Noticing Xun Che's doubts, Li Sikai smiled and opened his palm. The next moment, the sound of electric crackling was heard and a few seconds later, a ball of lightning floated above his palm.
Seeing this, Xun Che stood up in shock and asked, "Is this a lightning-type ability?"
Li Sikai nodded and replied, "I just awakened my ability. At first, I was experimenting with it. Unexpectedly, I can use my ability to run the rice cooker."
As soon as he finished his words, Xiao Qi chimed in, "Captain Xun, if you want to recharge your phone, you can ask Brother Sikai for help."
When he heard this, Li Sikai glanced at his brothers and nodded helplessly. Now that everyone had found out about his ability, he could only resign himself to his fate as a charger for everyone.
After the surprise passed, Xun Che looked at Jin Xuyan and said with a sigh, "Captain Jin, your team is so capable. If only I had capable helpers, I wouldn't be stuck in this situation."
Jin Xuyan had already heard about what happened to the mayor and his men.
In his previous life, he had even killed an innocent baby after it turned into a zombie. So, when he heard about Xun Che killing the mayor and an officer, he didn't even bat an eye.
"Eat first, and we can talk about this matter later," he said as he picked a piece of sausage for his girlfriend.
Seeing how relaxed he was, Xun Che let out another sigh and started eating. The moment he tasted the dishes, he couldn't help but speed up. It had been a long time since he'd eaten warm rice and delicious home-cooked dishes.
After dinner, they sat in the living room while having a cup of tea.
"Now, you can tell me why you are here," Jin Xuyan said.
Placing his cup on the low table, Xun Che said, "Captain Jin, I want to hire your team to clear out the zombies in the base's unreclaimed areas. The crystals you find will be yours, and the base will pay you 500 crystals for the mission."
Jin Xuyan thought for a moment and said, "No problem. But when we do our mission, I don't want you or your men following us. We like to do things alone."
"Okay," Xun Che readily agreed.
After a moment of silence, Jin Xuyan asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Well, I want to ask your opinion about the rules in the base. I plan to establish some rules regarding the survivors, and also pricing for supplies and residence," Xun Che said awkwardly.
As a soldier, he had limited knowledge when it came to managing a base.
Jin Xuyan finished his tea and said casually, "I think you can start with how you want to manage the survivors first. While it's fine to support them by giving supplies for free, it's not a long-term solution."
"To operate the base, you need good management and strong finances. In our current situation, we can't use our previous currency."
Hearing his words, Xun Che asked, "You mean using the crystals?"
Jin Xuyan nodded and replied, "While we still don't know all the uses of these crystals, we can be sure there is energy inside them. In the future, we might be able to use them as fuel or even as an energy source. So, having more crystals is always a good thing."
"But not everyone can get crystals. Most ordinary people are unable to fight zombies," Xun Che said with a frown.
"Therefore, you need to establish another currency so that ordinary people can earn their own food and be independent," Jin Xuyan said meaningfully.
Xun Che looked at him for a long time but didn't hear anything more. So, he asked, "Another currency, like what?"
Jin Xuyan let out a long sigh and gave him a side glance. This man really was unfit to handle a base. "You can use points instead," he replied.
Noticing his annoyance, Jiao Lizhi let out a chuckle and explained, "Captain Xun, you can issue missions or hire ordinary people to help build the base. Then, you pay them using points issued by the base."
"These points can be used to exchange for supplies or rent a place to stay. But the point system will only work within this base. For trading with another base, it's still better to use crystals."
"As for ways to earn crystals, you can send your men to clear zombies in the area. One, it can prevent a zombie horde. Two, you can find more crystals."
Xun Che nodded and said, "That's a good idea."
"As another method, you can establish an entrance fee. Whether they are ability-users or ordinary people, they have to pay to enter the base," Jiao Lizhi said.
"Sister-in-law, how do we set the rule for the entrance fee?" Xun Che asked.
After thinking for a moment, Jiao Lizhi replied, "The entrance fee is paid each time they enter the base. But if they register as members of the base, they don't have to pay the entrance fee."
"Instead, they will need to pay 10% to 30% of the supplies they find to the base or just give a fixed amount they have to hand over. If they don't have supplies, they can pay the tax to the base using crystals."
"Sister-in-law, how do we manage member registration?" Xun Che asked again.
Hearing his question, Jiao Lizhi smiled and said, "Even the government asked citizens to pay a fee when registering a newborn. You can use the same rule."
"If they want to join the base as permanent residents, besides paying monthly tax, they have to pay a registration fee. You can decide the amount. You can allow payment in supplies or crystals."
"With this method, you can collect more supplies and sell them at a fixed price to the residents using points. This way, the base won't have to shoulder the burden of feeding so many people, and survivors will have a goal to work toward."