Chapter 11: Base Property Regulations
A sizable crowd had formed outside the door. Ye Qing stood off to the side, looking timid and meek. Beside her were a man and a woman who bore a strong family resemblance, both bristling with fury. It was impossible to tell which of them had taken the electric shock.
Zhao Man turned it over in his head quickly. The man last time had charged the door with his full weight, whereas this time had just been knocking. It seemed the security apparatus discharged voltage proportionally to the physical force applied to the exterior.
Seeing Zhao Man emerge, two familiar patrolmen from Brigade 12 stepped forward. “I am Li Guang from the West Outer Ring Patrol Brigade 12, and this is my partner, Zhang Zhe. We received an emergency dispatch signaling an alleged theft. May I ask if it was Mr. Zhao Man who triggered the callout?” Li Guang asked, his expression strictly professional.
“I filed the report, but not for theft. This woman made a slanderous accusation, claiming I stole her goods.”
With that, Zhao Man opened the defense log on his terminal and queued up the recorded audio:
“Bam, bam, bam! Open up! Come out here! You stole my greens and you think you can just run away?!”
“Xiao Qing, who stole your greens? Dashu, someone stole your sister’s harvest!”
“What? Which miserable dog dared steal from my family?!”
Zhao Man paused the recording, looked at the trembling Ye Qing across from him, and asked, “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
Ye Qing’s face had drained of all color, her voice shaking as she stammered, “How… how could you call the patrol on me?”
“Because I am a law-abiding citizen,” Zhao Man replied flatly. He turned to the two officers. “This woman falsely accused me of stealing her wild greens. This constitutes a severe violation of the base’s Property Security Regulations. I demand she present concrete evidence. Otherwise, I will press charges for slander, seek damages for emotional distress, and hold her liable for all expenses incurred by this dispatch.”
The moment payment in points was mentioned, Ye Qing began to shake even harder. Her brother opened his mouth to bark back, but their mother—sensing which way the wind was blowing—snatched his arm with a firm grip, knowing her family well enough to shut him up.
The scene lapsed into dead silence, locked in an uneasy stalemate.
Zhao Man broke it: “When I returned through West Gate 3, this woman was queued right next to me. A hunting squad returned midway through, drawing everyone’s attention. Right after that, I heard someone shout that their goods had been picked. This woman was likely a victim as well. That was around four o’clock. You can pull the gate’s surveillance feed.”
“Accessing surveillance logs carries a service fee of two points,” Zhang Zhe stated.
Ye Qing’s family stayed dead silent.
Zhao Man said, “I have no objection to pulling the footage, but if it proves I didn’t steal anything, I refuse to cover the cost.”
“No need to pull the footage! I’m sorry! You didn’t steal it… I dropped it by mistake. Can you please forgive me?” Ye Qing’s voice cracked into a sniffling plea as she gazed at Zhao Man with wide, pitiful eyes.
Zhao Man gave her a fleeting glance, then turned to the patrolmen. “She has confessed to slander. I require her to reimburse the two points for the dispatch fee. Furthermore, does the base prescribe any penalty or restitution for malicious defamation?”
“Under base regulations, proven theft of personal property or substantiated false accusations of theft mandate tenfold restitution,” Li Guang declared.
“Ms. Ye Qing’s accusation of theft against Mr. Zhao Man has been formally verified as slander. She is hereby ordered to cover the two-point dispatch fee and pay tenfold restitution based on the market value of the produce,” Zhang Zhe announced. “A single leaf of moderate-radiation greens is assessed at one cent, while a low-radiation leaf is five cents. Ms. Ye Qing, what was the quantity, size, and radiation tier of your reported produce?”
“Moderate… one leaf,” Ye Qing squeaked, holding up a single trembling finger.
Zhang Zhe nodded. “Dispute outcome for West Outer Ring No. 826 is officially rendered. Ms. Ye Qing must remit two points and ten cents to Mr. Zhao Man. Mr. Zhao, do you prefer a private peer-to-peer settlement, or will you have the garrison process the escrow? Garrison processing incurs a ten percent administrative fee.”
“Garrison processing.”
Zhang Zhe tapped across his terminal and said to Zhao Man, “The ruling has been transmitted to your account, Mr. Zhao. Once confirmed, the points will settle within thirty minutes. Ms. Ye Qing, please remit two points and ten cents immediately.”
“I don’t have any points…” Ye Qing looked up, tears brimming in her eyes and lips trembling. Clutched tightly to the hem of her shirt, she stared at Zhao Man with desperate, pleading hope.
“If the balance is not settled within thirty minutes, base protocol dictates that we initiate asset liquidation,” the officer warned.
Zhao Man had zero interest in watching the melodrama unfold. He turned on his heel, walked inside, and bolted the door. Just before the portal clicked shut, his peripheral vision caught the brother’s venomous glare, followed immediately by the sharp, ringing crack of a slap echoing from outside.
After that whole ordeal, the chronometer already read past six in the evening. Zhao Man peeled off his grimy work clothes and set water on the stove. He trimmed down the bamboo segment until the edges were smooth, stood the flowering water dropwort inside it, and retrieved his scissors. Pinning the fish to the chopping board, he snipped open its belly, cleared out the entrails, scraped off the scales with his blade, and rinsed it clean under the tap before washing a single stalk of water dropwort.
Once the pot came to a boil, he ladled out what he needed for tomorrow’s drinking water, then dropped in the potatoes and sand yams. After they were fully cooked, he changed the water to boil the fish. Using a single pot for three separate rounds was a terrible waste of time.
While waiting for the fish to cook, his terminal pinged with an incoming transfer from the garrison: one point and eighty-nine cents had settled into his balance.
Once the fish was done, he snipped the water dropwort into segments, tossed them into the broth, and finished it off with a pinch of salt and umami seasoning.
He took a steaming sip while it was piping hot. The rich sweetness of the broth mingled with the crisp herbal fragrance of the greens. It boiled down to two simple words: absolute perfection.
Zhao Man spat the fish bones onto a broad leaf, not letting a single drop of broth go to waste. He set down the bowl and let out a deeply contented burp.
Fish soup truly was divine.
After washing up, he lay back on his bed, the lingering savor of the broth still dancing on his tongue. Only one thought consumed him now: he had to haul every last fish out of that ditch.
Early the next morning, Zhao Man got out of bed, watered the dropwort stalk, downed a vial of nutrient solution, and headed to the market.
To avoid being tailed, he decided to postpone his scavenging run today. He picked up ten woven sacks at two cents apiece, along with an electric kettle and a rice cooker, which ran five points combined. He didn’t have a single grain of rice at home yet, but that would come in time.
Remembering the bamboo he had cut yesterday, he added a mini handsaw to his haul. The tool was no bigger than a palm—essentially an ergonomic grip featuring two toggles right above the thumb: a power switch and a speed adjustment. It cost three points. A simple iron hoe cost thirty cents, whereas a piece of modern hardware went for three full points; he was developing a fairly grounded grasp of the base’s economy.
Thinking of the water dropwort, Zhao Man browsed the plant nutrient section. Those also went for ten points, but contained barely a third of the volume of the disinfectant bottles.
Forget it. The dropwort will just have to rely on its own luck.
Moving to the clothing stalls, he bought a pair of boots and two sets of long-sleeved, high-collared work wear for two points. With his shopping complete, he made his way back home, gearing up for the hunt.
Walking along the street, that prickling sense of unease crept over him once more. Zhao Man kept his stride steady, his mind turning rapidly. His instincts were rarely off. Since this was inside the base perimeter, mutated beasts were out of the question—which left only people.
The image of Ye Qing’s brother flashed through his mind. Physical brawling was strictly outlawed within the settlement, so Zhao Man pretended not to notice and kept walking home at a normal pace.
Once inside, he set his purchases down and messaged Tang Heng: Captain Tang, are you busy today?
On patrol. What’s up? Tang Heng replied in seconds.
Does the base purchase low-radiation water? Zhao Man asked.
Staring at the prompt, Tang Heng was rendered speechless. The kid’s luck was unreal.
The base takes it, but they aren’t hurting for supply. I am, Tang Heng sent back.
Even better if you need it.
Zhao Man typed: I know a spot that has low-radiation water. If you want it, we can go draw some today, but I’m coming along.
Deal. Where are you?
At home.
Fine. Give me half an hour.
Closing the chat, Zhao Man set his new cookware onto the counter, laundered yesterday’s mud-caked work clothes, and rigged up a drying line in the courtyard to hang them out.
Resting with its roots submerged in water, the flowering dropwort stalk looked exceptionally perky.
Checking the time, he saw the half-hour mark was approaching. Zhao Man retreated to the bedroom to slip into his boots and one of his fresh sets of long-sleeved clothes, packing his flask, boiled potatoes, and dagger into his backpack.
Just as he finished packing, Tang Heng’s message pinged: Open up.
Tang Heng was carrying a bulging pack of his own. Before Zhao Man could utter a greeting, the captain got straight to business: “What are your terms?”
“There are edible plants and fish out there. We split the haul down the middle,” Zhao Man stated. “Also, I had a bit of a run-in with someone yesterday, and I felt someone shadowing me this morning. I suspect someone’s looking to settle a score.”
Tang Heng had reimbursed Zhao Man’s two points the night before, so he was fully aware of the incident. “You suspect that family from yesterday?”
“Yes,” Zhao Man said. “They’re the only enemies I’ve made lately. If it’s them, I’d appreciate any intelligence you can dig up on that guy.”
Tang Heng gave him a knowing look. “No problem. You all packed? If you’re ready, let’s move.”
