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as translator, proofreader and editor!
The survivors had just assumed it was some new shop opening up. They’d even been privately guessing what kind of store it might be.
But they never imagined it would actually be a train station!
Could this be real? Could a train still exist in these times? The survivors rubbed their eyes, as if to confirm it wasn’t a hallucination.
Filled with all kinds of doubts, the survivors flooded into the station hall. The staff, having undergone several days of training, were dressed in uniforms and greeted the survivors with smiles at their respective posts.
On one wall of the hall was a map of the train routes as well as the train’s schedule.
Currently, the train stations covered three nearby cities, with several stops in C City.
“Look, isn’t this place close to our base? Then can’t we just take the train back later?” one survivor asked.
Another went straight to the ticket counter to inquire about the cost in crystal cores for a ticket to one of the stops in C City.
The staff member behind the window checked the computer in front of them and then addressed the survivor, “To reach XX station, it will cost five points. One first-level crystal core allows for two rides, but since, the train station has just started operations, we’re also currently offering a promotion on the monthly pass.”
The staff member explained what the promotion entailed in a pleasant voice. After a period of training, they had already thoroughly memorized the scripts for the promotions.
“What do I get from a monthly pass?” the survivor asked.
“With one third-level crystal core, you can ride freely between the three cities for a month,” the employee explained.
The survivors inquired about how much it would cost to go to other cities and concluded that the monthly pass that could be purchased with just a third-level crystal core was quite a bargain.
The first survivor in line immediately took out a crystal core and applied for a monthly pass.
The monthly pass required facial recognition for registration, allowing for both card and face scanning when boarding. In a city where resources were scarce, this was both convenient and technologically advanced.
With the first person leading the way, the survivors behind them also lined up to apply for the pass.
After obtaining their monthly passes, they of course wanted to take a trip on the train, especially since they could now tale unlimited train rides for the month.
“Are you getting on as well, Chunlan?” a friend called out to her. Zhou Chunlan snapped out of her reverie to find out that she had already taken the monthly pass she had just received from the ticketing window.
“Yes, I am,” she replied, waving the ticket in her hand, a rare smile appearing on her face.
She hadn’t felt this happy in a long time ever since her family had passed away, leaving her all alone.
Her father had been a train conductor, and she had met her boyfriend on a train. But back then, who knew that they would both die protecting her?
So, for Chunlan, trains held a special place in her heart, and she felt both love and fear toward them. She had initially thought she would never be able to take a train ride again in her lifetime, but now, that wish was unexpectedly being fulfilled here.
Holding the monthly pass, Zhou Chunlan and her friend followed the crowd to the departure hall.
As the main station, the departure hall was quite spacious, with the place being bright and clean. Rows of seats were neatly arranged in front of them.
A large clock hung on the wall, allowing survivors to plan their time accordingly with the train’s arrival and departure times.
Zhou Chunlan glanced up. There were about ten minutes left before the train departed, and boarding had just begun.
Through the transparent glass, the survivors could see the green-skinned train parked outside. It looked like an old-fashioned train from the revolutionary era, but with some differences, as there didn’t seem to be many seats inside, though it still seemed quite spacious.
There were two staff members guarding the ticket gates, with two entrances open.
The survivors, already accustomed to queuing in the gourmet city, were quite orderly in lining up, with no pushing or arguing.
Finally, it was Zhou Chunlan’s turn. She took out her newly issued monthly pass and placed it on the sensor area of the gate. With a beep, the barrier in front of her opened.
This scene felt both a sense of deja vu, yet unfamiliar to Chunlan. She seemed to momentarily go into a trance, almost overwhelmed with emotion.
She walked to the other side, and soon her friend joined her. Together, they headed towards the platform.
Although the train resembled those from before the apocalypse, the interior space was different, reminiscent of the subway from the pre-apocalypse era which had more standing room, allowing for more survivors to board.
Zhou Chunlan and her friend had arrived early, so there were still seats available. They found a spot by the window and sat down.
In no time, the train began to fill up, and soon the entire carriage was packed to the brim.
Looking at the scene before her, Zhou Chunlan felt a sense of deja vu, as if she had returned to the days before the apocalypse when she would take the subway to school and see similar crowds.
After every carriage was filled with people, the train slowly started moving. Although it resembled the green-skinned trains from before the apocalypse, its speed was clearly much faster.
Soon, the first station arrived, taking only about ten minutes—several times faster than walking and completely free of danger.
The survivors could clearly see the zombies and mutated beasts outside the train, but they seemed to hesitate, not daring to approach the train. This allowed the survivors to feel extremely safe inside.
These stations were built near the bases, making them extremely convenient for everyone.
Zhou Chunlan and her friend were heading back to their own base, which was just one more stop away. After getting off the train, they swiped their cards to exit the station and immediately saw the familiar landscape. They were very close to their base now, and just a short walk across an open field would take them there.
Zhou Chunlan glanced back and saw the remaining passengers being carried away by the slowly departing train, heading to the next destination.
The previously dead city seemed to come alive because of this train.
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Jiang Ci left the train station. Seeing the increasing number of people, she nodded in satisfaction.
Then, she led the newly recruited survivors to find a spot to build a base.
For this purpose, she specifically asked the leader of C City’s base whether there were any reporting procedures required before building a base here.
“In theory, you should. Only after reporting will you be ensured access to claim or purchase nutrient solutions and other supplies. If anything happens, other bases can also provide timely assistance,” the base leader said, glancing at Jiang Ci. “But for someone like Boss Jiang, these things don’t make much of a difference, so you don’t necessarily have to report it.”
Jiang Ci nodded. Reporting it seemed to mainly be about resource allocation, but she already had more than enough supplies here.
She found an open area not far from the Gourmet City and prepared to start construction.
The system mentioned that this area would still have the ability to shield against zombies and mutated beasts, but that she would need to spend points to purchase it.
Since this was considered Jiang Ci’s side project and not part of the Gourmet City’s tasks, everything would require her to exchange with points.
At this point, Jiang Ci had no choice but to spend a significant amount of points to exchange for the protective attributes of this open area, as well as the steel, bricks, cement, and other materials needed to build the base.
Jiang Ci poured out a large pile of items as if by magic, leaving the survivors utterly stunned.
Leaving aside the question of how these supplies were obtained, what they were even more curious about was the extent of Boss Jiang’s spatial ability. Currently, the highest-level spatial ability user they had seen was level five, but it seemed like the space of a level five spatial ability user couldn’t hold even a third of the massive amount of supplies here.
Jiang Ci had no idea what the survivors were thinking. After purchasing all the necessary items, she had the survivors get to work.
The survivors rolled up their sleeves and began to sweat profusely in the open area when labouring.
Soon it was noon, and the people Jiang Ci had arranged to deliver meals arrived one after another. They directly pushed over several huge iron pots. Inside one pot was a large stirfry of pork belly, spare ribs, and beef, and in another pot was rice that had already been steamed to a fragrant perfection.
For this, Jiang Ci had specifically hired a few survivors who knew how to cook to prepare meals for the workers here. Just judging from the aroma, it seemed like they had done a great job.
Seeing the food right in front of them, the survivors craned their necks to look. As the pot lids were lifted, the fragrant aroma of food seemed to dominate all their senses.
“Everyone, come and eat,” called out the staff from the store, and the working survivors all proceeded to crowd around.
The large pots were still steaming hot, with each person receiving one portion of stirfried meat, one portion of rice, and a bottle of mineral water.
Holding such a generous meal, the survivors nearly shed tears on the spot. This was simply too lavish.
With the motivation of food, the survivors worked like they were pumped with adrenaline, and the speed of construction increased significantly.
During the lunch break, Jiang Ci went to the fast food restaurant. She had been running around all morning and only now returned to Gourmet City. To her surprise, the business at the newly opened fast food restaurant was going quite well.
Jiang Ci had thought that most people would have taken the train today to experience its novelty, but it turned out that many had actually stayed in Gourmet City.
“Going today would probably mean not being able to squeeze in later, so it’s better to take advantage of the smaller crowd to eat things that usually require long waits. After all, it won’t be too late for us to take the train after the hype dies down,” said a survivor sitting at the barbecue restaurant, looking quite pleased with himself.
Jiang Ci silently gave him a thumbs up.
The fast food restaurant was packed, with everyone either holding a burger or carrying a boxed meal with two meat and two vegetable dishes, eating with relish.
The burger and cola combo meal was priced at three first-level crystal cores, while the boxed meal cost eight first-level crystal cores, allowing a choice of two meat and two vegetable dishes from the ten options.
For the survivors, first-level crystal cores were equivalent to spare change before the apocalypse. In the early years of the apocalypse, when the zombies hadn’t yet fully evolved, a vast majority of survivors had accumulated a massive hoard. But because the prices of things in the post-apocalyptic era weren’t cheap, they could hardly find an outlet to use them. So they never expected to be able to actually use them here to enjoy such a lavish meal. It was something they could never have even dared to dream of before.
Sure enough, Boss Jiang was just like the rumors suggested, sent by heaven to save them.
Jiang Ci went to the window and used her points to buy two burgers and two colas, handing one to Song Jinchuan beside her.
A bite of the burger followed by a sip of cola. Sure enough, this is what true happiness tastes like.
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