Chapter 84 Reappearance of Civilization
Rong Yi's enthusiastic greeting failed to elicit any change in the expressions of the people standing by the car.
The woman, whose hair was held in place by fishbone clips, was tall and sturdy with delicate features. She asked, "What is it?"
“We came from Baiquan City and want to know where the base in Jijiang City is. We need to rest for a while,” Rong Yi said.
The three men and two women looked at each other. Since the outbreak of the virus, they had only seen people from the same city in two or three neighboring districts. This was the first time they had seen people from other cities.
There were only two people, and they had the advantage in numbers.
The woman said, "How did you get here? You only have one car?"
Rong Yi glanced back at their car. "Yeah, we can't exactly push the car all the way here."
The group was speechless for a moment, but then they realized her answer made sense.
“We are from the Fuhai District base. There are two other bases in the city besides this one. If you want to go to other bases, we can give you an address.”
Rong Yi looked at Wei Yanqing.
Wei Yanqing received her gaze and said, "Then I'll trouble you. It's getting late, so let's find a place to stay as soon as possible."
In just a few words, the other party looked them up and down several times before finally telling them to follow.
Two cars led the way, and they were at the very back.
They encountered zombies on the road, but before these running zombies could even get close to the vehicle, they slipped and fell flat on their faces because of the moss under their feet, getting moss juice all over their bodies and faces.
Seeing that the person leading the way didn't make a move, Rong Yi suppressed his urge to harvest the spoils and sat obediently in the car.
About half an hour later, they arrived at the Fuhai District base. The base's walls were also covered with vines, and the base's personnel were clearing these vines to prevent them from taking root on the walls.
The guide carried the wounded soldier, conducted a test, and scanned his identity before entering the base.
Rong Yi and Wei Yanqing were stopped.
"Are you from this city?" asked the bespectacled staff member behind the window.
Rong Yi shook his head, "No, we're from Baiquan City."
The staff member who asked the question frowned. "Baiquan City? How did we get here?"
Despite being questioned, she didn't miss any of the required tests, wiping her tongue with a cotton swab while answering questions.
“If you’re strong, you’ll come,” Rong Yi replied straightforwardly.
The staff member was speechless. She glanced at the test result, which was good, and waved her hand to the side. "Come here to register your temporary information. Are you settling down or just staying temporarily?"
"Temporarily," Wei Yanqing said.
The staff asked for some basic information and handed them two white cards. "These are temporary identity cards for the base. They are valid for one month. You will have to upload your information again after they expire."
Once they've done all that, they can go in; the requirements are very lenient.
Once inside the base, the annoying moss was finally gone.
The place is thriving, with countless stalls of all sizes and a constant stream of shouts. Many stalls display seafood, including fish, shrimp, and squid, and there are also glass tanks filled with water, in which lively fish swim and occasionally flick their tails to create a splash.
With so much seafood, Rong Yi thought to herself, no wonder she smelled a strong fishy smell at the entrance of the base.
I could see a huge amount of fresh seafood, and I remembered watching the brother and sister at the Jin'an District base carefully soaking bean cakes before I left.
The difference is too big; their base seems incredibly poor.
She looked at Wei Yanqing and said, "It seems that the road to building our base is still very long."
“Jijiang City is located near the east coast and has abundant marine resources.” Wei Yanqing said this with considerable surprise, “I didn’t expect they could go out to sea to fish.”
Marine life naturally varies, as evidenced by the large fish, some as tall as a person, displayed at the stalls.
Rong Yi: "Living by the sea makes all the difference."
·
After entering the base, I visited many stalls. There was plenty of fresh seafood, but very little in terms of food like rice, noodles, and beans, not to mention vegetables.
Rong Yi and Wei Yanqing stood in the corner and saw a stall selling fried fish not far away. The only seasonings were salt and pepper. They didn't mind using salt, but they only sprinkled a little pepper. A whole fish cost three fish crystals, which was more expensive than other stalls where one fish cost two fish, mainly because of the pepper.
"Fish Crystal Core? What a strange name." Rong Yi's attention was drawn to the three words "Fish Crystal Core" on the sign.
"You two aren't from Jijiang City, and you don't even know what a fish crystal core is," someone behind you said.
Rong Yi turned around and found that it was a male player with dreadlocks, a handsome face, and a lazy demeanor.
"That's not it, could you please explain?"
As soon as the male player saw Rong Yi's eyes, his back straightened more and more. "What you've been in contact with are probably mostly zombie crystal cores. People from several bases in Jijiang City often go out to sea. Those fish also have crystal cores in their brains, but they are very small, only the size of a grain of rice. However, the energy inside is real and can be absorbed. It's just not as good as the crystal cores of zombies and other mutated animals."
The crystal nucleus is the size of a grain of rice; it is indeed quite small, no wonder it has been given the alternative name "fish crystal nucleus."
"How did you get here?" the male player asked.
"Come out and see for yourself." Wei Yanqing said, "The virus outbreak has only been going on for a short time, and the fact that the Jijiang City base has such a scene is truly surprising."
The male player shrugged. "Geographical factors are advantageous. The fish in the sea are bigger and stronger, but otherwise they are about the same as before. It's just that we don't have fish finders anymore, but the people here have found other ways to catch fish quickly."
"Is there really no danger in the sea?" With various creatures in the world undergoing mutations, Rong Yi didn't think the ocean was safer than the land.
The male player slowly approached the two. "Of course there is danger, but how do the sea creatures get up? Just use crystal cores to lure the fish in the nearshore waters."
That makes sense. Marine life and terrestrial life have different physiological structures and can maintain a state of non-interference, as long as humans act recklessly.
After taking a few steps closer, the male player pointed to the stall behind them and said, "The fried fish here tastes pretty good for the first time. You should like it. It's on me."
Wei Yanqing was about to politely decline when Rong Yi patted his shoulder and said, "Fine."
The three of them walked out from the corner and went to the stall that Rong Yi and the others had been observing.
The owner of the fish stall had dark skin, but when he saw customers, he smiled warmly and said, "Gentlemen, would you like to eat some fish? My fish is fragrant and crispy."
There are stalls trading at the Jin'an District base, but they mostly sell various daily necessities; there aren't any of these food stalls.
"I want one with fewer bones," she ordered without hesitation.
Seeing his teammates being so informal, Wei Yanqing didn't stand on ceremony either, "I want some from Ci Shao too."
The male player also ordered food. The owner smiled and went to catch fish. The owner looked honest, but he was quick and ruthless when catching fish. He put a big fish as long as his arm on the cutting board, and with a heavy blow from the back of the knife, the fish was stunned. He scraped off the scales, removed the black membrane and gutted the fish. The whole process was smooth and efficient.
"Thank you for the treat. I still don't know your name." Rong Yi was sitting in the middle, and it was only when the owner was preparing the fish that he realized he didn't know the male player's name.
"My name is Xie Qi." After saying that, he rested his elbow on the table and asked with a smile, "And you?" He completely ignored Wei Yanqing next to him.
Wei Yanqing merely glanced at him indifferently.
“Rong Yi.” Then, pointing to Wei Yanqing, “Wei Yanqing is my teammate.”
"Teammates." The word "teammates" came out of Xie Qi's mouth in several rounds.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
