Chapter 42: Rising Temperature
Without Ni Mengxue’s command, the system automatically stored every combination pack inside her space.
At the same time, another notification rang in her mind.
[Main Mission Updated!]
[Mission: Sell 10 Daily Meals in your cafeteria. Reward: 1,000 System Points.]
Ni Mengxue immediately opened the newly unlocked food section. [Daily Food Section]
[Today’s Menu: Bread & Butter
Meal Content: One slice of bread with three spoonfuls of butter.
Selling Price: 20 System Points.]
Her pupils shrank slightly.
Each combination pack she bought contained twelve slices of bread and nearly one pound of butter.
That meant one pack could easily be divided into twelve individual meals, earning her 240 system points in total, even though she had only paid five system points for the entire pack.
A smile slowly spread across her face. "This system really knows how to make money."
More importantly, as long as she sold ten meals, the exact population of her base, she would immediately receive another 1,000 system points as a mission reward.
Without hesitation, she opened the base management panel and added Bread & Butter to the cafeteria menu.
However, before she could celebrate, another notification appeared.
[Unable to open cafeteria. Reason: No dining tables or chairs detected.]
Another prompt followed almost immediately.
[Second room for renting is unavailable. Reason: Furniture incomplete.]
Ni Mengxue rubbed her forehead helplessly. "So furniture is mandatory too."
Fortunately, tables and chairs weren’t difficult to make. She simply lacked enough manpower.
Before going to sleep, she opened the Mission Board once again and issued another construction mission.
[Mission: Build five residential rooms and furniture.]
Attached to it was the blueprint of the furniture. The reward was the same as previous construction missions.
Only after confirming everything did she finally lie down to rest.
..........
Meanwhile, inside Fair Shallow Base, all ten registered residents were gathered together beneath a temporary shelter, each of them fanning themselves as hot air continued to sweep through the base.
Xiong Tan wiped the sweat from his forehead and frowned. "The temperature keeps rising every day."
Bo Jun, the crimson-haired young man dressed neatly in a black suit despite the heat, nodded with a solemn expression.
"I noticed it too. I don’t think this is normal."
Yao Chun, whose muscular body was drenched in sweat, looked toward the cloudless sky. "A heatwave is coming."
The atmosphere instantly became heavy.
Although everyone appreciated the clean water and generous food rewards provided by the base, their surroundings still looked extremely crude.
There were no reinforced walls, no electricity, and no cooling equipment.
Outside the walls, zombies continuously roared and slammed against the walls. Every impact caused dust and tiny rocks to fall from the walls, reminding everyone that these temporary defences wouldn’t last forever.
Gao Guling leaned weakly against a wooden pillar and sighed. "Do you think we’ll have to abandon this place?"
Bo Jun slowly shook his head. "I don’t want to. We’ve stayed here for so long. I’m already attached to this place."
The others silently agreed. Yao Chun sighed.
"If only we had a way to contact the base leader. We could at least warn them about the heatwave."
Everyone looked toward the only standing room with worried expressions.
Just then, the employment board suddenly emitted a bright glow.
"A new mission!"
Someone shouted. The ten residents immediately crowded around the kiosk.
Only Xiong Tan remained standing where he was. He raised his head toward the starry sky and quietly murmured,
"I hope the base leader has already noticed what’s coming."
.............
Meanwhile, inside Silent Knight Base, Ji Henghua entered the base with the help of Nan Liuying.
After submitting their mission spoils, Nan Liuying stopped and looked at him with obvious reluctance.
"Brother Ji, are you sure you don’t want to come with us? I can guarantee you’ll have a comfortable life."
Ji Henghua adjusted his cracked glasses before giving him a gentle smile. "Thank you, but I can’t. I’m here for something important. If fate allows, we’ll meet again."
Nan Liuying sighed helplessly. "You’re too stubborn."
Hunter, the blond man standing beside him, stepped forward and handed Ji Henghua a cloth bag. Ji Henghua instinctively tried to refuse.
"I can’t accept this."
Hunter pushed the bag back into his hands. "You deserve it. You treated our injuries and saved our lives."
His gaze lingered on Ji Henghua’s thin figure before he added, "And you should eat something. You look like you’re about to collapse."
Ji Henghua lowered his head and looked inside the bag. It contained dozens of zombie crystals.
His fingers tightened around it, and for several seconds he remained completely silent.
Finally, he bowed deeply. "Thank you."
His voice was quiet, but it carried sincere gratitude.
Watching Nan Liuying and the others gradually disappear into the darkness, Ji Henghua slowly straightened his back.
For the first time since the apocalypse began, he realized that not everyone in this world had become cold-hearted.
There were still people willing to help others without asking for anything in return.
Taking a deep breath, Ji Henghua tightened his grip on the bag of zombie crystals and continued walking deeper into Silent Knight Base.
Soon he arrived at the information district of Silent Knight Base.
Unlike the bustling trading streets, this area was gloomy and filled with crooked wooden stalls where all kinds of information was bought and sold. In the apocalypse, intelligence was often more expensive than food itself.
After asking around for nearly half an hour, he finally stopped before a shabby office with a faded wooden sign that read Black Hawk Detective Agency.
The scar-faced middle-aged man behind the counter lazily glanced at him. "Looking for someone?"
Ji Henghua nodded. "My younger brother. His name is Ji Huan. He’s around seventeen years old with black hair and blue eyes, and before the apocalypse he lived at Yunhai Orphanage."
The detective stretched out his hand without even asking another question. "One hundred zombie crystals as a deposit. Four hundred more if we actually find a lead."
Ji Henghua silently poured one hundred zombie crystals onto the table.