Chapter 8 - The Guard Team

　　Hearing the shout, everyone turned to look toward the source of the sound."It's the Guard Team!""Stop gawking, let's go quickly; the Guard Team is here.""Time to bail, time to bail."The onlookers, seeing the arrival of the Guard Team, quickly dispersed, fearful of attracting unnecessary trouble.The leader was a woman. Wang Zhi frowned—another woman? She had long golden hair spilling over her armor, a greatsword sheathed at her waist, and she approached them coldly, her left hand resting firmly on the hilt."Take them all back!" The woman waved her arm, and the dozen or so Guards behind her immediately stepped forward and seized the nine people.The members of the Guard Team were all armed with firearms, so they could only obey obediently, but Zhao Yang's side was not so compliant."Just based on you people? You still want to arrest me?" As he spoke, he struck down the Guard who had been trying to grab him onto the ground.Seeing Zhao Yang resist, his teammates also broke free from the Guards, gathered around him, and stood in confrontation with the other Guards.The leading blonde woman saw this, handed the greatsword at her waist to a Guard beside her, and slowly walked toward Zhao Yang and his four companions.When she was still five meters away, the woman exerted force with her feet and shot forward in a flash, arriving instantly in front of Zhao Yang, her fist already slamming into his stomach."Pfft!"Zhao Yang spat out a mouthful of fresh blood onto the woman's armor. His four teammates, seeing Zhao Yang struck until he vomited blood by a single punch, all froze on the spot, not daring to draw a breath."On what grounds? Hmph, arrest them." The woman said disdainfully, then turned to instruct her subordinates."Captain." At this moment, one subordinate also seized an opportunity to offer a handkerchief.After taking the handkerchief, the woman carefully wiped the fresh blood that Zhao Yang had just spat onto her armor.Wang Zhi and his three companions were escorted into a small room within the Guard Department on the first floor.A little later, the blonde woman arrived at the room where Zhao Yang and his four teammates were held."Scarlet Flame Team, for malicious injury, you are confined for one month, and 750 Survival Points will be deducted to cover food expenses during confinement." After speaking, she turned and walked out. Once the iron door closed, the blonde woman could no longer hear what Zhao Yang and his four teammates were saying.In the room on the other side."Captain, are you alright?" Fatty asked with concern."I'm fine, just a bit numb in the arm. Looks like I need to step up my training," Wang Zhi said, shaking his arm."Oh my, little brother is hurt. Is it serious? Do you need Sister to give you a massage?" Ying, who was nearby, leaned in and asked."No, no, Sister Ying, I'm fine, very robust," Wang Zhi quickly waved his hands, refusing.He was fine originally; if Ying had massaged him, who knew what might have happened.*Click*, the door to Wang Zhi's room opened."The Scarlet Flame Team is punished for malicious injury with one month of confinement and a deduction of 750 Survival Points. We hope you will take this as a warning and abide by the rules of the Dawn Tower. Captain, you stay; the rest of you may return."The blonde woman said to the four of them."You are Captain Wang Zhi?" The woman stared at Wang Zhi for a moment before asking."Yes!" Wang Zhi replied nervously."You don't need to be nervous. I am the Chief Captain of the Guard Department, Jie Xi. Half of the Survival Points deducted from the Scarlet Flame Team will be transferred to your team. Come with me to process the asset transfer," Jie Xi stated expressionlessly.Upon hearing this, Wang Zhi was delighted; it was a blessing in disguise."Thank you for administering justice, Captain Jie Xi. I will certainly treat you to a meal if I get the chance," Wang Zhi said happily."No need for a meal. This is my duty. If you have time to treat people to dinner, you should spend more time training your body."As Jie Xi spoke, she raised her hand and patted Wang Zhi's shoulder, then squeezed it slightly, causing Wang Zhi to almost cry out in pain."I will certainly remember Captain Jie Xi's instruction," Wang Zhi replied, enduring the pain and wondering why this person had such immense strength.After Wang Zhi finished processing the asset transfer with Jie Xi, he walked out of the Guard Department and found the three members waiting for him not far away."I have good news for everyone: half of the 750 Survival Points deducted from the Scarlet Flame Team have been transferred to our team," Wang Zhi announced, shaking his Magnetic Card slightly."That's great news! Captain, what are we doing next?" Fatty asked happily."Hmm... None of us have properly eaten a meal since we got here. Let's go to the restaurant shortly."After Wang Zhi finished speaking and saw that no one had any objections, he headed toward the restaurant on the second floor.The four arrived at the restaurant. There weren't many people eating there at the time. After glancing at the price list, vegetarian dishes were 2 Survival Points, meat dishes were 5 Survival Points, staple foods were 2 Survival Points per jin, and specially supplied purified water (500ml) was 1 Survival Point. The prices were uniform; they could order whatever they liked.As for tobacco and alcohol, those still needed to be purchased at designated shops.The four of them spent 39 Survival Points on the meal.Wang Zhi felt it was a bit extravagant; one meal cost 30 Survival Points. With eight hours of training daily plus three meals, they were still 50 Survival Points in the red.Fortunately, they had brought their own food. Otherwise, they would truly have to spend all day working in the industrial zone just to barely scrape by for basic needs. Sometimes, he even suspected this place was some kind of exploitative pit!After the four were full, less than one jin of staple food and a small plate of vegetarian dish remained on the table; they packed everything up to take away.In their current situation, anyone wasting food could only fall into two categories: either they possessed an immense amount of Survival Points, or they still clung to the lavish mindset of the outside World, believing the apocalypse would never arrive.Even more shocking, he actually saw people specifically in the restaurant, picking up the leftovers others had discarded! In this World now, how could such people still exist? Yes, they did, right here.To save a few Survival Points, people would truly do anything!The four ate their fill and drank, then continued browsing other shops along the way.Besides the restaurant, there were weapon and equipment shops, hardware and tool shops, clothing shops, and department stores. Ridiculously, there were even bars, coffee shops, beauty salons, and adult novelty shops?The largest among them, and the one Wang Zhi found most interesting, was the weapon and equipment shop.Inside, whether it was firearms or cold weapons, if you could think of it, you could buy it. If they didn't have it in stock, never mind—they would manufacture it for you right there!The arsenal was quite comprehensive; even He Ying and the other person kept exclaiming how wonderful it was.It was just a pity that Wang Zhi's team had limited Survival Points, so they could only look at many items without buying them. The four of them were reluctant to leave when it was time to go."Sister Ying, do you have any spare guns in your bag? Could you give me one?" Wang Zhi asked tentatively.After touring the weapon and equipment shop, his blood boiled with excitement. Although the request sounded a bit excessive, he truly desired one so badly."Holy crap, Sister Ying actually has a gun?! I kneel before you!" Fatty exclaimed in shock when he heard Ying had a gun."I do have one, but do you know how to use a gun?" Ying asked, looking at Wang Zhi."Does a toy gun count?" Wang Zhi replied awkwardly."Forget it. Seeing as you took a kick, I'll teach you how to use a gun when we get back, Sister.""Okay, and have Old He teach Fatty as well.""Holy crap, holy crap, Big Brother He has a gun too? Holy crap, Big Brother He, please accept my knees."Wang Zhi was somewhat speechless looking at Fatty, who was kneeling every few moments. If you knew the situation, it was fine, but a stranger would think Fatty was an idiot.