CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 44: TROUBLE CAME KNOCKING

Chen Wei and Liang Zihan walked through the crowded hall of the administration office, their faces filled with anticipation.

After all the trouble they had gone through to secure the supplies, they expected a decent reward. At the very least, enough to ensure they wouldn’t have to worry about survival for the next month.

When they finally reached the counter, the administrator, a middle-aged man with graying hair and a stern expression, barely spared them a glance as he tapped away at his tablet. "Mission report?" he asked, his voice devoid of interest.

Chen Wei handed over the completed mission log, his fingers gripping the paper tightly. "We brought back a massive haul, way more than anyone expected. Commander Xu brought it back, you may know. And for that, we should be getting a high-tier reward for this."

The administrator scanned through the details and nodded absently before pressing a few buttons. A moment later, a screen displayed their reward.

[Mission Completed]

[Reward: 500 EUs]

[Bonus: 2000 EUs]

Total: 2500 EUs

Chen Wei and Liang Zihan stared at the numbers in disbelief.

"Wait, what? 2500 points?!" Liang Zihan nearly shouted, his voice rising in frustration. "That’s it?!"

Chen Wei slammed his hand on the counter. "This was a low-level mission because the area had already been scavenged, but we managed to find an enormous supply stash! Do you know how hard that was? We should be getting way more than this!"

"Do you even know? We fucking encountered a Level 2 zombie and more than 100 Level 1 zombies."

"You can just imagine how we survived. If we had not survived, do you think the base would have ever known the location of such supplies?"

"We had fucking risked our lives for it, and you are giving us merely 2500 coins?" Liang Zihan rambled in one breath, his chest heaving with anger and rage. If he could, he would have punched this man in the gut to take out his frustration.

The administrator remained unfazed. "The base determines rewards based on mission difficulty and risk level. The original assessment of this mission was low-tier. Regardless of how much you found, the base cannot allocate additional rewards outside of the designated range."

"Bullshit!" Liang Zihan snapped. "If this was a low-tier mission, why did no one else find these supplies? Because it was practically impossible! But we did! We risked our damn lives, and you think 2500 points is enough? After paying for our rent, we’ll barely have 1000 left. That won’t even last us two days!"

A few other survivors waiting in line turned to look at the commotion. Whispers started spreading through the room. More and more people started looking in their direction, wondering what could happen.

And Liang Zihan even started shouting, so more and more people looked their way and noticed the injustice of their base.

The administrator shifted uncomfortably but kept his composure.

"Rules are rules," he said firmly. "You agreed to the mission knowing the risk. Take your reward and move along."

Chen Wei clenched his fists. Liora’s words about the base’s unfair system echoed in his mind, along with the look of disappointment she had worn earlier. His rage only grew. "So the base just exploits us however they like, huh? We do all the hard work, risk our lives, and you sit here handing out scraps? No wonder people die starving!"

The murmurs around them grew louder, with more survivors stepping forward to listen. The administrator’s face darkened. "Enough. If you continue to cause a scene, you’ll be fined."

"Fine us? For demanding fair compensation?" Liang Zihan laughed bitterly. "If you don’t want trouble, then compensate us properly. We deserve at least ten percent of what we brought back."

"Absolutely not. The base does not operate on individual demands," the administrator shot back.

"Then how about eight percent?" Chen Wei pressed, his voice cold. "We won’t back down. You either compensate us fairly, or we make sure every survivor here knows exactly how the base treats those who work their asses off."

The administrator hesitated. More people were paying attention now. If this continued, the base’s reputation could take a hit. He sighed, rubbing his temples, and finally relented. "Five percent. That’s the best I can do. Take it or leave it."

Chen Wei and Liang Zihan exchanged a glance. It wasn’t what they wanted, but it was far better than nothing.

And if they pushed more, the administrator could even kick them out of the base. The possibility of it was never zero. What if the base decided to be cold-blooded and did not care about public opinion and just kicked them out without any rewards? Then they would be doomed. So they nodded.

"Deal."

The administrator processed the adjustment quickly, clearly wanting to be done with them. A moment later, the new total reward flashed on the screen:

[Final Adjusted Reward: 5% of recovered supplies allocated to your team.]

Chen Wei finally breathed a sigh of relief. That much supply would last them for a month if they decided to eat only one meal a day. He hurriedly said goodbye to the man and left with Liang Zihan. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Now they had to get their supplies back. What if they decided to go back on their word and did not give them the supplies? So they hurriedly walked toward the supply warehouse located.

And on the other side, Liora was actually stopped by someone in the middle of the road. "Damn! Why does everyone have to come when she is too busy? Can’t they leave her alone?" She cursed at her luck.

"Hey! You, wait! Are you not the one who is with that bitch Zhou Yinuo?" An irritating voice called Liora from behind.

Liora decided to ignore this. With that kind of tone, anyone could guess it was trouble. So she continued walking without looking back.

"Hey! Are you fucking deaf? Can’t you hear me?" The annoying voice shouted again, and Liora heard sharp footsteps moving in her direction, probably trying to block her way.