Cave Refuge

As people gradually flocked to the Magic Capital Base to settle down and become citizens, they stumbled upon a 'legal' way to generate income.

The method was not complicated; it relied on information asymmetry, where the Officials did not proactively inform the newly settled survivors that they were eligible for free housing loans.

Those survivors who had just settled and sought refuge here would surely feel disheartened discovering they couldn't afford to buy property. Just as they were about to leave in disappointment, someone would 'casually' reveal that the housing department had qualifications to provide direct housing loans.

Any survivor, if not foolish, would quickly understand the implications and would probably know to offer some 'local specialties' to the housing department staff as a gesture, after a subtle hint to purchase property.

Yet, when the Thompson Family of three heard the amount of money required to purchase a house, their faces did not betray any worry; they calmly asked the staff about where to exchange goods and then left the housing department.

At the time the Thompson Family left the housing department, onlookers placed bets on whether the family would return to buy the property.

It was inferred from their appearance that the Thompson Family owned Storage Equipment, likely due to choosing a Bearing branch of evolution, thus obtaining a Companion Spiritual Treasure with storage space.

This assumption led them to believe that even though the Thompson Family might have valuable items, selling them all would likely not amass enough money to purchase a house.

Hence, after the Thompson Family left the housing department, bets were placed on when they would return and whether they would be savvy enough to 'present some local specialties' as a generous gesture upon their return.

However, when the Thompson Family returned to the housing department with smiles on their faces, there was some confusion, but no one expected that they could have gathered enough funds to afford a house so quickly. They only speculated whether the family had learned outside about the new policy allowing survivors to apply for loans directly at the housing department.

If the Thompson Family had indeed learned about this and came to process the loan, they would not face any hurdles, as the staff knew their priorities. While they held a bit of power and could slightly manipulate the situation to their advantage, it all hinged on the family's reaction.

If the family refused to play along and chose to escalate the situation, risking a lose-lose outcome, the punishment they might receive was one thing, but the staff would definitely lose their jobs.

Even though the housing department didn't have as many channels to gain extra benefits as other departments, this job was a secure position that guaranteed a steady income. So, compared to that small additional income, keeping their job was paramount.

As long as they didn't deliberately make things difficult for others, their previous actions at most amounted to a failure to explain the details. Since the gifts from the new settlers were presented to the entire department and not to an individual, even if it was scrutinized, the responsibility spread across each person would be minimal.

When the Thompson Family approached the counter to pay off their home in full, the clerk who was ready to pull out the loan contract from the drawer was taken aback when he heard Dong Tianyu say they would settle all payments right away. The clerk was so surprised, he thought he had misheard. After all, the type of house the Thompson Family had chosen was not the smallest in the base but a large two-unit-per-floor apartment.

"Sir, are you sure you want to pay off the full amount for both properties at once?"

To the clerk's repeated inquiry, Dong Tianyu was not surprised; after all, buying a house in these times was similar to pre-disaster times – sales agents would definitely confirm in advance that the buyer had sufficient funds to pay.

After receiving an affirmative response from Dong Tianyu, the other party did not immediately ask for money, but went directly to check the balance on Dong Tianyu's household registration account.

As mentioned before, because we are still in a special period, the majority of large sums of money are kept in everyone's account. Whether Dong Tianyu has the funds to fully purchase two properties can be confirmed with just one check.

Upon confirming that Dong Tianyu's household registration account indeed had sufficient funds for purchasing a house, the bank clerk was so shocked that he almost lost control of his facial expression management, looking at Dong Tianyu with surprise and nearly shouting aloud. Dong Tianyu felt a bit helpless at that moment and could not rush the clerk, only waiting for him to calm down.

After verifying that Dong Tianyu had enough funds to purchase a house, the clerk, having regained his composure, processed Dong Tianyu's transaction very efficiently. Due to Dong Tianyu's existing registration with the Officials' App, the payment process became much simpler.

Of course, this simplicity is only relative as, after all, it involves a large sum of money, and the procedure was bound to be more complex. Otherwise, the exchange shop manager would not have said that depositing the funds into the account was the safest option.

When the Thompson Family of three completed the house purchasing procedures and walked out of the real estate department owning two properties outright, Dong Tianyu suddenly thought of a very important matter. Although they had paid for the two properties in full, it seemed that from start to finish, the three family members had neither investigated the two properties in person nor did they even have a clear idea of where exactly the houses were located, only holding the proof of purchase documents in their hands.

In fact, at this time, all houses are basically built according to the same template, so there's no need to pay too much attention to the layout. The type of template used for any given size of a house is clearly defined, so it doesn't really matter even if they haven't gone to inspect them personally.

It was also because Dong Tianyu suddenly brought this up that Mr. Thompson felt that what he paid at the beginning wasn't in vain. When people go to choose a house, they know nothing and might as well be blind, leaving it all to luck to make a random decision.

It's not like now, they might have given something substantial, but at least the recipient didn't just take their payment without doing any work, but instead selected two sets of houses very earnestly and responsibly.

Although they still didn't know the exact location of the houses, as the saying goes, money talks, so Dong Tianyu simply handed over two food bricks, which was all it took for the 'little guide' waiting at the door of the real estate department to lead them to the newly purchased house.

The neighborhood office area is near the city gate, and through chatting with the guide, Dong Tianyu learned that the area where they purchased their houses was not far from the City Center area. Considering both safety and living environment, it was actually quite a nice place.

When the group of four arrived at the location of the house, Dong Tianyu promptly gave the agreed two food bricks to the little guide. With food bricks in hand, the guide's smile grew even wider, immediately bidding farewell and leaving the Thompsons behind.

After sending off the guide, the Thompsons quickly found the unit where their house was located. However, they didn't go up straight away but took some time to observe the surrounding environment first. They found the square, Hospital, shops, and all the necessary community facilities were present, making this place's real estate quality, even before the Natural Disaster, quite superior.

Once they returned to their unit, just as they were told, it was a single building with two units per floor and a total of twelve floors. Upon entering the building, the Thompsons suddenly realized a problem—there was no elevator. To reach the rooftop, they could only rely on their legs to climb up.

No wonder they said that normally no one goes to the rooftop; after all, who would climb stairs for fun when there's nothing to do? You have to remember that at this time, although it has not reached the point where people are starving to death, food is already rationed by population, and people can't even eat to their fill, so nobody has the energy to waste exercising their body.