Surviving the Long Night: Starting from the Gas Station and Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 23 Car Loan, Entrepreneurial Dream and Camp Construction

Upon hearing Lin Ran's request, Lu Sheng carefully considered the load capacity of the electric stroller. He remembered that Lin Ran's stroller was a small one, so it probably wouldn't be a problem.

He was about to agree when Lin Ran explained first:

"Ah, I wasn't planning to leave. I was just thinking that there are a lot of ferocious beasts in the ruins now. If they completely destroy my car, I'll be in big trouble. I still have to pay off my car loan."

"Moving it to the warehouse will make it easier for me to repair it when I have time. Given my current health condition, it might take a while longer."

"It's not a bother at all. Having trustworthy people around me has been a huge help to me."

Lu Sheng told Lin Ran not to worry about this:

"You just need to continue to keep watch while I'm out tomorrow; I'll take care of the towing."

Lin Ran nodded, and at Lu Sheng's urging, she went to continue resting.

Lu Sheng continued walking around the warehouse, making sure there were no traces of the Night Beast in any direction. Then he walked to the window next to the main entrance. Jiang Shutong was leaning against the wall, peering out with a serious expression.

"Shutong, have you found anything?"

"Everything is fine. It's probably because the gunshots came from our area that the black wolves avoided this place when they ran away."

After saying this, Jiang Shutong straightened her back and stretched.

"Aren't there chairs here?"

Lu Sheng was curious as to why she insisted on standing.

"Even if I sit in a chair, I still have to lean to the side to look outside, so it's more comfortable to stand. If I'm facing the window, the light will cast my shadow onto the window, and those ferocious beasts will see me."

Jiang Shutong revealed her clever idea:

"I think they thought no one was guarding the window, so they boldly came over, and then I shot them dead. One bullet is worth 3 credits, and a black wolf corpse is worth 20 credits. This business is incredibly profitable."

"Actually, it's not that profitable. Once the ferocious beasts suffer some casualties, they will temporarily retreat. You can't earn much in one night unless the leader forbids them from retreating."

Lu Sheng had long considered getting rich by killing ferocious beasts, but later discovered that getting rich wasn't so easy:

"But if the boss gets involved, whether he'll live to enjoy the money he earns is a completely different matter. You saw it tonight too; if we don't help, Liang Shan and his entire carload of men might all die."

"We can't open for business right now, so any income is good. I told my parents that we wouldn't come home until we've built up a business, but now we haven't made any money at all."

Jiang Shutong sighed, then asked Lu Sheng:

"Lu Sheng, what kind of business do you think I should go into?"

Lu Sheng was taken aback by her question.

"You've come here to start a business, but haven't you decided what kind of business you want to do?"

"Time waits for no one, the important thing is to secure the location first... What do you think about retail? We can get two automatic beverage vending machines and put them here."

When Jiang Shutong talked about her entrepreneurial journey, she immediately became optimistic. Lu Sheng thought that the girl's parents were very open-minded to let her come out on her own.

"Shutong, it's not spring now, it's late autumn. The weather's going to get really cold soon, so who are you planning to sell your drinks to?"

Jiang Shutong was momentarily dejected after being hit by Lu Sheng's words, but only for a moment. She quickly came up with a brilliant idea:

"Then I'll just sell milk tea. Milk tea plus coffee, so driving won't be tiring."

Compared to the previous idea, this one was slightly more plausible. Lu Sheng didn't want to discourage her further, so he had to phrase it more tactfully:

"The idea is good, but my personal suggestion is that you first figure out how much you'll need for the shop, equipment, materials, utilities, etc., before you start."

"Okay, I'll think about it when I get to bed."

Lu Sheng nodded. Regardless of whether it succeeded or not, he felt that Jiang Shutong's spirit was commendable.

He then counted the number of long wooden planks piled in the corner, which would be the foundation for everything he was about to do.

For the rest of the time, until Lu Sheng changed shifts, no ferocious beasts approached the refueling warehouse.

The next day, he woke up as usual. It was still gloomy outside. Lin Ran reported on the situation in the second half of the night as usual.

A Flame-Patterned Tiger appeared, but instead of attacking the warehouse, it dragged away the carcass of a Black Wolf from the open ground and left.

Other than that, nothing happened.

"There's one more thing. About ten minutes ago, Liang Shan was already waiting outside the door."

"So early?"

"He said he was very grateful to us for what happened yesterday, and he came early to thank us. Shall we let him in?"

"Tell him to wait a moment."

Lu Sheng got out of bed, quickly wiped his face with a towel dampened with water, and a few minutes later, Liang Shan sat on the stool in front of the cashier, while Lu Sheng sat behind the cashier, munching on compressed biscuits.

"If Station Master Lu had helped us last night, we would have been in real danger. The car was in complete chaos, with people crying and screaming in a real mess."

Liang Shan recounted the situation inside the car:

"We're always careful and we won't spend the night in the wilderness unless absolutely necessary. Last night we even sent two of our smartest and most capable young men to stand guard, but we never expected those beasts to be so clever."

At this point, he sighed heavily, then clasped his hands in a fist salute:

"Sigh, let's not talk about such sad things. Station Chief Lu, you saved us. From now on, I will report to you first in all work matters. As for how much to report to Commissioner Lei, I will listen to you. If there is anything we can do to help you, please just let me know."

Faced with Liang Shan's overtures, Lu Sheng shook his head slightly:

"There's no need to exaggerate like that. I know best how difficult it is to make a living in this place. Only by helping each other can we survive."

He then inquired about the more important matter:

"You said yesterday you wanted to see me at this time today, what's the matter?"

"It's about rebuilding the service area."

Liang Shan explained:

"Our task was to establish a camp here. The leader who gave us the assignment said that once we arrived, a construction-type Awakened would assist us."

After listening to Liang Shan's words, Lu Sheng thought for a moment:

The family wanted me to set up a camp here, and they even sent a team to assist me.

Even if these people are just doing manual labor, they can still be helpful, and at first glance, there seems to be no problem.

But he felt that his family wouldn't be so kind, and this didn't seem like Lu Yuexin's arrangement, otherwise she would have sent him a message directly instead of waiting until he arrived to find out about it.

Are there any regulations regarding where campsites can be built?

"I said so."

Liang Shan tapped his bracelet a few times, and a map of the surrounding area was projected, showing a blue rectangular area.

"This is it."

Lu Sheng glanced at the location and understood.

The campsite was located across the street, a little east of Jiang Shutong's house, completely avoiding the gas station where she was located.

The camp was not built for our own use, but as a preliminary preparation for the family to send people to develop this area later. Otherwise, there would be no reason not to include the gas station.