C City was the largest city, so they had made their way there. However, their food supplies had nearly run out along the way, their stamina was depleted, and they were surrounded by zombies, nearly wiped out. It was at that moment that they encountered Jiang Qing and Jiang Hong, received their help, and learned about Sunrise Shelter.
No matter what they thought, their physical condition no longer allowed them to search for another shelter.
“Hello, Administrator. My name is Zheng An. I’m acting as their temporary leader. We came here hoping to join this shelter. May I ask what the requirements are?” Zheng An said.
“There are no special requirements. Just mutated crystals, and everyone must be checked for bites or scratches,” Tang Ye replied. “Of course, once you enter the shelter, you must follow its rules. In return, the shelter will provide you with safe protection.”
“Of course,” Zheng An said, quietly relieved. It seemed there were no overly harsh conditions.
He knew that some shelters only accepted strong survivors, and in their group, the weaker members made up the majority.
“In that case, please follow me inside,” Tang Ye said. She counted. There were thirty-eight survivors. Although the new eighteen-person dormitories were not yet completed, the three rooms on Basement Level 1 were more than sufficient.
The survivors followed Tang Ye to the entrance and watched as she unlocked the door with her fingerprint.
They walked inside. Before long, the lights above turned on all at once, and Tang Ye stopped.
Zheng An grew alert, but before he could ask anything, glass chambers resembling shower rooms slowly emerged from the walls.
“What… what is this?” he asked instinctively.
“These are disinfection chambers. Everyone must disinfect any bacteria brought in from outside before entering the underground shelter. It’s for everyone’s safety,” Tang Ye explained.
Zheng An was too shocked to speak. What kind of shelter would invest in something like this?
“Since the number of chambers is limited, please go in batches,” Tang Ye said.
The survivors began entering one by one. As each chamber detected a person, the door closed, and with a hiss, disinfectant sprayed down from above, enveloping the body.
Once the process was complete, the doors opened, and the first group stepped out, making way for the next.
In two rounds, all thirty-eight survivors completed disinfection.
The system mentioned that in the future, more chambers could be added using mutated crystals.
The disinfection process did not take long, so Tang Ye and the first group simply waited nearby.
Zheng An was among the first group. Although he had finished, his emotions had yet to settle. He had a feeling that choosing this shelter out of necessity might turn out to be the best decision they had ever made.
After all thirty-eight survivors had completed disinfection, Tang Ye led them to the elevator.
Upon seeing it, the survivors no longer knew how to react. From the moment they entered, every facility had surpassed their understanding of the apocalypse.
When the elevator reached Basement Level 1, the doors opened to reveal wide corridors on both sides. Rooms extended along the hallways. On the left, there was a restricted area, though they could still read the signs through the metal door.
“Our shelter is still under construction, so please don’t mind,” Tang Ye said. “The rooms are this way.”
Zheng An and the others withdrew their gazes and followed her to the dormitories.
“If you have family or friends, you can share a room. Each dorm consists of three smaller rooms, each with six beds,” Tang Ye explained. “One bed costs one Level 2 mutated crystal per month. Once you pay, you can be assigned your rooms.”
Thirty-eight people meant thirty-eight Level 2 crystals, equivalent to three Level 3 crystals and eight Level 2 crystals.
For such a large group, this was very affordable.
The crystals were currently in Zheng An’s possession, so he paid a full month’s rent for everyone.
Tang Ye had them enter one by one and used her wrist device to register their information.
Seeing Zheng An’s gaze linger on the device, Tang Ye explained, “Once your information is recorded, you officially become members of Sunrise Shelter. You’ll also be able to use your fingerprints to open your room doors.”
Inside, the survivors found everything fascinating, looking around and touching things with curiosity.
After finishing the registrations, Tang Ye glanced toward the room where Jiang Yufeng was staying. Despite the noise outside, it remained completely silent. She wondered how he was doing.
Ten people were assigned to Room 01, while the rest were distributed between Rooms 02 and 03.
Zheng An stayed in Room 02. He had no family, and the one teammate he had been close to had died in the recent attack, so it made no difference to him where he stayed.
Still, the survivors could not deny that these were the best living conditions they had experienced since the apocalypse.
Spacious rooms, soft beds, bunk beds that could be enclosed into private spaces, it was so perfect that they almost wondered if this was a dream at the brink of death.
“By the way, each person can receive one free portion of food from me daily. Additional meals must be purchased. The cafeteria will be ready soon, and you can choose to eat there as well,” Tang Ye added.
Almost every shelter provided a basic daily ration to ensure survival, but it was usually crude dry food.
Zheng An and the others had assumed the same here, but when proper meals they had not seen in years appeared before them, the survivors were overwhelmed.
“This… this is really free?” After Tang Ye explained how to prepare it, Zheng An found himself struggling to speak.
Such food was a luxury in the apocalypse. They had not eaten anything like it for years. Even expired instant noodles sold for seven or eight Level 7 or 8 crystals on the market, yet still sparked fierce competition.
And here, such food was distributed daily for free. Even purchasing it only required a single Level 1 crystal.
Some survivors burst into tears on the spot. Many others had red eyes. After everything they had endured, it finally felt like hardship had given way to relief.
After distributing the food, Tang Ye left the dormitory.
With thirty-eight new residents, the shelter suddenly felt lively. Even in the corridor, she could hear voices.
Tang Ye checked her energy points. She had just gained three thousand eight hundred, bringing her total to eighty-four thousand seven hundred ninety-seven.
She spent one thousand energy points to purchase one thousand portions of food. With so many survivors now, she needed to maintain sufficient reserves.
There were only ten beds left on Basement Level 1, along with three unfinished rooms below. After some thought, Tang Ye added five more dormitories on both Basement Level 1 and Level 2, spending three thousand energy points.
Meanwhile, Su Rui’s group had finally returned to their own shelter. After experiencing Sunrise Shelter, the contrast was overwhelming.
They descended underground via the stairs. The place had originally been a large air-raid shelter, with limited usable space, making it feel crowded.
“I’m already missing that wide corridor and spacious rooms in Sunrise Shelter,” Chen Yu whispered to Su Rui.
Su Rui let out a light laugh. “It really is easy to go from hardship to comfort, but hard to go back.”
Before entering, they had to undergo disinfection. White, pungent powder was scattered over their bodies, making them uncomfortable. For those with wounds, it caused stinging pain and bleeding.
The entire process only made them miss Sunrise Shelter even more.
After disinfection, they returned to their living quarters. Over thirty people were crammed into a single room. It was noisy and chaotic, and even during the day, without electricity, it remained pitch dark.
This time, Su Rui noticed something unusual. People were gathered in small groups, whispering. The atmosphere was tense.
“Ge Shu, what’s going on?” Su Rui asked a middle-aged man in the neighboring bed.
“You just got back, so you don’t know. The shelter has a new administrator, Tang Ming,” Ge Shu sighed. “You know his temper, impulsive and irritable, not suited for leadership. As soon as he took over, he raised the rent. Now it’s one Level 4 mutated crystal per month.”
“On what grounds?” Su Rui frowned deeply.
“Because he’s the administrator. They said if you don’t like it, you can leave. Shelters are in high demand now. If you leave, you might not even survive the journey to another one. And even if you do, who knows if they’ll accept you or charge more,” Ge Shu said with another sigh.
This was exactly what every survivor feared, which was why they were reluctant to move.
But now, with the change in leadership and rules, unrest had begun to spread.
“It used to be five Level 2 crystals, how did it increase so much? How are we supposed to survive?”
“Exactly. Where are we supposed to get Level 4 crystals every month?”
“And the daily free ration has been reduced to once every two days. Everything else must be bought.”
“Why don’t we all leave? If everyone leaves, let’s see who he collects crystals from.”
“Where would we go? All shelters are overcrowded. I met someone from Morning Breeze Shelter, they said one room has nearly fifty people now.”
The discussion died down, replaced by silence. They were trapped, unable to advance or retreat.