In the evening, the air conditioner Wang Zhi had purchased at the Exchange was delivered.
"This air conditioner is quite old, Captain Wang," Fatty remarked, looking at the yellowed outdoor unit.
"If it works, that's good enough. Where are you going to find a new one these days?" Wang Zhi replied.
"Do you guys realize this small air conditioner cost three thousand Survival Points? If we casually scout a building and dismantle ten of them, wouldn't that be thirty thousand Survival Points?" Fatty had suddenly spotted a potential business venture.
"You're dreaming. That's the price Dawn City charged us. If we were selling them, they'd probably buy them by the pound, hah!" Wang Zhi laughed.
"Heh, you understand this place too well," Old He remarked.
"There's no choice. After all, this place requires everyone to build and contribute together. If Dawn City doesn't profit, this shelter won't be able to operate," Wang Zhi stated.
As they spoke, Wang Zhi and Jia Liuli carried the air conditioners into their room, while Su Muying and You Luo secured the outdoor units outside the window.
wang Zhi could see that since You Luo and Su Muying had killed someone together, their relationship had improved significantly. Two people achieving ten good deeds together couldn't compare to them doing one bad deed together to solidify their bond.
....
After everyone finished dinner, the lights in Dawn City were dim that evening. The expensive electricity rates meant only a few residences had their lights on. In this gloomy city, they communicated, traded, provoked fights, bullied, and deceived one another. Everyone was striving to live for themselves, yet simultaneously felt misfortune, unfairness, and dissatisfaction. This harsh reality shattered their fantasies of being the protagonist destined for success. Surviving this Apocalypse hadn't changed their fate; it merely meant they exchanged one way of struggling for survival for another environment in which to continue.
In Villa Number One, the three outdoor units hummed continuously. Inside the room, Wang Zhi sat on the rug, watching the three people on the bed. Jia Liuli was still sleeping on the innermost side, Su Muying was still in the middle, but the person on the outermost edge was no longer him.
you Luo leaned against the headboard and shot a glance at Wang Zhi on the floor. Seeing his reluctance, she said, "What's with that look? I didn't force you to sleep on the floor."
'Nothing, I just miss that spot somewhat."
'Actually, sleeping on the floor is quite nice; it's cool and spacious," You Luo commented.
'I have to admit, aside from being a bit hard, it is indeed cool and spacious." Wang Zhi lay down, pulled a thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes to sleep.
after an unknown amount of time, Wang Zhi felt something step on his face and instantly jolted awake.
jia Liuli, who was beside him, also accidentally stumbled nearby.
'Jia Liuli? What are you doing?" Wang Zhi got up, switched on the bedside lamp, and asked while touching his face.
'Sorry, Captain.... I was trying to get to the restroom and accidentally stepped on you," Jia Liuli said, lowering her head.
'You scared me half to death! I thought it was someone else. Go ahead quickly, just remember I'm down here next time," Wang Zhi said, lying back down.
...
early the next morning, everyone was stretching on the first floor. After sleeping soundly in the air-conditioned room, everyone except Wang Zhi, who had been inexplicably stepped on, had slept extremely comfortably.
there were still two days before Wang Zhi and his team departed for the signal source location. Today, they needed to head to the preparation zone to replenish their combat supplies.
following their last mission at the Pharmaceutical Factory, their ammunition reserves were down to just over 1200 rifle rounds and twenty-five Biochemical Grenades remaining.
this time, Wang Zhi's team did not replenish their Biochemical Grenades.
wang Zhi found that apart from dealing with large swarms of common Zombies, Biochemical Grenades were completely useless against the Mutant Species.
as their team size and strength grew, they no longer feared small or medium-sized Zombie hordes.
rifle ammunition was calculated at 300 rounds per person, and pistol ammunition at 100 rounds per person.
this amounted to replenishing 1800 rifle rounds and 1000 pistol rounds, totaling an expenditure of 1940 Survival Points!
they replenished three days' worth of food supplies for ten people, costing 3000 Survival Points!
next, they bought three Ejection Grappling Hooks for You Luo and her two companions, refilled the gas tanks, and spent 1150 Survival Points!
after several rounds of spending, Wang Zhi checked the team balance; they had 19,760 Survival Points left!
in the short span of five days since returning, they had burned through nearly 20,000 Survival Points!
'since our target this time is still the camp, perhaps we should prepare a sniper rifle?" Old He asked.
'Speaking of sniper rifles, I only used the last one I bought once. After that, it just gathered dust, and I eventually traded it in for credit," Su Muying replied.
'but if the opposition turns out to be hostile, we'll be at a distinct disadvantage without one," Old He insisted.
'then aren't you afraid of buying one only for it to collect dust?" Su Muying spread her hands, showing indifference.
'buy! Buying food now costs thousands; there's no reason to be stingy with weapons. Furthermore, the expensive part isn't the firearm itself, but the ammunition. A sniper rifle plus a few dozen rounds of bullets won't cost much. What if the other party turns out to be an enemy? That sniper rifle will prove its worth," Wang Zhi stated.
'Then should we buy the sniper rifle I purchased last time? Maybe the one we buy will even be the same one," Su Muying suggested.
'Done."
when Wang Zhi and the others located the sniper rifle Su Muying had bought previously, the price had barely increased: 2,000 Survival Points for the rifle, plus another 3,000 for 100 rounds of corresponding ammunition.
'Is there anything else we need to prepare?" Wang Zhi asked again.
seeing that the others had no further suggestions, Wang Zhi left the preparation area.
'white Crow, how are you feeling after injecting the Crystal Core Gene?" Wang Zhi asked him on the way back.
'i haven't experienced any adverse effects yet. As for changes... I haven't engaged in any heavy exertion, so it's hard to say," White Crow replied.
'mm. If you all want to go out and move around later, feel free to do so anytime. Just try not to exhaust yourselves too much; we need to depart early the day after tomorrow," Wang Zhi instructed.
returning to the residence, Wang Zhi looked at the map Jie Xi had sent him via Ling Lingyao.
the signal source was located to the west of Dawn City, appearing to be either in a suburban district or perhaps a manor estate.
the group examined the map, discussing their plans and routes.
if this hundred kilometers went smoothly, they could reach it in half a day, but if they wanted to go directly to the destination, they would have to cut across a city.
undoubtedly, they wouldn't do the foolish thing of cutting across the city; they could only choose to go around it, which would add over 40 kilometers to their detour!
'i have a bad feeling about this errand," Old He frowned.
'what is it?" Wang Zhi asked.
'more than fifty survivors, mostly women and children-if they've survived until now, there must be something wrong," Old He continued.
'didn't they say there were about a hundred people, and half of them died?" Fatty asked.
'don't believe that nonsense," You Luo said.
'old He is right. In this Apocalypse, the lowest survival rate belongs to women and children. The claim that they are mostly women and children must be a lie. Their goal, then, is to have us go there and bring them back here," Wang Zhi stated.
'but didn't Jie Xi send us to scout them out? If there's a problem with them, we can just call for backup and wipe them out," Su Muying said, picking up her walkie-talkie.
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