Chapter 37 p1
The milk tea shop wasn’t on the main street. The shops on the main street were all official, selling basic survival supplies. Further inside the base, on both sides of the auxiliary roads, were all sorts of shops, even more than the first time Ji Yang had come.
The milk tea shop was among them.
At first glance, it didn’t look too different from before the apocalypse, except that the decor was more solid and thick, looking less pretty.
It was just that you couldn’t park in front of the milk tea shop. There were few cars now, and the roads weren’t built wide, in order to accommodate more people. It just so happened that Ji Yang’s snowmobile was two or three times wider than a regular motorcycle.
Fortunately, there was a small parking lot on every street.
Zhao Xing and her family hadn’t touched a car in over a year and didn’t know about it. It was Ji Yang who had heard Luo Laosan mention it before and knew there was a parking lot. So, she drove her motorcycle around for a while and found the entrance to the parking lot.
There was a small booth at the entrance, just like before the apocalypse. Three people were playing poker in the booth, very lively. One of them saw her come in and lazily reminded her, “Five points per hour. If you can’t pay the points, your car will be impounded.”
“Got it,” Ji Yang replied and drove in.
There were only a few dozen parking spaces here. Considering that there was also a shelter sign at the entrance of the parking lot, it meant that if there was another hailstorm or something, you could directly run here to take shelter.
It wasn’t just for parking.
And there were very few cars inside. Including her car, there were only four. It was probably because cars were hard to find.
Ji Yang randomly found an empty spot and parked. Then, she learned from TV and stuck a strand of hair in a key place, and also took a photo of the car, before she went out with peace of mind.
As soon as she entered the milk tea shop, she felt a blast of warm air.
Zhao Xing waved. “Here, here!”
Ji Yang went over. The milk tea had already been served, and it was all hot. “There are only a few kinds. The caramel pearl is the best. Do you want to drink anything else?”
Ji Yang shook her head. “No need, this is enough.”
Zhao Xing pouted. “Alright, you’re not still on a diet, are you? It’s a pity that the restaurants are not open at this time. Otherwise, I would have treated you to a meal. If it weren’t for you, I would have starved to death.”
Ji Yang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “It’s not that serious. I just gave you a reminder.”
Zhao Xing didn’t care. She felt that Ji Yang had done her a great favor, so she had. Unfortunately, she really didn’t have much to repay her with. It was already afternoon, and Ji Yang didn’t live in the base. It would be dangerous to go back late, so she could only drink a cup of milk tea.
She didn’t talk about these things anymore and instead started to chat about the situation over the past year.
“A lot of people have had accidents. I’ve been here for two months, and I haven’t met many acquaintances. I used to think that Changnan City was very small, and I could meet people I knew everywhere. Now I feel that Changnan City is really big, and it’s full of strangers,” Zhao Xing said, her mood sinking. “It’s a good thing you’re still here.”
Ji Yang pursed her lips. “You’ll get used to it.”
Zhao Xing smiled bitterly. That was true. She had actually gotten used to it. If it weren’t for meeting Ji Yang, she wouldn’t have suddenly become so sentimental.
Zhao Xing was a talkative person and naturally extended the topic. Ji Yang mostly listened. In the past, she would also have joked along, but after so many years of tempering, her words had become much fewer, but listening to others was also a good feeling.
From Zhao Xing’s words, she knew that life in the base now seemed to be not as good as she had imagined.
Zhao Xing’s father was smart enough and ruthless enough, but the assets in his hands were not of much use in the disaster. The points and favors he had exchanged were also limited. In their current state, they were a little panicked about sitting and eating their mountains empty, but they couldn’t find a suitable job for the time being.
Returning to a life that was more primitive, most city people couldn’t adapt. Skilled workers, on the other hand, could find jobs more easily. Doctors, researchers, car mechanics, construction workers, and even those who knew how to farm could find a job in the base’s dedicated planting fields and support themselves.
But besides that, most of what they could do was manual labor.
Or they could risk their lives to do missions. There was a dedicated mission-issuing location at the entrance of each base. Some mission points would be refreshed every day. At first glance, it sounded quite interesting, like playing a game, but those missions were usually—a batch of supplies at a certain location needed to be excavated. Food and lodging were provided on the way. After the mission was completed, you could get one or two hundred points.
If you wanted more points, you had to undertake more dangerous missions, such as going to other cities.
Because of the base in Changnan City, a large number of people had gathered here, and the supplies that could be found were already very scarce. So, the surrounding other cities were also targeted. But a long journey meant that there would be more uncertain things in the middle.
Robbers on the road, changeable natural disasters, and even attacks by hungry beasts.
The death rate was the highest compared to other jobs.
Zhao Xing counted on her fingers and found that she couldn’t do any of them. She grabbed her hair and broke down. “I suddenly feel like I’ve become a good-for-nothing.”
Ji Yang was silent. She couldn’t go against her conscience and comfort her that it would be okay. After much hesitation, she still said, “At this time, we can’t be afraid of this and that. In short, we should save as many supplies and points as possible.”
Tears almost streamed down Zhao Xing’s face. “The meaning in your words, is the disaster really not going to end?”
Ji Yang looked at her quietly.
Zhao Xing held her forehead. “Let me calm down.”
Although their family was panicked about sitting and eating their mountains empty, in fact, compared to the vast majority of people, the Zhao family was already rich enough. The supplies and points they had saved were enough for them to eat for one or two years.
And they always thought that after one or two years, things would return to normal, right?
Therefore, the sense of urgency was not strong.
But now that Ji Yang had said so, Zhao Xing felt that it was far from enough.
She couldn’t sit still for a moment and looked at Ji Yang with a conflicted expression.
Ji Yang understood and immediately got up. “It’s getting late. Let’s go back.”
“Okay, okay. You know my address. Come and find me directly next time. We can eat at home or outside,” Zhao Xing said with a smile.
Ji Yang nodded. As for whether she would go to her house, it was highly unlikely.
—
Zhao Xing left in a hurry. Ji Yang finished the last sip of her milk tea without wasting a single drop and then strolled away.
If everyone works hard, life will get better and better.
She was just afraid of those who were too lazy to move and, in the end, when they had nothing to eat, their first reaction was to rob others’ hoards.
The chaos was because of this kind of person.
When Ji Yang arrived at the parking lot again, only half an hour had passed. When she went in, she still had a smile on her face. Just as she reached the entrance, she heard a cough, and then two men casually moved away from her motorcycle.
The smile on her face disappeared, and she looked at the three of them coldly.
But they were probably regulars. Their expressions were calm. Except for one who was on the lookout, whose face twitched when Ji Yang looked at him, the other two could still chat and laugh. When they looked up and saw Ji Yang’s cold face, not only were they not afraid, but one of them even whistled arrogantly. “Wow, a beauty. Which big brother gave you this motorcycle? It’s really nice.”
When Ji Yang had come in, she had been completely covered up, but just now, because she had been drinking milk tea, she had taken off her goggles and scarf, and her whole face was exposed.
She was a rare healthy, rosy, and full-faced person in the apocalypse, not to mention that she was beautiful herself.
Even with a cold face, one of them still had some ideas.
Ji Yang ignored them and went straight to the car to check. The strand of hair at the gas tank was gone. Then she looked at other places… with every place she looked, her face turned a shade colder.
She tried to start the ignition. Just as it started, it immediately stalled.
She tried again, and this time it started, but the gas tank showed that there was only a little gas left.
At this point, she naturally did not dare to drive.
Ji Yang still valued her life very much.
She looked at the three people who had not really left and asked calmly, “Are you sure you want to do this?”
The one who looked like the leader among the three smiled. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand. Is your car broken? My brother happens to be able to fix it. For just a hundred points, you can get a fully functional car back!”
The man who had been pushed out two steps next to him had an expectant expression. “Don’t worry, my skills are quite good.”
“Oh, the skills are quite good, hahaha…” this person suddenly let out a lewd laugh and even nudged the other person’s arm.
Ji Yang looked at them with disgust. A short knife appeared in her hand out of nowhere and was pointed at them. “Is it funny? Being a rat in the government’s parking lot, stealing gas, and damaging cars, just to earn points? As disgusting as a rat in a sewer!”
As she spoke, the people passing by the parking lot also noticed the commotion here.
This was still the main area, with a large flow of people. The main gate of the parking lot would not be easily closed. At this time, it was open, and many people were secretly watching the fun. The entertainment in the apocalypse had decreased, and gossip was also a good pastime.
And the smiles of the three of them suddenly stopped. There was a moment of fear, but they quickly realized that the person in front of them was a very beautiful woman, and she was very young. The fear instantly disappeared.
Zhong Hongwen had been throwing his weight around here for two months.
His eyes were sharp. He knew that those people in the base had connections and could not be provoked. As for the others, even if they had been big bosses and rich second generations in the past, they were now in decline. They had supplies, but they still had to bow and scrape to the government officials.
And the girl in front of him, he had never seen her before.
This snowmobile, he had seen it a few times. Each time, it was a rich second generation who had driven it out, with different girls in the car. This girl was probably one of them. She was probably quite likable and could drive it out alone.
Cars were precious now. Even a rich second generation would feel the heartache if it was damaged.
The car was broken in her hands. So what if she had a knife? It was just a bluff. In the end, she would still obediently hand over the points to fix the car. Otherwise, if she were to drag it back like this, she would definitely suffer a lot.
The smile on Zhong Hongwen’s face reappeared, and his lewd gaze sized her up and down. “Did your sugar daddy not give you any points? Don’t use a knife. Since you’re a beauty, I’ll give you a discount. Just fifty points. Of course, there’s another condition. Spend a night with us. How about it?”
After this person finished speaking, the car repairman next to him immediately said, “I advise you not to be ungrateful. Our parking lot is running fine. You suddenly ran over to frame us. My Brother Wen is already being very nice. If you really want to get serious, do you think we’re afraid of you?!”
With that, he even took out a wrench from his pocket, looking like he was about to fight.
The other person also took a step forward and stood in front of Zhong Hongwen, looking like a loyal little brother.
The three of them sang in harmony. Ji Yang was so angry that she laughed. She had originally been concerned about the base and didn’t want to make too much of a fuss. Since that was the case, she directly stepped forward.
Zhong Hongwen and the others thought she was giving in and their smiles became even more unrestrained. But they saw Ji Yang, at a distance of an arm’s length from them, suddenly kicked out, a kick straight at one of them’s face.
“Ah!” a tragic scream, and the person was directly kicked down.
The crowd outside directly “whooshed” and gasped in amazement, staring at this scene dumbfounded. Someone also muttered, “Serves him right! This dog has finally been dealt with!”
Zhong Hongwen had a gut feeling that something was wrong and subconsciously pushed the car repairman in front of Ji Yang.
But Ji Yang had long been on guard. She gathered her strength in her foot and kicked this person in the stomach. This person was sent flying and crashed into Zhong Hongwen, who was turning to run away, pinning him down.
“Damn it!” Zhong Hongwen was both angry and anxious. “Do you know who I am?! You’ll regret this!”
Ji Yang directly stepped on his head, and his raised head was smashed to the ground. With a “thump,” the eyelids of the people listening on the side twitched.
Oh my god, this girl is too ruthless!
“Ah!” Zhong Hongwen was also screaming nonstop, his head buzzing. He didn’t forget to shout, “Go and call my brother, quick! Old San, you go for me!”
The boss, who had reacted faster than him, had already scrambled away after the first hit. When he heard this, he had just come out of the crowd and didn’t forget to make a threat. “You wait for me! When my Brother Wu comes—”
Zhong Hongwen also heard it and immediately smiled. The next second, the foot on his head pressed down even harder, and the pain made him grimace. “Damn it, bitch, I’ll remember you. When my brother comes! I’ll make you pay!”
Ji Yang looked down at him. “Alright, I’ll wait.”
She looked at the entrance of the parking lot.
The commotion here had already attracted a large crowd, blocking the main gate so that the situation outside could not be seen. But soon, a voice shouted from outside, “Get out of my way! Get out of the way!”
The faces of the crowd all changed, and they tried their best to squeeze out a position.
And they saw the man who had just run away come over with another tall and sturdy man in a security uniform. The man’s face was dark, and he looked quite fierce. As soon as he came in and saw his own brother being bullied, his face was filled with a fierce and even more ferocious look. He took out a gun without a second word. “Get down for me—”
Before he could finish speaking, a silver light flashed.
Zhong Hongwu hadn’t even realized what was happening when his hand hurt, and the gun fell directly.
His face changed drastically.
The security officer was an external staff member. The government didn’t have enough manpower, so they could only find some people with good skills from the public to maintain the security of the base. The Zhong family had connections and knew that they had to rely on the government to live a good life. They had long since asked someone to send their two sons for training. But only the older son, because he had been a fitness coach before, had become a security officer. The younger son had been eliminated. Later, he had relied on his brother and his family to get a leisurely job as a parking lot guard.
And Zhong Hongwu had been in training for three months. From the first lesson to the last, the coach had been emphasizing that he must not let the gun leave his hand.
In this environment, if a gun were to fall into the hands of an ordinary person, it would be an absolute disaster.
Of course, what he was afraid of was not the disaster that would happen, but his career.
Zhong Hongwu ignored the sharp pain in his hand and was the first to pounce to grab the gun.
But Ji Yang’s speed was faster. She had been prepared, so she had rushed over the moment she had knocked the gun down. With a sweeping kick, she kicked Zhong Hongwu’s outstretched hand away, and the gun fell into her hand. She loaded it and aimed. “You, get down!”
—