BXBX NOVEL Chapter 76: The Committee, Rush Crystal
Chapter 76: The Committee, Rush Crystal
“Of course there’s no problem!”
When Wang Tao asked about this, the round-faced girl explained excitedly.
“Our base was established with the lead of our Security Army Shuize squadron, alongside the assistance of Shuize University, the Shuize County Police Department, and other government departments. At the beginning of its establishment, we encountered many difficulties, and many sacrifices were made. Being able to come this far is the result of the Security Army’s efforts…
Looking at the admiration in the round-faced girl’s eyes, Wang Tao asked again:
“Then who is in charge of our base now?”
The round-faced girl quickly replied:
“Our base operates under a committee system. For some of the major issues concerning the base, it requires the consent of more than half or even two-thirds of the members for a decision to pass…”
“Oh? A committee system?”
Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had thought that the Security Army had full control over the area, but it turned out that this was not the case.
“So, who are the committee members? What did they do before?
The round-faced girl counted on her fingers and said:
“Currently, there are a total of seven committee members in our base. Three are from the Security Army, two from the Police Department, one from the government, and the last one is a survivor who joined the base later…” “Huh? A survivor who joined later can also become a committee member?
Wang Tao was a bit puzzled.
The first six individuals obviously contributed to the base’s founding, so it was normal for them to become committee members. However, this survivor who joined later…
“Yes, our base is relatively fair. As long as one has the ability, everyone has the chance to become a committee member,” said the girl earnestly, clenching her
small fist.
“So, what abilities does this last survivor have?”
“The intranet within our base and the Contribution Points system were all set up by Mr. Liu! I even heard…” she whispered, “that he knows how to make timed explosives!”
“Hisss, no wonder…”
It suddenly dawned on Wang Tao. He had wondered how an ordinary survivor could become a committee member of the base, and now he knew the reason.
“So, aside from the highest authority, the Base Committee, do we have any other departments here?”
The girl recited from memory:
“Currently, there are five departments under the committee. They are the Finance Department, the Resources Department, the Personnel Department, the Medical Department, and the Defense Department.”
“The Finance Department is responsible for ration tickets and Contribution Points, with Mr. Liu serving concurrently as the department head…
“The Resource Department manages all the resources within the base and their allocation, such as food, land and housing, vehicles, electricity, water, and
other materials…”
“The Personnel Department takes care of all residents’ information and work arrangements within the base…”
“The Medical Department naturally deals with treating the sick and injured, but currently there are very few people in the Medical Department, only three doctors for the entire base…”
“The Defense Department is responsible for the security of the base, acting as the guardian spirit of the base! Everyone who joins the Defense Department is equipped with thermal weapons! However, this is also the most stringent department to join, currently only recruiting soldiers, militiamen, police, and others with combat experience…”
After listening to the girl’s introduction, Wang Tao was still very surprised.
Before coming to the Shuize University Base, he thought that the situation here would be just a group of survivors gathering to live a primitive life.
But now it appeared that this was not the case. Although the base was small, it was well-equipped, with clear divisions of labor amongst departments, and power wasn’t concentrated in the hands of any single person.
From what I’ve seen and heard so far, this place seems decent. As to whether it’s truly good, only time will tell after living here for a while.
After getting a rough idea, Wang Tao headed to the faculty apartments.
They had a very standard one-room apartment layout and they were fully furnished, much nicer than the student dormitories.
Having arbitrarily chosen room 302, the round-faced girl left. Before she departed, she gave Wang Tao a copy of the “Shuize Base Survivors’ Convention,” and informed him that the base was holding a short welcome ceremony for new survivors who had arrived in the last week. The ceremony would be tomorrow evening.
Though his attendance wasn’t mandatory, there would be a free meal, and it was highly likely that some of the base’s leaders would be present. If Wang Tao wasn’t busy, he could attend the event. Even if he didn’t care about the food, it was at least an opportunity to get to know people at the base and make himself known.
Wang Tao said that would be fine.
He wasn’t too concerned about the meal, his primary interest was in getting to know the leaders of the Shuize Base. If he chose to reside at Shuize Base, it was crucial to thoroughly understand it.
The furnishings were complete in room 302, though a layer of dust suggested it had been inhabited before the apocalypse.
These rooms were free to live in-just requiring an application. After all, there weren’t many people in the base, just over five hundred survivors, nowhere near enough to fill up the Survivor Base. Many buildings were still sealed, with plans to open them only when the population increased.
However, while the accommodation was free, utilities like water and electricity were not; they had to be exchanged for Contribution Points.
Inside Shuize University, there were diesel and gasoline generators that supplied electricity to the survivors. Since fuel consumption was involved, it was impossible to provide free power, so it cost Contribution Points—and wasn’t cheap.
As for water, the base had drilled a well previously, allowing survivors to use groundwater. This too required Contribution Points and was rationed. Wang Tao quickly cleaned his new home, then grabbed some food for a simple meal, and finally took out the spoils of his last scavenging loot—a blueprint and that purple Crystal Core.
[Rush Right Arm Blueprint: Can be used to craft a right arm guard. Required materials: Iron Block*2, Steel Wire*2, Screw*2, Blade*2, Nails*2, Rubber*2, Plastic*2, Cable*2, Electronic Components*2, Battery*2]
[Rush Right Arm; Sturdy in texture, can block blade and gunfire. Durability+10, defensive power+10]
“The materials needed are fewer than the Food Compressor, and it doesn’t require a Zombie Core!”
Wang Tao was curious about what the crafted arm guard would look like, but he lacked materials at the moment, needing one more plastic and one more nail.
He would have to go out and kill a few zombies to gather what he needed.
Then Wang Tao turned his attention to the purple Crystal Core.
[Level 1 Crystal Core – Rush]
[Quality: Excellent (60%)]
[Purity: 50% (Side effect: Stiff limbs)]
[Rush: Can consume a certain amount of energy to perform a rush.]
The Core seemed pretty good. If he could master the same Rush Ability as the Charger Zombies, it would certainly be convenient not just for fighting but also for escaping.
What he didn’t know was how significant the “stiff limbs” side effect would be. If it caused the same stiffness as the zombies, then it might not be worth the trade-off-that was, of course, for others. For Wang Tao himself, side effects were not an issue.
If he could collect one or two more Rush Crystal Cores and synthesize a Core without side effects, then this skill would definitely be an asset, on par with Shockwave!
“Hopefully, I’ll run into more special zombies in the future…”
Wang Tao silently wished.
He then tried to contact Ding Yuqin using the walkie-talkie, but couldn’t get through. Clearly, the walkie-talkie’s power was insufficient.
Wang Tao switched to other civilian public channels, occasionally hearing someone speak, probably people from this base. There wasn’t any useful information.
The walkie-talkies he had were ordinary civilian ones, only operable on civilian frequencies. The soldiers and higher-ups at the base definitely had professional walkie-talkies, and Wang Tao couldn’t receive their messages. “Contribution Points can be exchanged for many things. They should have high-power walkie-talkies, right? I’ll check it out tomorrow….”