Chapter 36 Nowhere to Start

Not everyone can accept the idea of betting everything they have on the Underground City and starting from scratch.

And there are those cautious enough to hide their remaining wealth where no one else can find it.

However, Mingmei is clearly not the latter, nor is she willing to do the former.

As dusk approached, the other entrance to the Underground City was crowded with people.

Unlike the unregulated entrance to the black market last night, this entrance was clearly guarded, with armed guards and even robotic assistants.

Having spent nearly a day without electricity, Mingmei was still somewhat dazed by the reality of the robots' presence.

Everyone else was living in a backward, cold-weapon era, and suddenly, a robot appeared – it was truly surreal!

Mingmei watched as Mu Chen went ahead in the line. When it was her turn, the robot sounded an alarm. As the guard beside it was about to speak, Mingmei immediately understood and handed over half of her energy crystals, along with the application form Mu Chen had told her about earlier.

The guard glanced at the application form and then at the robot. The robot seemed capable of detecting excess energy crystals on a person. Seeing that the robot didn't react, the guard didn't say much. He simply gave Mingmei an ID card symbolizing her identity and quickly let her in after she had her face scanned by the robot.

The whole process took less than ten minutes, so fast that Mingmei wondered if they were just slacking off.

"Let's go."

Mu Chen had been waiting around the corner. Seeing that Mingmei wasn't walking fast and kept looking back, Mu Chen took her hand and asked what was wrong.

"I thought I heard Lu Xiaoyao's voice."

"Oh."

Speaking of Lu Xiaoyao, Mu Chen roughly understood one thing – Lu Xiaoyao was probably facing some problems.

Like energy crystals.

However, unlike what Mu Chen and the others imagined, Lu Xiaoyao didn't have any to spare; she didn't have any at all.

"You dare to come here with nothing?" The guard looked at Lu Xiaoyao and her two companions with disdain. He had never seen anyone without a single energy crystal!

He even suspected that these three had hidden their energy crystals before coming. Were they trying to get into the Underground City for free?

How dare they!

"But didn't it say that we just need to submit an application and hand over all our possessions?"

Lu Xiaoyao and the others really didn't have any energy crystals, and they didn't equate their possessions with energy crystals.

"So? You don't have any energy crystals, so what possessions are you handing over? The biscuits or fuel in your bags? We don't need any of those."

The guard was very firm and didn't hide his contempt for Lu Xiaoyao and her companions. Lu Xiaoyao and Tong Lei were about to lose their tempers when Sun Yunzhong quickly stopped them. Sun Yunzhong had an understanding look on his face as he pulled the two ladies back, suddenly feeling confident. He said, "Isn't it just rare resources like energy crystals? Of course, we have them."

"Huh?"

The guard wasn't surprised, but Lu Xiaoyao and Dong Lei were dumbfounded. They turned to look at Sun Yunzhong in disbelief.

Sun Yunzhong coughed lightly as he saw the two pairs of blank eyes staring at him, telling them not to make it so obvious.

"Really? What is it?"

The guard sized up Sun Yunzhong, who didn't look like he had any treasures.

"Of course." Sun Yunzhong pretended to rummage through his bag for a long time. Lu Xiaoyao and Dong Lei also craned their necks, curious about what he was looking for.

What good stuff did Sun Yunzhong have?

Soon, Sun Yunzhong's face relaxed into a pleasant expression. He handed the item to the guard in a box. After the guard and the robot examined it together, the astonished expression on their faces bewildered Lu Xiaoyao and Dong Lei, who hadn't seen what it was from beginning to end.

The guard was very obliging this time and let the three of them leave. They hadn't gone far when Sun Yunzhong suddenly felt like he was being carried.

Sun Yunzhong: ???

The two ladies beside him had serious expressions on their faces. One held each of his arms, carrying him as they walked down frantically until they turned a corner and stopped.

The two of them stared at Sun Yunzhong until his gaze became shifty. Then they heard Sun Yunzhong slowly say, "Doesn't that boxed lunch have random supplies?"

"Oh!" Lu Xiaoyao realized, "Did you exchange it for some supplies?"

"Yeah, but I don't know what it is." Sun Yunzhong smiled wryly. "Judging by the packaging box, it's something good."

"Then after we settle down, I'll take mine out too. Let's see what it is first so we can use it effectively later."

Since Sun Yunzhong used the boxed lunch this time to get the three of them in, Lu Xiaoyao couldn't be too selfish. She had to take one out and share it with everyone.

"Okay."

However, they only had rough information about the Underground City's housing from their character information. They had never lived there before, and they didn't know anyone who could tell them about the inside situation.

Now that they were in, the three of them stood there with their bags, suddenly at a loss.

What were they supposed to do next?