Chapter 49: An Imitation?

When the word "rules" surfaced in her mind, Ye Mi suddenly remembered that she might have missed a few lines next to the map introduction earlier. She pulled up the content attached to the ticket data again, and sure enough, besides the map, several camp rules appeared before her eyes.

[Camp Bulletin]

1. No infighting—Anyone caught fighting within the camp area will be dealt with by the Gray Fox Gang (punishment ranges from expulsion to execution).
2. No leaking locations—Anyone who attempts to disclose the camp’s coordinates to the Defense Bureau will be wanted by the entire camp.
3. All trades must be fair—Buying and selling are free, but if found guilty of malicious fraud, the seller will be blacklisted and banned from trading in the market.
4. After your ticket expires, if you wish to remain in the human camp, you must renew your ticket. Those without a ticket will be expelled.

Below these notices, there was a conspicuous red [Report] button, presumably a way to contact the official Gray Fox Gang.

Fair enough.

After roughly understanding the situation, Ye Mi had gained a basic grasp of the framework of this human camp. Although it seemed like a free haven for adventurers and fugitives, it remained relatively peaceful. Everything here revolved around the Gray Fox Gang, and violators would be suppressed with force.

“This should be the place, right?”

Following the map’s guidance, Ye Mi arrived at the inn district in the southeast. This area was much tidier than the outer tent district. The inns were converted from three abandoned warehouses and one large building, scattered around with neon signs flashing at the entrances and on the building itself, displaying words like ‘Lodging’ and ‘Hot Water’.

The building was the most eye-catching. Although its top floors had been sheared off by the disaster, it managed to retain a relatively intact structure, making it perfectly suitable for reuse.

Large panels of alloy had been embedded in the building’s facade, seemingly as a reinforcement to ensure its stability; a massive neon billboard hung outside, boldly proclaiming in bright letters: Camp Home.

Just by its appearance, it was clear this was the priciest accommodation in the rest area.

Having grown used to the desolation of the Light Ruins, Ye Mi found herself briefly stunned at the sight of city architecture. The cybernetic splendor was a rare sight for her.

Without hesitation, she walked straight into the lobby of Camp Home.

Of course, she would stay in the safest place.

Even on her way here, Ye Mi had noticed quite a few guards, which proved just how secure this building was.

The lobby of Camp Home was not much different from the hotels in Prism City: a bright reception area, some superfluous decorations, and a front desk to welcome guests.

The front desk, however, consisted of three screens equipped with intelligent AI.

Ye Mi stepped forward, pale blue light reflecting in her eyes.

[Welcome to Camp Home]

[Please select an area:]

Below the prompt, a diagram of the entire rest area appeared on the screen. The three abandoned warehouses surrounded the Camp Home building, labeled A1, A2, A3, with the main building representing the VIP area.

Beneath each building were clear descriptions of prices and room types.

A1 and A2 were shared dormitories, 500 credits per night, low security.

A3 was a basic single room, 3000 credits per night, with basic amenities.

The VIP rooms required 10,000 credits per night, including breakfast and security services.

There was also a weekly VIP discount: pay for six nights and get one free, meaning a seven-night stay would cost only 60,000 credits.

Ye Mi glanced over the options and prepared to scan her eyes and pay using Gina’s biometrics. She planned to settle the debt with Gina in person later.

But the machine beeped and displayed “Insufficient Balance.”

“...”

Ye Mi checked Gina’s account: balance, 28,532 credits.

Her lips twitched in disbelief. Was this the tough life of a D-class Esper? Even Ye Mi’s own body had over 50,000 credits saved up!

Of course, that was the “reward” of being a corporate drone.

“Well, if you weren’t broke, you wouldn’t come to the Light Ruins as an adventurer,” she consoled herself.

With no other choice, Ye Mi left Camp Home and headed toward the trading district.

She carried energy crystals that could fetch a good price.

Ten minutes later.

The scene before her made Ye Mi raise an eyebrow—

The bustling market was crowded with all sorts of people; adventurers haggled with vendors, a few mercenaries with excessive cybernetic augmentations sat by the roadside drinking, and many food stalls sold all manner of dishes.

The air buzzed with voices, thick with the scent of machine oil, grilled meat, and cheap alcohol, while the cries of vendors rose and fell.

“Fresh aberrant beast meat! Only 100 credits a pound!”

“Standard pistols, just 3,000 credits!”

“Premium cybernetic limbs, honest business for all!”

Ye Mi wrinkled her nose, bypassed several cyberware hawkers, and finally found a stall deeper inside that purchased energy crystals.

The vendor was a lean middle-aged man with narrow eyes, lazily slouched in his chair. When Ye Mi approached, he lifted his eyelids and gave her a once-over.

“Selling energy crystals?”

He asked in a shrill voice.

Ye Mi nodded, took out a crystal, and asked, “How much is one this size worth?”

The vendor glanced at it, picked it up, held it to the light in a showy manner, and sneered, “With this color, it’s a knockoff, right? The market’s flooded with low-purity stuff lately. This one’s worth at most 200,000.”

“There are knockoffs of these things?” Ye Mi frowned. She had never heard of this before. When she’d asked Ian about energy crystal prices in the Light Ruins, she distinctly remembered that a crystal the size of two fingers would fetch at least 500,000.

As for knockoffs, that was news to her.

The vendor saw her rookie expression and a barely perceptible sly smile curled at his lips. He patiently explained the story behind the counterfeits.

Apparently, some tech-savvy organizations had imitated OC Corporation’s technology, creating knockoff energy collectors. But lacking the core tech, most of the crystals produced by these machines were of insufficient purity.

OC Corporation’s energy crystals had a concentration of 85% to 97%, but the knockoffs only reached 35% to 70%.

High-concentration crystals could indeed fetch around 500,000 credits, but the knockoffs’ prices could be halved or worse, since the energy they could extract from the Light Ruins differed vastly.

Ye Mi grasped the gist of it, her fingers tightening slightly. She said, “Boss, look again. This is a high-purity energy crystal. There’s no way it’s a knockoff.”

She had looted this directly from a Defense Bureau supply station—how could it be a fake?

The vendor shrugged and pointed at a machine beside him, saying, “Everyone selling knockoffs here says the same thing. Don’t believe me? Test it. The machine doesn’t lie.”