Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 109: Moving into the Apartment Building
"The base drilled for groundwater, then built a hydroelectric station and installed wind turbines, so we don’t have a power shortage. If you get a better place, you can have electricity twenty-four hours a day, but you have to pay for both power and water. For the first month, you can pay with supplies. Starting the second month, the cost will be automatically deducted from the points you earn."
Captain Collins led the three of them into the elevator, and they went straight up to the sixth floor. Inside, Evelyn Ford glanced at the ceiling and noticed a security camera.
"Captain Collins, does the base have an internet connection?"
Captain Collins nodded. "Most of the cell towers were destroyed in the torrential rains, and then the earthquake hit. But the base’s research staff set up a new network and new towers. For various reasons, though, the signal is very weak, so for now, it’s restricted to intranet use only."
Evelyn Ford understood.
When they got to the sixth floor, Evelyn Ford felt like she had walked into a company’s HR department. A good number of people were working there, and the building was warm thanks to the air conditioning.
Captain Collins led them to a door and knocked. A voice from inside called out, "Come in." Captain Collins pushed the door open, and the four of them filed in.
"Minister Warren, I’ve brought some survivors to apply for their residency permits."
Minister Warren was a young man around thirty years old, with an average face and black-framed glasses. He looked up, giving Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick a once-over before asking for their names, ages, and hometowns.
"Where are you looking to live?"
"The apartment building in the South Wing."
Minister Warren raised an eyebrow and gave Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick another careful look. Even Captain Collins and Quincy were surprised. They had assumed Evelyn would rent a single room on the west side; they never expected her to set her sights on an apartment in the South Wing.
He entered their information into the computer and then asked if they would be renting one apartment.
"Two."
The moment Evelyn Ford spoke, he looked up at her. "I thought you said you were a couple."
Evelyn Ford remained silent. She didn’t know how to answer a question like that.
"What are you using for payment?"
Evelyn Ford handed him the backpack she was wearing. He took it, unzipped it to peek inside, and then looked back up at her.
"What you have here is enough to rent two apartments for three months. Starting in the fourth month, we’ll start deducting points. An apartment costs three hundred points per month. As for how to earn and calculate points, here’s a sheet of paper. Take it with you and read it carefully."
Evelyn Ford pulled a sheet from a stack of papers on the top-right corner of the desk.
"What are your skills?"
"I’m skilled in medicine, acupuncture, and surgery. I can also deliver babies."
Minister Warren gave her another look. "What about him?"
"He’s a recently discharged soldier."
"You’re assigned to the medical department. You, to the Hunting Squad."
He handed them two more sheets of paper, each with a map showing the route to one of the departments.
"Your residency permits are all set. South Wing, Building 10, sixth floor. Here are the key cards and keys. Your apartments are next to each other."
"If you lose your residency permit, a replacement will cost you fifty points. Also, you are not allowed to lend your permit to anyone else. You’ll need to swipe it to enter and exit the base, and any points you earn will be credited directly to the permit."
The "residency permit" was really just a magnetic card, like a school meal card or a debit card, that also served as a form of identification.
"Tomorrow at ten in the morning, you will each report to your assigned departments. Don’t be late, and don’t leave early. Anyone who disobeys the rules will have their property confiscated and be exiled from the base. Right, and remember to wear something decent. Torn clothes are fine, but they can’t be dirty."
"Surrender all knives and other regulated tools in your possession. Fighting, brawling, and any other illegal activities are strictly forbidden within the base."
All of Evelyn Ford’s belongings were in her dimensional space. Minister Warren searched her and confiscated an iron shovel.
"You may go."
"Thank you for your help, Minister Warren." Captain Collins walked over and shook the minister’s hand. Evelyn Ford saw him discreetly slip a few pieces of candy into Minister Warren’s palm.
"Don’t mention it."
The three of them followed Captain Collins downstairs. He looked like he wanted to say something but was hesitating. Since he didn’t ask, Evelyn Ford simply pretended not to notice.
"That was quite a move, Ford."
The elevator doors opened, and he suddenly made the ambiguous remark. Evelyn Ford just gave him a faint, demure nod, neither confirming nor denying anything.
"I’ll have Quincy take you over to the South Wing. The Hunting Squad has business to attend to, so I’ll be going now. Oh, and Ronan Kendrick, remember to look for me when you report in tomorrow."
Ronan Kendrick grunted in acknowledgment, and Captain Collins left. Once he was a good distance away, Quincy clicked his tongue twice. "Tsk, tsk." He then gave Evelyn Ford another head-to-toe inspection.
"I thought you were barely scraping by, but here you are, getting an apartment right off the bat and paying three months’ rent upfront. Evelyn Ford, what in the world did you give him?"
Evelyn Ford just smiled. "That’s a secret."
"Fine, don’t tell me then. Come on, I’ll take you to the South Wing."
"Are you out of clothes to wear?" Evelyn Ford asked, glancing at Quincy’s tattered coat.
"You have no idea how expensive clothes are in the base. I have other clothes, but you’re supposed to wear rags when you go out on missions. Why wear anything nice? Look at the state of the world! And you’ve got the nerve to talk about me? Look at you! A beggar dresses better than you do."
After their back-and-forth, they both looked over at Ronan Kendrick. He said nothing and simply walked on ahead.
To call the building in the South Wing an "apartment building" was being generous. In reality, it was no different from a standard pre-apocalypse studio.
The perks of living here were unlimited electricity and water, plus a small balcony and a private bathroom.
When the three of them reached Building 10, an administrator stopped them. He only let them pass after Evelyn Ford presented her residency permit.
"I need to register you. Your residency permits, please."
She handed him the two permits. He swiped them, then took out a ledger and recorded their personal information and apartment numbers before waving them upstairs.
The apartment building was ten stories tall, and Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick were on the sixth floor. There was an elevator, and as the three of them stepped inside, they were hit with a musty smell.
"Do you have an elevator where you live?"
Quincy shook his head. "The rooms over there are only five square meters. There’s nothing inside but a bed. There’s a communal shower on the first floor, and everyone only gets to wash once a week. Each floor has a public restroom. Luckily, it’s huge, or we’d be crushed to death in the crowd every day."
"If power is rationed, how do you manage at night?"
"They ration power during the day, but we get it from ten at night until eight in the morning. I traded some stuff for an electric space heater. Don’t worry, I won’t freeze to death."
DING.
The elevator doors opened. One apartment was 601, the other 602. Evelyn Ford’s was 601. When she opened the door, she found it was much better than she had expected.
There was a 1.5-meter-wide wooden bed and no closet, but the apartment was reasonably clean. The bathroom was tiny, but it would do. Evelyn Ford turned on the sink faucet and saw that the water was a bit cloudy.
"It’s groundwater, and the quality is terrible," Quincy explained. "A lot of people are having problems with their teeth because of it."
The so-called "balcony" was really just an iron cage attached to the outside of the window for drying clothes.
"Quincy, I have some extra things I can spare for you."
Quincy waved a dismissive hand. "I’m doing fine. Besides, a guy’s got to stand on his own two feet. A little hardship is nothing."
"Let Officer Graham and the others know we should all get together when they have time."
Quincy patted his chest. "You can count on me."
"Alright, let me take you to buy some bedding now."
