Chapter 13 Entering the City

Xiang Mingjie's next words were all stuck in her throat.

According to the procedure, you should first learn about the guide's situation and explain the base's welfare benefits for people with special abilities.

Finally comes the testing phase.

But since the other party brought it up themselves, it's fine to make arrangements after the test is completed.

Xiang Mingjie said, "Okay, I'll take you there right away."

The residents of Qingshan Town have already begun registration and inspection.

More than a hundred people lined up in three rows, taking turns to go to the window to register their personal information, undergo pollution concentration testing, and receive temporary residence permits.

As ordinary people, they were assigned temporary residences in shantytowns in the outer city.

The house numbers are too scattered, which means that all the people in Qingshan Town are scattered and separated. Families with only the elderly and children become anxious after receiving their house numbers.

"Everyone's separated, what are we going to do..."

People surrounded Liu Li and asked, "Do you really have to separate us? Can't we all live together so we can look after each other?"

Liu Li still had a smile on her face and spoke in a businesslike tone, "This is the free temporary accommodation provided by the base. If you are not satisfied, you can find your own accommodation."

“Of course, you need points,” she added.

These people are all ordinary people with no real strength; they don't look like they have any points at all.

And you know what? She was right.

Everyone was truly penniless.

The food and supplies we brought from town can't be sold, otherwise what will we eat in the future...?

While the large base is safe, the cost of living is high.

Many people wore expressions of confusion and helplessness.

The town's sentries looked for the old town mayor standing in line.

The old town mayor is over sixty years old and has only one grandson left in his family.

Some people worried, "Severed from familiar people and without the land they depend on for survival, how will the elderly and children maintain their basic lives..."

Many people had worry written all over their faces.

Some people in the town subconsciously looked towards Yun Zhao.

He Xiang and Cheng Dongshu were at the front of the line, frequently looking up to check on Yun Zhao's situation.

They knew that Yun Zhao was always thorough and had probably anticipated the situation.

Not far away, below the city wall.

Yun Zhao was talking to Xiang Mingjie when, after saying something, he suddenly turned around and waved to them.

Upon seeing this, He Xiang and Cheng Dongshu immediately left the group and ran over.

He Xiang observed her expression and asked cautiously, "Sister Yun Zhao, are you going to leave us?"

"What do you think?" Yun Zhao asked gently.

He Xiang's expression suddenly became somewhat uneasy, unsure of what her attitude meant.

Yun Zhao glanced at the uneasy crowd and reassured them, "I'll go talk to the base leaders. You two take care of everyone and get them settled first. Don't touch the luggage in the car yet. Don't worry, the problem will be resolved soon."

She did not lower her voice.

Liu Li and the others who were registering, as well as the guards who had just followed, heard her words clearly.

Everyone looked up at her.

Negotiating terms?

Guides are rare and highly sought after, and their benefits are the best at the base.

However, this only applies to the guides themselves; their immediate family members follow the normal procedures.

Besides, not just anyone can meet with the base leaders.

Did they think they could do whatever they wanted in the large base just because they were guides?

They really are from a small town; they've never seen much of the world.

They thought this way, but no one said it out loud.

Especially for the sentries, under normal circumstances, no sentry wants to offend the guide who might save their life someday.

After calming everyone down, Yun Zhao followed Xiang Mingjie into the car heading to the inner city.

As the only large base in Southwest China, the Shuguang Base has a permanent population of nearly 300,000.

The terrain within the city is complex and varied.

It features flat squares and streets, rugged hillsides and tunnels, and numerous old air-raid shelters.

The vehicles first entered the outer city area.

Even in the outer city, the level of prosperity still broadened Yun Zhao's horizons.

She grew up in a remote border town.

Before this, I had never been to such a large base or seen so many people.

Yun Zhao leaned against the car window, taking in everything at the Dawn Base.

The main road is straight, and the buildings on both sides have unique architectural styles. The windows have been replaced by reinforced steel frames, which are arranged in a staggered manner.

The streets were crowded with people coming and going, and vehicles quickly made way for them.

Most people had indifferent expressions and didn't even look up at the cars entering the city.

On the outermost edge of the city, near the city wall, there are large areas of shantytowns.

The sheds were built along the designated areas, with old and broken scrap piled up in front of each household. It was messy, but not dirty.

The roads were clean and tidy, with no signs of human occupation, indicating that they were being managed.

There are signs at the intersection of the main road.

Yun Zhao saw that it was labeled with names such as Service Hall, Exchange, Public Guidance Room, and Farmers Market.

She wondered if the man carrying the coal would be able to sell it successfully and get enough food...

We passed through the outer city area.

The car traveled along the central axis, heading towards the innermost part of the city.

The sentry on duty at the gate glanced at the car and let it pass.

The inner city is very large, with neat and beautiful houses along the way, shops open on the roadside, and a huge shopping center in the central square.

It looks a bit like the bustling cityscape in the picture.

There were hardly any people on the street.

As the car passed the central square, there was a huge statue on a high platform in the very center of the square.

The statue of a young girl in a white robe has a serene face, with a red-crowned crane standing beside her, gazing into the distance.

Yun Zhao stared at the statue without blinking.

Xiang Mingjie introduced, "This is the founder of the base, surnamed Shen. He was a senior guide during the Dark Ages."

Yun Zhao was somewhat surprised, "Founder? Wasn't the Dawn Base originally a national shelter?"

Xiang Mingjie explained to her: "The Southwest Shelter was destroyed in the sixty-eighth year of the Dark Age. It was rebuilt by a group of guides and sentinels who eliminated the contaminated area and used the old shelter number."

Many people believe that the Southwest Shelter has existed to this day.

However, this area has also experienced contaminated zones and attacks by mutated animals.

One can imagine that during that dark and hopeless period, there was a group of passionate young people who were saving the world.

Together they rebuilt Dawn Base.

I look forward to the day when the world is at peace and a golden age is restored.

The past is gone, but the people of yesteryear are remembered by posterity.

Yun Zhao was deeply moved. When he looked at the serene statue of the young girl again, his eyes were different, filled with admiration and respect.

Red-crowned cranes...

Was that her spiritual form?

The red-crowned crane badges at the Dawn Base may hold a different meaning for the descendants who have persevered.

...

Not long after Yun Zhao entered the inner city, a heavy armored off-road vehicle drove up the mountain road.

The guards on duty at the gate, seeing that Team Zero had finally returned, quickly opened the gate to the passageway.

The armored vehicles used special mission routes and did not need to pass through urban areas.

Xie Tu rolled down the car window, greeted the guards at the gate, and asked, "Has a guide brought a group of ordinary people here to seek refuge?"

"Yes, they just arrived and have already settled in the city," the sentry replied.

Everyone on the bus breathed a sigh of relief.

Duan Xi said nonchalantly, "Luckily, it wasn't a wasted trip. I got five thousand points, and the person even delivered themselves to my door."

The rabbit slapped at him, but Duan Xi had a premonition and ducked to avoid it.

"Wang Jiayu! Are you addicted to hitting him?"

The rabbit snorted, "The five thousand points were earned by the captain, not you. Don't always try to take advantage of the captain."

Duan Xi protested, "I didn't do that! It was the captain who said he'd treat us to extra food when we got back, that he'd treat us to meat tonight."

Tao Haohao loudly echoed, "That's right, extra food tonight! We'll eat the captain out of house and home!"

Meat is very expensive at the base. A pound of mutated animal meat costs 60 points, and better quality meat costs as much as 100 points per pound.

Not to mention ordinary people, even sentries are reluctant to eat it often.

Sometimes, when the craving became too strong, they would simply call their companions to go deep into the mountains and forests to hunt on their own.

They were away for nearly two months, and most of the time they relied on compressed biscuits to fill their stomachs.

The captain said he would give them extra food when he got back.

They were playing and fooling around inside the car.

Xie Tu was completely unaffected. Upon learning that the guide had entered the inner city for testing, he instructed Tao Haohao to drive the car to the operations department first.

They needed to report back to Minister Duan first.

"Captain, when are we going to find that guide?" Rabbit asked anxiously.

What if someone enters the base and joins the Special Abilities Department, but then decides they don't want to go on missions with them?

After all, the guide had already witnessed the danger and eeriness of the contaminated area.

With a stable life, who would want to go out and take risks?

Xie Tu rolled up the car window, his expression indifferent. "Let's go back to the operations department first."