Everyone was in high spirits.
The exhaustion from the day’s journey seemed to disappear instantly.
The temperature was now approaching negative thirty degrees Celsius. The pork would keep for a long time in this weather, so before the meat froze completely solid, everyone agreed it would be best to divide it first.
The group noisily split up the meat before taking out their own food to fill their stomachs.
Most of it consisted of biscuits and hardened bread.
Shen Hanyin also took out a piece of bread and ate a few bites.
She wasn’t particularly fond of cold food.
After a few mouthfuls, she put it away and ate two pieces of chocolate instead.
As long as she wasn’t hungry, that was enough.
She planned to save her appetite for a proper feast once she got home.
Afterward, Luo Qi organized a rotating night watch schedule, and some people gradually drifted off to sleep.
Everyone had been exhausted from a full day of searching.
With no electronic devices to pass the time and none of the usual noise of city life, their daily routines had unexpectedly become much healthier.
Shen Hanyin’s shift was from midnight to two in the morning.
Sleeping on bare concrete was torture.
Quietly, she reached into her backpack and took out several heating patches, sticking them everywhere from the soles of her feet to the back of her neck.
She had to admit she was a little spoiled.
After all, she had spent twenty years living like a wealthy young lady.
Even after the disaster began, her spatial storage ensured she never lacked food, clothing, or supplies.
She had never truly suffered before.
Then she slipped her hand back into her backpack and secretly retrieved a fleece-lined seat cushion from her space.
Only after settling comfortably against a pillar did she finally close her eyes.
At eleven-thirty, Shen Hanyin woke up as if summoned by some invisible force.
Two of the people currently on watch were already nodding off.
The other two remained awake.
Hearing her move, one of them reminded her, “It’s not your shift yet.”
Shen Hanyin gave a simple hum in response.
Since she was already awake, she decided not to go back to sleep and walked outside.
The stars looked brighter than usual, but otherwise the night sky was no different from previous years.
She had spent so many years studying.
She had even graduated at the top of her class.
Yet in the end, she hadn’t even received her diploma.
She wondered how Suisui was doing at home.
Her thoughts drifted aimlessly until she heard footsteps behind her.
Turning around, she saw Luo Qi.
“It’s not your shift yet either,” he said.
“Hm.”
Silence lingered between them for a while before Luo Qi spoke again.
“Shen Yan, do you think this is really the end of the world?”
“I don’t know.”
Luo Qi looked up at the sky.
“Even though it’s winter, Haicheng has never been this cold. Xu Chengyi always says I’m too pessimistic and worry about things that haven’t happened yet. But now the government has abandoned rescue efforts and started building survival bases. This definitely isn’t going to end with a simple flood and freeze.”
He paused.
“Even if spring comes, I don’t think it’ll be the kind of spring I’m hoping for.”
“It’ll end eventually,” Shen Hanyin replied.
“Either the disaster ends, or life does.”
“Heh.”
Luo Qi laughed softly.
“I wonder how long we’ll manage to survive.”
He glanced at her.
“At first, I thought you were just a kid. But after spending time with you, you’re a lot more mature than Xu Chengyi.”
“How old are you, anyway?”
“Seventeen.”
The answer slipped out instantly.
Considering her height and appearance, pretending to be a minor was the safest option.
“So you really are a kid.”
Luo Qi patted her shoulder.
“Come on. Time to take over the watch.”
“Hm.”
The next morning, as soon as daylight appeared, everyone ate breakfast and headed back into the mountains.
They searched thoroughly but found nothing.
After noon, the group finally decided to return home.
Once they reached the foot of the mountain, Shen Hanyin was finally able to put down the meat she had been carrying.
She reached into her backpack and, while trying to appear casual, pulled out a foldable wheeled storage box.
Then she produced a length of rope, used her knife to punch a hole through the box, and tied it securely.
From then on, she simply dragged it behind her.
A full day of hiking back and forth was exhausting.
If there was ever a next time, she would seriously reconsider joining.
The others looked at her improvised transportation method with envy.
Most of them had carried sacks or backpacks.
After such a long journey, hauling everything home on their backs was pure misery.
The return trip wasn’t peaceful either.
With everyone carrying food, plenty of hungry eyes followed them.
Perhaps because their group was large, only one group actually attempted a robbery.
Shen Hanyin happened to be dragging behind at the very end of the line.
The robbers assumed her stamina had given out and selected her as their target.
Without hesitation, she drew her Tang saber and slashed.
The attack was dodged.
The three robbers were armed with kitchen knives.
Even with a three-against-one advantage, they knew they weren’t in a favorable position.
They hadn’t even noticed Shen Hanyin was carrying a blade until now.
The moment the saber appeared, they lost any desire to continue fighting.
The three immediately turned around and fled.
Afterward, Li Yuan proposed a new arrangement.
Two people should guard the front and rear of the group to prevent ambushes.
The food carried by those guards would be distributed among everyone else.
Many people opposed the suggestion.
Their own loads were already heavy enough.
Nobody wanted additional burdens.
Li Yuan patiently reasoned with them.
“First, you need to make sure you can actually get the food home. Then you can worry about everything else. If you’re tired, we can rest along the way. Sharing a few dozen pounds of meat between us isn’t impossible.”
He paused before adding,
“Or if you’re confident enough to guarantee the group’s safety yourself, then we can carry your food instead.”
Everyone knew who he was talking about.
The best candidates were clearly Shen Hanyin, Luo Qi, and Xu Chengyi.
The three remained silent and watched the others decide.
In the end, Shen Hanyin was assigned to guard the rear while Luo Qi led the front.
She was very satisfied with the arrangement.
If things were organized this way every time, she wouldn’t mind joining future trips.
After all, she still had a crossbow and firearms hidden away.
No matter how fast a robber moved, they wouldn’t be taking anything from her.
And if the other side also had guns?
Then there was no point fighting.
Hand over the food and run first.
Survival came before pride.
By six in the evening, the group finally arrived home.
Shen Hanyin immediately stored her share of the meat inside her space.
She plugged in an electric heater for Suisui, took a relaxing bath inside her space, ate a simple meal, then collapsed onto the sofa with Suisui in her arms and fell asleep comfortably.
Later that night, she woke up hungry.
After closing the curtains and turning on the lights, she refilled Suisui’s food bowl.
Then she took out a serving of pan-fried soup dumplings and duck blood vermicelli soup.
Once she was full and satisfied, she went back to sleep.
The temperature continued dropping.
It had now reached negative thirty degrees Celsius.
After staying indoors for several more days, Shen Hanyin once again needed to go out and “search for food.”
After disguising herself and equipping her Tang saber, she planned to wander around for half a day before returning home.
Leaving the residential complex, she headed toward Times Square.
The entire area had effectively become a massive natural ice rink.
Unfortunately, nobody was in the mood to enjoy it.
As she passed the corner of an office building, she noticed a little girl.
The child looked filthy.
She wore neither a scarf nor a hat.
The hands clutching her clothes were swollen and red from the cold.
“Big brother, please give me something to eat.”
Her voice trembled.
“Big brother, I’m so hungry… and so cold.”
Shen Hanyin’s hands were tucked inside her pockets.
In one hand, she happened to be holding two pieces of chocolate.
They were leftovers from before.
Both were milk chocolate.
Too sweet for her taste.
Looking at the little girl, she didn’t think much about it.
She simply handed over the chocolates.
The girl practically snatched them from her hands.
She was so desperate that she didn’t even bother opening the wrappers properly.
She bit straight into one.
The chocolate squeezed out from the packaging.
It was frozen hard from the cold, making it difficult to chew.
Instead, she held it in her mouth while clutching the second piece tightly.
“Thank you, big brother.”
The words came out muffled.
Shen Hanyin didn’t respond.
She simply continued walking.
Occasionally she passed other survivors carrying food, all of whom eyed her Tang saber with obvious caution.
She ignored them.
After spending enough time outside, she found an isolated location, took out a plastic bag, filled it with several packets of potato chips, and began heading home using a different route.
Just as she was approaching the entrance to her residential complex, Shen Hanyin suddenly sensed something wrong.
It felt like someone was following her.
She turned around.
The little girl from earlier was standing there.
The child ran toward her and pointed directly at her.
Then she shouted to the people behind her.
“It’s this big brother!”