Chapter 252: Chapter 252

The third step of the remodeling plan was to silently upgrade her living quarters and habits, as per the boss’s instructions.

Preventing red earthworms from getting in one’s hair on a rainy day in a leaky house required extensive preparation. To keep the villa free of red earthworms, Jing Shu had put in significant effort.

So, Jing Shu brought a large bag of items and followed Zijin from the villa to Zijin’s current residence. Honestly, I’m quite curious about where she lives, given the past rumors about her harboring red earthworms and such... Read full story at novel[f]ire.net

"Here, this enclosed raincoat is also part of your benefits. If one day you quit, you will need to return all these items. The raincoat must be soaked in a saltwater pool daily to keep it clean."

Wearing her waterproof rain hat and enclosed raincoat, Zijin found this secure combination protected her long hair from the red earthworms in the torrential rain. She felt as if she had returned to the time before the apocalypse.

Walking through the dim, stormy weather, she felt completely isolated from the downpour. Listening to the rain drumming against her raincoat, Zijin found the sound beautiful for the first time. The fifteen-minute walk from Banana District’s villa area to the Second Team’s residential area seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.

The residential area was located inside the large mall. One end of the mall spanned four floors: the food court was on the first, and floors two through four served as the Second Team’s base. There was also a basement which served as a storage area—the same place where Jing Shu and Wu You’ai had been interrogated.

The other end continued east from the food court on the first floor. It was Jing Shu’s first time taking this corridor. Along both sides of the mall corridor were various shops with transparent glass fronts.

Before the apocalypse, this area was probably intended to be a fashion street. The shops were small, some just 30 square meters, while others were over 100 square meters. At the moment, they had been modestly modified by the residents for living.

"Places with individual rooms and spacious areas are basically for those with military rank."

The mall’s uniformly laid, beautiful tiles and reinforced transparent glass certainly provided a much better environment than the underground garages. At least there was private space. However, it couldn’t avoid the stuffiness and odors, or the damp, moldy smell from the first floor. The glass was also coated in a layer of mist.

The residential area began from the corridor, with access control set up at the front. If Zijin hadn’t brought Jing Shu in, it would probably have been impossible to enter.

The mall corridor was lit, and the shops on either side provided faint light. Jing Shu observed the living conditions of the residents.

Through the glass doors of the better-off units, one could see potted garlic, chives, mushrooms, and other plants. After three long months of exploration, many people with means had spent two Virtual Coins on seeds. Using simple improvised soil and sand filtration, they were able to sustain some garlic sprouts and the like. Of course, there would definitely be residual insect eggs on them.

Garlic sprouts were a luxury item these days.

Other living areas, such as living rooms and bedrooms, were partitioned off with wooden boards. Sofas, beds, tables—all basic living supplies were present. Clothes hung on ropes at the entrances, though they could hardly dry. Such conditions, before the apocalypse, would have matched the standard of construction workers or rural laborers. Now, only those with some influence within the residential area could live in an individual room.

The worse-off might just have an empty bed and a desk, along with a pile of randomly scavenged items. Nowadays, people kept whatever they found and brought it home, as no one knew when they might need it—it was genuinely an era of scavenging for scraps.

There were basically no household appliances, and similarly, the residential area had no electricity. However, there was a large television in the residential area that faithfully broadcast the news at seven o’clock every day, at which time everyone would crowd together to watch.

The residential area also had a boiler room. At night, they would turn on the underfloor heating so it wasn’t too cold. Each family could get a pot of boiled water from the heated supply each day, which was considered one of the benefits. After all, residents of Banana District, aside from having some soup with their meals, usually drank unboiled water the rest of the time, increasing the rate of illness.

They reached the end of the passage, which was the other side of the shopping center. Here stood a vacant, simply decorated office building with 31 floors, each floor about 800 square meters. This office building served as the residential area for the families of the entire stationed troop, approximately 4,000 people. This meant about 130 people per floor, with each person getting roughly 6 square meters.

Jing Shu followed Zijin up the emergency stairwell of the office building. It was rather clean, as dozens of people were hired to clean it daily, earning these workers an extra meal of white rice. The environment was definitely much better than that of Banana District.

"But now, the allocation of housing space is based on military rank. It’s said that someone like Captain Li got an entire floor to himself."

"The capable should bear more responsibility; that’s how it should be. Before the apocalypse, people who made great contributions to the nation earned less in a year than a celebrity could make from selling one photo in a single night. It’s time for a change."

Zijin’s place was on the 31st floor. The higher the floor, the lower one’s status in the residential area. Gasping for breath, Zijin finally climbed to the 31st floor. We’re finally here!

Jing Shu was only slightly out of breath and recovered quickly after climbing the long flight of stairs. She noticed that some floors in the office building were renovated. Most were divided into many cubicles and offices, while some were sectioned into several larger areas, indicating higher-ranking occupants—probably two or three sharing a floor. In the apocalypse, whether one could live comfortably depended entirely on the individual.

It was either over a hundred people crammed onto one floor or one person occupying an entire floor.

When they opened the door to the 31st floor, they found what looked like a massive open dormitory, resembling a student dorm housing hundreds!

As far as the eye could see, it was densely packed with people. Unlike other floors that had many offices, this one was probably used for storage, so apart from the central pillars, it was bare.

Fortunately, it wasn’t like the underground car park where each person was simply assigned a parking space. Instead, everyone was given a bunk bed. These were multifunctional units: underneath the top bunk were a desk, chair, and bookshelf, with a wardrobe on the other side, and a single bed on top.

Zijin said, "There are a total of 200 beds on this level. Everyone has a bunk bed to store things and sleep. That area over there is the bathroom, and there’s also an area with a television. Two months ago, they brought up all the supplies from Wucheng University and distributed them to us. These bunk beds are quite convenient."

Zijin led Jing Shu to her bunk and whispered, "This floor mainly houses the families of those who died in the line of duty. The higher-ups said that no matter how difficult things get, they’ll take us along; it’s just that the conditions might be a bit poorer. Those who have family working in the mall get double beds, with a wooden plank partition, so it supposedly doesn’t affect their personal lives."

Jing Shu nodded. The Huaxia Government never disappoints in significant matters. She looked around. Most people were staring at them with peculiar expressions. Jing Shu also saw several women with children.

"Who are you two? Are you lost? That’s the long-haired monster’s spot. It’s all red earthworms over there—terrifying!" a woman on the neighboring bed said in a loud, carefree tone, while nursing a toddler of about one.

Zijin pulled open her enclosed raincoat. "Aunt Zhang, is the long-haired monster you’re referring to me?"