Chapter 039: Seafood Hot Pot with a Porridge Broth

Warehouse.

Zheng Wenxiu moved all the supplies from the spatial storage out into the open. During this trip, they had passed through seven or eight towns and encountered three or four large supermarkets that still held a decent amount of stock.

"Thirty-four bags of rice, twenty-one bags of flour, 112 boxes of instant food, ten cans of fruit, four cans of meat, and various seasonings like oil, salt, and vinegar..."

"Over fifty sets of quilts, more than twenty down jackets, and a variety of daily necessities..."

After completing the inventory, Zheng Wenxiu summarized, "Every household in the village is growing vegetables, and they have their own stored grain. These supplies should last for a while."

Wei Yan remained silent.

As his secretary and assistant, Zheng Wenxiu understood his thoughts. "Brother Wei, for the more than one thousand people in the village, these supplies are indeed a bit sparse. But for us, we have already done everything within our power."

"We have scoured the counties and towns around G City; the supplies have basically been stripped clean. If we want to find more, we would have to travel to other cities."

"But I don't recommend it," Zheng Wenxiu said bluntly. "This cold wave came out of nowhere. September in G City has never seen such low temperatures; we have no idea what will happen next. The best approach is to stay in the village and wait to see how things develop."

She had said so much, and Wei Yan was no fool; he understood the logic she was trying to convey.

"Let's wait and see then."

He rubbed his temples, but the look of worry did not dissipate.

Seeing this, Zheng Wenxiu hit the nail on the head. "Brother Wei, it is unrealistic to think that you can single-handedly ensure that the entire Hot Spring Village is well-fed and clothed, living like a paradise in the apocalypse."

"Going out to look for supplies is not a long-term solution. To ensure the village survives, we must either make the village completely self-sufficient or expand our scale to bring in more survivors, building a larger base to achieve resource circulation."

The former was possible, but it would inevitably be grueling. The latter was far too complex, and even if they tried to implement it, things might not necessarily head in the direction they imagined.

Wei Yan was silent again. After a long while, he said, "In a few days, once this batch of supplies has been distributed, I will call a meeting for everyone to discuss the possibility of expanding the village into a base."

Zheng Wenxiu looked at the supplies in the warehouse, feeling a tinge of regret. Before the apocalypse, Wei Yan had been a great boss; he was also an excellent leader. If it weren't for him, she could never have been so selfless.

There were so many supplies! If it were just the three of them, they could eat for an entire year!

Guan Zixuan probably thought the same, right? They both admired Brother Wei’s character and ability, which was why they stayed. They weren't truly interested in making sacrifices—how could there be so many saints in this world?

Wei Yan, unaware of Zheng Wenxiu's true thoughts, felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted now that he had made the decision to expand the village.

"Let's go. After running around for so long, let's have a good meal tonight."

Zheng Wenxiu smiled brightly. "Then I want hot pot. There are still a few packs of hot pot base in the warehouse—it wouldn't be too much to ask for that as a reward, would it?"

"Take them," Wei Yan said, not stingy in such matters. "By the way, take this Tier 3 crystal."

He tossed her an orange crystal.

Zheng Wenxiu caught it immediately, her face blooming with joy. "Thank you, Brother Wei! I can work for you for the rest of my life!"

A Tier 3 crystal! In all this time, they had only managed to get their hands on four of them! Two had gone to Wei Yan and Guan Zixuan, as they were the main force fighting zombies and needed to keep their abilities high. One had been given to Zou Gaoming. Only now, with this final one, had it reached her.

Wei Yan laughed, "Actually, I have shortchanged you. The third one really should have gone to you."

But because she was a spatial ability user, she had to go on outings, and they needed a powerful ability user to stay behind and guard the village, so it had been given to Zou Gaoming instead.

"As for that Tier 4 crystal..."

That Tier 4 zombie hidden in the supermarket had almost succeeded in a sneak attack, but they had eventually discovered it and used their geographical advantage to kill it completely.

But how to dispose of the crystal... Wei Yan frowned. "I'll keep it for now."

Zheng Wenxiu had no objections and added casually, "I wonder how things are going with Zixuan. I hope those outsider ability users behave themselves."

At the mention of this, a memorable, pretty face flashed through Wei Yan’s mind.

He replied subconsciously, "There shouldn't be any problems."

...

"You can stay here."

Guan Zixuan led Su Su and her group to a log-style guesthouse. "This was originally prepared for tourists, so the daily necessities are all here. If you need anything else, come find me. I’m staying in the courtyard behind the guesthouse."

He pointed to a detached small courtyard not far away. It was the administrative base for him, Brother Wei, and Wenxiu, conveniently located right next to the guesthouse, which made it easy to "monitor" the incoming ability users.

"Wow! The decor here is great!" Pang Cancan was already exploring the guesthouse with Le Rui.

Guan Zixuan puffed out his chest. "Of course! The guesthouses in the resort could charge five or six hundred a night during peak tourist season!"

Su Su stood on the small second-floor balcony, easily spotting several vegetable plots in front of the detached courtyard. Originally, there had been some vegetables planted there, but the sudden cold wave had killed most of them. Only in the far eastern corner did a few dozen large cabbages survive stubbornly.

Guan Zixuan followed her gaze, a look of pain flashing in his eyes. "Those were the vegetables I grew myself, and they're all dead!"

"It's already quite impressive," Su Su comforted him sincerely. The temperature outside had dropped to minus three degrees; this Hot Spring Village was merely five or six degrees warmer than the outside.

"You should harvest them soon, lest the cabbages freeze to death too."

Guan Zixuan keenly captured the key information. "Do you think the temperature will continue to drop?"

"Yes."

Su Su did not shy away from revealing the future. "As the temperature continues to drop, it will likely snow." She looked up at the gloomy, overcast sky. "If the snow gets any heavier, it will lead to a snow disaster."

The young woman was very slender, her small, palm-sized face buried in a fluffy scarf, making her lips look red and her skin white. Because she was dressed warmly, her cheeks were a healthy pinkish-white. As her long, thick eyelashes fluttered, it was like a kitten’s tender paw pads gently brushing against an ankle.

Guan Zixuan stared at her, mesmerized. Her side profile was exquisite and delicate. Her nose tip was pert and rounded. Everything about her struck a chord in his heart.

For a moment, Guan Zixuan wanted to summon the courage to ask her if she would like to stay in Hot Spring Village. He could give her all his large cabbages.

*Smack!*

Su Su turned her head in surprise, only to find Guan Zixuan had inexplicably slapped himself in the face.

"?"

Guan Zixuan sobered up, struggling to keep up with her topic. "G City rarely snows in recent years. Every time a cold wave hits, it comes fiercely but leaves quickly. You hardly ever see even a speck of snow, let alone a snow disaster."

Su Su pursed her lips and smiled. "Have you ever seen a snow disaster?"

Guan Zixuan shook his head.

No wonder. Su Su had lived in the north-central region and had seen several snow disasters with her own eyes; at their worst, transportation would be completely paralyzed. Those who hadn't seen it could never imagine the terror.

She didn't offer any further explanation and said softly, "Before the cold wave passes, it's best not to leave the village."

Guan Zixuan wanted to say more to her, but a cold, snakelike hiss suddenly came from behind. The black snake that Su Su had casually placed on the sofa had woken up and followed the scent. Its ink-green pupils scanned the two humans in front of it with suspicion.

What were they doing, leaving it behind?

The black snake slithered to Su Su’s side and, in a petty mood, bit her pant leg.

"Hiss!"

"Why are you awake?"

Su Su bent down and lifted it up with some effort. After being together for so long, she understood its dissatisfaction the moment it bit her pant leg. "You were sleeping just now. I was only gone for a few minutes; when did I leave you behind?"

Guan Zixuan watched silently as Su Su coaxed a python. She acted as if the snake truly had self-awareness and needed her to explain why she had left it aside. He felt like he was overthinking things.

Just as Guan Zixuan was about to say something else, Su Su politely and distantly interrupted him.

"We will rest on our own. You just got back to the village, so you must have your own things to attend to, right?"

Guan Zixuan didn't actually have anything to do, but he understood Su Su’s subtle dismissal and had to leave the guesthouse, turning his head back with every few steps.

As soon as he left, Pang Cancan poked her head out from the next room. "Sister Su Su, he definitely likes you."

"Nonsense." Su Su refuted subconsciously, then, thinking of something, she raised her hand to touch her face. Because she had carried scars for so long in her previous life, she had rarely encountered people expressing affection, and over time, she had become dull to it.

Now that those two scars were gone... before she could think it through, her thumb web was suddenly bitten by two sharp fangs.

It was Little Black. Hearing Pang Cancan's words, its snake body suddenly tightened.

The long-absent "intimidation" had appeared again!

Su Su immediately threw Guan Zixuan to the back of her mind, held Little Black, and refuted solemnly, "Don't talk nonsense, Little Black is still here."

Pang Cancan: "..."

No, what does Little Black being here have to do with anything? Why can't she talk nonsense just because it's here?

She watched, bewildered, as Sister Su Su walked into the room and closed the balcony door tightly.

In the dim room, Su Su lay on the bed holding Little Black, staring at the ceiling and lost in thought, her palm stroking its smooth head rhythmically.

"Hiss~"

The black snake’s sharp fangs were still grazing the human's wrist, and its tail was firmly wrapped around her legs and waist.

Like?

The vertical pupils rotated twice. A brain that had gradually come to understand many things recalled the scene it had just witnessed. Its servant had been standing with another male human, and they had been looking at each other!

Deep inside the black snake, intense anger suddenly surged. As a cold-blooded animal, its nature was selfish, cold, and vengeful. It held onto the things it coveted tightly, wrapping its body around her coil after coil, wishing it could swallow her whole.

Letting those two people travel with them was already its greatest concession.