Ah-Lan assisted from the side, guiding the refugees to their assigned rooms.
Although these were just concrete shells with rough floors and walls, the brand-new security doors and the environment—completely isolated from external dangers and pollution—made these refugees, accustomed to living in the cracks of ruins and constant peril, feel as if they were receiving heavenly treatment.
Especially for families like Old Zhao's, who had a severely injured child, a closed, clean, and stable space was a priceless treasure in itself.
Once settled, without needing any prompting, the new tenants eagerly flocked to the Star Coin Exchange Machine in the lobby under C1's guidance.
They pulled out all the “possessions” they had painstakingly collected from the ruins: irregularly shaped gold nuggets, gold jewelry, a few Energy Crystal Cores of varying quality, some relatively intact old-era metal parts, tools, and even a few well-preserved old books or electronic components...
The exchange machine's scanning beam worked steadily, performing rapid evaluations based on the system's built-in value database.
Amidst the chiming notification sounds, varying amounts of Star Coins were credited to the newly established virtual accounts.
Standing at the door of Room 102, Su Wan could clearly see through the system backend that the amount in her exclusive Host Account began to climb rapidly, like a rolling snowball.
A portion of these Star Coins came from rent, while the rest was the 10% exchange fee she had set.
Seeing the total Star Coins quickly break into four digits, Su Wan felt a stir in her heart.
What she cared about most were the resources she could take back to Blue Star to liquidate.
She pulled up the exchange machine's detailed records and filtered them.
“Gold...” she murmured.
The list refreshed, clearly showing the details and total weight of all gold items exchanged by the new tenants this time.
【Total Recovered: 742.6 grams of high-purity gold.】
【Current System Gold Reserve (Extractable): 742.6 grams.】
【Exchange Rate: 1 gram of gold = 1 Star Coin (Internal System Settlement Price).】
Over seven hundred and forty grams of gold!
At Blue Star's current gold prices, this was equivalent to roughly seven hundred thousand!
“System, exchange and extract all current gold reserves into my storage space,” she ordered immediately.
【Confirming extraction of all gold reserves (742.6 grams). Consuming 742.6 Host Points.】
【Extraction successful. Gold has been deposited into the Host’s exclusive storage space.】
In a corner of her storage space, a small pile of glistening yellow gold nuggets and jewelry quietly appeared.
With this gold, the pressure from her debts on Blue Star suddenly lessened by more than half.
But she didn't intend to stop there.
Gold was cheap in this world, but it held immense value for her—this was a perfect arbitrage opportunity!
She immediately walked over to the Simple Mission Board that had just been installed on the wall of the first-floor lobby.
It looked like a shimmering metal plate where text could scroll across the surface.
Su Wan focused her mind, connecting to the mission board through the system, and posted her first official mission:
【Long-term Acquisition Mission: Gold】
【Content: No restrictions on form; recycling all gold products (nuggets, jewelry, industrial gold, etc.).】
【Purchase Price: 1.5 Star Coins per gram.】
【Delivery Method: Hand the gold over to Butler-C1. After the weight is verified, Star Coins will be immediately paid into the deliverer's account.】
【Note: Tenants are encouraged to use Star Coins to buy food from the convenience store and then head to the Ruin Zone to trade with other refugees for gold.】
As soon as this mission was posted, it was like throwing a massive boulder into the calm waters of the shelter!
The new tenants, who had just settled in and were still worrying about how to earn rent and buy food, instantly erupted in excitement!
1.5 Star Coins per gram! That was a full fifty percent higher than the price they had just received from the exchange machine!
And they knew very well that in the Ruin Zone—especially from those desperate bottom-tier refugees—a little food could likely be traded for far more gold than the exchange machine's valuation!
The difference was profit!
It was the capital they needed to survive here, and perhaps even live a better life!
Without needing much encouragement, the eyes of the tenants, whose hopes for the future had been ignited, immediately grew fervent.
Many didn't even stop to rest; they checked their portable tools or weapons, said a few words to their families, and plunged back into the ruins.
This time, their goal was clear—find gold, or use their newly acquired Star Coins to buy the cheapest bread or water from the convenience store and then head deep into the ruins or refugee gathering points to trade for gold.
The atmosphere of the entire shelter instantly shifted from the quiet of settling in to a heat of drive and anticipation.
Watching the tenants move with clear purpose, Su Wan felt satisfied.
This would create a positive cycle: the tenants would collect gold for her, she would pay them Star Coins, and they would use those coins to pay rent and buy food, while she would also earn exchange fees and profit from the goods.
However, just as she was planning how to use this upcoming gold to break her predicament on Blue Star, the system notification chimed in her mind again, issuing a new quest:
【Ding! Detected that the shelter’s tenant scale has surpassed the threshold; a preliminary economic cycle has been established.】
【New Main Quest Issued: Rise of the Shelter】
【Mission Content: Successfully recruit and accept one hundred new Official Tenants. (Note: Already contracted tenants do not count toward the new recruitment total.)】
【Time Limit: 7 natural days (local plane time).】
【Mission Rewards:】
Points +10,000.
Unlock 【Building Overall Strengthening Module (Basic)】: Enhances overall structural strength and defensive capabilities of the building, and unlocks options like “Internal Ventilation and Filtration System Upgrade.”
Unlock 【Autonomous Travel Authority】:
Autonomous Travel Timing: Cancels the original fixed midnight travel mechanism. The Host can independently decide when to initiate travel (must be inside the bound building).
Extended Stay Duration: After each travel, the time allowed in the target plane is extended from 8 hours to 10 hours.
New Travel Cooldown: After each travel is completed, a 12-hour cooldown period is required before the next travel can be initiated. Active travel is unavailable during the cooldown.
Interface: A 【Travel Control】 sub-item will be added to the system panel, displaying cooldown status, available plane options, and a countdown.
Special Reward: Random Gacha ×1 (Prize pool includes rare blueprints, special items, high-purity energy crystals, etc.).
【Failure Penalties:】
Points -5,000.
Rental income from all current tenants reduced by 50% for 30 days.
Delayed unlocking of certain advanced system functions.
【Tip: A scale of one hundred people is a critical milestone for the shelter to advance from a small outpost to a medium-sized community.】
【More residents mean more labor, more complex management needs, and higher defensive pressure, but also richer resource acquisition channels and a more stable plane anchor point.】
【Host, please expand actively and manage with caution.】
One hundred new tenants! One week!
The rewards were incredibly generous, especially that Autonomous Travel Authority!
Rate on N.U.
