Black Rat stood at the entrance of the Terminal Station, holding a notebook, muttering curses as he registered everyone:
“Slow down, slow down! Don't push! One at a time! Hand over your crystal cores for registration. You'll be rewarded based on your contributions later. Who would dare cheat you out of them?”
In less than an hour, the vast battlefield was completely cleared.
Although the Cold Wave was drawing to a close, the temperature outside was still minus forty-six degrees.
The ordinary people couldn't withstand the extreme cold, so as soon as they saw the battlefield was cleared, they all returned to the Terminal Station.
After confirming that no one was left outside, Black Rat shut the heavy doors of the Terminal Station.
Everyone was highly cooperative, handing over all the crystal cores they had gathered.
Everyone was beaming with joy, their faces filled with the relief of surviving a disaster and the satisfaction of a bountiful harvest.
Feng Mu stood before Su Wan and handed her a battle damage report.
“We are completely out of ammunition.” His voice was raspy, carrying the exhaustion of commanding for days on end.
“Light and heavy machine gun rounds, rifle rounds, pistol rounds—all of them have been depleted.”
Su Wan nodded. “What about casualties?”
“Fifty-six minor injuries, twelve severe injuries, and deceased...” Feng Mu paused.
“Seven killed. They were all soldiers of the City Defense Force. There were no deaths among the Militia, though a few sustained minor injuries.”
Feng Mu's tone was light.
In his memory, a battle of this scale with such minimal casualties was nothing short of a miracle.
“Compile a list of the deceased. Their pensions will be paid from the Terminal Station's treasury. Each family will receive... twenty thousand Star Coins.”
“For the injured, all medical expenses are fully covered, and they will receive an additional five thousand Star Coins in compensation.”
Twenty thousand Star Coins was enough for a family to live comfortably in the Outer City for several years.
The City Defense Force's previous compensation standards didn't even come close to a fraction of this amount.
“Yes, ma'am!” Feng Mu complied and walked out with a brisk step.
Inside the Terminal Station building, Central Hub's voice rang out over the broadcast system:
“Attention all tenants, the collection and tallying of Rot-Walker crystal cores have been completed. The results are now being announced to all tenants—”
The bustling lobby fell silent. Everyone raised their heads to look at the speakers above.
“Total kills in this battle are as follows—”
“Unranked Rot-Walkers: three thousand two hundred and forty.”
“Level 1 Rot-Walkers: one hundred and seventy-eight.”
“Level 2 Rot-Walkers: forty-three.”
“Level 3 Rot-Walkers: four.”
“The drop rate of Unranked Rot-Walker crystal cores was approximately forty percent. The actual number of Unranked crystal cores collected is one thousand two hundred and ninety-six.”
“Level 1 crystal cores: one hundred and seventy-eight (one hundred percent drop rate).”
“Level 2 crystal cores: forty-three (one hundred percent drop rate).”
“Level 3 crystal cores: four.”
“In addition, the Level 3 and Level 4 Rot-Walker Energy Crystal Cores have already been collected by the Landlord and are not included in this distribution.”
With every number announced over the broadcast, the cheers in the lobby grew louder.
By the end, the roaring cheers almost brought the roof down. Even the elderly and children who had been hiding in their rooms in the corridors were drawn out, crowding around the stairwells to watch curiously.
One thousand two hundred and ninety-six Unranked crystal cores, one hundred and seventy-eight Level 1 crystal cores, forty-three Level 2 crystal cores, and four Level 3 crystal cores.
Even the cheapest Unranked crystal core could be exchanged for one hundred Star Coins, Level 1 for five hundred, Level 2 for three thousand, and Level 3 for sixty thousand. The total value of these crystal cores alone was close to six hundred thousand Star Coins.
And that didn't even include the Level 4 one.
To the Terminal Station, six hundred thousand Star Coins was nothing.
But to those who had fought with their lives on the line, this money was bought with blood.
The broadcast rang out again: “Next, Star Coin rewards will be distributed to all participating combatants based on their performance and contribution during the entire battle.”
“The evaluation criteria are based on battlefield records, robot monitoring data, and assisted verification by the lie detector to ensure absolute fairness and justice.”
In a corner of the lobby, a silvery-white device was quietly running.
It was the portable lie detector Su Wan had exchanged from the System Mall. It could precisely monitor physiological indicators such as heart rate, galvanic skin response, and brainwaves to determine whether the speaker was lying.
With its assistance, no one could exaggerate their deeds to claim unearned credit.
Iron Bone was the first to be called in.
He stood before the lie detector, facing the cold face of the robot, and reported his kill count in honest detail.
He didn't overreport or underreport, simply because he didn't care about this meager reward at all.
“Iron Bone, Level 3 Late Stage. Kills in this battle: one Level 3 Rot-Walker, eight Level 2 Rot-Walkers, eleven Level 1 Rot-Walkers, and several Unranked ones. Contribution Rating: A-class. Reward: ninety thousand Star Coins.”
Iron Bone nodded, turned around, and walked away.
Ninety thousand Star Coins meant nothing to him, but it was a completely different story for the soldiers and militia members behind him.
A young soldier from the City Defense Force stood before the lie detector, his palms sweating from nervousness.
He swallowed hard and reported his kill count: “Two... Level 1 Rot-Walkers, and... ten Unranked ones.”
The robot's electronic eyes flashed, and the indicator light on the lie detector jumped from red to green.
C1's voice was completely flat: “Data verified. Contribution Rating: C+ Rank. Reward: two thousand Star Coins.”
The young soldier froze for a moment, then his mouth slowly stretched into a wide grin, revealing a row of white teeth as he nearly jumped for joy.
The people waiting in line looked at him with envy and urged, “Hurry up, move along! Don't block the way, it's my turn!”
The queue moved forward slowly.
Some received ten thousand, some five thousand, and some only a few hundred, but not a single person complained.
Everyone knew that this evaluation was absolutely fair.
“Zhao Laoliu, Level 2 hunter. Kills in this battle: two Level 2 Rot-Walkers, five Level 1 Rot-Walkers, and several Unranked ones. Contribution Rating: B+ Rank. Reward: twenty thousand Star Coins.”
Zhao Laoliu was so happy he felt like he was going to faint.
He had struggled and survived in the Ruin Zone for over twenty years, but he had never seen so much money at once!
“Black Rat...”
Black Rat stood before the lie detector, cleared his throat, and reported his kill count, then stared nervously at the silvery-white device.
The indicator light jumped from red to green, and he let out a long, deep sigh of relief.
Damn, thank goodness I didn't lie.
“Black Rat, Level 1. Kills in this battle: two Level 1 Rot-Walkers and twenty-one Unranked ones. Contribution Rating: B Rank. Reward: twelve thousand Star Coins.”
Black Rat rubbed his hands together in excitement, unable to suppress the grin stretching across his face.
Su Wan stood at the corner of the stairs, quietly watching all of this unfold.
Among the soldiers, hunters, and militia members, some were laughing, some were crying, and some stood in place, completely overwhelmed.
Most of these people had never seen so much money in their entire lives.
“System, what is the total reward payout?”
【Calculating... Calculation complete.】
【Total payout for this battle's rewards: 538,000 Star Coins.】
Su Wan nodded slightly.
Even after the tenants earned this money, they would still spend it inside the Terminal Station.
To put it simply, these Star Coins would eventually find their way back to her anyway.
Trading a few hundred thousand Star Coins for these people's loyalty and sense of belonging was more than worth it.
Rate on N.U.
