Apocalypse Chapter 57: Identity Card

Chapter 57: Identity Card

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Over thirty survivors lined up eagerly by the big pot, their eyes fixed on the noodles inside. Thick soup boiled with long noodles, adorned with green leaves and pink luncheon meat. Just the smell alone made their hungry stomachs ache.

Espers handed the bowl of noodles to the person in front, “Here, there’s plenty in the pot, take your time and be careful, it’s hot.”

The recipient gratefully extended their dirty hands to receive the bowl, “Thank you, thank you.”

Those who received the noodles couldn’t wait to find a place to sit down. They picked up the noodles with chopsticks and stuffed them into their mouths eagerly. The noodles were hot, and some soup splashed onto their glasses, causing tears to flow from their cloudy eyes.

Delicious, so fragrant. It turns out that plain noodles are so delicious, the taste of having food to eat is so wonderful, and being able to survive is such a difficult yet lucky thing.

Watching them eat voraciously, the espers felt an indescribable feeling. This group of espers had also experienced hunger and knew the taste of it well. If they hadn’t been pushed to the limit, who would willingly give up their dignity to survive?

These survivors were Li Bin’s relatives, friends, and colleagues. Before the Great Crisis, they had decent jobs. Even in the cramped city of C, they could live a comfortable life. But now they were in tattered clothes, unkempt, and each person was thin to the point of being unrecognizable. If Jiang Rong and the others didn’t show up soon, these people would have no way out.

Li Bin took off his glasses and used the dirty hem of his clothes to carefully wipe the lenses, “After C City fell, my relatives and friends around me formed a convoy to evacuate the city. The car ran out of gas just after crossing the bridge, and we’ve been stranded here for over a month… Every day is filled with fear.”

Just thinking about the experiences of the past month made Li Bin’s body tremble uncontrollably.

As someone who grew up in peacetime, Li Bin had never seen the world’s dangers. During this time, they not only had to beware of mutated plants and animals but also had to find ways to avoid high temperatures and search for any resources that could help them survive.

Their hands were used to holding a mouse and a pen, how could they be opponents to fierce mutated creatures? Even a wild grass by the roadside could leave them helpless. With the food in the convoy becoming scarcer and scarcer, people’s spirits became increasingly depressed.

The external threats were manageable, but the most terrifying thing was the internal divisions. Their team had conflicts, and while half of them were sleeping, the other half took away most of the food and medicine.

This undoubtedly dealt a fatal blow to those who remained, making their already difficult days even more unbearable. Before Jiang Rong arrived, they could only pick up rotting fish and shrimp by the river to fill their stomachs.

Eating dead things, drinking water that tasted strange no matter how it was cooked. More and more of the weak and sick were in the convoy, and Li Bin’s hair had turned white day by day during this period.

While the lenses became clearer, Li Bin’s eyes became blurrier. He said in pain, “Master Jiang, do you know what it feels like to watch your relatives and friends die before your eyes? My wife weakened day by day just because she got a small cut from the wild grass by the roadside…”

Jiang Rong nodded slowly, “I know.” Without medicine, even a small wound could be fatal.

Li Bin sniffed and wiped his nose, “When we left C City, we were full of hope, thinking that with everyone’s strength, we could find a safe place to settle down. We naively thought that the difficulties were only temporary, and once the storm passed, everyone could return to a normal life. But before we even reached our destination, our convoy of over a hundred people dwindled down to thirty-five.”

The road to escape was not easy, and Li Bin had walked the same path that Jiang Rong had in his past life. Li Bin had seen the ugliness of human nature, just as Jiang Rong had. Therefore, Jiang Rong could understand Li Bin’s feelings and his pain.

Looking at Li Bin, who was crying, Jiang Rong comforted him, “Take care.”

Li Bin tremblingly put his glasses back on, trying to smile, but the smile looked worse than crying, “Thanks to meeting you, thank you… Master Jiang, I’m sorry. When I drew plans for your house, I joked about you being overly worried and reactive. Now I realize that you were the smartest one. If I had your foresight, we wouldn’t have suffered so much, my wife and sister-in-law wouldn’t have died…”

During their time stuck in the industrial park, Li Bin had been remorseful. If only he had had foresight, built a large, sturdy house, and stocked up on supplies, would his family not have to wander in hardship? Would their loved ones have been able to survive safely?

Listening to Li Bin’s choked words, Jiang Rong sympathized, “Li Bin, the dead cannot be brought back to life. Those who survive must look forward. What are your plans?”

Li Bin’s eyes were blank, “I don’t know…” 

He had wanted to return to his hometown, but even if they could go back, what could support them to survive there? They were unarmed, and an adult couldn’t beat a mutated wild dog. Not to mention they were still hundreds of miles away from home, and with their current condition, they couldn’t even make it ten kilometers.

Jiang Rong pondered, “Li Bin, I don’t know if you’d be willing to come to our base. The base is just getting started, and many facilities are not complete yet. If you go, the quality of life will definitely not reach the level before the Great Crisis, but at least you will have food and clothing.”

A glimmer of hope appeared in Li Bin’s eyes, “Spark Base?” 

On their journey of escape, he had heard of many survivor bases, but he hadn’t expected Jiang Rong to be a member of one.

Jiang Rong nodded slowly, “Yes, but if you go, you’ll have to work for the base, and all accompanying items must be handed over to the base. Of course, the base will provide you with basic living security and guarantee your personal safety.”

Li Bin didn’t hesitate, “I’ll go!”

If they hadn’t been stuck in the industrial park for over a month, Li Bin and his companions would still have had some pride. It was precisely because of the hardships they had endured that they understood the importance of having a place to settle down.

Surviving in these times was not easy. Having a place to stay and not worrying about food and clothing was already satisfying for them. As for their accompanying items, they only had a few cars and some tattered clothes. Items like luxury watches had already been taken by other colleagues. The fact that the base could accommodate them and provide them with a meal was something they were immensely grateful for.

Jiang Rong smiled, “Alright, have your meal first, take a bath and rest well after eating, and we’ll take you with us after we finish our tasks.”

Li Bin excitedly grabbed Jiang Rong’s hand and shook it incessantly, “Master Jiang, thank you, thank you.”

Never did he expect that the person who saved him at a critical moment would be Jiang Rong, whom he had only met a few times. Thinking about how he hadn’t even given Jiang Rong a discount when he drew plans for him, Li Bin felt guilty, “I’m sorry, I haven’t used the three hundred thousand design fee you gave me. When we get to the base, I’ll find a way to pay you back.”

Jiang Rong was speechless, “Why are you still mentioning the design fee at a time like this? Besides, you deserve it.” 

The house Li Bin designed was excellent, and as the user, Jiang Rong was very satisfied. It was for this reason that Jiang Rong actively recruited him. If Li Bin and his colleagues were willing to join in the construction of the base, their construction progress would be smoother.

Speaking of the drawings, Jiang Rong did have something to remind Li Bin of. He leaned close to Li Bin’s ear and whispered, “Li Bin, please don’t mention the house design to anyone else in the base, and don’t disclose the specific details of the house. Can you do that?”

Li Bin understood the urgency of the matter and hurriedly promised, “Don’t worry, Master Jiang, I won’t say anything to anyone.”

Jiang Rong left a few people to take care of the survivors, while the rest went deep into the industrial park, carefully searching for the materials they needed.

As expected, the warehouses of these material processing factories were piled with mountains of materials, enough for them to build the base’s warehouse. Leilei and several other spatial espers quickly filled their space, and after a few more trips, the materials would be returned to their rightful place.

In theory, finding enough materials would allow Jiang Rong and his team to return to the base. However, Jiang Rong wanted to walk along the riverbank. There were several industrial parks along the riverbank, and they might find some good things there.

Indeed, they found quite a few things. However, those things were all chemical raw materials, and only professionals would know how to use them. Jiang Rong sealed off the warehouses. Although they might not need them now, they might come in handy in the future.

Looking at the time, Jiang Rong ordered, “Let’s head back. The things we found today are already enough for the base to use for a long time. If we need other materials in the future, we can come back.”

These days, just because someone put a label on the warehouse didn’t mean the things inside belonged to them. Without strength, even if they searched the entire north of the river, they still wouldn’t be able to take anything away.

The late night was the coolest time of the day, and Li Bin and the others, who were sound asleep, were awakened by the espers. “Li Bin, wake up, we’re going back.”

Li Bin rubbed his sleepy eyes and quickly got up to the driver’s seat of the RV, “Okay, okay!”

The RV had been filled with plenty of gasoline by the espers. After the car started, the onboard air conditioner began to operate, and the vehicle that had been parked in the industrial park for over a month slowly started up.

The survivors cheered, “Let’s go! We’re never coming back to this cursed place again!”

The RV couldn’t keep up with the military and off-road vehicles. Li Bin and his group tightly followed behind the convoy, afraid of being left behind.

Li Bin’s son looked puzzled at the red sphere on the heavy truck ahead, “Daddy, what’s on the truck in front?”

The survivors had noticed the red sphere a long time ago, but they also didn’t know what it was. Li Bin speculated, “It might be some supplies the espers found, right? Is the red thing on top a net?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Little Guaiguai waved its vines towards the vehicles behind and gestured a heart shape. The faces of the people in the following cars turned pale. “Did you see that? That thing moves!” 

“And it even makes hearts!”

Li Bin was astonished, “Goodness, Spark Base is full of surprises.” 

It had been so long since the Great Crisis, their group was worn out, while Jiang Rong’s group looked refreshed, with plenty of food, and now, there were strange creatures on the trucks that could move. It seemed like their decision to head to Spark Base was the right one.

As the convoy reached the bridge, the dawn had broken. The golden sunlight shone on the bridge’s plaque, and a red plant appeared on the tall plaque, covering the suspension cables on both sides and stretching across the lanes for hundreds of meters.

The people in the survivor convoy panicked, “What is that?!” 

“Oh my god, it’s moving! It’s moving!”

Jiang Rong looked up and was puzzled. He opened the window and leaned out, “Little Guaiguai, you’re blocking the billboard!”

In response, Little Guaiguai swung its vine, revealing a huge billboard on the bridge. It clearly read: “I am Little Guaiguai, the bloodthirsty vine of Spark Base. I’m stationed here on the bridge to ensure pedestrian safety. Please, do not attack me.”

Jiang Rong relaxed, “Little Guaiguai, next time remember not to block the billboard, or else you might get attacked.” 

There were always other people beyond the mountains, and if they encountered higher-level espers from other bases, it wouldn’t be good if Little Guaiguai didn’t reveal its identity in time and got mistaken for an enemy. Little Guaiguai swayed its vines in response to Jiang Rong, “Got it!”

The survivors were baffled, “Attack it? Who in their right mind would attack it? We should be thankful it doesn’t attack us.”

Little Guaiguai lazily hung on the bridge, and everyone felt it had grown significantly larger than the previous night. Jiang Rong wondered, “Little Guaiguai, where did you go last night?”

The Little Guaiguai on the bridge stretched out its vines and pointed outside the window towards the vast river, “Eat…”

Jiang Rong was taken aback, “You mean, after we left, you went down to have a confrontation with the mutated water plants?”

Little Guaiguai calmly nodded its vine, “Yes, problem?”

The team’s espers felt a chill. “Thank goodness we’re teammates with Little Guaiguai.” 

“If we encountered an opponent like Little Guaiguai, I’d just lie down and wait for death.”

It could climb buildings, dive underwater, and had no fatigue. Once it spotted prey, it would entangle relentlessly. No wonder the bloodthirsty vine had become a nightmare for espers.

However, Spark Base’s Little Guaiguai was completely different from the wild bloodthirsty vines outside. It was obedient and well-behaved. As long as Jiang Rong was there, it was controllable. Twisting its vines clumsily, Little Guaiguai said, “Wait, wait…”

At that moment, the sound of water breaking came from both sides of the bridge. Everyone turned to look out the window and saw the red vines slowly retracting from under the bridge. As the vines moved up, they quickly saw what was tied to them.

There were more than a dozen large fish, each longer than an adult. They were still alive, trying to break free from the vines. Little Guaiguai wasn’t merciful; it tightly bound the fish, regardless of their struggles.

Water slid off the fish’s scales, and a fishy smell drifted over. Chu Qiang nervously picked up the walkie-talkie, “Xiao Jiang, did you see that? Little Guaiguai caught a lot of fish!”

Jiang Rong responded, “I saw it.”

The large fish were neatly placed behind the heavy truck, and Little Guaiguai on the truck reached out its vines to press down on these lively large fish. It hummed twice, “Little Fairy~” 

Captain White Cat had said that members going out should bring gifts back for those who couldn’t go out. It wanted to bring some large fish back for Little Fairy, to make up for the pain of not being able to go out.

Chu Qiang stared blankly at the large fish jumping around in the back of the heavy truck. When Little Guaiguai placed the last fish into the compartment, he rubbed his eyes and said, “Is… is that an alligator?”

Indeed, the last one was an alligator. This alligator was dark blue-black all over, and red vines bound its mouth and limbs, placing it belly-up in the truck’s compartment. The poor alligator couldn’t move, only able to wag its tail. However, before it could wag its tail a few times, Little Guaiguai once again extended its vines to bind it tightly.

Little Guaiguai, having placed the large fish in the car, was content. It shook its vines and said, “Any problem?”

***

Since the convoy entered the bridge, the road conditions became exceptionally smooth. With good road conditions, driving became very comfortable. Li Bin couldn’t help but step on the gas; he hadn’t driven so comfortably in a long time. After driving for half an hour, the number of stacked vehicles on the roadside gradually decreased, and rolling hills appeared in front of the convoy.

Li Bin was surprised, “Isn’t this the area near Lingshan Reservoir?” 

He had traveled here with his family before the Great Crisis. However, when they had previously visited Lingshan Reservoir, Li Bin had taken the highway and main roads. This time, the convoy was taking smaller roads. The further they went, the fewer stranded vehicles they saw on the road, and the roads became clean and spacious.

At this point, a village appeared on the left side of the road. Several buildings in front of the village were equipped with a row of bright solar panels on the rooftops.

Li Bin’s son’s eyes lit up, “Daddy, look! Solar panels!” 

Having solar panels meant there was electricity, and electricity meant they could use household appliances. What an exciting discovery!

As everyone looked closely, a flash of red passed by the village entrance. On closer inspection, a coral-like bloodthirsty vine was clinging to the village wall. In front of the bloodthirsty vine stood a sign that read: Spark Base: Tangqiao Village.

Li Bin was stunned for a moment, “Are we already at the base?” 

This base was different from what he had imagined. In his mind, the base should have been a fortress, right? Why did Spark Base look like a countryside resort?

More vehicles were on the road now, and whenever those vehicles saw Jiang Rong’s convoy, they would slow down and honk. Li Bin was somewhat surprised; it seemed like Jiang Rong held a high position in the base.

Having immersed himself in society for many years, Li Bin knew the importance of connections. If they could get a recommendation from the higher-ups in the base, their lives would be much better after entering the base. His thoughts became firmer: following Jiang Rong was the right choice!

As they moved closer to the base, Li Bin and his group saw more villages. These villages were well-maintained and orderly, not at all dilapidated. People were driving machinery to cultivate the fields around the villages. They had dug deep drainage ditches in the fields, and every piece of land was neatly organized.

After the Great Crisis, many trees had died from the heat. People in the base had felled the dead trees, cut them into two-foot lengths, and neatly placed them on trucks. Pickup trucks loaded with branches passed by the convoy.

The people in the base were busy, working vigorously. They wanted to do more work while it was cool, so they could relax and enjoy air conditioning and food later.

The convoy stopped at Fishing Village Three. The current activity center had expanded several times. Jiang Rong’s group had arrived early, and the market hadn’t ended yet. People were bustling in and out of the activity center, happily carrying goods.

Li Bin parked the RV by the roadside and stared in the direction of the activity center, amazed to see such a bustling market here. At this moment, Jiang Rong knocked on the RV’s window, smiling, “Welcome to Spark Base.”

Li Bin felt like he was dreaming, “Master Jiang, is this really the base?”

Jiang Rong smiled, “Can I still deceive you? First, register here, and then someone will be there to assist you. Just follow them. I’m a bit busy now, so please excuse me.”

Li Bin hurriedly said, “Master Jiang, do what you need to.”

Jiang Rong and his group walked along the road next to the activity center towards the north and soon disappeared. At this moment, a delicate girl appeared in front of Li Bin, “Are you Li Bin? I’m Lin Meng, the record keeper of Spark Base. Please, follow me.”

After saying this, Lin Meng turned and walked towards the interior of the activity center. The activity center had changed a lot, not only expanding its venue, but also featuring several offices inside.

Li Bin and his group had brought five RVs, which would become the property of the base and be requisitioned by the base. Correspondingly, each of them received a palm-sized card with their photo attached.

Lin Meng introduced, “This is everyone’s access card in the base. Please, don’t lose it. Each adult entering the base has a thousand points on the card, minors aged ten to eighteen have five hundred points, and minors under ten have three hundred points. You can set a password through the machines in the activity center. When you need to exchange goods, you can go to the activity center in each village to exchange for corresponding items.”

Li Bin had heard people around him talking about points while waiting in line. In Spark Base, points replaced currency. Here, five points could buy a kilogram of rice, and twenty points could buy a kilogram of meat.

Housing in the base would be allocated, and with a thousand points used only for food and clothing, it would be enough for an adult to live comfortably in Spark Base for a month without pressure. Once the points on the card were used up, everyone had to find ways to earn points. There were mainly two ways to earn points: work and hunting.

For ordinary people, the most common and convenient way to earn points was through work. The base needed people to do things every day, so as long as someone was able-bodied, they could find suitable work here.

To find out about job opportunities, it was simple. Just go to the task center in the activity center. The task center in the activity center was two stories high, where both the base and individuals could publish tasks. The content of the tasks would scroll back and forth on the electronic screen, with new tasks every day.

The number of points earned for each type of work varied. Physical laborers could earn between 100 to 150 points a day, while senior engineers like Li Bin could earn over five hundred points a day.

As for hunting, it was the main way for espers to earn points. Espers went outside the base to search for things, and as long as they could bring back supplies, apart from the materials handed over, the remaining materials could be exchanged for corresponding points. If they could bring back useful mutated flora and fauna, they could earn even more points.

Everyone quickly understood the use of points. In fact, before the Great Crisis, everyone would work to earn money as well. The value of Spark Base points was similar to that of money before the Great Crisis, so everyone easily accepted its existence.

Li Bin carefully placed the card close to him, and then he saw his son holding the card beside him. Thinking about his son’s habit of losing things, Li Bin couldn’t help but ask, “Miss Lin…”

Lin Meng smiled generously and said, “Just call me by my name. Mr. Li, do you have any questions?”

Li Bin embarrassedly said, “What if the card is lost by accident?”

Lin Meng smiled and pointed to the ground, “If the ID card is lost, you can come here for a replacement. However, each person only has two opportunities for replacement per year. During the replacement period, if the card is stolen and used improperly, the base is not responsible. So please be sure to keep your ID card safe. Also, our ID cards have just been activated, so there may be some bugs. If the ID card malfunctions, there’s no need to panic, just come to the registration desk for repairs.”

Li Bin responded, “Got it, thank you.”

Lin Meng showed a sweet smile, “Mr. Li, do you have any other questions? If not, we’ll take you to your house now.”

As they spoke, several large tricycles slowly stopped near the registration window. There was a large sign hanging on the tricycle, which read “Transporting Newcomers”. Li Bin was surprised, “They’re still providing transportation?”

Lin Meng smiled slightly, her eyes gleaming, “Yes, our base is very large, and it will only get bigger in the future!”

 

 

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