"There are four group leaders here. We'll be meeting Group Leader Ye later. He's in charge of personnel matters, a kind person, and highly regarded by the leader."
After finishing her sentence, Lin Xi added, "Actually, I went on this mission to the desert with Team Leader Zhang. He was in charge of security and the mission itself. They haven't returned yet, probably because they've found a lead."
Su Cheng nodded; the shelter was more orderly than she had imagined.
The leader must be no ordinary person to manage over three hundred people and keep the shelter running smoothly in the apocalypse.
Lin Xi proceeded to explain the basic information and rules of the shelter in a rambling manner.
After the two reached the seventh floor, they passed through several infrared checks again before stepping into an office.
The office was not luxuriously decorated; the desks and chairs were quite ordinary, and the only thing on the wall was a painting that read, "Never back down, rebuild our home."
The woman sitting behind the desk had been waiting for a long time.
"Team Leader Ye, this is Su Cheng. Thanks to her, Li Cheng and I were able to return successfully this time," Lin Xi called out to the woman.
"Hello, my name is Ye Zi." Ye Zi walked out from behind her desk, extending her hand with a slight smile.
"Hello."
The two shook hands briefly.
As Lin Xi said, Ye Zi was very gentle and polite in her dealings with people. Even strangers would lower their guard against her because of her aura and smile.
" Lin Xi, you've worked hard. You should go back now. Su Cheng and I need to talk alone for a while."
"Okay." Lin Xi paused, then added, "If Su Cheng needs someone to accompany her to familiarize herself with the shelter later, she can call me. I won't be taking on any missions today."
"Certainly."
After Lin Xi left, only the two of them remained in the office.
Ye Zi gestured for Su Cheng to sit down before getting to the point, asking gently, "Could you demonstrate your ability to burn spores?"
The wall camera flashed red, and I could hear breathing from next door.
Ye Zi was the person in charge of receiving and investigating Su Cheng, but behind this office, there were countless other people watching.
Su Cheng answered honestly, "No."
She didn't want to waste her Qi unnecessarily; the Fire-Attracting Art only produces Blue Ghost Flame when there is flammable material present.
Ye Zi was taken aback by Su Cheng's directness. After a moment of stiffness, she smiled faintly, "Why? Is it because there are conditions for using it?"
"That's right, I'm exhausted after each use and can't show it off casually." Su Cheng wasn't guilty at all. After experiencing multiple dungeons, her acting skills and lies were so perfect that no one could see through her.
"Okay... can you tell me about your past?" Ye Zi continued.
"Hasn't Lin Xi already told you about my situation? Do you have any other questions?"
Su Cheng sighed inwardly, not really wanting to waste her time on the other party's probing.
She came here hoping to find clues to side stories amidst the crowds and chaos, but getting inside seemed to involve complicated procedures.
Ye Zi's eyes flickered slightly. Su Cheng had just said "you all," which meant that the other party seemed to know that someone was watching from behind the camera. She was about to continue speaking to probe when she was interrupted.
"I want to speak directly with the person behind you and make a deal."
Ye Zi was taken aback for a moment, not expecting Su Cheng to be so direct. After thinking for a while, she picked up the landline on the table and, after receiving instructions, said to Su Cheng, "Let's go."
Ye Zi led Su Cheng through the door in the wall to the office next door.
The person sitting in the main seat was an elderly woman with white hair, who was in a wheelchair, and a young woman stood behind her.
The old man looked to be around seventy or eighty years old, with weathered yet composed features, exuding the aura of someone who had long held a high position.
"Chief," Ye Zi called out, bowing his head.
The elderly man in the wheelchair is Yu Wenzhe, the leader of the refuge.
"Thank you for your hard work. I'll take over the reception from now on," Leader Yu said with a chuckle.
After Ye Zi left, Leader Yu looked at Su Cheng and nodded slightly with appreciation in his eyes, "Your name is Su Cheng, right? You're quite good."
Yu Wenzhe had already seen Su Cheng's extraordinary abilities from the video recording, and he was even more pleasantly surprised after meeting her.
Based on her decades of experience in judging people, she was quite certain that the young man in front of her was an exceptional talent, one in a million.
Thinking this, Leader Yu's smile deepened and became even more amiable. "You just said you wanted to make a deal with me?"
"That's right, I want to trade this for your protective suit." Su Cheng took out Ice Stone from her pocket. "This is like a portable air conditioner; it can lower the temperature of certain parts of the body."
"There's such a thing?" Leader Yu frowned slightly. "May I take a closer look?"
"Certainly."
Leader Yu glanced sideways, Ruolin, who was standing beside the wheelchair, immediately understood and stepped forward to take the Ice Stone from Su Cheng's hand.
The moment Ruolin felt the temperature plummet, and even Leader Yu beside her felt it; their eyes brightened slightly.
It's the height of summer outside, and protective suits are extremely stuffy due to their airtight design. If there were Ice Stone available, they would greatly facilitate the movement of people going out.
"How much do you have left? How do you want to exchange it?" Leader Yu asked, composing himself.
"One Ice Stone can last for nearly 120 hours. One stone can be exchanged for ten sets, so I still have 10 Ice Stone left."
This trade is not excessive. Ice Stone are rare and easy to carry. With such a large base, the reserves of protective suits must be considerable. Exchanging a hundred suits for Ice Stone will not lead to a shortage.
"Only ten? Can I exchange for more?" Leader Yu asked. Ice Stone are consumables; once they're used up, they're gone, so she naturally wanted to store as many as possible.
"That's all." Su Cheng shook her head. The items in the auction house were unpredictable; who knew when Ice Stone would be available again? She needed to keep some for herself.
100 sets of protective clothing will last her a long time.
Seeing Su Cheng's resolute tone, Leader Yu didn't know if it was true or false, but even if it was a lie, he had no choice but to believe it at this moment.
She couldn't very well physically search her; the consequences of doing so would be unacceptable to her.
"Alright, then let's exchange 10 Ice Stone for 100 sets of protective gear. The Ice Stone will remain a secret until then; I'll keep them safe. I'll have Ye Zi take you to the warehouse to get the protective gear." Leader Yu quickly made the decision.
"Become."
Su Cheng took ten Ice Stone out of her pocket and handed them to Ruolin. Since they didn't have Smart Bag to pause the use of the Ice Stone, they needed to store them in a low-temperature environment to reduce their loss.
Although it wasn't a direct exchange of stones for clothing, Su Cheng wasn't worried about being deceived, because Leader Yu didn't seem like a short-sighted fool.
The transaction was successfully completed. Leader Yu looked at Su Cheng as if she were a treasure, his eyes filled with laughter, and continued:
"I've temporarily suppressed your ability to burn spores. I hope you can stay at the base for a while, and then, if you intend to leave, you can decide whether to send the recording to your superiors, depending on your own wishes."
This arrangement was very thoughtful, perfectly aligning with Su Cheng's desire to avoid attracting too much attention and causing trouble. "Thank you."
"No need, I should be thanking you for coming to this shelter," Leader Yu smiled, then had Ruolin take out the files from the drawer. "Besides, I'd like to ask for your help. If you're willing, you can name your price."
Su Cheng took the document from her hand and opened it to find a route map.
The starting point was naturally this shelter, and the destination was a city called [ Green Vine City ].
Route map side recording information:
Mission Name: Secret Pursuit Operation ( Green Vine City )
Objective: To find scattered meteorite fragments.
Number of fragments (predicted): 3~5
Difficulty: High
Mission duration and number of participants: to be determined and arranged by each level of shelter.
[ Green Vine City Information]
[Topographic map of Green Vine City (from data prior to the meteorite impact)]
The city was once rated as having the highest green coverage rate before the meteorite landed, and it is now covered by greenery, making it impossible to detect the situation inside the city.
The area is approximately 36 square kilometers (small city), with about 100 streets (the exact number is uncertain), and a population of about 120,000 (the exact number is uncertain)...
[Ding~]
[" Recovery Mission " triggered -- Recycle 1 meteorite fragment. Touching the meteorite will complete the automatic recycling process. Reward: 1000 points]
[Please confirm if you wish to accept]
confirm.
[Meteorite fragment Recovery Mission accepted]
To assist in completing the Recovery Mission, the system will activate guidance and navigation when you are within 500 meters of the meteorite fragments. Please actively complete the mission!
As expected of what the system wanted, the reward points were quite high, and they even provided guidance and navigation.
She looked up. "You want me to go to Green Vine City to search for meteorite fragments?"
Leader Yu nodded. "That's right. I originally didn't plan to let the shelter members take on this mission from higher authorities, but you showed up."
"You can burn spores! This will undoubtedly greatly increase the success rate of this mission. If you can lead the team, I believe this mission will be completed smoothly."
"I can go. I haven't decided on the compensation yet. I'll let you know before I leave."
When Su Cheng confirmed the Recovery Mission, Green Vine City was a must-go destination, but that didn't affect her ability to negotiate terms.
"Of course." Leader Yu waved his hand and readily agreed.
The Secret Pursuit Operation in Green Vine City would be cut off from outside signals once it entered, making it too difficult, and no shelter had dared to accept it for a long time.
If they manage to seek refuge, they will receive a large amount of support supplies from their superiors!
"We'll have another short meeting later to introduce you to the team on this mission and to finalize the timeline and specific action plan."
"OK."
The exchange went well, and Su Cheng can now go to the warehouse to retrieve her protective suit and rest within the shelter.
A note from the author:
One more chapter, I'll revise it and submit it right away!
Chapter 102
Lin Xi led Su Cheng to the warehouse window to retrieve one hundred sets of protective suits packed in burlap sacks, and then collected facial information.
Only then did he lead her to see the other parts of the shelter.
"Where are you planning to put all these protective suits?" Lin Xi watched as Su Cheng easily lifted the sack, secretly admiring her arm strength.