Apocalyptic Reincarnation: Start with a 30-million Bonus-Chapter 309 - 301: To Enter or Not to Enter?

"Speak," Mr. Wang held his arms across his chest, looking at the man with missing teeth before him.

The man with missing teeth lowered his head and patted the soda crackers he had just put away again.

Seeing Mr. Wang looking at him, the man's mouth split open in a grin, making his missing teeth even more apparent.

Then he said, "This place, we all call it Safe City.

Ironically, there used to be tens of thousands of people here, but during the last Zombie Tide, it was overrun and many died. Now, I estimate there are only a few thousand left."

The man with missing teeth seemed to recall some terrifying memory, fear evident in his eyes.

After a while, he continued with a sigh,

"Maybe not even a few thousand now, because sometimes people often come out from inside. This place is like a safe house; once you enter, your safety is guaranteed.

But you have to pay a certain amount of food, and once you run out of food, you have to go out to find more and pay a portion of it to continue living inside."

Mr. Wang quietly said to the man with missing teeth, "Is that why you came out?"

The man with missing teeth smiled and said, "Yes, I came out before to look for food when I ran out, and then I never went back in. This place is like a Blood-sucking City..."

Seemingly straying from the point, the man with missing teeth brought the conversation back on topic, speaking self-mockingly, "Speaking of which, the place is quite complicated, with a chaotic mix of people. Currently, there are several major factions inside:

Let's start with the first faction, mainly consisting of people from the military. They are the fewest in number but the strongest. Their leader is named Wu Jianguo.

The second faction consists of the original local gangsters, and they have the most people.

The third faction is led by a company boss and his followers.

The fourth faction is more like a small internal alliance; they consist of ordinary people from various places and are the weakest.

These are the main four factions. For now, the control of the entire base lies with the military faction, only now that the apocalypse has broken out for so long, their weapons and ammunition are also limited.

Moreover, the other factions have some weapons as well, so the relationships between them all are somewhat delicate."

....

.... ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Having listened to this, Mr. Wang felt there was some trouble here. Looking ahead at the gate of the base, he saw vehicles entering, but without exception, all were stopped.

The higher-ups have policies; the low-levels have countermeasures.

If you were to go in, you'd definitely be stripped of a layer of skin.

But if you don't go in, being alone outside, it's also quite dangerous.

Around the perimeter, there were a few hundred people circling this Safe City, in tattered clothes and gaunt, wanting to go in but without the means to qualify.

The only qualification for entry: a certain amount of food must be handed over.

But how could normal people bear to give up their already scarce supply of food? Yet if they do not enter, those outside are constantly facing the danger of zombies.

So out of necessity, they choose to stay close and live around the edges of Safe City, at least if zombies come, Safe City would put up some resistance.

The people inside Safe City are happy to see these outsiders around the walls; if zombies do come, they serve as the first line of defense.

All along, there have been people who dared to climb into Safe City under the cover of night—some succeeded, but many failed. The leaders would simply tell those people to leave.

But those enforcing the rules always had to expend energy to chase away trespassers, time and again, wearisome to the point of exhaustion. Eventually, they lost their patience and once ended up beating someone to death.

After that incident, the number of people trying to sneak in dwindled significantly.

Why is there such a desperate need to go in?

In this post-apocalyptic world, when faced with a Zombie Tide, an individual is very unlikely to survive. Living outside alone is terrifying; you're scared to sleep because you never know what might happen next or when zombies might show up.

But food is the most basic need for humans.

In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, physiological needs—food, air, water—these are the most fundamental and important.

Beyond these, the need for safety comes next, the desire for stability, safety, protection, order, and to be free from fear and anxiety.

Between safety and food, food is undoubtedly more important.

Just as the man with missing teeth said, this city is like a Blood-sucking City, constantly drawing food from the hands of survivors.

Survivors continually search for supplies outside, then hand over a significant portion to get the chance to live inside.

It's a choice: nobody forces you into Safe City, but if you want to enter, you must pay the "protection fee."

But if you stay outside, facing the dangers of zombies and other people alone, sometimes even having supplies isn't enough—you still don't know how you'll end up dead.

Whereas inside Safe City, at least your personal safety is guaranteed. There are specific personnel patrolling and controlling, ensuring your safety and your possessions—provided you first contribute a certain quantity of food.

Just as Mr. Wang was agonizing over whether or not to enter, the man with missing teeth next to him smiled and said, "Boss, I have another secret piece of information, but well, give me two more crackers."

Mr. Wang was tempted; he stamped his foot and tightened the clothes on his body—it was really cold outside. Turning to the man, he said, "You talk first."

The man with missing teeth grinned and said, "Boss, give me one first. After you've heard it, then you can decide whether or not to give me the other one."

Mr. Wang's curiosity was piqued by the man with missing teeth, and pretending to be reluctant, he still took out the packet of soda crackers and handed one over, saying, "Hurry up and talk!"

The man with missing teeth took the cracker, swallowed his saliva, put it away, leaned close to Mr. Wang, and whispered in his ear:

"There's a place inside with the pink peach blossoms. Just two crackers and you'll be over the moon… they've got all the techniques, truly even more exciting than Dongguan used to be..."

Mr. Wang's eyes widened. This is it?

He then reached out both hands: "Give it back!"

The man with missing teeth looked puzzled; he had shared such meaningful information, yet the other man saw no use in it.

So he looked at Mr. Wang with a strange gaze, pondering something.

Mr. Wang felt humiliated by the look and stepped forward to forcefully snatch the crackers back.

The man with missing teeth took off running right away.

Mr. Wang didn't bother to chase after him. Having escaped from Harmony Garden, he had considered the issue of food long ago. He hid his car in a concealed place a kilometer away.

But now there was a question before him: Safe City? To enter or not to enter?