Apocalypse Rebirth: 3000 million won at the beginning

Chapter 2034 No points, learn about our special loan service (6000-word long chapter)
Southern part of the Yangtze River.

Hundreds of people rushed here.

Due to the prolonged drought, the water level of the Yangtze River has dropped, exposing large areas of sand and gravel along the banks. Under the sun's rays, no vegetation grows on these sandy and gravelly areas.

They did not choose to walk down the riverbank and venture more than ten meters into the river to fetch water.

Instead, it passes through the Jinling Cross-River Bridge, which is several kilometers long and connects the two banks.

Furthermore, this cross-river bridge is suspended above the river, connecting the viaducts on both sides.

However, there is an intersection leading to the overpass about one kilometer away from the riverbank.

This intersection is the place they are most worried about.

The viaduct connects to the cross-river bridge, which is more than 20 meters above the ground. It was daytime, so the zombies couldn't do anything to them.

But if zombies run up from the overpass intersection on the way back, that would be troublesome.

It hasn't rained for the past few months, and it's summer with the sun shining brightly, so zombies don't really like to come out.

When they arrived at the overpass, there were very few zombies on it.

These seasoned veterans of the apocalypse found it extremely easy to deal with small groups of zombies during the day.

Soon, they reached the bridge spanning the river.

thump!
One by one, buckets tied with ropes were thrown into the river.

Gumbling--

The bucket was gradually filled.

The survivors on the bridge, in twos and threes, used ropes to pull up buckets filled with water.

"It's up! Quickly, change the bucket!" The leader pulled up the white plastic bucket, quickly untied the rope, and shouted to the dangling man behind her.

They changed the bucket and threw the water in again.

They moved extremely fast and repeated this action over and over.

The water buckets on the cart, which were originally empty, were now mostly filled with water.

Time passed slowly, and five minutes later...

The zombies at the bottom of the river were also attracted by the sound of the buckets falling, and one zombie after another emerged from the once calm river surface.

"The zombies are coming out! Pull the rope!" Before the bucket was even full of water, Chili saw the zombies floating on the river and shouted.

The crowd quickly grabbed the rope and pulled upwards.

Unexpectedly, a zombie clung tightly to the bucket.

"Damn it!" The group struggled, shaking the rope with all their might, trying to swing the zombie down.

But this zombie was unusually stubborn, clinging to the bucket and refusing to let go.

Enraged, the chicken grabbed a bow and arrow, stood up, and was about to shoot the zombie when the leader stopped it.

"No, what if you shoot into the bucket? Pull it up quickly."

Helpless, the chicken had no choice but to drop its bow and arrows and run over to pull hard on the rope.

Fortunately, there were six of them, and with six people pulling the buckets and zombies, they were relatively fast.

When the bucket was less than a meter from the bridge, the duck reacted quickly and stabbed the head of the zombie with a spear.

The zombie was stabbed in the head, its limbs released the bucket, and it fell into the river.

Caoji and Lajiao quickly lifted the water buckets onto the cart and tied them securely with ropes.

The leader frowned as she watched more and more zombies appear on the river.
"Alright, let's go. It's not a good time to fetch water now."

With so many zombies on the river, the buckets you throw in will be attacked by them, and they might even pull people down with the rope.

While they were preparing to leave, some of the survivors had already fled.

"Duck, you're in front!" the older woman shouted.

The duck muttered a couple of things, but still hung the spear on the cart, ran to the front of the cart, put the two ropes on the cart over its shoulders, and gripped the handlebars with both hands.

"Help me push it up!" the duck called out to the back.

The crowd dispersed behind and on both sides of the cart to help lift it up.

The rear of the cart lifted off the ground, and everyone pushed forward with all their might, while the duck controlled the direction.

It wasn't too difficult for six people to push this ton of water.

On the bridge, there were also some homemade vehicles that the survivors had parked on the road.

It looks like a wheelbarrow.

The duck ran wildly, calling out to the front:

"Give me, let me."

They ran wildly across the bridge, all the way to the connecting viaduct.

"Holy crap!" Duck was startled when he saw the zombies that suddenly appeared on the overpass.

"Weren't all the zombies just killed?"

“It must have come from the ramp. Chili and Chicken, you two go ahead and clear the way. The rest of you, keep pushing the car.”

Chicken and Chili immediately grabbed their weapons and rushed to the front.

With two fewer people pushing the cart, the pressure on the remaining four people suddenly increased.

"No, it's too slow, push harder!" the duck cried.

Pfft!

The chicken shot an arrow, killing a zombie blocking its path. Without stopping, it continued charging forward, drew its dagger, and killed another zombie.

He also pulled the arrow out of the head of the zombie next to him.

Chili, wielding a homemade spiked club, swung it wildly and killed three or four zombies.

Around them, besides them, there were other groups of survivors, all frantically fleeing.

Suddenly, a scream came from behind them.

A man was caught off guard when a zombie bit his arm.

"what!"

The man angrily stabbed the zombie.

The zombie fell to the ground, but blood was still flowing from his arm.

His companions around him were shocked to see his arm bitten.

The man knew he was doomed; as everyone knows, being bitten by a zombie is tantamount to a death sentence.

"Don't worry about me, I've been bitten, you guys run!"

"What's the panic!" Just then, a man wearing a vest stepped forward.

“You two, tie his hands together, throw him on the cart and tie him up. He’ll turn into a zombie in a few minutes.”

"We need to hurry back to Oriental Paradise and find the people in Oil City. They have the antidote for zombies. If injected within an hour, the cure rate is 100%. The sooner we send them back to get the antidote, the higher the success rate!"

"quick!"

A word to awaken the dreamer.

They then remembered the rumors from a while ago: Oil City already had a zombie antidote, and even if they were bitten by a zombie, they wouldn't die as long as they were injected with the antidote.

However, none of them had ever seen the antidote for zombies.

The crowd quickly did as he said, tied Tian Kun to the cart, and immediately sped off towards the oil city.

The group of older women in front also witnessed this scene.

The leader whispered to the crowd:

"After we return to Oriental Paradise, keep an eye on them and see what they do. If there really is an antidote for zombies, we must find a way to get a few sets."

"Mmm." The crowd's eyes lit up; they desperately needed the zombie cure.

The group ran wildly towards Oriental Paradise.

The camphor tree does indeed contain an antidote for zombies, and its production volume is quite substantial.

They can produce more than 500 vials of medicine every day, but there are too many people in the entire camphor tree faction.

Moreover, according to the orders of Li Yu, the highest leader of the camphor tree, the distribution of the medicine follows three priorities:

1. Priority should be given to the transport brigade and combat personnel.

2. Priority will be given to Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 members, and non-combat personnel will be distributed in order of this level.

3. Distribute to those who have been bitten first.

However, this medicine is free for people in levels 1, 2, and 3.

It is a paid service for members at levels 4, 5, and 6.

Furthermore, the price varies depending on the level.

Level 4 members only need 5 points to purchase.
Level 5 members need 20 points to purchase.
Level 6 members need 50 points to purchase.

The price difference between purchasing from level 4 to level 6 is a staggering tenfold.

This is why the people of the Great Camphor Tree faction are desperately trying to level up. Because with a higher level, not only can they enjoy different benefits and treatment, but even the prices of things they can buy are different.

Moreover, in special circumstances, if only one antidote for zombies is left when they go out, but at the same time a level 5 person and a level 3 person are bitten by zombies.

According to the hierarchical system, the injection would definitely be given to level three personnel.

Even in the oil city, the antidote for zombies is not free for the general public.

This price is cheap for a level 4 employee, but it's equivalent to more than 20 days' wages for a level 5 employee.

It's actually not that expensive.

But for Level 6 personnel, that's an astronomical figure.

Although the medicine wasn't free, the camphor tree organization had set up a special loan program.

Unlike the previous five-point loan for new members, this special loan has a higher limit and only covers the zombie cure.

Once the agreement is signed, depending on the level, one can obtain points through a loan and exchange them for a bottle of zombie antidote.

The interest rate on the loan is higher than that for new members joining the five-point loan program.

Through a series of elaborate schemes, the forces of the Great Camphor Tree have firmly bound the survivors to the Great Camphor Tree, and have driven these people to work hard and contribute to the development of the Great Camphor Tree.

The top level is a six-tier system, with different levels receiving different treatment. This system encourages people to climb the ladder, and there is a hard standard for climbing: contribution points.

This is something you can only get if you make real contributions and achievements.

Contribution points are different from transaction points; they are non-transferable and non-tradeable.

Whatever the price is, is what it is.

If you don't meet the contribution points requirements, you won't be able to level up no matter how many transaction points you have.

Just like in the trading market, like Huizi from Tingfeng Tower, she came when the trading market's commercial area was just built, but two or three years later, she is still only a level 5 member.

Unlike Sui Dahua and Xu Qingwen, who climbed the wall to block zombies and instantly became level four, none of them did so back then.

No one was as lucky as Xie Dongming, who was the first team to enter the trading market and was specially promoted to Level 4.

Sui Dahua and Xu Qingwen were recently promoted to Level 3 for their contributions to construction on the site over the years.

Furthermore, he has been promoted to Level 2 supervisor at the construction site.

They all moved into Grade A housing and enjoyed all the benefits of Grade 3 personnel.

As for their children, they do not have inheritance rights; they must achieve the third level through their own contributions.

Hui Zi of Tingfeng Tower is still only level 5, but she has a lot of points and knows many people. Although her level is not high, no one dares to bully her in the trading market.

In addition, she generates a great deal of tax revenue for the oil city every month, and as long as she doesn't violate the regulations, the patrol team won't bother her.

The tax rate for shops in commercial areas is based on different industries.

For example, restaurants are taxed at 10%.

For items like clothing, a 20% tax is levied.

For establishments like bars, the cleaning ratio should reach 30%.

The tax rate for Tingfeng Tower is an astonishing 50%.

However, Tingfenglou dared not show any temper, since the shop was located in the trading market. If the oil city wanted to change its management, Tingfenglou could go bankrupt at any time, and a new Tingfenglou could appear in less than three days.

Whether it's the oil city, the present-day camphor tree, or the future northern border.

The core purpose of building a commercial street and promoting commercial development is to drive the development of the base.

Residents earn points by completing tasks and engaging in physical labor. They then use these points to purchase services, food, and basic necessities in the commercial area. The points are then given to these shops, which in turn return the money to the camphor tree by paying taxes.

The points went around in circles and ended up back in the hands of the big camphor tree.

In this process, each role in the process got what they wanted.

Oriental Paradise.

The main entrance.

A guard sent by Miao Wei pointed a gun at the zombie on the cart and questioned Feng Zhiyong and the others:

"Old Feng, what's wrong with him? What's wrong with you guys?"

On the cart, besides seven or eight white plastic buckets of water, there was also a zombie.

This zombie is the same man that the eldest sister and her friends saw on the overpass an hour ago.

Old Feng was the leader wearing a vest.

At this moment, Feng Zhiyong, supporting his lower back and panting, said:
"Hey, bro, my brother Bai Jingxing got bitten by a zombie outside. Doesn't Oil City have a zombie antidote? It'll work if you inject it within six hours."

"Please do us a favor! We'll do anything to get the antidote to save my brother!"

The guard hesitated for a moment, then looked at another guard beside him: "Go and tell the boss."

Then he warned Feng Zhiyong:

“You’ll stay here. According to the rules, zombies aren’t allowed in. Even though this zombie has just mutated, you still need to keep an eye on it, or you’ll be killed the moment you cross the gate. I’m telling you this in advance, so watch out.”

"Okay, okay, thank you, thank you." Feng Zhiyong quickly nodded in agreement.

Then he ordered his men to push the cart away from the gate to prevent it from blocking the way for people coming in later.

The survivors entering and exiting the gate all saw the bound zombie in the corner and looked at it curiously.

"Tsk, why did they bring zombies with them?"

"It's probably one of their own team members. It's said that there's an antidote for zombies in Oil City. People bitten by zombies have a high chance of recovering to human form if they are injected with the antidote within six hours."

"Oh? There are such amazing things? I've never seen them before."

"Bullshit, I saw the transport team from the oil city carrying this kind of medicine when they were here before. It's blue and looks pretty good."

"I hadn't noticed that, but I'm afraid we won't be able to get our hands on something this good."

"Yeah, that's true."

Among them were survivors who knew Feng Zhiyong and his team, who curiously came over to ask questions.

When they learned that Feng Zhiyong actually wanted to get the zombie antidote, they all stayed there to observe.

They wanted to see if there was an antidote for zombies, and whether Feng Zhiyong and his group could obtain one.

Another question is how effective this zombie cure actually is.

After all, these people are out all the time, and you never know when they might get bitten by a zombie.

Knowing this in advance will give you some information in case you get bitten someday.

Ten minutes passed.

Feng Zhiyong received no response, so he handed the bitten brother over to the other brothers and took the rest of the men into Oriental Paradise.

I happened to run into the guard who went in to report on the way, and quickly asked:

"Dude, what did Brother Miao say?"

The guard pointed inside and said:

"I'll take you there."

The main building of Dongfeng Amusement Park is also where Tiger used to live.

Miao Wei was chatting with the material inspectors sent by the oil city and about a dozen combat personnel sent by the oil city.

Two of the combatants were Zhu Xiao's former subordinates. They had been transferred from the Second Transport Brigade for ignoring Li Qi's warnings from the patrol team, parking improperly, and not carrying firearms.

Unable to find jobs in the oil city, they had no choice but to return to Oriental Paradise to help out.

Normally, all that's needed is to protect the material inspectors and manage Oriental Paradise in a simple way.

The man at the head of the group was Mao Shouchun, the captain of the second squad under the 11th Brigade of the People's Armed Forces.

Based on rank, he was the highest-ranking person stationed at Oriental Paradise.

"Captain Mao, do you still have that zombie antidote we mentioned before? I just got a report from one of the teams that went out to fetch water today; someone was bitten by a zombie and brought him back."

After a moment of silence, Mao Shouchun said:

"Yes, we do have them, but the price isn't cheap."

"How many points?" Miao Wei asked excitedly. He was glad to have some, and if it wasn't too expensive, he would stock up on a few.

“You are level six personnel, and each dose of medicine costs 50 points!” Mao Shouchun replied calmly.

"50 points! That's a lot!" Miao Wei exclaimed in surprise.

50 points are enough to buy 200 tortillas, enough to feed a 10-person team for a month.

Just then, the guards brought Feng Zhiyong there.

As soon as Feng Zhiyong entered, he pleaded with Mao Shouchun and Miao Wei:

"Dear leaders, my brother has been bitten by a zombie and urgently needs the antidote. If you have it, I am willing to give anything for it."

Mao Shouchen glanced at him and said:

"50 points per item."

"So many!" Feng Zhiyong gasped. Their team had about twenty people, but they only had a little over 40 points on their team points card.

This is the total score accumulated by everyone.

Even if you put them all together, it won't be enough for 50 points.

Besides, he can't exchange all of it for zombie cures, otherwise what will his brothers eat?
Seeing the troubled look on his face, Mao Shouchun smiled and said:

"Consider yourselves lucky. The Oil City has launched a loan service that can provide you with loans. You can borrow all 50 points, and the interest for six months is 50 points."

The zombie cure is available for you, but you'll have to pay 100 points after six months.

Upon hearing this, Feng Zhiyong was overjoyed.

"sure, no problem!"

Loans are nothing; all their points can only support them for a week's worth of food.

Although the interest rates are high, it's already quite good that the oil city is willing to lend to them.

What if they run away?
However, in the current situation, living in the oil city is much more comfortable than living outside.

No one would be foolish enough to default on a loan, unless they never intend to have anything to do with an oil city in their lifetime.

These days, they've been collecting all sorts of random materials from outside and exchanging them for food with the oil city. Who would want to miss out on such a good opportunity?

Therefore, the oil city dared to lend, and the survivors dared to borrow as well.

Furthermore, the Great Camphor Tree is currently the most powerful known force. With natural disasters occurring so frequently, the Great Camphor Tree has a higher strategic perspective and hopes to save more lives.

"Liao Hengyu, Zhou Kaien, go and bring that zombie in," Mao Shouchun said to the two below.

"Okay." The two men, carrying their guns, walked out with Feng Zhiyong.

Feng Zhiyong was incredibly excited on his way out, not expecting it to be so easy.

Meanwhile, Miao Wei, inside the Hall of Gathering Righteousness, rubbed his hands together and said to Feng Zhiyong with a smile:
"Brother Feng, can I borrow money to buy two more?"

"Were you bitten?" Mao Shouchen asked.

"No, but just in case, hehe," Miao Wei replied.

Mao Shouchun refused without hesitation:

"That won't work. The oil city has regulations that loan services are only available to the bitten person and their family."

If you haven't been bitten, you can only buy it using points, and there's a limit; each person can only buy one.

Miao Wei's expression was somewhat conflicted.

He had fifty points, but it hurt too much to spend them.

The people under my command also need to be supported, and they all need to be earned through points.

Wouldn't it be better to wait until you get bitten before buying it?

Seeing his conflicted expression, Mao Shouchun chuckled and said:

"As more antidotes are produced, I suspect the price will drop."

Moreover, with so many people visiting Oriental Paradise now, it will definitely be developed further.

If you perform well, the Oil City will definitely treat you well. You can easily earn fifty points then.

Or you can level up to level 5, and it won't cost this much.

Miao Wei nodded and smiled:

"Captain Mao is right."

The reason why the camphor tree set such a rule is to prevent people from hoarding medicine.

At the same time, it can also make the antidote for zombies truly effective and used on those bitten by zombies, saving their lives.

Otherwise, they might just set a high price but not limit the number of purchases.

The business owners in the trading market, along with a small number of scavengers with points, have thousands of points that they can use to buy and stockpile many potions.

As a result, the utilization rate of the zombie antidote will be very low.

The 50-point rewards were meant to make these Level 6 survivors understand that potion making is not easy, and to encourage them to cherish it.

Providing them with loan services was giving them a way to make a living.

100 points may seem like a lot, but for a team, it's definitely enough to accumulate in six months.

For example, a worker at the lowest level in the buffer city earns 1 point per day, which is 180 points in 180 days.

Ten people would earn 1800 points.

It's still quite easy.

Of course, the way the survivors in Oriental Paradise earn points is a bit more dangerous.

The main way is to search for various equipment and supplies outside. If you're lucky, you can earn a lot of points in a day.

The system is somewhat unstable and doesn't include food, so most of the points earned are often used to buy food.

(End of this chapter)