Currently, as the foundation of apocalyptic survival, the Shelter's expansion must be prioritized.
To cultivate more land and construct more buildings, a large number of Survivor Coins are indispensable.
In the past, the only way to obtain these Coins was by eliminating Zombies.
According to Lin Yi's statistics, on average, eliminating 10 Zombies yields about 8 Survivor Coins.
When Lin Yi informed the girls that Coins must be obtained through Zombie hunting, their faces were filled with anxiety.
After all, most of them are frail and can manage daily chores, but when facing Zombies, there's a high chance they'd become sacrifices.
However, following the signed contract, they have no choice but to follow Lin Yi's arrangements.
Amidst everyone's worries, Lin Yi's next words brought relief to all the girls.
Lin Yi said calmly: "This method of obtaining Coins, while hazardous, is also time-consuming. So, I've made a trade deal."
He then informed everyone that by selling potatoes to a merchant at the Louvre, one pound could be exchanged for 2 Coins, and 90 pounds could get 200 Coins.
Currently, a special plot of land can produce 900 pounds of potatoes, worth 2000 Coins, and if the price is raised, it could go up to 2250 Coins without issue.
This is far more profitable than selling potatoes directly to the Shelter at a rate of 1 Coin per 2 pounds.
As of now, each special plot costs 100 Coins in the building shop.
This way, through such profit margin, the profits would be considerable and could snowball.
However, the only issue now is not knowing how many Coins the Survivors actually have.
To be safe, besides gradually expanding trade with the Louvre, Lin Yi is also looking to find other Survivor camps to expand trading channels.
"Think about it later, and see if anyone knows about these camps or knows someone."
After Lin Yi finished speaking and looked around, he noticed everyone remained silent, most had a dejected look on their faces.
A few even slapped their heads in frustration, feeling useless.
Seeing everyone's low morale, Lin Yi thought for a moment and suddenly dropped a bombshell: "If you all agree, I can help you become Professionals!"
As soon as he said this, the girls exploded with chatter and confusion filled the place.
"Wow, calm down. Don't all of you shout at once, alright? I haven't finished speaking yet."
Lin Yi quickly stood up to maintain order, and once everyone calmed down, he then laid out his plan and shared the information he had.
Although it says Professional, the system doesn't provide a complete set of a professional system.
It might be a unique skill, a special item, or something else, but there will definitely be gains.
The effect of these gains varies; for instance, Lin Yi's own Shelter Skills have limitless potential if developed well.
Additionally, becoming a Professional allows you to gain Attribute Points. You can enhance speed, Power, and Endurance.
Thus, even if the skill is not very useful, the enhanced Attributes can enable the girls to easily move heavy objects, plow the land in a short time, and such.
Finally, Lin Yi looked seriously at the employees and said earnestly: "I assure everyone, I will never force anyone to fight or hunt.
Suddenly, the scene became chaotic again. The girls screamed in excitement, and the boys cheered and raised their hands in excitement.
Once everyone quieted down again, Lin Yi stated the next action objectives.
First, we need to sort and categorize the miscellaneous items taken from the Blue-haired Gang.
Useful materials will improve Shelter's living quality, and the useless ones will be traded in the real world.
Secondly, strive to earn Coins to build necessary buildings like a medical clinic, warehouse, residential building, public bathhouse, etc., through the store.
"Boss, what will happen to us if you get killed?" the petite blonde girl Natasha asked, raising her hand.
"I don't know." Lin Yi shrugged.
"What punishment will violators of the contract face?" the red-haired girl Sylvie followed up with a question.
"It depends on the severity of the violation. Minor ones are thrown to Zombies; major ones are executed on the spot – anyway, I won't leave any survivors... Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Lin Yi said as he glanced at everyone, noticing the terrified expressions on their faces as if seeing him for the first time.
He did not explain further, just pointing to a deep, dark bottomless pit not far away.
Instantly, everyone remembered Lin Yi's decisively ruthless demeanor when hunting down enemies.
They couldn't help but feel a chill down their spines, a sense of horror.
Rules must be strictly followed; without order and discipline, we'd only fall into decay and chaos, and the Shelter cannot develop.
Anyone who betrays the Shelter and survives would be a major threat to all residents.
They may hold grudges, collude with other camps or organizations, and use their knowledge of the Shelter to lay traps strategically.
This type of situation, he's seen many times in gangs. Thus, joining the Shelter is for life, leaving the Shelter is for death.
"Any other questions?" Lin Yi looked at everyone again.
"If we find family or friends, can they join our Shelter?" a girl named Orianna asked.
"As long as they agree to the contract terms and can work well."
"Then..." another girl raised her hand...
Nobody knew how much time passed until Lin Yi's stomach growled, signaling he had finally answered all the questions.
Lin Yi clapped his hands, indicating it was officially time to eat.
And so, everyone feasted heartily in this Zombie-free and Plunderer-free place.
There was fish, meat, fruits, vegetables, and even alcohol on the table. Everyone ate to their heart's content, their stomachs nearly bursting!
The next day.
Like usual.
Chen Youyou woke up early.
She first washed some potatoes, fetched water from the pond, and then started preparing breakfast on the gas stove.
While cooking, as usual, she prepared to wake up Lin Yi.
At this time, a girl named Martha was crawling out of the tent.
Seeing Chen Youyou heading to Lin Yi's tent, she softly called: "Good morning, Youyou. You're busy already?"
"Good morning, Martha." Chen Youyou flashed a bright smile: "More people now, so I have to get up early to make breakfast."
"Yesterday morning, I saw you enter the boss's tent. You stayed in there for about... half an hour. And now you're going there again this morning..."
Hearing Martha's words, Chen Youyou's face turned beet red.
Martha quickly said: "Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean anything by it. I just feel a bit useless, you know? I only know how to do things a wife should do."
"So..." Chen Youyou was a bit confused, not understanding Martha's intention.
Martha hesitated and, choosing her words carefully, said: "If you don't want to do those things, I can replace you. I'm not a loose woman, it's just... well, my parents have groomed me from a young age to be a 'proper' wife."
Chen Youyou instinctively glanced at Martha.
She had to admit, this girl in front of her was indeed very beautiful...