“Hey, friend, are you new here?” A middle-aged man walked up to Han Ya’s window and tapped on the glass.
Han Ya rolled down the car window and nodded with a smile. “Excuse me, sir, what’s going on here?”
The middle-aged man glanced into the car and met Zhou Quan’s smiling eyes, nodding in greeting.
“We’re going out to collect some supplies so we don’t have to stay inside and wait to die.”
“It’s cold outside. If you don’t mind, you can come in and sit for a while.” Wen Le opened the car door and gave up his seat for the man.
“You guys are really generous. Running the air conditioning all night must burn a lot of oil!” The man exclaimed after getting into the car.
Han Ya smiled in response to the man’s comment and started chatting with him.
The man’s name was Wang Haitao, a local resident of X City. After the zombie outbreak, he fled with a few brothers and their families towards the X City military district.
On the second day of the apocalypse, the surviving government leaders and military officials established a rescue station at the military district’s location to help the surviving citizens of X City evacuate to safety.
They also accepted refugees from other areas.
However, before the rescue system could be put into operation, a snowstorm broke out. The continued snowfall put a strain on the rescue station’s resources.
Although the military had reserve food, it couldn’t sustain the prolonged consumption.
Therefore, the rescue station advocated for people to go out and collect supplies on their own and rescue the trapped individuals.
One-fourth of the collected supplies would be turned in, and the rest would be owned by the individuals. If survivors were brought back, the government would also provide certain rewards.
In the past few days since the snow stopped, many people had formed temporary rescue teams and began searching around the area. The brave ones had even started moving towards X City since there were more resources there. Even if they just raided a small convenience store, it would ensure the team’s consumption for a long time.
Of course, the government would not force those who did not want to participate in the rescue operation. They would issue some food every day to ensure survival, but only survival, not fullness.
Each person could receive three meals a day, consisting of a bowl of porridge, a steamed bun, and a bowl of vegetables.
For the elderly, children, and women, it was relatively easier to maintain their bodies needs since they had smaller appetites and didn’t have to do much physical labor.
However, for a normal man, this kind of food would only fill his stomach a little bit.
Therefore, currently, many men were eager to go out and search for supplies, but the few rescue teams that had already been established didn’t have much to show for it yet.
When the snow melted, and the buried supplies were uncovered, and they saw others living a better life, wouldn’t those people also want to go out and search?
“Brother Wang , can we buy things inside?” Wen Le asked curiously, but in his heart, he sneered.
This rescue station was just like the initial base camp!
Three meals a day? Hmph~ let’s wait and see after three months. As more and more survivors arrived, and the reserve food dwindled, maybe they could hold out for half a year or a year. But what about after a year? Would they all starve to death together?
That’s impossible!
The government has to leave a way out for itself. After distributing relief food for a period of time, the government will gradually cut off this source.
Slowly, the surviving people will also be divided into three or six classes.
Those who stand at the top of the pyramid do not need to worry about survival, they can enjoy good food and drinks, while those at the bottom are struggling to survive and facing death all the time.
“Can we buy things inside?”
“We can, but there aren’t many items available. The things that are really useful are too expensive for anyone to afford. Even if they are sold, they are outrageously expensive.”
“What are the prices like inside now?”
“There are no prices inside. Money is useless now, only gold or food can be used to exchange for things. But how many people who escaped here can bring along a lot of gold or food with them? So the trading market over there is very quiet.” Wang Haitao was idle, and this side had air conditioning, which was much warmer than their few cars. So he chatted with Han Ya and the others.
Besides, they found two military jeeps here when they hadn’t entered the quarantine area.
Although they were pitch black and couldn’t see the original color, there was an old soldier in their team who recognized them as the newest and strongest military vehicles introduced by the army. Judging from the marks, they didn’t look like they were searching and rescuing, but more like they had fled here in the snow and ice.
The car that could withstand the initial zombie outbreak and endure a month of blizzards was not simple. Regardless of whether they could become friends or not, they had to get close to them first, explore their bottom line, and benefit without causing any harm.
As imagined, at the beginning of the apocalypse, only gold and food were considered as circulating currency, but because many gold ornaments were mixed with other metals, people generally preferred to exchange for food. Most people who allowed gold to be exchanged also had a way to identify its authenticity.
Wen Le was a bit regretful that he had prepared so many things, but had forgotten about the gold.
“Brother Wang, when we came in, we heard the young man at the door say that if we turn in special items, we can get better treatment. What kind of treatment is inside?” Han Ya asked.
“What kind of treatment? It refers to the accommodations arranged here. The original dormitories here were all occupied by soldiers.”
“The better ones have a building that was originally used for leaders to inspect and receive guests. Now, it is mostly occupied by the leaders and their families who have been transferred from the city.”
“If you can turn in some special items, you can live in the empty dormitories that the soldiers vacated. If you don’t have those things, you can only live in warehouses and factories. There are too many people who have been transferred from X City, and the dormitory buildings cannot accommodate them all.” Wang Haitao sighed.”
“I used to live in a factory, one after another, crowded and messy, cold and windy. It was okay at first, but after a few days of heavy snowfall, some people froze to death. Later, I went out a few times in the snow and finally found an abandoned car, got some gasoline, and then moved into the dormitory.”
“There were four beds in one room, but they asked eight people to live in it. Anyway, it was much better than the factory. Now, most of the people who can live in the dormitories are brothers who later joined the rescue team. After a while, those accommodations will be assigned to those with higher positions, and we will have to move out again.”
Xiao Wen was a little moved. After chatting for a while, Wang Haitao felt embarrassed to continue mooching off their air conditioning. He said “see you later” and got off the car to return to his own vehicle.
“It’s not easy living here!” Li Yunsheng, who had been silent all along, sighed.
Wen Le thought for a moment and said, “Professor Li, you are an authority in meteorology. The government will definitely try to recruit you. The compensation may not be much different from that of government officials. If you don’t want to continue struggling, staying here might be an option.”
The current situation was uncertain, but a year after the apocalypse, the base was in great need of experts and technical personnel from all fields.
The relative compensation was even better than that of regular government officials.
Now, as long as they weren’t foolish, they would do their best to hold on to these truly talented individuals. From the current perspective, the apocalypse was not going to end anytime soon.
The world’s economy and culture would undergo a major cleansing, and what would determine whether or not they could start anew was these individuals.
Li Yunsheng listened in silence for a while before slowly saying, “I’m getting old. I’m not even sure if I can hold on until the new beginning. The ones who will truly be needed in the future are the young people. Chen Ye and Yi Feng are my students, and what I need to do now is to pass on everything I have accumulated over a lifetime to them.” In other words, wherever his students were, he would be there.
The young people present couldn’t help but respect him. He was a true old man who devoted his entire life to his career.
“Let’s stay here for a while and help Bai Yun find her father. It’s almost Chinese New Year, and if circumstances permit, we’ll stay here for the New Year and also check out the government’s movements,” Han Ya and Xiao Wen exchanged ideas and finally made a decision.
“Be careful after entering. Unless absolutely necessary, don’t reveal your abilities. We still don’t know what the government’s attitude is towards us. If we become their guinea pigs, it’s hard to say what will happen,” Zhou Quan reminded.
“That can’t be true. There are so many soldiers in the army, and there are bound to be many ability users. If they really conduct research, wouldn’t they be afraid of the army retaliating?”
“Better safe than sorry. If there are differences between the government and the army, they won’t overtly attack the army, but as ordinary civilians like us, we can’t be sure. If one or two people disappear, no one will pay attention.”
Wen Le wasn’t really worried. The government didn’t conduct experiments on ability users, but instead tried to win them over. It was more like forming a mercenary union, issuing tasks and rewards, and having a more like an employer-employee relationship with ability users.
Bang, bang.
Wen Le saw that it was Han Yifeng and Bai Yun, and quickly opened the car door for them to get in.
“I…” Bai Yun was a little anxious and didn’t know how to say it.
Li Yunsheng patted Bai Yun’s shoulder and motioned for her to sit beside him.
Wen Le also understood how Bai Yun was feeling at the moment. They were only a wall away from her father, and no child could avoid worrying about their parents safety.
“Don’t worry too much. Since we’re here, we’ll surely hear some news. But I don’t recommend searching too obviously. It will attract too much attention. Just tell us your father’s military rank and the soldiers he’s close to, and we’ll inquire for you tomorrow morning after we enter,” Han Yan comforted her.
Bai Yun nodded and briefly mentioned what she knew about her father. She didn’t want to draw too much attention to herself, and the relationships within the military were complex. Though they wouldn’t really harm her, it was better to be cautious. Besides, they had come this far, so if her father was still alive, they would find him.
“What about our cars after we enter?” Yin Chengyang scratched his head and suddenly asked.
Everyone was puzzled.
Cars? What about them?
Seeing everyone’s confused faces, Yin Chengyang explained his thoughts, “I mean, our two cars are obviously military vehicles. Will someone target us after we enter?”
Their cars could serve as a deterrent, making those with ill intentions think twice before messing with them. Not just anyone could drive around in the military’s most advanced vehicles. Moreover, as long as they kept quiet, the government and military officials wouldn’t easily harass them. Who knew if they had any connections? Those experienced old hands knew better than to stir up trouble. Just look at Wang Haitao earlier. Wasn’t he a clear example? If not for their cars, why would he bother telling them so much in a friendly manner?
“After we enter, keep your mouth shut no matter who asks you anything. If you mess up, I’ll cut you up and feed you to the zombies as emergency rations!” Han Yaan changed his gentle tone from earlier and glared at Yin Chengyang with a stern face.
Yin Chengyang shrunk his shoulders and nodded, trying to make himself less noticeable.
It wasn’t his fault that he was slow-witted. He didn’t understand why Han Ya was nice to everyone except him.
Wen Le swept away his previous speechlessness, looked at Han Ya’s dark face, then at Yin Chengyang’s pitiful expression, raised his eyebrows and met Xiao Wen’s gaze.
Xiao Wen obviously didn’t perceive Wen Le’s complex questioning in his eyes.
Wen Le sighed. If Xiao Wen didn’t notice, then perhaps he was thinking too much.
Those two enemies shouldn’t create any sparks… right?
Spark feels more like a wildfire that needs to be put out 😏
Thanks for the update!! 🤭🤭🤭