Ye Chen surveyed his surroundings. A wide avenue led straight from the city gate to the center of the base, eight meters across, wide enough for three or four vehicles to travel abreast. Towering buildings lined both sides—some were high-rise corporate headquarters, others were star-rated hotels, and the rest housed various shops and large supermarkets. It was clear the founders of this base city had chosen an excellent thoroughfare.

On the street, people bustled back and forth, most moving with hurried steps. Living in this wicked city, they were constantly driven forward by an invisible whip, compelled to remain busy...

"There are so many people!" Bai Long exclaimed in surprise. "Calculating at the entry fee of 20g per day, not many people should be able to afford to live here, right?"

Ye Chen replied coolly, "Those who can afford the entry fee mean that hunting zombies isn't terribly difficult for them, so they can naturally pay. If it were you, with only 50g of basal essence on your person, would you be willing to pay it?"

Bai Long froze.

"The entry fee is set this way to target the strong. The weak are left with only the option of swearing fealty to survive. This way, the population of the base city grows larger, the army becomes stronger, and thus the overall strength of the base city increases," Ye Chen said casually.

Everyone present was stunned. They hadn't considered the deeper implications. It made sense; ordinary survivors, even if they could kill zombies, would never willingly fork over that amount for a single day's lodging. This forced them to seek refuge within the base city, placing sovereignty firmly in the hands of the authorities. Even if the welfare benefits offered to dependents were reduced, no one would dare protest, saving the base city a significant expenditure!

"Let's go. First, find housing and settle in," Ye Chen said, walking toward a multi-story high-rise building not far away. The building still bore the name of some former corporation but had been converted into rental accommodations.

At the entrance, Ye Chen spotted a notice:

"Rooms for Rent. Contact information at the front desk in the lobby."

The group glanced at it and walked into the building. Standing by the entrance were two stunning, brightly dressed young women. They were exceedingly beautiful, and as the group entered, they greeted them with bright smiles and a respectful bow: "Welcome!"

Ye Chen didn't linger, walking straight through.

Bai Long's eyes, however, lit up. He approached the two beauties, chuckling, "Why are two lovely ladies like you standing out here baking in the sun instead of sitting inside?"

The two girls looked up, startled, staring at the handsome young man. Inside, they managed bitter smiles. In this apocalypse, women were plentiful, but they, along with the elderly and children, were generally considered burdens. Thus, these two had taken on odd jobs at the rental agency. During peak hours, they acted as hostesses; during quiet times, they helped clean or moved cargo.

And the compensation...

It was 300g of basal essence, equivalent to killing 60 zombies, paid as a meager 10g salary daily, and food was not included. Essentially, in all places after the apocalypse, employees were not provided meals. Daily sustenance cost about 8g, and that required extreme frugality, considering a single pack of instant noodles cost 5g of basal essence and prices were only expected to rise later...

Of course, 5g was such a small unit that precise division was difficult. Therefore, most shops issued their own vouchers, much like rechargeable shopping cards. Once the basal essence was paid, one received a consumption card to use for future purchases.

If not for the virus-laden air gradually dissipating toward the heavens, a continued transformation would infect those with weaker constitutions and turn them into zombies, making the situation even more dire. They needed to find ways to improve their physical condition, but for now, just having enough to eat was the priority.

Beyond that, their only other source of income was tips from guests, or being favored by a powerful man and taken on as a mistress. Becoming a mistress carried significant danger, as only the truly strong could afford to keep one.

The physique of a powerful man during hehuan (intimate union) was often unbearable for an ordinary woman.

This resulted in...

Powerful women being highly sought after for intimate favors, commanding exorbitant prices for a single encounter.

Put another way, only women with fragile constitutions were at the very bottom, having lost even the inherent capital of their own bodies...

"We are working; we cannot go inside," the two girls murmured, their heads lowered.

Bai Long looked disappointed. "The management truly has no regard for letting such beautiful and sweet girls stand guard at the entrance." Saying this, he pulled out a small bag of Level 1 basal essence and handed it to them.

"This..." The two girls accepted it and opened it, instantly gasping in shock. Inside the bag were at least eight, perhaps ten pieces, each worth about 50g. For them, this was an astronomical fortune!

"You... you're giving this to us?" the girls asked, hardly daring to believe it.

Bai Long smiled slightly, a hint of sorrow flashing in his eyes. Ever since that incident occurred, he swore he would never allow any young woman to be bullied in front of him, nor would he let a woman suffer while he watched.

Yi'er...

Pain pierced his heart, and a bitter taste bloomed on his lips—a bitterness only he could taste.

"These are all Level 1 basal essence; they aren't worth much. Please accept them," Bai Long said, glancing at the girls as Ye Chen and the others walked further ahead. But the bitterness in his smile was something no one could ever see.

Only a smile could mask sorrow... and loneliness!

"Hurry up! Stop flirting again!" Yue Heng urged.

"Coming," Bai Long quickly rejoined the group.

...

Ye Chen looked at the lovely young woman before him. She had long, waterfall-like black hair, wore a black outer jacket over a white short-sleeved shirt, and a black skirt that reached just above her knees. Her face held a charming smile. "How may I assist you?"

"How much is a unit of housing per day?" Ye Chen got straight to the point.

"The daily rent is 20g per square meter," the girl replied sweetly.

Bai Long walked over, and upon hearing this, he immediately balked. "That's so expensive! Are you kidding me? Why don't you just rob a bank... oh, right, there's nothing left to rob in the banks these days."

The others were speechless.

"Expensive?" The two girls who had received his handout walked over, intending to express their gratitude, but froze when they heard this. They had assumed the man who casually tossed out four or five hundred grams of basal essence was powerful, but now hearing him complain about 600g seemed strange...

"If we were buying, how much per square meter?" Ye Chen inquired.

"Buying?" The girl was surprised. She examined Ye Chen closely, her demeanor becoming even more respectful. "If purchasing, it is 3000g per square meter!"

"Damn it!" Yue Heng couldn't help but curse either. "That's highway robbery! Why don't you just go mug someone!"

Housing prices were steep!

Even in the apocalypse, housing remained costly. A person with moderate strength, capable of killing zombies, would need to strive for five or six months—after covering food, drink, and basic necessities—just to afford one square meter of land in the base city.

What could one do with one square meter? Lie down, and you couldn't even fully stretch out!

Ye Chen's expression remained calm; he had mentally prepared for this pricing. He nodded slightly. "For now, rent a 50-square-meter unit."

"Fifty square meters!" The girl was shocked. Only the truly strong could afford to rent such a large space. This monthly rent alone amounted to 3000g!

Ye Chen casually took out a piece of basal essence. "This is a Level 7 basal essence. You should have testing equipment here to verify it."

Ye Chen knew that once a base city was established, various procedures would be formalized, and any minor flaws would be continuously ironed out for the city to function smoothly!

The established conversion rate was: 50g of Level 7 essence equals 100g of Level 1 essence! 50g of Level 3 essence equals 100g of Level 2 essence, and so on.

A 50g piece of Level 7 essence was equivalent to 3000g of Level 1 essence. At this stage, very few people could kill Level 7 zombie beasts, and even if they succeeded by chance, they might not find the essence, as the appearance rate was only one in ten.

"Level 7 basal essence..." The girl stared at the essence, her heart trembling, shock blazing in her eyes. After a subtle nudge from the supervisor standing nearby, she snapped back to reality and quickly handed it over to her supervisor for immediate testing.

Basal essence contained rich nutrients, identifiable by a newly developed, modified nutrient testing device that could determine its potency.

Moments later—

"It's correct. According to the standard readings on the tester, this is indeed Level 7!" the male supervisor exclaimed in shock.

"Housing certificates, six copies!" Ye Chen demanded coldly.

The supervisor snapped back to attention, offering an embarrassed smile. "Please state your names so I can register them."

Ye Chen listed the names one by one.

Once the supervisor finished registering, he pulled several housing certificates from a drawer, made a few markings with a pen, and handed them to Ye Chen. "These are your housing certificates. They list the address and our contact information. With these certificates, you will not need to pay the entry fee when entering the base city. If you encounter an inspector verifying information, they will contact us, confirm your address and name, and everything will be fine."

Ye Chen took them and distributed one to each person. The expiration date marked on each read: 3H4.6!

"Let's go." Led by a beautiful and amiable service girl, the group headed toward their rented quarters.

...