Chapter 144: Chapter 90: Old Acquaintance 3

The small plaza was crowded. Paige Summers left her vehicle and scanned the area, finally spotting Claire Chapman, Levi Young, and the Forrest Siblings.

After meeting up with them, the group entered the administration building’s lobby.

The lobby was divided into two sections. The left side was packed with people—it was where missions were posted and accepted. Just like in The Dead City, Superpower Users here could earn rewards beyond what they got from hunting by completing these missions. The right side was much quieter, with two semi-enclosed windows designated for new arrivals to register. Before getting in line, however, they could consult an information board off to the side.

Paige studied it carefully.

Soon, she discovered a new concept in the instructions: Credit Points.

She finally understood why Sean Raines had said the Identity Cards were so important.

Credit Points were initiated by The Government and were essentially a virtual currency stored on each person’s Identity Card.

A significant number of the missions posted on the left side of the lobby offered Credit Points as a reward, not Crystal Cores. While some missions still paid in Crystal Cores, they were both fewer in number and significantly more difficult. Moreover, officially exchanging Crystal Cores for Credit Points yielded a much lower amount than what one could earn from a mission of the same difficulty that paid in Credit Points directly.

Paige’s first thought was, ’The Government is trying to tighten its control over Crystal Cores.’

But on second thought, she wasn’t so sure. ’Otherwise, the official exchange rate for Crystal Cores to Credit Points wouldn’t be so harsh.’

Claire Chapman had read this far as well. "Looks like Crystal Cores are in high demand in Central City!" he remarked.

Paige nodded unconsciously.

’That theory must be on the right track.’

’Superpower Users absorb Crystal Cores to Promote, so a good number of them must be keeping them for personal use rather than selling them.’

’Maybe The Government *wants* them to use the cores?’

’So they’re using Credit Points to replace the monetary value of Crystal Cores, while simultaneously devaluing the points themselves...’

This sort of economic analysis wasn’t her strong suit, so after mulling it over for a moment, Paige pushed aside her vague feelings of unease.

In any case, now that Credit Points existed, she should avoid selling her Crystal Cores if at all possible. After all, she and Levi Young had already used up a good number of First Order Crystal Cores for their energy experiments, and that project was likely to continue for some time. If anything, she needed to find a way to acquire more cores, not sell them.

Aside from the information on Credit Points, there was nothing else on the board worth noting—just the usual rules for living in the city, such as a ban on private altercations and so on.

The group took out their Identity Cards and quickly completed their registration.

Paige Summers and Levi Young decided to head out and explore to get familiar with their surroundings.

Meanwhile, Claire Chapman and the Forrest Siblings were glued to the mission board on the other side of the room. It couldn’t be helped—their assigned housing wasn’t free, and rent and utilities were major expenses. Before the apocalypse or after, food, clothing, and shelter were always the primary concerns of ordinary people. Back then, you could get a job; now, you had to risk your life.

The five of them decided to split up.

Paige and Levi had the same idea and decided to head to the commercial street in District Four first.

The commercial street was a fair distance away, taking them nearly half an hour to reach by car, but both were pleasantly surprised by how bustling it was.

Calling it a commercial street was an understatement; it was more accurate to call it a district.

It consisted of at least seven or eight long streets, both sides lined with shops packed one against the other, with only a narrow passage between them, wide enough for just one person to pass through.

Most of the large shops here were government-run. They were well-stocked with a wide variety of goods, but the prices were steep. However, Paige and her companion weren’t there to shop, but to gauge the market, so they naturally made their way to the largest pharmacy first.

However, just as the two of them were about to enter the pharmacy, Paige happened to glance to her left. Among the crowd, a fleeting silhouette caught her eye—it was strangely familiar!

’Leanne Walsh?!’

She vanished from the spot, rushing toward the target at her fastest speed.

But the distance was a bit too far, and with the crowds of people constantly passing through... by the time she arrived, the person was already gone.

She hadn’t gotten a clear look at their face, so she couldn’t be a hundred percent certain.

But Paige was confident in her eyesight. She was eighty percent sure that the woman was Leanne Walsh.

After scanning the area for another moment and finding no trace of her, Paige had no choice but to give up.

She mulled over the possibility as she walked back.

Her conclusion: it was entirely too possible.

Howard Everett had asked her for a month’s time on Leanne Walsh’s behalf, but when they had rushed back to The Dead City, Leanne had been left with the refugee convoy from Glimmerlake Base.

Perhaps Howard Everett’s plan had been to bring her back after the situation in The Dead City settled down.

But during that time, Leanne would have had plenty of opportunities to escape. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

So, it wasn’t surprising that she would come to Central City...

When Levi Young caught up to her, he saw the strange smile on her face and couldn’t help but ask, "What’s wrong?"

Paige’s lips curled. "I think I just ran into an old acquaintance. Perfect. This time, I’ll give her a gift she’ll never forget."