods, sometimes large teams in the wilderness also use trucks to transport materials they've scavenged, nothing strange about that. Don't forget, the three of us are united, and it definitely looks like a big team."
"I see, Yang, you're really shrewd, very shrewd." Moustache suddenly understood, feeling his own depth was still lacking.
The trucks, being quite large, were parked not far from the entrance of the Sanctuary, leaving most of the crew to stand guard. The leaders of these three houses, along with some subordinates, walked into the Sanctuary.
What met their eyes was a large construction site.
Moustache and his companions were a bit surprised. This Green Shadow Sanctuary was actually building a large project. Weren't they afraid of the time and effort, only for it to be potentially destroyed by Demonized Beasts?
Perhaps due to it being nightfall, the construction had stopped, but one could still see many large construction machines nearby, which made them look up to Green Shadow once again.
"It looks like Green Shadow is planning to build a large complex of buildings."
"Yeah, look, the roads are already laid out, hey wait, it looks like some buildings over there are already completed?"
They could see the construction was still in the early stages, many buildings only had foundations laid, not yet built, but in the distance, some buildings were brightly lit, occasionally showing survivors going in and out.
Clearly, they were already operational.
Following the lights, they approached a bustling building, its storefront neon signs flickering.
Moustache felt intrigued; seeing a bar in Green Shadow was beyond his expectations, and in an instant, his thirst for a drink was provoked, "Yang, Gao, how about we go in for a few drinks?"