Meanwhile, the Meng Ye she was thinking about was currently trapped inside a villa. The villa had likely been reinforced after the apocalypse, and there were no signs of damage from mutated plants or animals.
Outside, it was already surrounded by zombies. The doors and windows had been reinforced, so there was no need to worry about them being broken through in the short term.
However, what was most lacking inside the house right now was food and water.
Meng Ye was not the only person in the villa. There were several others, and they were currently arguing fiercely over the distribution of food and water.
Meng Ye sat to the side with an expressionless face, not participating and not speaking, as if it had nothing to do with him.
The ones arguing the most fiercely were a young couple. They were very dissatisfied with the food being distributed by a bald middle-aged man among them and raised objections.
Before the apocalypse, the bald man was likely some kind of company leader. He spoke in a measured, affected tone, showing no anger. With just a few words, he stirred up the emotions of the others.
One person against two, yet he showed no disadvantage at all. Instead, he made it seem as if these supplies should indeed be distributed by him.
Like Meng Ye, there was another person who had not spoken, a girl with her hair tied in a bun. It was not that she never spoke, but she occasionally let out cold sneers, holding a half-eaten piece of dry rations in her hand.
Out of the corner of his eye, the young man from the couple noticed the sneer at the corner of the bun-haired girl’s lips, and his anger flared even more. Pointing at her, he said, “Everyone has handed over their food to be distributed together. Why didn’t you turn yours in?”
In fact, it was not just the bun-haired girl. Meng Ye, another man, and a married couple had also not handed theirs over.
In Meng Ye’s view, in a situation like this, centralized management of supplies was a mistaken approach. It would only provoke conflict and would not help unity. However, people tended to pick on the weak, so the young man could only vent his anger on the bun-haired girl.
“Try pointing at me again,” the bun-haired girl said as she took a bite of her dry rations, her tone chilling. The young man subconsciously shivered.
“I… what if I point at you?” the young man forced himself to remain tough. His girlfriend tugged at his sleeve, wanting him to stop talking.
“The last person who pointed at me has grass three meters tall growing on their grave. You’re stupid without knowing it and still want to pick on a soft target? Do I look like a soft target to you? Keep talking nonsense and be careful with your head,” the bun-haired girl said. She looked delicate and refined, yet when she cursed, she did not hold back at all.
As soon as her words fell, a stream of water shot rapidly toward the young man, stopping just a few centimeters from his neck. After pausing for a moment, the water dispersed and fell to the ground, evaporating shortly after.
The young man’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground. Just now, he had clearly felt the sharpness of that stream of water. It was obviously the softest thing, yet it had been as sharp as a blade, as if it could slice through his throat in the next second.
This… was that really a water ability? Was this woman a monster?!
In their impression, the greatest use of a water ability was to produce drinkable water. As for combat, they had never seen it before.
After speaking, the bun-haired girl paid them no further attention. She casually took out a bottle of water, drank a sip, then stuffed it back into her backpack.
Then she placed the backpack on the ground as a cushion and lay down on it, closing her eyes to rest. Her movements were extremely arrogant.
But now, no one dared to provoke her.
“How about… we just take our food back and manage our own supplies. If we run out, we won’t ask others for any.”
The bun-haired girl’s words snapped some people back to their senses. They immediately rushed over to the bald man and took back their own food.
Seeing that his words no longer had any effect, the bald man’s expression turned ugly.
Meng Ye glanced at him, then looked away again. The bald man had only used a bit of mental ability, yet he already thought he could toy with people at will.
However, none of this had anything to do with him. This trip had already been delayed here for far too long.
He looked at his backpack, which still contained the crystal cores obtained from selling two snake gallbladders. He had to bring them back safely to his teammates and to Mayor Miao.
…
The next morning, as soon as Miao Suisui got up, she eagerly took Mi Li to see Hope Park.
The colored steel fences around the park, the factories, and the nursery had all been removed, revealing their full appearance.
Inside the park were lush green trees, vast stretches of flower fields, and paths paved with colorful pebbles. There was an area for fitness and exercise, as well as a section with slides and swings for children.
There was a shimmering lake, along with corridors and wooden pavilions. Whether one wanted to rest or take a walk, all needs could be satisfied.
At the center of the park was a spacious plaza, with a beautiful and exquisite fountain built in the middle. The surrounding ground was paved with white bricks.
There were also patrol robots within the park. If any unexpected situations occurred, such as spraining an ankle, getting injured, accidentally falling into the lake, or even being followed or attacked by someone, any situation that one could not handle alone, the versatile robots would appear to help.
When Miao Suisui entered, quite a few townspeople had already discovered Hope Park and were visiting either with their families or alone.
Mi Li loved the newly unlocked park. It chased butterflies on the soft grass, and when it was time to leave, it was reluctant to go.
After leaving the park, Miao Suisui went to take a look at the nursery.
The nursery consisted of a row of single-story houses with a courtyard outside. It did not look large, but it was clean and tidy.
Children there would receive one meal a day. Parents would send them off in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon.
“Too bad summer is about to arrive, otherwise I would have sent my child here,” one of the onlooking townspeople said with a sigh.
While Miao Suisui was still confused, Su Qingqing behind her had already explained.
“In the apocalypse, humans can only go outside during spring and autumn. Summer is extremely hot, temperatures of seventy to eighty degrees are common, and even one hundred degrees is not unheard of. Many survivors have died from the heat. Mutated plants and animals all try to hide, and intelligent zombies do not appear during this time either. When the temperature reaches its peak, it rains once every few days, and the temperature drops each time. It is precisely because of these occasional rains that humanity has not gone extinct. During summer, we all stay in specially constructed shelters built after the apocalypse to insulate against heat and cold, preparing supplies in advance. Winter is the same,” Su Qingqing said.
“However, winter and summer are different from before the apocalypse. Each season lasts at most two months. The rest of the time is suitable for human survival.”
This was the first time Miao Suisui had heard of such a thing, and she was very surprised. Then she began to worry whether the town’s houses could insulate against heat.
“Host, please rest assured. The town exists in a different world from the outside. It will not be affected by extreme heat or cold. The temperature will only be like that of ordinary summers and winters,” the system’s voice reassured her.
“Everyone, don’t worry. Our town is different from the outside. That kind of extreme weather won’t appear here. You can live here with peace of mind,” Miao Suisui relayed the system’s words.
However, in the minds of the townspeople, the terror of apocalyptic weather was deeply ingrained. They were only half convinced by her words, already beginning to think about where the nearest shelter was and whether they should move there to escape the summer heat.
Su Qingqing thought differently. In previous years, the weather would have already started to heat up by this time, yet the town still felt like spring all year round. Perhaps the town really could resist the curse of these two seasons.
“Are there many shelters outside?” Miao Suisui asked curiously.
Su Qingqing nodded. “There are many. It’s because too many people died in the first two years, so every base chose to build shelters outside using special materials.”
“Are the shelters free? Since there are so many, why don’t survivors just move in normally? Wouldn’t that save them from moving again during winter and summer?”
Miao Suisui’s question was something no one who had experienced the apocalypse would ask. Su Qingqing noticed this, but did not say anything. In her mind, Miao Suisui might truly not be from this world, but rather a fairy sent by the heavens to save them.
“They’re not free. Each person has to pay one level-two crystal core per day, which is already considered a discounted price for special circumstances. And the shelters are not large. They can only block part of the heat and cold. With everyone crowded together, it’s not safe. Mutated plants, animals, and zombies hide because of the weather, which gives humans a slim chance to survive. Even so, there have been cases where entire groups were wiped out,” Su Qingqing explained patiently.
Miao Suisui understood. It seemed the shelters were not the spacious underground towns she had imagined.
The winery and cotton factory were located next to the convenience food factory. Their internal setups were similar, mostly automated, with only the final stages requiring workers.
This time, recruiting workers required almost no effort. Those who had wanted to enter the food factory previously were now able to join the other two factories.
The cotton factory and winery officially began production. Before long, Miao Suisui’s warehouse was filled with cotton quilts, cotton clothes, cotton pants, as well as sorghum liquor and grape wine.
Since it was not the right season, the cotton clothing had no immediate use. Miao Suisui piled them in a corner, planning to sell them when winter arrived.
The winery’s machines were still high-end products from a higher plane. Fermentation was not required, and the wine could be produced directly. Miao Suisui took a sip of the grape wine. It was sour and astringent, with a strong alcoholic taste. Since she did not usually drink, she could not get used to it and simply placed some in the general store for sale.
According to Su Qingqing, there were about half a month left before summer arrived. Miao Suisui could clearly feel the townspeople growing anxious. Even though she repeatedly told them that the town’s weather would not be affected by the outside, everyone still began stocking up on easily stored food, packing everything in preparation to hide in shelters when the time came.
Seeing that she could not persuade them, Miao Suisui stopped trying.
When Ye Huaishan returned after finishing his mission, he immediately noticed the cotton factory standing behind the two-story buildings. His eyes lit up instantly.
Especially after Miao Suisui intentionally showed him the cotton clothes, pants, and quilts produced by the factory, which looked very warm.
If these were used in winter, life would likely be much easier than in previous years.
However, no matter how appealing they were, there was no way for him to take them now. The space of the team’s space ability user was already completely full, without even the slightest gap.
He silently decided that next time, he would bring all the space ability users in the team.
Before leaving, he still bought one bottle of sorghum liquor and one bottle of grape wine to take with him.
After staying in the town for three days, the members of the Falcon Squad left reluctantly, turning back every few steps.