The days were relatively peaceful, and life was rather enjoyable.
With several powerful fighters by their side, they encountered no significant dangers along the way. Being away from Dawn Base meant they could set aside all their responsibilities there, making this rare stretch of time surprisingly relaxing and pleasant.
Bai Mingxi also seemed to have emerged from whatever emotional state he had been trapped in. He had become more talkative, appearing to have returned to his old self.
The snowfall over the past few days had been exceptionally heavy, making it almost impossible for Chu Tian to move forward.
Fortunately, they weren’t in a hurry. So he simply dragged Quan Xiaoyu into his spatial space, where they could enjoy some rare, sweet time alone together.
The space was as warm as spring, with food in plentiful supply. Taking advantage of the opportunity, everyone also worked on improving their abilities another level or two.
As a result, Bai Mingxi and Li Nan, who had both advanced to Level Six at the same time, were summoned by Chu Tian and subjected to another stern lecture.
The gist of it was that Bai Mingxi should conceal his ability whenever possible. If he couldn’t hide it, he needed to exercise caution. A Level Six spatial ability would probably be downright outrageous in the outside world.
Li Nan’s situation was much the same, though he didn’t need to deliberately conceal his ability. There were considerable advantages to revealing an appropriate level of healing ability. He still had to exercise restraint, however. An ability that was too extraordinary would attract covetous attention all the same.
And so, over the past few days, life had been both peaceful and thoroughly enjoyable.
They didn’t travel much during the day. Whenever they let Xie Mingxuan and the two little ones out to play, Quan Xiaoyu would accompany them and walk for a while. Everyone else simply lounged comfortably inside the spatial space.
It wasn’t until six days later, when the heavy snow finally stopped and the weather began to warm up, that everyone packed their belongings, left the space, and prepared to resume their journey in earnest.
By then, they had crossed T Province and officially entered A Province. A stretch of road that should originally have taken only two days had somehow taken them a full six.
Even after getting back into the vehicle and setting off, Chu Tian was still somewhat reluctant to leave.
The two of them had genuinely enjoyed their time together in the spatial space. Although there were several giant light bulbs around, they were surprisingly considerate. Whenever the couple wanted some time alone, the others knew to make themselves scarce, which certainly made things easier.
“The south and the north really do have completely different landscapes!” Bai Mingxi remarked with a sigh. He hadn’t been home in so long that he’d almost forgotten what the north looked like.
The north was vast and sparsely populated. Unlike the south, with its rows of towering buildings and densely packed towns, the most common sight here was enormous expanses of open land.
After leaving T Province, the widespread green vegetation disappeared. Across the vast, snow-white landscape lay patches of leftover snow and shards of ice.
Chu Tian adjusted their direction, and the off-road vehicle raced across the plains.
“Hey, there’s smoke up ahead! Xiaotian, look!” Bai Mingxi, who was squeezed into the back seat playing with the three little ones, suddenly noticed a plume of cooking smoke rising in the distance.
“Mm, there might be people there.” Quan Xiaoyu, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced at the map. According to the pre-apocalypse map, there had originally been two towns in this area.
“Should we go take a look?” Bai Mingxi asked.
Both he and Quan Xiaoyu turned to look at Chu Tian.
“Let’s go have a look,” Chu Tian decided.
They had spent nearly a month traveling through T Province without encountering another human being. Now that they had spotted signs of people, it was only natural that they felt an urge to investigate.
Bai Mingxi and Quan Xiaoyu were of the same mind. Hearing Chu Tian agree, both felt rather excited. After all, humans really were social creatures.
Seeing the smoke, they had initially imagined a group of people living together or traveling as companions, gathered around a fire to cook a meal. The food might not have been particularly good, but at least the people waiting for it would have looked forward to eating.
Perhaps they had spent too long at Dawn Base and grown accustomed to its harmonious atmosphere, so full of hope. Whatever the reason, when they got out of the vehicle and saw the scene before them, everyone froze for a long moment.
Harmony and friendliness?
Not a chance!
All they saw were pairs of eyes filled with wariness and suspicion.
Several burly men gathered around the cooking pot stood up when they spotted the unfamiliar vehicle. Two of them were holding large cleavers streaked with blood.
The meat boiling in the pot gave off a fishy odor that made Bai Mingxi feel a little sick. The people gathered around it, however, clearly didn’t share his reaction. They regarded the newcomers with an extremely hostile attitude, guarding against them as though they were thieves.
The joy and enthusiasm they had felt at seeing other human beings were immediately extinguished.
Quan Xiaoyu exchanged a glance with Bai Mingxi. Both looked rather disheartened.
Once again, the scene reminded them of something they must never forget—
This was the apocalypse!
Before Li Nan could get out of the vehicle, Quan Xiaoyu grabbed him and pushed him right back inside.
“Don’t get out. They don’t seem very friendly,” Quan Xiaoyu said flatly before climbing back into the vehicle himself and entertaining Xie Mingxuan.
The people tending the fire appeared to have been living together for a long time, or at least traveling together for an extended period. It was obvious that a hierarchy had already formed among them.
For instance, the men gathered around the pot were wearing old but thick clothes. They were tall and sturdy, and each had a weapon lying within easy reach.
Several men in thin clothing were collecting firewood or carrying things some distance away.
A few women were huddled together on their knees in the distance. Their clothes were thin, and they were probably embracing one another for warmth. Yet their eyes were fixed intently on the pot of food. They kept licking their cracked lips, their gazes filled with deep longing.
There were also several children. Their situation was much the same as the women’s, although they at least had a few tattered blankets, making them look slightly better off.
None of them seemed particularly old, perhaps around ten years of age.
Li Nan watched the children through the car window, his face full of sympathy and pity, but he never said a word. He knew he was fortunate. He wanted to help other people, but he didn’t have the ability to do much. That meant he had no right to make grand statements. All he could do was pray silently that the apocalypse would end soon and life would return to the way it had been.
Quan Xiaoyu seemed to know what he was thinking. He reached over and gently patted Li Nan’s head in comfort.
Taking advantage of the gesture, Li Nan leaned his head against Quan Xiaoyu’s thigh and said dejectedly, “Brother Xiaoyu, will the apocalypse ever end?”
It had been a long time since Li Nan had acted like a child. Quan Xiaoyu was momentarily taken aback, then felt a pang of affection for him.
“It will end. Everything will get better.”
Over on the other side, Chu Tian had also been doused with a bucket of cold water, bringing him back to his senses.
It seemed they couldn’t enjoy comfortable days for too long. If they did, they would easily forget how cruel reality could be.
Facing the wary men opposite them, Chu Tian gave a faint smile.
“Gentlemen, there’s no need to be nervous. We just saw people here and thought we’d come over to take a look. We’ll rest for a little while, then be on our way.”
With that, he led Bai Mingxi back to the vehicle.
For some reason, although they had witnessed scenes like this before, at this particular moment they felt an unusual tightness in their chests.
Perhaps it was because their mindsets had changed.
They had established Dawn Base, taken in survivors, and worked to transform the environment and improve people’s lives because they wanted to preserve hope for humanity and make life better for those who were still alive.
Yet now, seeing this scene at a glance reminded them that places beyond Dawn Base still harbored such conditions. It made them feel that their own strength was so insignificant.
Once again, Chu Tian’s resolve to return to the capital grew firmer.
Outside the vehicle, the men around the pot waited until everyone had climbed back inside before lowering their weapons and sitting down again.
The pot contained a mutant beast they had finally managed to hunt that day. It didn’t taste particularly good, but meat was a rare luxury.
“Boss, they’re a bunch of pretty boys. Their vehicle looks pretty good, too.” One of the men eyed Chu Tian and the others’ vehicle sideways, already entertaining some crooked ideas.
Smack!
The boss slapped the speaker across the head, leaving him momentarily stunned.
Another man snickered. As he added another piece of wood to the fire, he said to the man who had been hit, “Fourth Brother, are your eyes growing out of your ass? Sure, they’re pretty boys. But in this day and age, anyone who can afford to be a pretty boy in peace and comfort out here—what kind of people do you think they are? And you, you spineless idiot, actually dare to set your sights on them?”
The man who spoke clearly had his head screwed on straight.
Those people and their vehicle were spotless. When they saw the bloody cleavers in the men’s hands, they had frowned. They weren’t afraid; they were disgusted!
People like that were naturally not people they could afford to offend.
Only a shortsighted fool like Fourth Brother would dare entertain the idea of targeting them.
“Fourth Brother, learn something from Second Brother. Try using your brain and show a little improvement,” the boss who had struck him reprimanded coldly.
“Yes, Boss. I was wrong.” Fourth Brother rubbed his nose sheepishly and retreated to the side.
“You lot, come here.”
After reprimanding Fourth Brother, the boss casually pointed toward the women huddled together for warmth in the distance and crooked a finger at them.
The women immediately scrambled toward him on their hands and knees, looking up at him expectantly.
The boss stirred the pot a few times with his ladle, then fished out several blackened pieces of meat and tossed them in front of the women as though feeding dogs.
The women immediately threw themselves at the food, clawing and fighting one another for it. Whoever managed to snatch a piece stuffed it desperately into her mouth.
As they fought, it was as though they had forgotten that just a moment earlier, they had been embracing one another for warmth.
Second Brother looked at them with some distaste.
“These ones are in pretty bad shape. We’ve been unable to sell them for ages. I’m worried they’ll end up being a loss.”
The boss sighed when he heard this.
“Things are getting worse and worse. Let’s keep them for a few more days. If nobody wants them by then, we’ll just throw them away.”
Second Brother nodded at that, then helped himself to meat from the pot and began chewing in large mouthfuls.
Only after the four men around the pot had eaten their fill did Third Brother, who had remained silent all along, call the children over and distribute food to them.
The thinly dressed men received their share last.
The hierarchy here was crystal clear.