Chapter 233

Chapter 233

By the end of September, temperatures had dropped below 50°F.

Superpowered individuals no longer needed to distribute supplies specifically for ordinary civilians, as daily life had reverted to its previous routine—basic water and electricity were provided by the base authorities, while everything else was left to themselves.

Recently, radio reports often mentioned cases of small shelters being attacked by zombies, leading more ordinary people to place their trust in official bases, especially the Southern City Base, which had become the top-ranked base, with better resources and strong military capabilities.

As a result, an increasing number of ordinary people and Superpowered individuals were arriving from other regions.

Among them were many from the special professional groups that the base was actively recruiting:

Researchers, engineers, doctors, teachers, and skilled tradespeople, among others.

With smaller bases disbanding one after another, the Southern City Base’s rescue teams, under the joint coordination of Zhou Li, Cheng Jing, and others, had resumed their missions to search for and relocate survivors calling for help.

However, as a precaution, Department Head Wang had ordered the 017 Squad to stay at the base until the energy core power station could operate normally.

The more people the base took in, the more critical maintaining stability became—after all, more people meant more potential issues.

That said, Jiang Nian actually enjoyed the petty dramas that arose when people weren’t fighting for their lives.

For example:

"Static—"

Just after their midday shift change, Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing chose to return directly to their dorm for lunch without disturbing their parents. The still-active radio crackled with Tang Ji’s slightly excited voice:

"Brother Nian, Brother Nian! There’s a fight in Alley 159—someone caught their significant other cheating! Wanna check it out?"

Jiang Nian was dishing out cafeteria food into bowls when his eyes lit up at the news.

"How many people? Men or women?"

In the kitchen, Cheng Jing brought out a plate of stir-fried pork—a home-cooked side—and shook his head helplessly at Jiang Nian’s nosy look.

"Three. Standard love triangle—two guys fighting over a girl," Tang Ji replied before adding, "And the guy who got cheated on is a Superpowered individual."

Jiang Nian shrugged.

"Meh, pass. I prefer bigger groups or weirder matchups. Same old story gets old. You watch and just tell me how it ends later. Just make sure they don’t kill anyone in the base."

Tang Ji responded,

"Roger that! Zhou Li and I are both here—we've got it covered."

"Alright then, chow time."

With that, Jiang Nian temporarily switched off.

Meeting Cheng Jing’s unimpressed look, he flashed a grin.

"Patrolling the base means being in the front row seats to drama. There’s no escaping it."

Cheng Jing snorted and shook his head at him.

"Out of the entire corps, your squad is the most fond of gossip."

Lately, since he hasn’t been taking shifts with the team, this guy has been running wild like an unleashed husky, practically running wild.

"Hah..."

Jiang Nian responded with a carefree, shameless laugh:

"Life in the apocalypse is so oppressive. We have to find our own ways to have fun, or else seeing too much of the apocalypse’s tragedies will drive people mad. My mental state isn’t exactly normal to begin with."

As long as no lives were lost, his attitude was to enjoy the show without worrying about the fallout, especially when it came to messy, over-the-top romantic dramas.

The apocalypse had worn away at people's morals, leading to an endless parade of classic schemers and seducers like Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian, playboys, and seductresses:

Some were brazenly open, others sneaky, and then there were those who were obsessed with being sneaky while pretending to be righteous.

As bystanders—and occasional "mediators"—they listened to the gossip without a word, lapping up the gossip. It really did help lighten the mood.

Cheng Jing couldn’t argue with him and simply lowered his head to piled more food on his plate, letting him indulge in his mischief. Zhou Rongbin was already unreliable, and Tang Ji seemed to be just as bad—what a crew.

Jiang Nian grinned as he accepted the food, then offhandedly asked:

"Brother Jing, how’s the crystal core power station coming along?"

Cheng Jing nodded:

"It’s already entered the core equipment testing phase. If you want to see, I can take you there."

"......"

Jiang Nian hesitated before shaking his head:

"Maybe another day. Li Shuhui messaged me yesterday, asking me to swing by the store if I had time today."

Li Shuhui had already decided to quit her job in logistics and focus solely on running the store. Uncle Li and the others agreed—since Jiang Nian wouldn't stay put and would only stir up more trouble in the future, having trustworthy help was a good thing.

Cheng Jing reminded him:

"It’s still blistering outside. Take care of yourself."

Jiang Nian stayed silent and obedient—this overprotective father figure repeated the same thing every few days.

......

As the extreme heat gradually faded, the base’s commercial street slowly came back to life.

Some shop owners hadn't made it, and their stores were reclaimed by the base and re-leased.

Thanks to Li Shuhui’s relentless operation of the general store throughout the extreme heat, the accumulated points and special metals were so plentiful that Jiang Nian dreamed about them happily. He kept the books separate for the store’s income and expenses—these belonged to everyone.

At the same time, most people who frequented the area had gotten the message of Li Shuhui’s connections and influence. Now, the Superpowered who visited the shop not only came for regular transactions but also treated it as a regulars’ "gossip central":

Exchanging and gathering all sorts of information, using the store as a paid intermediary to source hard-to-find goods from others.

This kind of activity had become more common, gradually changing what the place was about.

Li Shuhui brought it up with Jiang Nian—after all, it was a way to earn more points:

"Jiang Nian, I think we should do it. This way, we can get our hands on more useful intel. In times like these, muscle and connections are the greatest assets, and they also make people trust us. We ought to work it."

"......"

After understanding the situation, Jiang Nian leaned back in the recliner and pondered for a long time before saying thoughtfully,

"Pay-for-info work... indirect contracts. That's basically bounty hunter work, isn't it? It's similar to what Brother Jing's crew did pre-apocalypse. I’ll discuss it with Brother Jing later. Looks profitable, but could bring heat we don't need."

Li Shuhui suddenly realized,

"Now that you mention it, yeah, it does sound similar... Dad and Brother were also worried about too much trouble, so they told me not to make decisions on my own."

"Mhm."

With his mind made up, Jiang Nian left the shop and went to scout the situation at the base’s task guild and the hiring market near the four gates.

He found quite a few Superpowered teams already taking on private commissions for outdoor missions, the most common being missing persons runs and protection details.

But overall, it was still small-time stuff. In that case, their team could 'dip their toes in' without going all out.