My Dating Sim Just Got an Update - Chapter 35

Ren Chenxi watched as Huo Keyu’s group entered the base’s isolation point. When she turned back, she caught Mu Ning staring at her with a dazed, almost infatuated look, and her expression instantly went cold.

“What are you looking at!”

Ren Chenxi’s sudden shift in tone snapped Mu Ning out of her memories. Her racing heart gradually cooled under Ren Chenxi’s icy gaze.

“I…” Mu Ning opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she understood that the person before her was no longer the Ren Muhui who would tolerate her every whim with bottomless tenderness. “There was a reason I didn’t want you to list your space ability.”

The contrast in how Ren Chenxi treated others versus how she treated her made Mu Ning feel unhappy—stifled and pained. However, she had no right to criticize her. Thus, she could only change the subject.

“Oh? Why?” Led by Mu Ning’s comment, Ren Chenxi’s thoughts drifted to the topic.

“There are several space ability users in the base. Their storage capacities vary, but none are likely as large as yours. These users are quite popular in the base, but at the same time, they attract a lot of trouble…”

“Go on,” Ren Chenxi said, tilting her chin up to signal Mu Ning to continue.

Mu Ning’s eyes fell on the tip of Ren Chenxi’s small chin, following the curve down to her long, elegant neck. She paused before continuing: “Many teams seek out space users to help them bring back more loot from scavenging runs. While having a portable warehouse is convenient, only the space user truly knows what’s inside. Consequently, disputes often break out when teams suspect the space user is secretly skimming their supplies.”

“Mhm… that does sound like a hassle,” Ren Chenxi nodded in agreement. “In that case, a space user should only head out with their own trusted teammates.” Given Ren Chenxi’s personality, she would never invite unnecessary trouble for the sake of a small commission.

“It’s not just that. Acting as a warehouse for other teams is voluntary, but for large-scale scavenging missions organized by the base, space users are forced to participate. Afterward, they must tally every item under the supervision of base personnel… Of course, only the Fan family would enforce such mandatory measures.”

“Tsk!” After expressing her disdain for the Fan family, Ren Chenxi hesitated for a moment before offering a quiet “Thank you” to Mu Ning. Regardless of her personal feelings, Mu Ning’s warning would indeed save her from a great deal of future trouble.

“You’re welcome. You’re his sister; I said I would look after you!” Mu Ning was delighted by Ren Chenxi’s rare moment of friendliness. “By the way, there are still a few empty rooms in the building where we stay. Would you like to…”

“No thanks!” Thanking Mu Ning for a tip was one thing; continuing to associate with her was quite another. “I’m staying with Jian Dan and the others. We’re going to look around the base in a bit.”

“…” Being rejected was expected, yet hearing it so bluntly still left a bitter ache in Mu Ning’s heart. Did Ren Muhui feel this same sorrow every time I heartlessly rejected him back then?

Mu Ning fell silent, and Ren Chenxi felt equally speechless. Hey, you’re supposed to be an aloof, high-cold Ice Goddess! What’s with the aggrieved expression? I didn’t even bully you!

Ren Chenxi wanted to leave Mu Ning and head into the base, but Jian Dan and the others hadn’t come out yet. Just as she was about to go back and check, the three of them finally emerged carrying their instruments.

“Sister Xi~”

“What took so long?”

“Sigh, I guess our abilities are pretty rare. The registrar thought we were making things up and insisted we give a demonstration, so it took a while.”

“No wonder…” Ren Chenxi nodded. She thought she had heard some faint “Oola-oola clank-clank” noises earlier.

Beside them, Mu Ning shot a subtle glance at Ren Chenxi. When Ren Chenxi had handed over her form with “Marksmanship” listed, the registrar had originally intended to demand a test. However, Mu Ning had silenced him with a single look, and he had quietly filed the paper away. Ren Chenxi didn’t know this, and Mu Ning didn’t plan on telling her. Even if she did, the girl probably wouldn’t give her a kind look anyway.

See? Now that her friends were here, she was ignoring her again…

Mu Ning watched with a hint of envy as Ren Chenxi led Jian Dan’s group into the base. She glanced back at Chen Gu’s team and then turned to follow Ren Chenxi. Following Mu Ning’s signal, Chen Gu hurried to Ren Chenxi’s side, eagerly introducing the various housing options within the base.

The South Sea Base was an expansion of a former middle school, so many of the original buildings were preserved. The administrative building had become the office for base personnel, while the classrooms had been converted into the cheapest survivor dormitories.

According to Chen Gu, in the three six-story teaching buildings, almost all desks and chairs had been removed, leaving only three or four for the occupants to use. Those moving into the classrooms had to provide their own furniture; most didn’t even have beds and simply slept on the floor. For these survivors, the classrooms were purely for rest. According to base regulations, open flames for cooking were strictly forbidden inside.

Despite such primitive conditions, a vast number of survivors chose to live there because the rent was cheap. A single classroom cost only 200 Level 1 nuclei per month, or an equivalent value in supplies.

Most residents were ordinary people, though some ability users chose them to save crystals. Classrooms that once held students were now packed with people struggling to survive. To keep rent costs down, some rooms held as many as thirty adults.

These classrooms weren’t actually the worst option. The buildings were sturdy, had four walls and windows, and provided protection from the winter cold. If a room had fewer occupants, life was manageable. Furthermore, there were restrooms at the end of each floor, which had been partitioned to include shower stalls. As long as hygiene was maintained, it wasn’t a terrible place to be.

Cheaper still were the student and faculty dorms. These were similar to the classrooms a few desks, iron bunk beds, no cooking allowed, and shared bathrooms at the end of the hall. Because they were smaller than classrooms, the fee was halved.

Compared to the buildings, the “Tin Houses” erected on the sports field were an absolute nightmare. These were hasty shelters built during the base’s inception to house a massive influx of survivors. Thin sheets of metal served as roofs, while the walls were made of equally thin fiberboard or scrap wood salvaged from the school, covering thousands of square meters. They were meant to be temporary, but as the base grew and construction crews built other housing, the Tin Houses were left for the elderly, the weak, and those unable to earn crystals.

No rent was required, but the conditions were abysmal. The massive area was only divided into ten “rooms,” each housing hundreds of people. They were cramped, noisy, and filled with various foul odors. At night, the sounds of talking, snoring, complaining, and the squeaking of triple-tier bunks were constant. For those used to it, the noise was secondary; the real torture was the seasons.

In the summer, the sun turned the metal into an oven, making heatstroke a constant threat. In the winter, the damp, bone-chilling cold of the south seeped through the cracks. Without proper warmth, many grew ill or simply froze to death. With medicine being so rare and expensive, those in the Tin Houses had to endure it. If they made it through, they lived; if not, they died.

Last year, many survivors who had escaped the jaws of zombies did not survive the winter in those metal shacks.

After Chen Gu finished describing the Tin Houses, the group fell into a long silence. Noticing the heavy atmosphere, Zhang Tongqi shot Chen Gu a look, prompting him to move on to other options.

“Ayy, do you guys want to see the villa area at the back? That’s where we live now. Hahaha, I call it a ‘villa’ area, but it’s actually just standalone houses. Most were original village houses that were renovated, plus a few newer ones. The one we share with the Boss has four floors. Do you want to take a look?”

Jian Dan and the others turned to Ren Chenxi. She didn’t want to go there, so she asked Chen Gu: “Besides the villa area, are there any other options?”

“Others…” Chen Gu looked around and pointed to a building further behind the administrative block. “That one is new; it houses the primary base officials and their families. Our leader lives there too. Unfortunately, it’s not open to outsiders.” He then pointed to a distinct luxury estate in the distance that looked completely out of place. “That’s the Fan family’s territory. No other survivors are allowed to set foot there.”

“Ah… so our only real choices are the Tin Houses or the classrooms?” an S-University student asked despondently. They had saved some crystals on the way to H-City, but it clearly wasn’t enough to afford the villa area.

“Brother Chen, is there really no other choice?” another girl pressed.

Chen Gu looked at the students, then at Mu Ning, and shook his head. “Aside from those, some newcomers pitch tents in the open areas. Others choose not to enter the base at all and live in the village houses on the perimeter. But I wouldn’t recommend either. I don’t need to tell you how dangerous the nights are outside, especially with so many humans gathered here. As for the tents… well, the inside of the base isn’t as peaceful as it looks. Theft, robbery, and violence happen. Without enough strength, you’re better off huddling in a Tin House than a tent.”

According to Chen Gu, because the Tin Houses held so many people, the base authorities patrolled the area to prevent major unrest and maintain a facade of stability. Furthermore, since the residents there were mostly non-powered and had no crystals or supplies, thugs rarely targeted them—there was simply nothing to gain.

Hearing this, Ren Chenxi’s face turned serious as she began to discuss the options with Jian Dan and her friends.

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