Chapter 113: Chapter 113: Checking on Our Own Base
"Five hundred thousand Points. Deal!"
When she heard Silas Hawthorne’s incredibly straightforward agreement, Sue Lawrence was shocked herself.
’Five hundred thousand Points? Just like that? No haggling??’
’Hmm, okay, I guess not. He just agreed to my asking price, plain and simple.’
Sue Lawrence scratched her chin, extended her hand, and smiled. "A pleasure doing business with you."
Silas Hawthorne also shook her hand solemnly. "I only have one request. I hope you’ll give me priority in any future collaborations."
The Taker’s Superpower was already heaven-defying. On top of that, Sue Lawrence was backed by the Lawrence Group and had stockpiled a huge amount of supplies for the coming high temperatures, acid rain, and floods...
Sue Lawrence beamed. "In that case, I’d like to exchange some things from you. Any chance of a discount?"
Silas Hawthorne was at a loss for words.
’Is this partnership starting so soon?’
’And it’s a one-sided deal initiated by Sue. Looks like we’re getting the short end of the stick again.’
’But...’
Silas Hawthorne stated frankly, "The things you want to exchange for aren’t on the list, are they?"
"So smart!"
Seeing how happy she looked, Silas Hawthorne was completely speechless. ’Alright, I get it now. The thing she wants to trade for isn’t on the base’s current exchange catalog. In other words, Sue wants something that isn’t available to the public.’
’That’s debatable. After all, I can’t just give her anything she wants.’
"Then what do you want?"
"I want your intelligent robots."
’Robots?’
Silas Hawthorne paused. "The ones that pull the sleds?"
"They look like they can do more than just pull sleds."
Sue Lawrence has a sharp eye. The moment she walked in, she’d set her sights on those robots. Those things were simply the most amazing creations—they could navigate, pull sleds, and even do odd jobs around the base. She had even seen them with her own eyes helping to tend to the few potted plants on the balcony of the sick and injured ward. In other words, these robots could be used for farming; they just needed to be programmed for it.
Silas Hawthorne nodded. "That’s right, but they require different programs to be installed."
’Just as I thought!’
Sue Lawrence had an "I knew it" expression on her face. "Then I’ll buy the programs, too. What’s the total cost?"
Silas Hawthorne considered it for a moment. ’These robots are indeed slated to be on the base’s public sales list in the future, but not right now. Our own needs come first at the moment. But if Sue wants to buy them...’
"How many do you want to buy?"
Sue Lawrence thought about her own base. She hadn’t been there in almost half a year and had no idea if the animals and plants inside were all dead. However, Vincent Lawrence had set up an independent purification system for both air and water. With that, as long as there was power, the water could be circulated on a schedule, so the plants wouldn’t die, though she had no idea what state they were in. But the animals... she didn’t know what had become of the chicks, horses, and sled dogs.
A bead of sweat trickled down Sue Lawrence’s forehead. She had no idea how her dad had actually arranged for the care of those animals.
So, she needed robots now. She needed them badly, if only to clean up her own base first.
"I’ll start with five."
"What programs do you need?"
Sue Lawrence thought for a moment. "Security, anomalous weather warning, planting, animal husbandry, cleaning... or rather, the whole domestic package."
The domestic package included a lot, even laundry and cooking.
Silas Hawthorne was amused, but the smile vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"So how many Points are you prepared to offer?"
Sue Lawrence did a quick mental calculation. ’These robots will be mass-produced in the future, and even then, the cheapest ones will be five thousand Points each, without any programs. Now, with the programs included...’
"I’ll give you fifty thousand Points in total."
In truth, the programs were the most expensive part, and each program had its own price tag. This meant the security program alone would cost a fortune. Sue Lawrence had just gotten a windfall of five hundred thousand Points, yet her opening offer was only for fifty thousand.
A drop in the bucket.
Silas Hawthorne nodded. "Eighty thousand."
"Fifty-five thousand. Not a Point more."
"Seventy thousand."
"Sixty thousand! Alright, that’s my final offer!"
Sue Lawrence clapped her hands, and the deal was set. Silas Hawthorne didn’t say anything more, but he couldn’t give her the robots just yet. The programs had to be written and installed first.
Sue Lawrence wasn’t in a hurry. She paid thirty thousand Points as a deposit and said as she was leaving, "Just keep the Points with you for now."
Four hundred and forty thousand Points was too much. There was a leaderboard outside; revealing a number that high would scare people to death and attract unwanted attention.
’Even if I were to make it public, it wouldn’t be now. It would be after leaving the base in the future. The world is vast; who’s going to know who then?’
"Alright!"
Sue Lawrence left.
She brought the news to Vincent Lawrence.
Vincent Lawrence thought for a moment. "Don’t worry. I bought a huge pile of pet food for them. I locked them all in together. The vegetables are in there with them, of course. After all, one provides food, and the other provides fertilizer."
Sue Lawrence was utterly silent.
’Keeping horses and vegetable seedlings together... Are you sure there’ll be a single leaf left?’
But this "wise and brilliant" decision came from her own father, so both Sue and Elliot Lawrence decided to keep their mouths shut.
"So when the robots get here, should we put them in your space?"
"No. I’ll find a chance for us to go back to our fallout shelter. It’s about time we checked on it anyway. We can’t stay here forever."
Vincent Lawrence nodded, then voiced a question from the depths of his soul: "But with all this snow outside, how will you find the way back?"
"Don’t worry, Dad."
She tapped her head. "It’s all stored in here."
Only then did Vincent Lawrence nod.
The time that followed was spent waiting.
Jenny Norris finally gave birth to a little girl. She was all wrinkled when she was born, but after just one day, her skin was so tender you could practically squeeze water from it. Vivian Young was helping to care for her, and Sue Lawrence directly pulled out the baby formula, diapers, and other infant supplies she had hoarded in her space.
When others saw this and asked, Sue Lawrence just said she’d exchanged Points for them. The exchange catalog had plenty of baby items anyway.
The only saving grace was that they had many hands to help. With Mia Keller and Vivian Young helping Jenny Norris with the baby, Jenny had it much easier and could at least get a full night’s sleep.
Soon, the five robots were programmed. Silas Hawthorne delivered them, taught her how to use them, and said, "After-sales service starts at 50 Points per session. Different parts have different prices."
Sue Lawrence: "..."
"Alright. I hope they last a long time, then."
Silas Hawthorne just smiled.
Sue Lawrence traded all her supplies to Silas Hawthorne, leaving a large empty area in her space. Meanwhile, the base’s missions began to pop up explosively. There was just one goal: sweep through all of Stellaport and collect all supplies. This included but was not limited to: food, clothing, furniture, hardware, whole vehicles and their parts, steel, all iron products, plastic products, and so on...
To sum it up, it was a massive trash-collecting mission. Anything that could be recycled and reused was a high-priority resource. Energy sources were specially highlighted, and they also awarded the most Points—a whole 6 Points.
Sue Lawrence did the math and still felt she’d made a killing. ’Thank you, Silas Hawthorne. Thank you, my country,’ she thought. ’If I’m ever needed, I’ll definitely give it my all.’
And so, her group finally accepted a three-day mission to go out and gather supplies.
The team this time consisted of Sue Lawrence, Elliot Lawrence, Vincent Lawrence, and Leo Lawrence.
They brought Leo Lawrence along to let him get accustomed to it. The little boy was now six years old, and Sue felt he was becoming increasingly steady and quiet. He didn’t even seem like a six-year-old anymore; instead, he seemed remarkably mature.
