Finally, after all the wood from unit 3201 had been chopped into smaller pieces, Lao Gao stood on the balcony, staring out at the path beyond, lost in thought.
Following his gaze, Lan Jin looked at the rows of icicles stuck upright in the frozen surface outside. She asked, "Those icicles out there are frozen into the ice. The ground might not be bumpy, but with your ice skates, you probably can't glide on it, can you?"
"It's not just about skating," Ling Jiang said before Lao Gao could answer. "Even walking might be hard. We should wait and see how others handle it first. No point wasting time and effort if it comes to nothing. And we'll probably have to borrow a few of your sleds. If sleds can't manage, then we'll have to carry things on our backs."
Lan Jin herself was reliable, but that road outside… could people really walk on it?
Perhaps seeing her doubt, Lao Gao said, "Either way, we have to wait until the icicles and ice harden properly before going down there. If we can clear the icicles, that's even better, but I think they'll be hard to break. We might just end up walking over them as they are."
There was no question that the icicles would be hard to cut. If it were just one or two, no matter how tough, a group working together could break them. But now they were packed tightly across the ice, and with the temperature dropping to who knows how many dozens of degrees below zero…
In short, traveling smoothly would not be easy.
…
All the wood in 3201 was now cut to the size needed for charcoal-making. Cutting them into small segments over several days had been easy enough, but turning them all into charcoal was much harder.
Even with her and Huang Jinghe working together non-stop for days, they had only managed to produce enough charcoal to fill one small corner of the room.
They set aside what they needed for themselves, then prepared the rest for trade. It was just enough to load onto their two sleds, perfect for a supply run.
Yet nearly a week had passed, and Lao Gao, who had been scanning the outside from the balcony, still had not seen a single person. His brow furrowed. "Could it be that the freezing rain killed everyone in the complex? Otherwise, how come there's no one out there?"
"Don't talk nonsense. The people in our building are still alive, aren't they?" Ling Jiang shot him an annoyed look. She could ignore anyone else in the complex, but not the dozen people living in their own building.
Huang Jinghe asked curiously, "But how come we haven't heard any movement downstairs lately?"
"Downstairs has been quiet since the beginning, not just the past few days," Lan Jin replied with a faint voice as she leaned over to listen.
No sooner had she spoken than the sound of an argument reached them from not far away.
The voices were all too familiar. They belonged to Qian Jun and his crew—the very people Ling Jiang had just been thinking about.
Lao Gao chuckled. "See? You were thinking about them, and here they are. Didn't expect them to be the first ones out though."
Ling Jiang smirked. "Probably ran out of food and heating. Otherwise, they'd never bother moving."
Whatever the reason, it worked out well. If someone went ahead to test the route, they could learn from it.
However…
Their "method" turned out to be chopping at the icicles sticking out of the ice. After taking turns hacking away with no progress at all, they quickly gave up.
Next, they tried walking directly on the surface. That worked better.
The ice was uneven and slick, full of pits, but it required no extra effort. They could simply stand on it and move forward. The problem was the slipperiness. Qian Jun's group of over ten people could barely take two or three steps before slipping and falling.
Falling on ice hurt, but here it was worse—the tips of the icicles were sharp, and no one had walked this path before. Each time they fell, their clothes tore, and bits of down floated into the air.
Lan Jin commented, "Looks like even walking isn't as simple as it seems."
But no matter the difficulty, once it was possible to travel, people would choose to leave. Home had nothing. Supplies were only outside. When Qian Jun's group, slipping and crawling, finally left the compound, others began trickling out from different buildings, moving slowly across the ice.
…
The four of them watched for a while, but aside from walking slowly, no new strategies emerged. They grew tired of observing. Back inside, they warmed themselves by the stove. Lao Gao asked, "Now that everyone's heading out, when should we go? Obviously, there's nothing more convenient than walking."
Lan Jin thought for a moment. "Do you know roughly where the black market is? And who we're supposed to find when we get there? If you're sure, we could bring the charcoal now. But if you're not, I suggest we scout the route first. No point dragging all that charcoal around and tiring ourselves out."
Ling Jiang agreed at once. "I think scouting is best. We've never been there, so better to check first than wander aimlessly with all that charcoal."
After some discussion, they decided to send Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe to scout ahead. Both were eager, so they quickly packed up and strolled out of the compound.
But before they had gone far, Qian Jun returned—this time leading a much larger group.
It was not just the ten or so from their building. From Ling Jiang's vantage point on the balcony, she counted thirty-two people. The scene of them shuffling and slipping along was impressive, but the danger was real.
Ling Jiang said, "Grab anything useful you've got at home and keep it in your hands. Once they get up here, it might be too late."
Lan Jin looked around her place, then remembered the chainsaw she had lent Lao Gao.
She yanked its cord to start it, but Ling Jiang winced at the sight and quickly stopped her. "I'm not saying you can't use that, but can you promise not to nick me by accident? There's no hospital now, and even if there was… well, a chainsaw injury is the sort you don't come back from."
Lan Jin froze, realizing that if things turned chaotic, she might indeed hit someone by mistake. "Alright, I won't use it for now."
Regretfully, she set the chainsaw aside and picked up a watermelon knife instead. Then she glanced down at Nana by her feet and called, "Nana, come help too."