Her brows furrowed slightly as she looked toward the direction the sound had come from. After hesitating for a moment, she stepped forward anyway. “You go back to the shelter first, I’ll go take a look.”
“I’ll go with you.” Jiang Yufeng stepped forward and followed behind Tang Ye.
After walking a short distance, they discovered that the sound was coming from a standalone building.
This area belonged to the outskirts, where urban and rural zones met. Further in, there were villages, and scattered houses had been built along the outskirts. The sound was coming from one of those buildings.
In addition to human voices, there was also a sound Tang Ye was very familiar with, the rustling of a large number of poisonous insects crawling.
“Dad!” A child’s startled cry rang out. Tang Ye paused for a brief moment. In the apocalypse, there were very few children who survived. At least in the shelter she had stayed in before, she had never seen a child under ten.
As the voice grew more urgent, Tang Ye took out the insect repellent powder she had just developed and rushed inside. Jiang Yufeng felt nothing in particular. Other people had nothing to do with him, but for the sake of maintaining his persona, he still followed behind her.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, Tang Ye saw poisonous insects crawling from the dark corners toward the house. They were densely packed, enough to make one’s scalp crawl.
In front of her stood a two story building, already in ruins. The wide open door on the first floor revealed that the original walls and floor were no longer visible. The interior was filled entirely with black, hard shelled poisonous insects.
In the apocalypse, these poisonous insects feared neither fire nor water. Their shells were hard, making them extremely difficult to deal with.
However, when Tang Ye scattered the insect repellent powder in her hand, a large area instantly emitted white smoke, followed by a sharp, pungent stench.
With just that small handful, she cleared out a large open space.
Any insect that came into contact with even a little of the powder would disintegrate into dust, showing just how powerful the powder was.
Following behind her, Jiang Yufeng could not help but feel a bit surprised at the sight. The effect was almost too good.
They made their way up to the second floor. Going further, they found that the wooden door leading to the rooftop was locked, but it had already been corroded badly and could be kicked open easily.
On the spacious rooftop, it was almost entirely overrun by black insects. In one corner, there were about a dozen people. One of them was desperately swinging a weapon, trying to drive away the approaching insects.
Among the group was a little girl who looked only five or six years old. She was trembling in fear as she hid behind her mother.
Among those fighting at the front was likely her father. Sure enough, Tang Ye saw a man covered in wounds. Where his right hand should have been, there was nothing. It had only been roughly bandaged.
It must have been bitten by the poisonous insects and cut off to prevent the toxin from spreading.
Not far away, there was indeed a hand that had already been gnawed down to bone.
No wonder the little girl had cried out like that. She must have been deeply shocked by what she had seen.
When they noticed someone had arrived, the group could not help but turn their attention over. After seeing Tang Ye’s actions, they were all stunned. With just a small handful of powder, she had killed so many poisonous insects and cleared out such a large area.
What exactly was this? And who was this woman?
Before long, Tang Ye carved out a path across the rooftop and successfully reached the survivors.
She then sprinkled a circle of insect repellent powder around them to prevent the insects from getting close.
Only after finishing all this did she turn to look at the group. Her gaze fell on the little girl. Seeing the fear in her eyes, her heart softened. “It’s alright now.”
“Thank you, thank you so much,” the little girl’s mother said repeatedly.
Words of gratitude followed one after another. The survivors, who had thought they would die there, were now filled with relief and lingering fear after being saved by Tang Ye.
“May I ask what you just used?” At that moment, a man stepped forward and asked.
“It’s insect repellent powder developed by Sunrise Shelter,” Tang Ye replied.
“Sunrise Shelter? Where is that? I’ve never heard of it.” Not only the man who asked, but the other survivors also looked confused.
“It’s a nearby shelter. It’s newly built, but the facilities are complete and the prices are affordable,” Tang Ye said, not forgetting to promote her shelter.
“Can we go?” The little girl’s family was the first to speak up. They trusted Tang Ye deeply after she saved their lives, and they were also looking for a place to stay.
“Yes. Let’s not talk here. We should leave first, or the insects will gather again soon.” With Tang Ye’s reminder, they came to their senses. Supporting each other, they quickly left the small building.
Tang Ye used the insect repellent powder to clear a path for them. The insects did not dare to cross onto that path and only lingered on both sides, allowing the survivors to leave safely.
“I wonder if this insect repellent powder is for sale? I’m from the logistics department of Hope Shelter in C City. I’d like to purchase a batch of this powder to take back,” one of the men asked decisively after witnessing its impressive effect.
“Of course. Since you’re not from our shelter, it costs one Level 3 mutated crystal core per portion,” Tang Ye replied.
“Only a Level 3 mutated crystal core?” The man’s voice almost changed pitch. He had originally expected it to cost at least a Level 5 mutated crystal core or more.
“Yes. Our shelter isn’t focused on earning as many crystal cores as possible. The main goal is to help more survivors stay alive,” Tang Ye said, remembering that this had been the System’s intention when it first approached her.
Hearing this, some of the other survivors showed signs of being moved.
“I’ll buy them. How many can I get?” the man asked quickly, afraid that the stock might run out.
“There aren’t many available right now, but production is ongoing. I can allocate up to fifty portions to you,” Tang Ye said, naturally prioritizing her own shelter’s members. “Also, for members of our shelter, this insect repellent powder only costs one Level 2 mutated crystal core per portion.”
As soon as she said this, aside from the little girl’s family, the other survivors were clearly tempted.
They had originally come from other cities and were looking for a new place to settle. Tang Ye’s words were very appealing. A shelter that truly considered the well being of survivors was something everyone wanted.
However, anyone could say nice things. They still needed to see the shelter for themselves before deciding.
When they saw the shelter walls, they realized Tang Ye had not been exaggerating. It truly looked newly built, the walls appearing sturdy and pristine.
As the group stepped through the shelter gates, they saw several survivors walking out.
Before Tang Ye could speak, she heard a surprised voice from behind. “Wu Le?”
“Jiang Ting? You’re here too!” Wu Le, Jiang Yu, and Gu Yi all looked surprised. They had not expected to meet survivors from the same shelter here.
“So you’re here as well.” Seeing that the three of them seemed to be doing well, the other survivors felt even more inclined toward this place.
“How is life here?” Naturally, upon seeing acquaintances, they began asking questions.
Wu Le and the others honestly described their experience. The listeners were stunned. If they had not lived together for so long and escaped together, they might have thought Wu Le and the others were hired to promote the shelter.
“You’ll understand once you stay here yourselves. It’s really comfortable. Everything is available,” Wu Le said.
The survivors who had come from Y City along with Wu Le quickly decided to settle in Sunrise Shelter. Tang Ye immediately registered their information and assigned rooms.
The little girl and her parents requested two beds. The girl was still young and could share a bed with her mother.
There were also twelve other survivors. In total, fourteen beds were rented out, bringing in fourteen Level 2 mutated crystal cores, which equaled 1,400 energy points.
After settling the survivors, Tang Ye went to the laboratory, took out fifty prepared portions of insect repellent powder, and exchanged for another fifty batches of raw materials to place into the machines.
After packing the powder into bags, she went up to the surface again. The survivor from Hope Shelter was still waiting, with two companions behind him.
They had encountered the group from Y City along the way. Originally, they had considered bringing them back to their own shelter, but since their shelter was already crowded, having another place willing to take them in was ideal.
At this point, they were completely focused on the insect repellent powder and only wanted to bring it back.
When they saw the large bag in Tang Ye’s hands, their eyes lit up. They stepped forward, then paused. “Is this the fifty portions of insect repellent powder?”
Tang Ye nodded and handed over the bag. Each portion contained a substantial amount, and fifty portions together were quite heavy. Even Tang Ye had needed some effort to carry it up.
They exchanged goods and crystal cores at the same time.
Fifty portions meant fifty Level 3 mutated crystal cores, equivalent to fifty thousand energy points.
After receiving the powder, they bid farewell to Tang Ye and left, preparing to return to their shelter.
After seeing them off, Tang Ye went to check on the land under transformation. Her wrist device showed that it would still take some time. Only then did she return to the shelter.
At this point, the shelter housed a total of 211 survivors. Both floors were now occupied, and upon entering, one could feel a lively atmosphere.
Compared to the initial emptiness, Tang Ye preferred it this way. Humans were social creatures, after all. She, too, feared loneliness, which was why she had stayed with Wang Qiang, that scumbag, and Zou Yu, that so called friend, for so long.
However, liking this atmosphere was one thing. She would no longer easily open her heart to others. She remained vigilant against potential betrayal from other survivors.
After showering and changing clothes, Tang Ye went down to the cafeteria.
She needed to check whether restocking was necessary after the past few days. The cafeteria alone had earned her ten thousand energy points recently, showing that business was quite good.
As mealtime approached, even before entering, she could hear the lively sounds of cooking and chatter.
The newly arrived survivors, after hearing recommendations from others, had already learned how mutated crystal cores and energy points were converted and used in the cafeteria.
By the time Tang Ye arrived, many survivors were already lined up, waiting to get their food.