Chapter 404 - 394: Proceeding Smoothly

Chapter 404: Chapter 394: Proceeding Smoothly

The night was deep, but a long line had already formed at the entrance of the Yang Family Base. The line was so long its end was out of sight, and it only seemed to be growing.

Everyone knew that, for the foreseeable future, this line wasn’t going anywhere.

The people in line were undoubtedly there to trade for food. At first, as they watched the line grow ever longer with more and more people, they hesitated. They wondered if the Yang Family Base truly had enough food to honor its promise.

But soon, the line began to move, and people actually started receiving food from the base’s entrance. Only then did the worries of those further back begin to subside.

"I really got it! I really got it!"

One of the people at the front of the line received their meatballs and eagerly popped one into his mouth for a bite.

It was real meat! And it tasted pretty good, too.

He didn’t know what kind of animal the meat came from; it was a flavor he’d never tasted before. But in times like these, who would fuss over such things? Even if it were rat meat, they would treat these fist-sized meatballs like priceless treasures.

This was what would keep them alive.

"How much did you get?"

The base had posted a notice about trading for food, but no one knew exactly what kind of food it would be, or how much they’d get.

But with Meat Dragon corpses being so easy to come by now, everyone had steeled themselves. They would have been grateful for a single meal—no, even just a single bite.

"I got five fist-sized meatballs! This is enough food for the next week!"

The voice of the first person to receive food trembled with excitement.

He never imagined he could actually get so much. He couldn’t believe the Yang Family Base was giving away this much food.

"It’s really true!" The people further back in the line grew even more excited as the news spread down the ranks.

Those who had received their food dispersed on their own, determined to find more opportunities to kill Meat Dragons and trade for more to eat.

’Five?’ Tang Mo hadn’t expected Yang Jie to reduce the amount of food at the last minute.

’One Meat Dragon can make twenty meatballs, and they originally agreed to give half to the people.’

’But it made sense. Looking at this long line, the Yang Family Base’s temporary reserves of meatballs probably wouldn’t last long.’

In this, however, Tang Mo had misunderstood Yang Jie. The one thing they weren’t short on right now was Meat Dragon corpses. Given a little time, they could make as many meatballs as needed.

He wasn’t actually worried about using up their seemingly inexhaustible supply of meatballs. He simply felt that five meatballs was enough to cover an adult’s basic needs for five days. He feared that giving any more would make people complacent, causing them to lose their sense of urgency when it came to the Meat Dragons.

Everyone involved in the plan hoped these terrifying creatures—the Meat Dragons—would be wiped from the face of the earth as soon as possible.

The people inside the base had toiled all day long, but now, hardly any of them could sleep. They were all still caught up in the excitement of the day’s events.

But this sleepless night wasn’t a time for self-congratulation. There was far too much to do.

Under the direction of Yang Jie and a few other high-level members, the people in the base were now organized into several teams.

One team specialized in butchering the mutant beast corpses. They would extract the usable parts to make meatballs and turn the unusable parts into bait pellets.

Because demand was enormous and the need was urgent, this team was the largest.

Another team was on one side of the base’s perimeter wall, constructing exchange hatches.

They planned to create ten low openings in the side of the base wall. Each opening would be only half a person’s height, perfect for someone inside to sit on a low stool and conveniently receive items. The openings would also be fitted with small doors so they could be secured when not in use.

They had originally considered making regular windows, which would have looked more presentable. However, they realized windows would be inconvenient for hauling in the corpses of mutant beasts. The low openings would be much more practical. Aesthetics were no longer important; utility was the primary goal.

By working through the night, they estimated the ten openings could be operational by tomorrow.

After all, more and more people would be coming in the future. A single long line was far too inefficient; ten lines would be much better.

Besides, they couldn’t just let people block the main gate all the time. The base’s own personnel still needed to come and go.

The third team was an outreach group consisting of three armored vehicles. Each vehicle carried six people and was equipped with their best weapons.

Their mission was to spread the news—that mutant beasts could be traded for food—to more distant areas, ensuring that as many people as possible, even those hiding in streets and alleys, would hear about it.

They had flyers and megaphones. While inefficient, it was the best method available now that modern communications were down.

This armored vehicle team had another mission: if they encountered a Meat Dragon nest that was too difficult for ordinary people to attack, or if they came across a place like the food factory—where a faction not only dominated but also cruelly preyed on the populace—they were to report back to the base immediately. The base would then dispatch its forces to eliminate these evil factions.

In the current apocalypse, they couldn’t solve every problem.

But every problem they could solve was one less tragedy, a few less compatriots suffering. Every person they saved mattered. This was Yang Jie’s conviction.

It was also why Tang Mo had chosen the Yang Family Base to carry out her plan.

The fourth team was the security department. After all, the base was now constantly surrounded by crowds of people who believed it held an endless supply of food.

Without powerful security, it was only a matter of time before the base became a target.

Therefore, numerous armed soldiers stood guard both inside and outside the base. This was to discourage any improper ideas from the people in line, ensuring they would just obediently collect their share of food.

The final team was a mobile unit, kept on standby within the base. If any other team needed reinforcements, they were ready to fill in at a moment’s notice.

The rest of the people consisted of the leadership, their families, the logistics and support staff, and a few non-base members like Tang Mo.

It was safe to say Yang Jie’s arrangements were meticulous and comprehensive. Everyone had their role to play. Though the work was exhausting, they were all highly motivated.

After all, there’s a world of difference between working hard with a goal and a sense of hope, and just struggling aimlessly in confusion. The former could make people feel as if they were running on pure adrenaline.

Tang Mo did a quick tour, and after confirming that everything was proceeding as she had anticipated, she decided not to stay up all night with them.

After all, she had used a great deal of her spiritual power today. She needed a good night’s sleep to recover.