Contribution Tickets in the Shelter

In the bright corridor, Bai Sifei left with a worried expression, while Shen Liansheng watched his hurried figure, stroked his goatee, and smirked. His assistant, Song Reng, respectfully followed beside him. When Bai Sifei disappeared around the corner of the stairs, Song Reng asked in a low voice, "Boss, did Mr. Shen agree to the request of that young pretty boy?"

Shen Liansheng glanced disapprovingly at him. "Can my niece escape from the palm of my hand?"

Song Reng hurriedly piled on flattery. "Of course not, of course not... Boss, you're always right, never missing a beat. There must be a thousand ways to make Mr. Shen obediently follow your orders. I misspoke, I misspoke."

Shen Liansheng didn't seem too pleased with Song Reng's flattery. He walked to the window, gazing at the gloomy sky outside. He then rubbed his forehead. "It's only been a few days, and Shen Jiayi seems to be struggling. She never used to explain anything to anyone. Just now... she took care of Bai Sifei's emotions while assigning him tasks, specifically introducing him to the situation of Special Ops Department Number 6."

"Yeah, Mr. Shen never explains tasks or cares about the emotions of subordinates. Everyone is afraid of her. Why would she take the initiative this time?"

"She... maintaining that cold and indifferent image is quite exhausting. It's obvious she's been drained lately. She's so preoccupied that she's even neglecting to put up a facade."

Song Reng snapped his fingers. "Could it be... she's fallen for that young pretty boy, Bai Sifei? Professor Bai is handsome, considerate, and I heard there are a lot of girls in the Planning Department who are infatuated with him."

"Bai Sifei naturally wants to get close to Shen Jiayi, but what kind of person is my niece? Any man who can touch her hand hasn't been born yet."

"Well, it's hard to say. After all, Bai Sifei's sister, Bai Tingting, and his assistant are both trusted by Mr. Shen. Sometimes they whisper in her ear on behalf of their brother..."

Shen Liansheng glared at Song Reng. "Alright, stop gossiping. Focus your mind on work and don't learn from those women who pry into so much gossip. Otherwise, I'll throw you to feed the rats!"

Song Reng nodded quickly like a chicken pecking at rice. "Yes, yes, yes! Boss, you're right, I'll take your lesson."

"How's the situation with the Temporary Search Team?"

"Ah, boss, don't worry! Ninety percent of the awakened survivors in the camp have joined our search team. Some of them were a bit arrogant at first, but after some time, they'll be obedient."

"Yes, ninety percent have joined us, those are just the registered awakened. There are some with real combat power hiding deep, still wary of us. And there are even more outside, those who have experienced real battles will be stronger. You've seen the data; some mutants are so thoroughly evolved that our bullets can't even pierce their skin!"

Song Reng immediately bowed his head. "Yes, boss, you're right, I'll increase the investigation efforts among the survivors and try to uncover those hidden strengths among the awakened."

"Not only do we need to uncover them, but we also need to find a way to bring them under our control. I'll find an opportunity to propose opening an elite special zone to my niece. Apart from our combat personnel, only awakened individuals who join us will have the right to reside there."

"Wow, boss, can I have B-3's house? Although its location is not as good as Area A's, it's still excellent."

Shen Liansheng tapped his head. "Always thinking about enjoyment, if you don't do your job well, I'll throw you to feed the rats later."

"Oh, no, I don't want to stay with those dirty and smelly guys."

Shen Liansheng waved away Song Reng, the flatterer, and then regained his calm demeanor. A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the dark sky. Raindrops pattered against the glass canopy above, leaving behind a series of rain streaks. The raindrops were the same, but the viewers were no longer the same. They had been reduced to one twenty-fourth of their original size, and now faced the constant threat of being hunted, but with it came new power and opportunities.

Shen Liansheng held his hand toward the helipad on the entrance canopy of the shelter, as if to grasp the former toy, now a vehicle, in his palm. The body of the aircraft was prominently marked with 0368.

"I will become the master here, brother. Now that you're too busy to even take care of yourself, when you come looking for your precious daughter, it will be too late. By then, I'll crush you under my feet, just as you did to me in the past."

Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the pitch-black sky. Raindrops pattered against the glass canopy, splashing into a spray of water. The six-axis aircraft with the designation 0368 slowly landed on the helipad with a large H symbol.

As soon as the aircraft stopped, the helipad slowly descended below, and the original opening was sealed shut with a heavy, hinged circular door, blocking out the increasingly heavy rain.

Apart from the lift-off helipad, there were also five lateral entrance helipads nearby. However, due to the strong wind, the lateral helipads were temporarily closed for safety to prevent the aircraft from swaying and colliding with the walls. Only the lift-off helipad was in use.

Twelve young men and women dressed in camouflage uniforms emerged from the cabin of Sparrow 0368, led by a big guy with a thick beard. The others lined up beside him, and he glanced at them before saying, "Today's exploration exercise ends here. Rest for a day tomorrow, and come to the team for training the day after tomorrow. Dismissed!"

The team dispersed, with the eleven men and women grouping together in twos and threes. Among them were Xiao Mei and Liu Lian, rescued by Tom, as well as a blond-haired young man named Ouyang Haotian.

"Hi, Xiao Mei, let me treat you to a meal. There's a private kitchen that's quite nice," Ouyang Haotian caught up from behind and extended an invitation to Xiao Mei.

Liu Lian smirked. "Are you inviting Xiao Mei but not me?"

Ouyang Haotian was now a bit awkward. He wanted to create an opportunity to be alone with Xiao Mei. What's this fatso doing interfering?

"I'm not going." Xiao Mei declined cleanly.

"Ah, it's a rare opportunity. It's only 4 contribution tickets, and the food there is much better than the public cafeteria." Ouyang Haotian persisted.

Just mentioning contribution tickets made Liu Lian feel a bit depressed. People had shrunk, and the old currency and money had become invalid in the shelter. Although the shelter provided food and shelter to everyone for free, the quality of the environment and food was quite poor. It was enough to avoid starvation, but the food was hardly satisfying.

Want something better to eat? Some survivors with connections would regularly obtain better ingredients and have better accommodation conditions in the regular areas of the shelter. They were willing to share some of the better processed food and provide more comfortable temporary dining places in exchange for a few contribution tickets.

These so-called contribution tickets were a type of currency issued by the Haiwei Group to its employees, replacing their original wages. Although Haiwei Group's employees had good benefits, they couldn't transition from the previous employment system to a simple welfare system. They had to provide some incentives to motivate everyone to work more actively for the company, hence the contribution tickets.

All resources were strictly controlled, and the daily provisions were provided at the lowest standards. But better resources and services provided by the shelter had to be obtained with contribution tickets.

Haiwei Group's employees would regularly receive different amounts of contribution tickets based on their original salary levels. Survivors in the shelter could also apply to become temporary volunteers, assisting shelter staff to earn a small number of contribution tickets.

Among these methods, joining the temporary search team provided the most stable income of contribution tickets: earning 10 contribution tickets a day.

A decent meal would cost at least 6 contribution tickets, so Ouyang Haotian's offer of a private kitchen for 4 tickets was already quite affordable.

Before the disaster, everyone's lives were already tough, and now, even after shrinking, they couldn't escape being exploited, becoming slaves to capital once again, which made Liu Lian feel a bit frustrated.

"Tom's whereabouts are still unknown, and you're thinking about enjoying yourself?"

At the mention of Tom, Ouyang Haotian rolled his eyes. "Come on, do I have to repeat it? It's been so many days now; if Tom was going to die, he would've died long ago. If he's still alive, then we don't need to worry. He's probably enjoying himself in some supermarket or restaurant, playing with his robot models. Do you really need to worry about him here?"

"But that's just your speculation. The situation outside is getting more dangerous by the day. Those mutant creatures will only get stronger. Captain Liu told me that the rats in the electronic world are already impervious to bullets."

"Have you forgotten that your hearing has become more acute today? Tom's abilities will also enhance, and he'll get more crystals." Ouyang Haotian glanced around to make sure nobody was listening before continuing in a low voice, "Yes, there are dangers outside, but there's also freedom. Do you think Tom, accustomed to the apparent comfort of this shelter, can tolerate the chaos here? Just watch, as the old world's order collapses, a new hierarchy will emerge. I heard... someone is preparing to propose opening an elite special zone to the general manager. Only the 'elite' will be eligible to live there. What is the elite? Heh, just wait and see, it's going to get even messier."

Liu Lian sighed deeply. Since arriving at the shelter a few days ago, he had seen many problems hidden in the comfortable environment—extortion, blackmail, fraud, coercion—various forms of ugliness were beginning to develop. And the people of Haiwei Group couldn't care less. Due to the "largesse" of the cold and frosty General Manager Shen, the population of the base had grown from the initial three to four thousand to over thirteen thousand. Although theoretically, this shelter's general residential area could accommodate sixty thousand people, with more people came various troubles. Moreover, as the population grew, although they had shrunk in size, the daily consumption was enormous, and the use of electric facilities for ventilation and cooling within the base also consumed energy.

Since the city's power grid collapsed a few days ago, power supply in the shelter had begun to be rationed by time and area. April wasn't too bad, but by the scorching summer months of May and June, it would probably be even harder to endure.

In this large shelter, Liu Lian knew that various inequalities of the old world would soon reappear. Compared to this, the outside might be more dangerous, but it was also more free.

Thinking of this, he sighed again and stopped mentioning finding Tom.

On the side of the road, Zhao Yingying saw them come out and ran over cheerfully, hugged Liu Lian, then walked with Xiao Mei.

Ouyang Haotian pursed his lips and slowly fell behind. Zhao Yingying was sharp-minded. She pulled Xiao Mei aside and whispered, "What's this? Is the big rat asking you out again?"

"Yeah... he is." Unlike her firm rejection earlier, Xiao Mei now looked hesitant.

"Just agree to go out with him. Why do you keep refusing?"

"But... but I... we..."

"Are you worried he'll find out about the work we did before and look down on us?"

Xiao Mei glanced enviously at Liu Lian. "Not everyone can be as open-minded as your Liu Lian. I can tell, that rat must be a second-generation rich kid. I... I'm not worthy of him."