Chapter 26 Welfare

"Developing a new settlement is difficult, and it may bring danger, but this is not just about developing a settlement for the company, it's also about saving yourselves!"

"The company has supported you up to now, and it's time for you to repay the company! And the company's generosity has also provided a special bounty for this development mission! There's even an Inner City quota!..."

Like Uncle Hu before him, Ze Chuan first fed them some 'poisoned chicken soup', but he also offered some benefits and promises.

When the words 'Inner City quota' came out, it was clear that many people's expressions changed at the scene.

Many of the Outsiders who had come had probably just lost loved ones, but now they were all ears, listening to what Ze Chuan had to say.

Tao Yu was also listening; the Inner City had a better environment, and if he was truly strong enough to make a stand, of course, he wanted to move in with his family. But for now, that wasn't something he needed to consider.

Because the so-called Inner City quota was just a carrot dangled to entice them, still too intangible. Even if he really got it, considering the gap between his strength and that of those two Inner City sons of nobility, Tao Yu did not want to go in and be looked down upon.

Some of the other related favorable conditions might be more practical by comparison.

The first was 'Skill learning'!

There were many dojos in the Outsider areas where skills could be learned, but Tao Yu's family couldn't afford to send him there, so he only had the Basic Breathing Technique, which his third brother taught him hands-on.

The first truly practical reward this time was that owners of combat talents, or those recognized with Support Talents, could choose a skill to learn for free from the many dojos in the Outsider areas!

If the combat talent was high enough, they could even choose two free skills!

The first skill beyond the free ones was half price, and this discount was not restricted by talent, applying to all Pioneers who survived in the new settlement.

The interest rate for loans to learn the first skill was also reduced, becoming a nine for eleven return, and as long as you were a Pioneer from the new settlement without a loan on your back, you must be allowed to pay in installments.

In addition to the cash previously mentioned by the siblings, if the conditions were met, you could get a thousand units of Yuan Force, which essentially paid for the half-price learning fees if you only chose a standard skill.

This was a case of tangible benefits being offered.

Because of the usual hard-pressed environment, now that such a level of benefits was suddenly on the table, the scene was full of praise and gratitude.

"...In addition, the company's Urban Construction Department has established a new subsidiary department, the 'Reclamation Agency', under which a new Outsider Science section has been established, divided into Combat Squad and Support Squad. Anyone who comes back from the new settlement alive, regardless of their talent, can join! Note, regardless of talent!"

At the sound of this, Tao Yu even heard exclamations from beside him; many people's eyes lit up.

And Tao Yu understood the reason for their exclamation.

Don't think that his parents' combined income was only three hundred units of Yuan Force a month, but considering their relatively safe environment, this was definitely considered an ideal job for many Outsiders!

Tao Yu's family was below middle class, and another reason they had such a hard life was that there were too many people, and his parents valued Awakening Day greatly, almost every child getting a similar level of preparation.

Just after saving up for Tao Yu, they would certainly have to start saving for the eighth child. In two more years, the eighth would also be turning eighteen.

On a regular basis, relatively stable jobs were to be fought over.

You had to actively seek out departments or factories for work.

Only if your talent and abilities were suitable might you be hired.

Otherwise, you had to figure out how to venture into the world fragments outside the settlement.

Maybe some lower-level Pioneers could occasionally earn a substantial income through adventure, but the risks and stability were evident.

Often, children couldn't be properly looked after, then due to insufficient points, they'd end up as cannon fodder.

Tao Yu's mother worked in a leather factory, and the durable cowhide armor he wore was made by her, while his father was a sentry in the Abyss settlement's City Guard Agency.

The Abyss settlement's City Guard Agency was not like the Outsider's security team; it was quite inferior, but still considered decent work compared to other Outsiders' jobs.

But now, according to Ze Chuan, it seemed that as long as you chose to go to the new settlement and then returned alive, you could join this department under the company's command!

Many factories in the settlement didn't actually belong to the company, but were run by Inner City people who just paid taxes regularly!

Tao Yu's mother's factory was just like this.

It could be said that being able to enter a company's direct department was quite difficult.

At the very least, a fixed salary was something many people could not refuse, and they could also earn cannon fodder points.

But...

The danger of pioneering a new settlement was beyond doubt, and since cannon fodder points were distributed based on rank, it would be meaningless if everyone could earn them unless there weren't many people.

However, due to the shortage of people in the new Development Zone, there wasn't yet a cannon fodder mode, which was actually good news.

Tao Yu was also quickly weighing his options, quite satisfied with the idea of freeloaded skills. He could deify skills, and with a Grade B talent, he could freeload two of them.

But joining that so-called company's Urban Construction Department-Pioneering Division-Outer City Section-Combat Squad or whatever, Tao Yu wasn't really into it.

He did need a place in the Abyss where he could land and rest for sure but after experiencing an unsuccessful team-up once, he was quite cautious about this aspect.

He had many secrets and didn't mind the occasional temporary team-up to do things, but as for joining a restricted place for the long term, he'd rather not.

Due to limited exposure in the past, Tao Yu wasn't quite clear on some structures, jobs, and modes of operation.

Previously, his family's greatest hope was for him to awaken a Grade C combat talent and join the City Guard Agency to bring glory to the family, or at least find a stable factory and screw in bolts.

Uh, that certainly wasn't an option anymore.

"I'll ask Uncle Hu later, and I need to find a place to sell the goods I'm carrying too," he thought.

Carrying two wolf legs and with a bulging backpack on his back, Tao Yu had decided on the next thing he had to do.

"Yo, little brother Tao Yu, I'm so glad you're okay. That backpack looks heavy; let me carry it for you, after all, Uncle Tao Hu asked me to take care of you..."

Just then, a joyful voice came from the side. Li Le immediately walked over, his face aglow with excitement as he reached for the backpack.

At that moment, Li Le was filled with surprise and excitement, not expecting the kid to have made it back alive too!

Only he and Tao Yu knew the properties of the Blood Orchid!

With his previous slight connections in the Inner City, he could definitely sell it for a good price!

He didn't think the other would resist, and he was sure to give him something for it.

After all, do you dare to sell that thing yourself?

You might just get too full of yourself and burst!

Tao Yu glanced at him and tapped his reaching hand with one of the wolf legs,

"Don't look any further, I've eaten it all."

Feeling the pain in his wrist and shocked by Tao Yu's strength, Li Le was dumbfounded upon hearing those words, his eyes turning red,

"Eaten? How could you commit such a waste of heaven's gifts!"

Li Le didn't believe it, but the pain in his hand told him that Tao Yu indeed had considerable strength!

Looking around at the surrounding gazes, Li Le didn't want to say much. He suppressed his anger to calm himself and came closer, lowering his voice,

"I was wrong in our previous team, but my elder brother in the Inner City was pressuring me; there was nothing I could do. You can't possibly consume that thing! Let's collaborate!"

"I really ate it. I knew I couldn't keep it, and absorbing Yuan Force felt too extravagant, so naturally, I ate it,"

Tao Yu said with a smile, seemingly indifferent to Li Le's previous and current attitudes.

Back in the real world, even though it was also quite chaotic here, there were still basic principles. One couldn't just kill another in broad daylight. A few nice words wouldn't cost any flesh...