Chapter 619: Clocking Out, Clocking Out
The reason Chen Ye wanted to leave this place so early actually had its own considerations.
According to what was discussed in the previous meeting, whatever territory each convoy secured for itself would become its own turf in the future.
Sunset Avenue was such a prime location—if it had been any other convoy.
They'd probably be desperate to fight tooth and nail to take it down.
If Xi City stabilized in the future, Sunset Avenue would absolutely become a goldmine.
But Chen Ye didn't think that way.
First: If Xi City were really that easy to take, humanity wouldn't have been living a nomadic existence. The Silent Council said it would take at least a week to capture the entire city.
In Chen Ye's eyes, that was complete bullshit.
How could anyone take down a city occupied by Anomalies in just a week?
If it were really that easy, humanity wouldn't be...
The Silent Council saying this was probably just to boost everyone's confidence.
This kind of tactic—he'd seen it all the time when he was still working, used by the higher-ups at the company.
Second: Today was only the first day. At most, it was a test run.
The intel provided by the Silent Council still wasn't detailed enough, at least not in his opinion.
No one could say for sure what the current situation in Xi City really was.
Therefore, testing the waters today was enough. There was no need to accomplish any specific goals or tasks.
Step by step, ensuring everyone survived was the real priority.
Third: What he'd said to Gong Yong earlier was also Chen Ye's honest thoughts.
If the Fair Convoy really managed to take down the Sunset Avenue area quickly.
Then next, the Silent Council would absolutely not let the Fair Convoy sit back and watch.
They'd definitely find an excuse to keep the Fair Convoy moving.
The competent do more work—that was the principle.
This was office politics.
Did he really think that in the office, the most capable people were the ones who earned the most or got promoted the fastest?
Fourth: Chen Ye didn't believe the Silent Council's claim that whoever took the territory got to keep it.
When the time came to actually take Xi City and divvy up the territory, it would definitely come down to which convoy preserved the most strength. That convoy would get the best and largest slice of land.
Fifth: This was also Chen Ye's genuine thought—fighting against Anomalies was far too dangerous. Chen Ye wanted to slack off.
Sixth: What the hell was that thing that was neither human nor Anomaly? And this Haosheng Hotel was very strange. He wanted to see if he could pick up some information from others' conversations, even if it was just fragments.
Seventh: ...
With so many reasons, it was no wonder the Fair Convoy ended up clocking out early on the very first day of work.
When everyone returned to the hotel lobby.
They saw that at the front desk in the lobby, there were still several paper figures standing there.
Their faces wore eerie smiles as they stared at Chen Ye's group.
Their heads also turned, following the movement of the group.
Flames erupted!
The paper figures instantly burned to ash.
Having gone through it once before, the group was wary of these paper figures but no longer felt much fear.
After everyone left the hotel.
More paper figures appeared at the front desk.
These paper figures watched the direction of the departing group and bowed slightly: "Welcome back anytime! Haosheng Hotel is at your service!"
The group left the Haosheng Hotel.
They all felt a bit dazed.
Outside, sunlight bathed everything, but inside, it felt like an entirely different place.
Today's operation seemed to have fizzled out somewhat.
But at least everyone was alive.
Not even a single injury.
Just then, from the street not too far away.
There came a "rumbling" explosion.
Everyone looked up.
Over there, there was also a restaurant that seemed to have multiple floors. It had already been beaten to pieces.
That was the area under the Shepherd Convoy's responsibility.
Clearly, it had become a brutally fierce battlefield.
From that direction, shouts and furious roars rang out intermittently.
The group didn't know what to say for a moment.
Other convoys were fighting for their lives.
Only the Fair Convoy seemed to have just come along for the ride.
Chen Ye announced clocking out, but of course, he didn't just leave completely.
After all, this was still a material collection point.
A lot of supplies could be found here.
Back at the base, supplies were still in short supply, and many items could fetch a good price.
But as the Return to the City Plan progressed, a massive influx of supplies would flood into the base, and prices would drop further.
By then, exchanging these supplies for something good would probably be much harder.
Besides, Chen Ye was planning to freeload... ahem... trade with the Silent Council for the Wonder's Heart.
As long as he could get the Wonder's Heart, the Monster Pickup Truck would definitely advance further.
The plan needed to move forward too.
At the very least, he needed to maintain a good credit record with the Silent Council, right?
Otherwise, how could he ultimately reap the benefits...
There were many hotels and restaurants along Sunset Avenue.
Many of them were internet-famous check-in spots.
Although there were no dedicated grain and oil stores that stocked grains, flour, and oil.
Still, quite a bit of good stuff could be scavenged.
A lot of expired items were no longer a problem either.
Back home, they had the Revitalization Talisman and the Revitalization Stove.
The woman being carried by Iron Lion had behaved docilely from start to finish.
Even when they encountered low-level Anomalies during the material scavenging and had to fight.
She remained very quiet.
"Alright, alright, that's enough!"
"Clocking out! Clocking out!"