CHAPTER 688: 【682】QUEEN OF THE APOCALYPSE 18 (1 MORE)

While the men went out to hunt and level up, the women stayed home, washing and mending clothes. Although the apocalypse had not resulted in a shortage of clothing—garments could be found everywhere—people tended to stick to wearing what they were accustomed to, even if it got worn out, finding ways to patch it up rather than throwing it away. So these remaining individuals always had something to do.

When they first arrived, they were issued with the bedding that was already present in the prison. If they found it unclean, they could wash it themselves, or they could replace it with quilts they found while out hunting. They didn’t need the base to worry about that for them.

After all, managing their food and drink was already a hassle. For other needs, they had to fend for themselves.

For example, women had to find their own sanitary pads and makeup. You needed it, you found it—there was no reasoning that everything should be demanded from them.

Beyond asking them to do what they were capable of, the base’s crops also required them to weed and fertilize.

Her accelerated growth was not a daily occurrence but happened periodically. After all, it didn’t matter if the land lay fallow; letting it grow at a natural pace was okay.

Men and women of the base, if mutually willing, were allowed to be together. However, if a child resulted from the union, necessities such as milk powder and diapers also needed to be self-managed. The base would not take responsibility.

Within just a month, Zhu Li had enacted dozens of rules, even implementing a wage system. Your abilities and the number of zombies you killed each day were directly proportional; the faster your abilities developed, the better your food standards. Conversely, you’d be left chewing on grain husks and vegetable leaves.

In short, ability determined everything. If you were strong, so what if the base supported your wife and children for you?

But if you were incompetent and yet aspired to find a woman and father sons like others, well, then sorry— you were responsible for your own offspring, with the base not being accountable.

What if you were just an ordinary person?

Women still had the opportunity to pair up with Superpower Users and be supported by them, but wouldn’t that leave men and the elderly without a chance?

For the elderly, Zhu Li would provide them with work opportunities, in turn getting just enough food to get by. Younger and middle-aged adults had to rely on their physical strength to secure their sustenance. This was the law of competition in the apocalypse. She wasn’t targeting anyone in particular; she needed to be responsible for everyone.

Of course, her rules weren’t willingly followed by everyone, and to those dissenters, Zhu Li’s response was quite straightforward.

Unwilling to comply? Fine, then please leave. Sunshine Base did not harbor loafers and idlers. Those who stayed had to obey; otherwise, they were free to leave.

Zhu Li dared to be so brazen—ha ha—naturally because she had Little White, an Advanced Zombie, as her protector. With him protecting her, she wasn’t afraid of even Reyas; who would dare to interfere?

As everyone said, strength decided everything. Zhu Li’s Wood and Water dual system nourished the base’s vegetables and fruits. In such circumstances, anyone who dared to entangle themselves was simply seeking humiliation.

So, in the days that followed, as their numbers kept increasing, there were also those who left. Through comings and goings, their count exceeded a hundred by the end of the year.

By year-end, the base also raised chickens, ducks, geese, quails, pigs, cows, and sheep—all found in the surrounding villages, with eyes not yet discolored, and presumably fit for breeding. Tending to these animals relied entirely on the base’s twenty percent ordinary people.

Meanwhile, the number of small animals in her space had increased from two to three. She had raised a hen, a big white goose, and sheep. She would occasionally give eggs and goose eggs to Zhao Yun to help nourish her children. As for themselves, they rarely indulged except when overwhelmed by cravings, then they would scramble an egg to satiate the desire since, after the apocalypse, protein had become a luxury.

Her space had been upgraded to include ten plots of land, reaching level 12, allowing her to grow watermelons and bananas. She would occasionally treat her team with these fruits to satisfy their cravings. No one questioned the source of these goods. After all, she was from the Wood system—with seeds, what couldn’t she grow?

Other than her team, she didn’t consider anyone else her own, so naturally, they didn’t share in these benefits.

Additionally, she noticed something; Reyas and Zhao Yun, having gone through hardships together, had developed feelings for each other. Reyas, being a straight-forward man, didn’t know how to express himself. Though he clearly had feelings for Zhao Yun, he hesitated to confess them. If he hadn’t constantly protected her, Zhu Li wouldn’t have noticed anything.

Despite Zhao Yun having had children, she was actually quite attractive and also virtuous, gentle, and kind. Any male, like the straightforward strongman Reyas would fancy such a woman. With the base now harboring more strong men, and to prevent Zhao Yun from being taken by another, he declared his claim with a bold kiss.

As for Zhao Yun, having spent so much time with Reyas, how could she be unaware of his character? Besides, as a Space Department Superpower User, she still needed others’ protection. Reyas was a strong man who could provide her and her daughter with a safe living environment, so she had no objections to this relationship. It was only natural that the two of them ended up together.

They were thirty-five and thirty years old, respectively—a perfectly matched age.

Thus, they became the only couple in their team who were no longer single.

Reyas’s team totaled six people, and excluding him, that left five bachelors, and with Rong Hua included, that was six bachelors in total.

Little Wanwan and An Nuo were still young. As for her, she had no intention of finding a partner in the apocalypse, plus she had Little White constantly by her side—who among the strong would dare risk their life to confess to her?

Moreover, the original host had only been seventeen years old when she passed away; still a high school student before the apocalypse. Who with such a niche preference would seek her out? She’d surely disdain and detest them.

Moreover, in others’ eyes, no one knew that Little White was a Zombie; they only regarded him as a powerful being. Little White’s demeanor towards her made everything clear, and unless someone wished to challenge him, people would not easily target her, inadvertently protecting her from numerous troubles.

After establishing a preliminary outline for Sunshine Base, team assembly was necessary for hunting trips, and these teams were formed by acquaintances.

Reyas’s team, naturally, became the first squad, and the rest of the people formed nearly seven or eight squads, with a maximum of ten members each.

Reyas’s team, not just his five brothers but also Rong Hua, Zhao Yun, Zhu Li, and Little White, had abilities that were central to the base. Everyone wanted to join their squad, but one had to qualify for it.

With Little White included, their ten-person squad was already established, not to mention the two children. Although young, one from the Light Element and the other from the Thunder Element were both incredibly remarkable, holding great promise for the future.