Chapter 89: The Little River Base is fully staffed! How could it possibly be that good?! ...

Ning Wen'an was quite confident about joining the Xiaohe Base. His ability level was such that he would be sought after by any base.

However, he had been thinking about his mother, so he didn't join any other bases.

Now that Ning's mother had joined the Xiaohe Base, Ning Wen'an felt relieved. He puffed out his chest confidently, ready to wait for the other party to ask him about his superpower attributes and level.

Zhou Min glanced at him and asked, "Have you ever killed anyone?"

Ning Wen'an: "I am the fourth... ah?... I have killed."

Zhou Min frowned, and Ning Wen'an tensed up. "Wait, why aren't they playing by the rules?"

"You're relatively honest, so why did you kill someone?" Zhou Min asked.

Ning Wen'an's face darkened as he spoke: "That man tried to eat my mother while I was away. He also captured several other people and had eaten people before, so I killed him."

Zhou Min's expression softened: "Hmm, the reason is reasonable enough. However, once you join our base, you should live in harmony. If you encounter problems, don't think of violence as the first solution. You can try to find the administrator. In your case, we will need to observe you further after you join the base."

Ning's mother, who was standing nearby, was extremely nervous. Upon hearing this, she quickly said, "Sir, my son is a good person. He had no other choice..."

Zhou Min nodded: "I didn't say I wouldn't accept it, but I still need to make my point clear."

Ning Wen'an nodded, not feeling angry. He wasn't a violent person; he would prefer a place where everyone could live peacefully together.

"By the way, what kind of superpower do you have, and what level is it?" Zhou Min asked this last.

Ning Wen'an no longer felt proud. The Little River Base was different from other bases; it didn't value ability levels the most.

He honestly replied, "Ice type, level four."

Zhou Min raised an eyebrow. This was almost the same as Tian Qiao's situation. If Ning Wen'an didn't have Ning's mother to live with, he could indeed live a better life.

Zhou Min wrote down Ning Wen'an's name and basic information: "Alright, congratulations on joining the Xiahe Base."

After saying that, Lin Kang handed him the mutated cotton wrapped in cloth.

Ning Wen'an took it, feeling the warm package, and felt a little dizzy.

For some reason, he was particularly excited about joining the Xiahe Base, and also felt at ease, as if they now had a place to stay.

Ning Wen'an placed the tent next to the receiving point at the Xiaohe base, and Ning's mother, whose face was always full of worry, finally showed a happy expression.

She opened the package and was immediately hit by a wave of heat. Despite the cold weather, her face felt like it had been roasted.

Sun Yu gave her a needle and a piece of thread. The thread was enough to sew two sets of clothes, but she had to hand over the needle when she ran out.

Ning's mother started making clothes with a smile on her face. Perhaps because she had hope, her spirits were high.

Ning Wen'an saw this and his smile widened.

A voice came from outside: "May I come in?"

Ning's mother recognized Sun Yu's voice and quickly said, "Okay, come in quickly."

Sun Yu walked in and handed two steamed buns to Ning's mother: "Have some."

Looking at the white steamed buns, Ning's mother seemed to be able to smell the aroma of the flour. She subconsciously swallowed and quickly waved her hand, saying, "No, no, I can't have them."

Sun Yu explained, "This isn't for free; it's like the base is giving it to you on credit. Once you get to the base, you'll earn contribution points, and it will be deducted from that."

Ning's mother hesitated upon hearing this, mainly because she was afraid she wouldn't be able to pay it back. These were white flour steamed buns, and she didn't know how expensive they were.

If she takes it, won't she end up with a huge debt by the time she gets to the base?

Sun Yu noticed her concerns and said, "If you can become a cook in the canteen, you will earn ten contribution points a day. Ten contribution points are equivalent to one pound of white flour or one and a half pounds of wheat. Two steamed buns are equivalent to one contribution point. Alternatively, you can steam the buns and return them to us."

The Xiaohe base is currently not short of wheat, so the prices of wheat and flour have plummeted.

After hearing this, Ning's mother exclaimed, "!!!"

A pound and a half of wheat a day. Although her son has a big appetite since becoming a superhuman, and he may not be getting enough to eat, compared to the days when she had to break a black steamed bun into several pieces and only dared to eat a bite a day, this is simply heaven!

Moreover, her son will definitely go out to work, and with a pound and a half of wheat a day, she certainly won't be able to finish it all, and she can save some.

Without hesitation, she felt like she was about to become rich overnight. She took the steamed bun, which was frozen solid, but it was made of white flour and smelled delicious!

"Thank you, young lady. What's your name?" Ning's mother asked Sun Yu gratefully.

Sun Yu awkwardly gave her name and was about to leave. Ning Wen'an, who had been listening for a while, was also very excited. Seeing that she was about to leave, he quickly asked, "Hello, what about me? What kind of work can I do?"

Sun Yu was much colder towards the man: "I don't know."

Ning Wen'an: "Huh?"

Sun Yu frowned: "...I said I didn't know."

He left after saying that.

Ning Wen'an: "..."

Ning's mother smiled and said, "It's alright, son. Go and take your time looking. Mom will take care of you."

She was stunned when she finished speaking, then her smile widened. Great! She wasn't a useless burden anymore; she could say such things now.

Ning Wen'an scratched his head and smiled. As a superhuman, he earned more than his mother, but he was still very happy that his mother would say such a thing.

Outside, some people behind heard Zhou Min's question and realized what the receiver of the Xiahe base was mainly concerned about.

Those who are honest and law-abiding will be happy to hear this, but some people will feel uneasy.

They realized they couldn't tell the truth, or they would be eliminated.

However, Zhou Min asked, "Have you done anything bad?"

The other person shook their head: "No."

Zhou Min frowned and waved his hand: "Next."

The other party immediately became angry: "You only asked me one question, why don't you want me anymore!"

Zhou Min clicked his tongue: "You know perfectly well whether you've lied or not."

He raised his voice: "Our Xiahe base is different from other bases. We value character and personal qualities. Not only do you lie, but you also do bad things. We don't want people like that."

"You!" Seeing that he had no hope, the other party actually used his superpower to cause trouble. Sun Yu, who was standing to the side, narrowed his eyes, and the other party screamed. It was seen that a large piece of flesh on his hand had been corroded at some point, and the bone was exposed.

Sun Yu said coldly, "Troublemakers, get lost."

The other person swallowed hard, and seeing that the officials had arrived, he finally realized he was scared. He glared at Sun Yu with a sinister look and hurriedly ran away.

Zhou Min gave a thumbs up: "Cool, sis."

Sun Yu glanced at him indifferently and said nothing.

Not far away, Ning Wen'an saw this scene and shrank his neck. He had just been wondering if he had offended Sun Yu in some way, since the other party's attitude towards him was too bad. But now, in comparison, he suddenly felt that Sun Yu's attitude towards him was quite good.

After this little incident, people were less likely to cause trouble afterward.

Even if you're not accepted by the Xiaohe base, you can try other bases. If you cause trouble, you might be blacklisted and rejected by other bases, which would be a loss.

Perhaps they'd heard rumors about the excellent conditions at the Xiaohe base, because everyone was lining up.

Zhou Min was quite happy, estimating that he could recruit enough people in two days and go back home soon.

By then, the major bases that cooperate with Xiaohe Base should have almost finished recruiting, so we can send people back with them.

Although these large bases generally recruit more people than the small river bases, the large bases recruit faster. As soon as people hear the name of these bases, they immediately scramble to go there, without any need for advertising.

Moreover, large bases, like Chaoyang Base, recruit people very quickly. They just ask what kind of superpower someone has, what level they are, and if their eyesight is good, they are hired directly.

On the contrary, the people at the Xiaohe base asked more questions.

However, the benefits provided by the Xiaohe Base are also substantial. Upon joining, they receive mutated cotton and fabric. It should be noted that most areas are currently experiencing snow disasters, making ordinary cotton a precious commodity, let alone mutated cotton that can generate heat.

Some superpowered individuals who have strong abilities but bring their families along prefer to come to the Little River Base.

Because I noticed that the Xiaohe Base treated ordinary people well, at least I didn't have to worry about my family being bullied while I was on missions.

So now, people are gradually signing up for the Xiahe base.

On the morning of the third day, Zhou Min wrote down the 1001st number and said, "That's enough people."

The 1000th person brought a family member. Zhou Min and the others discussed it and decided to keep the person. It was just one more person; there was no need to be so strict.

Those who had initially envied the supplies provided by the small river base, but felt that the larger base was more reliable, became anxious upon hearing this: "Why aren't you recruiting anymore? How many have you recruited?!"

Lin Kang smiled and said, "I'm sorry, the Xiaohe base is relatively small. This time, we are responding to the official call to provide a place for everyone to stay. However, our capacity is limited, and we can only accept a maximum of 1,000 people. We have already recruited enough people. As I just reminded you, those who are behind should not line up anymore."

The person behind: "..."

They heard the warning, but they thought the Xiaohe Base was saying it on purpose to make them nervous and hurry up and sign up.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be true?

The group, who had been hesitant, suddenly realized they had missed a great opportunity.

They also wanted to talk to a few more people, saying that having a few more wouldn't be a problem.

That's unacceptable. They can't just say whatever they want. They represent the base. If they keep changing their minds, how will others perceive their base?

Zhou Min reminded them, "The other major bases have already recruited most of their people. If you don't go soon..."

Before he could finish speaking, the others suddenly realized what was happening and immediately abandoned their entanglement, rushing to other large bases to join the queue.

It's one thing if you don't join the Xiaohe Base, but if you get caught up in this and end up with all the other bases full and you have nowhere to go, then you'll have nowhere to cry.

Zhou Min grinned, "You little rascal."

However, he wasn't lying; that afternoon, other bases also filled their quotas.

They split into two groups: one group led people back to the base, while the other group followed Zhou Min and his group to the Xiaohe base to exchange supplies.

Before setting off, Zhang Tai, unusually, approached Zhou Min, looking conflicted.

Zhou Min glanced at him, clearly disgusted: "Just say what you want to say, stop beating around the bush, okay?"

Zhang Tai hummed and hawed for a while before finally saying, "Hey, is the treatment at your base really that good? Even ordinary people can get enough to eat?"

Zhou Min raised an eyebrow: "Of course, would I say it wasn't true? That would be false advertising."

Zhang Tai still thought they were exaggerating. How could that be?! He was in the Chaoyang Base, and as a superhuman, he spent his days killing zombies and mutated beasts. If he was lucky enough to kill a mutated beast, he could have a feast for several days. But he probably wouldn't have that kind of luck often.

All the easy-to-kill beasts have been killed. The remaining difficult-to-kill ones require risking one's life to kill. Risking one's life just for a good meal is not worth it.

More often than not, they go to complete the tasks assigned by the base. Since the food before the apocalypse has been basically exhausted, the food they can get in exchange for completing tasks is getting less and less. Sometimes, after working themselves to the bone all day, the food they earn is only enough to eat until they are seven or eight tenths full.

Moreover, this grain is not good grain. Nowadays, even his superiors can't get their hands on white flour, let alone him.

They were eating steamed buns that were mixed with some unknown substance. Not only were they hard, but they also got stuck in their throats. They couldn't digest them properly, and he had been constipated for quite some time.

This is still the case when he is a superhuman; if he is like this, then what about ordinary people?

Ordinary people can only do some physical labor. They work themselves to the bone all day and can only exchange it for half a hard, choking steamed bun. It's barely enough to keep them alive.

Their Chaoyang base is considered quite good; at least very few people starve to death. Other bases are in a worse state, where people starve to death is commonplace.

Their hopes are pinned on the wood-type ability users, hoping they can cultivate seeds that can adapt to the post-apocalyptic land as soon as possible.

He initially thought everyone did this, but he was surprised to hear that the Xiaohe Base gave everyone who joined, regardless of whether they were ordinary people or not, mutated cotton and cloth so they could make their own cotton-padded clothes.

Moreover, there was a white flour steamed bun with every meal, even though these people had to pay on credit, it was still a white flour steamed bun!

Zhang Tai saw someone holding a steamed bun and eating it slowly, and he almost wanted to snatch it from them because he was so tempted.

He had seen Zhou Min and the others eating so well before and thought they were just putting on a show, but even they were eating plain steamed buns and three dishes!

Meat isn't as rare as noodles and vegetables, since you can go out and hunt some exotic beasts, but noodles and vegetables are currently non-renewable resources.

Zhang Tai hadn't eaten fresh vegetables since the apocalypse, and he was absolutely craving them.

When he heard that joining the Xiahe Base would mean getting white steamed buns, he was completely overwhelmed.

Not just him, everyone else broke down.

Hearing that he was acquainted with Zhou Min, they sent him over to inquire about the situation.

After Zhou Min finished speaking, seeing Zhang Tai's disbelieving look, Zhou Min picked his teeth and said, "Believe it or not, I haven't gone hungry since I started following Brother Cheng."

Zhang Tai wanted to say, "Keep bragging," but looking at Zhou Min's fair and rosy complexion, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

When he went to the Xiahe base to exchange supplies, he took the initiative to take on the task of exposing Zhou Min's lies. He refused to believe that the others would still be in the same mental state once they arrived at the base.

If the others are in poor condition, it proves that Zhou Min is bragging!

He didn't know what supplies they were going to exchange with the Xiaohe base. His superiors hadn't said anything. They had taken the communicator, and they would naturally receive the information once they arrived there.

Zhang Tai was still fantasizing, wondering if it was to exchange for grain? It seemed like the Xiahe base still had flour.

Actually, going to the Xiahe base isn't a good job. In this cold weather, everyone else is eager to return to base to report for duty. This mission might at least earn them some steamed buns to eat.

They went to the Xiaohe base, and there weren't many hard steamed buns left. Sigh, they'll probably be hungry for two days on the way back and forth.

It's nothing really, you'll get used to it after a while if you're hungry.

Zhou Min was unaware of his thoughts. After taking a headcount, they were instructed to return the tents to the officials, and then they could set off.

The vehicles from Xiahe Base were at the front, with the rest following behind.

More than a thousand people were sitting in the carriage, but they didn't feel cold. They had already sewed their clothes back on as quickly as possible.

This clothing is great; it generates heat, so it's not cold at all while sitting in the train carriage.

Even if someone's craftsmanship is poor and the finished product is crooked, as long as it keeps you warm, that's fine.

These people were all carefully selected based on their character; none of them were particularly bad. They chatted huddled together in the carriage.

"This is going further and further astray."

"Don't you know? Xiahe Base was originally a village, so it definitely won't be in the city."

"Who cares if it's a village or not? Which other base can provide us with such good fabric and cotton? I think the Xiahe base is the best."

"That's right. The base I stayed at before, they didn't even give us cotton. All the good stuff was given to the higher-ups. They didn't care if we froze or starved to death."

"Isn't that how it is at that base? They don't care if a few people die."

They chatted, feeling both nervous and excited about their upcoming trip to the Xiaohe base.

Meanwhile, at the Xiahe base, Cheng Zhiyu signed the document and calculated the time: "Zhou Min and the others should be back soon."

Cheng Mo: "That's about it."

He took out the honey peach jam he had made earlier and mixed it with water for Cheng Zhiyu to drink. He placed the cup in front of him, and Cheng Zhiyu subconsciously said, "I'm not thirsty."

Cheng Mo brewed himself a cup, which was sweet and full of peach aroma: "Try it."

Cheng Zhiyu subconsciously took a sip, then paused, and unconsciously finished the whole glass of water.

He wasn't not thirsty; he just thought the water didn't taste good.

Cheng Zhiyu has been in a good mood lately. He was originally worried that the soybeans and rice he planted might freeze to death in such cold weather, but it turns out that the mutant plants are very resilient and can adapt to both high temperatures and such low temperatures.

The soybeans and rice didn't freeze to death; on the contrary, they grew quite well.

Cheng Zhiyu then used peach and cherry pits to cultivate seedlings in his space. After these seedlings grew, he had them transplanted outside.

There are twenty of each kind, so I estimate that in a few years everyone will be able to eat fruit.

Also, the durian seedlings he cultivated before are already a meter tall.

Because they grow faster in the space, Cheng Zhiyu figured that maybe he could eat durian in two or three years.

The next morning, Cheng Zhiyu received a notification that Zhou Min and his men had returned.

Upon hearing this, he immediately went to greet him.

Cheng Mo found the road cold and slippery, so he transformed back into his beast form and carried him to the door.

People were quite scared when they saw such a big dog before, it was even taller than a person!

Later, it was discovered that Cheng Zhiyu had raised them, and they didn't attack people, so everyone gradually got used to it.

As for how Big Black appeared when they had never seen him before, everyone was curious, but that was Captain Cheng's business, and they wouldn't bother to investigate.

However, everyone was quite envious of Captain Cheng riding his big black bike to work every day, which seemed to fly by in a flash.

They were shocked when they heard that a superhuman at the base kept a tiger, but after seeing Big Black, they weren't so surprised anymore, since they had never seen such a big dog before.

Just now, Cheng Zhiyu rode his big black motorcycle over. He figured Zhou Min should be back soon, so he had already arranged for people to come and make the arrangements. After receiving the notification, these people quickly came over to make the arrangements.

Speaking of which, we now have the technology to detect the zombie virus, so people no longer need to be quarantined outside; they just need to queue up for a blood test.

Those who passed the inspection and entered the base unconsciously began to scrutinize this place that would become their future base.

To be honest, the Xiahe base doesn't look as good as the other bases; it looks like a village.

Cheng Zhiyu actually planned to build a building, but since he already has enough space, it's unnecessary. He plans to start building on the outskirts next year when the weather gets warmer.

However, we'll probably need to recruit more people then; the current staff at the Xiaohe base definitely won't be enough.

Of course, these are all arrangements to be made later. At this moment, someone muttered something, and the person next to him said, "What do you know? I don't like living in an apartment building. It's like being in a birdcage all day. I used to be like that. I didn't dare to leave the house except to work, for fear of accidentally offending someone. But the houses at the Xiaohe base all have yards. It's much better that way!"

"That's true, but I don't know if it's as good as they advertise."

They had all heard that at the Xiaohe base, ordinary people could eat their fill.

They thought it was a bit of an exaggeration, and were just hoping to eat until they were half full and not starve.

However, they soon discovered that the Little River Base was truly different; the mental state of the people there was completely different.

They were all wearing clothes made of mutated cotton, and they all looked clean and had smiles on their faces.

They went to work together, and when they saw the newcomers, they smiled at them and then left.

They were neither particularly curious nor particularly worried.

You see, when they went to other bases before, the people there never gave them a friendly look, thinking that their arrival would mean they would earn even less food.

These newcomers are all seen as hidden competitors.

Therefore, most bases have a tendency to form cliques, and newcomers are ostracized and forced to form cliques.

But the people at the Xiahe base were different. Someone mustered up the courage to ask, and the person being asked just smiled and said, "What's the big deal? The base isn't short of food. It's good that you're here. Team Leader Cheng said that the base needs more people for construction."

The person who asked the question was taken aback. Who in that base dares to say they have enough food these days?

They exchanged a glance and realized they had come to the right place.

Here, Cheng Zhiyu, as the base leader, came to pick up people from several other bases to exchange supplies.

As members of the Chaoyang base, Zhang Tai and his group were implicitly regarded as leaders by other bases.

They were at the front, looking at the base that looked exactly like a village, and couldn't help but curl their lips in disapproval.

Then, a handsome man in his twenties rode over on a huge dog. When the man saw them, he smiled and said, "Thank you all for your hard work. Welcome to the Xiahe Base. I am Cheng Zhiyu, the manager of the base."

Zhang Tai and the others immediately adjusted their expressions and smiled, saying it wasn't hard work.

Cheng Zhiyu: "You've been traveling all night, you must be tired. Why don't you rest first? Our base has prepared a simple meal, and we can talk about other things after you've eaten."

The person, who had been hungry all day, readily agreed.