Chapter 220 - 132: New Mission

Chapter 220: Chapter 132: New Mission

Xu Mo walked to the door but didn’t open it right away, instead peeking out through a crack. It wasn’t the uniformed official he’d expected. Standing outside was a middle-aged woman, perhaps in her forties, wearing a blue work dress that had faded with washing. Her hair was pulled back neatly into a bun, and she held a folder and... ’A tablet?’ Her face wore a common expression: a mixture of exhaustion and professional friendliness.

After a moment’s hesitation, Xu Mo pulled open the courtyard gate.

"Hello, are you Mr. Xu?" The middle-aged woman’s face immediately broke into a smile when she saw him.

After Xu Mo confirmed, the woman spoke, her words quick but clear. "I’m the liaison for this area. My surname is Liu, but you can just call me Liu."

"Hello, Liu." Xu Mo nodded. He stepped aside, creating some space, but made no move to invite her in. His calm gaze swept over her and the tablet in her hands—a veritable luxury in this post-apocalyptic world.

Liu seemed unfazed by Xu Mo’s wariness, her tone remaining warm. "I’m not disturbing you, am I, Mr. Xu? Here’s the thing. As you know, Jiang City is going full steam ahead with the New Home expansion plan. You’ve seen the commotion outside—it’s completely transforming the place! It’s a great thing, but it’s also a massive undertaking. It needs every single person in Jiang City to pull together and lend a hand."

She paused, gauging Xu Mo’s reaction before continuing. "The administration has issued a mobilization order, encouraging all able-bodied residents without a permanent job or assignment to actively participate in the reconstruction. Whether it’s direct labor on the construction sites, helping with logistics and transport, or participating in regional defense, there are Contribution Points to be earned. The compensation is generous, and basic meals are provided. Seeing as you’re a strong, capable man, Mr. Xu, I was wondering if you might be interested in doing your part for Jiang City’s New Home?"

’So, a community recruitment drive,’ Xu Mo thought. He understood now. Jiang City was clearly aware of the immense manpower required for a project of this scale and had no choice but to mobilize the general populace. This door-to-door approach might not be the most efficient, but it offered the widest coverage. It was also a way to uncover potential assets—people who hadn’t yet been integrated into the official system.

"Thank you, Liu," Xu Mo replied calmly. "But I just got back from a field mission. It was pretty draining, so I was planning to rest and recover for a while. I don’t intend to take on any long-term construction work at the moment." This was a half-truth. He did need to rest, but more importantly, he had no desire to be tied down by high-intensity, low-autonomy manual labor. It would seriously interfere with his own plans for training, exploration, and resource gathering.

"Oh? A field mission?" Liu’s eyes brightened. She’d latched onto the keyword. Leaning forward slightly, her tone grew more attentive. "Mr. Xu, are you a registered survivor?"

Xu Mo gave a slight nod. "I’m registered with the Hunter’s Guild. I take on missions now and then."

"I knew it!" Liu’s smile widened, conveying a clear ’I knew I’d found the right person’ satisfaction. "Anyone who can operate on missions out there is a real asset! So, Mr. Xu, what’s your current rank?"

"D-rank," Xu Mo said without hesitation. The information was available in the Guild’s system, so it wasn’t much of a secret.

"D-rank! Wonderful!" Hearing this, Liu’s voice rose with excitement. She swiftly tucked the folder under her arm, held up the black tablet with both hands, and swiped the screen to life. "Look, Mr. Xu, besides the construction sites, we also have a huge demand for people with combat or reconnaissance experience—especially for perimeter patrols."

She turned the screen toward Xu Mo as she spoke. "With the New Home plan expanding outward, our area of control and our range of operations have increased dramatically. Consequently, the defensive perimeter we need to guard and patrol has become much, much longer."

"So, we’ve started contracting out some tasks to the Hunter’s Guild and the community defense network. These are mainly for the newly secured outer zones—the relatively stable but vast areas. We need people for daily patrols, watching for zombies and stray mutated creatures, and reporting any anomalies."

Xu Mo’s gaze fell on the tablet. The screen was bright enough to be clearly visible even in the sunlight. It showed an application interface; the design was a little crude, but its purpose was clear. The title at the top read: "Jiang City Regional Security Mission Coordination Platform." Liu had opened a list of missions, each marked with its rank, location, requirements, compensation, and the number of open slots.

Xu Mo was genuinely surprised. He knew Jiang City was gradually restoring order and technology, but a digitized mission-dispatch system that reached all the way down to the community level was beyond what he had expected.

Liu’s finger stopped on a mission entry and she tapped it to display the details. "Here, look. Like this one: an E-rank patrol mission." She then handed the tablet to Xu Mo so he could look it over himself.

Xu Mo took the tablet and examined the details.

"The mission content is simple," she explained. "You work in pairs, patrolling a designated route for a six-hour shift. The main task is to watch for approaching zombie hordes, suspicious creature activity, or any environmental anomalies, and report back to the command station periodically via a short-range radio. You can handle small groups of zombies at your own discretion or just avoid them. If you run into something you can’t handle, you signal a warning and retreat immediately. One standard meal is provided per shift, and the base compensation is 2 Contribution Points per hour. It’s a lot easier than hauling bricks at a construction site, and a much better fit for an experienced survivor like you."