Cao Jin Nian's eyes shifted uncomfortably. He explained, "I thought no one would come before, and since they rescued us, it's better to stay here than go elsewhere."
While his reasoning made sense, Jiang Yu Heng was still a bit annoyed. "You're thinking too simply. Even if others didn't send people, your parents would have found someone to save you. Not to mention they want to bring Taylor Wyatt back, so why wouldn't they send people?"
The two exchanged information about their respective bases. Cao Jin Nian had genuinely wanted to stay before; his identity card had already been made. Compared to Jiang Yu Heng's card, which only allowed access to food and water, his card granted him entry to many more places, so he led his people on a tour of the base.
The gathered area was the residential district, and next to it was a street that used to house small shops but had now been converted into a large canteen. It wasn't mealtime, so there weren't many people.
Further down was the pharmacy, which also wasn't interesting. Most things here only met basic needs; to have fun, you had to spend money, but most places for spending money weren't available, like KTV clubs or similar establishments, which were nonexistent here.
Jiang Yu Heng raised a question. In City A, people opened these places, and some even openly ran brothels. There used to be laws to control them, but now people killed without consequence, and it was very profitable.
Cao Jin Nian replied, "This is the flaw of our base. Everything is in disarray, and people are dying every day. Yet, some still have the mind for entertainment, prioritizing pleasure above all else. Eventually, they will be consumed by it."
Jiang Yu Heng, who was also quite fond of entertainment, felt a sense of defiance. He then heard Cao Jin Nian continue, "They also haven't listened to the system's warnings. Negative energy can truly turn people into异形 (yi xing - aberrations). Here, everyone is relatively equal. As long as you join the base and are willing to work, you can eat and have a place to live, and won't starve or freeze to death. In City A, everyone is busy scheming and backstabbing, disregarding the lives of ordinary people. If this continues, something will happen sooner or later."
"You..." Jiang Yu Heng was truly speechless. "Your mouth is something else. Say what you want here, but once you return to City A, don't speak like this. It will create a bad impression if others hear it."
"I have no intention of going back."
"But there are people in the base... you're not going back!"
"Yes." Cao Jin Nian said seriously, "I'm not being alarmist. Negative energy can really turn normal people into 异形 (yi xing - aberrations). I've seen it with my own eyes. They see us as储备粮 (chu bei liang - reserve food). Xiao Wu and A Chen both died at their hands. If you go back, please advise those people."
Although he said this, Cao Jin Nian knew it would be difficult to persuade them.
Those people weren't ignorant. They understood everything but were blinded by immediate gain. Changing them was incredibly difficult.
Unless everything became even worse.
"If you're not going back, what about your parents? What about your family?"
"If City A can improve, I'll be at ease with them there. If it deteriorates further one day, I'll bring them here to live, if they are willing."
As soon as he said this, Jiang Yu Heng knew he couldn't convince him.
"Forget it. I can't tie you up and drag you back. Compared to dying in H City, as long as you're alive, your parents probably won't care where you are."
Out of sixteen people, only three were alive now, and they were rescued by others. For the sake of their son's rescuers, they likely wouldn't mind where their son was.
The two wandered aimlessly. They passed the power generation area and reached the outskirts of the base, where people were using a crane to lift materials, intending to build a new structure.
Men and women, wearing safety helmets and masks, were covered in dust but appeared to be in good spirits, working diligently. Heavy manual labor was handled by machines, making their jobs relatively easier. However, in a place like this, dirt and fatigue were unavoidable.
"What are they building?"
"I heard it's a research institute. The previous one was in the outermost rooms. They brought back a lot of things this time, and it couldn't fit anymore, so they're expanding."
"There really is nothing here."
Cao Jin Nian watched the hardworking laborers and said softly, "This is good."
Jiang Yu Heng truly didn't understand him. "Good about what? It's all dust everywhere. Let's go, let's go. What's over there?"
The two circled around the construction site. A few hundred meters away was the playground of a primary school. People were training there, seemingly all ability users. The playground had many damaged areas, dark and scorched from fires, with some of the ground even ripped open.
On the other side of the playground were soldiers in green uniforms. These were people brought by Old Jin's former regimental commander. When this group arrived, they were prepared, bringing many supplies with them.
"Whoa, they even have an army."
"It's a regimental commander from the Chu Nan Military Region. There are only two to three hundred people, not many."
Jiang Yu Heng watched them train and remarked, "They're regular army, after all. Two to three hundred can be quite formidable. With enough weapons, two to three hundred people can achieve great things."
"I heard they plan to recruit some ordinary people into the army, not based on abilities, but to learn firearm knowledge. I like places that are thriving. City A has a stronger overall strength, but many flaws existed from its establishment and are difficult to change, only worsening over time, becoming too unwieldy and eventually causing problems."
"Is it that serious?"
Cao Jin Nian didn't know how to explain it to him. Without mentioning anything else, when the City A shelter was converted into a base, many local residents were unwilling to join the unified planning. To gain their consent, the base promised many benefits, and those people became a privileged class, enjoying better treatment without having to work or fight abilities.
On the other hand, within the City A base, there were many factions. They obtained better weapons and other resources through bribery of the management. To strengthen themselves, they even attacked their own compatriots. With more powerful enemies, they were instead weakening themselves.
It was truly foolish.
Cao Jin Nian lost the interest to continue browsing. Seeing that it was nearing dinnertime, the two turned back.
Long queues began to form outside several large canteens. Besides those clearly belonging to the base, many refugees-like people were also in line. They had arrived only in the past couple of days and hadn't been properly assigned yet, lacking identity cards.
The canteen food was mediocre. The staple was rice and steamed buns, with two dishes, one meat and one vegetable, and a clear egg drop soup. The staple food was unlimited, but no waste or taking it out was allowed. The portion sizes for the dishes were fixed and not generous.
Jiang Yu Heng held his plate of food, showing some disdain. "This food is quite poor."
However, as he began to eat, he changed his mind. "This tastes good. The cook is skilled."
Cao Jin Nian explained, "It's not that the cook is skilled. The water used is spiritual spring water, which is also why it cannot be taken out."
Jiang Yu Heng: "...Truly extravagant."
Eating could even enhance abilities. Who would dare to complain about that?
The dishes couldn't be refilled, so he wolfed down three bowls of rice.