In Yun City.
To prepare for the arrival of extreme cold weather, Feng Jin was leading a team to set up plastic greenhouses.
The materials needed for this task were brought back by Lei Ming and his special abilities squad.
Meanwhile, the insulation work within the base was also in full swing.
With Mu Yang and Lu Chen handling things, Yun Xiaoxiao had taken a hands-off approach.
She entered her personal space to check the points on the shopping machine.
Currently, the intimacy points converted amounted to 15,369.
The points from crystal core exchanges totaled 10,678.
Adding them up, she had 26,047 points in total.
However, the base needed 40,000 points to upgrade again.
So, she fed all the crystal cores she had obtained from the Western Base, the ones brought back by the base's guard team after their missions, and the crystal cores used by Bai Hongting to purchase evolution serums into the machine.
In no time, the points on the machine displayed 45,862.
Yun Xiaoxiao pursed her lips and immediately clicked the upgrade button.
【Ding! Congratulations, Host! The base has been upgraded to Level 2!
Benefit 1: Any zombie within a 1,000-meter radius of the base, below Level 7, will be automatically attacked and exterminated!
Benefit 2: The base is now fully networked, allowing residents to enjoy various communication and internet conveniences!】
After hearing Little Di's announcement, Yun Xiaoxiao was so thrilled she almost jumped for joy.
"Little Di, I love you!"
【Aww, Host, don't fall for me. I'm not human, so I can't give you happiness.】
Yun Xiaoxiao: "...
That was just an exaggerated expression of joy, you know!"
【Oh~】
Yun Xiaoxiao: "...
Fine, I won't argue with you, Little Di, since you've given such amazing rewards.
Previously, the base's defensive capabilities were quite limited.
It could only automatically expel threats within the base or attack enemies at the gate.
Although it could detect approaching zombies, it couldn't directly eliminate them.
But now, any zombie below Level 7 within a 1,000-meter radius will be wiped out.
This means the areas within 1,000 meters of the base can now be utilized.
Previously, due to the fear of ordinary people encountering zombies outside the base, the farmland had been left abandoned after harvesting the crops.
Now, however, those lands could be planned and used for other purposes.
Additionally, the whole city being networked means residents can now use phones to call, computers to surf the internet, and so on.
This could significantly improve communication speed, work efficiency, and the overall happiness index of life.
Yun Xiaoxiao decided to put all the idle communication devices in her space, like phones, iPads, and computers, to good use.
The next morning, people woke up to find several new shops had opened on the main street.
"Did I see wrong? Are those... phones in the shop?"
One person stood at the entrance of the phone store, rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
"You're not seeing things! I saw them too!
Not only phones, but also iPads and computers!"
As the shops were all next to each other, more and more people gathered, forgetting their breakfast as they curiously looked on.
At that moment, Yun Xiaoxiao and Nie Yizhou arrived.
"It's the young base leader!"
"The young base leader is here!"
"Young base leader, now that communication networks are down, what's the point of these shops...?"
Someone wanted to ask but swallowed the rest of their words.
What they meant was, without networks or signals, these phones and devices would just be decorations.
But they didn't dare to say it out loud.
Yun Xiaoxiao naturally understood everyone's doubts.
After all, the outside world had long since lost its network.
"The city is now networked. From now on, everyone can call and surf the internet just like before."
Her words left the crowd in stunned silence.
They all thought they must have misheard.
Yun Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance with Nie Yizhou, who then took out his phone from his pocket and calmly dialed a number.
Who knew how shocked he was when Yun Xiaoxiao showed them the phone last night.
Seeing so many people equally astonished now, he felt a bit better.
Soon, Yun Xiaoxiao's phone rang.
She answered it in front of everyone, turning on the speaker.
Nie Yizhou also turned on the speaker.
They had a brief conversation.
After ending the call, Yun Xiaoxiao opened a web page and played an animated cartoon.
This nearly scared everyone to death.
The network was truly restored!
First water, electricity, and gas, and now the network.
What other surprises does this base have in store for them?
"Oh my god, this is amazing! Who else gets it? I used to be glued to my phone, saying goodnight to it for two hours before bed. It's been months since I last touched one! I missed it so much!"
"Oh! My oppas, gege, wait for me! I'm coming to spoil you!"
"Bro, want to team up for King's Glory?"
"Nah, I'm playing PUBG."
"...
Everyone excitedly expressed their joy.
Yun Xiaoxiao understood this feeling completely.
Although it's the apocalypse, and improving one's abilities and developing production are the priorities,
people can't be too tense all the time.
Proper rest and relaxation are essential to work harder when needed.
Of course, she understood the importance of being vigilant.
Providing phones and other communication tools wasn't to let people slack off.
She planned to set up a large display screen next to these shops.
It would loop footage from the outside world,
letting the base residents know how good their life was compared to others.
They shouldn't be daydreaming all the time.
She didn't want anyone making the same low-level mistakes as Tan Lili.
If someone didn't appreciate the good life here, she wouldn't mind throwing the lazy and useless out of the base.
"If you want to buy things from these shops, work hard and earn points through your labor."
After Yun Xiaoxiao spoke, everyone noticed the prices of the items inside.
Instantly, they all looked like deflated balloons.
But soon, they were as motivated as if they had been injected with chicken blood (literally "like injected with chicken blood," meaning highly motivated).
"My phone baby, wait for me! Sister will come take you home soon."
"I'm going to work hard! Strive to earn more points!"
"Let's go, back to work!"
Thanks to these communication tools, the atmosphere in the base completely changed.
Although everyone had been working hard before, it wasn't as lively as now.
Time flew by.
Before they knew it, it was time for Yun Xiaoxiao and her team to head to the Western Base.
