The question Mingyue posed to Huahua was a definite one, with a clear, unchangeable answer.
"I agree, but you were talking about work just now, meaning there's payment involved? Can I be paid with delicious food?"
Huahua was an optimist and a foodie. Her demands were simple: first, to live, and second, to eat. Therefore, she didn't take Mingyue's coercion to heart, still having the mood to inquire about work benefits and salary, and make demands of Mingyue.
"You mean this? How about one bottle a month?"
A transparent bottle appeared in Mingyue's hand, containing over a dozen pills refined from the Water of Life. She dangled it in front of Huahua. Huahua was a plant, and Mingyue knew without asking what she was fixated on.
"Deal! I'll work hard. From now on, you're my boss. Boss, can you remove this light shield? Also, can I get an advance on my salary? Look, you've already brought it out, just give it to me?"
Staring at the bottle in Mingyue's hand, Huahua's mouth secreted mucus uncontrollably, dripping onto her petals. She didn't care what Mingyue wanted her to do anymore, anything was fine as long as there was good food.
Seeing the greedy little flower so parched, Mingyue magnanimously dispelled the light shield and tossed the bottle over. m..oΓg
She was always generous to her own people, and besides, Dr. Youhen had already made many of these elixirs in her space.
Huahua quickly caught it with two petals and then, in a human-like manner, sat down on the sofa, with her bottom two petals crossed like legs. The middle two petals acted like hands, nimbly opening the bottle cap. With a strong suction, a pill entered its gaping maw, while the topmost petal swayed non-stop. Although it had no facial features, its nodding and shaking clearly indicated its enjoyment.
"Captain, we've reached Yunmeng Mountain."
Everyone was staring at Huahua, wondering if this flower had become sentient. Shi He Nian, who was driving the transforming vehicle, suddenly reminded Mingyue. Since Mingyue had returned to Youyue Valley to reunite with them, it meant the problem in Yunmeng Mountain had been resolved. He didn't know why they had to come back. But he trusted Mingyue; he would execute whatever Mingyue commanded without asking too many questions.
"Huahua, this is your post. Your job is to guard this big gate. You're not allowed to let outsiders in, except our own people, including zombies and mutated plants and animals, understand? If you're not diligent and make mistakes, your salary will be deducted. If you make no mistakes, your salary will be doubled at the end of the month, which counts as a bonus."
Carrying Huahua off the transforming vehicle, Mingyue directly threw it onto the iron gate she had newly installed and explained its duties.
"I guarantee to complete the mission!"
Upon hearing about bonuses and doubled salary, Huahua's work enthusiasm immediately surged. It stuck to the iron gate, vowing to be a good gatekeeper. Mingyue's reason for returning to Yunmeng Mountain was to put Huahua on duty to guard the new base. Although she had sealed the city gate with two iron doors, she was still uneasy because simple doors couldn't stop ability users and high-level zombies. However, Huahua's earlier remark about guarding the house and protecting the yard in Youyue Valley had reminded her: wasn't Huahua the best gatekeeper? Thus, she had coerced and tempted Huahua into coming here. She hadn't expected this foodie to act as if it had gotten a great deal and was very enthusiastic about the job.
Everyone else, except Gong Que, had never been here before and, like Wen Qing Tian, was awestruck.
"This is our Mingyue Base, heavy metal style, so shocking, so domineering, I love it here."
Tian Shang was stunned by the magnificent city gate cast from fine steel. She couldn't help but grab Bu Zhi and jump and shout in front of the gate. But she immediately pushed Bu Zhi away and walked aside with a dark face, not even looking at him, which made Bu Zhi very awkward.
"Tian Shang, what did you just say, Mingyue Base?"
Seeing Tian Shang's strange reaction, Mingyue teased her, also wondering, shouldn't it be Yunmeng Base?
"Mingyue, we've all named this base long ago, calling it Mingyue Base. You won't object, will you?"
Seeing Mingyue ask, Ji Shi You walked over and replied. They had decided on this name long ago. They just wanted to give Mingyue a surprise, but Tian Shang had let it slip. So, they no longer concealed it. Mingyue naturally wouldn't object; naming the base after her was her honor.
Seeing Mingyue's lack of objection, Ji Shi You raised his right hand and unleashed his metal ability towards the city gate. The four steel bricks at the top of the city gate, cast from fine steel, began to move and condensed into four large characters: Mingyue Base. Everyone applauded. This was considered the base's naming ceremony. With these four characters, this base was theirs. They finally had a place to settle in this apocalypse.
Gong Que, being the most familiar with the place, led everyone on a tour inside the base like presenting a treasure, introducing various facilities, and everyone kept exclaiming in amazement. Mingyue, however, went alone to an empty plot of land at the far end of the base. There were no buildings or facilities here. It was probably that construction hadn't begun before the plan was halted, leaving only a large open space. Now that Huahua was guarding the gate, the base was very safe. She thought about moving the Thunder Base out of her space. This open area was just enough to accommodate the small mountain that was the Thunder Base, so that Dr. Youhen and the others wouldn't have to stay shut-in. She entered her space and informed Dr. Youhen about the situation in the Thunder Base before moving it out. She also pulled out Ba Jiu, who had been soaking in the small river in her space all along. If she didn't bring him out soon, he'd be completely waterlogged.
Seeing the new base, which was hundreds of times larger than the modified laboratory of the Thunder Base, everyone showed surprise and joined Gong Que's tour. After Mingyue introduced the base's situation, Dr. Youhen announced that the name Thunder Base would be abolished from now on and it would become a department of Mingyue Base. He would lead all research personnel to be responsible for research and development and base equipment maintenance. They would conduct a comprehensive inspection of the base tomorrow to ensure its normal operation. Finally, everyone gathered, and Mingyue announced that as the first batch of residents to move into the base, they could choose their housing freely. She said this for a reason: in the future, new members joining the base would not have free choice; housing would be allocated uniformly. However, the research personnel from the Thunder Base were not very interested and stated they didn't need it, opting to continue living in the laboratory. Jin Xi and the others became excited, chattering and debating. In the end, they decided to live together and not be separated. Thus, Gong Que led everyone to a small courtyard in the center of the base. This place was originally reserved for important national figures. Otherwise, they wouldn't have built a spacious courtyard in a limited area. It was called a courtyard, but it was actually a dozen bedrooms surrounding a small central courtyard. However, it was just enough for the nine members of Mingyue's team to live in, with one bedroom per person and an extra room for a living room, convenient for meetings. Dr. Youhen had already returned to the laboratory with the research personnel. Seeing that it was getting late outside, Mingyue decided to stay one night in the new base and return to Yuncheng tomorrow to pick up Wen Qing Tian and He Si. Seeing Ba Jiu constantly staring at Bu Zhi, she knew Ba Jiu's intentions. Therefore, she gathered everyone in one room. She took out a set of sofas from her space, prepared for a meeting, and planned to explain the matter of Bu Ying and Bu Zhi.