Chapter 9
A few kilometers outside the Taoyuan Shelter, a group of more than a dozen people, led by mercenaries, were heading towards their target location.
The leader of the mercenaries is a fire-type mutant named Zhu Ke, a resident of Shanhai City. He usually does tasks to support the entire team.
Today's mission was to escort this group of civilians to a place called Taoyuan Shelter. If the price offered by these people was not really high, he would not have wanted to take this order. They were all weaklings, yet they insisted on running into the dangerous forest.
"Don't you think these people are crazy? They gave up their identities as residents of Shanhai City and ran to this dangerous place, claiming they were looking for some kind of paradise refuge?" After driving away the third wave of zombies and strange beasts, one of the men couldn't help but complain to the people around him.
"Taoyuan Sanctuary, what is that place? Have you heard of it?"
"I've never heard of it, so I find it strange. What's so good about this place that makes them spend so much money to go there?"
"Yes, I heard that these people even sold their belongings to scrape together the money to pay the hiring fee."
"You must have been scammed. It's not like we haven't encountered this kind of bad thing before. They say all kinds of nice benefits, but in fact they are just trying to trick you into doing hard labor."
"That's right, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Why don't you just work in Shanhai City and earn a little money? Why do you have to come out and do all this trouble?"
"Some people just want to daydream and get something for nothing."
Although Zhu Ke didn't say anything, the gloom on his face clearly revealed his inner irritation. Not only were these people powerless, but he let them come over without even knowing the specific coordinates. They were simply playing with their lives.
After returning to the starting point several times, he said to the leading man with a sullen face, "Hey, are you sure this is the right spot? Why can't I see anything?"
Xiao Hu was one of the group of people who had eaten beef noodles yesterday. When they heard what Ye Qing said, they decided on the spot to come to this shelter, but now they can't find it and are inevitably a little anxious. The boss yesterday seemed to be a good person and should not lie to them.
Asking for help was already a disadvantage, so he forced a smile and nodded to Zhu Ke: "Captain Zhu, the direction is right here, we must have taken the wrong road, please help us find it again."
Another girl in the team, Li Yuanyuan, also tried to ease the atmosphere: "Yes, Brother Zhu, the coordinates are correct. We'll have to work hard for you for a while."
Zhu Ke glanced at him and said simply, "Let's make it clear. If we can't find the place after one last search, we'll leave. And the money we have left won't be refunded."
Xiao Hu wiped the sweat off his face and nodded quickly: "I understand, it's the rule of the industry!"
The team walked around the outskirts of the dangerous forest for another hour. Just when the mercenaries were about to lose their patience, the sharp-eyed Xiao Hu finally saw the small, gray, two-story building in the distance.
The two wall lamps at the door are always on day and night, guiding those who are lost.
Xiao Hu's voice began to tremble with excitement: "Everyone, look! Over there, that's the Taoyuan Shelter!"
Everyone looked in the direction and screamed, "Yes, that's it! I saw those big words."
"Hahaha~ The boss really didn't lie to us!"
Compared to the excitement of this group of people, the mercenary team was speechless. They could not believe that the place they had to send these people to after overcoming all the difficulties and dangers was so shabby and small.
This short, grey building can still be called a shelter? A small apartment, more like a place to stay!
Zhu Ke and his teammates looked at each other and saw the speechless expressions on each other's faces without a doubt. They took a deep breath and continued to move forward with a blank expression.
Anyway, the mission is accomplished.
At this moment, there was a strange movement underground, and then a group of mutant rats emerged from the cave at the smell of human beings. The rats lived in groups, and their numbers were huge.
If it were just this mercenary team, they could still handle it, but there was still a group of civilians behind them who needed protection.
Although Zhu Ke disliked them for overestimating their abilities, he had to do the job after taking the money, and he had to be responsible for their safety before they reached their destination.
Zhu Ke glanced at the small shelter not far away and reacted quickly. He raised his weapon and ordered in a cold voice, "Everyone, prepare to retreat to the northeast."
The shelter, built on the edge of a dangerous forest, was small but complete, so Zhu Ke guessed it had its own way of survival.
For now, we can only place our hopes on that inconspicuous little building.
Xiao Hu, Li Yuanyuan and their group rarely leave the shelter on weekdays. They were already panicked when they encountered such a big scene. When they were reminded by the mercenaries, they immediately ran forward in a hurry.
The mutant rats have mutated to the size of footballs. Although they have not developed any special powers, each one has sharp teeth and a mouth that can even bite stones to pieces with a snap, not to mention people with weak protective measures.
Zhu Ke led a large force in the rear, attacking and retreating at the same time, but there were too many rats. After killing one wave, another wave came rushing up, and the men were overwhelmed.
Seeing that several of his teammates' protective suits had been bitten with several holes, his heart sank, and he gasped and ordered: "Retreat to the shelter."
The mercenary received an order to repel the wave of rats in front of him, and activated his speed ability to quickly run into the transparent protective shield.
Zhu Ke was also moving forward quickly, and picked up an ordinary citizen who was lagging behind along the way.
After they all entered the protective shield, the mutant rats followed.
A magical scene appeared at this moment. The group of mice following closely crashed into the cover as if they had encountered a transparent barrier. Some of the collisions were so strong that they were bounced back several meters.
The sound of collision was ding-dong, and the group of people couldn't help but look back, staring in amazement. They were not in a hurry to run into the building. They began to repeatedly test the edge of the protective shield.
“They can’t seem to get in?”
"Yes, they can't get in. That's because of this cover."
When everyone realized this, they immediately stood in the protective shield and attacked the mice outside. Even Xiao Hu and others who had no special powers picked up their self-defense weapons and started to attack.
With the protective shield, a unique treasure, the mutant rats could not gain any advantage and were finally defeated. The remaining few also fled in panic.
Everything returned to calm and they began to pick up their harvest.
The mouse is a level one mutant beast, and most of the crystal cores on its body are level one. Because of the large number, even Xiao Hu, Li Yuanyuan and their group each obtained more than a dozen level one crystal cores.
Li Yuanyuan was a weak young girl. She looked at the dozen or so first-level crystal cores lying in her palm with disbelief on her face. "Boss, this shield is too incredible! Even someone like me can obtain crystal cores!"
"I also have a crystal core. I have an idea. We can use this shield to capture strange beasts in the future. If we can't defeat them, we can just run back. If we can defeat them, we can get so many crystal cores for free."
"Yeah, it's a good way to make money."
It was at this time that the mercenaries began to sense something was amiss. Perhaps this was the reason why they had gone to such great lengths to come here?
After finishing the cleaning, Xiao Hu ran to the front, pushed open the wooden door, and shouted at the top of his voice before anyone saw him: "Boss, we have come to seek refuge with you!"
Zhu Ke and others followed behind, looking at the children in front of the cashier with strange expressions, but Xiao Hu and the others didn't seem unfamiliar with them. They just greeted the two children familiarly and started wandering around.
"Wow, there are so many rare supplies in this container!"
"And this is a water dispenser, right? I can drink as much as I want from it! Oh my god, that's so luxurious!"
"Brother Huzi, it seems we have come to the right place."
Xiao Hu patted his chest with a smug look on his face: "I'm right, right? We will have a good time in the future."
Ye Qing placed a lot of disposable paper cups next to the water dispenser. Sanmao gave each of them a cup of warm water and told Ermao and the others to go to the bedroom to wake Ye Qing up.
After a day of business yesterday, Ye Qing felt a bit lazy today. He was a bit grumpy when he was woken up, but he stood up abruptly when he heard that a customer was coming. How could sleeping compare to making money!
She quickly packed up, opened the bedroom door, and walked out. She glanced at the line of people waiting to get water from the water dispenser and asked loudly, "Are you here to apply for resident status at Taoyuan Shelter?"
When everyone heard this, they turned around and saw that Ye Qing's face was finally relieved.
"Yes, Boss, we are here to seek refuge with you." Xiao Hu glanced at Zhu Ke and the others, "As for them..."
Before he could finish, Zhu Ke interrupted loudly: "We are here to seek refuge with you too."
Xiao Hu looked at Zhu Ke with a puzzled expression: "?"
Just now they were saying that they were dreaming, why did they suddenly change? Could this guy be trying to compete with them for the spot? I wonder if the boss’s room is big enough.
The mercenary teams didn't notice Xiao Hu's strange look, they were just happy.
Mercenary teams are different from hunting teams. They do life-threatening work and will not stop until they achieve their goals. The people they recruit are bachelors without parents. They have no family to worry about and can settle down wherever they want.
Ye Qing ignored the twists and turns between them. She only knew that the shelter would be upgraded soon. She smiled and said, "Then let's register first."
She took out a roster from under the cash register and wrote the other person's name on it, and his corresponding information would be recorded in the system.
Xiao Hu wrote his name on the paper suspiciously: "Is it that simple?"
Ye Qing: "Well, it's that simple."
"No cards or anything like that? Or a wooden sign would be fine? There should be a stamp, right?" Seeing Ye Qing still shaking his head, he looked puzzled. "If there's nothing, what can we use as a mark?"
Ye Qing said calmly, "Your name is Xiao Hu. You live in Room 8, No. 10, Furong Lane, on the third floor underground in Shanhai City. Your father is Xiao Dong and your mother is He Yun. They passed away two years ago due to late-stage radiation. You live alone now. What is the balance of your personal assets..."
Xiao Hu was startled and stopped immediately: "Okay, okay, boss, I believe you."
If he continued talking, his underwear would be pulled out, but this boss was really an expert. Just by writing down his name, one could find out his life story.
When everyone saw Ye Qing tell all of Xiao Hu's personal information word for word, they were immediately impressed.
In fact, ever since they entered the shelter, she had a clear view of all their personal information on the system.
The only purpose of writing names on the roster is to register their province of residence, and more importantly, for the unnecessary sense of ceremony.
After they finished filling out the forms one by one, Ye Qing put away the notebook and took out a few brochures. The brochures showed pictures of various facilities of the shelter to facilitate introduction to the guests.
"Our shelter also thoughtfully provides housing rental services for all residents. Here are the room types, please take a look."
Several people gathered together to read the book, and they couldn't take their eyes off it as soon as they saw it.
Thirty years after the radiation, all kinds of mechanical equipment had vanished, and the books and magazines that circulated before the apocalypse were confined to the homes of the rich and high-ranking officials, making them difficult for ordinary people to see. But this brochure was brand new, the paper thick and smooth, and the pictures on it were extremely realistic.
Xiao Hu looked at the exquisite room in the brochure and couldn't help but touch his wallet: "Oh my God, this room is so beautiful, will it be expensive?"
They invested almost all their life savings to come here, and they probably don't have any extra money to rent such a luxurious room.
Ye Qing shook his head: "The prices are marked below. Since you are residents of the shelter, you can also enjoy a 10% discount on the monthly rent~"
A young girl who didn't save much money was interested in a four-person dormitory room with a bed and a desk. It was cheap but had a certain degree of privacy.
She rubbed her eyes and looked at the red number marked at the bottom of the room again. She was not mistaken. It was 10 crystal cores/person/day!
"A four-person dormitory room costs 10 crystal cores per day, and with a 10% discount, it's only 9 crystal cores per day. That's even cheaper than the bunk bed I have in Shanhai City!"
Another older girl also liked this four-person room, but she was more concerned about the amenities listed below: "Each dormitory has a bathroom and 24-hour hot water? Is this true, boss?"
Ye Qing nodded: "Yes, it's true, the quantity is limited, first come first served~"
Li Yuanyuan also came up and said, "Then I'll also book a four-person dormitory room for a month. Boss, I don't have many crystal cores, can I pay by the day?"
Ye Qing: "Okay."
While daily payments were a bit of a hassle, they were easily monitored by a system. If they fell behind on their payments, their room cards would automatically expire, and a list of those in arrears would be sent to the front desk. Other expenses within the shelter would also be restricted, so she trusted that they wouldn't lose access to other facilities simply because of their overdue payments.
"Then I want one too. I want one too."
Ye Qing began to reserve rooms for them. Each person was assigned a room card and was taken up by Damao and Xiaoqier to view the room.
Xiao Hu and his group didn't have many crystal cores, so they basically booked four-person dormitories. Some families even booked a double room.
Mercenary teams usually take on big jobs, and if they have enough crystal cores, they will directly order the most expensive ones.
"We want two family suites." Zhu Ke took out a crystal core as big as a fist and placed it on the table, looking very generous.
He took a fancy to the bathtub in the family suite. He filled it with hot water and took a comfortable bath, which drove away all the fatigue of the whole day.
"Sorry, we only have one family suite."
Zhu Ke frowned and had to settle for the next best thing: "Then let's have a family suite. Anyone who wants to take a bath can come and queue up here."
His teammates all praised it.
Ye Qing handed over a few room cards: "Here are the room cards. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us."
Zhu Ke took the key but didn't go in immediately. He looked left and right, and finally pointed uncomfortably at the small clinic in the brochure and asked, "Boss, where is your small clinic? Can you diagnose our team?"
Ye Qing glanced at him and said, "Okay, this way."
Finally, each member of the mercenary team happily went upstairs carrying a large pile of food and a bag of medicine, but the laughter and joy lingered.
"Boss, we're going to live here from now on, right?"
"Yeah, here it is."
"I like this too. The instant noodles smelled delicious. Let's go up and eat."
"I want to take a shower first, no one should compete with me."
After everything was settled, Ye Qing finally had time to prepare for the system upgrade. She couldn't wait to see what it would look like after the upgrade.
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