Chapter 53

Chapter 53

After eating, the two began planning how to distribute supplies to their teammates. Essentials like oil, salt, rice, flour, and sugar were non-negotiable.

The timing seemed right to also bring up the spatial ring.

Their stockpile was substantial—enough to get by comfortably for the foreseeable future when it came to food.

But Jiang Nian wasn't content with mere survival. Now that they'd reached the base with such capable teammates, it felt wrong not to pursue something worthwhile.

The world lay in ruins, so grand ambitions were out of the question. Yet eking out an existence wasn't difficult—perhaps by running a general store in the apocalypse.

During his previous life, when he'd been broken down to near madness, a thought had taken root:

Given the chance, he'd open a little shop in the wasteland, peddling sundry goods—maintaining a low profile, preserving some peace, and snatching small moments of stability to ride out the apocalypse.

He was a man who knew his limits. When outmatched, he'd keep his head down.

This conviction had only strengthened after his rebirth.

He'd floated the idea once during a team dinner and received unanimous support.

Cheng Jing had been especially enthusiastic—after all, Brother Jing would love nothing more than for him to stay safely indoors.

*Ding—*

A phone notification chimed. Huang Qian's group message instructed everyone to assemble downstairs in five minutes.

When Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing came down, the others were already waiting.

After exchanging greetings, multiple gazes locked onto them—lovebirds in matching gear proved impossible to ignore.

"Oh? Coordinated outfits now?" Huang Qian ribbed with a grin, knowing Jiang Nian's vulnerability to public teasing.

True to form, Jiang Nian's ears burned crimson under the collective attention.

Cheng Jing, cool as a cucumber, gave her and Lu Ningzhou a dismissive glance.

"No rings, I get—but not even matching clothes? Tsk tsk tsk..."

His tone was a hundred times cockier than hers. He fake-casually stroked his ring before draping an arm around Jiang Nian's shoulders, flaunting it shamelessly.

"......"

Huang Qian looked ready to pounce, dying to take a chunk out of him until Lu Ningzhou ran interference.

"Let's not give them the satisfaction."

Those two were downright unbearable!

Jiang Nian had grown accustomed to this dynamic, joining in the laughter without a word while his blush deepened.

When the joking died down, they piled into their vehicle and headed west, following the base layout Li Cheng had provided.

South City Base boasted four primary gates—cardinal points connected by thoroughfares cutting through each sector from perimeter to center.

Of course, there are heavy security gates between the two zones, which are lowered every night and raised at dawn.

Their dormitory building is closest to the West Gate.

You could say they’ve got a thing for the west.

On the way, they saw many rescue teams searching for survivors outside, as well as armed patrols, which immediately made them feel safer.

Li Cheng had already submitted their information in advance, so they only needed to scan their fingerprints to receive free base cards.

These credit cards function similarly to regular bank cards, regardless of their scale, but they also double as ID cards—serving as an all-access pass for the whole base.

The credit cards issued by different bases are pretty much the same.

The cards in South City Base are uniformly black with silver trim, displaying the card number on the front and instructions and security warnings on the back.

The embedded chip contains the user’s information, and to use it, the holder must press their finger on the chip location—it only works if your fingerprint matches the one on file. It’s not too troublesome and offers decent anti-theft protection.

You only get one card per person. Lose or break it, and a new one’ll cost you 100 credits. The card gets wiped when you die.

After collecting the cards, Jiang Nian grabbed some high-value stuff like smokes and meds from the car and exchanged them for credits at the base management office.

The Li family turned it down, as Li Cheng had already given them plenty of credits.

After acknowledging this, Jiang Nian handed out 500 credits apiece to his crew.

In theory, the exchange rate is roughly one-to-one compared to pre-apocalypse standards.

However, due to the market’s being all over the place, aside from special goods like tobacco and medicine, the value of other items is all over the damn place:

A loaf could go for just 1 credit one day, then jump to 10 the next.

Aside from official exchanges, which are relatively fair, there’s no real market standard—it’s all about what you can haggle.

Once the credits were exchanged, the group cruised around the base, stopping here and there to familiarize themselves with their new living environment.

The whole base is basically a city where survivors live to avoid zombies.

Clothing, food, housing, transportation, commerce, and healthcare—while not as slick or busy as the old world—are all available.

"Didn’t you say you wanted to open a grocery store, boss? Let’s scope out the market strip," Liao Yu suggested with a smile.

The others agreed, so the group parked their car near the commercial street and began strolling around.

After careful analysis, Li Kaiyun also found no issue with Jiang Nian’s idea.

The commercial street encircles the border between the inner and outer zones, with storefronts on one side and an open-air market on the other, separated by a wide central road.

The storefronts are single-story shops with insulated roofs, neatly aligned along the street and facing the market square, while their backs connect to the inner zone’s isolation wall.

The open-air market occupies about the same area as the storefronts. The management has marked rough concrete ground with yellow paint, dividing it into five-foot-square stalls, each numbered.

Beyond that, there are no other facilities—vendors must improvise based on their needs.

It must be said, this commercial street, winding along the base’s ring road, looks like a belt encircling the base from above—weirdly satisfying to look at.

The neatness is particularly satisfying for those with obsessive tendencies, a far cry from the filth and disorder Jiang Nian remembered from the Z Base in his past life.

Unfortunately, with so few people now, the storefronts and stalls along the commercial street are sparsely occupied. Only the security booths are dotted along the street, each with a guard inside.

Behind the street market plaza, separated by a pedestrian walkway, lies the largest and most populous temporary housing complex in the entire base.

Though built as simple, single-room prefab boxes in a row, they're clean, sanitary, and have all the basics.

Apart from this commercial street, necessary passageways, and base facilities, the entire outer zone is packed with rows upon rows of these prefab houses, stretching all the way to the isolation wall bordering the wasteland area.

Anyone entering the base gets free temporary housing. But those wanting more comfortable living conditions must figure out how to rent or buy a place in the inner zone.

In the inner zone, the most basic option is concrete bungalows, while better choices include residential apartments (limited to eight floors without elevators). The best are two-and-a-half-story detached houses with private courtyards.

Some live large in the post-apocalyptic world, while others scrape by just to survive. The gap between rich and poor hasn't disappeared with the apocalypse.

What's more, as the base grows, this divide keeps widening.

Policies from the base authorities only smooth things over a little—reality stays the same.

After two hours exploring the commercial street, Jiang Nian and the group discussed and decided:

They'd rent a storefront near the West Gate to open their shop—convenient for transportation and close to their dormitory.