"Whoa! You... you've collected so many crystal cores?" Jorah took the heavy cloth pouch, opened it, and his eyes widened in astonishment. Inside, it was filled with gray, various-sized crystal cores, at least a hundred of them.
For most ordinary survivors now, every single crystal core had to be dug out, one by one, from the heads of terrifying undead, at the risk of their own lives. A "whale" like Elara, who could casually pull out so many, was practically a walking vault.
"Yes."
Before Elara could answer, Seraph, at her side, had already answered for her, quite proudly. On this topic, she was more than qualified to speak. After all, she was the one who had witnessed Elara, without batting an eyelid, dig the first crystal core out of a zombie's rotting head. Though the memory of that scene, even now, still made her feel a little sick.
"And not just these ordinary cores," Seraph said, carefully pulling out a small pouch made of special fire-resistant material from inside her close-fitting clothes and gently opening it.
Inside the pouch lay a dozen or so crystal cores of various colors, emitting faint elemental glows. Most of them were a beautiful orange-red, in varying shades, like a pile of amber soaked in fire, exquisitely beautiful.
"Look, these are all fire-attribute crystal cores that Elara specially collected for me," Seraph's tone held a barely concealed note of pride and showing off.
"Mm-hmm," Elara said, nodding at the group with a smile. She began to explain her reasons for collecting the cores with a half-true, yet plausible-sounding story.
"Although we don't yet know how to accurately measure and classify the levels of ability users, ever since Seraph's powers broke through and advanced in battle, I've noticed that... to a certain extent, ability users can directly absorb the energy from cores of the same attribute to replenish their consumption, and even accelerate the growth of their own abilities."
She glanced at Vespera, who was standing beside her, and continued, "Also, including Vespera's advancement last time, the reason the process was so dangerous was because of a huge energy deficit in her body. In the end, it was only by using a large number of high-level crystal cores as an energy bridge that she was able to successfully complete that 'upgrade'."
Vespera, hearing Elara mention her, immediately nodded vigorously in agreement.
Of course, Elara saying she "just recently learned" about the function of crystal cores was a small lie. In fact, she had known the secret that ability users could absorb cores to enhance themselves since her previous life.
It was just that in her past life, because she had a rare dual space-time ability, and due to Leon and Ashley's deliberate concealment and suppression, she had almost never had the opportunity to access and use the crystal cores that truly belonged to her, the ones that could help her improve her strength.
But in this life, she would never let the same thing happen again. She would collect enough resources to make not only herself, but also these trustworthy companions around her, even stronger.
After hearing Elara's explanation, everyone else present, whether they were researchers or the soldiers, had looks of sudden understanding and contemplation on their faces.
So, crystal cores were not just the "hard currency" of this apocalypse, but also… the "energy source" that could make ability users stronger!
This piece of information was undoubtedly extremely precious to every single one of them.
There was indeed a place in the trading post specifically for information exchange.
But surprisingly, that place wasn't like what you see in TV shows, requiring complex secret codes to meet a mysterious contact in some dark corner.
On the contrary, it was located in the most bustling and lively part of the trading post—in a rather stylish, post-apocalyptic-themed tavern.
Cassian, moving with practiced ease, led Elara, Seraph, and Jorah into the establishment. The tavern was filled with the clamor of all sorts of survivors. They found a relatively quiet booth and sat down.
Soon, a waiter in reasonably clean clothes approached with a tray.
"What can I get for you folks?"
Cassian didn't look at the menu. He simply raised his head and looked calmly at the waiter with his deep blue eyes. After ordering two whiskeys and two juices, he added, in a completely mundane tone, as if commenting on the weather:
"Also, we have a little… 'special request'."
Hearing this, the waiter's expression didn't change at all, as if he were completely accustomed to such "special requests."
Then Cassian, with a smooth motion, took two rather high-quality, ordinary crystal cores that emitted a soft white glow from his pocket and, without drawing attention, slipped them into the waiter's breast pocket.
His cornflower-blue eyes and his slightly curly, impeccably styled black hair made him look somewhat out of place in this post-apocalyptic, wasteland setting. The natural air of nobility and the authority of a leader, cultivated from years of privilege, gave him an undeniable presence in every gesture.
After receiving this "tip," the waiter's voice immediately became gentler and more respectful. He bowed slightly and deferentially placed a glass of amber whiskey in front of Cassian.
"Please wait a moment. Someone will be in contact with you, and your friends, shortly."
As he spoke, he took a glass of champagne, bubbling with fine foam, from his tray and handed it to Elara, clearly considering her one of the main people in charge of this "transaction."
Elara, going with the flow, also took a crystal core from her pocket and handed it to the waiter as a tip.
After receiving a double tip, the waiter's smile became even brighter. He gave a small bow and then quietly withdrew.
Elara picked up the champagne, gently swirling the tall glass in her hand. The ice cubes inside were crystal clear, obviously frozen from an extremely pure water source. She narrowed her eyes, looking through the golden liquid at the various survivors in the tavern, and said thoughtfully:
"It seems the owner of this tavern is no ordinary person. To be able to get such pure ice in a place like this."
"Indeed. To be able to open such a tavern here and establish his own intelligence network, he certainly has some skills," Cassian said, taking a sip of his whiskey. He then shook his head slightly, his tone holding a faint, almost imperceptible note of judgment. "But… his vision is too small, his perspective too short-sighted."
"His horizon ends here."