Chapter 397

Chapter 397: Chapter 397

"Don’t worry. For newcomers like you, the base won’t expect you to take on missions right away. They’ll give you at least three days to get familiar with the place before assigning any work."

"During those three days, you can do whatever you want, as long as you don’t break any of the base’s rules."

At this point, Jenny’s eyes lit up. She edged closer to Suzy with a mischievous grin. "Need a tour guide once you’re inside?"

"A tour guide?"

"Yeah! I can show you around, walk you through all the do’s and don’ts, and keep you from getting scammed. Don’t let P-Base’s appearance fool you—the waters run deep here. Having someone who knows the ropes will save you a ton of trouble."

Seeing how Jenny never missed an opportunity to pitch a business deal, Suzy was caught between amusement and speechlessness.

Still, she genuinely needed a service like this.

"How much?" Suzy asked.

Jenny held up her fingers again, raising three this time.

Noticing Suzy’s silence, she quietly folded one finger back down.

"Limited-time discount: just two packs of choco cookies."

Two packs were hardly a steep price.

Suzy reached into her pocket, pulled out two boxes of cookies, and handed them over. "Here you go."

Having landed two deals in a single breath, Jenny was in high spirits, her smile brightening considerably.

"Rest assured!" she promised solemnly. "I’ll make sure you get top-notch service!"

"Well, I won’t bug you any longer then," Jenny said, turning on her heel to leave.

She had only come over to trade information about Adam in the first place, so with the deal done, it was naturally time to head back.

Seeing her turn away, Suzy reached out and yanked her back by her collar. Jenny stumbled, spinning around in annoyance, ready to snap—"You...!"

Recalling that Suzy was currently her biggest client, Jenny bit back her anger and forced a sweet smile.

"What’s up?"

"Are you busy right now?" Suzy asked.

Jenny shook her head. "Not really, nothing going on at the moment."

Suzy glanced outside. The line of vehicles was still moving at a crawl, barely advancing an inch.

Popping her door open, she jumped down from the driver’s seat and turned to Jenny. "Then tell me about the base right now."

"Right now??"

"That’s right, right now."

Suzy reached into the vehicle, pulled out two folding chairs, and gestured for Jenny to sit.

Jenny settled into one of the chairs, resting her hands on her knees, her posture much more relaxed than before.

She pushed up the brim of her baseball cap, exposing a pair of bright, sparkling eyes. Suzy sat down opposite her, leaning against the side of the vehicle as she waited for her to begin.

"Let’s start with the basics," Jenny began, her tone noticeably more serious now. "Base P doesn’t harbor freeloaders. Doesn’t matter who you are or where you came from; once you enter the base, you work. If you’ve got no money, no supplies, and no connections, you either join the Construction Brigade or you go out on missions."

"Construction Brigade?" Suzy prompted.

"Repairing walls, fixing roads, clearing rubble, hauling supplies... basically all the odd jobs. It’s mostly heavy physical labor—doesn’t pay much, but it’s steady and safe for people who don’t want to risk their lives. You work fixed hours every day, and work points are settled daily. Once you save up enough, you can exchange them for supplies or base credits."

Jenny paused briefly. "Though most people can’t stand it after a while. It’s grueling work for very little pay."

"What about taking on missions?"

"Missions earn you fast money, but the risks are high," Jenny explained. "Every day, the base posts various tasks at the Mission Hall. Some are easy, like scavenging nearby supplies or escorting merchant caravans. Others are dangerous, like clearing out hazardous zones or scouting new outposts."

"The higher the difficulty, the more credits you earn. My brother took on a few missions in the past—one time he barely made it back alive, and I never let him take hard ones after that."

Her voice faltered slightly on those last words, as if touching upon a topic she preferred not to dwell on, before quickly steering the conversation back.

"What are base credits?" Suzy asked.

"The currency used inside the base," Jenny said. "Food, shelter, daily necessities—everything requires credits. The toll you pay when entering the base will be converted into credits and credited to your account, but it’s not much, only enough to last you a few days."

"If you don’t want to starve after that, you have to find a way to earn credits. Physical supplies can be directly converted into credits, and rare items can fetch quite a bit. As for exact prices, it depends on what you’re trading and who you’re trading with. If you’re lucky enough to run into someone desperate for what you have, you might even sell it for double."

Suzy nodded, taking mental notes of every detail.

"Oh, right," Jenny added, as if remembering something important, leaning in a bit closer to Suzy. "When you enter the base, your vehicle will be inspected. They’ll search it to see what you brought. The base takes a cut of your supplies as an entry tax. How much they take depends on the inspector’s judgment—whatever they think it’s worth."

Jenny glanced at her and added, "To put it plainly, it depends on their mood. If they think you’re a fat sheep, they’ll squeeze a bit more out of you. If you look like you’ve got nothing to offer, they’ll just take a symbolic amount. Your ride..."

She looked back at the dingy, grey-and-white minivan. "...probably won’t give you too much trouble."

Suzy followed her gaze back to her own vehicle, her lips twitching slightly without saying a word.

The RV system’s camouflage function made the vehicle look like a dilapidated, nearly scrap-worthy old minivan to anyone else—low chassis, crooked body, and a tire that looked perpetually low on air.

However, if they actually boarded the vehicle for an inspection... Suzy’s heart tightened.

The system’s camouflage only applied to the exterior. If someone stepped inside to inspect it, they would instantly realize something extraordinary was going on inside, opening up a whole new can of worms.

The thought gave Suzy a headache.

"Is there any way to prevent them from stepping inside to inspect it?" Suzy asked. "I don’t like people going through my stuff."

Jenny could understand her concern; nobody liked strangers rummaging through their belongings.

Looking over at Suzy’s vehicle once more, she said, "Don’t worry too much. Chances are high they won’t even bother searching a car like yours."

"Because it looks too beat-up?" Suzy asked.

"Pretty much. They rarely bother searching vehicles like this."

Suzy didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She supposed that was a silver lining—the car looked so rundown that people wouldn’t even spare it a second glance.

Still, Suzy couldn’t rest entirely easy. "Is there a safer way to guarantee it?"

Jenny pondered thoughtfully for a moment. "Tell you what, there are four inspection checkpoints ahead in this lane. When the time comes, find a way to get into Checkpoint 2."

Suzy’s eyes lit up. "You actually have a trick up your sleeve? Do you know the inspector at Checkpoint 2?"

Jenny shook her head candidly. "Nope."

Suzy’s face immediately fell. "Then why tell me to go to Checkpoint 2?"

Jenny explained, "The inspector at Checkpoint 2 is a snob—a skinny guy wearing black-rimmed glasses with high cheekbones. Make sure you don’t mistake him for someone else. He usually likes to cut corners, so he only searches the fancy cars. He won’t even glance at the beaters. A car like yours? He probably won’t even be bothered to look inside."

"Are you sure about this?"

"100% sure. Just follow my advice and you’ll be fine," Jenny said, adding an extra reminder: "Just make sure you remember his face so you don’t pick the wrong guy."

"Got it."

The two wrapped up the topic quickly.

Jenny continued, "Back to the base stuff. If it were up to me, I’d recommend you take on missions."