My 100th Rebirth a day before the Apocalypse novel Chapter 820

Chapter 820: Chapter 820 Kickstarting The Trade 7

Jason and the others watched closely, observing how the cafeteria operated. They saw people step up to the counter and point at the dishes they wanted. A staff member behind the counter would scoop generous portions onto a plate, place it on a tray, and move on to the next item until the tray was full.

At the end of the counter, the diners would hand over a stamped and signed paper currency to the cashier. If any change was due, the cashier would return a similar paper slip with the appropriate amount, functioning just like real money.

Once their meals were paid for, people found a seat and began to eat.

The entire system was smooth, efficient, and well-organized—completely different from the chaos they were used to back in their old camp. There, food distribution was centralized, meals were handed out in rations, and most people simply wandered aimlessly, paralyzed by fear.

But here, everything operated on contribution. If you worked, you earned work points—and with those, you could buy what you needed. It was a system built on purpose, not pity.

Adam couldn’t help but feel that their own camp needed a serious reorganization. They had spent too long clinging to the hope of rescue from the government, treating their situation as temporary.

But seeing how structured and self-sufficient this base was made him realize—it was time they stopped waiting and started building something of their own. They needed rules, systems, and a working structure if they wanted their community to truly function and survive.

When it was finally their turn at the counter, Jason stepped forward and hungrily pointed at the beef and broccoli drenched in rich, savory sauce. Then he added the braised pork and roasted duck to his order. His stomach growled just looking at the food—he wanted to order everything, and so he did.

But the man behind the meat counter gave him a friendly reminder."One meat dish comes with the full set," he said. "If you want to add more, there’s an extra charge."

Jason paused, unsure of how much more he could afford. He glanced over at Kisha, uncertain, his hunger battling with his hesitation—it had been almost two months since he’d had a proper meal, let alone meat.

Kisha met his gaze and gave him a small nod of approval.

"How many meat dishes do you want?" Kisha asked.

Jason pointed eagerly at all three he had his eyes on. Kisha added, "That’ll cost you two crystal cores in total—you’ll get the full set with one meat dish, and the other two as extras. Are you okay with that?"

Jason nodded without hesitation. "I’m willing. My team and I have collected 586 crystal cores. I can share the extra meat dishes with them, so each of us only needs to spend one core for a full meal."

His teammates nodded eagerly in agreement—some even looked like they were about to drool. Seeing their reactions, Kisha chuckled and nodded at the man behind the counter. The man smiled back and generously scooped all three meat dishes onto Jason’s plate. Since it was their first time visiting the cafeteria, he even added a bit more than usual, piling the food high.

Jason grinned from ear to ear and moved to the next counter, choosing stir-fried cabbage, radish and meat soup, a fruit platter for dessert, three portions of rice, and a bottle of oolong tea.