Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle - Chapter 941

Chapter 941: Animals
[ Shane: Be careful. Even if it’s a Neutral Shelter, it can still be dangerous. Neutral Shelters were created for anyone fighting against Zombies. They’re not doing some kind of investigation and just accept anyone. New Visitors or some Survivors inside might have other motives. ]

After sending the message, Shane finally turned toward the marketplace.

Shane arrived at the marketplace just as the lanterns and lamps were being lit.

The Eclipse Domain’s central plaza had transformed overnight… There were now rows of stalls lining the walkways, each one covered in someone’s canopies and supported by metal frames.

At this time, the scent of grilled meat, dried herbs, and old leather was in the air…

Apparently, a merchant caravan had arrived yesterday.

They were travelers or neutral traders who moved between shelters, exchanging goods, information, and rare items. The Eclipse Domain was the fourth shelter they had visited this cycle, and judging by the crowd, word had spread fast.

Shane walked past a stall selling preserved fruits and smoked fish, nodding once to the guards stationed nearby.

‘Smoke fish, huh…’ Shane nodded after seeing this.

Obviously, the fish he could bring back from his pocket dimension was not a lot. They also started fish farming in their own ponds, but that would still take a lot of them before they could supply shelters.

Since the merchants could bring some fish, even if it was smoked, many survivors felt excited.

After all, it was still the taste of a fish that was hard to come by…

Still, most of the survivors here in the Eclipse Domain weren’t using gold coins. That currency still held value, but it was rarely used since they were difficult to collect.

Instead, the real trade happened through Zombie Cores, Spirit Stones, and Item Upgrade Crystals. They were resources pulled from Zombies and other places…

He passed a group of scavengers, who had entered the shelter as temporary residents, haggling over a bundle of herbs for some low-grade Spirit Stones. One of them was offering a few pieces of Upgrade Crystal, and some of them were even cracked, in exchange for a cloak. The merchant refused, pointing to the stitching and the imported tag.

“This is silk weave, not local. No trade unless you’ve got 40 Zombie Cores for me.” the merchant said flatly.

Shane kept walking.

Apparently, fabrics were the real prize here.

Unlike weapons, potions, or even food, the normal clothing didn’t drop from zombies, no matter how lucky the looters were.

Even with Shane’s Complete Loot Talent, he could only loot armors, weapons, and accessories, and there wasn’t anything related to fabric or clothing at all…

It was the same case even for high-tier zombies. When killed, they left behind cores, crystals, and other stuff but never usable cloth.

That made fabrics like silk, linen, and treated leather extremely rare. Survivors wore patched gear, scavenged uniforms, repurposed armor, Gift Pack’s clothes, and System Store’s clothes.

Because of that, actual clothing… Those that are clean, durable, and breathable were in short supply.

Shane stopped at a stall displaying folded bolts of fabric.

According to the merchant, they were Silk from the Southern Wastes.

They also had high-quality cotton from the Northern Region… Even a few rolls of synthetic fiber, likely salvaged from a pre-apocalypse lab, were present!

Still, the prices were steep.

One bolt of silk costs 80 Zombie Cores or 10 Spirit Stones with a purity rating above 80%.

It was too expensive… However, he could also be blamed for this because of the taxes he implemented.

Anyway, he didn’t buy anything yet. He was just observing.

A few meters away, a group of Eclipse Domain tailors was inspecting the goods. They were looking for materials to craft uniforms for the upcoming migration. Shane made a mental note to allocate trade credits to them later.

He continued through the marketplace, passing stalls selling rare seeds, enchanted ink, and even a few relics from the old world, like watches, cameras, and a half-functioning drone.

At the far end of the plaza, he spotted the caravan leader, a tall man in long robes, speaking with one of the Eclipse officers. Shane approached quietly, listening in.

“…we’ll stay for three days,” the merchant was saying. “After that, we head east. If your people want fabrics, this is the best time. We won’t be back for another two months.”

Shane just glanced in their direction before turning around…

As Shane continued walking through the marketplace, he noticed that at the very back of the merchant caravan’s post, there were a lot of people gathered.

Curious, he checked it out…

As soon as he arrived, many residents recognized him, and their eyes lit up.

“Sir Shane… I think you’re the right person to handle this.” This was said by Bart, who was supposedly running a coffee shop nearby.

“Hmm? What is it? Ahh… I’ll just take a look.” Shane said as the others swiftly moved away.

At the very back, he found a stall unlike any other. There were small cages everywhere… Several dozens of them.

Inside were pairs of live animals!

Rabbits with soft gray fur, white mice huddled together in straw, a few pheasants with lustrous feathers, and even a pair of shaggy goats chewing quietly on bundled hay.

Shane stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw this…

He hadn’t seen livestock like this ever since he arrived in this world.

Most animals had either died, mutated, or been consumed during the collapse. Even the neutral shelters only had cats, dogs, and a few horses left. But this… this was different.

These animals were clean. They also looked healthy and unmutated.

He stepped closer, inspecting the cages. Each one had a tag. They had species, age, breeding status, and price.

The numbers were staggering.

Rabbit Pair – 520 Zombie Cores

Mice Breeding Set (4) – 450 Zombie Cores

Pheasant Pair – 800 Zombie Cores

Goat Pair – 2,000 Zombie Cores or 250 Spirit Stones

Shane paused after seeing the price… It was expensive and ridiculously so.

But it made sense! In a world overrun by zombies, clean animals were treasures. Not just for food, but for husbandry, sustainability, and long-term survival!