Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

Without a second thought, Su Chen briefly checked the market prices for various types of elemental crystals and then took Yan Ruoruo to a Rune Workshop several dozen meters away. Many of the shops they passed had closed down due to the sudden turn of events.

This equipment workshop, named ’Number One,’ was still open for business, but customers were few and far between.

The storefront wasn’t large, but it was kept neat and tidy.

Light leather armor, Scale Armor, and Arm Guards were neatly displayed on wooden shelves. All sorts of crossbows hung on the walls, and a row of finished Arrows was arranged behind the counter.

Su Chen noticed Yan Ruoruo’s gaze linger for a moment on a particular batch of arrows.

No wonder.

The special arrowheads gave off a faint azure glow, and even from a distance, one could feel the Wind Element fluctuations contained within. They were clearly special arrows made from Wind Crystal Ore.

”Boss, after applying a Lv5 Wind Split Enchantment, can the arrows be recovered after being shot?” Su Chen specifically asked.

Behind the counter, a middle-aged man with a black eyepatch put down the whetstone in his hand. He glanced at the man and woman with some surprise before saying frankly, ”If you’re thinking about recovering them for reuse, I can’t say for Lv5. That’s beyond my skill. But a Lv4 Wind Split, under ideal conditions, can be fired four times before the arrowhead shatters.”

The current meta for ranged weapons was all about Attached Damage, so this had naturally been tested.

”What’s the price?” Su Chen asked.

”16 Rune Essence.”

Although the one-eyed boss looked fierce and menacing, his tone was sincere. ”The raw material, the Wind Crystal Ore, is 10 Rune Essence alone. There were some scraps left over. The shafts and fletchings are premium quality. In the end, forging this quiver of 13 arrows... I’m only charging you 3 Rune Essence for the labor.”

”Alright, I’ll take both quivers,” Su Chen said, not letting Ruoruo next to him pay.

Quickly.

He also took the opportunity to buy a well-fitting black Rune Glove. The leather was soft, made from the tanned hide of a high-level Dark Element elk, perfect for any Dark Element Rune Enchantment. Counting both the front and back, it effectively had two Enchantment slots.

It had no stat bonuses; it was purely for the convenience of external use.

The only reason Su Chen bought it was to affix his Dark Shackles and Shadow Veil Runes to it.

The price itself was very cheap, just one Rune Essence. The boss was even willing to give it to him as a freebie.

For this shopping trip, he paid a total of two Lv3 Runes, which was exactly equivalent to 32 Rune Essence.

It was worth mentioning that for this inaugural Qixia Night Market, to make shopping more convenient for customers, a ”flexible exchange service” had been specially set up for the registered vendors. This way, any Rune Essence they received from customers could be exchanged with the officials.

Within a certain limit, they were even allowed to exchange other Elements for Light and Dark Essence.

Because of this, registered vendors couldn’t refuse to accept Rune Essence from customers as long as it was the equivalent value.

After finishing his shopping, Su Chen checked the time and returned to Exchange No. 1 as agreed. The woman from administration hadn’t disappointed him; she had actually found a trading partner for him.

Aside from the Lv4 Water Prison Skill which failed to sell, his two Lv4 Earthquake Wave runes, both powerful Earth Element damage skills, were traded at a bundle price for four portions of Spiritual Dust Sand and some Rune Essence.

After giving one portion of the Spiritual Materials back to Yan Ruoruo, Su Chen didn’t linger at the night market any longer and left with her.

Just as they were leaving the entrance of the Innovation Park, he unexpectedly ran into someone.

”Big Bro, you actually came!” Yuan Haotian’s eyes lit up as he trotted over, looking completely deferential. His silver tongue was as sharp as ever.

According to him, the vast majority of people who had retreated from the campsite had moved toward the inner city. But when he arrived at the border town of Qixia District and saw how full of life it was, he had an idea and convinced his girlfriend to stay.

Plus, the Combat Defense Department had set up a Forward Base up ahead, and a large city wall was about to be erected, which did provide some guarantee of safety.

”Right now, I’m doing odd jobs at the ’Sage’s Market,’ trying to get a feel for how things work. Later, I’ll find a chance to gather some people and strike out on my own,” Yuan Haotian said with a cheerful laugh.

The Sage’s Market was a civilian-run trading organization.

To a certain extent, it operated in a gray area. Working odd jobs there was hardly a respectable line of work. Without any official oversight, the traders were a motley crew, and it wasn’t unheard of for a buyer to turn around and kill the seller right after a deal.

Of course, with his bald, muscular look and devil-may-care attitude, Yuan Haotian himself was hardly the law-abiding type.

Su Chen had no intention of guiding anyone else’s destiny. However, he had quite a few Runes he needed to trade, and a civilian trading organization was a good channel for that.

”I’ll most likely swing by tomorrow around four in the afternoon. If you find a suitable trading partner, have them wait. We can get in touch by radio after.” Su Chen wrote down the details of four Dark Element Runes for him, and they agreed on a channel for their walkie-talkies.

”Got it, Boss. Take care.”

Yuan Haotian was ecstatic, calling out and waving at their departing figures.

...

By the time they traveled through the forest and returned to the campsite, it was already 9:30 at night.

The people who had fled could never have imagined how peaceful it was here. Compared to the border town of Qixia District, where everyone was terrified and uneasy under the threatening harassment of the modified humans, this place felt as tranquil as a safe harbor.

The night wind swept across the open fields, and the waves of grass rippled like layers of black satin.

After flying back, Su Chen and Yan Ruoruo walked side-by-side across the grass, their footsteps light under the brilliant, star-streaked canopy of the sky.

Just then, the cool and distant woman beside him glanced up at the starry sky and suddenly said, ”Thank you.”

”I should be the one thanking you.”

A faint smile appeared on Su Chen’s face. He had received a good amount of Rune Essence and a portion of Spiritual Dust Sand from her. Although it was essentially a transaction, he was still grateful.