Chapter 54 - 48: Alliance Exchange
Chapter 54: Chapter 48: Alliance Exchange
"There aren’t many buildings left that people can live in. But at this point, who cares about that? People just find a piece of cloth, sleep on the ground, and that’s that."
Ah Lian wasn’t surprised by Tang Mo’s curiosity. People entering the base for the first time were always shocked by the sight.
Things were different from the prosperous era before, but many people’s mindsets hadn’t caught up yet.
It wasn’t that Tang Mo had never seen a base before. It was just that Huacheng Base was the smallest, yet most crowded, one she had ever visited, which was why she was a little curious.
Right at the entrance, Ah Lian and the bald driver divided up their haul.
They each took one-third of the haul, and the remaining third had to be turned over to the base. After all, the bus was now considered common property.
As Tang Mo followed Ah Lian through the main gate of Huacheng Base, she finally understood just how common it was for people to sleep on the ground as he’d said.
The base no longer resembled a residential complex at all. Instead, it looked like a giant forest park with just a few intact buildings left, surrounded by endless stretches of grass and trees.
"How long are you planning to stay here?" Ah Lian asked Tang Mo.
"About half a month," Tang Mo replied after a moment of thought.
She needed time to sort out her belongings and carefully prepare for her next objective.
"As for food, the base distributes one meal a day. For lodging, there are three options. The first is in those few intact buildings, but the daily rent there isn’t cheap.
The second is the tents of all sizes on the grass. You can pay the daily rent with just a little bit of food.
The third is just sleeping out in the open. But you’re a girl, so you should try to avoid that."
Ah Lian explained everything to Tang Mo in thoughtful detail.
The mutant beasts had only appeared recently, so Crystal Cores were still incredibly valuable. No one wanted to waste a single attribute point, so Crystal Cores hadn’t become a circulating currency yet.
"How much are the rooms in the buildings?"
To be honest, Tang Mo had just left her school and didn’t have a good grasp of how strong people on the outside were. She wasn’t entirely sure if her current attribute values were enough to protect herself.
If she had a choice, Tang Mo wanted to make her living situation as safe as possible.
She didn’t really care whether the environment was good or bad; she’d slept in the mud and dirt before.
But safety was paramount. She wanted to live a few more years this time around.
"Ten pounds of rice, or food equivalent to ten pounds of rice, will get you a week in one of those buildings.
Or you can pay with a Crystal Core. One Crystal Core gets you a month.
But I’d advise you not to spend any Crystal Cores, even if you’re lucky enough to find one. It’s much more worth it to use them on yourself."
Tang Mo listened and nodded silently, not saying anything.
"See those two small villas over there? They’re the best two buildings in the base. One is the Alliance Exchange, and the other is the Alliance Mission Center.
Every base has two buildings like these. You can accept missions there to earn food and Crystal Cores, and they also sell valuable items. If you need anything, you can go take a look."
Following Ah Lian’s gaze, Tang Mo saw the most important destination of her trip.
Huacheng Base wasn’t very large. It only took Ah Lian about fifteen minutes to give Tang Mo a full tour.
Aside from the few buildings, the Alliance Exchange, and the Alliance Mission Center, there were tents scattered everywhere and people sleeping on the grass.
The roadsides were also lined with countless stalls, displaying an assortment of random items.
Household appliances, clothes, luxury goods, even cash—these small stalls had everything.
People laid out everything they owned, hoping someone would choose an item and trade it for their next meal.
"What are people eating in the base now? And what about water?" Tang Mo asked Ah Lian.
"Food isn’t too hard to come by. A lot of these unidentifiable plants bear fruit. As long as the research institute tests them and confirms they’re not poisonous, they can be processed for everyone to eat. It tastes terrible and has almost no nutritional value, but at least you won’t starve.
As for water, the Alliance has distributed purifiers to all the bases. The water from this simple purification process is fine for daily use, like bathing and washing clothes. If you drink it... well, a little bit won’t kill you. Of course, drink too much and you’ll still die."
The corner of Tang Mo’s mouth twitched. She hadn’t realized Ah Lian had a penchant for telling such deadpan jokes.
After paying Ah Lian his fee for being her guide, Tang Mo parted ways with him.
Ah Lian lived in the tent area, but Tang Mo clearly had no intention of doing the same.
She walked into a residential building that seemed to be in relatively good condition and easily found an administrator lounging on a chair in the first-floor lobby.
"Looking for someone? You can’t come in."
The administrator didn’t even look up. He’d seen plenty of poor folk coming to the building looking for friends or relatives.
"No, I’d like to stay here for half a month. What are the rates?"
The administrator looked up at the tall, plainly dressed girl in front of him.
"Ten pounds of rice. If you don’t have that, an equivalent amount of food will do."
Tang Mo deftly pulled a pre-prepared ten-pound bag of rice from her pack and handed it to the administrator.
’She did have a few Basic Crystals, but each one was worth an attribute point. She couldn’t bear to part with them.’
The plump administrator took the heavy bag of rice from Tang Mo’s hands with some surprise. He hefted it for a moment and knew it was the full amount.
He pulled a string of keys from a drawer and handed them to Tang Mo.
"Third floor, turn right, fifth room. If you’re missing anything, come find me. You can buy it with food."
Key in hand, Tang Mo went upstairs. She found her room, opened the door, and took a look around.
It was a basic one-bedroom, one-living room, one-kitchen, and one-bathroom layout.
It had all the basic furniture and facilities. The sheets and duvet cover weren’t new, but they showed signs of having been washed.
’Just like a cheap motel from her past life.’
Tang Mo nodded in satisfaction. In her previous life, she had never lived in an actual building.
She gave the room another quick cleaning, then replaced the sheets, duvet cover, and pillows with ones from her own Space.
She changed her clothes, went into the bathroom, and took a shower. Then, she stuffed all the dirty clothes she had accumulated—the ones she hadn’t had the water to clean—into the washing machine.
Finally feeling refreshed, she went to the kitchen and made herself a bowl of noodles.
She could use the base’s tap water for bathing and laundry, but for cooking her noodles, Tang Mo used the mineral water from her Space.
The base’s system could only filter water for general use; she didn’t trust it for consumption.
Of course, this wasn’t an issue for people who were dying of thirst. They didn’t care about a little mild poisoning.
"As long as it wouldn’t kill them right away, it was fine. ’Survive one more day’ was everyone’s motto.
After finishing her noodles, Tang Mo took her clothes from the washing machine and hung them to dry on the balcony. Only then did she lie down on the bed, ready to catch up on some much-needed sleep.
’She hadn’t slept in a real bed in so long. Beds were simply humanity’s greatest invention. They brought peace and happiness.’
’Everything else can wait until I wake up.’ Tang Mo slowly closed her eyes, sinking her entire body into the soft bedding as she drifted off to sleep.