Private bases were organized by people who could not tolerate restrictions. Of course, those who broke laws and rules were not few either. Naturally, safety could not be fully guaranteed. Still, the entry threshold was very low. If one could protect oneself, having a place to stay was not a bad choice.
Not all private bases were chaotic. Some were relatively united. If the official bases on either side were too far, people would voluntarily set up a small private base. Everyone in the base had their own roles, helped each other, solved problems together, and endured hardships together. If one found such a base, long-term residence was possible.
The last type was the military base, built directly by the government and military personnel and fully managed by them.
Living there, safety was unquestionable. The military controlled the strongest firepower on Blue Star. Every soldier in the base was selected as the strongest in their team. Everyone living there, aside from family members, was capable in some way.
To settle in, one needed real ability.
Private bases allowed entry with five jin of food. Official bases required twenty jin. The military base did not even consider those with less than fifty jin.
The food requirement referred to one person, not the whole family. For a family to move into a military base early on, if one lacked ability, one could not even reach the threshold.
Food alone was not the only requirement. The base also checked the background of those entering. Anyone with the slightest criminal record or stain on their history could not enter.
One similarity between the military and official bases was rules. Anyone making three mistakes would be expelled. A major mistake could be punished on the spot by execution.
These standards had been in place since the bases were founded. After the appearance of superhumans, new rules emerged. Ordinary people remained under the old rules, but superhumans could enter without paying anything.
Of course, nothing was free. Superhumans had to complete assigned tasks, whether solo or in a team, whether successful or not. Failure to do so made them useless. Why would the base feed someone who did nothing?
If someone truly did not want to perform base tasks, they had to pay fifty jin of food like ordinary people.
Outside, many could neither provide food nor do dangerous base tasks. As a result, recruiting people from outside was always difficult. This was a problem every base faced.
The high fee of the military base reflected its larger plan, also called humanity's last hope. After the outside world and other bases perished from disasters, the people here would be the last hope of Blue Star, carrying responsibilities for research, reproduction, survival, and defense.
Anything positive and constructive could be summarized as this "XX." Those who could move into a military base and live long-term were not simple people.
Brother Zhang would not explain all this to them, but Lao Gao was experienced. Even without asking directly, he could piece together most information. So when Brother Zhang mentioned the military base fees, they were surprised at first but not overly so.
The six of them and one dog counted as seven. Three were ordinary people, so they needed 150 jin of food to settle in.
Lan Jin could provide the food, but she had only focused on carrying dog food earlier. She had not thought about the food needed for the three humans. Also, if they settled here and later went to the Capital city base, would they have to pay again?
That would be very inefficient.
Lan Jin's thinking was quick and precise. If moving into the H city base required this much food, and then the Capital city base required more, that was ridiculous. Food was precious in the apocalypse. Even with space storage, this would be a waste.
Brother Zhang laughed, "No need. The military base backend is shared. Once you officially settle here, you are protected residents. You can enjoy all base policies. Later, if you go to the Capital city base, our backend can process it for you. This happens often. The backend is updated frequently for transfers.
However… the Capital city base is different. There, you need an invitation letter. Even if you settled in H city, without an invitation letter, long-term residence may not be possible."
Huang Jinghe said, "My parents already gave the invitation letters. But does each person need one?"
Brother Zhang explained, "Yes. Lan Jin entering with her child and dog is allowed. One invitation letter for the family is enough."
Lao Gao asked, "And what about us? Ling Jiang and I are half-siblings. Can the three of us use one?"
Brother Zhang twitched at the question and said flatly, "If you insist, it works."
In any case, they would stay for a while, so they decided to settle in first.
Lan Jin said, "Let's carry all the food up later. Brother Zhang, tell me how to rent a room in the base."
Brother Zhang asked, "Do you want to stay together or separately? I'll explain both."
Base housing had several types. Capsule-style dorms for singles offered three days free for temporary stay. Long-term residents working in the base were also free. Electricity was public, and water had time restrictions.
For temporary long-term stay in capsules, the rent was five contribution points per day, settled at the first-floor front desk daily. Electricity was included. Water cost three times more than long-term residents, making temporary long-term stay less practical.