By the time Ning Yu’an reached the outer city gate, she had used her last two contribution points to board the base’s electric tram.
The electric tram was somewhat like a bus from the modern world, except it was even more rudimentary. The whole thing looked gray and drab.
It had a very post-apocalyptic wasteland feel to it.
There were only two other passengers on the tram. Ning Yu’an found a corner, hugged her basket, and looked at the scenery outside through the window.
Most of the buildings here were designed with practicality in mind. There were no flashy decorations. Some of the walls had a faint sheen, as though they were covered in a layer of black metal.
The original owner had no memories related to this, so Ning Yu’an was a little curious. The glow reminded her somewhat of the stone she had found in the bamboo rat’s nest.
Ning Yu’an only took a brief look. Her main concern right now was still the few living creatures in her basket.
The electric tram moved quickly, and it reached the Exchange Hall in a little over half an hour.
The Exchange Hall was bustling. An electronic screen directly opposite the entrance continuously displayed items that were being purchased on a long-term basis.
Ning Yu’an glanced at the exchange notice beside it and was immediately drawn to something.
She saw the stone she had picked up.
Energy Stone.
Energy Stones were divided into four categories: black Industrial Energy Stones, white Protective Energy Stones, green Repair Energy Stones, and Special Energy Stones.
The one in her hand was an Industrial Energy Stone. The exchange rate for Industrial Energy Stones was one energy unit for two contribution points.
Ning Yu’an was a little excited. She covered her face slightly and found the Energy Stone exchange counter before placing the stone on the tray.
The staff member was a woman in her thirties with a serious expression.
“Hello, I’d like to exchange this for contribution points.”
The staff member glanced at her, picked up the quail-egg-sized, irregularly shaped Energy Stone, and placed it on the testing platform.
“C+ grade Industrial Energy Stone. Energy level: 119.”
“It can be exchanged for 238 contribution points. The processing fee is 20 points. Would you like to proceed?”
The staff member asked in a stiff, businesslike tone.
Ning Yu’an felt a little pained at having to pay a 20-point processing fee, but she still nodded.
“Exchange it!”
After exchanging the Energy Stone, Ning Yu’an went to the Mutated Beast exchange area.
The Mutated Beast exchange area was in a separate room. There was no one else inside at the moment, only a bored young man spinning a top.
When he saw someone arrive, the young man greeted her halfheartedly.
“Hello. What would you like to exchange?”
Ning Yu’an took out the bamboo rats.
“Two Level 4 radiation and two Level 3 radiation.”
A Level 4 radiation bamboo rat was worth five contribution points each, while a Level 3 radiation bamboo rat was worth thirty contribution points each.
The prices were not particularly high, but Ning Yu’an understood why.
There were many uncertainties involved in raising Mutated Beast young. Although their meat could be eaten, their radiation level could also increase while they were being raised.
Young Mutated Beasts with high radiation levels could only be used as bait or food for other Mutated Beasts. Humans could not eat them, so their prices were naturally even lower.
After deducting the six-point processing fee, 64 contribution points were credited to her account.
She had earned a total of 302 contribution points today, and Ning Yu’an was in an excellent mood.
Before leaving the Exchange Hall, Ning Yu’an carefully looked over the exchange notices and long-term purchase listings again.
At the Exchange Hall, one jin of vegetable leaves could be exchanged for one contribution point. High-satiety foods, such as the bamboo shoots she had dug up that day, were worth three contribution points per jin.
Starchy foods were worth five contribution points per jin, while edible meat was worth fifteen.
Plants with special effects had to be tested on-site before their contribution point value could be determined.
Ning Yu’an memorized the general prices and left the hall.
The last electric tram leaving the city was at 6:40 p.m., and there was still some time. Ning Yu’an decided to take a look around the market.
The market was one street away from the Exchange Hall. Along the way, the shop signs were all simple, consisting of a few large embossed characters.
The difference between this area and the civilian district was not particularly great. People here simply looked a little more energetic, and there were fewer patches on their clothes.
When she arrived at the South City Market, Ning Yu’an could clearly feel that people here were much more lively than those in the gathering area.
The sounds of vendors calling out their goods and people bargaining filled her ears.
Most of the items being sold were daily necessities and handmade goods. Ironware was scarce, and food was limited as well. There were only some blackish nutrition biscuits and nutrition drinks.
Ning Yu’an wandered around for a while and bought some strange seasoning powders and salt.
She also picked out a 10-contribution-point clay pot. The small iron pot was simply too tiny, and it was not big enough to cook anything else.
After bargaining with the owner for a while, Ning Yu’an got a fourteen-inch clay pot for twelve contribution points, along with two bamboo plates, two bamboo bowls, and a pair of bamboo chopsticks.
Only then was Ning Yu’an satisfied and left.
She then walked over to a stall selling quilts and fabric.
The quilts here were basically made with coarse cotton-and-hemp fabric on the outside. When Ning Yu’an touched the filling, it did not feel much like cotton either.
She secretly tugged at a little bit of white stuffing sticking out of the quilt.
Good heavens. It was actually a mixture of willow catkins, cattail fluff, and a little cotton.
And they still wanted ten contribution points for this.
In the end, Ning Yu’an pulled out five contribution points and bought a large roll of fabric blended with cotton and hemp.
She would make do with it for now. If she got the chance in the future, she would make her own.
After buying everything, Ning Yu’an hurried back to catch the tram. On the way, she found an empty alley and put everything into her space.
The whole trip had cost her 42 contribution points.
Seasoning powders and salt were more expensive, but Ning Yu’an genuinely could not stomach plain boiled vegetables anymore.
They tasted even worse than hospital food.
She still had 240 contribution points left.
She had not had much time to browse today, but she would come back another day to see if there were any building materials or other useful things.
After the exploration points from the Mutated Beasts were added, she now had four Exploration Points in total.
Looking at her increasingly full space, Ning Yu’an used two Exploration Points to expand it by another two square meters.
By the time she got home, it was almost eight o’clock.
Ning Yu’an was so hungry that her stomach felt like it was pressed against her back. As usual, she cut off a piece of arrowhead and boiled it in the small iron pot.
She mixed salt and wild garlic into a small bowl of dipping sauce, then added a little sweetener powder to enhance the flavor and a little chili powder to add some variety.
The seasoning powder vendor had specifically warned her that she only needed to dissolve a little in water.
Ning Yu’an tasted a bit.
The heat and sweetness were very harsh. They lacked the smoothness of the flavors from the modern world. Instead, they tasted more like artificial sweetener and industrial chili powder.
It was better than having nothing.
In a place where resources were so scarce, plant-extracted seasonings were obviously not something she could afford right now.
Once the arrowhead was cooked, Ning Yu’an took it out. She then blanched some goji berry shoots in the hot water from the pot and mixed them with the dipping sauce.
That was enough for dinner.
It was not a particularly lavish meal, but it was the most flavorful meal Ning Yu’an had eaten since arriving in the wasteland.
After eating her fill and cleaning everything up, Ning Yu’an used the newly purchased fabric to make herself a new quilt cover.
The reed stalks occasionally brushed across the ground.
Other than the crackling of the fire, there was no other sound.