Chapter 319: Chapter 309: Collecting the Entrance Fee

"However, while I’m doing my part, you can’t contribute nothing in return. There are conditions for entry. With the exception of children under fourteen and the elderly over sixty, everyone else who wants to enter the Protective Shield must hand over one-third of their assets.

Crystal Stones, abnormal treasures, food—anything of value is acceptable. I don’t know how many assets you have, and I won’t be checking. It’s entirely up to your own conscience. But if I discover anyone trying to pull a fast one, then I’m sorry, but you and your family will no longer be welcome here.

Now, anyone who wants to come in, please form three lines."

Tang Mo had given this a great deal of thought. For her, maintaining this Protective Shield was incredibly easy, but for the people outside, it was a matter of life and death.

’She was going to save these people, but she absolutely wasn’t going to do it for free.’

She hadn’t forgotten how Wenqing’s "selfless dedication" back at the school had been repaid in the end.

People only cherish what they’ve had to pay for. When things come for free, you give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile.

’Besides, even if she was going against her principles to play the saint this one time, she couldn’t do it for nothing,’ Tang Mo thought. ’Even saints need to pay the bills to generate all that light and heat.’

In this post-apocalyptic world, everyone was displaced. Even if they had a place to live in a base, no one would ever consider it their home.

So, people always kept their most valuable possessions on them. Those with a Space Treasure stored items in their personal Space. Those without one had backpacks that seemed permanently attached to them, kept by their side even while they slept.

The Wen Family lived in the villa district. Most of the people nearby, aside from a few who had come from other places, were residents of this district. They were all either rich or influential, people of some means, and most of them possessed Space Treasures.

The fee Tang Mo set was one-third of one’s personal assets—a price most people could psychologically accept in order to survive.

The wealthy would contribute more, while the poor could contribute less and still ensure their survival.

"Uncle Wen, do you have any extra Space Treasures?"

Tang Mo turned to look at Wen Jianshu.

"Yes, yes, I have plenty!"

Wen Jianshu hurriedly pulled a handful of rings out of his own Space Ring.

As a leader of the base and a member of the wealthiest elite, Wen Jianshu was so poor that all he had left was money and treasures.

The Space inside his ring was enormous, holding nearly all of his personal wealth as well as a portion of the Wen Family’s fortune. To him, Space Treasures were no big deal.

"Each of these rings has one hundred cubic meters of space. Is that enough? I have more if it isn’t."

Wen Jianshu’s eager tone made him sound like a nouveau riche, but he couldn’t help it. He was just that desperate.

He had been getting restless just watching the people outside. Now that Momo had finally made a decision, how could he not support her immediately?

"That’s more than enough."

"Could I trouble you three to take these rings, stand at the edge of the protective circle, and collect the admission fees?"

Tang Mo gave one ring to each of the three trusted men and gave them their instructions.

"No trouble, no trouble at all!"

The three burly, hardened men, bundled up in down jackets, wiped the tears from their eyes, quickly took the rings, and moved to the front of the lines.

After hearing Tang Mo’s words, the people outside spontaneously formed three lines without any need for direction, their eyes fixed forward as they waited eagerly for their "admission fees" to be collected.

Due to the fissures, there wasn’t much open ground, so the lines snaked around several times. But everyone was remarkably orderly; not a single person made a fuss.

The admission fee was truly reasonable. There was no fixed amount, so even the poorest among them could get in.

Even if someone only had three Crystal Cores, they could hand one over and be admitted.

"Keep a close watch on the fees. If anyone is short by a significant amount, don’t let them in. That includes their families."

Tang Mo raised her voice as she said this, ensuring everyone could hear.

Those who had been harboring thoughts of getting lucky immediately lost their nerve. This was a matter of life and death; it was better not to get clever, or they could get their entire family killed because of their own actions.

The earthquake was still ongoing, and most of the buildings had already collapsed. They were now left with absolutely no shelter from the cold.

If the weather remained like this, the vast majority of them would not survive the night.

Thus, Tang Mo’s Protective Shield was their last hope for survival.

Once the three guards were in position, the people began to extend their hands one by one, offering up their Crystal Stones, Crystal Cores, abnormal treasures, valuable parts from mutant beasts, food, and other valuable items.

There were too many people. Even though the three guards were moving as fast as they could, progress was still slow.

It wasn’t just them, either. More and more people, seeing the crowd gathered here, came over to ask what was happening. Their inquiries were followed by elation, and they quickly joined the end of the line, gazing forward with longing.

Wen Jianshu and Lin Yi couldn’t stand by any longer. Each of them grabbed a Space Ring and went over to help. The lines instantly expanded from three to five, and the pace immediately quickened.

A dozen or so square meters wasn’t a large area, and soon Tang Mo expanded her Protective Shield.

It wasn’t being used for defense, only to ward off the cold, so it didn’t consume much of her spiritual power.

The ground had long since stopped splitting. Tang Mo observed the area; although the length and depth of the fissures were terrifying, there weren’t actually that many of them.

She first used her spiritual power to expand the Protective Shield to a little over a hundred square meters, an area that happened to encompass one of the smaller fissures.

Tang Mo laid wooden planks over the fissure to create a simple bridge. She had it all planned out: the fissure would divide the space into two zones. The smaller one would be for her own family, while the larger area on the other side would be for the people seeking shelter from the cold.

Space was limited, and with so many people, they could only sit packed tightly against one another. But at this point, just having a warm place was a great blessing. They would have been overjoyed to stand on their tiptoes, let alone sit.

Seeing the protective barrier of light expand again, the hearts of those still standing outside, which had been caught in their throats, finally settled. Their respect and admiration for Tang Mo grew even stronger.

By now, the ID Watches had gone completely black. No one could get any information or contact anyone else. After the collapse of S Base, everyone wandered aimlessly like stray animals, eventually being drawn by the growing crowd or the ever-expanding dome of light to join the queue.

’I really oversimplified things,’ Tang Mo thought. She hadn’t expected them to be so thoroughly awed by her. They were all being incredibly honest, handing over their assets as if they didn’t feel the loss at all, as if the items weren’t even theirs to begin with.

Before they knew it, Wen Jianshu, Lin Yi, and the three guards collecting the fees had filled all five rings and had to get new ones. And those were five rings, each with a full one hundred cubic meters of space.

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