Goose feather like snow was still drifting down. The people walking across the snow covered ground moved forward like worker ants, lowering their heads as they trudged along. The strings of footprints they left behind were soon covered again by falling snow.
Rong Hui joined their ranks, deliberately moving closer to where more people were gathered. After all, this was an unfamiliar instance world. The power had been cut for several days now, and there was no longer any channel to obtain outside information. She wanted to gather more news from the native residents.
Sure enough, once people gathered together, they began chatting. Their voices trembled from the cold. Since everyone had their faces covered, no one recognized who anyone else was.
“There was someone in our residential complex who froze to death, an elderly person living alone. The hail had been falling for days, and no one checked on him. Only today when people could go outside again did a neighbor knock on his door and discover it. I heard that before he died he was only wearing an autumn shirt, all his clothes had been taken off. It was terrifying!”
“Why would he take off his clothes? It’s so cold.”
“A young person who knows about this said that before people freeze to death they start hallucinating. They think they’re very hot and keep taking off their clothes until they’re completely naked. Sigh…”
“No one took care of him when he was living alone? What about the funeral arrangements?”
“What funeral arrangements are there now? The electricity has been out for so long, we can’t even call the police.”
“Exactly. After the power went out, everything became inconvenient. In our residential complex the surveillance cameras and everything were smashed. Recently there have been people stealing things every night. Those thieves aren’t even afraid of the cold!”
“Stealing at a time like this? They must be desperate.”
“What can you do? The supermarkets aren’t open anymore. There’s nowhere to buy things even if you want to. Recently most of the thefts are food and drinks. Our family hides food more carefully than money.”
“I heard that the supplies in supermarkets have been taken under government control. The supplies we’re going to collect now should probably be distributed from those supermarkets.”
“Probably. I wonder what kind of things they’ll distribute…”
Rong Hui silently blended into the crowd, slowing her pace to match the people around her as she listened to their discussion. The situation had already become very bad.
The massive power outage and blizzard had crippled government functions. Some people who were not afraid of death had already begun causing trouble. She just did not know whether those people were all natives, or if there were also survivors taking advantage of the chaos. Rong Hui’s expression darkened.
After walking about two kilometers, the road conditions, with ice on the ground and the obstruction of the blizzard, made the short distance take at least two hours. Fortunately, Rong Hui could already see the large sculpture in Citizen’s Square, which was also covered with a thick layer of snow.
Military green trucks were lined up in a row. There were six vehicles in total, and armed soldiers stood guard in front of each one. Six long lines twisted through the wind and snow.
Rong Hui did not stare for long. She first stepped forward to line up. She had found the ID card in the original owner’s house, but she did not know what kind of survival supplies the government was distributing.
More and more people arrived. Soon quite a few people had joined the line behind Rong Hui, who stood near the end of the queue. For some reason, seeing so many people actually made Rong Hui feel somewhat happy. Even under such terrible natural disasters, humanity could always quickly adapt and survive.
After waiting for more than half an hour, it was finally Rong Hui’s turn.
In front of her was a simple two person table. Two people in military uniforms sat upright behind the table registering citizens. In order to make sure the public could hear them clearly, they had removed their masks, and their cheeks were frozen into a bluish purple color.
“Hello. Please show your ID card. Supply trucks come once a week. Each person can collect supplies with their ID card. Fraudulent claims are not allowed. If you are collecting for elderly family members or children at home, please present the household registration book. Please look over here.”
One of the soldiers quickly explained the procedure and pointed toward a machine placed beside him, which had a camera on it.
After Rong Hui handed over her ID card, she heard the mechanical voice of the machine say, “Recognition successful.” It seemed that the government had specially transported facial recognition machines to prevent people from falsely claiming supplies.
Very soon, a heavy white package was handed to Rong Hui. She opened it slightly to take a quick look. Inside were a large bag of compressed biscuits, several bottles of water, a bundle of candles, and several scattered fire starting tools. The most unusual item was a black packaging bag, bulging and full, though she did not know what was inside.
There were too many people watching. Rong Hui did not want to be targeted. She tied the package tightly again and turned around to leave, planning to check it at home.
However, as soon as she stepped outside the area guarded by the military trucks, she felt several malicious gazes fall upon her. Rong Hui pressed her lips together and lowered her head as she quickly walked forward.
Sure enough, after she had walked several hundred meters and the supply trucks and soldiers had grown blurred within the wind and snow, three bulky figures suddenly jumped out and blocked her path.
“Little beauty, be kind. We have four elderly people and children to support at home. Seeing that you’re dressed so well, just give the supplies to us.”
Although they spoke like that, the three men had already formed a surrounding stance. Their eyes were arrogant, and there was not the slightest trace of someone asking for help.
“The soldiers just said that supplies can be collected on behalf of elderly people and children with the household registration book. They each have their own share.”
Rong Hui stared coldly at the three men in front of her.
“Damn it! Stop wasting words with her. Hurry up and hand the stuff over! Otherwise I’ll strip your clothes off and make you run around naked!”
One of the men had already grown impatient. The expression on his exposed face was disgusting.
Seeing Rong Hui glance toward the direction of the military trucks, the men sneered.
“You’d better hand it over obediently. We’re already this far away, those soldiers can’t save you. Take off that coat too!”
Rong Hui’s anger surged straight to her head. In such freezing weather, they wanted to rob her supplies and even take her clothes. They clearly wanted her dead.
From the corner of her eye she glanced around and discovered that there was not a single person nearby. Even if someone passed by and saw the situation, they quickly detoured around it.
Hmph. These men would not get their way.
Rong Hui’s gaze suddenly changed. A heavy mountain bike with a titanium frame abruptly appeared and slammed toward the three men with a loud bang.
The three men were already wearing too many clothes. After being struck by the suddenly appearing mountain bike, they all fell onto the snow and could not even get up.
Rong Hui immediately put the mountain bike away and seized the opportunity to run quickly in the opposite direction. As she turned, she also stored the heavy supply bag into the System Backpack. Carrying such a large package in her arms was far too conspicuous.
Fortunately, she was wearing specialized outdoor skiing equipment. The outer jacket was made of down, allowing her to move very quickly. Before the three men could react, Rong Hui had already disappeared into the wind and snow.
The three men cursed as they struggled to climb out of the snow. They questioned each other in shock, confirming that the mountain bike that had suddenly appeared and vanished earlier had not been an illusion.
Rong Hui ran a long distance before finally stopping. After her stamina had increased, even her running speed had become much faster.
She found a small alley sheltered from the wind and darted inside. Supporting herself with her hands on her knees, she panted heavily. The sudden sprint had made her heart pound violently.
After this incident, she understood even more clearly how important weapons were. The System Backpack could help her escape unexpectedly, but if she encountered survivors filled with malicious intent, this trick would no longer work so easily. At critical moments, a weapon with deterrent power was extremely important.
As for the source of weapons, she did not currently have enough system points to purchase them from the system. She would have to search for them within the instance world.
Originally, during this trip outside, she had already planned to try her luck at a shopping mall. Taking out the map, she used the surrounding landmark buildings to determine the direction and decided to go to the nearby Jincheng Department Store.
…