Xiao Mu raised an eyebrow and said, "Why aren't you welcoming me?"

Jiang Yao subconsciously touched her nose.

Somewhat embarrassed, he said, "Engineer Xiao, your presence is truly an honor! How could I not welcome you?"

Xiao Mu smiled gently and said, "With your hair cut short, it's really hard to tell that you're a girl."

I came to you to tell you: "The authorities have asked me to cooperate so that Shichang Village can be selected as the first safe haven to be built in Area A."

"Your house may be expropriated."

Jiang Yao frowned, her eyes revealing unease and worry.

The shelter I built with so much effort is going to be requisitioned. Am I destined to spend the rest of my life wandering the streets?

Xiao Mu looked at Jiang Yao seriously and quickly explained, "Don't worry, even if we need to build a safe shelter, we'll have to wait until the extreme cold has passed."

"The best solution is to let my team move into your house."

"That way, the authorities won't make things difficult for you."

Jiang Yao pondered for a moment and said, "Your team is fine, but Shen Zhijie is not."

Xiao Mu knew exactly what Jiang Yao's concerns were.

She said gently, "Don't worry, what you're worried about won't happen." Then she turned and left.

As the heavy snow continued to fall that night, Jiang Yao decided to plan her next steps. She needed to stock up on more ice and gasoline before Xiao Mu's team moved in.

These ice blocks will be very useful in extremely hot weather.

Having planned her route in advance, Jiang Yao refilled her truck with gas and warmed it up before setting off for the dock.

Returning to the dock and finding the same oil tanker, but lacking enough oil drums, Jiang Yao could only try her luck and see if she could store the cruise ship in her spatial storage.

Jiang Yao took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and reached out her hands to touch the tanker, silently chanting, "Bring it in! Come in quickly!"

Three minutes later, Jiang Yao, exhausted, lowered her hands.

After the oil tanker was emptied, Jiang Yao became highly distracted and unable to concentrate.

After resting, they tried to collect the diesel tanker again, but failed. They could only try their luck at the Fountain of Life 'Reservoir' and get some drinking ice to take home.

Twenty days later, Jiang Yao dragged her tired body back to Shichang Village before dawn.

Some villagers noticed that Jiang Yao had returned in a truck, and rumors circulated that she had brought back a large amount of supplies.

The night was dark, quiet, and gloomy, with the north wind howling. Villagers gathered at the door of Jiang Yao's house, trying to pry open the door and rush in to seize supplies.

If Jiang Yao resists, everyone is prepared to forcibly take her away.

Even if an investigation is conducted after a natural disaster, everyone will deny it, and the authorities will be powerless to do anything about it.

Hearing the sound of someone trying to pry open the door, Jiang Yao took out the Hou Dao (a type of dagger) she had bought before the apocalypse from her spatial storage, quietly approached the door, and shouted loudly, "What do you want?"

The village chief said, "Jiang Yao, I heard that you brought back a truckload of supplies a few days ago."

"Many of us haven't had enough to eat for days. Could you lend us some of your supplies? We'll pay you back once the disaster is over."

Jiang Yao sneered, "Heh, what a pipe dream! First you made me get coal, then you suspected me of stealing chickens, and now you want me to share the food with you."

"I'd rather feed it to the dogs than give it to you."

Just as Jiang Yao and the villagers were at an impasse, the village chief began to lose his patience.

"Jiang Yao, you'd better be sensible, or you'll regret it."

Don't let Aunt Li's gentle and polite manner fool you; when she gets angry, she's ruthless when it comes to cursing: "You little bitch, don't push your luck!"

"It's just polite of you to share it with everyone."

Villager 1 said, "If you obediently take out the things, you won't have to suffer any pain."

Villager 2 said, "What is this? Quick, everyone smash it together. I don't believe that we can't break this door because there are so many of us."

Jiang Yao said angrily, "I'm warning you, leave now."

But the crowd had become blinded by greed for supplies and began banging on the door with weapons.

Jiang Yao suddenly opened the door and rushed out, raising her knife to strike.

Everyone gasped in shock when they saw Jiang Yao's knife slashing at Erpang.

Erpang let out a cry, and blood immediately flowed from his chest.

Erpang's shout startled the village chief so much that he dropped the tool he was using to smash the door. Trembling, he pointed at Jiang Yao and said, "You, you killed someone."

Jiang Yao angrily said, "Someone tried to break into my house. I was defending myself and ended up getting slashed."

"So you want to try getting chopped up too, huh?"

Jiang Yao raised her knife and slashed at the village chief, scaring the village chief and the others into turning and running away.

He shouted, "Murder! Murder! Jiang Yao is going to kill someone!"

Jiang Yao looked at the injured Erpang and said, "Get lost. Next time, it won't be as simple as just bleeding a little."

Seeing that everyone had abandoned him, the injured Erpang ignored his pain and fled in panic.

Back home, everyone tightly closed the doors and windows, fearing retaliation from Jiang Yao.

A month passed quietly like this.

Xiao Mu's team arrived on time, along with official supply trucks.

Vehicles loaded with daily necessities drove into the village.

The authorities delivered supplies ahead of schedule to prepare for the establishment of the first safe shelter in Area A.

However, supplies were sold in quantities and could not be stockpiled, causing widespread distress among the villagers.

Jiang Yao watched as the group moved supplies back and forth, efficiently tidying up the room.

It's clear that they have strong teamwork skills.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and Shen Zhijie also moved in.

Jiang Yao didn't want to cause trouble, so she tried to avoid running into Shen Zhijie.

After all, for some unknown reason, Shen Zhijie harbored a certain degree of hostility towards her.

When Jiang Yao has nothing to do, she goes to the village's official supermarket to queue up and buy food. After all, she can't actually take the food out of her spatial storage in front of so many people, so she has to put on a show.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!