Chapter Eleven: The Title System

Beyond Shelter 364 lay a secluded valley, where a small stream meandered quietly. At this moment, a convoy was moving along the creek, searching for the location of the shelter marked on their map.

The sedans had disappeared, leaving only high-chassis trucks, off-road vehicles, and the lead vehicle—a golden-armored car.

“Boss, good news! The fools from Shelter 364 have sent us a message! They want to trade, but only in small batches,” an excited voice came through the radio channel.

“Is that good news? That’s not good news!” The convoy leader, Wolf Wei, scolded over the channel.

“Why’s that, boss?” some of his underlings asked, confused and chattering.

“I’ll ask you: if this shelter clearly received our radio signal but didn’t answer, what would be the reason?” Wolf Wei asked with disdain.

“They don’t think much of us?”

“Wrong. They fear us!” Wolf Wei replied firmly. “You need to read more, especially novels. It expands your horizons. Haven’t you seen that famous sci-fi, ‘Two Bodies’? The weak never dare to reveal themselves.”

“Oh, so that’s it! Boss, you’re so smart—just a broadcast and you can size up their strength!”

“Hahaha, not bad. You all should learn from me,” Wolf Wei said smugly.

“Uh, boss, if that’s the case, now that Shelter 364 sent us a message, should we turn back?” one underling ventured timidly.

“Are you stupid? We worked so hard to get here—do you think I’d let that be for nothing?” Wolf Wei grumbled, frustrated by their dullness.

“So what should we do?” the underlings asked obediently.

“We become a legitimate merchant convoy. Since they’re a shelter, they won’t dare to break ties with a merchant convoy like us, because we have the advantage,” Wolf Wei said, tapping his head.

As expected, obedient types were always a bit dim…

“Too bad. It’s always more profitable to do business without any capital,” some of them grumbled greedily.

“If you feel that bad about it, it’s simple—I’ll send a few of you in first to test the waters,” Wolf Wei said, his tone menacing.

“Boss, we were wrong.”

……

Fan Bei stood in the control room, a radio set beside him.

From the radio communication earlier, he learned that the people from Copper Fortress had arrived near Shelter 364, but he wasn’t particularly surprised.

He had always known the shelter’s location wasn’t absolutely secret. Even if he never called out or revealed their position, there had been planning maps when it was built. Even if those maps were lost, someone could still find Shelter 364 with a thorough search.

With the situation outside improving, it was only a matter of time before someone tried, and the motivation was strong.

If nothing else, the gold, silver, and copper stored in the shelter were hugely valuable resources—strategic assets for combating evil spirits, not to mention their intrinsic function as currency.

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Even just the shelter’s gold reserve amounted to a hundred kilograms, all now stored in his book, “Father of Systems.”

When he heard the convoy was nearby, Fan Bei began preparations for the transaction.

He wasn’t overly worried or fearful, because he’d made two backup plans.

If the other side attempted a forced attack, he was ready to trigger the shelter’s self-destruct protocol, and escape through the hidden passage with Da Bai on his back.

The other backup…

He opened “Father of Systems.” His mental reserve, which had been 276.2 points when he woke up, had dropped to 120 points.

The sudden loss of 150 points wasn’t accidental—he’d created another system.

As for why it cost only 150 points, Fan Bei turned to the third page of the Phantom White Book.

“System Name: Good Person.
System Options: None.
User: None.
Usage Time: 0.
Current System State: Awaiting Assignment.
Current System Consumption: 0 points per day. This system cannot operate and will not consume any mental energy.”

Yes, he’d made a true “clickbait” system—a system in name only, just a shell, costing minimal energy.

This world had novels too, and they were popular, especially those themed around fighting evil spirits.

System-based fiction was thriving here as well. With computer operating systems as a material foundation, it was natural for similar genres to emerge.

When the shelter was still full of people, they would often listen to the novel channel on the radio for hope.

He only hoped the leader of this convoy, or its strongest member, was also someone who enjoyed reading or listening to novels.

Of course, even if not, he’d included a complete self-introduction in the system’s initial knowledge.

Without this brief introduction, the mental cost would have been even lower.

Although it only took 150 points—much less than Da Bai’s dog system—Fan Bei was confident it would prove far more useful, given the right arrangement, than that troublesome dog system.

……

The Copper Fortress convoy stopped under a cliff in the valley—they’d reached their destination.

On the cliff above, there was a gilded gate. Twenty meters outside the gate stood a remote-controlled miniature car.

Mounted on the car was a kilogram of gold, a stunningly beautiful antique jade, and a bullet.

There was also a note:

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“According to the transaction instructions, this first batch of goods is for you. We request methods for cleansing evil spirits—please send them via radio. The jade is a gift for your convoy leader. If this first trade goes smoothly, we will continue.”

A small bronze-armored man cautiously approached, checked the car for anything suspicious, found nothing, and took everything from it.

He came to the golden-armored car, ingratiating himself: “Boss, the goods are fine. These folks are careful—giving us jade, but also daring to send a bullet as a threat.”

“But this jade is truly fine. Even a clueless guy like me can tell it’s good—only you deserve it, boss.”

“Fool, that’s not a threat, it’s a display. They're showing they have plenty of weapons, so we shouldn’t try to rob them by force,” Wolf Wei sneered, lowering the glass window with golden mesh, and taking the items from the miniature car.

He barely glanced at the kilogram of gold, tossing it behind him. Though valuable, the gold plating on the gate alone, if scraped clean, would be worth more.

But the antique jade, he examined carefully. Though he couldn’t judge its true value, it was indeed beautiful, exquisitely carved, with a coiling dragon vividly rendered.

Gold in troubled times, antiques in peaceful ones.

If the jade was genuine, he believed it would fetch tens of millions in an age of prosperity.

After a while of fondling it, he felt a coolness seep through, refreshing and invigorating.

“A fine treasure—someone’s handled it for so long it gained a spirit. Must be a real antique,” he said, delighted. In the sweltering summer, having such a cool jade was a comfort.

The jade had a hole at the top, so he found a red cord in the car’s drawer, threaded it, and wore it against his chest.

The moment it touched his skin, he felt another wave of coolness, as if summer had vanished entirely.

“Good stuff!” he couldn’t help but laugh. “Seems these folks have some sincerity.”

“So, boss, should we complete this transaction?” the bronze-armored man asked.

“Why not? A sucker delivered right to us—like the Native Americans trading land for a glass bead,” Wolf Wei grinned. “They want methods to cleanse evil spirits? They have no idea how advanced the techniques outside are. Just give them the most worthless one.”

“Understood, boss.” The bronze-armored man took out his radio and relayed orders.

“Old Wang, use the car radio to send them the lowest-grade exorcism technique.”

“Oh, and set up interference nearby so they can’t pick up other broadcasts,” Wolf Wei added.

“Boss, brilliant—this way, we can slowly bleed them dry.”

“Hmph, if not for the jade, and the fact that shelters have self-destruct devices, I’d have taken direct action, even withholding these worthless techniques,” Wolf Wei said coldly.

“Boss, wise as always—once we’ve traded enough to learn their situation, we can make our move.”

“Exactly.”