Due to limited space, the area where survivors reside at the S City Safe Base has been temporarily divided into three zones: A, B, and C.
Area A is for the elderly, children, the sick and disabled, and consists of the original military dormitories.
The dormitories, which originally had some space, are now crammed with bunk beds.
Section B is a warehouse that was temporarily cleared out.
There are bunk beds, floor beds, and large communal sleeping areas. It's mostly women here, so it's packed with people. Any space that can fit one person is definitely not wasted.
Area C consists of tents on the outdoor playground. Some tents don't even have tents; people just use a sleeping bag, letting the sky be their blanket and the ground their bed.
The people living here are mostly young and middle-aged men and surviving soldiers.
Each area has patrol shifts, and in addition, there are more posts outside the base.
Layer upon layer, they almost completely surrounded the base.
The office area, which serves as the official command center for S City, is brightly lit all night long, with people constantly coming and going, keeping them incredibly busy.
Lu Peiting walked to Area A and, because he had a pass, had no trouble getting through.
Outside Area A, there are dedicated registration staff. Standing at the entrance and looking into the dormitory building, you can see many doctors and nurses in white coats, running around busily.
From inside came the heart-wrenching cries of children and the groans of the sick…
The constant noise and chaos made Lu Peiting frown.
Seeing him standing there, the female soldier of rank shone her flashlight in his direction and asked sternly:
"Which district do you live in? What are you doing here so late?"
As the number of people in the base increased, the various areas became increasingly chaotic. In the central C area, many young and middle-aged people often wandered around aimlessly.
This is a serious safety hazard, and they are very vigilant.
Lu Peiting realized what was happening and immediately took the pass and went over.
"Hello, I'm here to see someone."
The short-haired female soldier took the pass and examined it carefully before finally putting on a smile, saying shyly:
"Sorry, my tone wasn't very nice just now. It's just that there are a lot of people wandering around at night now, and some people even complain that it's too cold outside and sneak into the dormitory to sleep."
"It's alright, you don't need to apologize. You handled it fairly, and you've worked hard."
Lu Peiting had the utmost respect for these soldiers who were working hard on the front lines.
It must be several degrees below zero at night in this freezing weather, yet they still have to stick to their posts in the cold wind. They are truly admirable.
Seeing how eloquent Lu Peiting was, and how tall and handsome he was, the female soldiers sitting at the registration desk smiled even more broadly.
The person who had the pass handed it back to Lu Peiting and asked:
"Who are you looking for? What's their name? How old are they? The more details you provide, the better we can help you find a bed."
As she spoke, she patted a thick stack of papers in front of her.
Because they don't generate electricity 24/7, they are currently using paper forms for registration.
There are 12 dormitory buildings, each with 7 floors and 20 rooms per floor. Each room now houses 12-16 people, which is too many. Finding someone to live in is a huge undertaking.
“Ge Qiuxia, 35 years old, short hair, about 1.65 meters tall.”
Do you have any physical illnesses or disabilities?
No...no.
"Okay, please wait a moment."
The female soldier picked out a stack of forms from a pile in front of her that matched her age, and then distributed the forms to the three female soldiers next to her, giving one stack to each of them. The four of them then buried themselves in searching through the forms.
Lu Peiting didn't have to wait too long, probably because Area A is a place where the elderly, weak, sick and disabled live, and there are very few healthy women over 35.
"Found it, on the 3rd floor of Building 5, in room 3-12, bed number 6."
After finding it, one person happily read it aloud.
Lu Peiting quickly thanked her, and the female soldier even gave him directions to Building 5.
"Should we have someone take you there?"
Lu Peiting glanced at the others beside him, each one busier than the last, and shook his head.
"No need to trouble yourself, I can manage, thank you."
Seeing that he refused, the female soldiers didn't say anything more, nodded, and went back to their work.
Knowing the room number made it easy to find; in no time, Lu Peiting arrived at the door of room 3-12.
Perhaps because there were too many people staying in each room, all the doors were wide open as Lu Peiting walked along.
A casual glance inside made it feel so cramped it was hard to breathe.
He stood in the doorway, and everyone inside looked at him. Ge Qiuxia had just put her son Ranran to sleep, and when she looked up and saw that it was Lu Peiting, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Pei Ting?!"
Lu Peiting nodded to her, "Sister Xia."
He stepped forward, but before he even entered the house, he looked down and felt as if there was nowhere to put his feet.
Ge Qiuxia quickly slung the black bag over her shoulder, picked up the sleeping Ranran, and walked out of the room.
The backpack contained the last of their food, and she dared not let her child out of her sight for even a second.
So even if it's just at the door, she has to bring Ranran along and carry her bag.
Ge Qiuxia was wearing a red and black striped windbreaker, thick black windproof and waterproof sports pants, and a pair of hiking boots.
Her lips were pale and chapped, and her short hair was slightly messy. She was a far cry from the strong woman she was before the apocalypse.
Ge Qiuxia walked out with some difficulty. Her first words, spoken in a low voice with a hint of joy, were:
"Pei Ting, has your third uncle found you?"
Seeing Xia Jie's appearance and the place she was staying, Lu Peiting felt quite uncomfortable and didn't know what to say, so he could only nod.
Ge Qiuxia tugged at his sleeve and pulled him towards the stairwell.
"Come over here, let's talk over here."
Some people in the room were already asleep, and it wouldn't be good to disturb them. Besides, she knew about the Lu family, and there were some things she couldn't let others hear.
Standing on one side of the corridor with a wall, Ge Qiuxia's tone was somewhat worried.
"Where have you been? Your third uncle has already come to my place. Didn't I tell you to stay in the apartment and not go out?"
Knowing Xia Jie's fiery temper, Lu Peiting knew she would be extremely anxious if he told her he had been arrested, so he didn't tell the truth.
"I had to go out for a while."
After saying that, Lu Peiting, feeling a little guilty, quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, Sister Xia, I ran into Li Xin'er today. She's safe and sound, so don't worry about her."
Xia Jie gently lifted the sleeping Ranran, shifted to a more comfortable way of holding the baby, and asked anxiously,
"She's back from Haishi? Where is she now?"
"Probably. I saw her today and she seemed fine. She didn't come to the base; she probably went to the Leng family. She seemed to get along quite well with the eldest daughter of the Leng family."
"As long as everyone is safe and sound, that's good."
Ge Qiuxia didn't have time to think about why Li Xin'er and the eldest daughter of the Leng family were on good terms.
She simply breathed a sigh of relief, her worried expression turning into one of distress. She glanced at the door and added:
"It's good that she didn't come to the base. It's crowded here, and with her delicate temperament, she probably wouldn't be able to handle it."
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