Upon hearing that, the smile on Ye Qingyun’s face immediately became more sincere. Without giving the woman a chance to refuse, she pressed the candy directly into her hand.
“Auntie, the fact that we got to talking is fate. I’m giving it to you because I like you. I wouldn’t give one to just anybody.”
The woman couldn’t bring herself to refuse. She had a five-year-old grandson at home who had been born after the catastrophe. The child didn’t even know what candy was.
She truly couldn’t bear to turn it down.
In the end, she gritted her teeth and accepted it.
“Alright! Then I’ll shamelessly accept it. Ask whatever you want. I promise I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“Oh, right. Just call me Auntie Zhu.”
Ye Qingyun didn’t stand on ceremony.
“Auntie Zhu, our family of four wants to settle down in the base. Is there anything we should pay particular attention to?”
Auntie Zhu replied, “If you want a stable life in the base, I’d recommend gritting your teeth and spending a few more points to buy a plot of land in District D and build your own house. There’s a new policy recently, those plots come with permanent ownership rights. It only became available because the base expanded this year. If you’d come earlier or later, you wouldn’t have been able to buy one at all. My son says there aren’t many left now.”
Jiang Zhi pursed her lips.
It seemed that even after the catastrophe, people still couldn’t escape the fate of buying a house and paying for one.
Ye Qingyun frowned.
“District D?”
Seeing her confusion, Auntie Zhu looked somewhat surprised.
“Didn’t your old base have districts?”
Ye Qingyun vaguely replied, “It did, but it’s a little different from how things are here…”
Assuming she simply didn’t want to go into detail, Auntie Zhu didn’t think much of it and continued.
“Our Ancheng Base is divided into five districts. District A is the agricultural zone, while Districts B and D are residential areas.”
Ye Qingyun asked, “If they’re both residential areas, why separate them into B and D?”
Auntie Zhu lifted her chin proudly.
“Of course there’s a difference. District B is where the powerful and influential people live. That said, if you’re rich enough, you can buy a place there too.”
Jiang Zhi asked, “Then which district do you live in, Auntie Zhu?”
A trace of embarrassment flashed across Auntie Zhu’s face.
“Our family’s doing alright, but we’re not well-off enough to live in District B.”
Ye Qingyun shot Jiang Zhi a reproachful look for her teasing question before asking another.
“Auntie Zhu, then what’s District C?”
“District C is reserved specifically for those Evolvers in the patrol teams.”
Jiang Zhi blinked.
“Evolvers?”
“That’s right, Evolvers.” Auntie Zhu turned to look at her suspiciously. “Don’t tell me you don’t even know what Evolvers are?”
That wasn’t exactly the case. They had heard some information about Evolvers from the broadcasts. However, perhaps because of confidentiality concerns, the broadcasts hadn’t revealed much.
Just as Ye Qingyun was about to come up with an excuse to gloss over the topic, the loud roar of an engine suddenly sounded from behind them.
Auntie Zhu’s eyes immediately lit up.
“The Exploration Team is back!!”
Jiang Zhi and the others all turned to look.
In the distance, four or five vehicles resembling steel behemoths were driving toward the base gates.
The vehicles were covered in rust and scars from battle. Their tires were enormous and heavy, with deep treads. The bodies had been reinforced with thick steel plating, and the rough welding marks only made them look even more rugged and imposing. Behind each vehicle was a massive trailer loaded with spare fuel and maintenance equipment.
The front bumpers were thick and menacing. The windows appeared to have undergone special treatment, though they were now covered in countless scratches and fine cracks.
The powerful spotlights mounted on the roofs were dazzling in the darkness.
People raised their hands to shield their eyes, yet none wanted to miss the chance to witness the Evolvers in action. One by one, they craned their necks for a better look.
“It’s the Reclamation Team and the Exploration Team. I wonder how much edible meat they brought back this time.”
“I’ve been saving points for ages. This time, I’m definitely buying a pound of mutated beast meat!”
Like everyone else, Auntie Zhu watched the vehicles enter the base with eager anticipation.
“If only they brought back some Fire Phoenix Chicken this time…” she muttered.
Ye Qingyun seized the opportunity to ask, “What is this exactly…?”
Since she had asked, Auntie Zhu explained casually.
“Oh, that. Every time the Reclamation Team returns, they bring back quite a bit of meat. Ordinary people like us can only eat meat from time to time because of them.”
Jiang Zhi’s expression turned strange.
Mutated beasts were certainly dangerous, but for a base with hundreds of thousands of people to rely solely on the teams to hunt them…
That seemed odd.
When their family of four had been living at their settlement, they had encountered small mutated beasts almost every day. Although mutated beasts had become more dangerous after the catastrophe, a few people working together could still deal with them fairly easily.
Jiang Shan directly asked, “Auntie Zhu, don’t people hunt mutated beasts themselves?”
Auntie Zhu was startled.
“People like us? Just going to the resource-gathering zones designated by the base is hard enough. Who would dare hunt mutated beasts? If we see one, we’re already lucky if we can run away in time. Being able to gather some edible food is good enough as it is.”
Jiang Zhi and the others exchanged glances but said nothing.
Ye Qingyun asked a few more questions. After obtaining the answers she wanted, she heard her son waving from the front of the line.
“Ms. Ye! Miss Jiang! Come on over! It’s time to register!!”
The moment Jiang Zhi heard those forms of address, she nearly curled her toes in embarrassment.
What an idiot!
Pretending not to notice the looks from the people around her, she forced herself to remain composed and walked over calmly.
Ye Qingyun picked up their luggage and said goodbye to Auntie Zhu.
“Auntie Zhu, thank you. If we get the chance in the future, we’ll treat you to a meal.”
Auntie Zhu responded with a string of “Alright, alright, alright,” but didn’t take it seriously.
These days, a family was fortunate enough if they could manage a full meal for themselves. Who would be willing to treat outsiders to food?
As soon as the siblings met up again, Jiang Shu excitedly said, “Ah Zhi, I asked around. As long as we register our identities with the base, everyone gets a detector.”
Jiang Zhi asked, “For free?”
Jiang Shu replied, “You can buy it on credit first. Each wristwatch costs 5 points. They’re selling them that cheaply to make them accessible to ordinary people. I asked around, right now, one point is worth about the same as one yuan used to be. But prices are lower than before. If you rent a place on the outskirts, five hundred points a month is enough. Meat is the expensive part. A single pound costs ninety points.”
“And it’s not even available all the time. Even when it is, there’s a purchase limit.”
Jiang Zhi: …
So all he could think about was meat.
“Did you ask about the settlement procedures?” Ye Qingyun and Jiang Shan walked over from behind and asked.
Jiang Shu choked on the question.
He hadn’t asked about that.
One look at his expression told Ye Qingyun everything she needed to know, and her annoyance immediately flared up.
“You little brat. You never do anything reliably!”
Jiang Shan also shot his foolish son a glare before leading the family toward the registration office beside the base’s side entrance.
A middle-aged man was sitting there. He wore a staff badge on his chest and didn’t look like someone who was particularly easy to talk to.
Jiang Shan stepped forward.
“Comrade, our family of four would like to apply for residence permits at Ancheng Base. What procedures do we need to go through?”
The middle-aged man lifted his eyelids and glanced at them.
“Are any of you Evolvers?”
The family exchanged looks.
“No.”
The man tossed a form onto the table.
“Fill this out.”
The four of them leaned over to examine it.
Besides basic personal information, the most prominent section on the registration form was personal abilities.
After filling in their information one by one, they handed the forms back to the man.
His attention was clearly still focused on the convoy undergoing disinfection at the vehicle entrance. He barely glanced at the forms before stamping them and tossing them back.
“Go register at the Information Hall tomorrow morning.”
The family froze for a moment.
—That was it?
Jiang Shan asked, “Brother, after we go in, where can we stay for the night?”
The middle-aged man waved him off impatiently.
“Don’t know, don’t know. Go inside and ask someone yourself.”
With that, he pulled out a sign reading “Service Suspended” and placed it on the desk. Then he hurried off toward the convoy.
It was obvious that the man’s target was mutated beast meat as well.
Jiang Shu waggled his eyebrows at Ye Qingyun and said, “See? Compared to that uncle, your son isn’t that gluttonous after all.”
Ye Qingyun couldn’t be bothered with him.
That brat would climb onto the roof if given even a little leeway.