Ming Yue was very curious about Rose's previous actions. She wasn't a conspiracy theorist, but she felt something was strange about the matter.
"Sister Ming Yue, you don't know, this is why I brought you here. In the future, when your team has points, don't be foolish enough to use them to buy things at the supply station. You must come here to exchange for crystal cores, and then spend in this market. You can save a lot. Life is not easy in the apocalypse, you must be thrifty."
Hearing Ming Yue's question, Rose acted like a master of meticulous planning and explained to Ming Yue. Her expression clearly conveyed that Ming Yue was her good sister, and she wouldn't tell anyone else.
"But you just said that using points to spend at the supply station gets a 30% discount. Here, one point is exchanged for twelve low-level crystal cores. Calculated this way, it seems like a loss."
Ming Yue still didn't understand. Based on the discount and the exchange rate here, coming here was clearly not cost-effective.
"My silly sister, you can't calculate it like that. The base is very cunning. The discount at the supply station is big, but their goods are also expensive, three to four times the price here. Buying things there, let alone a 40% discount, even at a 50% discount, the items would still be more than double the price here. Where do you think is more cost-effective?"
After speaking, Rose walked to a stall. She spotted several packs of instant noodles on the stall and haggled with the vendor. Finally, she made the transaction for two low-level crystal cores and put seven packs of instant noodles into her backpack.
"See? The same instant noodles, at the base's supply station, one pack costs one low-level crystal core. Here, seven packs only cost two. Sister Ming Yue, do you understand?" Rose proved with facts that points would have the greatest value when used here.
"But what's in it for the man who exchanges points? He exchanges so many points, and he can only spend them at the supply station. According to your logic, wouldn't he be losing a lot? Would there be such a fool?"
"He's not a fool! He'll sell the points he has at a high price. The one-point voucher I just exchanged, he'll flip it for fifteen low-level crystal cores."
Rose's words surprised Ming Yue. Points could be resold? Would anyone buy them?
"You're lying, who would be so stupid?"
Ba Jiu, who had been silent, also understood. He didn't believe Rose's words and thought she was lying.
"Little handsome guy, you don't know. Sister will ask you, look around here, they sell everything. But there are two things that are not here, can you guess what they are?"
Seeing Ba Jiu talking to her, Rose became excited. To attract Ba Jiu to say more, she feigned mystery and didn't explain directly, but instead gave Ba Jiu a riddle. Ba Jiu's competitive spirit was ignited. He scanned all the stalls with his clear black and white eyes and soon came up with the answer.
"Medicine and water."
"That's right, you are indeed a smart little handsome guy. It's medicine and water. These two items are only sold at the base's supply station. After the environment changed, the water sources were polluted and could not be drunk. Except for water-attribute ability users, everyone's drinking water must be purchased from the base. Medicine is already scarce, and only the base can provide it. Furthermore, the base stipulates that even medicine obtained from missions outside the city must be handed in, and the base will exchange it for points. Private transactions are not allowed. Moreover, these two items must be purchased with points. Without points, you can't buy them even with crystal cores. Ordinary people without abilities cannot go on missions and cannot obtain points, so they can only come here to buy points at a high price."
After listening to Rose's words, Ming Yue instantly understood. This man who exchanged points must be related to Bu Ying. Within the base, Bu Ying was all-powerful. Would he allow this trading market to exist? It must be for a sinister purpose. Now she understood. This method of exchanging points allowed Bu Ying to kill two birds with one stone. On one hand, ability users, seeking bargains, would buy supplies in the trading market, reducing the circulation of goods in the market. The trading market allowed for bargaining, and ordinary people certainly didn't have the financial strength of ability users, so they couldn't compete in purchases. To avoid starvation, ordinary people could only buy expensive supplies at the supply station, plus emergency medicine and essential water. Through this method, they would drain all the crystal cores from ordinary people, eventually forcing them to die, and gathering all the crystal cores into the hands of the base. The more Ming Yue learned about Yuncheng Base, the more she felt the sinister nature of Bu Ying's schemes. This was completely killing people with high intelligence. All the designs were subtle and untraceable. The pitiable thing was that those people would never know until their death that the base, which they considered incredibly safe, was actually the culprit that drove them to their deaths.
However, Ming Yue didn't mention these things to Rose because it was useless and would only create complications, nor could it change anything. She was now thinking that if the base in Yunmeng Mountain was built, she would never do this.
"Rose, if there was a new base that provided free food and water, and was very safe, would you go?" Ming Yue asked tentatively, looking at Rose. She actually liked Rose very much and wanted to invite Rose to be one of the first residents when the base in Yunmeng Mountain was built, but the time was not right to say it explicitly.
"Of course I would go, but such a base either doesn't exist, or even if it does, it won't last long." Rose bought twenty-odd sweet potatoes with another crystal core. These could be eaten raw or roasted and were convenient to carry on missions. Hearing Ming Yue's question, she answered while packing the sweet potatoes into her backpack.
"Why do you say that?" Ming Yue was very curious about Rose's answer. A base that provided free water and food, and didn't scheme against ordinary people like Yuncheng Base. This was her ideal human survival base. Why did Rose say such a base wouldn't last long?
"Because a favor given to someone in need can breed resentment later. Such a base usually has two outcomes. One is that survivors flock to it, overwhelming the base. The other is that it turns the people in the base into pampered dependents. They will take everything the base does for granted, and eventually, when their demands are not met, they will oppose or even destroy the base. So such a good base will not have a good outcome. Besides, big sister, this is the apocalypse. Such a place, even before the apocalypse, was impossible. Stop joking."
Rose took Ming Yue's words as a joke, but what she said made Ming Yue admire the young girl. The phrase "a favor given to someone in need can breed resentment later" showed Rose's profound understanding of human nature. In fact, Rose was overthinking. The base in Ming Yue's mind, although it could provide free food and water, was not about getting something for nothing. To enter the base, there were conditions and requirements. As the princess of the Witch Clan in her previous life, managing the entire tribe, how could she not understand the principle of "a favor given to someone in need can breed resentment later"?
Ming Yue didn't discuss the base with Rose anymore. They came out of the trading market and agreed to meet at the city gate tomorrow morning before going their separate ways. Ming Yue took Ba Jiu back to the villa. Before entering, she waved her hand and cast a wind barrier to envelop the entire villa before going in. The team members in the villa were all alerted, thinking there were enemies, and rushed out to investigate. Seeing that the wind barrier was cast by Ming Yue, they looked at her curiously, wanting to know the reason.