Chapter 15: The Hope Base

He respectfully said to the man behind him, "This is it. I’ll need you to move your fingers in a moment." The man said nothing, merely standing there, exuding an undeniable aura of authority.

Chen Zhi and his group were still crouched on the ground, huddled around a piece of paper, discussing something, completely unaware of the arrival of the base commander behind them—until the navigation psychic was ruthlessly thrown to the ground.

Startled, the group turned around and, upon recognizing the base commander, quickly stood up, somewhat at a loss. “Good day, Base Commander,” they greeted.

Normally, they might not see the base commander even once a year, and only from afar during grand occasions. Now that he was right in front of them, everyone felt uneasy.

Zhao Haiting, unwilling to waste time on pleasantries, asked directly, “What happened to the woman selling scratch cards here a few days ago?”

Chen Zhi silently stepped back, subtly stepping on the paper, exchanged glances with the others, and they all shook their heads.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her today,” he replied calmly.

They instinctively wanted to keep the boss’s whereabouts secret from the base commander, especially since there had been conflicts a few days prior. The base commander was petty and might be looking for trouble.

Zhao Haiting’s sharp eyes scanned the group intensely. Seeing nothing suspicious, he let it go.

Turning, he strode back toward the man, suddenly becoming deferential and even somewhat servile, whispering, “I’m terribly sorry, that person isn’t here today. Tomorrow, definitely tomorrow—”

Before he could finish, the man spoke, his voice deliberately low yet unmistakably familiar, “Who is this person? The girl selling scratch cards from the RV?”

Zhao Haiting nodded repeatedly, “Exactly, exactly…”

Mid-nod, his entire body froze, yet the ingratiating smile remained, every wrinkle on his face clear as day.

He had become a human ice sculpture.

Shen Bing, clearly impatient, snapped, “Who gave you the nerve to cause trouble for Boss Lu? She’s not allowed to die—I haven’t finished playing the scratch cards yet.”

Chen Zhi and the others were stunned, staring blankly. After a long moment, someone finally screamed, “It’s Shen Bing! The Ice Sculpture Maker!”

Although Shen Bing revealed only part of his lower jaw, not even half his face, that alone was enough to terrify them all, scattering them like a flock of startled birds.

He bypassed the frozen Zhao Haiting and slowly walked to where the RV had been parked yesterday. Only a slip of paper remained.

Shen Bing bent down, picked it up, and gazed at the words on it with a look of deep resentment.

Soon, the paper froze solid, shattering into neat blocks of ice that fell to the ground.

Then, he vanished swiftly from everyone’s sight.

***

Chen Zhi’s group—the very ones frightened moments ago—gathered once more, planning to set out shortly.

Their destination was Hope Base.

Lu Li woke up to find the RV parked safely at the gate of the base, the outside bustling with noisy commotion.

She glanced at the clock—7 a.m.—and wondered if everyone in the post-apocalyptic world woke so early. Then she checked the holographic screen for the RV’s travel time and route.

Since she fell asleep, the vehicle had been on autopilot for a full five hours before arriving at Hope Base. It was quite a distance, especially with various obstacles along the way delaying them.

She cracked open the curtain slightly and squinted outside. This place was far livelier than Newborn Base, with nearly a hundred thousand permanent residents.

Nowhere near the mere ten thousand population of Newborn Base. Correspondingly, the area was much larger.

There were even street vendors at the gate of Hope Base. She examined them carefully—some sold shabby clothes, others worn-out shoes, all obviously secondhand, even third- or fourth-hand items.

But scanning the scene, she noticed no one selling food or water. Clearly, these two resources were extremely precious.

Lu Li first bought a small whiteboard from the mall, then a thick black marker and an eraser—everything needed.

She wrote on the board: “Scratch Cards—one Level-One Crystal Core per card. Scratch enough, and you can scratch out anything you desire!”

Her handwriting wasn’t elegant, somewhat at odds with her appearance, but it was cute and easily recognizable.

Yesterday’s batch of scratch cards had sold out again, so Lu Li ordered ten books of the largest size seven, and five books each of the other three types.

If she sold all 25 books today, that would be 25,000 points—a substantial sum!

Fueled with determination, she thought that with so many people at the base, 25 books wouldn’t be enough.

The image of the scratch cards selling out in a frenzy played vividly in her mind, making her chuckle.

The young deer was busy eating, but hearing the strange laughter, he looked up in confusion, gently shaking his cat-like head. “I just don’t understand human things…”

Lu Li tidied up, pulled down the shade, and prepared to start business, placing the whiteboard in the most visible spot.

Then she set out a lucky cat figurine and two copies of each of the four scratch card types. Once everything was ready, she pulled out a megaphone.

She recorded her sales pitch: “Scratch cards! Scratch one and gain happiness!”

“Not only can you win crystal cores, but also food, fruits, vegetables, weapons, and daily necessities.”

“One Level-One Crystal Core per card—no risk, no loss. Don’t you want to get rich overnight and enjoy a feast?”

***

Her enticing words echoed from the megaphone in a somewhat mechanical voice, reverberating at the base gate.

Several people emerged from the base, momentarily stunned by the words, then sneered and joked among themselves.

“What era is this? Who still believes in such nonsense?”

“Scratch out food? Only the dumbest fools would fall for that!”

They laughed and chatted as they passed the RV, barely giving the shiny new vehicle a second glance.

The base commander’s vehicle at Hope Base was also an RV but far older and more worn.

Lu Li brightened, waving enthusiastically at the passing group, “Hey, want scratch cards?”

But the group walked off without even glancing back.

It was her first rejection, which strangely piqued her interest. She was always more determined after setbacks and continued calling out to passersby.

Some stopped to look but then turned away; most didn’t even look, rushing off to hunt zombies.

In the apocalypse, scams were rampant, and anything requiring a crystal core with uncertain returns was best avoided.

Lu Li found it odd—were people simply not interested in this new kind of “drug”?

Or were those at the large base so well-stocked with food that they didn’t care?

She refused to believe it. Leaning on the table, she jumped down from her high stool, ready to grab the megaphone and shout again.

At that moment, a figure appeared before her—a distinctive black cloak and a sharply defined jawline.

Without hesitation, she blurted out, “Shen Bing, what are you doing here?”

Shen Bing didn’t even look up, replying coolly, “Here for scratch cards.”

Lu Li broke out in a sweat, feeling inexplicably guilty. “I’m leaving tomorrow. No need to follow me, right?”