Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 142 Dungeon Quotas

The man surnamed Shao walked in first, followed by an elderly man with white hair, dressed in a well-tailored dark suit and with his hair neatly combed.

The old man was thin, but his eyes were sharp. As soon as he entered the room, his gaze was like a precise probe, instantly locking onto Niu Niu, who was sitting on the coffee table. His scrutinizing gaze was filled with undisguised inquiry and surprise.

Just as Mr. Shao was about to make an introduction, the old man raised his hand to indicate that it was unnecessary. He put on a kind smile, walked a few steps to the coffee table, and greeted Xu Xiaoyan gently, "Young lady, you've worked hard."

Then, his gaze turned to Niu Niu, and he magically pulled out several brightly colored lollipops from his suit pocket, smiling as he handed them to her, "Here, little darling, have some candy."

Niu Niu raised her big, innocent eyes and looked at the strange old man with a puzzled expression. Then she looked at the tempting candy in his hand and finally, under the temptation of the candy, she reached out her little hand and took it. She picked up one of the candies and put it in her mouth without even looking at it.

Seeing this, Xu Xiaoyan hurriedly leaned over to stop her, "Niu Niu, wait a minute, the candy wrapper hasn't been peeled yet!" She quickly took the lollipop from Niu Niu's hand, neatly tore off the wrapper, and handed the glistening candy back to Niu Niu.

Niu Niu put the candy in her mouth, and the moment the sweetness melted on her tongue, her big eyes lit up, and a satisfied and curious expression appeared on her face. At that moment, she subconsciously had a thought, and the few unopened lollipops in her hand disappeared into thin air again in front of everyone!

"Good! Good! Good!" The white-haired old man witnessed this miraculous scene. The wrinkles on his face smoothed out, and his eyes shone with an irrepressible excitement. He said "good" several times, his joy overflowing.

He turned to Xu Xiaoyan, his previous amiability now carrying a hint of seriousness. "Young lady, your request has been approved by your superiors," he announced directly.

"In a moment, we will directly bind a long-term residence quota for the underground city to your identity chip. Actually, I'm quite curious about how you learned about the existence of the underground city, since it's still an absolute secret to the general public at this stage." He gave Xu Xiaoyan a meaningful look, but didn't delve into it, and continued, "However, since the quota has been promised to you, you will be notified as soon as the underground city is officially put into use."

"As for the points," the old man paused slightly, seemingly weighing his words, "considering how precious the dungeon slots are, we won't give you many points. We will pay you 3000 points in one lump sum, and you will directly obtain the right to reside in the Central City."

"Mid-City?" Xu Xiaoyan was clearly taken aback when she heard this unfamiliar term. She only knew that the base was divided into inner and outer sections, but she had never heard of the existence of "Mid-City".

Seeing Xu Xiaoyan's puzzled expression, the man surnamed Shao spoke up at the right moment to explain to her, "The Linchuan base is actually divided into three ring-shaped areas from the inside out: the inner city, the middle city, and the outer city."

He spoke calmly, “All survivors with implanted chips can directly move into the outer city and live there after passing a medical examination. However, if they want to move into the safer and more resource-concentrated Midtown, they need to meet several strict conditions: First, they must have a continuous residence record in the outer city for no less than three months to observe their adaptability and stability; second, they must ensure that they have no history of serious crimes.”

Mr. Shao added, "Of course, since the outbreak of the disaster, many crimes committed during this period have no official records available, and we can only do our best to screen them at present; third, and most importantly, the historical peak of an individual's points account must have reached 3000 points, which proves that they have the ability to acquire resources and survive in the base. Only by meeting all of the above conditions and going through the application and review process can they be qualified to enter Midtown."

After explaining, Mr. Shao turned his gaze back to Xu Xiaoyan. "As for you, given that the 'information' you provided has extremely important strategic value to the military, with special approval, all the above conditions are waived for you. 3000 points will be credited to your account immediately, and your residency rights in Central City will also be activated simultaneously. You can go directly to Central City to settle down."

Xu Xiaoyan listened quietly, and finally, she raised her head and nodded clearly and slowly to the white-haired old man and the man surnamed Shao. "I accept this exchange."

A look of satisfaction appeared on the white-haired old man's face. He stepped forward and picked up Niu Niu, who was still happily sucking on her lollipop.

Suddenly picked up by a stranger, Niu Niu instinctively squirmed, but was quickly drawn in by the sweet taste in her mouth. She nestled on the old man's shoulder, her big, dark eyes darting around as she looked at Xu Xiaoyan, who was still sitting in the same spot, wondering why her sister hadn't followed immediately as usual.

Xu Xiaoyan forced a smile that looked as natural as possible and waved to Niu Niu. "Niu Niu, be good, come with Grandpa. We'll meet again someday."

Niu Niu watched her sister waving her hand and seemed to think it was a fun game. She also raised her little hand that wasn't holding the candy and clumsily waved at Xu Xiaoyan.

The old man didn't linger any longer and left with Niu Niu in his arms. Only Xu Xiaoyan, the man surnamed Shao, and his assistant remained in the room. Xu Xiaoyan maintained a smile on her face until the door was completely closed, at which point the smile slowly faded as if it had lost its support, leaving only deep exhaustion.

The man surnamed Shao seemed to be used to such farewell scenes. His face was expressionless. He simply picked up a thin tablet computer that he always kept by his side, operated it for a few moments, and then aimed a sensor area on the back of the tablet at Xu Xiaoyan's left arm.

A crisp, short notification sound rang out, accompanied by a barely perceptible vibration from the chip on the inside of my arm.

"Alright, the points and permissions have been successfully linked," the man surnamed Shao said, turning the tablet screen towards Xu Xiaoyan and handing it to her. "You can check it out."

Xu Xiaoyan composed herself and focused her gaze on the screen, which clearly displayed her simplified personal information. In the most prominent position, her points balance of 3000 was clearly visible.

Her gaze moved downwards, and further down the information bar, there was a section labeled "Hidden Information," which clearly displayed the following line: Underground City Residential Qualification - Single Residence No. 063.

Noticing her gaze, the man surnamed Shao explained, "Please rest assured, this is a specially authorized high-level device, which is why it can display hidden sections. This hidden information cannot be read or seen in ordinary query terminals or when interacting with other people's chips, effectively protecting your privacy and security."