Heavy snow continued to fall, and the earth stretched out in a vast expanse of white. Tall piles of snow had formed along both sides of the road, like clusters of cotton. Occasionally, a car would slowly pass along the road, pressing dark tire tracks into the surface.
Rong Hui wore sunglasses to prevent snow blindness as she struggled forward through the slushy snow. She had already walked for more than four hours, yet had only covered about half the distance. Her stamina was already reaching a critical point.
She checked her personal stats and discovered that aside from cleanliness, all the other values had dropped below 60 percent and turned orange. She knew she could not keep pushing forward like this. There was a residential complex up ahead, so she decided to enter and find a sheltered place to rest.
The words “Ping’an Residential Complex” were mostly buried under ice and snow, with only one corner of the entrance sign exposed. A narrow gap remained that allowed one person to squeeze through. The rest of the entrance was tightly blocked by snow.
This residential complex seemed poorly maintained. At the place where Rong Hui had lived earlier, residents took turns clearing snow from the entrance to make it easier to come and go. Here, however, the entrance was already half buried, desolate and neglected.
She squeezed through the gap and saw rows of dilapidated apartment buildings. Much of the exterior wall plaster had peeled away, and the iron frames welded outside the balconies were twisted and damaged. Many windows had been shattered by hail, leaving dark openings behind. This was likely an old resettlement complex.
Rong Hui pressed her lips together. These older neighborhoods usually had many elderly residents. It was easy to understand why no one had cleared the snow at the entrance. In such extreme temperatures, it was already difficult enough for them to survive. Asking them to perform additional tasks would be unreasonable. And besides, they might not even be able to survive this harsh winter.
The complex was silent, as if no one lived there at all. Only the wind could be heard passing through the broken iron frames, producing creaking sounds.
Rong Hui did not dare imagine how many people might have frozen to death here. Her mood grew heavy. She decided not to explore further and instead returned toward the entrance of the complex. There stood a small security booth with a simple iron door half buried by snow.
She cleared away some snow so the door could open. Inside there was a desk, a chair, and a large stack of newspapers. She closed the door behind her and sat down to rest for a while.
Once her stamina recovered slightly, hunger began to gnaw at her stomach. Rong Hui took out one of the government issued self-heating packs. As soon as it touched water, steam began rising with a soft hissing sound. She placed a can of braised pork on top to heat it. After all, she was outside, and it was better not to take out anything too unusual.
The heating pack released heat for a long time. Soon the broth inside the braised pork can began to boil, and warm steam danced in front of her face. She ate compressed biscuits alongside it, and whenever the biscuits felt too dry, she took a sip of ginger tea.
After finishing her meal and resting for a while longer, her stamina had recovered to about 80 percent. She put her warm clothing back on and continued forward. She had to reach the wetland park before nightfall.
Before leaving, she found a pen and wrote a note explaining that the government had established a shelter in the neighboring city. She included the detailed address and posted the paper in a prominent spot at the entrance of the complex. She hoped the people in Ping’an Residential Complex could truly remain safe.
The remaining journey was still difficult. At one point Rong Hui even used her skill once to restore her health value. Finally, at five in the afternoon, she saw the entrance to the wetland park.
The sky was already growing dark, but the snow had stopped falling. Rong Hui lifted her spirits and walked quickly into the park.
Just inside the entrance was a wide open parking lot. Several cars were scattered across it in disarray. Their windows and roofs had been shattered by hail and were now buried under snow, presenting a miserable sight.
Rong Hui wished she could obtain a fuel powered vehicle. At the moment her only transportation was a mountain bicycle, which was extremely limited. In such heavy snow it was impossible to ride. Unfortunately, she had not seen any intact vehicles along the way. After enduring the hailstorm, none of them could be driven anymore. She made a mental note to keep an eye out for one in the future.
The farther she walked into the park, the more shocked she became. Bamboo groves had collapsed, wetlands had frozen into solid ice, and the small pavilions meant for visitors to rest in had lost half their roof tiles. The devastation was everywhere.
The wetland park was huge. Because it was already getting late, Rong Hui only managed to explore about half of it. However, she saw no signs of human activity at all. The park was wide and exposed, offering nowhere to hide. When the hailstorm had begun, both staff and visitors must have fled to seek shelter elsewhere.
The empty park contained nothing but the sound of wind. Yet Rong Hui felt surprisingly comfortable here. She no longer needed to worry about someone harboring malicious intentions toward her, nor did she have to witness the tragic suffering of people in disaster. She was very satisfied with this place.
After walking and resting repeatedly, at seven in the evening she found the visitor center. It was a small two story building. The exterior of the first floor was mainly glass. It had endured the hailstorm and now showed spiderweb like cracks, but it had not shattered.
Rong Hui cautiously pushed the door open and stepped inside. The interior was completely dark. She held her breath and listened for a moment but heard nothing unusual. She then took out the small oil lamp for illumination. Under the pale yellow glow, the first floor lobby contained only a reception desk and several rows of chairs. There were no obvious traces of anything else.
Carrying the lamp, she went upstairs. Food packaging bags began appearing along the stairs. It was clear that people had lived here on the second floor. There was a burnt out campfire in the center of the hall, leaving black marks across the ground. Trash was scattered everywhere. There was even a vending machine, though it had already been emptied.
Rong Hui examined the place roughly and estimated that more than ten people had probably taken refuge here. They must have been afraid that the glass on the first floor would shatter under the hail, so everyone had gathered on the second floor. However, the visitor center lacked sufficient clothing and food supplies. They likely stayed for the five days of the hailstorm’s peak and then left afterward.
Although she had prepared to camp outdoors, having a roof overhead would reduce many inconveniences. Rong Hui looked around and frowned slightly. Fortunately, the weather was extremely cold. Otherwise, with so much garbage everywhere, the smell would have been unbearable.
Even after preparing herself mentally several times, she still did not want to stay on the second floor. The living trash from more than ten people was scattered everywhere, some of it frozen into the ground and impossible to clean. She would rather set up her tent in the lobby downstairs.
After making up her mind, she returned to the first floor. She had no intention of going upstairs again. It was far too filthy.
It was already quite late. She placed the small oil lamp on the reception desk so its light could illuminate about two meters around her. The little lamp that never extinguished was extremely useful as a light source.
She took out the tent and sleeping pad she had bought from the outdoor equipment store. Following the instructions, Rong Hui quickly set them up. Then she added a pillow and spread two down quilts inside. Her warm little nest was complete.
Rong Hui took out another self-heating pack. After the long journey today she was too tired to bother making a fire.
She found a small iron kettle, filled it with water, and placed it above the heating pack to warm it. The temperature in the wetland park was even lower than in the city. She planned to fill a hot water bottle to keep warm.
The kettle soon began to sizzle softly. Rong Hui sat cross legged beside it and directly used her item conversion ability to produce a serving of pork trotter rice. Each item could be converted three times, and this was the last remaining use for the pork trotter rice.
As she ate the fragrant pork trotter rice, the fat and carbohydrates soothed her mood. With the kettle simmering beside her, the scene almost felt like sitting around a small stove brewing tea.
Rong Hui did not know how her living conditions compared with those of other survivors. Perhaps she was not living as luxuriously or extravagantly as some. But her heart felt calm and content.
And that was enough.
…