Chapter 57: Moving into the Base
After thanking Commander Zhang and the others, Zhan Yun and his group continued toward the main gate.
When they reached the parking area, the people in charge of watching the vehicles turned out to be members of the Twelfth Squad. Seeing Zhan Yun coming over, one of them gave their temporary residence permits a cursory check, then returned the vehicle to them and asked whether they needed to handle parking lot rental formalities.
“Hey, Captain Zhan, hello! My name’s Niu Dali—you can call me Da Niu. The captain told me to stay here and wait for you. You’ll definitely have quite a few procedures to take care of, and it’s more convenient with me accompanying you,” Niu Dali said. He truly lived up to his name—tall and powerfully built, with slightly dark, yellowish skin, and a smile that gave off an especially honest and simple impression. “Do you need to rent a parking spot? Parking’s pretty cheap here—just a little work points per week. We’ve got dedicated staff watching the cars too, very safe.”
Niu Dali had heard from Li Ming that Commander Zhang had set aside a batch of supplies for Zhan Yun and the others, which would convert into a fair amount of work points. He guessed they wouldn’t be trading the vehicle away.
“Yes, we do. Thank you, Da Niu.”
“Heh, no need to be polite!” Niu Dali had fought side by side with Zhan Yun and the others and greatly admired their strength. Even without Li Ming’s special instructions, he was more than willing to help them out.
Niu Dali led Zhan Yun back to the registration office to handle the parking registration. Zhan Yun first rented a spot for one month. The clerk deducted four work points from his temporary residence card and handed him a parking permit marked with the space number. With this permit, they could drive directly into the internal parking lot of the base and freely enter and exit the base.
However, before parking the car, Zhan Yun had the others unload the supplies they had left in the vehicle. Everyone was carrying a large pack, mostly items collected back in City A. Zhan Yun told them to take the items to exchange for work points so that each person would have some on hand—it would make everything easier later. He himself went to park the car.
Basically, the contents of each person’s pack exchanged for around a hundred work points. Even Yu Dongdong was no exception—by base standards, they all counted as fairly wealthy.
After Zhan Yun finished parking and rejoined them, they went together to handle the accommodation arrangements.
The base had a dedicated Housing Management Center, offering various types of rental housing at different work-point costs.
The most basic option was a large communal dormitory. The first three days were free; after that, it cost one work point per day. These were essentially converted warehouses, partitioned into a dozen or so rooms, with two toilets and wash areas built outside—nothing more. About ten people shared a room, with two rows of large bunk beds along the walls. It wasn’t especially cramped. In the middle were two long wooden tables with benches, plus a few wooden racks. There was no other furniture to speak of.
A slightly better option resembled a university dormitory, with bunk beds—eight people per room, a small table and a small cabinet, and each floor had a toilet and a shower room. This cost two work points per day. There were also a few four-person rooms, costing three work points per day.
Better still were the old apartment buildings. These were the very common six-story residential buildings from before the apocalypse, mostly small units—studio apartments, one-bedroom-one-living-room, or two-bedroom-one-living-room layouts. Most of the interiors were fairly old, but they came furnished and offered independent space. These units were rented by the apartment, at roughly eight to twelve work points per day. Rent was settled every three days, and you had to pay three days’ rent upfront to move in, so fewer people went to look at them.
An even better option was the small high-rise buildings. They had better interiors, elevators, and more spacious layouts, but rent was at least fifteen work points per day. However, since the base’s electricity was entirely generator-powered and supply was tight, the elevators in the high-rises were shut down, meaning residents had to use the stairs.
The best option was hotel-style apartments. The rooms were large and fully renovated, and correspondingly expensive. They had small internal generators, and if someone moved in, the elevators could be powered at scheduled times. However, rent was twenty-five work points per day, and moving in required prepaying one full month’s rent.
“Could you take us to see the small high-rises and the hotel-style apartments?” After hearing the introduction, Zhan Yun decided to inspect the properties first. He definitely wanted independent space. The old apartments were too shabby to consider, but the high-rises were decent, and he was also quite interested in the hotel-style apartments.
“Of course!” The administrator at the Housing Management Center immediately perked up. Seeing that these people were clearly not short on work points—and with Niu Dali accompanying them, suggesting some background—he happily grabbed the keys and led the way.
The small high-rises were located near the Law Enforcement Brigade, which likely meant better security. They were also close to the parking lot, and there were hardly any residents at the moment, so they could choose whichever units they liked. The hotel-style apartments were located roughly in the central area of the base, with people constantly coming and going—living there would draw more attention.
In the end, Zhan Yun chose to rent in the small high-rise. Each stairwell had three units per floor, and he simply rented the entire fifth floor outright. He also asked the administrator for the key to the fifth-floor stairwell security door, so that no one but their own team could access that level.
Because Zhan Yun rented multiple units and paid so straightforwardly, the administrator gave them a discounted price: forty work points per day for the three apartments. If they paid one month’s rent upfront, it would only cost a thousand work points, and they were also given two flashlights as a bonus.
Zhan Yun paid the work points without hesitation and smoothly received the keys to the apartments and the main entrance. After the administrator returned, he also completed their registration.
Niu Dali then pointed out the location of the cafeteria and told them they could go eat directly with their temporary residence permits—the first three days were completely free anyway. Of course, the cafeteria food was guaranteed only to fill you up, not to taste good. If they wanted to cook for themselves later, that was also possible. The kitchens should still have some pots, bowls, and utensils left over from before the apocalypse, and the management center allowed people to exchange work points for gas stoves and gas cylinders.
The Southern Base’s drinking water supply was relatively sufficient. The military had two awakened water-type ability users who could produce large amounts of water, so each person could also receive a free portion of drinking water when eating at the cafeteria.
After thanking Niu Dali, Zhan Yun and the others each went into their rented apartments. The rooms on the floor Zhan Yun chose were relatively newly renovated, making them more comfortable to live in.
Once everyone had left, Zhan Yun had Su Ruizhe use the Devouring Stele Vine to connect the three apartments from the inside, opening two arched doorways so they wouldn’t have to keep opening and closing doors when moving around.
Next, Su Ruizhe took a small diesel generator out of his spatial storage, connected several power strips, and turned on the lights in the rooms, easily illuminating every space. At last, they no longer had to work in the dark. Then he brought out the bedding as well. The sheets and quilts left behind by previous occupants had all gone moldy, so they took those out and threw them away. After that, everyone pitched in together to start cleaning up the rooms.
By the time they finished cleaning up, dawn was already approaching. The outdoor temperature was starting to rise, and no one was particularly keen on going out to eat anymore. In any case, there was no one around here—if they cooked for themselves, no one would know—so Su Ruizhe simply took charge of the kitchen himself, preparing several hearty home-style dishes, while Wu Jing and Zhang Shuoliang quietly helped him on the side.
Zhan Yun led the others in clearing out the living room, pushing two dining tables together from different rooms and bringing in ten chairs.
Su Ruizhe made stir-fried zucchini with sliced pork, shredded potatoes in hot-and-sour sauce, braised pork, tomato and egg stir-fry, salted pork and winter melon soup, and a large pot of steamed white rice. As for Xiao Hei, it still got its favorite fish-flavored canned food.
The moment the dishes were brought out, everyone nearly started drooling on the spot.
Although there were only four dishes and one soup, the portions were extremely generous. Su Ruizhe had used the largest plates he could find—more than enough to feed ten people. Everyone had been rushing around nonstop these past days and hadn’t had a proper meal at all. Now, eating such delicious and fresh food, some of them almost felt so happy they were on the verge of tears.
“Holy crap! A-Zhan, you really hit the jackpot! I want a golden thigh like this too!” Cheng Qi said, hugging his bowl and eating without even lifting his head, his tone full of envy, jealousy, and resentment.
“Exactly! Little Zhe, how about giving big sis a try? I’m way gentler than that stiff, bad-tempered guy!” Cheng Jiao added, fanning the flames as she shot Su Ruizhe a flirtatious wink.
Zhan Yun let out a cold laugh and quietly activated his ability. In an instant, the two of them felt as if their bodies had been filled with lead—so heavy they couldn’t even lift their hands, let alone eat.
“Hey! How can you do that?!”
“Shameless! Absolutely shameless!”
The brother and sister launched an indignant denunciation of Zhan Yun, hearts full of grievance.
Zhan Yun didn’t bother responding at all. Instead, utterly unperturbed, he picked up a piece of braised pork for Su Ruizhe. “Eat more.”
The others struggled to hold back their laughter and seized the opportunity to speed up their chopsticks.
“Brother Zhan! Brother Zhan! We know we were wrong!” Watching the tableful of delicious food dwindle rapidly under everyone’s onslaught, the siblings were practically on the verge of tears. If they weren’t truly unable to move, they probably would have knelt down to beg Zhan Yun for mercy. Faced with good food, dignity could be set aside for the moment.
Zhan Yun let them wail a bit longer before finally releasing them from the restraint. After that, the two troublemakers didn’t dare cause any more mischief and obediently buried their heads in their bowls.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they lay back in their chairs, too satisfied to move. Only Yu Dongdong and Xiao Hei were still brimming with energy—the two little ones sprawled on the windowsill together, peering curiously outside.
Even though the sun was already up and the temperature had turned hot, there was still a steady stream of people coming and going in the direction of the cafeteria. Some held umbrellas, others walked along the shadows of the buildings, but they were all drenched in sweat nonetheless, their skin reddened by the sun.
There really were quite a lot of people unwilling to miss that free morning meal. By noon, who knew how many would still be willing to brave the scorching sun just to come out and eat?
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