"If I go back looking like this, Xia Ran will definitely laugh at me." Han Rui's face was puffed up with anger. She patted herself all over and finally pulled out a black base card. "Please, take me in for a meal and a shower. There should be 5,000 points on this card. Can I have them all?"
"That woman has a deadly tongue. If she catches me once, the whole base will laugh at me for three years."
Han Rui blinked her big eyes and pitifully begged Lu Sheng, "I have an image to maintain too, please."
The Yunshan base was full of Xia Ran's lackeys, and she didn't want to get out of the car and embarrass herself.
"You must leave before 8 p.m. after dinner."
The bounty guild's task submission system closes at 10 PM, so I can take the person there to submit the task after dinner.
Lu Sheng took Han Rui's card and told Xu Yi to drive the car directly back to Villa B5.
Five thousand points equals five hundred crystal cores; why not take it? It'll also help me recoup the transaction fees.
It's just a matter of having one more pair of bowls and chopsticks.
After a whole day of running around, everyone was completely frozen, their hands and feet were so cold they were almost numb.
Lu Sheng made a big pot of steaming hot spicy beef soup, paired with delicious and flavorful squid rice.
The finest yellow beef has distinct, textured strands, and every bite is bursting with meaty flavor. The spicy and appetizing hot soup is both spicy and savory, enhanced with several types of shellfish, and has a hint of sweetness after each sip.
After a bowl of beef soup, my stomach felt warm and cozy, and even my numb hands and feet were covered in sweat.
Fresh squid has a sweet and bouncy texture. It is stir-fried with diced potatoes and onions in a spicy sauce until the sauce thickens, and then poured over fragrant rice.
The potatoes are stewed until they are slightly melted and soft, infused with the flavors of squid, hot sauce, and onions, and then mixed with the glistening white rice.
Every bite of rice is coated with fluffy potatoes and rich broth.
"tasty!"
"I haven't eaten anything this delicious since the apocalypse!"
Zhang Xiaojuan and Han Rui devoured their portions in a few gulps, wiping their mouths with lingering satisfaction.
"There's still some rice left in the kitchen, you two can help yourselves."
Lu Sheng pointed to the remaining half-pot of beef soup and squid rice sauce on the kitchen table.
"Really!"
Han Rui's eyes lit up, and she affectionately hugged Lu Sheng's neck, "Then I won't be polite."
The two of them finished off the remaining half pot of rice and beef soup. By the end, their bellies were so full that they collapsed on the sofa, motionless.
Sun Tiantian gave Han Rui a strip of digestive tablets and a bottle of hawthorn juice.
"I usually eat stale rice and various stewed dried vegetables every day. It's been so long since I've had anything so delicious," Han Rui explained, propping herself up a little embarrassed.
Sun Tiantian curiously took out an internal brochure printed by the Yunshan base. "Didn't the base launch a new greenhouse planting technology? The brochure says that rice and various vegetables only need fifteen days from planting to harvest, so why do we still need to eat old rice?"
Besides Yunshan Base, there are several other bases, large and small, that are calling on survivors to join them via radio broadcasts.
However, Yunshan Base took the lead in announcing in its broadcast that it had developed improved crops that were perfectly adapted to extremely cold weather, using this as a selling point to attract most of the survivors.
Joining the Yunshan Base would grant access to unlimited rice, a tempting prospect in the apocalypse.
In just a few days, the Yunshan Base absorbed 10,000 to 20,000 new survivors, and quickly became the largest base in the capital city due to its population advantage.
“Those things are all geared towards the external market of the research institute. My old-fashioned dad always says that we should suffer first and try our best to meet the needs of other people in the base.”
When Han Rui mentioned her father, her tone was particularly dissatisfied: "They're still eating stale rice that's been soaked in water at the research institute."
"Our dad truly lives up to his reputation as a veteran leader; his ideological awareness is exceptional." Zhang Xiaojuan gave a thumbs up.
Several people burst into laughter at Zhang Xiaojuan's antics, but Lu Sheng stared thoughtfully at the new agricultural brochure in Sun Tiantian's hand.
Based on what I've learned about the Yunshan base over the past two days, the institute has only a few hundred researchers.
According to the production standards advertised by the Yunshan base, the food rations for these hundreds of people only amount to about two acres of land, so there's absolutely no need to tighten your belts and eat old rice.
Moreover, given the research institute's status within the base, surely the chief engineer's only daughter wouldn't be unable to afford rice?
There must be something fishy going on here.
Lu Sheng glanced at the time and saw it was already 8:30. She got up and put on her coat. "I'll go to the guild to hand in other tasks first. You guys rest for a few more minutes and then bring Han Rui with you."
“I’ll go with you.” Xu Yi also got up.
Lu Sheng pressed down on his shoulder, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over his right hand. Although he concealed it well, a hint of stiffness could still be seen.
"Zhuangzhuang and I will go together. You keep an eye on them."
Lu Sheng gestured with his eyes to the simple-minded group of four laughing and joking not far away.
She needs at least one parent to stay with the four mischievous kids, otherwise she won't feel at ease!
The Yunshan base is especially lively at night. The production area doesn't close until 8:30 pm every night, and the base is full of ordinary bricklayers who are rushing around and pale with hunger.
Zhuangzhuang followed Lu Sheng to the kitchen to cook, and his fur was covered in the fragrant smell of beef soup, attracting the attention of many people along the way.
This group of people eats rice and flatbread every day, and they are all craving meat like crazy.
If Lu Sheng hadn't been there, they would have rushed up and devoured Zhuangzhuang alive.
Zhuangzhuang felt his hair stand on end from being stared at by this group of people, and kept urging Lu Sheng to run faster.
Upon arriving at the Bounty Guild Hall, Lu Sheng browsed through the blue-quality mission area and found several missions related to finding missing persons that matched what she had acquired.
"You're back?"
The same young girl at the task handover window greeted Lu Sheng with delight, saying, "The handling fee is gone, but it's good that you're alright."
Lu Sheng smiled faintly and selected a few tasks on the order-taking system panel. "Please accept these for me."
“That’s right, these tasks are simple. Let’s earn some living expenses first.” The girl smiled sweetly and helped Lu Sheng submit the task to the system for review.
After successfully accepting the quest, I was about to take out the collected items to hand in the quest when I suddenly felt several menacing gazes behind me.
Lu Sheng turned around sharply and saw a shifty-eyed man dressed in an over-the-top, tacky outfit, followed by three lackeys.
Seeing her look over, the man grinned and sized her up, then smirked and said sarcastically, "I thought it was someone else. Isn't this our Yunshan Base's newest Tier 3 Electric Awakener?"
"You overdid it by taking on an orange-tier quest and losing all your points. Now you're sheepishly taking on smaller quests to earn a living?"
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