The product was ready, now for packaging.
In the last few days, Xiaodao had traveled around the area and managed to get over five thousand small hundred-milliliter bottles. In addition, he got corks, a capping machine, boxes, and tape.
The glass bottles had been sterilized with steam in advance. There weren't enough bottles, of course, but Xiaodao also brought cheap canisters from the Water Guild. Combining the containers, they somehow managed to bottle everything.
After spending half a day bottling, they moved on to sales.
Li Qingyu entered the frequency 350234kmyy on his auspex and contacted Lieutenant Rudaosen, asking if he could provide a vehicle for transporting the goods.
"So soon?" the lieutenant's voice came. "Wait, I'll check if there are any inspectors nearby."
The wait stretched for about ten minutes. Li Qingyu managed to practice his psionic abilities a little.
"Clear, the inspector is gone. Move out, I'll send a truck to meet you."
After agreeing, Li Qingyu ordered the boxes to be loaded onto a handcar and sent to the surface.
Xiaodao, the Silent One, and little Joel went with him. Yes, Joel! He was standing on his own two feet – the green syringe had worked!
His broken spine had fully recovered. The guy was shining as if he had been reborn.
Li Qingyu specifically took him along to show him to Rudaosen. Let the officer be surprised and appreciate his partner's capabilities.
When the handcar approached the mutant territory, Li Qingyu whispered to the Silent One:
"Be alert. Mutants ahead. If they move, kill them all."
The Silent One remained silent, but a powerful surge of warp energy emanated from him – the psyker was ready to turn into a killing machine.
However, they passed the mutant tribe without incident. The freaks huddled by the pipes, engaged in their vile business. It seemed they had already accepted that Li Qingyu's handcar had the right of passage through their camp.
True, peering into the darkness of the tunnels, Li Qingyu caught greedy glances. Their deformed noses twitched – they had smelled the alcohol.
He thought he should find time to clear out this nest. The trade route should be safe, and these creatures were a factor of instability.
Soon, the handcar reached the surface. Rudaosen wasn't there yet, and the group sat down to rest.
Suddenly, a man emerged from the forest and headed towards them.
Little Joel noticed the stranger first and raised his rifle:
"Halt! Who are you? Don't come closer, I'll shoot!"
Li Qingyu looked closely, lowered Joel's rifle, and beckoned the man with his finger. The latter ran up joyfully.
"Mr. Pawnbroker! Do you remember me?"
Li Qingyu grinned:
"Of course. It was I who pulled you out of the UED camp last time. If I hadn't – they would have shot you."
This was the same prisoner Li Qingyu had begged Rudaosen for to establish contact with the rebels. It was strange that he was hanging around the ventilation shaft.
"Mr. Pawnbroker, my name is Parson. Old Man Sen ordered me to be on duty here constantly. If you need anything, tell me – you won't have to run so far."
Li Qingyu nodded, appreciating the convenience:
"Since we've met, go back to Old Man Sen. Have him prepare three tons of potatoes and deliver them here. In payment, I'll give him a UED automatic rifle."
Parson nodded, whistled, and a horse ran out of the thicket. He was about to mount when Li Qingyu called out to him:
"Besides potatoes, tell Old Man Sen to gather vegetables, fruits, and meat. A lot. Enough for ten people for half a month."
With these words, he took a vial of high-purity antiseptic powder from his bag and threw it to Parson.
The rebel carefully hid the medicine under his shirt – he knew the value of this item perfectly well.
The few vials he had given before had saved the lives of forty fighters. One dose was worth ten lives, and Parson dared not treat it lightly.
"Thank you, Mr. Pawnbroker! I'll be back in a flash and bring everything you need!"
He spurred his horse and galloped away. The animal's speed was such that a motorcycle would have envied it.
Shortly after his departure, the roar of an engine was heard. An army truck from the UED pulled up to the shaft. Lieutenant Rudaosen jumped out of the cargo bed with soldiers.
He had already opened his mouth to greet Li Qingyu, but his gaze fell on the standing Joel. The lieutenant froze.
"Little Joel! You... you're standing?"
The guy smiled and saluted:
"Yes, sir! I'm healthy! Commander Li cured me!"
Rudaosen stared at Li Qingyu. The latter merely raised his chin: as if to say, am I cool or not?
The lieutenant dragged him aside, into the woods, for a private conversation.
"Damn it! How did you do that? Doctors said your spine and nerves were mush, only cybernetics could help! Such an implant costs three hundred thousand!"
Li Qingyu, with a mysterious look, took a green syringe from his pocket and slipped it into Rudaosen's breast pocket.
"Don't say later that I don't care about you. Until your arms and legs are torn off – inject this, and everything will grow back!"
Rudaosen pulled out the syringe and examined it for a long time – no inscriptions, no markings.
"What the hell is this? Any side effects? Where did you get it? Is it from the Cult of Rejuvenation?"
Li Qingyu slapped him on the shoulder:
"No side effects, use it. And don't ask where I got it. I have my own channels. Knowing me is such luck, as if your ancestors were buried on the Necron tomb world, and they decided to guard them!"