Chapter 63: Registration
’It’s actually a good thing they didn’t figure it out,’ Luna thought. ’Now I can use this chaos to report my Space Ability.’
Wayne Dawson, on the other hand, had other worries. "We’re all living together. Won’t the military confiscate the empty villa next door? Should we split up for a while to occupy both houses?"
Luna glanced at Kevin Keane and the other three. "I doubt they’ll confiscate the house. They’ll probably just make us pay a management fee for both villas. You bought them outright, right?"
The men nodded.
Aaron Palmer whined, "Of course we bought them outright! We spent years working under the table abroad, you know!"
Hearing this, Miles Dawson grew a little anxious. "You mean if we hadn’t paid in full, the state would take it back? Even if we did, couldn’t they just find an excuse to confiscate it anyway?"
Everyone else was also very curious.
Luna rested her chin on her hand and analyzed the situation. "They probably won’t confiscate them. But with the Military Command taking over and the base being gradually established, they’ll definitely start charging management fees, property fees, rent, and that sort of thing. They’ll probably investigate property rights very strictly, since it’s related to how the base will collect fees according to set rules in the future."
Kevin Keane agreed. "Houses inside the walls will only get more and more expensive. In the future, the currency for transactions might be measured in Crystal Cores."
Luna nodded and added, "Of course, the land itself will still belong to the authorities. They’ll probably take back any houses that were being borrowed or left empty. I’m guessing our villa district is about to get a lot of new neighbors."
Throughout the meal, they all discussed the military’s takeover of the villa district.
Then, at a little after three in the afternoon, the doorbell at Luna’s house rang softly.
Everyone exchanged glances. Luna immediately pulled everyone’s identification from her space, placing them on the coffee table along with the documents for Kevin Keane and his friends.
Miles Dawson ran to the courtyard gate to open it. Outside stood a three-person registration team: two men and a woman.
The female soldier in the lead was dressed in camouflage, wearing a "Registration and Verification Team" badge on her chest. She held a blue-covered registration book and a portable data-entry terminal.
Her expression was serious, but her tone was gentle. "Hello, we’re the base takeover registration team. We’re here to conduct a household verification and registration. Please cooperate with us so we can complete the information check."
"Of course, please come with me." Miles Dawson politely invited them into the villa.
After being invited inside, the team members were first shocked by the comfortable temperature.
The villa had a footprint of at least several hundred square meters. Their team had registered more than a dozen homes along the way, and all of them were only heating two or three rooms to maintain a normal life for the family during the harsh winter.
Only this villa was so extravagant, even heating a living room this large.
Behind Yana Grant, Sarah Summers and Harold Howard exchanged an envious glance.
Seeing the three young-looking comrades, Mrs. Dawson immediately and enthusiastically invited them to sit in the tea room by the entrance. "You all must be exhausted. It’s so cold outside. I’ve brewed some ginger tea. Please, have a taste so you don’t freeze."
Sarah Summers and Harold Howard were young, only in their early twenties. They had been pushed and cursed at by many people while making their rounds, so when someone finally showed them some concern, they couldn’t help but smile a little wider.
"Ma’am, we can’t take a single needle or thread from the masses. There’s no need. We’ll leave as soon as we’re done with the registration," Sarah Summers said politely.
Mrs. Dawson was taken aback for a moment, then quickly said, "But it’s already brewed! Please have a cup, or it’ll go to waste. In times like these, sugar and ginger are both hard to come by. I made this specially because I knew you were coming to do the registration."
"That’s right. It’s our way of showing our gratitude for all your hard work," Wayne Dawson chimed in, handing the cups to them as he spoke.
Seeing that they couldn’t refuse, the three of them had no choice but to pick up the cups and drink. It was freezing cold outside, and a cup of sweet, warm ginger tea warmed them from the inside out, making them all feel much more comfortable.
Ever since that great snowstorm, all the agricultural crops had mutated one after another.
Everyone at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences was urgently researching how to cultivate staple foods for the future, and the food supply in the military had been rationed as a result.
They were down to two meals a day, each with just one meat dish and one vegetable dish. The food was so bland they were sick of it.
The lead registrar, Yana Grant, relaxed visibly after drinking the ginger tea. She offered her thanks, then took out her registration book and opened it to the first page: the personnel composition section.
Her tone gentle, she began the questions. "Alright, let’s begin. Could you please provide the names, ages, and family relationships of all current residents of this villa, as well as any temporary outside residents? Could everyone present please show your personal identification? We will verify and record the information."
Luna’s family quickly took out their IDs and handed them over. The registrar checked them one by one against the information on the documents.
The recorder behind her used a recording device to film the process for their records, ensuring the personnel information was authentic and verifiable.
Once the personnel information was complete, the registrar turned to the "Proof of Property Asset Ownership" page and continued, "May I ask who the owner of this villa is? Please present the property deed, purchase contract, or other proof of ownership."
Wayne Dawson glanced at Luna. She’d been right—they really were checking property rights.
Luna calmly took out the villa’s property certificate. The registrar carefully checked the key details on it, such as the owner’s name—Luna Dawson—the property’s location, and its building area.
She then used the portable terminal to scan and archive the certificate’s information, while also noting in the registration book: "Proof of ownership complete, information verified."
Seeing that Yana Grant had finished writing, Luna spoke up. "Villa 102 next door is also ours. You can register it at the same time."
Yana Grant’s pen paused for a fraction of a second.
’Rich people really are different,’ she thought. ’They owned two huge villas before the apocalypse, and they’re still living comfortably after it.’
"Kevin Keane, you’re up," Luna said, patting the empty spot next to her.
’If I sit there, won’t I be pressed right up against Luna?’
The mere thought of it made his ears turn inexplicably red. He walked over, sat down, and laid out his ID and property deed.
Watching from the side, Miles Dawson blurted out, "Are you hot, Kevin? Why did your face get so red the moment you sat down?"
Kevin Keane’s body stiffened slightly, but he stubbornly insisted, "This couch is too crowded. It’s hot."
Lynn Shelby, who was holding Little Tiger, watched this silently and let out a soft chuckle. Kevin Keane looked up at him, but Lynn just calmly continued to pet the cat.
Just as Kevin Keane was focused on watching the registrar check the documents, Lynn Shelby suddenly spoke up. "Is it crowded? If it’s too tight sitting next to Luna, I’m not as built as you. I could go sit there and cooperate..."
He hadn’t even finished his sentence.
"No need!" Kevin Keane bared his teeth like a dog guarding its food, instinctively claiming his territory. "I sat here first!"
Blake Blue and Evan Olson burst out laughing, and Lynn Shelby couldn’t hold back his laughter either.
Then, the red that had started at the tips of Kevin Keane’s ears spread across his entire face, turning it completely crimson.
’Damn you, Lynn!’ he fumed. ’How am I supposed to face anyone now!’
Luna rested her chin on her hand, watching them speechlessly. She didn’t quite get their humor. ’Are they really competing over a seat?’
’If our group forms a team in the future, maybe we should just call ourselves Team Compete.’
The three registrars looked up, cautiously observing the family. They were quite envious that this group could still be so lively in the apocalypse. Ever since the apocalypse began, families with this much life in them had become a rare sight.
Their hands never stopped moving as they silently checked the deeds and IDs, a sense of melancholy in their hearts.
Since the start of the apocalypse, many of their comrades-in-arms had been sacrificed, and family and friends had mutated. These were all knots of pain in their hearts.
After finishing the registration, Yana Grant took out a superpower registration form. "An alien virus has swept the globe. Superpowers have become a vital means of survival for survivors, as well as a crucial basis for the military to coordinate resources and rationally assign tasks. Please cooperate with the declaration process.
"Could each of you please state whether you have awakened a superpower, and if so, what its type and level are?"
Luna stopped watching them and was the first to speak. "I’ve awakened water and Space Abilities. I should be at the first tier right now."
Yana Grant, who had been skillfully and quickly taking notes with her head down, froze abruptly. The tip of her pen dug into the paper, leaving a sudden streak of ink.
She snapped her head up, her almond-shaped eyes wide. "Wh-what? Water and Space?! You’re a dual-element Superpower User?"
Hearing this, Sarah Summers, who was beside her, shot upright. The folder in her hands fell onto the table with a SLAP, but she didn’t even notice.
Her eyes were glued to Luna, her throat working for a moment before she managed to speak with difficulty. "Sister Miller, did I hear that right? Dual-element? I’ve only ever seen that in the files of the base’s top leadership!"