CHAPTER 468: CHAPTER 451: CONGRATULATIONS

Li Yu watched He Bing summoning several of his classmates before lifting a wooden box from the rear vehicle.

He Bing carried the wooden box over to Li Yu and set it down on the ground.

Gently.

But it still made some noise.

Right after, He Bing took out a dagger and pried the wooden box open, revealing a miniature lathe inside.

Seeing the lathe, Li Yu was very pleased and excitedly said, "Wasn’t it said that there are others? Where are the bigger lathes?"

He Bing scratched his head and said, "This lathe, we found it in the neighboring city during our search. We encountered a local Survivor there and exchanged with him, then he told us that there is a factory in their city with many lathes, and he gave us an address.

When we went to the address he provided, we found that there were some people inside the factory, likely the original workers from that factory. Seeing that they were numerous, we didn’t dare to approach too closely.

So, we brought back this smaller lathe first."

Upon hearing this, the joy on Li Yu’s face paused briefly but quickly returned to calm, and he immediately asked He Bing, "How many people did you see clearly? What kind of weapons do they have?"

He Bing thought for a moment and said, "Around twenty to thirty people, I’d say. We didn’t get too close, just had a quick glance. As for weapons, we didn’t see anything special—just ordinary ones like Long Knives and spears."

Li Yu nodded. Looking at the group of classmates behind He Bing, men and women, though they appeared somewhat disheveled and travel-worn, they still held together in unity.

In this morally decayed post-apocalyptic world, the worst of human nature tended to be magnified, especially among men who always have certain things on their minds.

However, from Li Yu’s observation of their group, which consisted of only thirteen people including four women, there was no indication that the women were of lower status or that they were unwilling participants.

This was commendable.

It seemed that He Bing, apart from being skilled with his hands, also had decent organizational abilities; otherwise, his classmates wouldn’t follow him so faithfully, maintaining a certain order.

Of course, this was just Li Yu’s initial impression of him—whether it was really the case remained to be seen. Regardless, finding this miniature lathe and providing more clues for additional lathes was truly a significant achievement.

With that in mind, Li Yu smiled and said, "According to the mission we posted, finding and transporting a lathe is rewarded with 100 catties of rice.

Additionally, since you have provided a clue, we will need you to guide us there tomorrow. If indeed there are more, another 100 catties will be given to you.

Besides the 200 catties of rice, I’ll award you an extra 50 catties.

Let’s do this: we’ll give you 150 catties first, and the remaining 100 catties will be delivered once you lead us to the neighboring city tomorrow and find the lathes.

How about it?"

As Li Yu announced the figures, an uncontrollable look of joy crossed He Bing’s face. They had only traded two catties of rice with that Survivor, and now the return was a fiftyfold profit.

"Mm-hmm, thank you, Director Li. Thank you so much. We, we have no issues. We will come over tomorrow and lead you to the neighboring city," He Bing managed to suppress his enthusiasm but spoke with gratitude.

Behind him, the thirteen classmates who had accompanied him also revealed excited looks on their faces.

"Ah, right, look at me, forgetting things," said He Bing as he slapped his forehead.

As if remembering something, he spoke while walking to the vehicle, from which he retrieved a plastic box about a meter in length, width, and height.

Third Uncle, standing next to Li Yu, could see that the box was filled with identical parts—all of which were necessary for manufacturing bullets. There were more than a dozen parts inside the box. With these parts, aside from the lathe, they were only missing one more component for bullet manufacturing.

No, including the lathe that He Bing just provided, they were now only short of that one final component. Even without it, creating bullets was manageable—at least reloading them would be feasible.

Without the last piece, bullet production was possible, but the efficiency would be much lower.

Which meant they could now start reloading bullets!

Third Uncle, expressionless, looked up at He Bing and, without saying anything,

Approached Li Yu and whispered, "With this, we can start reloading bullets, and even manufacturing them, though inefficiently. As soon as we find the last component, we will be able to put bullet production on a truly assembly-line basis."

Li Yu’s pupils shrank slightly; he wasn’t familiar with these things, but Third Uncle was.

Being able to reload bullets meant that their strength was stepping up to a higher level.

Based on the current situation, He Bing must also understand this, or else he wouldn’t have been able to find what Li Yu wanted so quickly. He must know what Li Yu was planning, which is why he was able to pick out these components and knew where to find them.

Feeling pleased, Li Yu took out the exchange list previously provided for their mission and matched it with what He Bing had given him, locating the options on the list.

According to the items He Bing provided, they could be exchanged for 200 catties of rice. Li Yu then said, "OK, according to the exchange table, these items can be converted into 200 catties of rice for you. Together with the previous 150 catties, this time you’ll receive a total of 350 catties of rice."

At this point, He Bing didn’t bother to hide his joy; his cooperation with Li Yu had never disappointed him.

Without pretense, he beamed and said, "Thank you, Director Li."

If tomorrow they could lead them to find the remaining lathes, their total would be 450 catties of rice.

Moreover, according to the settlement with Li Yu, they were calculating by shelled rice, not unprocessed rice with husks.

Those 450 catties of rice, based on a normal adult’s consumption, would last the fourteen of them for 80 days.

If they were frugal, the 450 catties of rice could sustain everyone for three to four months!

If you ask He Bing how he’s feeling right now.

A single word: Awesome!

Ever since they left Jiefang City, they’ve been in a state of cold and hunger, almost not making it through at one point.

It wasn’t until Li Yu opened up the cooperative model that they got a breather and didn’t starve to death.

Li Yu looked at their excitement, glanced at the statistics list Dapao just handed to him, and said with a smile, "There’s even better news for you.

Based on the average score of the fourteen of you.

Adding up the points you’ve exchanged before, the points you’ve contributed, and the points from this contribution, you now have reached 60 points.

As long as you take us to find the remaining lathes tomorrow, you can officially become extra staff of Big Camphor Tree Base.

Every month, just by completing some scouting, patrol tasks, and the like, each person can receive 2 kilograms of rice per month. And it’ll be available from here on out."

Initially, Director Li established a four-tier rank system, where in the first level, merely reaching a certain Contribution Value would enable priority exchanges with Li Yu and the others.

Once reaching the Second Level, in addition to accumulating 60 Contribution Points and passing an assessment, one could become extra staff of the base, entitled to 2 kilograms of rice per month per person.

This time, Li Yu didn’t put them through the wringer; most of the assessments were subjective, especially since it was only the Second Level.

In the Second Level, one could only receive some food and was not allowed to live in the Outer City. Only upon reaching the Third Level could one move into the Outer City like He Chao and the others.

The transition between the Second and Third Levels involves more rigorous assessments, including trust tests, combat ability tests, character tests, and so on.

Therefore, for Li Yu and his team, elevating them to the Second Level actually cost very little, a nominal membership as extra staff was essentially just dispensing 24 kilograms of rice per person per year.

Not much at all.

But for Li Yu and his team, they gained the hands of fourteen people who could be called upon at any time to resolve issues outside the base, and because of the binding interests, it’s like someone joining a company that only wants them.

Although he generated a profit of a hundred thousand, the company pays him ten thousand, so he will maintain the company’s rights and reputation.

At the same time, these people will unconsciously consider themselves a part of Big Camphor Tree Base.

As such, when they undertake missions outside, they will further protect the interests of Big Camphor Tree Base.

In short, Li Yu gained fourteen more or less loyal subordinates through a nominal title and the provision of a little over twenty kilograms of rice per month, without having to be responsible for their lives and deaths.

An incredibly great deal.

However, for He Bing and his group, already surviving in a post-apocalyptic world without absolute security, every day is a struggle for life.

Although they have only nominally joined Big Camphor Tree Base and cannot live inside,

The base provides them with 2 kilograms of rice per person per month—a real and tangible benefit.

Two kilograms, very little indeed.

But it could prevent someone from starving to death.

The state of complete starvation compared to eating a minimal amount of food is entirely different.

For He Bing and his group, becoming extra staff of Big Camphor Tree Base even kindles in their hearts the feeling of:

Finally finding an organization to belong to.

After all, small groups like them struggle to survive in such a brutal post-apocalyptic world.

When He Bing heard the latter part of what Li Yu said, he was even happier than when he got hundreds of kilograms of rice.

After all, hundreds of kilograms of rice are temporary, one-time.

But joining means that as long as Big Camphor Tree Base exists, they will keep receiving it—it’s as if they’ve been incorporated into the system!

A steady stream is more reliable.

They also cannot guarantee that they will always be as lucky as today, able to find and complete missions.

But joining Big Camphor Tree Base is different. They have a guaranteed safety net.

Now, He Bing felt like the burden he had been forcing himself to bear had suddenly become much lighter.

The classmates behind him were even more elated, cheering and jumping for joy.

Seeing them so happy, Li Yu also felt a great sense of achievement.

Under his leadership, Big Camphor Tree Base had become a base that everyone wanted to join, which was proof that the method he established earlier.

Was correct!

He felt gratified, but above all, he felt a sense of accomplishment.

There’s still more to come

.....