What surprised the staff at the base was not just the current influx of refugees. After that, there were continuous arrivals, with one or two groups almost every day. What was even more surprising was that the majority of them possessed supernatural abilities, and the number of second-level ability users was equally significant.
Elder Wu held a report, his brow furrowing.
“Elder Wu, this is a good thing! Just as you said, when spring arrives, who knows what those mutated supernatural animals and plants will become. Now we have so many supernatural ability users – and strong ones who have crossed the snow and ice to seek refuge with us. This is a good thing for our base!” an excited secretary exclaimed.
Elder Wu shook his head, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Have you seen the reasons why they came to seek refuge at our base?”
“Huh?” Secretary N turned cold and looked at Elder Wu with confusion. He glanced at his colleagues, and most of them had seen the refugees, but they didn’t see any problem. What was Elder Wu worried about? Spies? Infiltrators? Informants?
Elder Wu sighed, “They are all people from other bases. Because of the heavy snow in winter, the scarcity of food, and the sudden emergence of supernatural beasts, they fled here.”
Several secretaries nodded in understanding. Yes, that’s the situation.
“Most of them are young men, and there are very few elderly people and children, not to mention women.”
“What about the elderly, children, and women? What about the weak?”
Elder Wu slammed the document on the table and his eyes filled with sorrow. “They, just like the people in those other bases, all died, destroyed.”
It wasn’t that the young, able-bodied, supernatural users didn’t want to save the elderly, weak, and sick. They, too, set out on the journey to B City with their parents, children, and loved ones when they realized they couldn’t sustain themselves, and after they received the signal from B City. But they could endure in this harsh, snowy wilderness, while those people could not.
Listen to their experiences; most of them are survivors from various large and small bases in the north. Most of them came to B City only when they had no other options, as the number of deaths in their bases continued to rise, and they saw no way out.
The nearest base among them was just over 100 kilometers away from B City, but it took them more than a month to reach here!
The original base had at least a few thousand survivors, but only a few of them managed to arrive in B City alive.
The room fell into silence, and the secretaries finally understood what was troubling Elder Wu. The young and able-bodied, supernatural users were indeed beneficial to the current B City base. However, the elderly, women, and children were equally indispensable.
The elderly represent wisdom and experience. Although they hadn’t experienced the apocalypse before, most of these older individuals had lived through some tense times in the past. They had experience in surviving, knowledge of farming, and various life skills, along with a wealth of knowledge that might disappear as the city crumbled.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Children represented hope; without them, humanity had no future.
Today, the biggest blow to humanity in the post-apocalyptic world was the law of the jungle, and humans, in reality, were quite vulnerable creatures.
“Some things can’t wait any longer,” Elder Wu leaned back in his chair, “Expand the cultivation area. The current cultivation area cannot meet the base’s consumption. Just one severe winter left more than half of our base injured or dead. If this happens a couple more times, who will survive?”
“Remember, we don’t need to wait until spring; in the next few days, let Earth elemental ability users start marking and building new cultivation areas. Also, have people invite the new plant elemental ability users who just arrived. We shouldn’t treat them the way we treated the two previous ability users. They need to stay alive, so don’t push them too hard.”
“The range of hunting and acquiring supplies can be expanded, and the rules for various teams can be relaxed. Our manpower is currently stretched thin, so let the supernaturals lead their teams on hunting missions.
“Also, the cleanup of the old city area, try to reclaim the old city area within this year… as much as possible.” There are too many human traces, resources, and memories in that area.
Humans are sentimental creatures, unable to let go of the past, their former homes.
“That mission can begin now. After spring arrives, our missions will increase, so we only have a temporary window to focus on other matters… Please have Team 0246 assist. Let’s go together.”
Xu Song and his team received a new mission, driving in a small pickup truck. They headed straight to Area A. Although Elder Wu’s secretary had promised earlier that they wouldn’t face any difficulties reentering Area A, both Xu Song and Lu Lu had never taken advantage of the so-called “benefits” of being in a B-level team. After all, wasn’t this just a pass? What was so special about it?
The two of them arrived at the small building where Elder Wu resided, knocked on the door, and entered. It was the same well-lit room as before, and besides Elder Wu, there was a colonel in his early thirties.
Seeing the two enter, Elder Wu smiled and introduced, “This is Colonel Lu, the leader of this mission. These two are the team leader and deputy team leader of Team 0246.”
Colonel Lu’s eyes showed a hint of surprise. He had certainly heard of Team 0246’s reputation, and he knew that this team was the first C-level team to be promoted to B-level and had completed two special missions with great success. As a military man, he couldn’t help but be curious about what constituted a “special mission,” but he didn’t inquire further.
However, as one of the only two third-level ability users in the base, he recognized the strength of their team without a doubt.
“The mission this time is to reach N University on the west side of the old city area and retrieve documentary materials,” Colonel Lu said. He didn’t say much, but he was also an ability user.
In the past few days, he had just raised his ability level to the second level in the laboratory. Although he knew that the external situation was not optimistic, and the threats from mutated animals and creatures had intensified, he had great confidence in this mission.
Documentary materials?
Xu Song and Lu Lu exchanged a glance. They had a hunch that this mission might be related to the stone tablet. N University was famous for its history department, and many renowned experts in history, geology, and archaeology in the country had graduated from there. Xu Song had attended college in B City and was more knowledgeable about it.
Seeing the two nod, Colonel Lu provided details about the mission, including the timing, team configuration, and other relevant information. Then he asked, “Will only the two of you be participating in this mission?”
Yue Zheng nodded and said, “Yes, it will be just the two of us.”
Colonel Lu was momentarily surprised. Why would only the two of them be going? Why not bring along the other team members? This kind of mission, while seemingly simple—just get the target mission item in the city—could still be risky due to potential encounters on the way. Wouldn’t it be safer to have a few more ability users along?
Elder Wu smiled and said, “By the way, there’s an empty space in the east of Area A that hasn’t been developed yet. Would your team like to move there? It would make your missions more convenient.”
Yue Zheng politely declined Elder Wu’s offer. “We were actually planning to go on another mission in a few days, so living in Area A might be less convenient for us. But after we return from the next mission, we might consider it, and we’d appreciate your help in that matter.”
“That’s no problem at all. I’ll have that place reserved for you, and you can move in whenever you need it,” Elder Wu said. He was well aware that Team 0246 hadn’t had any additional members so far. What did that mean? Two young individuals, with their abilities alone, had elevated a team of only five members, with the remaining three being elderly or weak, to the B-level.
Although they had his green light and assistance during this period, they wouldn’t have been able to manage without their own capabilities. Were there troubles in the residential area outside Area A? Elder Wu was well-informed and had heard that some people had caused trouble for their team, but it was said that these two young individuals had resolved those issues themselves.
However, with a mother and two young children left behind at the base, they might have concerns about going out. That’s probably why they asked if they could help.
But now, since they declined, it proves that they have the strength to protect themselves.
Thinking about that big dog, Elder Wu felt that he had understood the situation.
After Yue Zheng and Xu Song left, Colonel Lu asked, “Elder Wu, is it just the two of them participating in this mission from their team? What about the others?”
Elder Wu smiled and replied, “Their team has some special circumstances, and only these two are going on the mission.”
Colonel Lu was taken aback, “Two people?!”
Elder Wu nodded.
“Did they raise their team to B-level with just the two of them?!”
Elder Wu continued to nod.
Colonel Lu: …
On the early morning of February 4th, Xu Song and Yue Zheng arrived at the assembly point and boarded a vehicle with other soldiers to leave the city.
The population within the base was increasing as more housing and space became available due to the people who had frozen to death during winter. This was a good time to accommodate those who had recently arrived.
More and more people realized that without abilities, it was increasingly difficult to survive in the outside world. Those with some strength wanted to try their luck outside and, if possible, acquire three energy capsules, which would give them the chance to exchange for ability capsules within the base.
Having an ability was like having a pass to becoming strong.
As for those who lacked the strength and were too afraid to leave the base, they had to find ways to make a living within the base.
Currently, the base was preparing for expansion once again. Earth elemental ability users were gathered to work on constructing walls and fencing. Other ability users were involved in building large cultivation facilities under the guidance of their commanders.
Those who found employment within the base were integrated into the original cultivation facilities and other production workshops, working to earn their daily rations and secure a place in the base.
Author’s Note –
Many readers may have thought that the people coming to the base are related to Luo Wen’an and Su Daji. However, it’s regrettable that they haven’t arrived yet, but they will appear in the future.
Oh, hehe, I’m one of those readers wondering if there’ll be a reunion among them. 😂
Good to know our early friends survived!
Haha, who’s Lu Lu?! I was what’s happening? Am i in the right novel?! 😂🤌