Chapter 444: Apocalyptic Trading System (16)

During the time it took to eat a meal, Xie Yan took out the "Little Bee" observation panel again, treating it like a television, watching it while he ate.

Xie Yang, meanwhile, deployed another "Little Bee"; this time, the observation target was the Second Safe Base opposite the South City Steel Structure Factory.

Lowering the altitude of the "Little Bee," she saw clearly the notice posted on the main gate of the Second Safe Base:

"... Register personal information truthfully; the first entry into the base is free, but every subsequent entry requires the payment of a certain percentage of supplies?"

Xie Yan read it out loud:

"... Survivors entering the base may choose to work, farm, or join an Ability User squad..."

"Housing within the base is limited; priority is given to Ability Users, followed by survivors working or farming. Unemployed individuals must resolve their own food and lodging issues..."

It wasn't just Xie Yan reading; the survivors queuing up to enter the Second Safe Base were also reading it word for word, which subsequently caused quite a stir:

"Resolve food and lodging ourselves? How are we supposed to do that? Wasn't it said the base would provide accommodation?"

"That was before, when the Diyi Jidi was first built. Survivors who went to seek refuge only had to join the base's construction to apply for a dormitory. But now, more and more people are going, and there aren't enough houses. Earth-type Ability Users have to go out to eliminate Zombies, and by the time they come back, they're exhausted—where would they find the time to build houses? So, the dormitory application system was canceled and replaced with an allocation system."

"Is the base here the same way?"

"That's for sure! They are all Official Bases and must be treated equally. Fortunately, I used to be a mason and can join the base's construction team. I heard there are dormitories, though you start off in a large communal room."

"A communal room is still better than having nowhere to stay. What about us who don't know how to do anything? Can we only sleep in the open? It's hot now, so those with tents can sleep in tents, and those without can make do with a mat, but what will we do when it gets cold?"

"Exactly! Are they just going to ignore ordinary people? It would have been better not to notify us to come here. The journey was so dangerous, and after finally making it, they won't even give us a place to stay. If I had known that coming here meant fending for ourselves, I would have been better off hunkering down in an apartment complex that hadn't collapsed."

"I actually think sleeping in a tent is better than staying in an apartment complex outside. The reason it's called a Safe Base is precisely because it's safe. There are Zombies everywhere outside now; living in constant fear, people are on the verge of a breakdown."

"Then, once you enter the base, can you still come and go freely?"

"Of course! Many people go out in groups during the day to find supplies and return to the base to sleep at night. It's just that, except for the first time which is free, you have to hand over a certain percentage of supplies afterward."

"Then if you never go out, you don't have to pay?"

"If you never go out, what are you going to eat and wear?"

"..."

Just then, the tightly closed base gate slowly opened, and two camouflage-colored military trucks drove out.

The lead vehicle carried a truckload of stern-faced soldiers holding guns, while the one behind was packed with Ability Users who had been recruited into the team.

Xie Yan, gnawing on a chicken wing and drinking cola, said with some emotion: "You can tell they're going on a Task. If we had sought refuge at the base back then, we'd likely be on that truck now."

Listening to her brother's sentiment, Xie Yang asked the Main System in her sea of consciousness: "Are there people on the military truck in the same situation as that survival squad?"

【No.】

That's good.

Just as Xie Yang was about to end the conversation, she heard the Main System add:

【But they will be completely wiped out.】

"..."

Finally, Xie Yang deployed a "Little Bee" out.

"Yang Yang, why does this 'Little Bee' keep following the military truck? Is there something wrong with them?"

"... No."

It's just that if they aren't saved, these two trucks of people will go and never return.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

At this moment, the glass of the Recreational Vehicle's window was knocked on.

The siblings poked their heads out and discovered a group of people surrounding the vehicle.

"Hey! We found this vehicle first!"

"Exactly! Don't you understand 'first come, first served'?"

"Get out! Why should we let you scavenge?"

Scavenge?

Xie Yan laughed in anger and shook the car keys in his hand: "This vehicle belongs to my family; it's not 'whoever sees it, owns it.' Understand?"

"..."

Seeing the car keys, the group of people outside the vehicle turned their heads in unison to look at one of the girls:

"Feng Chen, didn't you say this vehicle was ownerless?"

The girl named Feng Chen's face turned a mix of green and red: "I... when I saw it, there was clearly no one..."

"Heh! I think you did it on purpose!"

A tall girl with a bun hairstyle standing to the side, who couldn't stand Feng Chen's pretentious attitude, sneered:

"Just tell me, when has it ever gone smoothly when it's your turn to come out and find supplies? The day before yesterday, you were out for a few minutes and said you found a pharmacy, but when we rushed over, it wasn't a pharmacy at all—it was just some medicine promotional posters stuck on the display window. It's the same today; every time, you make a big fuss and return empty-handed. Please! If you don't want to take your turn finding supplies, just say so; don't pull this kind of stunt, okay?"

"I didn't!" Feng Chen bit her lower lip, aggrieved. "I really wanted to do something for everyone! The pharmacy thing was my fault; I didn't see it clearly! But this vehicle, there really was no one here just now."

"Hey!" Xie Yan crossed his arms and leaned against the car window, interrupting her. "I say, big sister, just because there's no one in the car, you can claim it as your own? Following your logic, would we even dare to drive out to find supplies? If we park the car on the side for a moment, it becomes someone else's?"

"..."

Feng Chen was retorted so thoroughly she couldn't say a word, and she glared at Xie Yan in embarrassment and anger.

"Sigh..."

A few sighs came from the crowd.

They had really thought they'd found an ownerless Recreational Vehicle that could carry all of them.

In the end, it was all for nothing!

Among them, a few burly men were unwilling to let such a good Recreational Vehicle go. Seeing that there were only two people in the car, their eyes rolled, and they exchanged glances.

However, before they could make a move to seize the vehicle, a string of people ran out from the Complex; although they were carrying bags and holding packs, every one of them looked disheveled.

Soon, they knew why—

Dozens of Zombies were following behind them.

"Holy crap! Did they poke a Zombie nest? How did they provoke so many Zombies?"

"Wasn't it said that this Complex didn't have many Zombies? Where did all these things come from?"

"Run!"

The group of people who had originally been lingering around the Recreational Vehicle scattered like birds and beasts.

"Yang Yang, you drive, I'm going up to the roof to hold them off."

Xie Yan copied the move his mother used to save them that day, climbed onto the roof, and unleashed the Chain Lightning Gun at the few Zombies in the front.

"Whoosh—"

"Crackle!"

"Whoosh—"

"Crackle!"

Qin Tao, who had been abandoned by his companions, was momentarily distracted and nearly grabbed by a Zombie.

Those pitch-black, filthy nails even hooked onto his clothes; thanks to the fabric being weak, it tore upon being hooked, allowing him to escape a disaster.

The Zombie beside him also tried to grab him, but its neck was severed by a sudden bolt of lightning.

"An Ability User! It's an Ability User!"

"Great! We're saved!"