The Great Merchant in the Cataclysm Chapter 5

PS: The releasing schedule for this novel is two chapters a week. I’m still focusing on translating Starchild Escapes Arranged Marriage (two days a chapter).

Chapter 5: Let the Plan Begins

Zhang Mu gazed at the crowd in silence. He had seen too many similar things happening in the future and he knew that this was just the beginning. If it wasn’t because these lower level walking dead only focused on the preys they had caught, none of these people would be able to escape alive.

Zhang Mu remembered the mechanical voice’s last words with a contemptuous look.

The so-called debugging period was his best opportunity to strengthen himself. He wouldn’t just let it go. However, it was indeed very dangerous.

After the new era started, every big city would have an era merchant. The first five people who traded with the era merchant in their city would become the merchant’s sub-merchant in their city and helped the merchant trade with other cities.

In Zhang Mu’s past life, because he was too hungry and found that the walking dead suddenly became sluggish after three days, he had run out of his hiding place.

Fortunately, he came to the People’s Square and saw the mysterious era merchant. That meeting eventually changed his whole life. Even though he was just an ordinary person who didn’t have any potential to evolve, he still survived ten years into the future.

At that time, Zhang Mu used five first-ranked walking dead’s crystals to trade with the era merchant. After that, he became the merchant’s last sub-merchant.

However, after a year, he finally understood what he had missed when he chatted with other sub-merchants.

To be the first sub-merchant, to make the first transaction, and to trade with the era merchant during the debugging period. Every point he had missed had diminished his chances of becoming one of the top sub-merchants.

Zhang Mu licked his chapped lips, slowly drawing out his tailored Tang sword, then put the sheath and the backpack on the ground.

His right hand held the Tang sword and his left hand carried the black rubbish bag. He nimbly walked to the square.

At this time, body parts strewed all over the square and blood stained the originally white ground red.

Although Zhang Mu had rich experience, he didn’t dare to let down his guard. After all, his current body was weak. At this time, he was just a thief who was only forced to train his hands by his master. He knew that his body was nimble, but if he were to be surrounded by these walking dead, there wouldn’t be any chance for him to survive.

Zhang Mu had made a plan in his heart. He lowered his body and observed the walking dead on the square, searching for the appropriate targets.

Got it. That walking dead looked suitable.

It was a female walking dead who once was a young, slender girl. However, it's eating speed wasn’t inferior to other walking dead. Zhang Mu saw that she had almost hollowed out the male corpse under her body and still tirelessly put bloody flesh into its mouth with her sharp claws.

Compared to other walking dead, this female walking dead should be the weakest one. After all, walking dead’s abilities were based on their original physical qualities. This walking dead was a very thin girl and she was wearing a pair of high-heeled shoes. It shouldn’t be difficult to kill.

The most important thing was that there weren’t any other walking dead near her and she had almost finished eating the “food” in front of her.

“They often boasted that the walking dead in the first three days were incredible strong. It’s time to verify it by myself now.”

Zhang Mu stared at the female walking dead not far away with excitement. He had taken the walking dead as the best object for him to adapt to his new body and try his Tang sword.

Zhang Mu saw that the female walking dead had finished eating. He drew out a thing from the black rubbish bag and threw it towards the walking dead.

It was a little bit of coagulated chicken blood.

The female walking dead sniffed. It smelled the blood and turned around, seeing the broken chicken blood on the ground. It immediately gave up the remaining meat in front of it and rushed to the coagulated chicken blood.

Peng!

It was another bit of coagulated chicken blood, but this time, it was put closer to Zhang Mu.

Zhang Mu quietly calculated the distance between them.

The female walking dead’s speed was about ordinary people’s 2.5 times. He should be able to dodge its first attack. After that, he didn’t need to worry about its second attack because its high-heeled shoes would become its obstacle.

Zhang Mu didn’t know how powerful its explosive force would be, but he thought that it wouldn’t be more than three times stronger than an averaged adult man.

Zhang Mu thought through his plan again, then moved out. He dashed to the female walking dead, immediately drawing close the distance between them and threw the stone he just picked up from the ground at the female walking dead’s head.

Bang!

It missed. The stone slid past the female walking dead’s hair.

Zhang Mu blushed. He embarrassedly said to the female walking dead, who had stood up from the ground, “Oops!”

This kind of low-level monsters didn’t have intelligence and self-consciousness. Besides, in order to not eliminate too many people at the beginning, they were set a certain attack range. When a walking dead was eating and you were standing outside its attack range, it wouldn’t actively attack you, unless you foolishly provoked it.

Unfortunately, Zhang Mu was that fool.

Zhang Mu valued highly his time. If these walking dead all finished eating, the attack range would naturally disappear at that time. If they found him at that time, he wouldn’t have any better choice than running away.

However, before they finished eating, Zhang Mu didn’t need to worry about anything. Even though the stone he threw made a loud noise, these walking dead didn’t even take a glance at him.

Zhang Mu’s behavior provoked the female walking dead. Within a second, the female walking dead had rushed to Zhang Mu and reached out its claw, scratching Zhang Mu’s chest.

That was even faster than Zhang Mu’s expectation!

Zhang Mu was scared. He immediately leant his body and narrowly dodged its claw.

He underestimated it. Even though it was just a walking dead transformed from a thin girl, its speed was still three times faster than ordinary people.

The debugging time was really difficult.

Fortunately, Zhang Mu’s body was about two times faster than ordinary people. Although there was still a huge gap between the walking dead and himself, it was enough for him to dodge its attack.

Crack!

As he had expected, the female walking dead just tried to launch its second attack, one of its high-heeled shoes broke. She lost her balance and fell to the ground. Taking this opportunity, Zhang Mu brutally stepped on its neck, making it totally lose its strength.

Well, Zhang Mu was really good at selecting his enemy, but that was because he had no choice. He was too weak and had to use tricks.

Zhang Mu didn’t waste time. He quickly drew back his foot and brandished the sword.

The Tang sword deserved to be the Soldier King’s masterpiece. It easily chopped down the walking dead’s head. Zhang Mu expertly stabbed the sword blade into the walking dead’s neck, picking out a white pentagonal crystal.

In contrast to the dirty walking dead, the crystal was incredibly transparent and pure. Zhang Mu carefully looked at it, which could be used as ordinary people’s cultivating material and merchants’ currency.

“Long time no see, my old friend.”

Soon afterwards, Zhang Mu frowned.

“It’s a pentagonal crystal? Shouldn’t it be hexagonal? Are the first-ranked walking deads in the debugging time equal to the second-ranked walking deads in the future? If so, it’s ten times better than normal first-ranked walking dead! After all, the second-ranked walking dead wasn’t just two times stronger than the first-ranked walking dead. They were more dangerous.”

It should be a bug that only appeared in the debugging time.

Zhang Mu immediately realized it. He showed a vicious smile at the corners of his mouth.

“I’m gonna be rich now!”

Chapter end