The librarian, as expected, was a robot that looked somewhat stern.
Miao Suisui could not help but feel a little curious. Why were all the employees in the town robots?
“These robots are products that have been phased out from the plane where the system is located. To make reasonable use of resources and avoid waste, they have been deployed to other planes. If the host needs more advanced robots, the crystal cores required for upgrades will be a hundred times more than now,” the system explained.
“No need, this is already quite good,” Miao Suisui said hurriedly.
Miao Suisui walked up along the spiral staircase in the center. The staircase was very spacious, and each floor corresponded to a category of books.
There were also two restrooms in the corner downstairs, which could be considered quite user friendly.
After touring the entire library, it took nearly half an hour.
At the librarian’s desk, she learned that entering the library required a fee of five Level 1 crystal cores per day. Borrowing books cost ten crystal cores per day. If a book was damaged, one would have to compensate with one Level 2 crystal core per book.
This was the first time Miao Suisui had seen a price involving Level 2 crystal cores in the town. She now understood the importance of knowledge, it was the same no matter where one was.
The appearance of the library filled the town’s residents with curiosity. When Miao Suisui came out of the library, she saw several people gathered outside.
The Su Qingqing sisters, Chen Xu’s family of three, Han Wei’s family of three, and the three siblings.
Aside from Su Qingqing’s parents and Liu Dong, who had gone out to search for his daughter, everyone was present.
“Mayor Miao, this is…” Su Qingqing asked.
“This is our town’s newly built Hope Library. It costs five Level 1 crystal cores per person per day. Children’s and adults’ reading materials are separated. If you’re interested, you can ask the librarian,” Miao Suisui said, pointing at the robot inside the library.
“What a beautiful library,” Su Lanlan exclaimed.
In everyone’s eyes, various emotions intertwined before finally turning into a unified sigh of amazement.
It was too incredible. In such a short time, such a massive building had been constructed. But in this town, it seemed that nothing was strange.
“There’s also a newly built restaurant across the street. If you don’t want to cook, you can go take a look. Although it looks rather simple, the prices are affordable,” Miao Suisui added.
At this moment, none of them even knew what expression to use to convey their feelings. Was this really the apocalypse they were familiar with?
Five crystal cores were not expensive, and everyone present could afford it. They all rushed inside, eager to see what the interior of the library was like.
As soon as they entered, they were captivated by the dazzling array of books, almost becoming completely absorbed in reading.
This state continued until evening. Su Qingqing’s parents grew worried and came out to look for them. Only then did they learn from Miao Suisui where they had gone. Miao Suisui sat in the simple restaurant across the street, eating delicious egg fried rice, and watched helplessly as Su Qingqing’s parents paid and went inside, never to come out again.
At that moment, the sound of a car engine came from the entrance. Miao Suisui looked up and saw a minibus drive in from outside. A figure stepped out from the driver’s seat. It was Liu Dong, who had gone out to search for his daughter. Miao Suisui waited for a while before Liu Dong walked over and sat down heavily across from her, his face clearly showing disappointment.
Seeing his expression, Miao Suisui knew that this trip had been another fruitless one.
She was not good at comforting others. After thinking for a long time, she could only say stiffly, “Do you want some fried rice?”
Liu Dong forced a smile, shook his head, then took a deep breath, as if persuading himself to pull himself together. “I went to the F City base today. That base isn’t very big. I searched the entire place, and everyone said they hadn’t seen my daughter or my friends.”
“You… don’t worry too much. Maybe they’ve already gone to another base. As long as they’re still alive, you’ll meet again someday,” Miao Suisui said, offering a bit of comfort. But even she did not believe these words, let alone Liu Dong, who had already lost most of his hope.
Fortunately, Liu Dong did not remain dejected for long. He quickly returned to his usual self, and only then did he notice the changes in the town.
Liu Dong opened his mouth wide in shock, taking quite a while before coming back to his senses. “This… this is…”
Miao Suisui cleared her throat lightly. The system’s miraculous nature could not be explained in detail, so she could only speak vaguely.
“The town has been upgraded. Across the street is the library, and here is the restaurant. Although there aren’t many dishes for now, the prices are affordable and the taste is quite good. The general store also has more items now, including instant noodles. If you need anything, you can go take a look.”
Liu Dong nodded blankly, but in his heart, his awe toward the town and Miao Suisui deepened even further.
At this time, they did not know that someone had already set their sights on them.
On the rooftop of a high rise building some distance from the town, an astronomical telescope had been set up, its lens pointed directly at the town. A tall, thin man suddenly slapped his thigh, his voice sharp with excitement.
“Niu Ge, it’s really chickens! I saw a lot of chickens, and they’re alive! It looks like they’re even growing vegetables!”
The man called Niu Ge was a bald man with a knife tattooed on his arm. His face was ordinary, but his eyes were fierce. He idly played with a black hammer that gleamed with a metallic sheen.
Before the apocalypse, Niu Ge had been a murderer. Over a minor argument, he had slaughtered an entire family of three. When the apocalypse arrived, the prison fell into chaos, and he took the opportunity to escape. With no resources and no suitable weapons at hand, he had no choice but to attach himself to a base leader. Because of his ruthless and cruel methods, he quickly caught the leader’s attention.
“I haven’t had meat in ages, Niu Ge, are we doing this or not!” another man said, his eyes red with excitement. “If we can seize the resources of this base, when we go back, the boss will definitely be happy. Maybe we’ll even get a few women to play with…”
Before he could finish speaking, there was a bang. The man who had been speaking excitedly just moments ago had his head smashed open with a single hammer blow. Red and white splattered all over the ground.
“Idiot. If I had resources like this, would I still need to go back and grovel?” Niu Ge snorted coldly, completely indifferent to the life before him.
The others were already accustomed to his methods and did not react with shock. His subordinates even efficiently dragged the corpse away and cleaned the ground.
Niu Ge snatched the telescope from the tall, thin man and looked toward the town. This time, he saw several people, and there even seemed to be women.
Niu Ge licked his lips. “Let’s observe a bit longer. Anyone who can still have this much supply at a time like this isn’t simple. We need to find a chance to get in and make contact first, then plan our next move.”
As he spoke, a box behind him suddenly moved slightly. A faint sound came from inside, like a weak groan.
Niu Ge kicked it hard, causing the box to shake violently. The sound inside immediately disappeared.
At this moment, Miao Suisui was unaware that danger was approaching. She was at home applying a facial mask. As the town upgraded, the system shop had also upgraded, and even facial masks were now being sold. One Level 1 crystal core could buy a large box.
The mask had already been on for fifteen minutes. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Miao Suisui removed it. Her skin was visibly fairer and more radiant, which satisfied her greatly.
Later, she could even place facial masks in the general store. There would always be girls who cared about their appearance and would buy them.
The next morning, when Miao Suisui woke up, it was already bright outside. She had spent the entire night playing a single player management game and had only fallen asleep in the early morning, so she still felt slightly groggy.
After washing up, she did not feel like cooking and went to the restaurant outside to eat a bowl of noodles.
Before she even finished her noodles, she saw Chen Xu, Liu Dong, and Han Wei walking toward the entrance together. When they saw Miao Suisui, they greeted her warmly.
“We’re going out with Liu Dong, heading north. There’s another base over there, just a bit farther, about half a day’s journey. We’ll also hunt some crystal cores along the way. Please take care of the children and the elderly at home for us, Mayor Miao,” Chen Xu said.
Miao Suisui nodded. “Don’t worry, be careful on the road.”
After they walked away, Miao Suisui could still hear Liu Dong’s somewhat helpless voice. “I told you, you don’t need to come with me. I can go by myself. You still have pregnant women and elders at home to take care of.”
“We agreed on this before. Besides, I’ve always treated Taozi like my own daughter. My daughter is missing, and you won’t let me go look for her? Stop fussing like that, you’re a grown man,” Han Wei said, patting his shoulder.
“Don’t be so sentimental. It’s not just for you. We can earn some crystal cores on this trip, and then we won’t have to go out for quite a while…” Chen Xu’s voice carried a smile.
Watching their figures walk side by side, Miao Suisui felt a trace of envy in her heart. Although there were gradually more residents in the town, she always felt like an outsider. At night, lying in bed, she would even start to feel melancholic, realizing that she had no friends here, not even someone to talk to.
After the three of them left, a figure entered through the gate. Only upon coming closer did she recognize her as Sun Yu, the older sister among the three siblings.
There were traces of dirt and blood on her body.
“You went to kill zombies? You’re not injured, are you?” Miao Suisui asked in surprise, swallowing the noodles in her mouth.
Sun Yu looked a little shy and shook her head. She took out a handful of colorful Level 2 and Level 3 crystal cores from her bag. “I want to earn more so I can buy meat for my younger brother and sister.”
Miao Suisui felt a pang of sadness. In her original world, fourteen or fifteen year olds were still carefree, but Sun Yu had already taken on the burden of her family.
After greeting Miao Suisui, Sun Yu bought two buns and one steamed bun from the restaurant, carefully tucked them into her clothes, and quickly ran off.
In the afternoon, a new face arrived in the town.
It was a travel worn man. He was thin and small, carrying a backpack on his back. His complexion was sallow, and his lips were cracked, clearly the result of long term hunger and dehydration.
Miao Suisui received a notification and walked out, just in time to see the man who had already reached the front of the bakery.
The man had been so stunned by the scene before him that he stood frozen in place, staring without blinking at the robot working diligently inside the bakery.
“Welcome to Hope Town. I am the mayor here.”
The sudden voice startled the man. He turned his head and saw that standing before him was a fair skinned, delicate, and beautiful young girl.