Fall!
As he fell, the tip of his Battle Blade struck precisely on the pressure fuse of the fragmentation mine.
The Shadow Mouse, in its arrogance, was attempting a deadly strike as he inexplicably fell, was immediately riddled with holes by the explosive fragments.
This hurdle was passed with thrilling safety.
...
By the end of the day, after tallying the harvest, the group had eliminated 31 First Level mouse-type Ruined Beasts and two Second Level ones.
The total income was 144 Contribution Points.
An unprecedented abundant harvest.
As Zheng Tian said, looking throughout all semi-professional Scavenger Teams in Starfire Town, this was also the largest single-day hunting result in the past two years.
Zheng Tian: "We made history."
Besides, Bai Feng sustained minor injuries.
Some of the equipment of Ren Zhong and Wen Lei was also damaged.
The cost for treatment, equipment repair, ammunition, and energy cells was 22 points, leaving the team with a net gain of 122 points.
Whether dealing with the Crystal Armored Long-tailed Giant Mouse or the Shadow Mouse, Ren Zhong played a crucial role.
After some discussion, the group decided that Ren Zhong would uniquely receive 60 points.
The others divided the remaining 62 points and each put 20% of their earnings into the public fund.
...
On the way back, Ren Zhong asked Wen Lei about the debt.
Wen Lei said it wasn’t urgent.
He currently didn’t have any immediate need for money, so there was no need for advance payment.
Private transfer incurs tax, which isn’t cost-effective, so it remains on hold for now.
After a brief conversation, Ren Zhong stopped talking and pretended to close his eyes and rest.
Today was his first time rejoining the world as a warrior after putting aside his pen and taking up arms.
He did well but was also quite exhausted physically.
Ren Zhong realized why the other members of Zheng Tian’s team seldom visited the training ground regularly.
After becoming professional Scavengers, walking in the wilderness every day and experiencing battle after battle is already the highest intensity of training.
Although he hadn’t gone back to test, Ren Zhong knew his parameters must have increased again.
Ren Zhong looked at the scenery flying past outside the car window and then at the blue sun drifting toward the western mountains in the distance.
He felt a sense of reflection.
Similar scenes as long ago, yet with entirely different mindsets.
The Thunderbolt Car raced forward at blazing speed, leaving behind the scattered or solitary low-level Scavengers to eat dust.
Only a few brave souls rode motorcycles, or drove open-top off-road vehicles and similar transport.
However, the speed of these ordinary vehicles was vastly different compared to the Thunderbolt Car.
These Scavengers were also heading toward the town, like ancient farmers, working from sunrise to sunset.
The only difference is that Scavengers always have one foot on the threshold of Ghost Gate.
Most of the Scavengers hunched over, whether empty-handed or carrying various sizes of Ruined Beasts on their shoulders or dragging them on the ground.
Whether carrying something or not, many people were injured all over, and some were even bloodied, missing arms or legs, trudging along unsteadily.
For those poorly equipped and without a team, it’s exceedingly difficult to live well in this world.
The path that Ren Zhong walked in seven days would take more than ninety percent of the wasteland drifters an entire lifetime to cover slowly.
Ren Zhong felt like making a sarcastic remark.
With things this way, why bother having children, allowing them to suffer?
But he remembered what he saw and heard in the town and the information recorded in the basic information library on his Wrist watch, and a policy currently being enforced by the Source Star Business Association.
It was genuinely unexpected for him.
Despite the extremely low material conditions, the procreative motivation among the wasteland drifters was extraordinarily high.
The wasteland drifters in Starfire Town were very open, both men and women.
Just speaking of those around him, although he wasn’t clear about Chen Hanyu, during the last resurrection, Zheng Tian definitely wanted to consume him.
Ren Zhong declined.
Not because he was a saint, but firstly because he didn’t like Zheng Tian’s appearance, secondly because he was still full of thoughts and had no heart for those pursuits, thirdly due to apprehensions, and fourthly because he hadn’t yet resolved his survival needs.
As for the others, from what he knew, Ou Youning, with his annoyingly talkative mouth, was quite the playboy, having more than one female acquaintance in the town.
Bai Feng, who kept silent like a gourd, surprisingly had quite a few harmonious living partners.
Wen Lei was the odd one; maybe his heart had always been occupied by a childhood sweetheart.
In short, within Starfire Town, the boiling physiological demand brought about an unreasonable birth rate.
According to extremely brief historical records, during the ancient times when human productivity was extremely low and Ruined Beasts were rampaging everywhere, humanity indeed survived to this day through this strong procreative motivation.
In recent times, the Source Star Business Association implemented policies encouraging childbirth.
When adults nurture offspring, every time the children have a birthday, both parents receive Contribution Point rewards.
At the age of one, the child receives a total of 1 point. Each year older, they gain another 1 point.
This policy applies to everyone.
Moreover, when children reach 5 years old, they can rent a Wrist watch and earn Contribution Points through sleep.
The food expense of a 5-year-old child every day is far less than 0.1, hence profitable.
This policy gave Ren Zhong an instinctive sense of incongruence and weirdness.
First, press the survival conditions of the wastelanders to the extreme, then use money to encourage childbirth, yet once children reach 16, they are driven out for self-reliance.
Heh heh.
He subconsciously chuckled.
Sitting beside him, Ou Youning immediately asked, "Ren Bro, what’s up?"
Ren Zhong replied, "Nothing, just thinking life is quite amusing."
Wen Lei, who was lying below as a seat cushion, muffledly asked, "Ren Bro, are you going to the training ground tonight?"
Ren Zhong shook his head, "Not going, need to rest today."
"Oh, Ren Bro, you should rest a bit. Enjoy life a little, hehe."
Zheng Tian in the front row immediately chimed in.