"It's 8 AM, please wake up, please wake up," a very gentle female voice sounded near Luo Xiaole's ear.
"What... what?" Luo Xiaole groggily opened her eyes.
It wasn't until the voice sounded for the second time.
Luo Xiaole fumbled for a card beside her and, following the instructions, turned off the alarm.
She then remembered that before going to sleep last night, she had seen that the base card actually had an alarm function.
So Luo Xiaole set one casually.
It had been a long time since she had lived a life where an alarm clock woke her up.
A somewhat novel feeling swirled in Luo Xiaole's heart...
After a big stretch, Luo Xiaole leaped out of bed.
She had many important things to do today!
...
9 AM.
Time to get to work.
Luo Xiaole arrived at the municipal center punctually. The majestic city emblem in front of the office building stood tall on the gate.
The staff at the lobby, with serious expressions and hands clasped in front of them, approached her.
In a very formulaic tone, they said, "Hello, what business can I help you with?"
Luo Xiaole lowered her head and took out the business card Zhou Shoushan had given her from her pocket. "I want to see Commander Zhou."
Upon seeing the card, the staff member was surprised.
Instead of directing Luo Xiaole to a service counter like they would with others, they said with some astonishment, "Please wait a moment," and then confirmed information with someone upstairs through their headset.
A moment later, a very polite voice came through, "Please follow me this way."
After speaking, she actually bowed and then led Luo Xiaole towards a rather special elevator to the side.
She swiped a special card that granted access to Zhou Shoushan's office floor.
Then she gestured for Luo Xiaole to go ahead.
Although the staff member didn't speak, her attitude was extremely respectful throughout the journey.
Luo Xiaole stood in the rapidly ascending elevator, watching the busy crowd of people conducting business in the municipal building.
She marveled at how the construction speed of Luocheng Base had exceeded her expectations...
When they reached Zhou Shoushan's floor, the staff member led her into a lounge area next to the elevator.
"Commander Zhou is currently in a meeting in his office. Please wait here for a moment." The staff member very enthusiastically poured Luo Xiaole a cup of water.
Luo Xiaole nodded, showing her understanding.
The office door seemed to be ajar, and Zhou Shoushan's somewhat stern voice could be heard from inside.
"You still can't find their base of operations, can you?" His tone was very serious.
"Yes, Commander. These Qinglong Gang people are too cunning. We've only managed to raid small outposts a few times, but we haven't even seen the shadow of their leader... and there's someone in the Qinglong Gang who seems to have... some connection with the young master..." the other person's voice was filled with worry.
Luo Xiaole inwardly sighed at Zhou Shoushan's efficiency. He had only been back for two days, and he had already ordered people to deal with the Qinglong Gang.
It was faster than she had imagined.
However, it seemed this Qinglong Gang was more troublesome than expected...
"Kaifeng?" Zhou Shoushan's voice lowered.
"This matter is of great importance. Investigate it further."
"Yes... and there's another matter... you asked me to keep an eye on Young Master Qin Mingyang. A report came in at the base entrance saying he has entered the city."
"Really? That's great! I thought..." Zhou Shoushan's voice was rarely filled with such excitement.
"We have already arranged accommodation for him as per your instructions. He is recuperating these past couple of days."
"Well done. I'll find an opportunity to see him in the next couple of days," Zhou Shoushan's heart finally settled.
...
Fifteen minutes later, Zhou Shoushan finally completed his various work handovers.
Luo Xiaole was ushered into the office by the staff.
Zhou Shoushan, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, looked up from the mountain of dense files in front of him.
Upon seeing it was Luo Xiaole, he took off his glasses, and the sternness in his eyes finally subsided, revealing a hint of ease.
He smiled kindly, "I heard someone was looking for me, and I guessed it must be my young friend Xiaole. I apologize, I've been busy these past couple of days. You've waited for quite some time, haven't you?"
"It's alright. The Commander's dedication is a blessing to Luocheng Base." Luo Xiaole's eyes curved. She hadn't expected Zhou Shoushan to be so approachable.
"How is it, do you have a place to stay?"
"Thanks to the Commander's favor, I have already purchased property and settled down."
"Bought a house? That's good. Luocheng Base has gained another talented individual."
"Commander, I've come to see you this time to discuss the issue of weapon sales we talked about earlier." Luo Xiaole's voice was clear and direct.
"I appreciate your straightforwardness," Zhou Shoushan pursed his lips and smiled. "What are your thoughts?"
"If possible, I'd like to rent a larger shop in the city center. That wouldn't be difficult, but..." she paused for a second.
"The difficult part is the source of the weapons, and a stable supply, isn't it?" Zhou Shoushan was indeed very wise, hitting the nail on the head.
"Exactly!" Luo Xiaole nodded resolutely.
"You don't need to worry about either of those. I will issue a document shortly to notify the entire city that the military will be selling specially made weapons. Your weapons can all be sold under the military's name, and no one will dare to interfere.
As for the source of weapons, soldiers are constantly on patrol and carrying out city defense missions, so their weapons will wear out. Previously, they were destroyed, but now they can be given to you for reinforcement. This will include bladed weapons and damaged firearms, as well as metal pipe-like products. Do you think these will work?"
"No problem, it would be great to have these." Luo Xiaole was very satisfied. Although she wasn't picky about the reinforcement materials for weapons, items that were originally weapons would definitely be more practical to use after reinforcement than other daily necessities!
Their durability would also be higher.
"The Commander is providing me with a free source of weapons and helping me settle down in Luocheng Base. If needed, I can also supply weapons to the army regularly. Although the output is limited and the quantity cannot be guaranteed, the price can be lower than elsewhere."
Zhou Shoushan's eyes held a hint of joy. He had just intended to discuss this with Luo Xiaole, and she had brought it up herself.
Their soldiers now relied entirely on firearms. While long-range combat might be fine, in close-quarters encounters with zombies, the casualty rate was always high. If they could be equipped with Luo Xiaole's weapons, it would be a great improvement in combat effectiveness for Luocheng Base!
"That would be excellent. Once you've chosen a shop, you can contact me directly," Zhou Shoushan smiled with great satisfaction.
"Then I won't disturb you any longer. I'll head back to prepare for the shop now."
This trip was incredibly rewarding for Luo Xiaole.
While casual transactions were also good, the money came in slowly.
Only with such large-scale and continuous stable transactions could the speed of her system and space upgrades achieve a qualitative leap.
With Zhou Shoushan's support, things would be much simpler from now on.
Thinking about the continuous increase of space store currency, her sense of security instantly soared!
...
Having resolved a major issue, Luo Xiaole was in high spirits.
Humming a little tune, she walked around the main entrance of the municipal hall.
She arrived at a pharmacy she had seen on her way in.
"Ah... are there no other medicines?" Luo Xiaole looked at the somewhat empty pharmacy with some regret.
"Yes... everything else in the base is good, but the production of medicines still can't keep up. We can only produce some basic medicines now, and the variety isn't much. Medicines are still very scarce," the pharmacy owner explained.
Scarce medicines?
Luo Xiaole thought for a moment, then it was even more important to unlock the pharmacy soon. Later, she could also release medicines for trade.
"Thank you, boss. Are there any other pharmacies nearby?"
"With the scarcity of medicines, pharmacies are naturally few. There's only our one on these two blocks."
"Is that so..."
However, she had just arrived in Luocheng and didn't know if the medicines at each pharmacy were sold the same way. It was too troublesome to search for them one by one.
Someone suddenly flashed in her mind.
"Hello, is this Fang Jie? I want to know what stock the pharmacies in the city have. Perhaps you have a way?"