Chapter 392: Currency
“You’re back? Did you run into any resistance?” Zhuang Mingxu’s office already had a charcoal stove burning. The scent of charcoal warmed the air.
He handed over two cups of hot water. As Lu Weiyi reached out, he noticed how cold Zhuang’s hands were.
“Why are you so cold?”
Lu Weiyi asked like a naive young master. Zhuang Mingxu rubbed his frost-covered hair and chuckled, “It’s just that cold.”
Ordinary people’s bodies were too weak. Lu Weiyi grabbed his hands to warm them. “I’ll take over base matters from now on.”
The topic shift was so abrupt that both Zhuang Mingxu and Wu Yue couldn’t help but look at him. Seeing no ulterior motive in his expression, they realized he was simply concerned about how the cold was affecting ordinary people.
“Let’s wait until the temperature drops a bit more. For now, things are manageable. Take this time to slowly ease into it—get some rest and have a buffer period,” Zhuang replied.
At the mention of rest, Lu Weiyi’s eyes lit up. He nodded reservedly and began talking about the situation at the Pingjin Base.
“So, they’re definitely planning to make a move,” Zhuang Mingxu said after thinking for a moment. “Then we need to make sure they act only after we’ve made full preparations.”
He stood up and took out a stack of hand-drawn diagrams from his desk. “Lately, I’ve been working with people in the base to study how to defend ourselves once the seawater freezes.”
“Once the sea turns to ice, our base will become a literal island—completely surrounded by vulnerabilities. We’ve come up with two defensive plans.”
Looking at the sketches on the map, even with Zhuang’s poor drawing skills, Lu Weiyi could make out something like a crater-like slope surrounding the base—but he couldn’t quite tell what it was supposed to represent.
“The first plan is to construct a wall ourselves. A sloped ice wall built around the entire base. Anyone wanting to enter would have to break through the ice. We can place sentry posts on the wall, which would give us a height advantage for both surveillance and combat.”
“But they have water-type ability users. Breaking through the ice wall wouldn’t be hard,” Wu Yue interjected.
“True, but they don’t have that many high-level ability users. I’ve compiled data on Pingjin Base’s ability users. For powers that can deal with the ice wall—water and fire types—there are 58 A-level water users and 22 A-level fire users. For B-levels, they have 4,368 water types and 2,214 fire types.”
“There’s that big of a difference?” Wu Yue was shocked. He knew the two bases had a power gap, but not this massive.
It was a startling number.
“There are even more C-levels. But their B-to-A upgrade success rate is only 0.5%. Most of their ability users initially focused on absorbing crystal cores. After seeing this comparison, many have paused their upgrades, which means Pingjin has a large stockpile of crystal cores.”
“As for our base, Ye Jia is the strongest among the water-types with ice abilities. I had him help us test. At full power, he can form a 30-meter-long/wide/high ice block. Melting it takes about the same effort, and one attack would completely drain his energy. He’d need a lot of crystal cores to recover.”
“Given Pingjin’s situation, many of their people are afraid to fully absorb cores out of fear of forced upgrades, which weakens their combat potential.”
“But we have ice-element crystal core weapons to help. They can continuously reinforce the ice wall, and we can even launch long-range attacks before the enemy gets close.”
“The difference in power between the ability users is still too great—it’s risky,” Wu Yue said, frowning. “Can’t we assign people every day to melt the frozen layer around the base? That way there are no blind spots?”
“That depends on the thickness of the ice. If it’s shallow, there’s no need. If it’s thick, we lack enough ability users. As for crystal core weapons, the daily consumption would be excessive. We’ve also tested crystal core cannons against the ice. They can shatter it, but not melt it instantly into impassable water. The enemy has a lot of ability users—forming an ice bridge would be easy.”
Each option had pros and cons, so both looked to Lu Weiyi.
“What long-range weapons do we currently have?” Lu Weiyi asked.
“Twenty-eight shoulder-fired rocket launchers, four long-range tank rocket cannons, and seventy-eight portable crystal core guns. Recently, Antonio and his team have been working overtime.”
“And the tank cannon range is…”
“Accurately from 1,500 to 2,000 meters.”
“Build the ice wall directly. As soon as the sea begins to freeze, gather all water-type ability users and support them with ice-element crystal core guns. Use the four tank cannons to guard key directions. Distribute the rest of the weapons to the guards and fully defend the city.” As Lu Weiyi stood up, his decisiveness exuded a chilling determination, the aura of someone hardened by bloodshed.
Zhuang Mingxu was stirred with excitement, his gaze locked on him.
“Ahem.” Wu Yue cleared his throat loudly, clearly displeased.
“Alright,” Zhuang Mingxu came back to himself. “Let’s inform the squads later about the potential base lockdown.”
After the three made their plans, it was time for the meeting.
Lu Weiyi and Zhuang Mingxu headed to the main conference room. The first announcement was about the potential lockdown once the sea froze.
“You mean we won’t be able to leave the base anymore?” asked Li Feng, deputy of the Ping’an Squad. “Then who will cover our losses?”
“What kind of losses are you referring to, Deputy Li?” Zhuang Mingxu asked with a pleasant expression.
“Supplies and crystal cores. You know, Deputy Base Chief, we squad members have many mouths to feed. We can’t afford to stop working even for a day. If the base is locked down, who knows how long it’ll last.”
This was clearly an attempt to get compensation. Others didn’t agree or disagree, thinking it wouldn’t hurt to go along if benefits were involved.
“The sea is already showing signs of freezing. Once temperatures drop to around minus 20 degrees, it will solidify. At that point, engines will reach cold-start conditions, and any colder—they’ll stop working entirely. Are you planning to walk out and find supplies?” Lu Weiyi wasn’t about to indulge him.
“As for hunting zombies—once the sea freezes, the island will have no perimeter wall. Zombies could approach easily. Since you’re so eager, Captain Li, I’ll reserve you a prime location.”
“Well… haha… the Base Chief is joking,” Li Feng laughed awkwardly.
“Captain Li only meant to ask about the base’s plans for squads after the freeze,” Du Ping quickly smoothed things over.
“Yes, yes, don’t get us wrong, Base Chief,” Li Feng added hastily.
“Then I misunderstood,” Lu Weiyi said easily, smoothly taking control of the meeting again. “Given our base’s location and certain assets that might attract attention, once the sea freezes, we’ll enter full defensive mode.”
“All squads’ ability users will follow base deployment. Whether helping internal construction or external defense, those who contribute will be fairly compensated.”
“Base Chief, can you share what kind of compensation?” Ye Jia, with his fluffy white hair and sparkling eyes, asked eagerly.
Lu Weiyi caught on to what he was implying and hinted, “It’ll be something ability users desire.”
The ability users exchanged looks, not asking more, but clearly wondering if it meant a safe way to upgrade their abilities.
The room fell silent, heavy with unspoken anticipation.
Lu Weiyi moved on, “Lastly—currency.”
“Currently, bartering and crystal cores are still the main methods of exchange. This isn’t convenient for daily life. Starting tomorrow, the base will gradually introduce a new currency by region—called Contribution Points.”
The assistant handed out a box of watch-like devices. “These only display transactions. Each person gets one. It includes personal info and Contribution Point balance. The value of the points will be published and controlled by the base trade center.”
Lu Weiyi concisely laid out all the information, then closed his folder and looked around the room. “Everyone here is the backbone of the base. I hope this first harsh winter since the base was established will be one of peace—no bloodshed, no freezing deaths, no starvation.”
“Starting today, I will not leave the base until the spring thaw. Any squad with issues can contact the government. I’ll do my best to protect this base, and I hope you will each do your part for this sanctuary.”
“I stand with you.”
“And I hope you will stand with me.”
“Don’t worry, Base Chief. No matter what happens, I support the base,” Ye Jia said, clearly satisfied with what he’d heard.
“Our Zhongliang Squad will also follow the Base Chief’s command.”
“So will we.”
“We definitely won’t be left out.”
Everyone in the room voiced their support. Lu Weiyi nodded calmly. “Meeting adjourned.”
The entire meeting took less than twenty minutes—unbelievably swift and decisive. Zhuang Mingxu looked at his watch, then at the people preparing to leave, momentarily dazed.
“Aren’t you cold?” Lu Weiyi reminded him.
Zhuang Mingxu burst into laughter, put on his gloves, and followed him out, leaving the assistant to register Contribution Point info with the squads.
The temperature had dropped, and the small electric vehicle consumed a huge amount of power, moving at a snail’s pace.
The two had barely gone a section when a mutated plant clumsily darted over from a distance. The civilians collecting supplies were so frightened they cried out, and the entire square suddenly turned chaotic.
“What’s going on?” Zhuang Mingxu asked in his deep voice.
“I think…” Lu Weiyi extended his spiritual power, a bit unsure, “It’s a mutated vine… it’s wrapped around someone.”
“I’ll go check it out.” Some ability users had already begun attacking the vine, but perhaps because Gu Qingji had ordered it not to attack people in the base, the vine only dodged.
“Go ahead, be careful,” Zhuang Mingxu quickly slid into the driver’s seat, ready to assist if needed.
Lu Weiyi approached quickly and shouted at the ability users attacking, “Wait!”
“Base leader, it’s a mutated plant!” someone shouted toward Lu Weiyi.
