The Apocalypse Took Everything, This Time I Hoard It All First

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Quest Hall

The group chattered excitedly as they observed their surroundings, their eyes filled with curiosity and awe.

Upon entering the hall, the first thing that caught their eye was a massive electronic screen taking up the entire front wall. Various task listings constantly scrolled and refreshed across it, accompanied by faint electronic chimes that created a highly efficient and orderly atmosphere.

The center of the screen was dedicated to displaying the most dangerous S-rank and A-rank missions. As the information bars for these high-risk tasks scrolled by, the names of the squads that had already accepted them were tagged in real-time beneath them. This allowed subsequent teams to gauge the level of competition. Meanwhile, dimmed task bars indicated that the missions had been completed and no longer needed to be taken.

On the walls on either side of the hall hung slightly smaller electronic screens, dedicated to refreshing medium and small-scale tasks ranked B, C, and D. The danger levels for these missions were relatively low, but their contents were incredibly diverse. Some requested the retrieval of specific mutated animals, mutated plant roots, or seeds, while others sought lost pet cats and dogs. However, the vast majority were missing-person notices searching for separated relatives.

Behind every missing-person notice was a family struggling to survive in the apocalypse. Reading them left a heavy weight on one’s heart.

Miles Dawson looked at the notices, his tone softening. "Every single one of them is looking for a relative. It’s really hard to look at."

"We even have to pay a processing fee?" Aaron Palmer frowned. "How does the compensation work?"

The group huddled in a corner to read the rules and quickly figured out the value of points. Aaron clicked his tongue in disbelief. "Ordinary people only earn three to ten points a day? A single tier-one Crystal Core is worth fifty points! Killing zombies is way more profitable than doing manual labor!"

"Accommodation is graded too," Miles said as he read the rules. "A single room is one hundred points a month, and a communal bunk is only twenty. But a single-family villa actually costs one hundred thousand? Does that mean renting in our villa district costs two hundred thousand a month?! That’s absurd!"

Luna Dawson rolled her eyes, wincing at the thought of the cost. "What’s absurd about it? Just the management fee for the two villas we live in costs us ten thousand points each month."

Kevin Keane’s fever had broken after his tier advancement. Seeing Luna’s pained expression, he found it rather amusing. "We can slowly farm more Crystal Cores later. Don’t feel so bad about it."

"The base is a safe haven for survivors," he added mildly. "They have to ensure the people at the bottom can survive. Naturally, those who want a better life have to pay more. Alright, let’s go register our squad first. Don’t just stand here reading the rules."

The moment the group headed toward the registration window, they attracted a massive wave of attention. Luna was wearing a puffy purple down jacket that made her skin look luminously fair, paired with snow-white snow boots and a cashmere beanie. She looked clean and dazzling. Miles and the other two men were uniformly dressed in black down jackets and black beanies, their tall postures exuding an imposing aura. In an apocalypse where everyone was struggling to survive, these four were not only extremely good-looking but also living in such refined comfort. The surrounding survivors cast glances their way, their eyes filled with a mix of curiosity and envy.

The four walked straight toward the registration window. In order to decide on a name for their newly registered squad, a heated argument broke out among them. Aaron and Miles, in particular, were as excited as if they had just discovered a whole new world.

"Dark Night Commandos!"

"The Avengers!"

"Dauntless Special Operations Team!"

"Light Messenger!"

Name after name kept popping up.

Kevin joined the fun, happy to stir the pot, suggesting that "Pretty Girl Squad" wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Shocked, Luna quickly pinched his mouth shut, refusing to let such embarrassing words come out of his handsome face.

Everyone held their ground, refusing to yield. Ultimately, they decided to draw lots to settle the matter. Little did they know, Luna had already used her Space Ability to secretly swap out the slips of paper the three men had written.

Thus, when the result of the draw was revealed, the words "Sunset Squad" boldly presented themselves. The corners of the three men’s mouths instantly twitched, and they immediately protested that such a name was simply too embarrassing to use.

"Don’t underestimate the concept of Serenfall," Luna hurriedly explained. "Even before the apocalypse, living safely to the age of Serenfall was already a challenge, let alone in this danger-ridden apocalyptic environment.

"Serenfall is the most beautiful hope, isn’t it? I still want us to get together for a few tables of mahjong when our whole family grows old."

Her sincere and heartfelt words moved the three of them so deeply that they nearly picked her up and placed her on a pedestal. Their previous dissatisfaction vanished into thin air in an instant. And just like that, the name "Sunset Squad" was happily finalized.

There were so many survivors in the mission hall that they had to wait in line for quite a long time before it was their turn. Luna stepped up to the counter, looked at the young man working inside, and smiled. "Please help us register a squad."

The young man stared at his computer screen, typing rapidly on his keyboard. His voice was flat yet polite. "Hello, please present the identity cards for the squad members and wait a moment."

Luna paused for a second before realizing that he only had a right hand; his left arm was severed at the forearm. No wonder he hadn’t stopped working even after the previous team left. She quickly handed over the identity cards for her entire family. "Alright."

The young man handed her a form. "Fill in the detailed information for the squad." As he spoke, he turned to look at Luna and froze for a moment. His gaze swept over the four of them before finally locking onto Aaron.

Luna wondered, "Do the two of them know each other?"

The next second, the young man’s mouth fell open, and his eyes lit up startlingly bright. His voice boomed through the window’s microphone, loud enough to be heard for dozens of meters around. "It’s you! Aaron Palmer!"

The four of them, who were already eye-catching, were instantly surrounded by stares from all directions. People further away even craned their necks to look over. Luna, who was standing the closest, was nearly deafened by the shout.

Aaron leaned forward with a bewildered expression. "Buddy, I don’t think I know you."

"I’m Kelvin Miller!" The young man’s voice trembled with excitement. "Two months ago, you rescued four military trucks in University City, and Major Ethan Coleman was there too! I was the guy who got pushed out by the other survivors! Thank goodness you guys saved me!"

"The temporary safe zone was too big," he added. "I only found out from Major Coleman that one of my saviors was named Aaron Palmer, but I could never find you. Later, I was injured by a zombie during a mission and lost my arm, so I was reassigned to work here."

Aaron suddenly realized what was going on. His gaze fell on Kelvin’s empty sleeve, and he frowned. "So it’s you! What happened to your arm? Oh, right, the one who actually saved you was him, Kevin Keane. He was the one who fired the first shot."

Kelvin immediately looked at Kevin, his eyes brimming with gratitude. "Sir, thank you so much for saving me back then!" As he spoke, he reached into his jacket, pulled out a small bag of Crystal Cores, and handed it over. "I don’t have anything valuable. These are all the Crystal Cores I’ve saved up. Please don’t despise them."

Kevin looked at Kelvin’s empty sleeve, his expression darkening as he spoke with a firm tone. "I’m not short on this handful of Crystal Cores."

Kelvin instantly froze. His face fell, and he became flustered with anxiety. These sixty or seventy Crystal Cores were everything he owned, and he was terrified that his savior thought it was too little.

Watching the young man’s face instantly crumple, Luna found it a bit amusing and quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "He doesn’t think it’s too little. Back at the rescue scene, we collected the hundreds of Crystal Cores that were left behind. Those were more than enough of a reward. Keep these for your own upgrades."

Saying that, Luna tugged on Kevin’s arm. "Right?"

Kevin looked down at her small hand resting on his arm. His expression softened considerably as he looked back at Kelvin. "Injured during a mission?"

Kelvin scratched his head. "Yeah. After I got hurt on a mission, I was reassigned here."

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "I suppose that Gu fellow and the rest of the base leaders are doing alright, then. At least they didn’t stuff this position with nepotism hires."

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