Chapter 216: Nutrient Solution
Chapter 216: Chapter 216: Nutrient Solution
Aaron Palmer’s eyes filled with shock. "With the base changing day by day, we wouldn’t be able to keep up with its pace if we didn’t have these wristbands!"
Kevin Keane looked at Luna Dawson and teased, "From now on, our little boss can ride Rollo around drunk whenever she wants without having to worry about being shot down by the military."
Luna Dawson’s face darkened. "Thanks a lot, but please don’t remind me."
"I’m so done," she thought. "I’m definitely quitting drinking from now on!"
The convoy slowly rolled to a halt before the buffer wall. As per protocol, the higher-ups were the first to step out to handle the handover procedures with the base guards. An hour later, the entry command was given. The vehicles drove into the buffer zone one batch at a time, requiring all personnel and their accompanying creatures to step out for a comprehensive inspection.
Three hundred thousand survivors stepped onto the solid pavement, walking step by step to the foot of the buffer wall. The emotions they had suppressed for days finally broke free. Some went weak in the knees and slumped to the ground, tears silently streaking down their faces as they tightly gripped the dirt to confirm this wasn’t an illusion. Others tilted their heads up to stare at the vigorous red characters spelling out "Kensington Base" atop the wall. Their gazes were dull yet burned with fervency. The horrific bloodshed along their journey, the agony of losing companions, and their struggles through despair—all of it transformed into the sheer relief of having survived.
The crowd wasn’t clamoring; there were only the continuous sounds of sobbing and suppressed sighs. Their every movement and expression clearly conveyed their profound yearning for life and their desperate longing for peace.
Just then, a clear and solemn female voice echoed from the PA system in the buffer zone, broadcasting through loudspeakers scattered across every corner.
"Welcome to the Kensington Base, survivors. The registration guidelines will now be broadcast. Please adhere to them strictly.
"All incoming personnel must undergo a two-hour centralized quarantine in the buffer zone. During the quarantine period, temperature checks, superpower fluctuation screenings, and virus tests will be conducted to ensure there is no risk of infection.
"After the quarantine ends, you must proceed to designated registration points to submit your detailed personal information and process the base’s universal ID card. The ID card is the only credential for entering the base, receiving supplies, and accepting missions. Please do not lose it.
"New members will be randomly assigned to live in various districts, enjoying one week of free housing and basic food subsidies. After the subsidy period expires, continued housing, food purchases, and other daily living needs will require handling relevant procedures at the Mission Hall, Trading Hall, and Housing Management Office within a week.
"To ensure order, we urge everyone to queue up in an orderly manner, in batches, and at a one-meter interval to handle your affairs. Crowding, pushing, and cutting in line are strictly prohibited to avoid stampedes and excessively long wait times..."
As the announcement ended, the survivors gradually calmed down. Under the staff’s guidance, they formed orderly lines. However, their gazes still occasionally drifted toward the towering main barrier wall, their eyes brimming with hope for the future.
Luna Dawson stepped out of the car and stored the two vehicles away. They took the exclusive channel, utilizing the privileges Francis Grant had granted them to bypass the lines and head straight for the VIP observation room. As they walked down the corridor toward the observation room, Luna stretched lazily. "Oh man, I just want to lay in bed for three days. We’re finally back—I’m exhausted!"
The moment the Sunset Squad stepped out, Rollo and Pinky immediately drew the attention of the Superpower Users lined up for the observation rooms.
"That dog is huge! Is that the one the Sunset Squad’s captain was riding?"
"Yeah, that’s the one! I saw her handing out supplies a few times!"
"And that pink toad is so pretty!"
"Have I been single for too long? Even a pink toad looks cute to me now!"
The crowd fell speechless. The spirit spring water’s effects were truly astonishing.
Having grown a thick skin and gotten used to the stares over the course of the journey, the squad members paid them no mind and walked straight into the priority lane. Faint murmurs drifted from behind them.
"It must be nice being the strongest squad. They don’t even have to squeeze in with the rest of us."
"If you’re so jealous, why don’t you advance to the Fourth Rank yourself?"
"Tch, big deal."
The squad couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. Mrs. Dawson and Wayne Dawson practically half-carried Grandpa as they scrambled into the observation room, eager to escape the stares of the people watching them use the backdoor. Lynn Shelby followed them in with Little Tiger in his arms. He rubbed his messy bedhead. Having had no time to groom himself, his soft hair looked rather disheveled. Looking exhausted, he stroked the cub and chimed in, "I need to sleep like the dead too. If I keep staying up late, I’m going to start getting wrinkles!"
Evan Olson threw an arm around Lynn’s shoulders, his heavily callused hand playfully ruffling the messy hair. "Don’t worry. With your youthful looks, you’ll still look better than me even if you stay up late for another six months. You’re not getting wrinkles anytime soon."
Lynn swatted his hand away and tucked his ruffled long hair behind his ear. "Your hands are as rough as sandpaper," he complained with a look of disgust. "It hurts my scalp when you rub it."
The playful banter drew laughter from the rest of the room, washing away much of their lingering fatigue.
Serving as the Sunset Squad’s representative, Kevin Keane braved the crowd’s watchful eyes to visit the supply distribution point, returning with a small box of nutrient solutions. "The base handed these out. I have no idea what they are," he said.
He opened the box to reveal a hundred slender, portable eighty-milliliter pouches of nutrient solution neatly stacked inside. Picking one up, he could see a pale blue liquid sloshing gently inside the flexible packaging.
Grandpa read the label on the pouch. "Nutrient solution... Each pouch can meet the human body’s daily nutritional needs..."
"Manufactured ten days ago," Miles Dawson noted. "Doesn’t that mean they already had these right around the time we arrived at the military base?"
While the others were still discussing the pouches, Hector curiously grabbed one and tore it open. Blake Blue also casually opened a pouch. Almost simultaneously, the two of them took a small sip.
"Yuck, it’s sour," Hector said, wrinkling his little brow and smacking his lips.
Blake also frowned slightly. "It is quite sour."
"What is wrong with you two?!" Rhonda Dawson hurried over in shock and snatched the nutrient pouches from their hands. She glared at Blake in exasperation. "How old are you? Why are you tasting random things with Hector? Couldn’t you verify if it’s safe first?" She brought the pouches to her nose and gave them a sniff. "Who knows if this stuff will harm your body," she added worriedly.
Blake offered a gentle smile and took the pouches back from her, downing the rest of their contents in one gulp. He wiped the corner of his mouth and said, "It’s fine. With you around, any issues can be handled immediately. Besides, it’s a base-issued ration, so don’t worry about it. Let’s not let it go to waste."
Wayne Dawson got up and walked over to the observation room’s window to look outside. Out on the distant clearing, survivors were standing in a long line to receive their nutrient solutions. Everyone wore a look of bewilderment and helplessness. He withdrew his gaze and said solemnly, "This must be the basic food subsidy mentioned in the broadcast."
The group gathered around the booth, staring at the box of nutrient solutions on the table. The relaxed atmosphere from earlier gradually slipped away.
Mrs. Dawson inspected a pouch before putting it back. "Won’t people suffer health problems if they rely solely on these nutrient solutions to survive?"
Luna’s fingers drummed absentmindedly against the tabletop, her mind brimming with astonishment.
In her previous life, she had stayed at the Southen Base and had never seen nutrient solutions like these. Food was immensely scarce during the apocalypse. Everyone had to rely on hunting mutated creatures and foraging for mutated plants to survive. It was only after countless people had died from trial and error that humanity finally figured out that mutated snakes and red fire rabbits were edible. Eventually, the base established breeding farms for them, though the meat had to be purchased at steep prices using points.