The staff member had not finished speaking when, after giving them another quick once-over, he added, "Since the rabbit pelts, once treated, can be used for making clothes, each rabbit comes with an additional fifty contribution points for the fur. So for this type, your total is eight hundred contribution points. Split among the four of you, that's two hundred each. If you pool it together, that's two thousand contribution points for your team."
Once he was done, he recalculated everything again to confirm there was no mistake. Only then did he say, "Give me your residence permits. I'll transfer the points directly."
One by one, they handed over their permits. In moments, the two thousand contribution points were theirs.
And those two thousand points were well earned. As Brother Zhang had said, these mutant rabbits were notoriously difficult to deal with. The fact that they had taken them down fully justified the payment. After all, Brother Zhang had also mentioned that his own ability squad had taken on such missions before. This kind of dangerous work was never done without reward. If other people could get paid for it, why shouldn't they?
Of course, unexpected windfalls were the best kind. An extra two thousand contribution points out of nowhere—who could resist being happy about that?
Right now, aside from checking the shopping center for weapons, they didn't have any other real plans. Still, they couldn't rush off immediately. Brother Zhang was still with them, and from the look of him, he had no intention of leaving anytime soon.
Lan Jin asked a little hesitantly, "Brother Zhang, will you take us to check in?"
Brother Zhang smiled. "Of course. There's only one road here, but the terrain's complicated. It'll be easier if I lead you."
With that, he led them into a narrower path.
Once they reached the inside of the base, it didn't take long for the differences to stand out.
"It feels like the H City base buildings are really different from the J City base."
While the J City base was also built on high ground, there was a clear contrast to the way H City's base had been constructed into the mountainside.
Brother Zhang chuckled. "That's right. Ours is built along the slope. That hall we were just in, and the levels above it, were originally part of a tourist hotel. The upper floors have been converted into a cafeteria, kitchens, and offices. If you want to go anywhere, just check the booklet I gave you—it's all marked."
As she followed, Lan Jin opened the booklet.
The H City base guide had six folded pages, two more than J City's. But what stood out most was how scattered the buildings were. Each section was far from the next, and unlike the sealed-top design of J City's base, this place was open overhead. The narrow corridor they were walking through now had glass walls, heated inside, while beyond the glass the wind outside bit like knives. The difference in temperature was staggering.
Lao Gao clearly noticed too, and asked, "Your buildings don't have a shared roof. What happens if there's freezing rain or a blizzard?"
"We do have roofs," Brother Zhang said, "but each area has its own protective cover, designed to blend in. It might look odd to you, but it's because the base is on a mountain. The buildings can't be leveled evenly, so it's impossible to have one continuous roof. Most of the covers are separate. Even in extreme weather, it doesn't cause problems. Just like this corridor—we've connected all the mountain buildings with these, so you can get anywhere without being delayed."
As soon as he finished speaking, they stepped out of the narrow corridor—right into the main entrance of the shopping center.
"The shopping center has three floors, about sixty square meters each," Brother Zhang explained. "You can find all sorts of things here. Come by when you have time."
After passing the entrance, they entered another glass corridor similar to the first. Once through it, they arrived at the dormitory building.
It wasn't large—at all.
Brother Zhang swiped his access card first. After they all stepped into the lobby, he introduced it. "This dorm building has seven floors. The first floor is the lobby. Floors two, three, and four are women's dorms; five, six, and seven are men's. Because this is an official base, the standards are the same for everyone—capsule-style rooms. But ours are bigger, with three hundred people in each dorm. Go ahead and check in. I'll be heading back now. If you need me, you can usually find me here in the lobby. Or just use the booklet."
Without waiting for a reply, he left.
Watching him walk away, Lan Jin couldn't help saying, "Why would they have a soldier bring us over? That's a pretty high level of attention. I thought he had business with us, but he just left after the introductions."
Ling Jiang agreed. "Exactly. I thought he was going to tell us something important."
But since he hadn't said anything, they didn't dwell on it. Once they finished the check-in process, they went to find their rooms.
Lan Jin and Ling Jiang were in the third-floor women's dorm. Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe were on the seventh floor for men.
It was already four in the afternoon, but they weren't about to wait around. Even inside the elevator, Lan Jin said, "Let's go to the shopping center first, then head straight to the cafeteria. But should we bring our bags?"
Lao Gao said, "If Brother Zhang hadn't been with us earlier, I'd have already exchanged some things at the supply counter. Might as well bring the bags. If we see something we like, we can trade right away."
"Alright."
Then Lao Gao added, "Sister Lan, I've got just under thirty thousand contribution points in my permit. If it's not enough, take out some of the gold and other stuff from my stash so I can trade for more."
That was assuming, of course, that the weapons counter wasn't empty.
"Alright, we'll check first. If you need it, I'll slip it into your bag and you can trade all at once," Lan Jin said. "But you'd better choose carefully. Weapons are expensive, and it'd be a waste to buy something impractical."
In the apocalypse, every contribution point had to be spent carefully.
More importantly, the weapon had to be truly useful. Useless ones she already had plenty of in her storage space.
Lao Gao grinned. "Sister Lan, I know. You don't need to worry. I'll even pick out one that suits you—something with strong attack power that's still easy to use."
===
If you have been reading my historical translations, you probably know I keep a private glossary of ancient China terms in Google Docs. I usually share the link in the chapter comments. I realized some of you read on the app, and copying links there can be a hassle (´･ᴗ･`).
So I am officially uploading the glossary here on Webnovel under The Imperial Handbook: A Practical Guide to Ancient Chinese Society. This will make it easier to access, and I can keep updating it whenever I meet a useful term, office, rank, or cultural note. Whether you are new to history novels or want deeper context, I hope it makes your reading smoother and more fun. (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ
If it helps, please add the handbook to your Library and give it a read. While you are there, feel free to add the rest of my handbook series as well:
• The Xianxia Handbook: A Guide to Cultivation and BeyondIn short: for all things Cultivation, Realms, and Daoist magic.
• The Imperial Handbook: A Practical Guide to Ancient Chinese SocietyIn short: for historical topics, courts, bureaucracy, and daily life in the past.
• The Webnovel Handbook: A Guide to Slang, Tropes, and Inside JokesIn short: for community slang, inside jokes, and fun tropes. The cover is ready, chapters will follow soon.
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