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Upon hearing this, Jiang Ci furrowed her brows slightly. The snowstorm over the past few days had indeed been quite severe, but she hadn’t expected it to be able to cause such damage to the buildings in other bases.
Although she heard such incidents had occurred in previous years, the probability of them happening was actually quite low.
“Were there any casualties?” Jiang Ci asked.
The survivor nodded solemnly, “Yes, after the buildings collapsed, the base leaders organized rescue efforts. Seven or eight people died in the base, while dozens were injured.”
Hearing this, Jiang Ci felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. Those had been living, breathing lives.
Seeing that there were both elderly and children among the survivors, Jiang Ci quickly led them into the base, helped them complete the necessary procedures, and then helped them to select their own house.
Once inside, when everyone felt the tangible sense of warmth, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had been able to come here thanks to Jiang Ci’s train, they had also been anxious because, as Xie Ling and others had mentioned, Jiang Ci had initially been reluctant to accept them, finding the idea of establishing her own base too troublesome.
But now, the weight in their hearts had finally lifted.
After settling them in, waves of survivors continued to arrive, mostly from the nearby base.
Jiang Ci had been busy all day, primarily receiving survivors who had come seeking refuge from various places.
She also visited Old Cheng, who had now been discharged from the hospital. His injuries were almost healed, and he seemed quite comfortable living in the base’s house. As for the A City base, he showed no concern at all, just as he had said—the plan was already set, and now they just had to wait for it to unfold.
By the time she returned from the base, it was already dusk. Jiang Ci went to check the nursery room. Although Jiang Xing still spoke little, she seemed to be gradually integrating into the new environment, a new light shining in her eyes.
When Jiang Ci went to pick her up, Jiang Meng volunteered to take on the task of caring for Jiang Xing since she lived alone. She really liked Jiang Xing, feeling that she resembled her younger sister from before the apocalypse.
She also knew that Jiang Ci was often out and about, so Jiang Xing couldn’t spend much time with her.
Jiang Ci looked at Jiang Xing and patiently asked for her opinion, but Jiang Xing was still visibly nervous. So, Jiang Ci decided to take her back home first, planning to send her to Jiang Meng’s place once she was fully comfortable.
As they left, Jiang Xing glanced back, clearly reluctant to part with Teacher Jiang Meng.
Back home, given the cold weather, Jiang Ci, Song Jinchuan, and Jiang Xing decided to have a hotpot dinner in the yard.
Jiang Xing wanted to do something, as she had been taught at home that without working, you’d have nothing to eat.
But after looking around, she found that Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan had already taken care of everything, leaving no tasks for her to do.
Seeing her fidgeting, Jiang Ci gently pressed her into her seat, “Here, you’re still a child. At your age, eating and drinking are all you have to worry about, you don’t need to work.”
Jiang Xing pursed her lips, a deep dimple appearing at the corner of her mouth.
At that moment, the system in Jiang Ci’s mind spoke up, [Mission complete. Reward: Hotel.]
Jiang Ci looked at the 3D model of the hotel. It was a grand 28-story building with gleaming golden letters that read A Hotel.
The next day, a tall building rose from the ground. Being the tallest structure in the vicinity, it was immediately noticed by the survivors.
Everyone was amazed by the speed at which the building was constructed as well as its name—A Hotel. Did this mean they wouldn’t have to rush back overnight when visiting Gourmet City?
Some curious survivors walked inside. The lobby was adorned with dazzling decorations, and a massive crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling.
Even before the apocalypse, this place would have been considered a five-star hotel.
Since it wasn’t open for business yet, the survivors could only press their faces against the windows outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of the interior.
With the addition of more shops, Gourmet City had expanded significantly. Jiang Ci assigned a few employees to the hotel to get its operations up and running.
Meanwhile, the snow outside was getting thicker. Jiang Ci organized her staff to clear the snow from Gourmet City and its surroundings to reveal the ground underneath, which now looked much cleaner than before.
During today’s class, Jiang Meng led the children in using the piled-up snow to build snowmen.
The kids, dressed in warm cotton clothes and gloves, didn’t feel the cold and were having a great time.
*
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
Outside the city of D City, Fu Yue emerged from a makeshift snow hut. People from several other snow huts nearby also began to come out.
Their base had been completely buried by this blizzard, leaving them with no choice but to head south with their families. Although the entire country was experiencing an extreme cold front, the south would still be slightly warmer than the north.
Their destination was C City, which many had mentioned. They had heard that there was a Gourmet City as well as a base there.
They had now been traveling for two days, but the journey was particularly difficult due to the road conditions and heavy snow.
Fu Yue took out a map and glanced at it. To reach C City, they would have to pass through several other cities. It seemed the road ahead would not be easy, but if they encountered a base along the way, they could seek shelter there temporarily.
As they continued their journey, a massive mutated beast suddenly appeared halfway. Fu Yue immediately stepped forward. As an ability user, she swiftly unleashed a bolt of lightning from her hand. The others didn’t stand around idly either, joining forces to surround and attack the formidable beast. It didn’t take long for the humans to gain the upper hand.
They extracted the crystal core, fur, and bones. Despite the cold, the survivors worked with remarkable speed.
They tried their best to avoid groups of mutated beasts and zombies, though one advantage of the cold weather was that it also limited the movements of these threats.
As night fell, they finally made it out of the city. Ahead of them was a base, and Fu Yue and her group decided to seek shelter there for the night.
The base’s gate was already closed. The group stood at the entrance and knocked. After a long while, a voice finally responded, “What is it?”
“Hello, could we stay here for the night?” Fu Yue called out loudly.
“No, no. It’s already past the time for opening the gate,” the survivor above replied impatiently, waving them off.
“Please make an exception for us. We have children with us,” another survivor standing nearby shouted through the wind.
“Hurry up and leave,” the survivor inside waved impatiently at them again, then turned and walked away, ignoring them completely.
Generally speaking, bases were quite willing to accommodate survivors, collect their crystal cores, all while doing good deeds at the same time—killing two birds with one stone. Encountering such a base could only be blamed on their bad luck.
The temperature at night was much lower than during the day. Even wearing animal hides made it hard for them to withstand the cold wind. They had to find a place to rest first.
Fu Yue felt that with every breath of cold air, her lungs would turn to ice, and the white mist she exhaled grew thicker with each breath.
The children in the group were also complaining about the cold. With no other choice, everyone had to keep moving forward.
They walked for who knows how long, and just as they were about to collapse from the cold, a faint light suddenly appeared in the distance.
Fu Yue found it strange. In her memory, there shouldn’t be a base here, so why was there light?
The group cautiously approached, and as they got closer, their eyes widened in surprise—it was actually a train station!
“Wasn’t it said that only a few cities near C City have train stations? Why is there one here?” one of the survivors asked in confusion.
But the station before them was real. They all rushed into the departure hall, instantly shielded from the snowstorm. The station was heated, and the survivors immediately felt their bodies warm up.
“This is great. Thank goodness for this station, or we would’ve frozen to death outside today,” Fu Yue’s brother, Fu Lin, said happily.
One of the survivors checked the train schedule. The last train had just departed, and the earliest one wasn’t until 6 a.m. the next morning. It seemed they’d have to spend the night here.
But with the heating and plenty of seats, no one found it too unbearable. In fact, they felt this place was more comfortable than anywhere else.
They settled down in the station, undisturbed, and slept soundly until dawn.
When Fu Yue woke up, it was just past 5 a.m. The sky outside was still dark, but the station remained brightly lit, giving everyone a sense of security.
The survivors gradually woke up, and at 6 a.m., they boarded the train heading to C City’s Gourmet City.
“The boss of Gourmet City is really something, building so many trains and tracks here. I heard Gourmet City itself is incredibly luxurious and grand.”
“That boss’s identity is quite mysterious. Many bases have tried to figure out her background, but they’ve all come up with nothing. In the end, they still all had to obediently lower their heads to go buy supplies.”
Everyone chatted excitedly, marveling at everything on the train. After all, it had been ten years since they’d seen anything like this.
Fu Yue and Fu Lin sat by the window, quietly watching the scenery pass by, though their hearts were far from calm.
Not long after they boarded the train, the scent of food reached their noses, followed by the sound of wheels rolling across the floor.
Fu Yue turned her head towards the source of the sound and saw an employee wearing the uniform of Gourmet City pushing a meal cart. Although the food on the cart was covered, wisps of steam escaped, and the aroma quickly filled the space.
The survivors had risen early and naturally hadn’t eaten breakfast. Moreover, they weren’t in the habit of having breakfast, usually relying on a single nutrient solution to last them the entire day, whether it be at noon or in the evening.
Though now, as they caught a whiff of the enticing aroma, their stomachs began to growl in unison.
“Would you like to buy some breakfast?” the employee asked with a smile. “We have buns, soy milk, and fried dough sticks.”
These foods were pre-made frozen goods from the Gourmet City’s factory, and had been simply steamed in the train’s dining car.
The variety of products from the food processing factory had increased significantly, with items like buns and soy milk powder now available as finished products. Jiang Ci had placed some of these on the train, and the response had been very positive.
Unable to resist the temptation, each survivor bought a few of each. With a single bite, the scalding buns, filled with a savory broth, warmed them from their mouth to their stomach.
the translator has nothing to add ◡̈
