Chapter 484.1: Daily Life Back In The New Alliance

The street was bustling with people.

Stopping in front of a unique stall, Chen Yutong curiously picked up a mushroom and examined it for a while. Unable to discern anything special, she brought it up to her nose.

However, her action caused a misunderstanding. Yaya hurriedly stood up to stop her. "Hey! You can’t eat that!"

"I know... I'm just smelling it."

Of course Chen Yutong knew that mushroom was inedible.

With its round red cap, short flat white stalk, and speckled white dots on top, it looked every bit like a poisonous variety.

What puzzled her more was that the texture felt like rubber, and it had a strangely pleasant fragrance.

Seeing her confused expression, Yaya smiled awkwardly and patiently explained, "This is a rubber mushroom and it was picked outside the Elmwood Forest... Survivors nearby usually turn it into brooches, buttons, or hair clips."

"Incredible... Mushrooms that produce rubber?" Chen Yutong’s curiosity grew even stronger.

"I heard a factory recently started extracting rubber from it. Though the quality doesn't match our Dilat rubber, the output is amazing and it's not hard to cultivate. Apart from cam trees, a lot of the rubber for our tires comes from these mushrooms."

"Amazing... I've never seen anything like this in the Wandering Swamp," Chen Yutong said in awe.

Then again, even if she had seen it by chance, no one would’ve paid attention. Every exploration mission had a clear objective, and when they weren’t on duty, they were far too busy to wander around aimlessly.

Yaya grinned proudly. Her discovery had long since been recorded in the Hall of Fame!

Truthfully, the achievement was well-deserved. She had been the most enthusiastic player when it came to collecting mushroom field guides. Without her accidental find, the New Alliance's rubber production wouldn’t have skyrocketed like its steel output.

"If you’re interested, buy it and study it." Old White smiled and looked at Yaya. "How much for one?"

"Five silver coins!"

Taking the coin from Old White, Yaya’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she happily helped a slightly embarrassed Chen Yutong wear a homemade mushroom hair clip.

The red and white color scheme matched almost anything. Pinned to her light brown hair, it didn’t look out of place at all. If anything, it added a touch of playfulness.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Chen Yutong shyly touched the edge of her hair. It felt somewhat out of character for her.

"Doesn’t it look a bit unlike me?"

"Not at all," Old White chuckled. "Girls your age not dressing up would be more unusual."

"Ho ho! This uncle sure knows what to say!" Yaya quickly teased.

Standing to the side, Chen Yutong gave a small embarrassed cough. "At my age, I can hardly be called a girl anymore..." Still, she genuinely liked the gift.

Both for its research value and its aesthetics, it struck a chord with her. And it wasn’t just the gift itself. It was the whole experience of browsing the stalls, that charming smile when the pretty shop owner personally helped her put it on...

In her 12 years at the survivor settlement, and the 10 years at the Academy, she had never experienced such a hard-to-describe sense of leisure and satisfaction.

Originally, she had only come to the New Alliance to look around.

But now, for the first time, she felt a desire to belong. She wished she could share the joy with her old teammates...

That hair clip would probably suit Jiang Xuezhou more than herself. As her finger traced the clip’s shape, Chen Yutong said shyly, "Sorry for making you spend more money..."

Old White smiled as they walked. "No worries, it was just five silver coins. It’s hardly a big deal."

Even though the administrator hadn’t given him any funds, with the capabilities of the Burning Corps and his achievements, five silver coins wasn’t the kind of thing worth fussing over.

Besides, that tracked vehicle they got from the Signal Squad alone was worth countless times more than five silver coins. Helping her settle into life in the New Alliance was the least he could do.

Chen Yutong lowered her head in thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "If I wanted to work here... Where should I go?"

Old White thought for a bit before replying, "The city hall has an employment office. Fill in your information, and they’ll match you with suitable jobs. The local neighborhood office also posts job openings. With your skill set, I bet the Scientific Expedition Team will fight over you."

"I-I’m not that good... I’m just an E-class Prospector..."

"We don’t care about rank. In the New Alliance, only ability matters.” Old White gave her an encouraging look. "I believe you’ll do great!"

"Then... I’ll give it a try," Chen Yutong nodded after a moment’s hesitation.

Like Jiang Xuezhou, she had a specialization in AI and information technology, though she felt her skills lagged far behind Jiang Xuezhou. Otherwise, she would’ve become a Researcher by now.

But Old White didn’t seem concerned about that. He didn’t mention work again. Instead, he simply guided her around to buy some daily necessities.

A change of clothes, towels, even bedding...

Initially, she had only planned to buy a few items, but Old White figured they might as well get everything in one go. Before they knew it, he was hauling a huge bag around.

Just like that, evening quickly came.

Looking at the bags in their hands, Old White suddenly realized something. She didn’t even have a place to stay yet!

He chuckled awkwardly, "Sorry... I just remembered, you don’t have a place to stay."

"It’s fine." Chen Yutong couldn’t help but laugh, "I forgot too..."

Bringing her to his place would’ve been awkward.

On one hand, it was basically a storage room with no bed. On the other, it might give her the wrong idea.

In the end, Old White carried the bags and brought her to the Highway Town Hotel not far away.

Unlike last time, the lobby seemed even bigger, with more tables outside.

To solve the housing crunch, the owner had bought the warehouse next door and converted it into a more affordable four-story apartment building for merchants who had particular housing needs.

Word was, it had been funded by a guest from Ideal City and designed by a resident from Shelter 404.

In some sense, the inn was like an amber fossil. Though newly formed, it had already witnessed the New Alliance’s growth.

From a wooden lodge for roadside residents, it had grown into a space over 1,000 square meters large. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the warmth of human life.

Merchants and survivors from all over the land stopped there, trading news and rumors over drinks.

It wasn’t busy yet, though. Evening had just begun, and only a few people were eating inside.

From the moment she entered the lobby, Chen Yutong looked around curiously.

The Academy didn’t have inns, let alone the concept of ‘lobby by day, bar by night’.

Fearing their bionic prosthetics would draw attention from the wastelanders, expedition teams from the Academy rarely stayed outside of supervised zones. They’d rather sleep in their vehicles or camp in caves.

"Back from the frontlines?" asked Hooke who had a smile on his face as Old White stepped through the doorway.

"Just got back... Get me a room in the courtyard at the back for one."

Hooke looked surprised. "Hey, how did you know about the courtyard?! I was just about to introduce you to my new place. You already knew?"

Old White smiled but didn’t answer. He certainly wasn’t going to mention he learned it from the forum.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

There, players shared battle reports from the frontlines, while Lifestyle Profession players shared updates from the back.

They could find anything on the forums.

Hooke flipped open a weathered account book on the counter and muttered, "Anyway, you need to register. Is she going to be the one staying?"

"Yeah." Chen Yutong nodded nervously, unfamiliar with their procedures.

Though she wasn’t a shy person, she naturally grew quiet in unfamiliar settings.

Hooke was about to ask her about room preferences when Old White spoke first. "Please give her a quiet and clean room."

"Sure thing. The corner rooms are the biggest. Is this a short term rental? Or is it going to be for long?”

"Long term, put the deposit on my tab."

"No problem!"

After asking for her name and background, Hooke jotted a few notes in the book.

When he learned she was from the Wandering Swamp, a look of surprise crossed his face, but he didn’t pry. He simply took out two keys labeled with room numbers and tossed them on the counter.

Old White handed both keys to Chen Yutong.