On the intersecting road not far away, they could see the traces of vehicles and occasionally witness mutated animals accompanying their owners. They exchanged a surprised glance, as these people seemed to be a team searching for supplies, but their situation appeared much better than the people they had encountered at the small bases before.
The team on the nearby road had already gone far ahead by the time Yue Zheng and the others arrived. They continued driving north, and before long, they encountered another group.
This group had a peculiar structure with four jeeps and two mutated animals. The men in the jeeps were holding weapons, and some of them even carried firearms. The two mutated animals were even more extraordinary: one was a giant rooster standing about three meters tall, while the other… was a massive Brazilian turtle.
The rooster was walking alongside the vehicles, while the turtle had seats placed on its back, with two people sitting on them.
“Big tortoise! Big tortoise!!!!” Mo Tiancheng and Mo Tianyou pointed excitedly at the Brazilian turtle, while Abu extended its tongue and licked its mouth, its eyes fixed on the enormous mutated chicken. After all, mutated chickens were its primary food source after the apocalypse. There were still quite a few poultry farms in the countryside along the roads, even if people didn’t cultivate the land much anymore. They still kept chickens in their yards.
The large rooster became nervous when it saw Abu, and all its feathers stood on end. Its claws instinctively scratched at the ground.
“Abu, don’t touch it!” Xu Song quickly reprimanded Abu by the side of the vehicle. He had witnessed Abu hunting before, after its mutation, the strength and bite force in its paws were astonishing. One bite, and the chicken’s neck would be snapped.
Abu let out a disappointed whimper. It hadn’t gone hunting for wild prey since waking up today…
“Are you all heading to City B?” A man standing on the Brazilian turtle stood up and greeted Xu Song and the others with a smile.
The closer they were to large bases, the more orderly and cautious these small organizations would act. Seeing that Xu Song and his group had a vehicle and mutated animals, even though their numbers were small, they didn’t dare to make any rash moves. Besides, going north from here led to City B. If they provoked trouble for themselves by robbing a team that had made it to City B, it would be problematic.
The management in City B was relatively strict. If a small team was reported for robbing ordinary people, the association would issue a warning and demand the return of the stolen supplies. If there were too many warnings, the original preferential policies would be reduced, and in severe cases, there could be penalties or even dissolution.
Of course, these actions required evidence and a report. If there was no evidence, the association would naturally ignore it. So, if someone truly wanted to rob others, they had to be quick and skilled.
“Yes, we’re planning to go to the City B base. Are you all from City B?” Xu Song asked, smiling. His eyes scanned the jeeps, and he nodded as he took note of the weapons some of the men were carrying, including some firearms.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Yue Zheng pointed backward. “We came from L Province. Thank you for the directions. Hopefully, we’ll meet again at the base.”
“Great, see you later.”
As they passed each other, Mo Tianyou turned to the others and said, “Big tortoise said they’re going to a small village today to find a cotton factory. They want to make clothes for everyone!”
The weather has been getting colder recently, but fortunately, Xu Song and the others had collected a lot of down jackets and quilts along the way. With the help of compression bags, they had managed to store quite a bit in the vehicle.
They had also prepared the large rabbit skin that Abu hunted yesterday. They soaked it in salt, stretched it out with ivy, and dried it. After a while, they would be able to cut and make it into clothing.
It seemed that as winter approached, they would need to find a way to obtain cotton in the base for making winter clothes. The weather has been extremely unpredictable lately. Even in the months of July and August, it would get freezing cold at night, and it had even snowed. The upcoming winter would likely be even more difficult to endure.
“Let’s go. We’ll find out what the situation is when we get there,” Yue Zheng started the car and continued driving forward.
As they got closer to the airport, they encountered more people on the road. After Yue Zheng’s telepathy, Mo Tiancheng, and Mo Tianyou communicated with the animals, they learned that these were teams from various small squads within Base B, venturing out to search for supplies.
Most of them were composed of mutants and ordinary people with combat abilities and strong adaptability. They registered under the “Explorers” Association in Base B, which provided them with certain preferential policies. For example, they could purchase hot weapons, ammunition, and rent military trucks or jeeps. They could also have their vehicles modified with electric power or new fuel tanks, among other things.
These people didn’t have to pay an entrance fee every time they went on an exploration, but they had to pay a monthly “management fee” based on different ranks, squad sizes, and the number of people.
For those who didn’t want to venture out, as long as they participated in the various tasks organized by the base organization within the city, they could be exempt from the head tax. Those who didn’t work at all would be charged a certain “rent” that could be paid with gold, silver, food, supplies, or fuel, and each item had a specific exchange rate.
In the car, Mo Tiancheng and Mo Tianyou were excited and curious, while Xu Song felt somewhat anxious. Compared to them, Yue Zheng remained calm.
In the distance, they could see the tall city walls of Base B. The nearby mutated plants had been cleared, and there were large open spaces along the road. The location of the airport was now completely enclosed by the city walls.
Yue Zheng could clearly see that the walls seemed to be made of metal or a special type of soil. Apart from the sentries stationed at the top, the outer walls were smooth and seamless.
The gates were wide open, allowing obedient mutated animals to come and go freely.
As the motorhome drove north, they reached the main gate, where they encountered a few lucky individuals. In just half a day, these people had managed to capture two mutated animals and were driving their truck inside.
There were a total of three passages at the main gate. One was strictly for military use and was usually closed. The other two were the entrance and exit for newcomers registering for the first time and for the small squads and residents within the base.
At the registration passage, there was no queue at the moment. After all, those who were in close proximity and could come to the base had already arrived during the early days of the apocalypse. Very few people could travel all the way to Base B like Xu Song and the others.
“You have a motorhome, right?” one of the soldiers in charge of registration looked at their vehicle and the large dog and suggested to Yue Zheng, “People with pets are usually assigned to relatively remote areas because there isn’t much vacant space in the residential area. Since you have a vehicle, you can rent a piece of vacant land in the G District. You can live in the motorhome and only need to pay the land rental fee. It’s not worth it to rent a small villa in the B District just for a vehicle and a mutated beast.”
“What’s the situation in the G District?” Yue Zheng and Xu Song temporarily decided to assess the situation first. They didn’t want to insist on staying in Base B if the environment wasn’t suitable here.
“This is the community distribution map inside the base. Areas A, E, and F are not accessible unless you have relevant work there. Area G is a large open space with high-rise buildings nearby, specifically designated for people with large mutant animals. You can set up tents and park your vehicle on the open space, with management based on the size of the area. There are designated water sources and public canteens nearby, and it’s also close to the main gate. However, the security cannot be guaranteed as it’s an open space with only surrounding walls, without any additional safety measures. Of course, having a mutant dog like yours will make it much safer.”
“What about the rent?”
“The cheapest rent for the high-rise buildings in Area G starts from one compressed biscuit per day or equivalent supplies. As for the open space, like this one with the largest area, around 200 square meters, it’s only one compressed biscuit per day. It’s more than enough to accommodate your dog and the vehicle.”
The person who was introducing them seemed to find these two young individuals not ordinary, so he spoke more straightforwardly. He had seen their application forms, and both of them were from City Y. How far was the journey from City Y to here? Moreover, they were also accompanied by two children. Although they had a mutant dog, when a mutant dog encountered three or more ability users, no matter how strong it was, it would be defeated!
Who would believe that they came all the way from City B without any abilities? They must have some skills!
Although there was no information filled out about having abilities, most ability users were unwilling to let others know about their abilities when they first arrived at the base. There were relatively few bases like the one in City S, where ability users were secretly captured for research.
Many ability users, when they first revealed their abilities, would be attacked and excluded by jealous and frightened ordinary people. They would rather pretend to be ordinary people for the time being to assess the situation and avoid being rejected by their own kind.
Following the recommendation of this person, the two eventually chose an open space, and paid a rabbit head, a rabbit leg, the land occupancy fee for one month, and the head tax for four people and a dog for one month. They drove through the gate with the signboard.
Unlike the previous base in City S, the base in City B didn’t have inner and outer gates.
On the left side as they entered, was Area G. Inside, apart from the passageways, earth manipulators had built walls to divide the space.
The spaces varied in size, and the one the two chose was the largest rectangular open space.
“You guys stay here and take care of the house. We’re going out for a while,” Yue Zheng sternly instructed the twins, Xiao Shu, and Abu.
The two little ones nodded obediently. Although they also wanted to go out and explore, they knew that their dads had something important to do, and it wasn’t the time to be playful or act spoiled.
“Let’s go.”
Xu Song nodded and glanced at Yue Zheng with gratitude. Although Yue Zheng didn’t speak much, he always silently incorporated his care and thoughtfulness into every corner of their relationship.
He, indeed, couldn’t wait any longer. If it weren’t for the vehicle, if it weren’t for the need to settle Abu and the kids, he would have rushed to the management center as soon as he entered the safe zone in City B.
Wonder how his mother survived? Maybe she got powers too?😁
Oh, nice thought! A kick ass mom character would be amazing!
Crossing fingers for a quick mom-find… Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🌳🦗🦮🦔