Less than two hours after meeting Mingyue, Rose, acting like a close confidante, mysteriously invited Mingyue to a place.
"Where are we going? So secretive."
Seeing Rose's hopeful expression, Mingyue smiled. This girl was easy to get along with, so straightforward.
She had no defenses against people. In the apocalypse, was such a personality a strength or a weakness?
"You'll know when we get there, you'll definitely like it. Let me tell you, Sister Mingyue, if you want to survive in the base, you absolutely must know about this place.
You just arrived at the base, and your team is large. This place is a must-visit."
Like a cheerful little bee, Rose pulled Mingyue along, chattering as they walked.
"Okay, okay, I'll go with you. Stop pulling me."
It was still early, and Mingyue quite liked Rose, so she went along with her. Bringing Ba Jiu, she followed Rose towards the east side of the base.
Yuncheng Base faced south and backed north, with its gate to the south. The villa where Mingyue lived was on the west side, while the mission hall and other administrative departments were in the city center.
Mingyue had never been to the east side before. She saw that the buildings here were mostly low-rise residences, a stark contrast to the villa area where she lived.
This area lacked the quietness of the villa district. The streets were narrow, and the houses were dilapidated. Simple shelters like the ones the Monkey siblings lived in were everywhere along the streets.
They were all ordinary people without supernatural abilities, gaunt and dispirited.
Their faces were etched with hardship, some already numb, like walking dead.
The overall impression was like entering a refugee camp, with the aura of the apocalypse even stronger.
"Before the apocalypse, the west side of Yuncheng was the wealthy district, full of villas and mansions.
This was the slum, where the poor lived. Even after the apocalypse, this class distinction hasn't changed.
Because the rent in the villa district is unaffordable, even for ability users.
So, eighty percent of the base's population is concentrated here due to the cheap rent.
Those who set up temporary shelters on the streets were driven out for not being able to pay rent and could only sleep on the streets.
As long as they were within the base, they wouldn't be attacked by zombies, so they'd rather sleep on the streets than risk their lives outside the city.
They lived one day at a time. When they truly couldn't hold on, they would go out to fight zombies. That's why they became numb."
Seeing Mingyue staring at the people on the street, Rose explained. Her usually cheerful and lively personality became a little subdued as she spoke.
What she saw before her didn't affect Mingyue. She knew it was the apocalypse, and she wasn't a savior.
She could only do her best to ensure her friends and family survived and remained unharmed. She wasn't foolish enough to take on responsibilities for others.
So, she chose to ignore the gazes of those people and continued to follow Rose.
She didn't understand why Rose brought her here. As she pondered, they entered another street.
Rose's pace quickened, and her face showed a hint of shyness, as if she wanted to get through this area quickly.
Seeing the scene before her and hearing the sounds, a hint of helplessness appeared on Mingyue's face.
From the rows of tents along the street came the roars of men, accompanied by the moans of women.
Some men emerged from tents, their upper bodies bare, pulling up their pants as they walked.
And by some tents, people were haggling, with a loaf of bread or a steamed bun being enough for a transaction.
"You brought me here? What kind of twisted hobby is this?"
Mingyue quickly covered Ba Jiu's eyes and said to Rose, annoyed, because this was clearly an adult-only establishment.
"Oh, Sister Mingyue, no, hurry up, don't stop.
The place we're going to is ahead. This is just a necessary passage. What do you take me for?"
Seeing Mingyue stop, Rose quickly turned back, grabbed her, and they ran through this area.
"Okay, the place we're going to is ahead. We finally made it through.
The area we just passed is the base's red-light district. Some women without abilities can only get food by selling their bodies.
Every time I pass here, I feel so embarrassed, but I can't bring myself to hate those women.
They are all pitiable, just trying to survive. Blame this damned world!
Thinking about it, I'm still lucky. If I hadn't awakened my abilities, would I be like them?"
Rose's face showed melancholy, but after only a few seconds of sadness, she recovered.
"Ahead is where we're going, ta-da, the base's trading market.
Sister Mingyue, aren't you surprised and delighted?"
Pointing to a walled-off area ahead, Rose said playfully, making Mingyue look at her with a helpless expression.
She thought it was some special place, but it turned out to be just a trading market. Mingyue immediately lost interest.
She had more than enough supplies in her spatial storage and had nothing she needed to buy. She wanted to go back.
"Sister Mingyue, don't underestimate this market. It's different from the base's supply station. There are all sorts of things here, and you can bargain.
If you want to survive in the base, you have to be thrifty. Even a low-level crystal core has to be stretched.
This trading market is self-organized. Many of the items here were brought back by ability users on missions outside the city. Sometimes you can find bargains.
Also, points can be appreciated here and utilized to their fullest extent."
Rose whispered mysteriously into Mingyue's ear, acting like a spy in a clandestine meeting.
Involving points piqued Mingyue's interest, and she changed her mind, wanting to go in and see for herself.
So, she followed Rose through a rusty iron gate and entered the trading market.
Inside was a large open space with several hundred people. Some were setting up stalls on the ground.
Some were browsing, and others were stopping at various stalls, choosing items they liked.
There were no fixed zones here, and the stalls were set up quite casually. A cloth was spread on the ground, and the goods for sale were placed on it. Some people even placed them directly on the ground.
There were no hawkers; the entire market was quiet. The transaction methods varied.
Bartering was possible, or crystal cores could be used, depending entirely on the stall owner's needs.
The goods for sale were even more diverse, ranging from clothing and shoes to gold, jewelry, food, and weapons. Anything and everything.
However, food was the most popular and frequently traded item, and naturally, the most expensive.
Mingyue personally saw a middle-aged woman holding a box of jewelry.
Before the apocalypse, these pieces of jewelry would have been worth at least several million.
But here, they were exchanged for just a steamed bun and a thin piece of cured sausage.
Rose didn't linger at these stalls. She pulled Mingyue straight through the trading area to a small house at the end of the market.
Inside, a man sat there, with a box of crystal cores beside him. He was completely covered, his face masked with a black cloth.
After Rose entered, she didn't say a word. She directly took a base-issued point voucher from her backpack and handed it over.
Mingyue saw that it displayed one point. The man took it, checked it, and counted out twelve low-level crystal cores from the box, giving them to Rose. Rose happily put the crystal cores into her backpack and pulled Mingyue out of the house, heading back towards the trading area.
"Why did he give you two extra crystal cores?"
Mingyue didn't understand this transaction and asked Rose with confusion.