Chapter 169 Double Room
December 31, 2025.
Before they knew it, it was the end of the first year of the apocalypse.
Although Lin Xi had been reborn many times, this was only the second time she had experienced this date.
Dawn Base underwent another expansion, with the newly added floors primarily used for residential and military areas.
After two expansions and the collection of supplies, the population pressure at the base has been reduced considerably, and management has become more relaxed. Many people with extra points have redeemed double or single rooms themselves.
Laboratory staff are no longer strictly isolated and can exchange points for dormitory rooms.
All rooms belong to the base, and regardless of how many people live in a room, you can only pay for the monthly rent by accumulating points.
For ordinary laboratory staff like Lin Xi, relying solely on points, they can barely afford a double room. After spending most of their points on accommodation, their quality of life declines, as they don't have enough points to buy nutritious meals or redeem new clothes.
The meals at the base are far less elaborate than the regular fast food at the research institute. They consist of just one meat dish, one vegetable dish, one soup, and two pieces of fruit, but they are still much better than ordinary meals like bread and steamed buns.
As for clothing, the luggage that individuals brought to the base was not confiscated, but most people came to the base as refugees. They didn't even have cell phones, let alone clothes. Apart from receiving two sets of clothes when they first entered the base, they could only exchange points for "clothing and pants" if they wanted new clothes.
The temperature at the base was neither too high nor too low, so there weren't many styles of clothes to choose from in the "blanket pants" category.
I heard that once more floors are opened, a factory will be built to produce more daily necessities and clothing.
Points and resources are precious to ordinary staff members, but Lin Xi had quite a lot in her account.
The truck she brought contained a lot of food and supplies. Lin Xi donated several boxes of compressed biscuits, which were exchanged for tens of thousands of points. The truck was registered and put into storage for Lu Weixiang and the others to use, and they received another batch of points.
These are not the main issues.
Her deeds of killing zombies to save the laboratory and assisting in managing refugees at the Nanhua Research Institute were reported by Lu Wei and Qian Zetao, the then-captain of the research institute's guard force. It was considered a meritorious deed, and she was rewarded with a large number of points.
In this research institute, she probably has the most points, even more than Song Heng.
Those who received the best treatment at the base were the soldiers who went out to kill zombies, find supplies, and rescue refugees. Xiang Xin, who joined the army, also earned a good income.
As soon as the regulations for renting base dormitories were released, Lin Xi asked Xiang Xin to share a double room with him.
She and Xiang Xin had lived together for a long time and were used to being together.
Xiang Xin was happy that the two of them could live together again. But then she suddenly remembered something: "Brother Lu is now a lieutenant colonel. His residence has three rooms and a study."
Lin Xi paused for a moment, then nodded: "You're doing quite well."
Xiang Xin: "They mentioned before that they had many rooms and asked me to ask if you wanted to move in so there would be more space and we would have more freedom. At the time, I felt confused and directly refused. But Brother Lu said that we seemed to have lived together for a long time in our previous life, uh..."
In their previous life, they first stayed briefly in Lu Wei's apartment. Later, the four of them ran away while killing zombies until they entered the "Dawn Base".
At that time, everyone lived in a cramped truck. Lin Xi and Lu Wei had prepared some sleeping bags in advance. Everyone took turns sleeping on the bed board and sleeping bags, and took turns on night shifts and sentry duty. They did live together for a long time.
However, Xiang Xin had no memory of it, and those days were also a long time ago for Lin Xi.
Lin Xi asked, "I'm not very familiar with the base. Do you know if there are enough rooms available?"
Xiang Xin nodded: "That's enough! That's why we opened up the dormitory rental rights so that everyone can rent them freely."
Since there are enough rooms, it wouldn't be a waste of resources for Lin Xi and Xiang Xin to rent a double room.
Lin Xi said, "I still want to rent it myself and let him give it to someone who needs it."
"?" Xiang Xin looked puzzled. "Who needs it?"
She questioned, "No one can stay at the lieutenant colonel's house without a reason! Only their four-person friendship, forged through life and death in their past lives, could have led to this!"
Lin Xi thought that among Lu Wei's companions from several lifetimes, she was currently one of those with some assets and could take care of herself without needing any help.
Seeing that Xiang Xin hesitated, she asked, "Um...would you like to live with me? I'll waive your rent, just like Lu Wei did."
Xiang Xin nodded without hesitation and then said, "No need for rent waiver, I have enough points, we can split the bill. San San, we're family, sometimes we don't need to be so calculating...?"
"?" Lin Xi found this a bit strange. "So you split the bill with your family?"
Xiang Xin's eyes widened: "Hey, that's not what I meant, I?"
She didn't even know what she was trying to say.
-
After signing the lease and accumulating points, Lin Xi moved out of the research institute's dormitory. She didn't have much stuff in the dormitory. In order to appear normal in the communal living, she didn't bring much more than others, except for her mobile phone and tablet. She didn't even have extra food, and basically left it all with Xiang Xin.
Now that she has moved out, Lin Xi retrieved her stored luggage and supplies and tidied up a bit.
The double room has two single beds, each about one meter wide, a simple desk and a wardrobe, similar to a university dormitory, except the room is smaller and there are fewer people living there.
Lin Xi's supplies were already packed in boxes, so even if there weren't enough storage cabinets in the room, they could still be neatly arranged.
After receiving the keys, Xiang Xin quickly moved in. To avoid unnecessary trouble, she hadn't laid out her luggage and belongings when she lived in the dormitory.
Now that she had her own space, Lin Xi quickly unpacked her luggage and belongings. Looking at the sets of camouflage clothes, she knew that Xiang Xin had adapted well to the army.
As Xiang Xin tidied up, she recounted the changes that had occurred since their separation. Sometimes she spoke animatedly about the thrilling and exciting events, and other times she spoke dejectedly about the people she couldn't save.
When "Big Bear" and "Little Bear" were mentioned, the tone became much more intimate, and the two were praised for their skills and marksmanship. Like Liang Hui, they were also called "Brother Lu" repeatedly.
Lin Xi listened to these familiar experiences one by one, only her figure was missing from the group.
Xiang Xin has changed. In her previous life, Xiang Xin enlisted in the army and fought alongside Lin Xi. In this life, she joined the team alone. Although she had Lu Wei's care, she made decisions on her own without Lin Xi's help during battles, and she became more independent.
Lin Xi only felt a moment of disorientation when the walls were covered with colorful posters—
Xiang Xin is still the same Xiang Xin.
Xiang Xin chattered on and on until she was exhausted. She took out a bottle of mineral water from the box, twisted it open, and drank it down before sighing, "Finally, I can use the supplies without worrying about being targeted."
She then took out some of her few hidden snacks to share with Lin Xi, simply to celebrate their move.
"San San, it's been a few months since I last saw you, and I feel like you've changed a bit," Xiang Xin finally couldn't help but express her opinion.
"What's wrong?" Lin Xi raised her eyebrows slightly, clearly becoming Xiang Xin.
However, things have indeed changed for the better.
Xiang Xin: "He looked very bitter and resentful, and he spoke less."
Lin Xi rubbed her throbbing temples. "I'm probably just too tired. The work pressure is just too much."
If research doesn't progress, there will be invisible competition and suppression from other laboratories. Colleagues here are always in a low mood. If they are not careful, they will be reprimanded by their strict supervisor, Song Heng. Outside of class, they also have to deal with friction and disputes with other laboratories.
We were all born into privilege, but now we're all stuck in this small world, lacking everything and constantly on the move. All the pressure we have to release comes out through these arguments, whether they're reasonable or not.
Another issue is that there's no hope in sight.
Lin Xi has been working hard while studying diligently. Now that she has her own space, she can freely use her electricity card to study late into the night and catch up on her studies.
Xiang Xin muttered under her breath, "They don't really contact us much. QAQ"
Lin Xi was already sitting at her desk, reviewing the downloaded documents.
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