Chapter 17
After getting the form, Murong Jiao walked towards the super long queue at the gate of the base. Looking at the slowly moving lines, she wanted to cry. Just standing in the long queue was already very hard for her. But now, she has to stand under the scorching sun and queue up in a leather jacket.
When she was still undecided, she looked at the people that queued on the two lines and saw hope in their eyes. After the apocalypse, most people lost hope under the harsh living conditions and the horror of zombies. Although she didn’t really see the true face of Apocalypse yet, she also saw the tip of the iceberg.
Curious about the reasons for their hope at this base, she finally decided to line up with the others. She really stood out from the crowd with a clean premium leather jacket and a healthy complexion, like a sore thumbs when she queued with the others. Sensing the eyes of her surroundings, she lowered her hat over her face.
She knows that it doesn’t mean that she is a beautiful woman who can make people turn back wherever she goes. The only reason she received these states was because of her healthy complexion and clean clothes. Gripping the baseball bat even tighter, she couldn’t help but sigh.
‘Living in society is so hard.’
While wary of her surroundings, she quietly waited in line. After a long time, it was finally her turn. Drenched in sweat, she handed the form to the soldier sitting to the left of the gate. When the soldier took the form from her, he saw that her fingers were wet where they touched the paper.
The soldier didn’t change his expression, read her form, and said, “If you want to register as a temporary resident, you need to pay one kilogram of food. If you want to register as a permanent resident, you need to pay ten kilograms of food. You can change your residency status at any time. “
She glanced at her backpack and asked, “What kind of food that can be used as a payment?”
The soldier looked at her and replied patiently. “One kilogram of staple food, Two kilograms of any type of grain, or two kilograms of other types of food. If you want to apply for permanent residence, the conversion rate is the same.”
Looking at her backpack, she didn’t think ten kilograms of food would fit. After thinking about it, she decided to apply for temporary residency. If she wants to leave, she won’t feel too bad.
She smiled and said to the soldiers, “I want to apply for temporary residency.”
The soldier nodded and began inputting her data on the laptop. Seeing the soldier was busy typing on his laptop, she quickly opened her backpack, and took out a pack of one kilogram packaging of rice from the warehouse. She also doesn’t forget to shield her backpack from prying eyes.
When the soldier finished inputting her data, he looked up from his laptop screen as she placed a small pack of rice on the table. He picked up the rice to examine the contents. Seeing that the rice was of high quality and in good condition without any doomsday pollution, he glanced at her before putting the pack of rice down.
He separated the rice from the other food and said, “You can go in and get your temporary name tag from the soldiers on the other side of the gate.”
She looked at his lips, saw that it wasn’t chapped like the other two soldiers before, and thanked him before walking away. Before leaving, she glanced at the small pack of rice on the table, looking very lonely. When she turned to leave, there was a flash of understanding in her eyes.
She walked down the corridor and looked around. The walls of this base are thick enough to form a corridor from either side of the gate. From the walking distance, the city wall is at least twenty meters thick. Thinking that the owner of this base is wise, she came to the post that the soldier told her.
In front of the post stations, there was another long queue. She looked at the long queue, and felt numb from all the queuing. Looking at her watch, it was past noon and the temperature had risen over forty degrees Celsius. She needs to find a place to escape the heat as soon as possible before she suffers a heatstroke.
In order to complete the document procedures as soon as possible, she looked around and picked the shortest line on the farthest post station. Walking to the last post station, she saw only two people in front of the post station. As the woman at the front left with a sulky face, she hurriedly lined up behind the only person left.
In front of her was a middle-aged man with a five year old boy tugging at his trousers. She looked down at the boy and saw his dirty and thin face. If the boy is fatter and cleaner, then the boy will look very cute.
While she was still looking at the boy, the soldier sitting behind the post said, “Read this.”
The soldier handed the middle-aged man a piece of paper and continued what he was doing. After reading that piece of paper, the middle-aged man had a bad expression on his face. It was the same expression as the woman who had just left. Curious about what was written on the paper, she glanced at the paper, but the middle-aged man had already put it down.
Seeing him put down the paper, the soldier said, “Go to another line.”
Without saying a word, the middle-aged man led the boy to another line. Looking at the smelly face of the middle-aged man, her curiosity grew stronger. Left alone, she took a step forward.
The soldier sitting behind the post station pushed the paper on the table to her without looking up. “Read it.”
Picking up the piece of paper, she carefully read the contents on it.
‘This line is the express line for every document procedure. To use this express service, you will need to pay for additional supplies. If you disagree, go to another line.
Putting down the piece of paper, she looked at the soldier with interest. If you look at the time it took her to get to the front, it was an express service indeed. Seeing her put down the paper, the soldier opened his lips. Before he could speak, her voice came over first.
“How much will I have to pay for the express service?”
After sitting here for more than ten hours, he finally got a different reaction and the soldier’s eyes lit up. A business smile appeared on his bored face, “What kind of documents do you want to deal with?”
Listening to his question, she knew that the price was different depending on the document. It is normal to ask for different remuneration rates for different jobs. She smiled at him and said, “Temporary resident registration.”
“It’s one kilogram of staple food, two kilograms of grain, two kilograms of other types of food or one gallon of water.”
Thinking of her endless arable land, she said: “I pay with two kilograms of peanuts.”
The soldier grinned from ear to ear, and quickly opened the laptop, “Please wait a moment.”
Thinking of the lonely small pack of rice at the gate, she decided to take out two packs of one kilogram peanuts that she got from the wholesale market street before. Opening the backpack, she took out two packs of peanuts from the supplies room, and stuffed a few bottles of mineral water into the backpack. Putting the peanuts on the table, she zipped her backpack and waited patiently.
The soldier typed very fast. Not long after, he pressed the Enter key, and the 3D printer beside him started moving. After waiting for two minutes, the new special nameplate was ready. He picked up the name tag, wiped it clean with a cloth, then handed it to her.
“This is your temporary resident name tag. Please keep it safe and don’t lose it. If you lose it, you will need to apply for a new one. Also, remember to extend your temporary resident permit every ten days. If your permit expires, you will be sent to prison. So, be careful not to forget.”
She takes the name tag and looks at it. All that was inscribed on the name tag was her name and a string of numbers below it. Seeing that he was very friendly, she opened her backpack and took out a pack of biscuits and a bottle of mineral water.
“Thank you for the reminder. This is for you.”
He looked at the biscuits in the family pack size and the bottle of mineral water in a daze. When he came to his senses, Murong Jiao had already left. Touching the big pack of biscuit, he muttered something under his breath, but no one heard what he was saying.