Chapter 44 — Steel Plates
There were a few stalls selling stainless-steel pots and bowls, but the prices weren’t great, and mixing them with other items made no sense. Plus, the stock was too small. Luo Xun browsed a few before moving on.
Yan Fei had no interest in shopping. He knew Luo Xun’s home had everything they needed—they only lacked metal materials. And this chaotic, flea-market-like street made the usually orderly Yan Fei feel utterly out of place.
Like that underwear van earlier—even though he needed some himself, the thought of squeezing through that crowd to grab something handled by dozens of grimy hands completely killed the urge.
Even the stash they’d found with Li Tie’s group in the supermarket before felt much cleaner by comparison.
Ahead, a child’s wailing drew their attention. A woman was spanking her kid while shouting, “Didn’t I tell you only half?! I said half! You greedy brat!”
Nearby, another person was arguing with a vendor: “This junk’s worth half a pack of biscuits? You must be starving crazy!”
Luo Xun sighed softly. “Aren’t they working on the new walls outside? There are so many people here.”
“They must’ve just arrived,” Yan Fei said after glancing around. Many of the newcomers carried the violent, blood-tinged aura of survivors who had fought their way in—different from those who’d been living safely in the base for a while.
“Let’s turn up ahead,” he added. “The street’s wider there—we might find better stuff.”
That road was indeed broader, but both sides were packed with cars—mostly belonging to people still waiting for housing. They were luckier than those who had to walk or rely on rescue trucks, at least having their vehicles to sleep in.
The stalls crowded the sidewalks, leaving only the road center clear for vehicles to pass.
More cars meant more potential for trades, and Luo Xun’s curiosity returned. Just as he was about to step forward, Yan Fei caught his wrist.
“Don’t rush—you’ll get pushed around,” he said calmly, holding onto him naturally.
Their hands didn’t touch directly, but the warmth through the sleeves still startled Luo Xun, making him stumble slightly before regaining his balance. Yan Fei’s face was hidden behind his ever-present mask, revealing only sharp, hawk-like eyes that gave nothing away.
Luo Xun had never experienced anything like “walking hand-in-hand through the market,” so his steps became clumsy and awkward—so much so that passersby gave him wary looks, assuming he might be infected and ready to mutate any second. Some nearly raised their weapons before deciding to steer clear.
Thankfully, the street was crowded, and most people didn’t notice. Otherwise, Luo Xun might have wanted to dig a hole and disappear.
“Steel pipes!” he suddenly exclaimed, spotting a truck loaded full of them. The embarrassment vanished instantly as he pointed ahead.
Yan Fei’s eyes lit up too, and the two hurried over.
A crowd had already gathered around the truck, and Luo Xun couldn’t get close. The vendor was shouting, “One five-pack of instant noodles for one meter! Hurry up—one-day sale only!”
“One five-pack for a meter?” Luo Xun’s mouth twitched. They needed quite a lot, and at that rate—even if he traded every pack of noodles they had—it’d barely cover the heating pipes for one room.
Many others backed off after hearing the price. The base had stopped handing out free food; now you had to work for your meals. Those without jobs had to scavenge outside or sign up for wall construction and housing projects. Even then, most people could only afford to eat enough to stay alive.
A typical daily ration was one pack of noodles and one steamed bun—so five packs for a single steel pipe? No one thought that was worth it.
Seeing the crowd hesitate, the vendor waved a pipe and yelled louder: “Five packs for a one-meter pipe—what a deal! Perfect weapon for killing zombies! Strong, light—get one now or miss your chance forever!”
Luo Xun didn’t even bother squeezing in. Hearing enough from a distance, he told Yan Fei, “Not worth it. Let’s go.”
Weapons were important, sure—but a steel pipe’s power couldn’t compare to a machete, and those thin pipes would bend after a few swings anyway. Better to grab a brick—at least that wouldn’t warp.
Yan Fei followed behind Luo Xun without any objections. What they needed were raw materials — as long as they were made of steel, durable, and large, it was fine. Things that were overly specialized and expensive like this held no interest for either of them.
Luo Xun turned his hand and grasped the back of Yan Fei’s hand, his heartbeat speeding up slightly. This kind of small advantage could only be taken when there were a lot of people around — pretending it was to avoid being separated in the crowd…
This street ran north to south. Before the apocalypse, walking north would lead directly to the city center. Now, it was also the only road leading to the base’s main gate. Along the way, the two of them did indeed see many stalls selling steel goods. The most common were steel basins and bowls, but even those daily items were not cheap — no one was stupid. In these chaotic days, who knew when danger would strike? Use porcelain? Hah, that’s for people who have money to burn.
It wasn’t until they turned into another smaller street lined with parked vehicles and roadside vendors that they unexpectedly spotted a truck with half a load of steel plates! Both of their eyes lit up — they’d actually found some!
“How much for these?” Luo Xun patted the truck, looking around but not seeing the seller, so he raised his voice and called out.
“Coming, coming!” A man with a cigarette in his mouth hurriedly ran over from a group gathered at a nearby apartment gate, a deck of cards still in his hand — he’d apparently been playing cards. “How much do you want?” Few people bought this kind of thing nowadays. He’d picked up the steel during one of his trips outside the base — a truckload of it had been abandoned on the road. At first, some people had wanted it to build temporary shelters, but it had been a long time since anyone asked.
These days, he made quicker profit gambling for rations than waiting for someone to buy his stuff.
“How much for a piece this big?” Luo Xun asked, patting one of the long steel plates.
“Only trade for food — ten packs of instant noodles per piece!” The man asked for a sky-high price.
Luo Xun rolled his eyes, pulled Yan Fei around, and started walking away. “We’d be better off going outside the base to find it ourselves. The guy selling steel pipes was cheaper — and at least those can be used to fight zombies.”
The man hurriedly called after them, “Hey, but look at how big and thick these are! Ten packs isn’t that bad — alright, fine, eight packs!”
Luo Xun stopped. “Sure, they’re big and thick, but we’ll have to process them ourselves. That’s a lot of work. Three packs per piece. If it’s fair, we’ll buy several.”
“No way, at least six packs!”
“Four packs, not a bit more.”
“Five packs then — I’ll take a loss!”
This place wasn’t far from Hongjing Community, so after settling the price, Luo Xun decided to go home and drive back to load the materials.
He hadn’t expected to find such a big batch so quickly, so he hadn’t brought the car, nor enough trade goods — they’d have to grab more from home.
There were about fifty or sixty steel plates in total. Back home, they brought down over ten boxes of instant noodles and loaded them into their small container truck before driving back.
The seller didn’t think much of it when Luo Xun said he’d drive back — he didn’t offer delivery because, one, he wasn’t sure they could really pay; two, he feared being ambushed and robbed; and three, gasoline was precious. Everyone in the base knew fuel was growing scarcer and more valuable by the day. He’d rather lose a deal than waste a drop of gas.
Before long, Luo Xun and Yan Fei drove up, unloading boxes of instant noodles, which immediately caught the attention of the card players nearby — their eyes gleamed green with greed.
After stacking the noodles aside, Luo Xun and Yan Fei began loading the steel plates.
The seller was thrilled at first, stuffing the noodles into his truck, but when he glanced at Luo Xun’s vehicle and saw how many noodles they had, greed flashed in his eyes — they must have more food at home.
And there were only two of them here…
He exchanged looks with his card buddies. The same greed flickered in their eyes. Without a word, they reached a silent understanding — trap the two men, force them to reveal where their food stash was.
The crowd quietly began to close in. Luo Xun and Yan Fei, seemingly unaware, slid another long steel plate into their truck.
“Hey, how about we talk again?” the seller called out.
Luo Xun turned with a knowing smirk. “Talk about what?”
“Well… we think that price might not be fair.” Despite a growing sense of unease, the man’s greed outweighed his caution.
“Oh, I agree — your price is too high.” Luo Xun sneered. With a click, a small hand crossbow strapped to his left arm unfolded — a modified version Yan Fei had made for him, compact and quick to deploy.
The man froze. But before anyone could react, someone in the crowd shouted, “What, you’re gonna rob us now?! We’re not selling, what’s wrong with that?!”
Yan Fei’s cold gaze swept toward the truck — someone had quietly opened the passenger door. His lips curved coldly. With a wave of his hand—
Several steel plates suddenly shot up from the truck!
As everyone stared in shock, the steel plates broke apart, reshaping midair into dozens of steel needles — all pointing outward from Luo Xun and Yan Fei.
Before anyone could move, a sharp thunk-thunk-thunk rang out. A neat line of needles embedded themselves just a centimeter in front of the crowd’s feet — not one off target.
Even more terrifying, hundreds of steel needles still hovered midair, quivering — as if a single motion from the masked man would send them flying into everyone’s bodies.
“I’d step back if I were you,” came a cool, calm voice. “Can’t guarantee my hand will stay this steady.”
The threat sank in instantly. With a series of thuds, the men closest to them dropped to the ground, pale as death. The rest stumbled backward.
Luo Xun suddenly pointed toward the truck. “Hey, that guy’s stealing your noodles. Is he one of yours?”
The seller froze, then whipped around — just in time to see a man sneaking boxes of noodles onto a bicycle’s rear rack. The basket and rack already held several boxes.
“My noodles!!” he howled, charging after the thief. The thief jumped on the bike and fled, but the boxes weren’t tied down — they tumbled off, spilling everywhere. The onlookers swarmed in, snatching them up in chaos.
Luo Xun and Yan Fei ignored the commotion. Yan Fei lifted his hand again, and the steel plates obediently floated into their truck, followed by the steel needles.
They hadn’t wanted to reveal Yan Fei’s ability, but once the hand crossbow wasn’t enough to intimidate the crowd — and someone had even tried to stir trouble from within — he had no choice but to act.
The people in the base still didn’t truly understand abilities, but rumors already painted ability users as terrifyingly strong, volatile “superhumans.” That was enough to keep most people from picking fights.
The steel seller eventually limped back, clutching only a box and a half of noodles — the rest stolen. When he opened his truck, even his hidden cigarettes were gone.
Outside, Luo Xun and Yan Fei finished loading up, got in, and drove away. The seller didn’t dare stop them — not after what he’d just seen.
If they hadn’t revealed their powers, he probably would’ve confronted them for more noodles, convinced they’d set up the whole robbery. But now?
One look at the line of holes punched into the pavement by the steel needles was enough. Gritting his teeth, he stuffed his remaining noodles under the seat and decided to sell the truck — it was worth more than the steel plates anyway.
“These should be enough, right?” Luo Xun asked, in high spirits. He hadn’t expected the trip to go this smoothly.
“More than enough — even for 1601,” Yan Fei nodded. “We don’t need to cover the whole floor with pipes, and the steel doesn’t need to be too thick. These are perfect.”
“Good!” Luo Xun nodded, satisfied. Once the floor heating in 1603 was done, he’d test it for half a year — if no one came around, he’d redo the entire floor in the other apartment too!
A heated floor meant a stable temperature — a warm, livable home. Luo Xun couldn’t wait.
They drove to the rendezvous point with Li Tie’s group. The others hadn’t returned yet — probably still browsing somewhere — so they parked and waited, watching the busy market below.
Their little truck didn’t stand out among the many vehicles on the street, dwarfed by the larger cargo trucks.
Near noon, Li Tie and his group finally pushed through the crowd.
Luo Xun waved, and they hurried over. “You bought something? You even drove here?”
Luo Xun nodded. “Got what we needed.”
“That’s great! We saw a guy selling steel pipes — four packs of noodles per piece! Total rip-off.”
Since the truck couldn’t fit everyone, Luo Xun drove slowly, chatting as they walked together toward their community.
As they entered deeper into the residential area, a soldier in uniform suddenly ran toward them, waving. Luo Xun recognized him — the same officer who’d contacted them earlier.
“We went up to your floor earlier,” the soldier said between breaths, “but your floor’s entrance and elevators are sealed off!”
The group exchanged awkward glances and chuckled. “Yeah, we went out a few days ago and brought back a lot of stuff. Some people tried to mess with us, so we sealed it temporarily. Why? Something wrong?”
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
