Chapter 173: Chapter 173: The Base’s New Species

"Aren’t you going to call your friends over?"

Seeing Stella Sterling’s lack of reaction, Basil Xavier couldn’t help but feel it was strange.

Wasn’t that woman, Lydia Magnus, her friend? She had even saved her last time.

When Stella had gone missing, Lydia had been very worried, too.

After a moment’s thought, he said, "They’re your friends. I can have a word with Ethan Young. It’s no trouble at all!"

"There’s no need." Stella Sterling shook her head. After thinking for a moment, she added, "However, if you have the connections, please do what you can to look after them in Meridia Base. Thank you."

"Don’t worry about it. It’s a small matter."

Basil Xavier shook his head with a slight smile, glanced back in Lydia Magnus’s direction, and said no more. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

It seemed Stella Sterling didn’t want much to do with the pair, yet she was clearly concerned for them. He couldn’t fathom why.

But since Stella Sterling herself was unwilling to talk about it, Basil Xavier didn’t press the issue.

Everyone who joined Meridia Base had to register their personal information. Afterwards, a staff member would issue them an electronic ID tag. This tag signified they were a member of the base and served as their official identification, containing their basic information.

Of course, once you joined the base, you couldn’t act like you were on the outside anymore. You had to follow the base’s rules and schedules.

The base had its own system for survival.

After joining Meridia Base, base staff would provide food for the new members for the first three days.

After three days, they would need to use points to buy food, drinks, and any daily necessities they needed.

Points could be earned by accepting missions, working for the base, or joining one of the base’s special teams.

These three days were essentially a grace period given to everyone by Meridia Base.

It was a very humane system. Not only was there no fee to join, but they also provided three days of free food and drink—something unheard of at other bases.

Stella Sterling felt a stir of admiration as she listened to Basil Xavier’s explanation.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to go register. Ethan Young had already sent someone to handle it for her.

Basil Xavier didn’t go either. It seemed he had already been registered in Meridia Base, so he skipped this step.

Louis Grant, on the other hand, seemed to be visiting Meridia Base for the first time. He followed a base member to get it done.

She toured the base while listening to Basil Xavier’s introduction.

This place was like a small city. People were bustling in and out, each attending to their own duties, no different from before the apocalypse.

’This isn’t something that could be built in a short amount of time.’

’It’s very likely someone started preparing for this right at the beginning of the apocalypse.’

And they even had electricity here.

Although it couldn’t compare to the time before the apocalypse, it was much more convenient than the outside world.

She couldn’t help but think back to two years ago. When Gordon Ford left, he had said that the government was already starting to build bases. ’Could he have been talking about Meridia Base?’

It was just that more and more bases had been popping up recently, each one claiming to be officially sanctioned, but there was no unified command.

"So? Meridia Base is pretty impressive, right? How about considering staying here?"

Seeing the look on Stella Sterling’s face, Basil Xavier seized the moment to make his pitch.

He had rarely brought up the topic with Stella Sterling over the past two days, but now that he had a chance, he couldn’t resist trying to persuade her again.

Stella Sterling didn’t answer. Instead, she turned to look at him. "You’re very familiar with this base. Are you from here? Or maybe part of the leadership?"

Ethan Young’s attitude toward Basil Xavier was strange—familiar, yet tinged with respect.

So she had long suspected this. Now, Basil Xavier’s detailed knowledge of Meridia Base’s inner workings made her even more suspicious.

Hearing this, Basil Xavier’s expression froze for a moment, then he shook his head. "Not quite. Neither Gordon Ford nor I are from Meridia Base. We belong to another base!"

"However, our relationship with Meridia Base is... subtle. For Gordon Ford and me, Meridia Base is absolutely trustworthy."

Stella Sterling was a little surprised to hear this, but she didn’t say anything more.

After a short while, Harry came over and handed Stella Sterling an electronic tag. "Miss Sterling, this is yours. With this, you can move freely within the base. Captain Young has pre-loaded it with 2,000 points for you. You can use them to buy whatever you need."

"2,000 points?"

Louis Grant, who had come over, cried out in surprise and looked at Stella Sterling with a hint of envy. "You’ve got it good."

His parents were high-ranking officials in Meridia Base, and he and Ethan Young were like brothers.

But aside from his ID tag, he didn’t have any points. If he wanted points, he had to earn them himself.

Just a moment ago, he had been thinking about going to see his parents, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, to get some points from them.

And now, in the blink of an eye, he hears that Stella Sterling has 2,000 points. Her treatment was worlds better than his. He was genuinely jealous.

Stella Sterling took the tag and thanked Harry. "Thank you for your trouble. And please thank Captain Young for me. I appreciate his gift."

Basil Xavier had just told her that everyone had to earn their own points or trade for them.

Yet here she was, with 2,000 points for doing nothing.

’Either Ethan Young used his connections to pull some strings for me, or he gave me these 2,000 points out of his own pocket.’

"Of course. You’re welcome, Miss Sterling. You can rest here for a bit. Someone will be along shortly to take you to your room."

Harry smiled, excused herself, and left. She had just returned from a mission and still had things to take care of.

"Stella Sterling, I’m going to find my parents first. I’ll come find you later!"

Louis Grant said, then left as well.

Not long after, Basil Xavier also departed.

Stella Sterling sat in a plaza. Vegetables were planted all around, and a person in a white coat was observing them, holding a small notebook and jotting things down.

Stella Sterling couldn’t identify the varieties; she had never seen them before.

’They’re probably new varieties developed here at the base.’

The old varieties could barely survive under the current conditions.

But the base couldn’t rely solely on old supplies. For long-term development, they had to research new varieties.

Varieties that could adapt to this climate.

Clearly, judging by the sight, Meridia Base had already achieved some success.

And it was certain that the base had talented people in this field.

She looked up at the sky. A transparent shield of light enveloped the entire base.

It also kept the torrential rain at bay!