Apocalyptic Disaster: I Hoard Billions in Supplies and Kill the Saint

82: Chapter 82 The Barrier Beneath the IceDeep into the night, the wind and snow had not ceased, and the temperature outside the window had dropped to minus sixty-two degrees.

But inside—warm lights shone, a pot of hot soup bubbled, the steam blurring everyone’s faces and exuding a long-lost sense of domestic warmth.

In the center of the dining table, the pot bubbled and steamed.

Fatty beef rolls, fatty lamb rolls, luncheon meat, shrimp paste, frozen tofu, wide glass noodles, and lotus root slices were neatly arranged, and most importantly, there was a large basin of fresh vegetables, something almost unimaginable in the Apocalypse.

A small stove was placed next to the pot, heating a rich bone broth base.

Oil dipping sauce, chili sauce, sesame paste, minced garlic, chopped green onions, and cilantro were lined up; it was even more meticulous than restaurants before the Apocalypse.

Zhao Wei was already enjoying himself, picking up meat while muttering:

”Damn... this isn’t hot pot, this is faith!”

”Boss, how much good stuff have you hidden away? I almost teared up after just one bite!”

”You mean because it was spicy enough to make your eyes water.”

Sun Hao calmly scooped a little more onion and garlic sauce from his own dish.

Zhang Tianjin was silently cutting frozen tofu on the other end; although he had no expression on his face, his technique was skillful, obviously not a stranger to it.

As for Lin Wanru—sitting at the corner of the table, she held a pair of chopsticks cautiously, her whole demeanor somewhat restrained.

But in her eyes, she could not hide the excitement and heartfelt joy.

She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten like this.

She had thought that in the Apocalypse, just being able to eat and survive was already a luxury.

But today—she actually got to eat hot pot.

This was something she hadn’t dared to even think about.

The key was that besides the hot pot, Ye Nanxing had actually prepared things for her that had almost gone extinct after the Apocalypse.

Cola, fried chicken.

That crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside texture that crumbled when bitten brought her back to pre-Apocalypse times in a second.

And also, milk tea, ice cream.

The sweet, milky flavor melted in her mouth, and as Lin Wanru held that bite, her tears suddenly became hard to control.

She lowered her head and quickly shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice.

”Don’t cry.”

Ye Nanxing pushed a cup of hot milk tea to her side, her tone gentle yet sincere.

”Here, when we eat, we eat; we don’t shed tears.”

”If you want to cry, wait until you’re on the battlefield tomorrow.”

Lin Wanru looked up at her.

”...Thank you.”

Her voice was choked with emotion, but it was mostly suppressed composure.

Ye Nanxing looked at her and nodded slightly, a flash of softness appearing in her eyes.

In her eyes, Lin Wanru was still just a Child.

The Apocalypse had taught her to hold a gun, pull the trigger, and even brace against the door of a murderer, but that wasn’t the whole of growing up.

True growth was being able to sit straight while eating and not having to be so alert that you didn’t dare close your eyes when sleeping.

”Tomorrow, come with us,” Ye Nanxing suddenly said.

Zhao Wei almost choked instantly: ”...What?”

Sun Hao raised an eyebrow: ”Can she handle it?”

Zhang Tianjin just stopped what he was doing and looked at Lin Wanru.

Lin Wanru froze for a second, then her eyes widened, her heart rate accelerating suddenly.

”Me?” She looked at Ye Nanxing in disbelief.

”You are no longer the you from before,” Ye Nanxing said calmly. ”That shot was not a test.”

”It was your starting point.”

”I don’t guarantee you can win, but I want to know—do you dare to face it?”

Lin Wanru felt a sting in her nose and nodded: ”I will, I won’t hold you back.”

Zhao Wei pursed his lips: ”Then I’ll have to prepare another set of thermal clothing...”

”Wait, are we going to... the factory tomorrow?”

He suddenly realized, ”Then we need to deploy another tactical support vehicle.”

Sun Hao began to re-plot the route, and Zhou Cheng sent support updates remotely.

Zhang Tianjin also stood up, his tone concise: ”Eat your fill and sleep; at 0600 sharp tomorrow, gather with your gear.”

Lin Wanru watched this group of people quickly spring into action, no longer hesitating or doubting; she also stood up, washed the bowls until they were clean, and tidied everything up neatly.

Ye Nanxing sat by the window; the wind blew against the glass, and outside was the ice field and the night.

She was looking at the terminal map, and the jade stone lay quietly by her side.

Behind her, the sound of Lin Wanru’s footsteps approached.

”Um... what should I wear tomorrow?”

”Go into your room, the second shelf of the cabinet, choose for yourself.” Ye Nanxing didn’t look up.

”Thank you.”

”Don’t thank me too early.”

”Huh?”

”Starting tomorrow, your life will no longer be someone else’s responsibility.”

”Yes.”

Lin Wanru’s eyes were firm.

She gripped her cuffs and whispered: ”I want to become—someone like you all.”

Ye Nanxing finally looked up, stared at her for a few seconds, and a faint arc appeared at the corner of her mouth.

”If you want to become that, don’t die.”

Yuzhou, Southwest Abandoned Industrial Zone, 200 kilometers from Luo City.

The wind and snow were sharp like blades, the entire ruin seemingly swallowed whole by white.

The six-person tactical vehicle moved forward, crushing the frozen earth, its heavy engine roaring on the ice.

”Is this the place?” Zhao Wei poked his head out, looking at the vast white ruins ahead, unable to help frowning, ”This damn place looks even more dilapidated than the mine I blew up last time.”

Sun Hao scanned with the thermal imaging equipment three times, still unable to find the center point of the coordinates.

”Strange, this data deviation is too small... unless—”

”If the coordinates are correct, there is only one possibility.” Ye Nanxing said coldly.

”The factory is underground.”

Sun Hao and Ye Nanxing exchanged glances and spoke simultaneously.

”Looking at these structural traces,” Zhang Tianjin added, ”This place was hollowed out as a whole... an underground building.”

Zhou Cheng’s terminal screen flickered, and the GPS signal jittered slightly.

[Coordinates confirmed. Ground probe reflection. Building type: Closed deep-well factory]

”It really is hidden underground,” Sun Hao whispered. ”This place is fortified like a sealed base... it doesn’t welcome outsiders.”

Lin Wanru was on her first mission with the team, standing beside Ye Nanxing, somewhat nervous but not timid.

She bit her lip and whispered: ”Can we... really get in?”

None of them spoke.

The wind and snow howled, the minus sixty-four-degree temperature causing a layer of frost to form on the outer layer of their masks.

The moment the vehicle stopped—everyone realized a problem:

This place was unnervingly quiet.

There were no sentry posts, no armed patrols, and no sound.

It was as if the entire ruin was left only with ice, snow, and deathly stillness.

Ye Nanxing stood in the wind, her gaze cold and deep.

A thought flashed rapidly through her mind: Could the coordinates Zhou Xiao gave be wrong?

But then she thought—

It shouldn’t be.

Zhou Xiao had no reason to lie to her; if he wanted to deal with her, he had had more than one opportunity to open fire.

”I can’t detect an entrance at all,” Zhou Cheng frowned, constantly adjusting the screen.

”Then what do we do? We can’t just make this trip for nothing.” Zhao Wei was a bit irritable.

Zhang Tianjin frowned, seemingly thinking, and said: ”How about... asking Zhou Xiao?”

The six of them stood quietly in the snowfield; the tactical vehicle beneath their feet had not been turned off, and the heat emitted wisps of white steam, which quickly condensed into frost in the icy weather.

Ye Nanxing was pondering what she should use to make this deal if she were to find Zhou Xiao, when suddenly!

”...There’s movement in the distance.”

Sun Hao noticed it immediately, squinting his eyes as he stared at the wind and snow line.