Apocalypse: After Being Reborn, I Stocked Up on All Supplies-Chapter 233 - Picking People from the Lab
Chapter 233: Chapter 233: Picking People from the Lab
Chapter 233: Chapter 233: Picking People from the Lab
“Girl, it looks like we have no choice but to go in,” the Gypsy man also noticed and sighed softly beside Jiang Yan, whispering.
“Right.” Jiang Yan nodded, not saying much more.
The two were already standing in line; his words seemed somewhat redundant.
“By the way, meeting is also a kind of fate. Let’s formally introduce ourselves, Jiang Ye, ‘Jiang’ of Yangtze River, ‘Ye’ of Liu Ye,” he turned to face her, extending his hand.
Jiang Yan: “Su Yaen, ‘Su’ of embroidery, ‘Yaen’ of color.”
“Ah, your surname is Su? What a coincidence, I’m from Su City! Before the apocalypse, I was in IT. Seeing how skilled you were earlier, I must ask, were you a martial arts instructor before?”
Jiang Yan nodded: “Yes.”
She was wearing snow goggles as usual today. The man couldn’t see her expression or eyes, but he clearly sensed her impatience in her tone and could only sheepishly smile, “Impressive, to be an instructor at such a young age!”
Jiang Yan straightened her posture, no longer engaging in conversation.
She always felt that several gazes were quietly watching every word and action of all the people in line.
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It was as if they were being secretly observed.
Jiang Ye, having been rebuffed, was silent for only a few seconds, moved his somewhat frozen feet, and then spoke again.
This time, his tone wasn’t greasy flattery but became somewhat more serious.
“Right, Su Yaen, once you enter the base, remember to be careful. The management methods and practices of this base feel a bit absurd to me.”
Jiang Yan pretended not to understand, “What do you mean?”
“I’ll tell you a story to explain,” Jiang Ye glanced at the others chatting nearby and continued:
“Before the apocalypse, I read a news story about a company that was originally hiring one person but ended up receiving hundreds of resumes. Back then, there were no computers to help filter through them, so guess what they did?”
Jiang Yan: “?”
“The HR manager randomly pulled out half of the resumes and threw them in the trash bin, saying that those people were just unlucky. Only those with good luck qualified for the next round of selection. Doesn’t it sound familiar? It seems that this base has not only reached its capacity, but its social structure has also become rigid.
What they need now is just labor that has been preliminarily filtered. After all, those who couldn’t survive were either unlucky, physically weak, or suffered from altitude sickness and couldn’t adapt to the high-altitude environment.
Moreover, that scene earlier was clearly a deliberate move to keep us outside the base as some kind of test. We are just bait, but—”
His words suddenly stopped, and he shifted his topic abruptly: “Anyway, what they are doing is just bizarre… Just be careful.”
Jiang Yan glanced at him, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and muttered, “Hmm.”
Under Xue Miaomiao’s rule, using humans as bait was not unusual.
Yet, they could simply resort to looting.
Taking away all the RVs and various resources from those people and then driving them out, using mutant rats in the process wouldn’t be surprising.
Like the previous scene where vehicles were destroyed and supplies lost, it indeed seemed quite absurd.
And normally, outsiders who entered the base were allowed to do so without ordeal.
Why did it happen to them specifically?
Were they picking a particular day or an auspicious time?
Jiang Yan silently took a breath.
The “creak, creak” footsteps approached from afar, and the man with the megaphone trudged back in front of the line:
“Everyone here is fortunate to have survived, and as usual, after a check, you would go directly to the Flame Base Outer City Management Center for registration. But today is special, I’ll lead you there together.
Currently, it’s assumed you’re all here to sign the labor agreements. Once you reach the Management Center, there will be supplies for exchange, then we’ll divide again! Also, the base’s laboratory will soon come to pick some people, if you’re lucky enough to be chosen, you won’t need to sign a labor agreement!”
As his words fell, the previously dejected crowd suddenly buzzed with excitement.
“Without worry for food or clothes”—these words were incredibly appealing in the apocalypse!
After all, those who could still drive vehicles with supplies to Flame Base were relatively wealthy and powerful.
No one wanted to do hard labor, live in crowded accommodations, or survive on plain water porridge.
Upon hearing his words, Jiang Yan’s face grew noticeably solemn.
The laboratory, picking people?
Interesting.
So, the absurd drama performed outside earlier was preparation for what was coming next?
“Leader, may I ask what it means for the laboratory to pick people?” someone with a clearer mind inquired.
“Those selected will become experimenters, and the base will provide all necessities for free,” the man with the megaphone explained loudly.
“Experimenters?! Wow, that sounds prestigious!”
“Are we the lucky ones who survived a disaster?”
“And it’s free food and accommodation, my goodness!” The crowd stirred again.
Jiang Ye turned to Jiang Yan and snickered:
“Ha, this guy really knows how to deceive people. ‘Experimenter’ can mean someone who conducts experiments or someone who becomes the subject of experiments. There are no pies falling from the sky, especially not in the apocalypse. These people are so easily deceived; their brains must be frozen!”
Jiang Yan heard his words but made no comment.
As another person was about to ask a question, the megaphone man waved his hand, “Let’s move!”
The procession began to march forward.
Jiang Yan truly realized as they entered the base that there was an ice wall not far inside.
On it stood warriors holding guns.
Indeed, the base was highly secured.
The area between the two ice walls was quite broad.
On both sides, there were scattered ice houses, mostly shops.
They sold things, mostly old and worn—clothes, hats, tools.
Special stores offered sanitized rat skin and dried rat meat.
Those sharp, hard rat claws and teeth were tied to wood, made into weapons and tools.
In harsh weather, such armaments were much better than metal knives.
The transaction method was simple: barter.
Jiang Yan felt as if she had suddenly traveled back to primitive society.
Others looked around, whispering among themselves.
Those in the shops, with arms crossed, gossiped nonchalantly, their faces indifferent whether they made a sale or not.
Occasionally, someone glanced at the newcomers, their eyes betraying a hint of disdain and scorn.
“Why is there still xenophobia even after the apocalypse?” Jiang Ye murmured again.
Jiang Yan smiled slightly but stayed silent.
She realized that Jiang Ye might seem casual and talkative on the surface, but deep inside, he was very meticulous.
His habit of speaking profoundly in her presence indeed raised her guard.
They continued walking along the perimeter of the ice wall and soon stopped in front of an ice house bearing a sign that read “Flame Base Outer City Management Center.”
Everyone followed the man with the megaphone inside.
The ice house was as tall as a two-story building.
The first floor was an open hall, and the second floor had a corridor built along the edge supported by wooden beams.
At this moment, several people were standing above the corridor.
Leading them was a young woman wearing a white lab coat underneath an orange padding jacket.
Her face was masked, obscuring her features, but she appeared exceptionally beautiful at first glance, starkly contrasting with the refugees in the hall who were dressed in tattered clothes.
Xue Qianmei?
Jiang Yan’s mind suddenly recalled this person.
