Fifteen boxes of canned food was an unexpected windfall. Once they loaded them into the vehicle, Ling Jiang grinned with excitement. "I wish we'd run into more of these 'just in case' surprises on the way."
As it turned out, Ling Jiang's words hit the mark. Right next to the shady little workshop they had just raided was a tiny, equally shady mineral water plant. The place was no more legitimate than the kind of small snack factories that made unbranded children's treats in unsanitary conditions. This one turned out chocolate biscuits by combining unregulated chocolate with equally unregulated biscuits.
Lan Jin found it hard to believe these things were meant for children at all. She had never even seen this brand before. "I don't think they're edible. There's no way to guarantee food safety."
But that was only her opinion. To prove otherwise, Lao Gao tore open a package right there and stuffed a piece into his mouth.
The taste was just as suspect as the source — a cheap blend of biscuit and chocolate. Still, he shrugged. "There's no way this stuff could make it into a big supermarket. Probably ends up in little countryside shops. You know, the ones that sell knock-off drinks like 'Rebi' and 'Happy Cola.' I've eaten it, and it goes down. If you're not comfortable, we can sell them later. We just look down on it because Sister Lan's got a big stockpile. Without all that, these snacks could still keep us from starving."
Lao Gao glanced at them and sighed. "Don't set your standards too high. Staying alive is already hard enough."
None of them were about to lower their standards that far. "Don't act so pitiful. You're the one who made the supply ledger for the space. We've got enough to eat. No need for this."
Still, while they wouldn't eat them, they weren't about to turn the goods away. In the end, Lan Jin stashed all seven boxes of biscuits in the space.
Those two little workshops took only half a day to clear. In the afternoon, they found two more factory buildings, but luck had run out — nothing worth taking. They left empty-handed.
After a night's rest in the space, they set off for their next destination.
From then on, no more factories appeared along the way. The office buildings they passed were surrounded by residential blocks. None of the four even bothered to get out of the car. By the end of the day, they reached H City.
The distance between J City and H City would have been too far to cover in one day before the disaster. But with no traffic lights and the icy surface letting them take shortcuts, they managed it in a day.
The base, however, was not in the city center. To their surprise, it had been built up on a mountain.
They might not have believed it if they hadn't seen Lao Gao using his ability to pressure a local into spilling the truth.
Huang Jinghe guessed, "Probably because of the terrain. H City's surrounded by mountains on three sides. If they didn't build it up there, they'd have to put it on the ice. Makes sense."
It did make sense. The higher ground also meant that no matter how heavy the rain, it would never flood the mountain.
Still, the same mountains now made it hard for residents without vehicles to reach the base.
The man they were questioning added, "If you've got a car, you can get there in less than half a day."
Thanks to the ice raising the ground level, there was no need to wind around the mountains. A trip that used to take a full day could now be done in just one or two hours.
After giving the man a pack of those questionable chocolate biscuits, Lao Gao walked away without another word.
They followed the direction the man had pointed and drove toward the base.
Three hours later, they saw it — a towering circular wall surrounding the base.
Lan Jin tilted her head. "Do all bases build their walls like this? Why are they all round?"
The wall sat high up on the slope. Not far from it, Lao Gao's vehicle rolled off the ice and onto something they had not touched in a long time — soil.
The moment he saw it, Lao Gao pulled over. "Let's walk from here. It's not far, and I want to feel dirt under my feet again."
"Alright."
No one objected. Lao Gao parked in a concealed spot, and Lan Jin stored both the car and their belongings in the space.
"Once we get out," Lan Jin asked, "we'll need to trade supplies for contribution points, right? If so, we can't just carry one backpack each. It'll be too hard to take stuff out."
"One pack each is fine," Huang Jinghe said. "But what exactly are we trading?"
Lao Gao pointed at the sausages, canned goods, and dubious snacks. "I ate them days ago. No problem. If you're worried, just trade them instead. Everyone carry some. The canned food should be worth a lot."
"We can't all trade the same thing," Huang Jinghe frowned. "If we do, it'll look suspicious."
"No problem," Lao Gao said casually. "We won't be staying long. We can always trade more later. I think we should check out the shopping center first, see if they have weapons, then trade and buy them right away. In times like this, pulling out supplies like these is the best way to get noticed."
If they weren't planning to shop, they could have kept a low profile like in J City's base. But since they were, keeping a low profile in H City was impossible.
Even so, they had to keep up appearances. Lan Jin stuffed her pack with cans, sausages, and biscuits until it was bulging, though she still couldn't fit everything.
Watching her struggle, Ling Jiang muttered, "You could save some for the next base. No need to cram it all in."
Lan Jin smiled. "No next base. If I can't trade for more, I'll just trade for gold. I already took all the gold from the mall."
They already knew about the gold in the mall and that Lan Jin had taken it. Hearing her say it so bluntly still left them at a loss for words. "The gap between people… it's something else."
Lan Jin only smiled. Once all four of them had filled their backpacks, they left the space and stood on solid ground again.
Of course, they brought their skating gear with them. Without it, walking the distance on foot would have been exhausting.
As they climbed the mountain, Lao Gao stared down at the dirt for a while before saying, "This soil must have been treated."