Chapter 50

Now it was Wen Shaocheng's turn to be stunned, but he was quick-witted and immediately realized that Tong Shu's opportunity to obtain the game space might be different from his.

Wen Shaocheng shook his head and, without hiding anything, told Tong Shu in detail how he acquired the game space. Finally, he tried to inquire about Tong Shu's game space as well.

"It seems it was all caused by the game card." Tong Shu recovered and explained how she died and was reborn. Knowing that she wasn't the only one, Tong Shu was surprisingly relieved. "Wen Shaocheng, do you think there might be other places like us?"

Wen Shaocheng was uncertain and said, "When I went out to patrol before, I was actually looking for people with special abilities, but as you saw, the situation outside is terrible. If there are really people with the same fate as us, then they are very smart and are protecting themselves."

Tong Shu blushed. She was the perfect example of someone who wasn't smart, relying on the island's protection to run around recklessly.

"Does your game give you quests?" Tong Shu asked tentatively.

"A mission? What mission?"

Tong Shu considered it carefully and told Wen Shaocheng about collecting faith points. Wen Shaocheng suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. No wonder you set up such a big stall in the community."

“But given the current situation outside, my previous lame excuses no longer work. The convenience store can no longer operate, and the workshop can't be opened either,” Tong Shu said dejectedly.

"I'll try to figure out a way to handle this." The final reward for Tong Shu's mission seemed to concern the ultimate safety of the real world, so Wen Shaocheng had to take it seriously.

"We'll talk about it later." Tong Shu had lost her previous enthusiasm after this ordeal. She realized that Wen Shaocheng had led her astray, so she quickly brought the topic back: "Actually, I came to see you today because I have another matter I'd like to ask you for help with."

Wen Shaocheng raised an eyebrow. Her expression was very unpleasant when she came in, and her tone was also very aggressive. It didn't sound like she was there to ask for help, but rather like she was there to threaten him. He leaned back, his back pressed against the chair, adopting a relaxed posture: "Go on."

Tong Shu pursed her lips, hesitated for a long time, and said, "You said before that you only know some killing moves, so can you teach me?" Meeting Wen Shaocheng's probing gaze, Tong Shu continued, "I don't expect to be able to beat anyone with the moves I've learned on the spot. I just want to be able to protect myself and my family in times of crisis."

Tong Shu looked up at the man in front of her hopefully: "Is it possible? Do you have that kind of move?"

Wen Shaocheng stared intently into Tong Shu's eyes. Just a few months ago, those eyes had been bright and lively, but now they had lost their former sparkle, as if they had been soaked in tears. Wen Shaocheng couldn't refuse this request, so he nodded.

Tong Shu cheered up and stood up to thank Wen Shaocheng: "Thank you! I'll come see you tomorrow. When are you free?"

“Early or late is fine,” Wen Shaocheng said.

Tong Shu nodded to indicate that she understood, said goodbye to him, and left with a smile. However, her departing figure did not seem as relaxed as her expression suggested.

After the door closed, Wen Shaocheng rubbed his temples. The mystery surrounding Tong Shu had been solved, and many of his plans needed to be readjusted. He had thought the natural disaster would be prolonged and endless, but just now, he learned that everything might come to an end. This gave Wen Shaocheng renewed confidence. He only hoped that Tong Shu could overcome this hurdle and stay true to her original aspirations. He would do everything in his power to help her.

The cool air entering her nostrils cleared Tong Shu's feverish mind slightly. She knew she had acted impulsively again, but if she didn't do something, she would never be able to swallow this anger.

Tong Shu wandered aimlessly through the neighborhood, eventually ending up back at the office building. Since she was already there, she decided to check out the convenience store. There was still a lot of stuff in the warehouse; she needed to take inventory first, and then gradually move it back to the island, as the supplies were slowly being consumed by her family.

Before even reaching the second floor, Tong Shu noticed something was amiss. The hallway was packed with people. Tong Shu frowned and headed towards the crowd. Some people in the crowd glanced back; they all recognized Tong Shu by her figure alone. Upon seeing her, they immediately shouted, "The little boss is here! She's over here!" Everyone else turned to look at her in unison.

Tong Shu, not knowing what was going on, stood still and asked, "What's wrong? What are you all doing gathered here?"

"Young boss, I heard from Director Zhu that your shop is closing down?" someone asked nervously.

Tong Shu gave an affirmative answer: "Yes, we can't get supplies in, and the convenience store has run out of stock."

Most of the people present had learned about the outside situation from the community, and they could only accept this explanation. However, some were still unwilling to give up and stood on the stairs, raising their voices to ask, "Young boss, don't you still have a lot of stock in your shop? Why don't you distribute it to everyone first? We don't know when the grain in the greenhouse will grow, and we all know that the stock in the community cellar won't last until the harvest. If you're kind-hearted, please sell your stuff to everyone!"

Upon hearing this, Tong Shu felt a surge of anger. Although her family didn't rely on the store's stock to make a living, these people gathered here without considering her family at all. Upon hearing that the supply was about to be cut off, instead of looking for other solutions, they immediately tried to morally blackmail her. Tong Shu felt disheartened, and her face turned even uglier.

“There’s no room for discussion. The items in the shop belong to our family. We had a way to restock before, and we thought of helping out our neighbors, so we sold and gave away the items. Now, given the situation, we have to survive first.”

"So much food, several warehouses in total, can your family finish it all?"

"That's right, my family hasn't stockpiled any supplies, and my three-year-old has been crying from hunger for the past two days."

"Can your family bear to watch everyone starve to death?"

,,,,,

A group of people surrounded Tong Shu, their voices a jumble of shrill female voices and hoarse male voices, giving Tong Shu a headache.

"What are you doing!" A loud shout came from down the stairs; it was Zhu Cheng coming over.

He pushed aside the densely packed crowd, pulled Tong Shu out from the middle, and looked around at them with a grim expression: "You bunch of people, all of you are not young anymore, gathering here to coerce a young girl, are you disaster victims or some gang? The supply ship is downstairs, and the government is still here, what are you trying to do? Huh? Are you trying to rebel?!"

"We...we're just anxious because we can't get enough to eat..." someone whispered in the crowd.

"Can't get any food?" Zhu Cheng turned his head sharply in the direction of the voice, his eyes wide as he asked, "Who the hell said we can't get any food?"

"During the period when the temperature dropped sharply, did the community distribute food? Let alone then, even now, the community is still supporting people who are unable to work. Yes, many people died in this natural disaster, but they all froze to death! I'm asking you, has anyone starved to death in the community? Huh? Do you have any conscience at all?"

Zhu Cheng was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged. He continued to scold, "There was a small shop here, and you all just stopped going to the supply ship to sign up for work. You stayed at home eating and drinking well every day, only coming here to buy things when you needed them. This was to save you from emergencies! Don't you know that? Now that the shop is closed, you're worried. It's too late!"

The group of people were so scolded by Zhu Cheng that they didn't dare to lift their heads and huddled together like quails. They had indeed come here with a plan to stake out a member of the Tong family and take advantage of their numbers to quickly stockpile a batch of supplies. However, they were still somewhat afraid of Zhu Cheng. The community director was in charge of distributing supplies, and if they offended him, their families would receive less of the supplies they were supposed to receive, which would be a disaster.

Tong Shu tugged at Zhu Cheng's sleeve. This old director was upright and dedicated. If anyone should feel sorry for closing down the convenience store and workshop, it was him. "Director Zhu, calm down. Getting angry is bad for your health."

Zhu Cheng took a few deep breaths. He was getting on in years, and after his outburst of anger, he did feel a bit dizzy.

"Get out of here! All you do is think about how to take advantage of others all day long." Zhu Cheng waved his hand angrily. "I see you all are full of energy. If you really have no food, go and sign up on the supply ship. There's plenty of work to be done now. Anyone can do it. It's more reliable to exchange your own labor for supplies than to come here and rob."

After being ridiculed by Zhu Cheng, everyone felt too ashamed to face anyone and hurriedly went downstairs. Those who had run out of food ran to the supply ship as soon as they got there, hoping to get an easy job sooner.

"Director Zhu, I'm so sorry, we've let you down after all the effort you've put into the convenience store and workshop..." Tong Shu said in a low voice, her voice choked with emotion.

Zhu Cheng reached out and patted Tong Shu on the shoulder, saying seriously, "Don't say that. Without the turmoil we went through before, so many people in our community wouldn't have survived. People are what give us hope. Look, with this commotion today, many people will go to greenhouses to farm. We are more orderly and have more resources than outside. We got through the most difficult time thanks to the supplies your family exchanged with outside. Now the community can produce its own supplies, which is a good thing in itself."

Zhu Cheng's words made Tong Shu feel much better, and she nodded gratefully, "Thank you, Director."

Seeing that she seemed to be alright, Zhu Cheng urged her to open the iron gate and go home through the connecting corridor, while he went back to his work in the community.

When Tong Shu got home, she bumped into Qin Jiaqiang coming out of the kitchen. She was a little at a loss. Qin Jiaqiang also felt a little uncomfortable when he saw her. He stood there with two bowls of clear soup noodles, not knowing whether to leave or not.

“Uncle, Uncle,” Tong Shu called out.

Although Qin Jiaqiang was upset, he was a kind-hearted person and knew he shouldn't take his anger out on the younger generation. When Tong Shu called him, he stammered and said, "I, I brought food to your cousin and aunt."

Tong Shu immediately asked, "Is Sister Xiao feeling better? Can she eat by herself now?"

Thinking of his daughter's current situation, Qin Jiaqiang's expression became even angrier. He wished he could take a knife and chop those beasts to pieces.

"No, she vomits everything she eats. Her mother forces her to eat. If this continues, Ah Jie will have to give her an IV drip."

Qin Jiaqiang said no more, shook his head, and hurriedly went upstairs.

Tong Shu clenched her fist and angrily punched her palm.