[Ben Walker: The higher-ups are making contact with the Revolutionaries. I might need to head out for a while in a couple of days.]
Revolutionaries!
This was not the first time Thomas Smyth had heard that term.
"So there really is another army!"
He'd suspected as much, and Ben Walker's message confirmed it.
[Thomas Smyth: Revolutionaries? Is that a new faction?]
[Ben Walker: Yeah, they're a military force opposed to the Rebels. There's a Revolutionary unit stationed at the reserve depot outside the city. I'm one of the Rangers assigned to liaise with them.]
[Ben Walker: I actually owe you a big thanks, Legend Smyth. Because you tipped off the higher-ups that the next disaster was the Great Deluge, I was able to get in on this operation.]
[Ben Walker: If it's confirmed in a few days that it really is the Great Deluge, I'll be promoted straight to Deputy Captain.]
Thomas hadn't expected that, but as he'd previously thought, Ben's rising status within the Rangers was proving helpful.
[Thomas Smyth: Good, I wish you a smooth operation.]
After ending the conversation, Thomas organized the information he had.
Ben Walker belonged to a group of seed survivors called the Rangers.
The reserve depot outside the city was occupied by a military force called the Revolutionaries, who were hostile to the Rebels in the city.
The bloodstained letter from before was likely written by the Revolutionaries.
It was also clear that the Revolutionaries had long since extended their reach into Sparrow City, what with the subway worker at Good Hope Station and the undercover agent who participated in the ritual.
All this proved that the Revolutionaries' ultimate goal was the CBS Laboratory located in the heart of the city.
Thomas sensed that the city was in a very delicate state.
"What exactly is in that laboratory that makes it so coveted by all these factions? And what is the 'deity' that Ghostface mentioned?"
The more he learned about the city, the more unusual the laboratory seemed.
Perhaps only by entering the laboratory would he learn the truth.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he recalled his earlier business and focused on the Trading Center's virtual map, only to find it deserted. Mad Dog had clearly been gone for some time.
But...
"What the hell? That's not right!"
Thomas immediately went to the sorting warehouse and saw a pile of supplies in the cargo area. It was a lot.
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But compared to the supplies of the entire refugee camp, it was a drop in the ocean.
"What's going on? Why did so many people leave without their supplies being collected?"
He had clearly seen that all the supplies in the Trading Center had disappeared.
Thomas quickly realized that there was a loophole in the Toll Collection I perk.
Otherwise, there was no explanation for the discrepancy in the amount of supplies collected in the Trading Center.
And this was a question that clearly only Mad Dog could answer.
Inside the intelligence center, Tessia Thorne and Eight were working together to complete various transactions.
Some involved adding goods, while others involved purchasing rare items and blueprints according to Thomas's instructions.
After a short period of trading, the amount of Apocalypse Coins under the identity of the black market merchant had reached over 2 million. It was incredibly fast.
However, there had been no progress in acquiring Calamity Coins.
But Thomas had anticipated this. There was no rush. There would be plenty of time for that.
He then went to the weapons lab on the first basement level, sat down at the workbench, and began making Remote-Controlled Emulsion Explosives.
The 20 explosives he had made last time were almost gone after a few days of use, and he had become quite proficient in using them. He might as well replenish his stock while he had the time.
At the Sparrow City Exhibition Hall, the refugees were setting up their new base. Sniper positions and fixed machine gun emplacements were all being rearranged. And because of last night's incident in the Trading Center's underground parking lot, the patrol detail was even more stringent. Refugees entering the base were not allowed to wear hoods, masks, scarves, or anything else that covered their faces.
In a newly arranged room, Mad Dog stared at the golden rooster in his hand, his brow furrowed.
He had bought it from the suddenly appearing Flea Market.
"This isn't right! Why does this thing look so familiar? The feel of it, the texture of the feathers... it's like I made it myself."
Mad Dog stood up and rummaged through a box beside him, pulling out another golden rooster.
He placed the two golden roosters side by side and pulled out a magnifying glass.
He began to examine them inch by inch, feather by feather.
The more he looked, the more confused he became, and the more his heart pounded.
"What the hell is going on? Why do these two golden roosters have exactly the same texture? There isn't a single difference."
How was that possible!
Mad Dog was deeply suspicious of himself.
He had clearly only made one imitation golden rooster.
So why was there another one!
"Did I remember wrong?"
----------------------------------------
By the time Thomas finished making another 20 Remote-Controlled Emulsion Explosives, it was 6 PM.
Stretching lazily, he looked at the newly made explosives in his inventory, feeling quite satisfied.
With the workbench's +20 focus bonus, the crafting process had been incredibly smooth.
Of course, the most important factor was Thomas's increasing proficiency. His Explosives Crafting skill had risen to 168 after these two crafting sessions.
He still had a long way to go to reach the skill's maximum level, with 98.3% proficiency remaining.
Eight came down to the first basement level and smiled happily when he saw that Thomas was finally done.
"Mr. Smyth, Ms. Thorne has prepared dinner. You can come down now!"
Hearing Eight's voice, Thomas felt a pang of emotion.
"I can't believe it. I was a corporate drone my whole past life, and now, in the Apocalypse Game, I'm living a life where meals are just handed to me."
After dinner, the three of them briefly summarized the day's events.
The Flea Market had done well, with a total transaction volume exceeding 5 million Apocalypse Coins in just one afternoon. Also, just before dinner, they had successfully acquired a Calamity Coin for 1 million Apocalypse Coins.
This Calamity Coin made up for the one that had been consumed to open the Flea Market.
In addition, the Calamity Coin that had appeared at the Crimson Cabaret today had also been collected by Thomas when the two survivors died, bringing the total number of Calamity Coins back to 9.
This was good news. With this transaction, Thomas was more confident in the exchange of Apocalypse Coins and Calamity Coins.
It was also worth mentioning that today's transaction fees from the Flea Market had converted into 11 wealth points.
Based on the market rate of 1 point per 100,000 Apocalypse Coins in transaction fees, that meant they had collected 1.1 million Apocalypse Coins in fees alone this afternoon.
In other words, the total transaction volume of the Flea Market had reached a staggering 22 million Apocalypse Coins.
"Damn, there are a lot of rich people!"
Thomas was numb with shock!