Chapter 91: Door-to-Door Recruitment
Francis Grant’s fingertips traced the smooth, slightly cool peel of the tangerine. After a moment of hesitation, he raised his hand and peeled back the thin, resilient skin.
Sweet, clear juice instantly seeped through his fingers. He took a small bite, and a rich, sugary aroma exploded on the tip of his tongue.
There was not a trace of sourness, nor any hint of rot. It was even sweeter and more refreshing than the tangerines from before the apocalypse, brimming with the vibrant essence of fresh produce.
Francis paused mid-chew. He raised an eyebrow slightly, a flicker of astonishment surging in the depths of his eyes as his fingers subconsciously tightened around the fruit.
He handed the rest of the tangerine to Samuel Summers beside him. "You guys try some too. It’s rare to get fruit this fresh."
Then, he turned back to Luna Dawson and cut straight to the chase. "Miss Dawson, what kind of compensation are you looking for?"
Luna raised an eyebrow, her eyes sparkling with the look of someone hatching a little scheme. She still held a very favorable impression of the regular army. As long as it didn’t conflict with her own interests, she was more than willing to lend a helping hand.
"Tell me about your military’s standards first. How much water can Water Ability Users produce every day? How do you calculate the pay for Superpower Users of different orders?"
Amused by her blunt bargaining, Francis answered honestly, "Superpower Users are provided with three meals a day while working at the water plant. Entry-level Superpower Users must produce a minimum of ten liters of water per day, and they are paid one First Order Crystal Core every two days. First Order Superpower Users produce one ton of water per day and are paid two First Order Crystal Cores daily."
As for Second Order Superpower Users, they were currently few and far between in the base. The Second Order Water Ability Users had essentially all been recruited by the Special Operations Department to store water independently over there, so he didn’t bother elaborating on them.
After hearing this, Luna turned her head to consult her family. Kevin Keane, who was sitting beside her, happened to meet her gaze.
She blinked and asked in a low voice, "I’ll provide five tons of water a day in exchange for ten First Order Crystal Cores. How does that sound?"
Looking into her smiling eyes, Kevin replied softly, "Whatever you want to do."
Having gained his support, Luna turned back to Francis, her tone resolute. "I won’t need your meals. I’ll provide five tons of purified water to the water plant every day, and in return, you just need to give me ten First Order Crystal Cores—the elemental attribute doesn’t matter. For your army, this amount of Crystal Cores shouldn’t be much, right?"
After all, the military had bombed several areas recently! They had to be raking in Crystal Cores hand over fist.
Samuel Summers and the soldiers behind him couldn’t help but reveal looks of astonishment upon hearing this. For a First Order Water Ability User, producing one ton of water a day was already the absolute limit. Yet this girl casually offered five tons right out of the gate. Her superpower talent was truly extraordinary. They wondered if she was already a Second Order Superpower User.
Little did they know, Luna simply didn’t want to expose her true order and her dimensional space. After all, combined with the water stored in her space and the twenty to thirty tons she could generate daily, this amount was absolutely nothing to her.
Luna added, "I might not be able to go every day. If I go out with my family to collect Crystal Cores, I might have to skip work."
Francis’s eyes flickered. After a moment of thought, he said, "Alright. I’ll give you twenty Crystal Cores. You can go to the water plant to supply water whenever you’re free; there’s staff on duty there twenty-four hours a day."
"No need to go through all that trouble," Luna waved her hand. "I’ll take exactly what I’ve earned for the amount I provide. Later on, if more Water Ability Users come to the Kensington Base, you might not even need my few tons of water anymore. Let’s just settle the pay on the spot on the days I actually show up to work."
She wanted to make things clear upfront to avoid any future disputes.
Francis remained silent for a moment before nodding. "Alright. It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Dawson, and everyone else today. If you ever need any help in the future, you can come find me at the base’s general headquarters anytime."
He raised an eyebrow slightly, his bright dark eyes looking at Luna, before he raised a hand to signal Samuel Summers.
Samuel immediately pulled a pass from his jacket pocket and placed it gently on the coffee table.
Francis paused for a second before continuing, "There’s one more thing. The base has established the Special Operations Department for Superpower Users, and we are recruiting from the entire base. The department is primarily responsible for assisting the base with search and rescue missions. We offer generous benefits and compensation. Would you consider joining?"
Luna asked curiously, "If we join, do we have to clock in for work on time?"
"You could understand it that way," Francis answered truthfully. "After all, there will be impromptu missions that require mobilizing Superpower Users to go out at a moment’s notice."
"What about Superpower Users with relatively low combat power? Can they join too?" Luna recalled the reserve members from her previous life and pressed further.
"Of course," Francis explained. "The Special Operations Department is divided into a combat team and a logistics team. Superpower Users with low combat power can join the logistics team and handle support work. Different missions offer different rewards; the more dangerous the mission, the richer the compensation."
Upon hearing this, Luna shook her head decisively. "I’ll pass on joining. However, if there are missions in the future that private squads can collaborate on, we could reconsider."
Francis wasn’t surprised by her answer. He hadn’t expected this Superpower User squad to directly join the officially affiliated Special Operations Department in the first place. For now, simply getting to know each other, establishing a good initial impression, and paving the way for potential future collaborations was more than enough. After all, the rescue missions around the base were becoming increasingly heavy. If they could win the support of these Superpower Users, the base would be able to free up more energy to take in and resettle more survivors.
"Understood. I look forward to the opportunity to cooperate in the future." A fleeting glint of joy flashed through Francis’s eyes, and his tone was sincere.
"Oh, right. We can’t accept these supplies. Please take them back, Colonel Grant," Luna said, taking a step forward and pointing at the pile of supplies off to the side, her tone firm.
Hearing this, a gentle smile graced Francis’s face. He explained patiently, "There’s no need to be polite, Miss Dawson. These are the standard basic supplies uniformly distributed by the base to every survivor, prepared according to a per capita standard. Since I was coming over anyway, I brought them along to save everyone the trouble of making a special trip to collect them."
A faint blush instantly crept up Luna’s cheeks. She pursed her lips in embarrassment; she had overthought it, assuming it was a gift specifically brought over to win them over.
She quickly softened her tone. "That’s good, then. Thank you very much."
Since it was a uniform welfare benefit from the base, she naturally had no reason to refuse. Who would complain about having too many supplies in the apocalypse?
Right at this moment, the communicator in Simon Summers’s hand suddenly let out a faint BUZZ.
He quickly picked it up, listened for a moment, then walked briskly to Francis’s side. Leaning in slightly, he whispered a few words into his ear at a volume only the two of them could hear.
Francis’s expression didn’t waver in the slightest, as if he was already accustomed to such sudden situations.
He slowly straightened up and nodded to the crowd. "This is simply what the base should do. My apologies, but I have a sudden emergency to attend to, so I must take my leave now. I hope we’ll have more opportunities to meet and talk in the future."
Everyone nodded in farewell. Francis gave them one last nod of acknowledgment, then turned around and led his entourage out of the Dawsons’ villa with steady steps.