Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

The thought had just popped into Xie Ning’s head when Gu Chen walked up to her.

He seemed completely oblivious to the fleeing Li Dawei and his sister, who hadn’t even reached the gate of Chunmei Garden yet.

Li Xiang seemed to have spotted Gu Chen. She gritted her teeth, wanting to go over, but Li Dawei grabbed her arm and stopped her.

The two hurried into their own home, slamming the metal gate shut with a loud BANG.

Gu Chen completely ignored the sound of the gate, merely looking at the young woman with a wronged expression. ”You gave Xiao Bai a drink?”

Xie Ning paused for a moment, then nodded.

”You also gave Xiao Bai twenty Metal Knives.” Gu Chen’s voice was mournful.

”Those were for you,” Xie Ning quickly retorted. ”You got them, right?”

”Why didn’t you give them to me yourself? Why have Er Bai bring them to me?”

Xie Ning didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’Wasn’t it because I didn’t see you?’

”You even gave Er Bai a cold drink.”

’Is he ever going to drop the subject of drinks? He’s mentioned it twice now.’

Helpless, Xie Ning held the ice bucket out to him. ”What do you want to drink?”

Gu Chen’s eyes lit up. He didn’t reach for a drink, though. Instead, he pulled a black bracelet from his pocket and handed it to Xie Ning. ”Try it on.”

”What is this?” Xie Ning took it instinctively and examined it.

”It’s a communicator.” Gu Chen smiled at her, his charming eyes crinkling as if reflecting starlight.

”Last time, I lost contact with you for seven or eight days. The network was down, so there was no way to get in touch.”

”This doesn’t need a network?” Curious, Xie Ning put down the ice bucket, tried the bracelet on her wrist, and tapped the screen.

”It does, but it’s a bit more high-end. It connects via satellite. And it never needs to be charged.”

’That’s way too high-end!’

Xie Ning pressed the watch face, tapping here and there curiously.

Gu Chen leaned in close, reached out a long, slender finger to tap on a page, and showed her how to use it.

”There are a few contacts here. If you can’t find me, you can try Xiao Lu and Er Bai.”

Xie Ning nodded repeatedly. ”It has voice calls, too?”

”Mhm.”

”It also has topographical maps and things like that, which will update in real-time based on our actual terrain.”

Xie Ning flipped back and forth through the features with interest. ”Xiao Gu.”

Gu Chen froze for a second, then smiled and tapped her lightly on the head. ”Why ’Xiao Gu’? It sounds so stuffy. Call me ’big brother’.”

Xie Ning pouted, then bent down to pick up the ice bucket. ”Thank you. Go on, pick some. Take a few, whatever you like.”

”Alright.” Gu Chen casually grabbed a bottle of iced lemon juice.

”Dr. Yu’s team has developed a water filtration container. It can filter and purify existing groundwater, making it safe to drink.”

Gu Chen smiled at her. ”But the filters are small-capacity, so for now, they can only produce water on a small scale. To supply the entire base, we’ll probably still have to rely on Water Ability Users.”

”The base has reached a preliminary decision. They plan to build an artificial water storage system, which will require several Water Ability Users to fill the tanks.”

”But that would mean they’d have to go to the storage point every day to release water.”

”It’s a bit of a hassle, but it comes with a monthly salary. The specific details are still under discussion, but the compensation should be good.”

Xie Ning looked at him. ”How many Water Ability Users does the base have right now?”

”Including Aunt Song, five in total.”

”That’s not enough, is it? Five people to provide drinking water for the tens of thousands in the base?” And more survivors would keep arriving.

’Wouldn’t that work them to death?’

”Don’t worry.” Gu Chen smiled at her. ”The base will keep the information on these Water Ability Users completely confidential. They just have to release a set amount of water each day. If your aunt really decides to do it, they’ll sign a contract with her beforehand. All of this can be specified in the contract.”

Xie Ning wasn’t enthusiastic.

She felt it would be too tiring for her mother. Although it was said that a Superpower User depleting their superpower daily helped with leveling up...

...depleting one’s superpower in the safety of home was very different from doing it outside.

It was better to conserve some energy, just in case they encountered any sudden danger and needed to defend themselves.

”It’s fine. I haven’t told anyone about your aunt’s ability anyway. If you’re not willing, we can just forget it.”

”I’ll tell her about it later and ask for her opinion.”

Gu Chen grunted in acknowledgment and reached into the ice bucket the young woman was holding, snatching a carton of soy milk.

”I’m heading out. I’ll be back tonight.” He waved the drink bottle in his hand and turned away with a flourish.

Xie Ning let out a small ”Hey!”, but she could only watch as the young man stuck the soy milk straw in his mouth, waggled his fingers at her, and left.

The young woman took a deep breath and couldn’t help rolling her eyes at the sky.

’That guy actually stole the soy milk I had already drunk half of!’

The moment Song Kexin pulled open the metal gate, she saw her sister standing at the entrance holding a bucket, her face puffed up in a pout.

”Sis, what are you doing standing here?” Song Kexin came over to take the bucket from her, looked down, and couldn’t help but cheer, ”Whoa! So many cold drinks!”

Look at all that cold air coming off them. A sip of that would be incredibly refreshing.

”Where, where? Where are the cold drinks?” Ji Taixian and Wang Zongxuan rushed out.

Song Kexin carried the bucket inside and pulled Xiao Huang Mao aside to distribute the drinks.

Xie Ning closed the metal gate, led her mother upstairs, and recounted what Xiao Gu had told her about the Water Ability Users.

Comrade Song You’ai’s eyes lit up. ”I can get a salary just for releasing a little water every day? That’s a pretty good deal!”

”Mom, calm down.” Xie Ning couldn’t help but roll her eyes. ”Think about all the supplies we gathered today. Do you really need to go through all that trouble to supply water for tens of thousands of people? It’s not an easy job.”

”Besides, if you sign that contract, you’ll be tied to this dinky little base forever.”

”I was planning on taking you with me to explore the world.”

Song You’ai nodded quickly. ”You’re right, my daughter. Then Mom won’t go. Our family doesn’t need those supplies anyway.”

”How about this? Later, Mom will talk to Xiao Gu. Mom won’t be a full-time worker, I’ll just be a temp! You know, the kind that gets paid by the day!” Song You’ai looked at her daughter with a grin. ”That way, Ningning, if you want to leave, you can take Mom with you.”

”And if we don’t leave, Mom can still earn a day’s wages here at the base.”

Xie Ning didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she looked at her remarkably clever mother. ”You really have thought of everything, covering all your bases.”

”Hehe,” Song You’ai chuckled. ”Right, did you tell Xiao Gu about the cargo ship at the pier?”

Xie Ning shook her head. ”He’s coming over tonight anyway. I’ll tell them then.”

”Tomorrow, let’s bring Tai Xian along and just take a symbolic amount. There are so many people on their team, all of them big young men. I wonder if they have enough food to eat their fill.”

Xie Ning felt an inexplicable urge to laugh. ”Knowing Xiao Gu, I get the feeling he’s deceptively capable. He definitely wouldn’t let anyone on his team go short.”

As the mother and daughter were chatting, the metal gate outside began to shake with a loud CLANGING.

The two of them immediately thought of that scoundrel Li Dawei, secretly gritting their teeth and cracking their knuckles.

”Uncle Song Kuang? What are you all doing here?” Song Kexin’s surprised voice came from the gate.