Inside the base, Carl and Ali were originally going to see the base chief, but when they heard that they had something to discuss, Lu Chen also came along.

After hearing his explanation of his purpose, Lu Chen and Qi Hongshen seemed not at all surprised, as they had long anticipated this possibility.

Since Li Xin'er has the resources and wants crystal cores, it seems only a matter of time before she opens a shop and starts a business.

Qi Hongshen subtly inquired about Lu Chen's opinion.

Lu Chen nodded, and Qi Hongshen then spoke with a smile.

"This is great! With the shops open, I believe everyone will be even more motivated to earn crystal cores!"

Carl readily followed up on that, saying with a touch of humility:

“Our Sister Xin also has this idea. She said it’s not about making a lot of crystal cores through this shop. Now that resources are scarce, she’s also trying to make a contribution to everyone in her own way.”

"I just hope the base will get better and better, and that S City can return to its former state as soon as possible."

These words resonated deeply with Qi Hong, and he laughed even more heartily and freely.

"Miss Xin'er is very kind. I believe that with everyone's joint efforts, we will definitely be able to overcome this difficulty."

Lu Chen, who had been mostly silent, narrowed his eyes and a slight, unintentional smile appeared on his lips. This guy certainly knows how to talk.

A ruthless legion commander who kills without blinking an eye is surprisingly eloquent in conversation, no less so than businessmen and officials.

After hearing this, Qi Hongshen was too embarrassed to ask for taxes anymore.

After all, they've said they don't make any money at all; their main goal is to contribute...

Sure enough, as they chatted, Qi Hongshen didn't even think of this incident until Carl had left the base.

Qi Hongshen also said that once the store opens, he will arrange a team to maintain order and ensure security, so Carl and his team can just focus on their work.

Only then did Lu Chen slowly stand up, letting out a leisurely sigh.

"It's good to open a shop now; otherwise, you'd have to pay taxes before the end of the world!"

After saying that, he ignored Qi Hongshen's expression and walked away.

Qi Hongshen's smile froze on his face, and in the end, he went from sudden realization to extreme regret!

Yes! How come he didn't think of that before!

As Carl walked out of the base gate, holding the pass for the truck to enter and exit the safe zone, a triumphant smile appeared on his face.

Tan Jingrui has already rented a shop, a three-story self-built building facing the street.

Although the exterior looks a bit old, the interior is quite nicely decorated.

The first floor used to be a telecommunications mall selling mobile phones. It was very large, and many brands had their own display cases.

After the apocalypse, these glass display cases were of little use and were all preserved. However, the cell phones, even without internet or power, were still snapped up by everyone.

The building has two floors, with four three-bedroom apartments on each floor. The apartments are all decorated similarly, suggesting that the owner designed them to be uniformly decorated for rental purposes.

Tan Jingrui showed Carl around some houses and also explained his plans.

“There’s a small storage room on the first floor, but it’s not enough to store the partitions on the second floor. These partitions aren’t load-bearing walls, so we can knock them down to use as a storage room. It’ll also be easier to move things downstairs.”

“A human-powered crane can be installed here at the second-floor window, making it easy to transport supplies upstairs.”

"There are no signs of corpse transformation on the third floor, and the room is very clean and habitable."

After looking around, Carl was fairly satisfied with the place.

“Okay, Ali will stay and help you. You take some people and clean this place up. I will bring the first batch of supplies tomorrow.”

"The shop must open for business by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

He's going to the warehouse now to finalize the pricing and other details, so he can bring the goods over tomorrow.

Tan Jingrui was somewhat surprised to see that he trusted him so much and was letting him do all this.

Carl immediately saw through his thoughts and continued:

"From now on, you and your people will be in charge of sales and store management, while I will be responsible for restocking your stock every day. I will also provide you with the price list along with tomorrow's shipment."

Carl saw that he had brought three people with him. "If you don't have enough people, you can hire people yourself, or you can go to Qiao Ruoyun as Sister Xin said."

"As long as you take care of the store, the base outside will also send people to maintain order."

Tan Jingrui nodded. "Okay, I still have some people who haven't come yet. I'll call them later."

Besides Tong Hui and the other two, he could also find more than a dozen others who had been with them before.

There are patrols throughout the safe zone, and the base will also send people to maintain order, so there are definitely enough people for the time being.

Carl was only responsible for assigning tasks; he didn't care how Tan Jingrui completed them.

"You can arrange it as you see fit. And about your compensation..."

Tan Jingrui quickly interjected, "The payment isn't a priority. The base waived a month's rent for us, and we'll definitely be moving here soon since we need to be on duty at the shop."

This saves you some base points on rent.

Although he wasn't in a hurry, Carl still made his point clear first.

"Sister Xin didn't explicitly mention this when she left, but don't worry, you definitely won't regret following Sister Xin."

"The people working in your store take their daily food and drink supplies from the goods. Just remember to keep a good record. We'll talk about the other pay when Sister Xin comes back."

"good."

With food, drink, and accommodation provided, and the work being confined to the base without having to face dangerous tasks outside, everyone would be fighting tooth and nail to get out there.

Tan Jingrui was once again grateful that he had stayed behind to wait for Li Xin'er today, which gave him this opportunity.

The overall situation at the S City base is very optimistic, and the shops are thriving.

The Guangshi base, located more than 100 kilometers away next to S City, is a stark contrast to S City.

Qin Siye and Qian Leduo, both wrapped in worn-out black military overcoats, squatted inside the Guangshi base, very close to the main gate.

Both of them had messy, unkempt hair, their faces were covered in dust, and their lips were pale, dry, and cracked. They looked as miserable as possible, like homeless people.

Qian Leduo stared at the main entrance, leaning close to Qin Siye and whispering something.

"Brother Ye, we've been staking out for so long, but we still haven't seen the convoy they were talking about. Could we have been scammed?"

Qin Siye had a withered blade of grass dangling from his mouth, his hands tucked into his sleeves. If one ignored the clear, innocent look in his phoenix eyes, he would appear to be a carefree, good-for-nothing hoodlum.

"No, the lavish meals in the government building can't be faked."

"On the day we arrived, a truck had just arrived and was unloading goods. It's normal for there to be a few days' interval in between."

The Guangshi base hasn't expanded much; the area is small and crowded. Qin Siye has thoroughly searched the place over the past two days and knows exactly where everyone lives and what's inside.

At this point, a mocking smile appeared on Qin Siye's lips.

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it should happen within the next day or two."

They were originally just scouting ahead for Li Xin'er's business, but they didn't expect that the higher-ups at the Guangshi base would have supply channels, so they definitely had to find out more about it.