Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System - Chapter 76: Asking The Source

Chapter 76: Asking The Source

Vikram leaned back slightly as he scrolled through the regional chat.

His eyes casually drifted to the bottom-right corner, and paused.

“60,000…”

There used to be around 100,000 Survivors in this region.

Now, nearly 40% were gone.

Just like that.

He silently scrolled past the endless complaints.

People crying about the cold. People begging for food. People cursing the system.

None of it interested him.

Then, a message kept flashing repeatedly, almost flooding the screen.

“Selling cold-proof supplies! All are rare grade! First come, first served! Fair prices, no freeloaders!!!”

Again. And again. And again.

Vikram narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Spam tactic…”

It was crude, but effective. At first, only a few people responded.

But once the seller posted actual item details, rare-grade cold-proof equipment. The chat instantly became active.

More and more Survivors started asking for trades.

But that wasn’t what caught Vikram’s attention.

It was the name. Brijbhushan.

“…That guy again?”

Vikram’s expression turned slightly cold. He immediately clicked on the profile.nBlocked.

As expected, “That scammer who sold acid rain…”

He clearly remembered. Back then, after Vikram exposed him, many Survivors had blocked this person.

So how was he still here, selling things so openly?

Just then, someone in the chat questioned it, “Hey… what’s going on? When did I block you?”

Brijbhushan quickly replied, “Ah… that… you must’ve clicked it by mistake. Let’s not talk about that. How much do you need?”

Vikram smirked slightly. “Still the same trick…”

Another Survivor spoke up, “I want two rare-grade down jackets. How much?”

Brijbhushan replied almost instantly, “Two, right? Yes, yes. One costs only 20 kg of food.”

The chat exploded, “Are you crazy?!”

“20 kg for one jacket? Are you robbing people?”

“If I had that much food, I wouldn’t even need you!”

Vikram chuckled faintly, “Greedy as ever…”

“Heh heh, this brother must not have visited the trade market in a long time, right?”

Brijbhushan’s message came with confidence dripping from every word.

“If you think I’m expensive, go check the market yourself. See if anyone’s even selling cold-proof supplies right now.”

He didn’t stop there, “Not saying there are none… but I guarantee—no one is cheaper than me at this stage.”

“And I’m selling in bulk.”

Vikram could almost see him through the screen, chest puffed up, chin raised, acting like a king of the market.

Before anyone could argue further, another Survivor jumped in impatiently.

“Exactly. If you’re not buying, don’t block the way.”

“It’s -40 degrees outside, and you still don’t understand how rare cold-proof gear is? I’m surprised you’ve even survived this long.”

Then, a decisive voice cut through the noise, “Boss, 20 kg of food. I’ll take one jacket.”

[Trader: Brijbhushan

Traded Item: Rare-grade Down Jacket

Required Item: Food 20 Kg]

The trade went through instantly. And right after, the buyer posted proof in the chat.

“Holy cow! It’s really rare-grade!”

“Brothers, this is legit! Everyone hurry!”

The atmosphere in the channel shifted immediately.

From doubt, to frenzy.

More people rushed forward.

More inquiries. More desperation.

Even those who were cursing just moments ago… went silent.

“As expected… the internet has no memory.”

Vikram only sighed as he watched the Survivors scramble in panic and greed.

But this time, he said nothing.

After surviving in the Wasteland for so long, he had already learned one thing clearly, don’t do thankless things.

Helping others… warning others…

It rarely brought anything back. So he simply closed the chat channel. Out of sight, out of mind.

After confirming that Divya was safe, he turned his attention back to reality, just in time to see Sophia bringing breakfast.

But Vikram didn’t just sit quietly and eat. His hunger has also awoken to eat Sophia.

Soon, Sophia sat on his lap, while going up and down, while gently feeding him bite by bite.

Her movements were careful, attentive, to serve her master properly.

That entire day… Vikram didn’t do any work.

No hunting. No trading. No planning.

He simply stayed inside, and enjoyed Sophia. Even after dinner, he didn’t feel tired at all.

Instead, he pulled her close again, unwilling to let go.

The warmth, the closeness, it was something he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

For nearly a month, he had endured everything alone.

Now all of it slowly melted away. While he enjoyed Sophia deeply.

—

January 2nd

Temperature: -40°C

“Mmm…”

Vikram stretched lazily on the large bed as he opened his eyes.

Sophia was still in his arms, sleeping peacefully.

He smiled faintly, they had stayed up until almost 3 AM while he was enjoying her, so it was natural she was still exhausted.

Carefully, he slipped out of bed without waking her.

He walked into the living room, scratching his back lazily.

As usual, the first thing he did after waking up… Was check the greenhouse.

Carrying a large bag of feed, banyan leaves, and chunks of meat for Pinku, he slowly entered the greenhouse.

Several days had passed.

And just like the crops, the animals had grown quickly too.

The seven chicks were no longer small, fluffy creatures. Their bright orange down had been replaced by darker, stronger feathers.

They stood steadily on the ground now.

According to the system, they had entered the stage of Growing Chickens. An intermediate phase before becoming full adults.

But unlike crops, the greenhouse terminal couldn’t show detailed growth timelines for animals.

So Vikram had no idea exactly when they would fully mature.

Nearby, the baby goat had also grown a little bigger. Its movements were steadier now, no longer clumsy like before.

Vikram nodded in satisfaction. “Everything’s progressing well…”

He returned back on the decoy Shelter, and leaned back slightly on sofa, his thoughts already shifting toward the next stage of development.

“A defense tower near the entrance…”

The idea was solid. With the extreme cold settling in and conflicts between Survivors increasing, passive defense alone would no longer be enough.

He needed active control over the battlefield.

“But, for that… I need pure aluminum.”

He frowned slightly.

“There’s still a decent amount of stainless steel from Brother Sunil… but no aluminum.”

The name Sunil Kumar resurfaced in his mind.

Since their first deal, Sunil had been steadily supplying him with materials, far beyond what normal hunting could yield.

Vikram was certain of one thing: Those resources did not come from killing creatures.

Which meant only two possibilities remained,

either a large-scale trade network… or a resource point / ruin similar to the Wolf Spirit Ruins.

Considering Sunil himself was listing materials on the market, the first option was unlikely.

So… he definitely found something.

That was why Vikram had been subtly building rapport with him during each trade. Even if he couldn’t extract direct information, maintaining a good relationship would pay off eventually.

Now, recalling that Sunil also traded materials like iron… Vikram decided to test him again.

He opened the chat.

[Vikram: Brother Sunil, I’ve run into another material shortage. This time I need pure aluminum. Think you can arrange it?]

This time, the reply came almost instantly.

[Sunil Kumar: Brother Vikram, you came at the perfect time. I just got a batch of pure aluminum. If you hadn’t asked, I would’ve sold it off already.]

[Sunil Kumar: Since it’s you, I’ll prioritize you. Same rate as stainless steel. How much do you need?]

A faint smile appeared on Vikram’s lips.

Perfect timing? More like you have plenty in stock.

Still, he didn’t expose it.

[Vikram: Hahaha, Brother Sunil is as straightforward as ever. I’ll take 200 units for now.]

He didn’t believe aluminum was in high demand at all. In the current stage, most Survivors were still struggling for basic survival, iron itself was already a luxury.

Aluminum? Almost useless to them.

But to Vikram… it was essential for advanced construction.

Soon, the trade panel appeared.

[Trader: Sunil Kumar]

[Item: Aluminum ×200]

[Required: Food ×18 kg]

Without hesitation, Vikram completed the transaction.

The materials were transferred instantly.

However, he didn’t close the chat.

Instead, his fingers hovered slightly above the interface.

His eyes narrowed.

This time… he wasn’t planning to let the conversation end so easily.

After so many days of back-and-forth dealings, Vikram finally decided, today, he would get a real answer.

He didn’t rush it. Instead, he chose his words carefully.

[Vikram: Brother Sunil, actually… I’ve had a question for a long time. I just don’t know if it’s appropriate to ask.]

On the other side, Sunil Kumar’s fingers froze above the chat interface. His heart skipped a beat. So… it finally came.

He let out a long sigh, leaning back slightly in his chair. There was no avoiding it anymore.

[Sunil Kumar: Just ask. What are we to each other, brother?]

His tone was still friendly… but beneath it, there was a trace of helplessness.

He already knew, once this question was answered, things would never be as simple between them again. And just as expected।

[Vikram: Then I’ll be direct. I’m curious… where exactly do Brother Sunil’s materials come from?]

[Vikram: It feels like your supply is endless.]

[Vikram: I know this is a bit presumptuous… but if possible, please guide your younger brother a little. My Shelter really lacks these materials.]

“Ahh…”

Far away, under the endless wind and snow, a silver-white Shelter stood quietly beside a frozen lake.

Compared to ordinary iron shelters, this one clearly had a higher-grade structure. Its surface shimmered faintly, hinting at the integration of steel, aluminum, and stainless steel within its framework.

Inside, a man in his early thirties sat alone on a chair. His brows were tightly furrowed.

His fingers moved repeatedly over the glowing blue chat screen, typing… pausing… deleting… rewriting…

His hesitation was obvious. This man was Sunil Kumar. He knew exactly what Vikram was asking. And more importantly, he knew exactly how dangerous the answer could be.

Just as he struggled, another message popped up.

[Vikram: If it’s inconvenient, then forget it.]

[Vikram: Anyway, your prices are already very fair, Brother Sunil. I can just keep buying from you. No need to make things difficult.]

Sunil stared at the message for a long time.

His expression grew complicated.

From the very first day he started trading stainless steel with Vikram… he had already anticipated this moment.

After all, no one could ignore such an abnormal supply forever. The only question was would he keep the secret… or gamble on something bigger?