Stepping out of the abandoned building, the sunlight was just right, and the urban village had already begun its daily bustle.
The aroma of food, the noisy chatter of people, the rumble of vehicles... it all gave her a surreal sense of being in another world.
Just a few hours ago, she had been facing silent ruins and hideous zombies.
Su Wan steadied her mind and oriented herself.
She needed to head to the city center first to find a reputable gold and silver recovery shop or a pawnshop to exchange her gold beans for cash.
At the same time, she had to deal with this suitcase.
As Su Wan hailed a taxi, her mind began calculating the supplies she needed to procure.
For food: compressed biscuits, instant noodles, ham sausages, and bottled water were the basics—bulk quantity was the priority.
Then, basic medicine: anti-inflammatories, cold medicine, painkillers, gastrointestinal medicine, disinfectants, and gauze bandages.
Warm clothing: underwear, socks, thick coats, hats, and gloves, keeping the extreme cold of the apocalypse in mind.
Tools: flashlights, batteries, multi-purpose knives, ropes, lighters, and water purification tablets.
If possible, she would also buy some shelf-stable dried vegetables, canned meat, vitamin tablets...
The 10-cubic-meter space had to be planned logically, prioritizing high-value, low-volume items or those in urgent demand during the apocalypse.
Emerging from a small but reputable gold recovery shop, Su Wan felt much more secure clutching the ten thousand yuan in cash in her pocket.
It was slightly less than she had estimated, but still within an acceptable range.
Gold jewelry without receipts naturally came with a discounted recovery price.
Her next goal was to dispose of the suitcase.
Familiar with the route, she turned into a relatively quiet but elegantly decorated street and stopped in front of a second-hand luxury exchange shop called “Luxury Exchange.”
With a gilded sign and massive floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the shop displayed various designer bags, jewelry, and watches, all emitting an alluring glow under the soft spotlights.
Su Wan was all too familiar with this place.
Over the past three months, to pay high legal fees, handle various petty debts, and maintain a basic standard of living, she had sold off almost all the luxury goods left by her parents or purchased by herself.
From limited-edition Birkin bags to sets of jewelry, luxury watches, and designer clothes...
She had brought them here one by one, exchanging them for increasingly thin stacks of cash.
Every visit felt like peeling off a layer of her once-glamorous past.
The shop staff had also shifted from their initial excessive fawning and warm greetings to their current cold observation, even hinting at mockery.
She took a deep breath and pushed open the heavy glass door.
“Welcome... oh?” A female clerk in a tailored suit and exquisite makeup looked up at the sound.
Seeing it was Su Wan, her formulaic smile instantly faded, replaced by an undisguised scrutiny and a trace of imperceptible contempt.
“Miss Su, here to grace us with your business again?”
Her voice was neither high nor low, just loud enough for the other two clerks organizing shelves to hear.
The two of them also looked up, exchanging a knowing glance with faint, mocking smiles playing on their lips.
“Yes.” Su Wan acted as if she hadn't seen their expressions and placed the classic LV suitcase on the polished marble floor.
“See how much you can give for this.”
The clerk walked over slowly, her eyes full of disdain.
“Oh, Miss Su, this must be your last piece of property, isn't it?” The clerk crouched down, checking the corners, zippers, hardware, and leather with seemingly professional movements, but her words were increasingly sharp.
“When you used to come, you brought the latest seasonal models, rare skins, limited colors...”
“Now, tsk tsk, although this suitcase is a classic, its condition... there’s wear on the corners, and the hardware has scratches. It clearly hasn't been well-maintained.”
“I imagine the Su family servants used to take better care of these things than you do, right?”
Another slightly older clerk leaned against the counter and chimed in, “Xiao Li, you shouldn't say that.”
“Miss Su isn't what she used to be; how can she still be as meticulous as before? It’s already good enough that she can bring something out to exchange for emergency cash.” These words sounded like they were defusing the situation, but the word “destitute” was practically written between the lines.
The clerk named Xiao Li nodded solemnly. “Sister Wang is right, I was being inconsiderate.”
“Well... Miss Su, for this suitcase, the most we can give you is this much.” She held up two fingers.
“Two thousand?” Su Wan frowned slightly.
She had bought this suitcase two years ago, and the retail price at the time was nearly twenty thousand.
If she hadn't encountered these misfortunes, this suitcase would still be gathering dust in her closet.
It was practically unused, very well-maintained, and as a classic model, it held its value. In a legitimate second-hand market, this suitcase could easily sell for four or five thousand.
Two thousand—this lowball offer was far too aggressive.
Xiao Li raised her eyebrows exaggeratedly, wiggling those two fingers as she drawled, “Two thousand yuan, and that’s only because we’re giving you a friendly price as an old customer.”
Sister Wang also added her support: “That’s right, Miss Su. The market isn't good right now, and these old models aren't exactly rare.”
“Look at your suitcase, the wear is so obvious, and the zipper... sigh, it’s lucky anyone is willing to take it at all.”
“Once we take it back, we still have to spend money on maintenance and refurbishment. It’s not even certain we can sell it.”
They played off each other, their tones full of charity and certainty.
They were certain that this once-lofty young lady, now desperate for money, wouldn't be able to bring herself to haggle and would have no choice but to let herself be slaughtered.
If it were three months ago, having just experienced the family upheaval and still full of pride, Su Wan might have truly felt humiliated and angry, perhaps even turning to leave immediately.
But the current Su Wan...
She looked calmly at the hypocritical and spiteful faces of the two clerks, her heart barely rippling.
In these three months, she had seen more cold eyes and heard more mockery—far more unpleasant and blunt than this.
Falling from the clouds into the mud, the first thing she learned was to trample so-called “face” and “self-respect” underfoot.
Surviving and finding a way out were the most important things.
Face? Could it be eaten? Could it fill her stomach or be traded for warm clothes to cover her body?
“Two thousand yuan?” Su Wan repeated, her voice flat and emotionless.
“This suitcase is a classic model with intact leather, only slight signs of use, and a clean interior. According to the second-hand market, it’s worth at least four and a half to five thousand.”
“Two thousand is too low.”
Her tone wasn't aggressive; in fact, she showed no emotion at all, simply stating facts.
But this unexpected calmness and clear-headed rebuttal actually caused the two clerks to freeze for a moment.
The fake smile on Xiao Li’s face began to falter. “Miss Su, what are you saying... the market price is one thing, the actual price is another. Your suitcase...”
“I’m not selling it.” Su Wan interrupted her, bending down decisively and pulling up the suitcase’s handle.
“I’ll go ask at another shop. You aren't the only ones doing luxury resale on this street.”
With that, she turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
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