Li Qingshan had never expected that such enormous changes would take place while she was gone.
Two new buildings had already been put into use, and long lines of people were waiting in front of them.
Before she even had time to ask what was going on, she was caught by someone standing guard at the entrance.
“Those who just came back, go take a bath first! Then shave your heads!” Li Lushui drove her along like she was herding ducks. “Go, go! The Chairman said today that the moment we take down the ‘Under Construction’ signs at the entrances, we’re to immediately arrange for everyone to bathe!”
“Huh? Why the rush?” Li Qingshan cried. “I haven’t even eaten yet! Let me eat first!”
“No. Go wash.” Li Lushui expressionlessly chased her away before turning to the next person. “Next! Come register, then take a number and line up for your bath! Five minutes per person!”
On the way to the bathhouse, they had to pass the cafeteria.
Today, a skeleton was hanging at the entrance to the cafeteria as well. No one knew who had killed it, but Tang Yuan kept pacing back and forth nearby. Whenever someone came by, he would casually position himself beside the skeleton and show it off.
One look was enough to tell that it had been his handiwork.
Someone who had already finished eating was also standing at the cafeteria entrance shouting, “Hurry up and wash! We’re having meat congee today!”
The line immediately began moving faster, almost causing a stampede.
Then Tang Yuan tucked that person under his arm and dragged him away.
Li Qingshan rushed headfirst into the building marked Public Bathhouse.
The moment she entered, she was enveloped by steam and a damp, oppressive heat.
Before she even had time to be shocked, she heard a small cry from beside her.
Looking down, Li Qingshan discovered that a little girl who had only arrived today was following beside her, her face filled with confusion and helplessness.
Li Qingshan’s sense of responsibility immediately surged.
Although she had no idea what to do inside either, she still took the little girl’s hand. After noticing that the child only reached her waist, Li Qingshan’s heart softened.
“How old are you? Where are the adults in your family?”
“I… I’m alone,” the little girl said. “I’m eight years old. I can do it myself.”
Children living alone were a common sight in the wasteland.
Their family members often died for one reason or another. Not long afterward, these orphans would become like this little girl—hunger leaving them with disproportionately large heads and thin, frail bodies.
Then, the orphans themselves would eventually die for one reason or another.
That was the origin of a certain saying in the wasteland:
Children whose parents died young usually didn’t live very long themselves.
Li Qingshan had never been someone capable of much compassion. Whenever she saw orphans in the past, she would simply pretend not to notice them. She ate a lot herself, and there was never enough food to begin with. She would never give even a bite of her own rations to those children.
But perhaps it was because she had eaten her fill yesterday.
Li Qingshan silently cursed herself.
So now you actually have the leisure to care about others, huh?
Still, she held the little girl’s hand and led her into the bathing area.
Ling Zhao—the Chairman—possessed a strange sort of authority.
After somehow constructing two buildings overnight, no one dared to question that authority anymore.
Li Qingshan obediently followed the people inside, moving forward step by step.
Together with everyone else, she stood in a long line to have her hair cut, wash her face, learn how to brush her teeth, scrub the dirt off her body, and take a proper bath.
She had never bathed in such a complicated way before.
Usually, whenever she washed clothes in the river, she would simply splash some water over herself and call it a day.
The bathhouse consisted of individual shower stalls.
The water inside was slightly scalding, and it was so clean that the moment it ran over her hands, streams of grime washed away.
This water seemed like…
It might even be drinkable?
The moment that thought crossed Li Qingshan’s mind, she saw the little girl beside her gulping it down.
Even after being scalded, the girl refused to move away. Instead, she became even more desperate to drink the bathwater.
Li Qingshan was startled and quickly pulled her away.
“We’ll drink water after we get out! If you burn your throat, you won’t be able to eat anything!”
The little girl had struggled slightly after hearing the first sentence.
But after hearing the second, she immediately quieted down and obediently continued bathing.
Li Qingshan had no idea how those magical pipes worked, but with so many people bathing once, how much water would that consume?
It was probably enough for her to drink for half a month…
No, perhaps an entire month?
At that moment, Li Qingshan’s image of the Chairman finally became a little clearer.
And the remaining pieces fell into place when she saw today’s meal.
Today’s food was no longer just porridge.
Instead, it was long, round strands of something.
According to the people in the kitchen, someone had developed the dish based on a cookbook that had been left in the kitchen.
It seemed to be called…
Cassava noodles?
There was minced meat inside, along with a little pickled vegetable and soy sauce. Just looking at it was enough to make one’s appetite surge.
Li Qingshan took a bite.
The cassava noodles had become slightly sticky from being stored for too long, and the minced meat mixed with them, creating a strange but delightful texture.
It was savory, fragrant, and deeply satisfying.
The aroma of fat had dissolved into the broth. It was a simple dish, but once she started eating, she couldn’t stop.
Before she realized it, Li Qingshan had finished an entire bowl of noodles and drained every drop of the soup.
Come.
Li Qingshan felt dazed after finishing her noodles.
Days like this felt like a dream.
She lowered her head and looked at her clean sleeves, then at the crowd around her, all dressed in neat clothes.
A smile appeared on her face.
If only days like this…
Could last a little longer.
What exactly did the Chairman want to do?
After today, probably half the people here would be willing to follow her without a single complaint.
…
When Ling Zhao returned, Sentinel Type I had already completed the day’s task of transporting people, and there were now considerably more residents in the shelter than before.
The external shelter fortifications, which were being used as temporary accommodations, were almost overflowing.
Even the corridors were packed with people.
After the logging work was finished, a large area of tree stumps had also been cleared away, and construction on new housing began a short distance away from the shelter.
These were only temporary houses.
Later, Ling Zhao planned to rebuild them properly using cement. As for these houses, her only expectation was that they would allow everyone to survive the coming winter safely.
She went over to inspect the construction site.
The houses were being built according to the blueprints, but the cavities between the walls had been stuffed with branches without any clay packed in.
Then Ling Zhao remembered the strange nature of the soil here.
Every inch of it contained fungi…
Those damned fungi!
She had to find a solution!
Otherwise, when winter came and they started fires inside the houses, fuel wouldn’t be the problem. Once the wood was heated and caused the fungi to erupt, it would be a complete massacre.
No wonder there was wood everywhere, yet people still preferred to use iron sheets.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want people to move into the underground shelter.
There simply wasn’t enough electricity.
If this many people moved inside, then after winter passed, a tragedy might occur where the shelter doors couldn’t be opened due to the power shortage.
Then everyone would starve to death together inside.
Ling Zhao briefly sorted through the things that might be useful.
Nuka-Cola, music albums, and the most valuable trade good of all:
Water.
Ling Zhao had originally intended to use other items to trade at Shelter 199.
But now it seemed that her most suitable trading commodity was still water.
With enough wood available, the thermal power generation equipment installed on B1 began operating. The recycling system on Level B16 of the shelter was activated.
Ling Zhao didn’t turn it up to full power, and with her current settings, the recycling system could only produce Level-2 purified water.
To avoid attracting attention and causing other problems, Ling Zhao took 300 liters of Level-2 purified water and 50 liters of Level-1 pure water.
The wooden cart she had commissioned the shelter survivors to build was also finished. The water could now be loaded onto it for transport, while Sentinel Type I handled most of the actual carrying.
After spending one night at the shelter, Ling Zhao set off again before dawn.
Shelter 199 was not located in a straight line from Shelter 999.
It lay to the south-southeast of Shelter 999, rather than directly south.
On the way, she needed to pass through Tingfeng Town and another urban area.
Unlike the industrial zone, this place wasn’t located in the suburbs.
It was in the heart of the city.
Whenever the flatbed cart couldn’t pass through an area, Sentinel Type I would simply lift the entire cart and carry it across.
In those places, the wheelchair extended eight legs and walked even more steadily than a person.
They rounded a stretch of lowland, passed through gaps between towering buildings, and walked beside a pool of emerald-green water.
Then Ling Zhao found herself staring at her own reflection in the water, as though looking into a mirror.
A powerful wind swept past.
The sea of green parted like waves.
And she saw the last pride and fading afterglow of civilization.
A clock tower had become a bird’s nest.
A mechanical statue of a goddess was imprisoned by green dodder vines.
Tree branches stretched from the darkened office buildings.
Nature had long since become part of the structures, filling in their broken and missing parts, yet unable to erase their sharp edges and angular forms.
Those windows and mirrored surfaces still glittered beneath the rising sun.
On a billboard in the distance was a giant white dove:
“Consumption proves your existence. Today, you define what’s in fashion!”
Under Lin Xiao’s guidance, Ling Zhao entered a building. She needed to pass through its corridors in order to reach the rooftop of another building.
Sitting in her wheelchair, Ling Zhao looked around and discovered that many of the corridors were covered with similar slogans.
Colorful graffiti mixed with corporate advertisements, creating a strange kind of vibrancy.
“What does that say?”
Lin Xiao glanced back at it, his eyes flickering slightly.
“Purchase the ‘Last Wish Storage Package’ to ensure that your digital soul shines eternally in the cloud! — Titan Heavy Industries.”
“Titan Heavy Industries?” Ling Zhao repeated the name. “Was it one of the former Nine Megacorporations?”
“You actually know about the Nine Megacorporations?” Lin Xiao was somewhat surprised, but he quickly came to his senses. “Of course. You’re from a shelter, so it’s not strange that you know.”
Lin Xiao casually slashed across the advertisement with his dagger.
“Titan Heavy Industries no longer exists. They’re called Titan Military Industries now.”
“Titan Military Industries?” Yan Xiaochu let out a small cry. “You mean… the Titan Military Industries that’s currently dominating the North? That seemingly invincible military megacorporation?”
“Yes, them,” Lin Xiao confirmed. “It seems they absorbed a company called Raven Military Industries. That’s why the Raven Trade Alliance came into existence. According to some rumors, the remaining people from Raven Military Industries established that organization.”
“Titan Military Industries is very far from here, and I think some of the stories about them are exaggerated,” Lin Xiao said. “But they really are powerful. They even drove out all the major corporations that originally operated in that region, forcing them to relocate westward.”
Ling Zhao continued reading the words written along the corridor.
“Spend one minute less on yourself every day, and give one more minute to the company!”
“Pursue efficiency! Maximize profits! Forget your health! Take out a loan against your health for your future!”
“The latest prosthetic body—returned by the living! Upgrade, or be eliminated!”
Many other slogans had been written by ordinary people. Some read:
“Dogshit company!”
“Pay us back! Pay us back!”
There were also random little advertisements selling leaves.
Before the wasteland…
Had this world been in the middle of a cyberpunk era?
“Alright, be careful,” Lin Xiao said as he cleared the way ahead. “Some of these floors are very old and have become extremely fragile. They’re basically natural traps now, so be careful not to fall through.”
“After passing through two more rooms, we’ll be there. Don’t close any of the doors. Once you shut them, it can be very difficult to open them again.”
With that, he opened the door in front of him.
And came face-to-face with someone opening a door on the other side.