Tracy's personal space shop was too small. It was only ten square meters and couldn't hold many things. But as long as something was hers and within her sight, she could move it into her shop at any time.
She thought about making money and opening a shop in the real world. It would be better if the shop had a storage area. Then, she could put more goods into her space shop. After selling the goods, she could bring out more from the storage.
Tracy didn't know that the space shop had a storage function. The spirit inside was still sleeping, so she couldn't use any other features. The spirit only gave her a little information during an emergency. There were still things she didn't know. So right now, she could only use the basic functions of the shop.
But if she kept trading and building up energy, the spirit would wake up. When that happened, she could use more functions.
When Kei's group came back to the base, everyone was shocked. Their car was filled with supplies. People couldn't believe their eyes. Where did they get so many things?
Some people guessed they went into the city center. But they didn't look like they had been in a big fight. Maybe they were lucky. Maybe they didn't run into a lot of zombies.
Martin walked over and said, "Captain Kei, you really got a lot today. Where did you go?"
Kei replied, "We were lucky. We found a store no one had searched yet."
Greg smiled and said, "Captain Kei, you're so lucky. With such a big harvest, you should treat everyone."
Kei replied politely, "It was just luck. You're the strong one, Captain Greg. Your team always brings back a lot. We all admire you."
Greg said, "You're being too polite. But with this much stuff, maybe it's time to grow your team. If we go into the city again, our teams could work together. There are too many zombies in the city. More people means more safety."
Kei said, "Thanks for thinking of us. We'll stay in touch."
After they left, Alex said to Greg, "Captain, why are you so nice to them? They just got lucky. Probably picked up something others missed. They won't be lucky next time."
Greg looked serious. "Luck or not, it doesn't hurt to be friendly. It's better to have more friends than enemies. And are you sure it was just luck?"
Martin watched Kei's group and felt jealous. Just a while ago, they were poor and had no food. He was waiting to laugh at them. Now they were doing great. There was so much food. Even he wanted it. He had to find out where they got it.
Kei's group returned to their place and started talking about what to do next. After trading with Tracy, they now had plenty of food. They needed to plan their future.
Eric said, "Captain, we've got a lot now. It's time to grow the team. If we don't have power, others might try to steal from us. We'll keep trading with Miss Tracy and get more food. If we're weak, we won't be able to protect it."
Kei nodded. "You're right. First, we need to find a better place to live. This place is too small. Once we move, we'll start recruiting more people."
"Yes, Captain!" the team responded with excitement.
They felt full of hope. Things would only get better now. Their team would grow and life would improve.
They went to the place where houses were rented at the base. Before, they could only watch others live in big houses. Their own team had to squeeze into one small tent. Now they had food and money. They could afford to live well. Big houses were not just comfortable but also safer. Their tent could only block wind and rain. If they left, it was hard to leave anything inside.
Kei walked up to the counter. "We want to rent a house."
Famila saw Kei's group and her eyes lit up. Not because they were handsome, but because they had lots of food. Right now, food was more valuable than gold. It could make anyone excited.
She quickly became very friendly. Only strong people could have that much food. Especially those who could use food to rent a house.
The base used to have food saved. At the beginning of the disaster, people didn't know how bad things would get. So the base gave out food every day. It wasn't much, but at least people wouldn't starve.
But as time went on, the food ran out. The disaster wasn't ending. It kept getting worse. The base had to stop giving out daily food. Now, if people wanted to eat, they had to work for the base or go out to find supplies.
Famila smiled and said, "Hello, I'm Famila. What kind of house are you looking for?"
Kei asked, "What houses do you have left? Do you have anything big?"
Before, even a small room would have made them happy. But now they had a good supply of food and planned to bring in more members. They needed a large space.
When she heard this, Famila's eyes shone even more. These people were richer than she thought.
She said, "Yes, there are still three villas available. These are the locations. You can check if you like them. If you do, I'll take you to look inside."
Famila was explaining where the villa was, but at the same time, she showed off her body on purpose. She even bent her head down so that Kei could clearly see her chest.
Any man would find it hard to resist this kind of teasing. Famila was a beautiful woman with charm. But in this world, people who could survive were all smart. Kei saw through her actions and knew she was trying to attract him, but he ignored it. He had more important things to do right now.
Kei knew his value. Famila was only flirting because he looked rich. If he had nothing, she wouldn't even look at him.
Famila was polite and friendly. When she saw someone with money, she naturally wanted to be close. Even though she worked at the base, the food she got each day was barely enough to eat. If she could find a strong man to rely on, her future would be easier.
She was confident in her looks. If she wasn't beautiful, she wouldn't have gotten this job in the first place. Famila knew how to use her beauty to make her life better. When she saw how rich Kei's group looked, she made up her mind to try and charm him.
If she could make Kei fall for her, she could live comfortably.
But she also understood that a man like Kei had probably met many beautiful women before. Maybe he wouldn't care about her at all.
So after her teasing didn't get the reaction she wanted, Famila stopped. She began to seriously explain the villa's layout and location. She wanted to earn his trust and get on his good side.
Her teasing wasn't too obvious. Just enough to make him notice her, but not enough to look cheap.
Now that Kei wasn't interested, she knew she couldn't be too direct. That might make him dislike her.
Still, she felt a bit upset. Wasn't she pretty enough? Why didn't he look at her? Were those boring house plans more attractive than her?
But Famila also knew this was the end of the world. Even if she felt disappointed, she didn't dare show it. They had just met. There was no need to act too fast.
She still had to take them to the villa. Spending more time together might help her build a better relationship with them.
If they really turned out to be powerful and reliable, she could try again later. A pretty woman without protection would not survive for long in this world.
"This villa sounds great. Take us to see it," Kei said.
"Sure, come with me," Famila answered.
Kei and his team followed her to the villa she had mentioned. When they saw it, they were impressed right away.
The villa was big and beautiful. There was even a small yard. Living here would be very comfortable.
But a nice place like this must be expensive.
If they hadn't found a way to make money recently, they wouldn't even think about living here.
"This place looks great. How much is the rent per month?" Kei asked.
"You seem to really like it," Famila smiled. "Out of the three villas still available, this one is the best. The rent is 500 jin of rice per month."
Before the world ended, this price would have been unbelievably cheap for such a big house.
But now, 500 jin of rice was a huge amount. Normal people couldn't afford it.
That's why the villa was still empty. If the price had been lower, someone would've taken it already.
But Kei and his team didn't seem shocked.
Before, 500 jin of rice was hard to get. But now, it was equal to only 500 grams of gold. In the base, 500 grams of gold could barely buy a few rough buns.
So to them, the villa was actually very cheap.
"We like this one. We'll take it. No need to see the others," Kei said.
When Famila heard this, she liked Kei even more. He agreed to pay 500 jin of rice without even thinking. That meant he had a lot of food and supplies.
Her eyes lit up, but Kei didn't pay attention to her.
He had many things to handle and didn't want to waste time.
He didn't care about her sad look and left with his team after renting the house.
Famila watched him walk away without looking back. She stomped her foot and whispered, "You think you can get rid of me so easily? I won't give up."
After getting the villa, Kei led his team to the main square. They were planning to recruit new members.
When they arrived with a large amount of food, many people stared at them.
Some were so hungry that they swallowed their saliva.
Even though they were desperate, they didn't dare steal. The base had strict rules. Anyone who started a fight or stole would be killed. No one wanted to risk dying.
"I'm Kei, leader of this team," Kei said loudly. "We're looking for strong new members. You must be fit, fast, and follow orders. The pay is 30 jin of rice each month. If you perform well, you'll get extra rewards. If you are chosen, you get 10 jin of rice right away."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this.
The offer was very generous.
But because the reward was so high, many people thought the requirements would also be very strict.
Some people who wanted to try started to hesitate.
But the chance was rare. So many still decided to sign up. Even if they failed, they had nothing to lose.
Kei's offer attracted many strong young men.
Actually, many people in the base had already heard that a team returned with a lot of supplies.
They just didn't know that the team was Kei's. They only heard a rumor that one team had found a huge amount of resources.