The Initial Formation of the Shelter

Under Li Ya's command, the members of the nine teams, who were fully equipped and ready to go, quickly boarded the vehicles.

The deep roar of the engines broke the silence of the snowfield. The convoy, like long, awakened steel dragons, sped off in different directions toward the university town, quickly disappearing behind the vast snow and the ruins of buildings.

Among the crowd, Zhou Tiannian stared wide-eyed, his throat bobbing involuntarily.

He reacted extremely quickly, immediately jogging over to Lin Chen's side, his face plastered with an extremely warm and cautiously ingratiating smile:

"Boss Lin! You're truly... foresightful and resourceful! This snowmobile is practically a godsend right now!"

Zhou Tian skillfully flattered, "You see, our brothers in the outer city can't just lie around waiting for relief forever. They're itching to get out and stretch their legs, hunt some zombies, scavenge for supplies, and become self-reliant so they can pay back what they owe you sooner, right? This precious vehicle... I wonder if we could spare some for our brothers in the outer city?"

Lin Chen turned around, his gaze calmly landing on Zhou Tiannian's face. He nodded, his tone revealing little emotion: "Okay."

Zhou Tiannian was secretly pleased, but before his smile could fully spread, he heard Lin Chen's next words, his voice still calm: "However, have you decided what you'll offer in exchange?"

Zhou Tiannian's expression hardened, and his smile vanished instantly.

He knew all too well that although the young city lord before him was incredibly generous and had sheltered tens of thousands of people, he was by no means a pushover and would never do anything that would be a loss.

The entire operation of the Tianshui Garden Shelter is increasingly resembling a well-structured and clearly defined conglomerate: Lin Chen is the absolute controlling shareholder and the core of the headquarters, providing the most fundamental security, initial resources, and cutting-edge "technology".

The outer city he manages is more like an authorized subsidiary or business unit that is responsible for its own profits and losses. It enjoys a certain degree of autonomy, but all the "loans" obtained from the "headquarters"—that is, supplies, equipment, and even shelter—must be repaid with interest using hard currency—zombie crystal cores.

As for defaulting on his debt? He still wants to live, not die!

His mind raced: the value of a snowmobile in this extreme environment was immeasurable, as it could greatly expand his activity radius, improve scavenging efficiency, and increase his chances of survival.

However, if the price is too high, the outer city simply cannot afford it; if the price is too low, it would be disrespectful and would also dishonor the value of the equipment, and might even anger Lin Chen.

After a brief silence, Zhou Tiannian gritted his teeth and announced a number he considered a "massive loss," but perhaps one he could barely bear after risking his life: "One thousand... one thousand Tier 1 crystal cores for one vehicle! Boss Lin, do you think... this number is acceptable?"

After he finished speaking, he nervously observed Lin Chen's expression.

A faint smile appeared on Lin Chen's face.

Lin Chen knew, of course, that the price was actually too low, but then he thought, the meat was ultimately going to rot in his own pot, and the snowmobile could only be used for a year at most.

So they agreed.

He raised his hand and patted Zhou Tiannian's broad shoulder, the force neither too light nor too heavy: "Deal. How many do you want?"

He paused, his tone laced with a hint of teasing, yet carrying an undeniable reminder of the rule, "But Lao Zhou, let me remind you, the amount owed to you in the outer city for supplies is already quite substantial. Work harder and pay it off as soon as possible so that your 'credit limit' can be maintained, or even increased."

Sensing the pressure beneath that gentle tone, Zhou Tiannian quickly straightened his back and declared, "One hundred! Boss Lin, one hundred first! Don't worry, I, Old Zhou, will lead my brothers to work like our lives depend on it, kill as many zombies as possible, gather as many supplies as possible, and I will absolutely not let you lose money, nor will I renege on my debt!"

"Okay." Lin Chen didn't waste any more words and made another decision.

On the other side of the open space, a full hundred snowmobiles appeared in a row, clearly distinct from the ones used by the inner city team earlier.

After completing this "deal," Lin Chen didn't linger. He nodded slightly to Zhou Tiannian and then turned and went straight back to the underground base.

There, Hua Hua, Xiao He, and Su Qingyue were already working. The massive underground expansion project still needed his spatial capabilities to support it.

Zhou Tiannian, as if injected with a stimulant, immediately raised his voice and ran around the outer city area shouting, organizing things efficiently.

Soon, an "outer city exploration team" of about two hundred people, mainly composed of people with superpowers, was formed.

However, the composition of this team realistically and cruelly reflects the general appearance of most survivor groups in the post-apocalyptic world: apart from a very few B-level ability users who can barely serve as the core, more than 90% of the members are E-level and F-level with the lowest level of awakening and the most basic abilities, and Zhou Tiannian himself is only a D-level ability user.

They lack high-end combat capabilities and sophisticated, unified equipment. Their organizational discipline is also relatively loose, and they are more united by the instinct for survival and short-term interests.

This is the norm for struggling to survive in the post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Compared to Lin Chen's well-equipped and powerful core team, it was worlds apart.

Inside the shelter, other life support and construction work is also proceeding simultaneously.

Under the arrangement of the management personnel, a large number of ordinary survivors continued to devote themselves to various basic construction tasks at the base: some people with some medical and nursing experience or strong learning ability participated in the further construction of the temporary hospital and simple medical and nursing training.

Many more people are involved in the construction and reinforcement of permanent or semi-permanent shelters, attempting to make temporary container camps more resistant to the cold and potential threats.

In addition, there are also some superhumans who prefer to work alone or who are confident in their own abilities, who choose to become "lone rangers" or form small groups of three to five people, leaving the relatively safe area of ​​the shelter and actively venturing into dangerous neighborhoods to hunt lone zombies.

On the one hand, they yearn to unleash their potential and break through their limits in life-or-death battles. On the other hand, the zombie crystal cores they hunt are real "currency" that can be exchanged at the exchange points set up by Lin Chen for better weapons, more abundant food, medicine, and even other scarce resources.

After all, everyone knows that once the initial three-day "newcomer shelter period" is over, all necessities for living in the outer city will be clearly priced and will need to be paid for with crystal cores.

Thus, the unique and efficient three-tiered pyramid structure of the Tianshui Garden Shelter became even clearer amidst the ice and snow:

The first tier (core layer/holding headquarters): Lin Chen is the sole core and ruler, and it consists of the earliest followers such as Li Ya, Su Yun, and Jiang Yingxue, as well as subsequent members who have undergone extremely strict selection.

They enjoy the most generous resource allocation, the finest customized equipment, and the safest and most comfortable inner city environment. They are the pinnacle of the shelter's military power, the execution center of decision-making, and the maintainers of the rules.

The second tier (affiliated management/franchise tier): represented by Zhou Tiannian and his core team.

They were granted daily management and order maintenance rights over the outer city area, and were allowed to organize large-scale official exploration teams.

They have the privilege of obtaining key equipment (such as snowmobiles) through "special loans" from Lin Chen and purchasing basic supplies in bulk at "internal discount prices".

However, in return, they need to bear clear "performance" targets, such as regularly submitting fixed quota crystal cores and maintaining basic order in the outer city. In essence, they are extensions and agents of Lin Chen's management system in the outer city, and they are responsible for their own profits and losses.

The third tier (free citizens/production and consumption tier): constitutes the absolute majority of the outer city's population.

They received the most basic "access" guarantees: free, simple communal housing and free basic food for the first three days of assigned labor.

Three days later, everything needed for survival and development—food, clean water, heating fuel, weapons, medicine, and even better sleeping quarters—must be purchased using zombie crystals.

They have a certain degree of personal freedom and choice, and can decide for themselves whether to participate in collective construction in exchange for meager rewards, or to go out in teams or alone on adventure hunting to obtain more "currency".

In essence, they are more like a huge production and consumption group that Lin Chen "cultivated" in order to obtain stable crystal core income and maintain the macro-operation of the shelter.

This is a job with no base salary, where income is entirely tied to risk, and the "employer" does not provide any workers' compensation insurance.