After dinner, everyone lit candles and sat downstairs to discuss the next steps.
"We'll start looking for supplies tomorrow," Minister Sun said.
In this weather, anyone with a little financial means won't risk going out; it's too cold outside. They want to gain the upper hand.
Minister Sun said this because they had enough warm clothing. When many people first came to the base, they had no choice but to exchange their clothes for food in order to survive. Doing so was tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
While others were exchanging heating supplies for food, they collected a large amount of cotton clothing and quilts, precisely to prepare for another extreme cold snap—they were taking advantage of the time difference. It was a buyer's market; they had a wide selection of goods, all of excellent quality.
“The area around the base should have been thoroughly looted. Since we’re going out, let’s go somewhere further away,” Li Jingjing said.
"Aunt Wu and Xiao Youyou can't go out. I'm worried that someone with ulterior motives might come..."
Even though Sun Wei didn't finish his sentence, everyone could imagine that there would always be some people who, thinking they could get something for nothing, would resort to robbing their fellow citizens when they couldn't go out to find supplies. Leaving the elderly and children at home is indeed unsafe.
"How about this, we'll divide the work. Apart from Aunt Wu and Xiao Youyou, two people will stay at home to build partitions and do other work, while the rest of us will go find supplies," Xu Lin suggested.
Xu Lin's suggestion was unanimously agreed upon. For the first trip, Minister Sun, Zhou Pin, Xu Lin, and their dog Shuke were chosen to scout ahead. Sun Wei and Li Jingjing stayed behind to renovate their accommodations. Sun Wei toured the base to gather information, and Beta was arranged to provide protection.
After arranging the tasks for the next day, everyone went to bed early. There wasn't much to do since there was a power outage, and everyone had to get up early to tidy up.
The next day, as soon as it was light, Sun Wei and Zhou Pin went to the third floor to practice. Since it was a rare opportunity, Xu Lin also got up early to cook and prepare the things she would need for going out.
Around eight o'clock in the morning, the two families came downstairs to prepare to leave. Xu Lin and Zhou Pin were wearing thermal suits under military overcoats and carrying backpacks. Minister Sun was wearing a military overcoat, carrying a long knife and a bag containing freshly boiled water, compressed biscuits, instant noodles, ham sausages, and canned food.
When Minister Sun saw Zhou Pin drive the modified Raptor out of the garage, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Hearing the noise, Sun Wei and Li Jingjing came out to see what was happening, while Old Lady Wu stood by the living room window, holding little Youyou.
"This is... a raptor?" Sun Wei said in disbelief.
“Yes, I modified it; its performance is top-notch,” Zhou Pin said, patting the hood.
The two had previously acquired this car from a 4S dealership. To keep a low profile, Zhou Pin deliberately aged the car during the modification process. Even so, Minister Sun and the others almost dislocated their jaws.
Before the apocalypse, a modified Raptor wouldn't be much, but this is the apocalypse. Owning a bicycle is considered having some "wealth," and owning a four-wheeled gasoline car is practically making you a billionaire.
Many people might be able to get a car, but it's useless without gasoline. However, this is not a problem for Xu Lin, as their gasoline reserves are very abundant.
Zhou Pin got into the driver's seat, Xu Lin and Minister Sun quickly took their places, and Sun Wei and Li Jingjing watched the car leave.
There was no one on the road. The villa area had some stock, and everyone was hibernating. When they passed through the slums, they saw many people frozen to death by the roadside. The three of them didn't want to attract too much attention in their car, so they took a shortcut directly out of the base.
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