Apocalyptic Reincarnation: Start with a 30-million Bonus

”Huh... I remember there were four vehicles. Right?” a man glanced at his companion.

Seeing the anger slowly surface on Brother Zhong’s face, his companion weakly said, ”Should be...”

”Then where the heck did the other vehicle go?” Brother Zhong roared furiously.

Nobody knew how to respond.

Brother Zhong gave them a look. He knew that they had come in four vehicles and now only three remained.

He immediately stepped forward and saw that one of the vehicles’ windows had been smashed.

”Someone! Someone drove off with our car,” Brother Zhong stated coldly.

”But, when we went in earlier, we clearly didn’t see anyone. How could it…” The man who first spoke said.

Brother Zhong took a deep breath and then exhaled. He was very angry today.

This trip was utterly unnecessary. The time spent was one thing, but they had come to find some supplies.

In the end, they didn’t find any supplies. Instead, one of their vehicles was stolen.

Not only had they gained nothing, but they had also lost a vehicle.

Damn it.

Everyone was somewhat upset.

But looking down the street, they had no idea where the car thief could have gone.

Brother Zhong surveyed the area, finding no trace of anyone. Staying here served little purpose now.

One reason was the lack of useful supplies in the area. Another was the theft suggesting someone might be lurking nearby in Jiefang City, silently observing them from a hidden corner.

It was unwise to stay here any longer.

There was no point in staying.

Therefore, Brother Zhong led the group onto the road back home.

As they drove back, the vehicles went at a very high speed.

Since the distance was considerable, they had left as soon as the sun came up today.

Rushing and hustling, they arrived around noon, just 20 minutes upon reaching.

Zero gains and a stolen vehicle, such was the end of their trip to Jiefang City.

”Sigh... drive faster. I don’t want to stay here anymore,” Brother Zhong said.

Racing swiftly, they arrived back at Harmony Garden by four in the afternoon.

At Harmony Garden, Brother Zhong told Mr. Wang about everything that had happened today.

Brother Zhong had braced himself for Mr. Wang’s scolding, but Mr. Wang didn’t scold him.

Seeing the dust-covered Brother Zhong, who had rushed back with such urgency, Mr. Wang revealed a smile and said, ”Little Zhong, don’t blame yourself for this. They left in a hurry and didn’t even drive all of your cars away.

Plus, you know, gasoline is rarer than cars these days. If they had just taken the gasoline, you all might have found it very difficult to return.”

Listening to this made Brother Zhong feel a chill. If all their vehicles had been stolen, they would have ended up living around Jiefang City. In this post-apocalyptic world, no one wants to live in an unfamiliar environment.

Meanwhile, in Harmony Garden, they didn’t have to worry much about safety and could sleep peacefully at night. If they couldn’t return and had to live outside, it would be an unspeakable luxury.

Mr. Wang noticed Brother Zhong’s look of relief and grew a bit more serious, ”In the future, handle things with more care. If you really had no vehicles left, could you have made it back?”

Now, with the scarcity of gasoline, some gas stations still have fuel, but they require electricity to pump, or a pump is needed.

They had neither. This was already the norm.

Mr. Wang then had Brother Zhong leave. There were no scoldings, just reminders on how to handle things next time.

Brother Zhong felt much calmer inside, relieved that Mr. Wang wasn’t blaming him.

Mr. Wang stared off towards Xin City, further away from Harmony Garden, also in turmoil.

It should be noted that, in this apocalyptic world, many vehicles were simply abandoned on roadsides, and since the road surfaces hadn’t been maintained for nearly a year, they were pitted and uneven, greatly affecting driving speed.

”Never mind, it’s not a good idea to go looking for trouble with them now,” Mr. Wang muttered to himself.

After Xie Liuhai joined in, he quickly became one of Mr. Wang’s most loyal men.

True friends are hard to find.

Mr. Wang understood him so well, he had to show his worth.

However, at Harmony Garden, the crops planted were already sown, chosen for their durability in dry conditions.

Currently, there was a shortage of well water in Harmony Garden. Thus, he decided to dig the well deeper.

This well was the lifeline that allowed them to keep on living.

Why did digging wells to a certain depth require professional equipment?

Because beyond a certain depth, water naturally emerges. Once the water appears, digging deeper becomes incredibly difficult.

Especially when using manual labor.

It’s not feasible to hold one’s breath and dig underwater.

Impractical.

In Harmony Garden, water was continuously pumped from this well, never stopping.

Because there were just too many uses for water in the base.

Just watering the crops was a major demand. Those crops, though drought-resistant, still couldn’t be left unwatered, especially after being scorched by the sun during the day.

Thus, there was this scene where everyone was drawing water from the well while Xie Liuhai was digging deeper into it.

This depth was, in truth, quite frightening.

Xie Liuhai felt the slow, steady seepage of water from the earth walls, not fast but persistent.

As the water just seeping in was continuously pumped out from above, Xie Liuhai kept digging bit by bit.

However, the sense of pressure was exacerbated in such deep wells—over 30 meters down.

After only a short time, he had to come up for breath.

The deeper he went, the harder the geology, increasing the difficulty of digging.

Imagine a person digging a well three stories beneath the ground.

”It’s too dark down there. I feel like I could be swallowed up at any moment. When I talk down there, it takes you guys a long time to reply,” Xie Liuhai complained after reaching the surface.

”Why don’t I go down?” Brother Zhong suggested.

Xie Liuhai quickly replied, ”It’s alright, Brother. It’s not a big deal. I can manage.”

”Alright then. You’ll continue digging in a bit,” Brother Zhong said.

”....”

Xie Liuhai couldn’t help but grumble to himself: I was just being polite. Didn’t expect you to take it seriously.

He sighed, looked at the bright sky with newfound appreciation for something he never before found precious. Just moments before, while at the bottom of the well, all he wished was to see that light.

Xie Liuhai returned to the depths. After two days, he had managed to deepen the well by five meters.

Originally, they had tried to dig a few more wells, but discovered that the new wells, even after digging nearly 10 meters, yielded no water.

They needed to dig deeper for water.

Time passed by little by little.

And they persevered day by day.