CHAPTER 523: AUCTION ( 2 )

Due to the increase of the population, the base opened two more cafeterias in the second-ring area and the fourth-ring area. Compared to the other areas, the cafeteria in the fourth-ring area was several times bigger.

Today was the ’special dish’ day, so the cafeteria was packed with people even when it was only three o’clock in the afternoon. When she was lining up, she heard the conversation around her.

"I wonder what meat dish we will have for dinner," a burly man said while patting his stomach.

"I heard from my friend who works in the logistics department, the Phantom Team brought back lots of good stuff. I hope we will be able to get some canned fruits tonight," another man whispered.

Because everyone stood closely, even if the man already lowered his voice, the people nearby were still able to hear his words. The moment they got the information, they stretched their necks to check the line.

Although the cafeteria limited the purchase and each of them could only buy one portion of special dishes, the amount of the special dishes was far than enough to meet the demand.

Half an hour later, Chu Zhimiao finally reached the counter. As expected, there were two special dishes for tonight, grilled sausage with cheese and fruit soup.

When she saw the dishes, surprise flashed in Chu Zhimiao’s eyes.

She thought that even if the base was willing to sell a meat dish in the cafeteria, the amount of meat would only be one-tenth compared to other ingredients.

Unexpectedly, not only did they give two grilled sausages with a piece of cheese, but they even added milk to the fruit soup.

"Comrade, what do you want to buy?" the cafeteria staff asked.

"I want two portions of each dish and twenty steamed buns. Please pack it up for me," Chu Zhimiao ordered as she salivated.

Hearing this, the cafeteria staff said, "Comrade, you can only buy one portion of the special dish."

Chu Zhimiao nodded and replied, "Then give me one portion each."

"Do you bring your own food box or do you want to borrow from the cafeteria?" the staff asked again.

"I don’t have any food boxes."

The staff nodded and said, "Comrade, you have to pay one point for one food box if you borrow it from the cafeteria."

"Okay."

Five minutes later, the staff handed her two plastic bags and said, "Please pay at the counter."

"Thank you."

Chu Zhimiao lined up at the counter. When it was her turn, the staff checked her order and said, "Comrade, the total is seventy-seven points."

When Chu Zhimiao heard this, she said, "Comrade, I don’t have points. Can I pay with crystal cores?"

"Sure. One level-one crystal core is equal to twenty points. You only need to give me four crystal cores," the staff nodded.

This time, Chu Zhimiao was shocked by how cheap the food in this base was.

In the Jiangning City Base, three coarse-grain steamed buns cost two crystal cores. Compared to the white, big steamed buns sold here, it was clear that the amount and the quality of ingredients used were vastly different.

This kind of food could only be enjoyed by the higher-ups or important people in her base.

Seeing that she was stunned, the staff thought that she didn’t have enough crystal cores and asked with a frown, "Comrade, do you still want the food?"

Coming back to her senses, Chu Zhimiao quickly nodded, paid for the food, and left the cafeteria. Fearing that Li Yang would be hungry, she hastened her pace and returned to the inn in less than fifteen minutes.

Opening the door, she said, "Li Yang, look what I bought for you."

Li Yang had just finished taking a bath and was only wearing his pants. Seeing her come back, he wiped his hair with a towel a few times and took a seat across from her.

Staring at the dishes, he exclaimed in surprise, "Miaomiao, where did you get these?"

Chu Zhimiao was already used to him not wearing clothes during the summer, so she only glanced at his abs for a moment before averting her gaze. She handed a pair of chopsticks to him and said, "I bought it at the cafeteria."

After a moment of pause, she asked with a grin, "Li Yang, can you guess how much I spent to get this food?"

When Li Yang heard this, he hesitated for a moment before he asked her back, "Miaomiao, tell me, did you spend all of our crystal cores?"

"Do you think I’m stupid?" Chu Zhimiao asked while rolling her eyes when she noticed his worries.

"I didn’t say that. You said it yourself," Li Yang muttered under his breath.

Catching his words, she kicked his leg lightly and said, "I spent four level-one crystal cores. If we had points, it would only cost seventy-seven points!"

Li Yang was surprised and asked with disbelief, "So cheap?"

Noticing his doubts, Chu Zhimiao swallowed the food in her mouth and let out a sigh. "I also found it unbelievable at first. But it’s indeed only seventy-seven points. We can also exchange one level-one crystal core for twenty points."

Glancing at her, Li Yang asked, "Miaomiao, do you want to stay here?"

"It would be a lie if I said I don’t want to. But Brother Pei treats us so well. I can’t bring myself to leave the team when he needs us. If not for Brother Pei, both of us might not have survived this long," Chu Zhimiao replied.

Recalling what they experienced since the apocalypse until now, Li Yang went silent. With the heavy atmosphere, the two of them stopped talking and ate in silence.

At the same time, Du Beiye was setting up her stall in the marketplace. Since she was selling weapons and medicines, she didn’t place her goods in the store owned by her team.

After she placed a piece of black fabric on top of the wooden table, she took out several D-grade weapons from her warehouse. These weapons were faulty products made during her training back when she was still studying in the academy.