Cave Refuge

So when Dong Tianyu saw the sign of the store across the street, he walked in without hesitation.

Compared to the very bustling shops selling metal armor, those selling firearms were much less crowded.

After Dong Tianyu had browsed around the store for a while, he immediately understood why the shop was so deserted.

The reason this shop was so empty was entirely because the firearms for sale were not only expensive but also lacked large-caliber equipment.

Now that metal armor capable of generating an all-encompassing protective shield using the body's energy had appeared, the threat posed by handguns and less powerful automatic rifles to martial artists had already diminished, even without the advent of metal armor and as martial artist strength continued to grow.

Although the floods made it difficult for hunting teams to find new strange creatures, given the current situation, very few outbound hunting teams carried guns and ammunition unless someone possessed a storage strange creature.

After Dong Tianyu had looked around the store and didn't find the weapons he wanted, he was about to leave with a look of disappointment when suddenly a shop assistant quickly approached him.

"Sir, from the look on your face, it seems that you haven't found the firearms you were hoping for here."

Hearing this, Dong Tianyu suddenly thought of something and then nodded.

Seeing the look of disappointment fade from Dong Tianyu's face, the shop assistant guessed what was going through his mind. Indeed, the assistant wouldn't have intercepted him as he was about to leave if it were otherwise.

"You have what I'm looking for!" Dong Tianyu said, not as a question but as a confirmation, as if it were a decided matter.

Even though there were hardly any customers in the store, the shop assistant still cautiously looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to them before he led Dong Tianyu into a private room inside the store.

After pouring a glass of water for Dong Tianyu, the shop assistant took out a booklet and handed it to him, saying, "Sir, this booklet contains a catalog of all the equipment for sale in the store. Everything listed in here is available for sale."

After receiving the booklet from the assistant, Dong Tianyu leaned back on the sofa and began to browse through the equipment for sale.

Dong Tianyu skipped the pages on firearms; not to mention their limited power, Dong Tianyu rarely used them anyway, and the quantity of stock in the storage space was enough to last him a very long time even if used daily.

Seeing that the booklet not only contained high-explosive grenades but also incendiary grenades and other throwable weapons, Dong Tianyu took note to purchase some.

Although Dong Tianyu could make his own incendiary grenades, the homemade versions, both in terms of power and duration of flame, were significantly less effective than the genuine ones.

Since he had found them available now, Dong Tianyu planned to buy some to keep, as his storage space was large enough to spare the room.

In addition to the high-explosive and incendiary grenades, Dong Tianyu also planned to buy more of other specially-effect throwables, such as flash grenades, smoke grenades, and tear gas grenades.

Besides throwables, Dong Tianyu hadn't expected that this place would actually be selling missiles, although the listed prices for missiles were very high and the cost-effectiveness was extremely low,

but considering the crises he had encountered recently, despite the cost making him wince, Dong Tianyu still roughly calculated the necessary expenses.

Besides missiles, Dong Tianyu hadn't expected that the booklet not only listed various types of boats but also had tanks and airplanes.

Given the flood disaster, such heavy equipment like planes and tanks could only be seen underwater if no one had specially arranged for them.

At that moment, being able to see such items listed in the booklet, although the quantity available for sale was limited, already proved the strength of the store.

Zachary pointed at the booklet and asked the clerk, "Can your store really acquire the items listed here at this time?"

The clerk looked cautions before confirming the product Zachary was inquiring about, and then confidently assured him, "As long as it appears in the booklet, we have it and we will sell it."

Seeing the clerk's expression at that time, Zachary somewhat believed that the other party was not lying, so he directly told the clerk what he needed.

As Zachary spoke, the clerk had already begun writing down the names of the products he wanted to purchase.

Initially, Zachary's purchase of hand grenades by the box had already surprised the clerk, but upon hearing various missile names being mentioned by Zachary, the clerk suddenly became stunned.

Then, with an apologetic face, the clerk said to Zachary, "I'm sorry, sir, the items you wish to purchase exceed my authorization. I will bring our store manager here immediately, as only he has the authority to sell those items."

After hearing the clerk's polite explanation, Zachary was not angry and directly said, "Since you don't have the authority, then go ahead and call your manager."

On the way, the clerk likely gave the manager a brief description of the situation. Upon learning that Zachary was purchasing such a large number of weapons, especially many powerful missiles, the manager's expression changed abruptly.

After all, at this time, for a merchant able to operate a direct store in the Trade Market, it was certain that they were backed by someone important from the Imperial Court, specifically someone from the high ranks of the Military Department; otherwise, they wouldn't dare sell weapons so openly.

Besides selling weapons and earning money, their store had another important function: intelligence gathering.

By utilizing the arms store for intelligence gathering, the information naturally related to combat, ranging from the daily hunting activities of a Hunting Group to larger-scale conflicts.

While they couldn't overtly interrogate purchasers, as long as customers bought weapons and equipment from them, extending the investigation along that clue would become very simple.

It wasn't that individuals like Zachary hadn't massively purchased weapons and ammunition before; each time such large orders appeared, a major battle usually occurred shortly afterwards.

However, generally, before such large-scale battles commenced, signs typically appeared on the market, but recently, it had been relatively quiet, with no such signs.

Carrying doubts, the manager entered the private room with a smile, sat down opposite Zachary, and then addressed him, "Hello, I'm the manager of this store, my name is Ryan Sullivan. May I ask how to address you?"

"Zachary!"

"Mr. Thompson, you are placing such a large order for weapons and ammunition all at once. May I ask, if it's not too much trouble, could you inform us about the intended use of these weapons? You must have guessed that our store's ability to operate within the market means we are deeply connected to higher authorities.

Moreover, to be honest, our superiors are aware of everything we sell, so if this concerns you, all I can do is apologize."

Upon hearing the other party's explanation, Zachary understood that it was a subtle refusal, but although the refusal was implied in the manager's words, Zachary had no intention of leaving.

"Look at what you're saying. Even if I stop buying from you now, are you really not going to report today's business, pretending I was never here?

Alright, since I dared to enter your store and buy things, then you just follow your store's rules—report what needs to be reported, do what needs to be done, and I won't make it difficult for you.

But you should also stick to the normal sales rules. Since the prices are clearly marked and the remaining quantity is specially indicated, don't withhold anything—sell things as they should be sold."