Huai Yu couldn’t remember much of the past. Her mind felt like a vast expanse of white fog, leaving nothing behind except her name.
She had come to queue up, thinking that maybe there was some record of her here. But the crude equipment and equally crude hall before her didn’t even have a security camera in sight…
So she could only wait in silent confusion.
The staff member scrolled through the screen: “Which ‘huai’? Which ‘yu’?”
“The ‘huai’ from ‘embrace,’ the ‘yu’ from ‘elm tree.’”
The person clicked their tongue: “Oh, elm seeds. Sounds fierce. Back when I was starving, I tried to see if they were edible. Good grief, a handful of elm seeds scattered like heavenly blossoms—almost shredded us to pieces—”
Huai Yu smiled obediently: “That wasn’t me.”
“I know it wasn’t you…” The person stared at the screen, scrolling back and forth:
“Huh, there’s no name like that! Was it registered wrong? Let me see your residential Contribution Card…”
She thought for a moment and shook her head honestly: “I don’t have one.”
No card?!
From all directions, disdainful looks and whispers came her way.
After the flora and fauna mutated, living conditions had become extremely harsh. To maintain stability, everyone had to participate in labor… Contribution Points were established for this reason.
And in such an environment, having zero Contribution Points…
Tsk!
Cowardly, hiding, and avoiding danger—that was the only explanation.
Having all endured hardships, people looked down on such behavior and didn’t even want to talk about it.
The staff member’s expression instantly turned impatient. They hastily followed the procedure to issue a new card and tossed it onto the counter:
“Alright, it’s done. Go to the housing office over there to get assigned a place.”
The housing office had separate queues for registration and signing. The process was automated, so the line moved fairly quickly. This time, it only took a little over an hour for her turn to come.
However, the clerk glanced at her blank Contribution Card, swiped it through the machine, and a few sparse options appeared.
“It’s based on Contribution Points! With zero points, you don’t get to choose! It’s the Jinyuan Community on the edge of the Wasteland. Let me see… Building 8, 32nd floor, Room 808. Stairs only.”
The electronic screen displayed three options, one of which was the 33rd floor with stairs.
Huai Yu pointed to the last option:
“Qiangwei Gongguan No. 1, can’t I choose that?”
Her eyes were innocent, and her voice was soft. Even though the clerk looked down on people like her, they sighed and patiently explained:
“You weren’t from Huacheng before, were you? Qiangwei Gongguan was originally meant to be a clubhouse. The foundation was laid, but the owner went bankrupt. The place is huge, but you can’t handle it.”
“Why not?” Huai Yu asked patiently.
The clerk rolled their eyes: “Why not? Why not? Use your little brain! Flora and fauna mutated! That place is right next to the Rose Corridor, with wild grass, trees, mountains, forests, ponds… everything! Why do you think?”
“A 100-square-meter unfinished building for you, and a 600-acre Qiangwei Gongguan that no one wants! Why do you think?”
“The Rose Corridor was something our Major General Wu Yue risked his life to accelerate the growth of! With it and Sanqing Shan, they form a natural defense line to keep the mutated flora and fauna of the Wasteland from invading at will.”
“It’s domineering and fierce. Living next to it—do you have a death wish?”
“The unfinished building might be tiring to climb, but at least it’s roofed. It’ll keep out the wind and rain just fine.”
“You choose Qiangwei Gongguan? When it rains, will you shelter under leaves? What if mutant plants break through the critical value one day—do you even care about your life?”
“But it’s so spacious here…” Huai Yu murmured to herself. When she first came out of the mountains, the rose-covered wall she saw must be what they call the Rose Corridor, right? She really liked it.
Finally, she made up her mind:
“I really want to live here! Is that okay?”
After a moment’s thought, she softly called out to the young female clerk, “Sister.”
The clerk: …
The clerk fell silent for a moment, her face darkening as she processed the paperwork:
“Go over there to sign and complete the transfer. After that, go to the hall next door to collect your relief rations.”
The transfer procedures weren’t that complicated. Nowadays, all these unfinished properties had been taken over by the state, and the locations were pre-planned. All she had to do was sign and fingerprint each document.
Especially since the clerk also told her, “You’ve been assigned to No. 1 Gongguan, covering 600 acres. Further out, there are No. 2 and No. 3…”
While guiding Huai Yu through the process, the clerk sighed, “Little girl, don’t think you’re getting a good deal just because the place is big. For one person, a small plot of land and two acres of vegetables are enough to keep you busy. Living alone over there is really dangerous.”
“Besides, land isn’t expensive now. If you choose an unfinished building and manage it for a few years, by the time you settle down and have children, the city might even reward you with a better place…”
Huai Yu signed and fingerprinted the documents one after another, then pushed the signed contract toward the middle-aged man in front of her, saying obediently:
“Uncle, I’ve signed.”
She looked only seventeen or eighteen years old. The middle-aged man in front of her, weathered by the Cataclysm over the years, appeared to be in his forties despite being only thirty. He fell silent for a moment.
Forget it. A teenager with no sense and zero Contribution Points—she must have been overly protected by her family, unaware of the world’s dangers… A little hardship would teach her a lesson.
After some thought, seeing that she wasn’t much older than his own child, he added a word of comfort:
“If things really don’t work out, don’t force it. There’s a Mutant Plant Defense Army stationed just 1 kilometer away. If anything happens, remember to go to them.”
Huai Yu smiled, her voice sweet:
“I understand. Thank you, Uncle.”
The destructive power of mutant plants was so great that paper documents were rarely issued to individuals nowadays. After the electronic files were uploaded to the big data system, Huai Yu took her empty card to the hall next door to collect her relief rations.
Compared to the previous housing bureau hall, this one was particularly noisy.
“I have over 600 points—why am I only getting two pounds of soybeans, one pound of rice, and a handful of vegetable seeds?”
“Can these standard 300 bottles of Nutrient Solution be exchanged for rice or something else?”
“You got so much and you’re still complaining? I only got two pounds of soybeans!”
“Ugh, you have less than 200 points! Two pounds of soybeans is already generous, okay?”
“Stop arguing! I heard the minimum guarantee is one pound of soybeans and a month’s worth of Nutrient Solution per person… Your 200 points are too low, right? Have you been slacking off and getting points deducted?”
“Damn, someone with 2,000 points got a phone!”
“Ahhh, really? Can it connect to the internet?”
“I don’t know. If I’d known phones were available, I would’ve worked harder when clearing houses with the reserve army…”
“Oh my, don’t do that. Although mutated potted plants are rare, they do exist. Don’t risk your life just for a phone…”
“Wow, I just found out that if you don’t live in the central city area, you can exchange Contribution Points for old electric scooters…”
“I won’t exchange for that. Only the power plant supplies electricity, and it’s expensive.”
“I won’t exchange either. Once life gets back on track, we’ll have these things eventually. But the houses in the central city area have been maintained and are safer…”
“Damn, it’s heartbreaking to watch the person ahead of me pick the house I used to pay a mortgage for…”
“You’re just showing off! When the government requisitioned it, they gave you plenty of Contribution Points!”