By the time the group finally set off, it was almost evening. The base staff asked a few people to stay for dinner before they left.
The car drove out of the base and headed towards the place where the group had rested. Once out of the base's sight, Jiang Li, worried that the fish would die on the way, put everything into his spatial storage.
Jiang Li had already dug several ponds in the space, just waiting for the seafood. He put all the seafood from the car into the ponds, categorizing them as they were.
Jiang Li felt he hadn't dug enough, so he dug many more before putting all the seafood in. Some seafood was in small quantities, while others were in large quantities. Jiang Li planned to let the smaller ones rest for a while before eating them.
Fortunately, Wang Qingli and the others had brought back an extra box of seawater, otherwise the water might not have been enough. However, they would still try to get some more seawater if they had the chance.
After arranging all the live seafood, Jiang Li began to sort out the dried goods. After finishing, looking at the extra seafood in the space, Jiang Li was in a particularly good mood.
They rested for two more days at their previous location, during which they ate seafood and still wanted more. In the end, it was Gu Jin who suggested heading to the Xinghai Base, where there was even more seafood, that they decided to set off.
The group walked and stopped along the way, and finally arrived at the gate of the Xinghai Base on the third day.
From the outside, Xinghai Base looks similar to the First Base. As you drive up, someone at the gate checks everyone's information. Gu Jin stopped at the gate, and a guard came over.
"Please show your base card."
Gu Jin rolled down the car window and handed a cigarette to the man guarding the gate.
"Hello, this is our first time here, we don't have a card."
The man's eyes lit up at the sight of the cigarette. Even though it was just one cigarette, it was enough to excite him. You have to understand that it's been so long since the apocalypse, and cigarettes have long been discontinued.
Those who can still get cigarettes these days are all very capable people. The man took the cigarette with both hands, his face beaming like a flower.
"It's alright if you don't have a card, but people without a base card need to pay three catties of grain per person when entering the base, and then they can receive a temporary identity card, which can be used for three days."
However, this card can only be used to enter and exit the base. If you want accommodation or food, you'll have to find your own way to get those.
Upon hearing the man's words, the group frowned simultaneously.
After the arrival of extreme cold, the First Base abolished the rule of paying for food upon entering the base, and even rescued survivors and brought them back to the base for resettlement.
Why is it that when we arrive at Xinghai Base, we have to pay for food just to enter the base?
Three pounds of grain per person may not sound like much, but now that the apocalypse has lasted so long and there has been no agricultural production, everyone is basically just sitting around eating away their savings.
Taking out three kilograms of grain just to enter the base—the ticket price is indeed a bit high.
As the group frowned in thought, they heard Shi Yuan ask a question.
"What if we haven't left after three days?"
The man smiled when he heard Shi Yuan's question.
"That's nothing. If you don't come out for three days, you'll be arrested and sent to the base to do forced work. You can only come out after three days or more, and only then can you get a new card."
"Besides food, is anything else acceptable?"
Gu Jin asked a question.
The man said with a smile on his face again.
"That depends on what it is."
Gu Jin took out a slightly crumpled cigarette case from her pocket, and then took a rather old wolf skin from Jiang Li's hand.
"I still have more than half a box here, and this wolf pelt. Brother, could you possibly make an exception for me?"
As she spoke, Gu Jin opened the cigarette case so that the man could see what was inside.
There were about a dozen cigarettes in the box, and the men's eyes started to gleam as they looked at them.
"Sure! We're brothers, aren't we? In this world, you rely on your parents at home, but when you're out in the world, you rely on your brothers, right?"
The man pulled out six cards from his pocket, swiped them on the card reader, and handed them to Gu Jin.
"There are checkpoints in many places in the base. You need to swipe your card to get through. Make sure you keep your card safe, otherwise you will be kicked out of the base if you are found to be without a card."
Gu Jin took the cards with one hand and handed the cigarette case and wolf skin to the man with the other.
"Thank you!"
After saying goodbye to the man, Gu Jin drove into the base.
As the car windows closed, the smiles on their faces vanished.
Gu Jin spoke up.
“Everyone without a base ID card has to pay for grain to enter the base, which adds up to a considerable source of income for the base.”
Shi Yuan chimed in.
“If each person pays three jin, then a hundred people would pay three hundred jin. With such a large base, the daily income must be considerable. I wonder who ends up with all this ‘entry fee’?”
Shi Lin spoke coldly.
"It doesn't look like it fell into the hands of ordinary people at the base."
Jiang Li's voice also turned cold, "No wonder there's a small base in S City."
Fu Xiaxia continued Jiang Li's words.
"If the Starsea Base were good enough, even if it were like the First Base, I doubt anyone would bother to set up a small base outside and struggle to survive with their people, right?"
Even Fang Qingxun, who was always smiling, almost said with a straight face.
"If the city entrance fee is so expensive, what kind of price must one pay to stay and live in the base?"
Everyone fell silent. Jiang Li had initially had a good impression of S City because of Wang Qingli's base, but he didn't expect Xinghai Base to be like this.
As the car passed through the gate, Jiang Li and Gu Jin finally saw the appearance of the Star Sea Base. They all stared in disbelief at the scene before them. Even Jiang Li, who had lived two lives, could not believe it.
What unfolded before Jiang Li and his companions were man-made canals, crisscrossing each other. The water inside was probably seawater, as it was all blue and very clean and clear. People were traveling in small boats, which were likely a form of transportation for the base. Some people were also selling things on the boats, stopping when someone made a purchase. There were many rivers and many small boats.
There are also roads on land, right next to the rivers, and on both sides of the roads are shops.
All the shops were open, with lights on inside, and you could see they sold all sorts of things.
Whether it's shops or houses, they all seem to be built on water, making it look very dreamy and unreal.
The whole place looks like a water world. Is this really the end of the world?
Both are among the four major bases, but the First Base is far inferior to this one.
Fu Xiaxia exclaimed dramatically as she looked at the scene before her.
"Did we just go through that gate and then go straight back to before the apocalypse?"
While the group was still in shock, they suddenly heard Fu Xiaxia say this, which not only brought them back to their senses but also made them laugh out loud.
Jiang Li pointed at the pedestrians on the road.
“Before the apocalypse, not so many people would dress like this.”
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