"Are you coming in or not? Don't dawdle!" The man's tone was impatient, perhaps annoyed by someone causing trouble nearby.
Xu An suppressed the urge to curse and plastered on a smile. "Yes, yes, we don't have any food with us. Big brother, I'll trade you with other things."
The man squinted at Xu An, sizing her up before grudgingly opening his mouth.
"One packet of instant noodles is worth half a catty at most."
It seemed many people had used instant noodles to pay.
After all, not everyone carried food when they went out. Rice, in particular, was inconvenient.
"No instant noodles, big brother. Come closer, I have something good here."
Xu An wasn't lying. She pulled out a pack of "Huazi" from her backpack.
The man's eyes lit up when he saw what Xu An produced.
The base wasn't entirely without tobacco.
However, such items had long become hard currency, sold by the stick.
Only those with power and influence could afford tobacco.
Men like him, who barely managed to secure a "gatekeeper" job, were envied by those outside the city.
But those inside the city disdained them.
He usually couldn't even get his hands on the cheapest hand-rolled cigarette.
Let alone "Huazi," a luxury tobacco that was expensive even before the apocalypse.
Xu An saw the man's eyes gleam and knew that tobacco was solid hard currency here.
Xu An had countless valuable cigarettes and liquors in her spatial dimension, so she didn't feel it was a waste.
These things held little value for her, but for those who enjoyed tobacco.
The value of these cigarettes was more precious than twenty catties of rice.
The man's eyes were like golden lamps, staring at the cigarette in Xu An's hand with longing. He reached out to take it.
But Xu An subtly shook her hand.
"Can this pack of cigarettes cover our entrance fee for two people?"
Xu An needed to clarify things beforehand before handing over the goods.
Although she had an inexhaustible supply of such tobacco and liquor in her dimension.
She wasn't a fool to be ripped off by others.
The man licked his lips, his eyes flashing with shrewdness. Without even guessing, one could tell from his expression that he was plotting against Xu An.
"This thing is indeed precious, but it's not food that can fill your stomach. At most, it's worth your entrance fee for one person."
Upon hearing this, Xu An didn't even spare the man a glance.
She retracted the cigarette, rolled up the car window, and turned to Zhou Haimei.
"Sister Mei, let's find another base."
The man was stunned by this turn of events, not expecting Xu An to retreat without even giving him a chance to bargain.
He turned, wanting to leave.
Thinking of that pack of Huazi, the man's heart itched uncontrollably, like ants crawling all over him.
Before Xu An could drive away, the man, full of compromise, tapped on the car window.
"Alright, alright, stop the act. Give me the stuff, and I'll let you in."
A smile also appeared on Xu An's face.
"Big brother, the value of this item. Once you're inside, you know better than I do. Compared to twelve catties of coarse rice, which is more important, I think you understand. It's not right for you to try and fool me."
The man was helpless.
Normally, he could scare the young girls he encountered into revealing all their possessions.
He didn't expect to meet a troublemaker today, and not just any troublemaker, but a troublemaker with a lot of cunning.
"You can get temporary identification, which allows you to enter and exit freely within the base. But this is just a pass. Our base does not provide food or drinks, nor does it provide accommodation. However, there is a refugee camp in the base. If you are truly out of funds, you can go there. They can accommodate you for one night, but you must find work the next day."
The man sized up Xu An. Someone who could casually produce Huazi didn't seem like someone without resources.
"Of course, if you have plenty of funds, you can stay in a hotel for a short period, or rent a house for long-term stays. Your pass is temporary, valid for only seven days."
Xu An, upon hearing this, was also a bit curious. She looked at the man and asked, "What should we do if we plan to stay here long-term and want to get official identification?"
The man pointed to a notice board at the city gate. Xu An looked in the direction he pointed.
She was a little confused.
The next second, the man explained to her.
"To become a permanent resident, you need to go to the administrative office to collect contribution tasks. You must earn at least 30 contribution points to qualify for applying as a formal resident."
Seeing that Xu An still had questions, the man became impatient. He waved his hand, signaling Xu An and the others to leave quickly.
A vehicle immediately followed behind them, waiting in line for inspection.
Xu An naturally knew that these people were driven by self-interest.
The reason he chattered so much with her earlier was solely due to the value of that pack of Huazi.
Seeing that she had so many questions and then refused to say more.
But it didn't matter.
If he wouldn't say, Xu An could go and ask herself, so she didn't pester him further.
She stepped on the accelerator and slowly drove inside.
Zhou Haimei put away the previous map and leaned out the car window, looking around. "An'an, don't you think this place looks like the Lighthouse? It's much better than that Bunker place. At least here it's outdoors and there's light."
After entering, Xu An was also surprised to find that the layout here was exactly the same as the Lighthouse.
Not only that, but along the wide main road, there was a high-intensity streetlamp every five meters.
Right in people's blind spots.
After being out for so many days, this was the first time Zhou Haimei could clearly see the scenery below, not just a vast expanse of fog.
Although Xu An's vision was not affected, no one would refuse the mist being dispelled by the lights.
"I didn't expect the Southern Base to be so extravagant!" Zhou Haimei exclaimed. "I thought there wouldn't be any large-scale bases like this, but this Southern Base seems similar to the Lighthouse, except you can't fly into the sky."
Xu An was also a bit surprised.
In her previous life, she was too "poor" to ever enter, so she didn't know what it was like.
"An'an, look, there are even shops here," Zhou Haimei tugged Xu An's sleeve, seemingly surprised.
"Look, there's a hotel over there. Let's stay there."
Xu An nodded and drove forward.
This was what they had discussed earlier: stay for one night and leave the next day to avoid attracting attention.
As soon as they parked the car, a little girl, about ten years old, with pigtails,
walked towards them with a smile on her face.
"Are you two sisters looking for a place to stay?"
Xu An instinctively took a step back. After the previous experience at a hotel, she was now apprehensive whenever she saw a little girl.
Zhou Haimei looked at Xu An's expression and couldn't help but chuckle. She stepped forward and said to the girl.
"Yes, we're staying. Do you have parking available?"