Chapter 110 - 92: Guide

Chapter 110: Chapter 92: Guide

"Xu, if you want to accept missions or post information, you first have to register as a ’Registered Survivor’ with the guild." Xing confidently led Xu Mo to a window marked "New Member Registration." "It only costs 1 Contribution Point for the processing fee, it’s really simple. And don’t trust any of the scalpers outside who say they can help you quickly raise your clearance or get high-paying missions. They’re all just scams to take your money!"

With Xing’s help, Xu Mo quickly completed the registration process. After having his photo taken, his Identity Card information recorded, and paying 1 Contribution Point, he received a hard plastic card. It had his name, ID number, and initial clearance level on it.

"An F-rank clearance only lets you take the lowest F-rank and some E-rank missions," Xing explained. "As you complete more missions and their difficulty increases, your guild rating and clearance will slowly rise, and you’ll get access to missions with better rewards."

Xu Mo walked over to the mission display screen and started browsing.

F-rank missions were mostly gathering quests: collect the roots of a common mutated plant for 10 Contribution Points/kg, collect scrap metal for a variable price, clear out a designated area of small mutated insect nests starting at 50 Contribution Points, and so on.

E-rank missions started to involve combat: hunting designated low-threat mutated creatures like mutated hyenas or rot wolves to obtain their fur, teeth, or specific organs; escorting people to certain locations; exploring an old building complex that had been initially cleared but might still contain lingering threats. The rewards for these missions were relatively more generous.

Further up, for D and C-rank missions, the rewards skyrocketed, but so did the danger. These included clearing out small zombie hordes, exploring unmarked dangerous areas, hunting medium-sized mutated creatures, and even assisting Jiang City with its outer perimeter patrols.

Xu Mo also noticed a specially marked B-rank mission: [Investigate Suspected New Aquatic Mutant Nest in the former "Red Star Industrial Zone" to the Northwest]. The reward was a staggering 5,000 Contribution Points, but it required the accepting team to have at least C-rank clearance and recommended they be equipped with heavy firepower. This was clearly the high-risk, high-reward mission mentioned in the intel he had received.

Looking at these missions, Xu Mo gained a more direct understanding of the survival model in Jiang City. It provided a relatively structured platform for survivors to obtain resources through labor and risk-taking.

While they were looking around the Hunter’s Guild, Xing strongly recommended that Xu Mo buy an updated map.

"Xu, a good map can save your life at a critical moment. The official survey teams and Hunters are constantly updating the status of the surrounding areas—where new zombie gathering spots have appeared, where powerful mutated creatures’ nests have been discovered, and which areas are relatively safe are all marked on the map."

The map sales point was in a corner of the guild hall. They had traditional paper maps as well as electronic versions. The electronic version required the purchase of a tactical tablet, which cost 120 Contribution Points.

Xu Mo thought for a moment and decided against the expensive tactical tablet for now, spending 5 Contribution Points on a detailed paper map.

He unfolded the map and first located Cyan Pine Ridge Town, where he had been before. Sure enough, on the map, Cyan Pine Ridge Town was clearly marked in the "Explored Zone," with a conspicuous note in small red text beside it: [Resources depleted. No value. Can be used as a temporary shelter.]. This confirmed what the intel had said and also explained the predicament he had been in when he first arrived.

On the map, different colored zones radiated outward from the center, which was Jiang City. Green represented "Relatively Safe Zones," mainly farmland and completely cleared corridors. Yellow represented "Low-Risk Exploration Zones." Orange represented "Medium-Risk Zones," which contained known but uncleared threats. Red represented "High-Risk/Unexplored Zones," and there were also "Extremely Dangerous/Forbidden Zones" marked with a skull symbol.

Looking at the map, in the year or so since the apocalypse began, Jiang City’s effective range of control and exploration had a radius of about five to six hundred kilometers. Within this range were scattered dozens of red dots marking "Known Zombie Hordes/Mutant Nests." Some were noted as "Monitored" or "Cleared," but most were marked with "Threat remains, detour recommended." Farther out were vast, heart-pounding patches of red and skull symbols.

Xing sighed beside him. "Our Jiang City has recovered pretty quickly, all things considered. But even so, there are still too many unknown dangers out there. The other major shelters mentioned on the radio, like Yundian City and Ming Pearl Port, are separated from us by huge swathes of red zones. It’s difficult to even make contact once."

Hearing this from Xing, Xu Mo’s interest was piqued again. These were the names of other shelters he was hearing for the first time.

By the time they finished touring the main functional areas, it was already evening. Under Xing’s guidance, Xu Mo found an inn called the "Traveler’s Inn" in a relatively quiet and secure area of the Inner City. The conditions here were a step up from the "Anxin Inn" in the outer city; the rooms were more spacious and the facilities were more complete.

With a local like Xing helping him bargain, Xu Mo rented a single room for 7 Contribution Points per day, paying for the first three days upfront.

With everything settled, Xu Mo paid him his fee, and Xing’s services came to an end. As he was leaving, he handed Xu Mo a small slip of paper with his address written on it. "Xu, this is where I live, Number 7, Willow Lane, in the Inner City’s Third District. If you need any errands run or information gathered in the Inner City in the future, feel free to find me anytime. I wish you all the best in Jiang City!" ℴℴ𝘮

After seeing the enthusiastic and responsible Xing off, Xu Mo had a very good impression of the young man. He was measured in his actions, his explanations weren’t exaggerated, he had indeed saved Xu Mo a lot of trouble figuring things out on his own, and he hadn’t tried to steer him toward high-cost establishments. He was a reliable guide.

"Those five Contribution Points were well spent," Xu Mo muttered to himself.

After resting for a bit in his room, Xu Mo decided to go out for another stroll by himself, to get a more casual feel for the night in this lonely, post-apocalyptic city.