Chapter 56: First Mission: Extreme Cold
The 159th day of doomsday.
Qiao Qiao got up at six in the morning for the first time ever, and packed her things in a daze. Fortunately, she had prepared her travel clothes last night, so she was not in a hurry.
She was wearing a constant temperature suit. The suit was grey long-sleeved shirt and long pants. The material was something she had never seen before. It felt soft and comfortable to the touch. It was only the thickness of a single layer of clothing and would automatically generate heat next to the body when she put it on.
It was just right for the weather outside, so in order not to attract attention, I put on a down jacket on the outside.
Qiao Xinghe and Qiao Huizhou were still wearing special cold-proof clothing.
Constant temperature clothing is more practical than special cold-proof clothing. Qiao Qiao even thought about trading one set.
You don't need to go to the Special Management Bureau today, you can report directly to the shelter.
There was a blizzard outside and the temperature could reach minus 70 degrees Celsius.
If the skin is exposed, it will turn red instantly. At first, you will feel a knife-like pain, but you will lose all feeling in just a few minutes.
This is the most dangerous time, because it is very likely that your ears or fingers will be frozen off without you noticing.
Half an hour later, when the three arrived at the shelter, they found a group of people standing in front of the door. Although they were freezing and jumping on the spot, they were still queuing in an orderly manner, and everyone's expression was not very good.
The outermost circle was a circle of soldiers in uniform, each of them wearing a cold-proof mask on their face. You could tell from the frost on it that it was not a system-made mask.
There were also several military pickup trucks in the distance, with snowplows installed on the front. The tread of their tires was several times thicker than that of ordinary snow tires, and they had obviously been modified.
Qiao Qiao noticed a pool of blood on the ground, although most of it was covered by the blizzard.
What just happened here?
My thoughts were interrupted. "Who are you? Get out of here!"
A soldier drove them away angrily with a gun.
Jojo took off his heavy skis and held them in his hands.
"We are from the Special Administration Bureau, here to escort people to the resource point."
The soldier asked with a curious tone: "Special Administration?"
Qiao Qiao raised her hand, revealing a black bracelet. "Yes, the proof is in the bracelet."
The soldier was completely relieved when he saw the bracelet. He put away his gun and pointed it at the front of the crowd. "The reporting point is at the front. Some people have already arrived. You can just go over there."
"Thanks."
Qiao Huizhou also noticed the bloodstains and whispered, "Be careful, it looks like something happened here before."
The father and daughter nodded silently.
When she got to the front, she met a few acquaintances. Li Mo and Fang Hui, with whom she had traded twice before, were there. Lin Yue, who reminded her yesterday, was also in front of a team. She even saw Tang Mingli and Tang Zhijie.
"We are from the Special Administration Bureau. Yesterday we were tasked with leading a team to a resource point."
There were quite a few people in the makeshift tent. Except for three people holding scanners sitting behind the table in the middle, all the others were soldiers in uniform.
The person on the left waved his hand after hearing this, "Card drawer? Come over here to verify."
The scanner is attached to the bracelet and information appears in a few seconds.
After checking, the staff member said, "Team three, this young man is your team's card drawer. Team six, these two are your team's."
One of the soldiers stood up and walked to Qiao Qiao, holding out his hand, "Hello, my name is Gao Pu, and I'm the captain of the third team of the Northeastern District of the Federation."
Qiao Qiao returned the handshake, "Hi, my name is Qiao Qiao, and I'm a card drawer from the Special Management Bureau."
Gao Pu glanced at the time and said, "It's seven o'clock. We should set off. We can talk on the way if there's anything else."
Qiao Xinghe and Qiao Huizhou reminded him worriedly, "Be careful."
Qiao Qiao smiled and waved her hand, "Don't worry, the guns are fully stocked, don't be reluctant to use them."
Qiao Huizhou lowered his head and whispered to Yingzi: "Yueying, Qiao Qiao is now in your hands. You must protect her well."
"Gurgle." He remembered the agreement that he should not appear in front of outsiders. His shadow rolled over and he secretly stretched out his hand and made an OK gesture.
When I left the tent, half of the people outside were missing. Tang Mingli and others had already left.
Qiao Qiao followed Gao Pu to the gathering point of Team 3, where hundreds of people gathered, and everyone was wearing thick clothes.
Some people are still better off, wearing thick down jackets or mink coats.
Some were wearing layers of sweaters wrapped in plastic sheets, obviously wearing all the clothes in the house, with clothes covering their faces.
No matter how good-looking or thick it is, as long as it can keep you warm, nothing else matters.
Unexpectedly, Qiao Qiao saw an acquaintance in the team, Xia Momo!
Gao Pu swiftly climbed onto the military pickup truck in front of the team and said through the loudspeaker: "Listen, everyone. We are heading to the mine 15 kilometers away."
"It's snowing heavily on this road, and it's estimated to take ten hours. Everyone must follow the team closely and don't leave without permission, otherwise you will bear the consequences!"
The crowd below nodded one after another, their faces full of tension and anxiety.
"I think everyone has received enough food in the past two days. The free food has stopped. If you want to get more supplies, you need to exchange them with your own labor. As long as you work hard enough, you will have no problem eating and drinking."
Qiao Qiao turned her head to glance at Gao Pu and found it funny. He thought this was just empty talk.
Gao Pu signaled to the deputy team leader, "Distribute the supply packages."
A dozen soldiers walked down carrying snakeskin bags, and each of them was given a 3-kilogram backpack.
Gao Pu explained: "The bag contains 2 liters of water, 1 kilogram of compressed biscuits, and 5 heating pads. These are the supplies for the journey. We will take 2-3 breaks along the way, so everyone should be mentally prepared."
Qiao Qiao couldn't help feeling emotional when she saw that everyone was delighted with the gift.
If she hadn't had an inexplicable dream and possessed a doomsday card drawing system, she and her parents would probably have been among this group of people, looking for a way to survive in the snow and ice.
Not necessarily. It is more likely that he died at Jin Han's hands during the rainstorm.
Why was she dreaming? And why did she have the Doomsday Card Drawing System in advance?
Is it because she is the chosen one? That's too funny.
All kinds of questions linger in my mind, but no one can answer them.
"Soldiers, get on board! Everyone else, follow behind!"
As soon as Gao Pu's order was given, more than a dozen soldiers quickly jumped onto the back of the pickup truck.
Then he jumped off the roof and walked over, "Miss Qiao, please sit in the front with us."
"good."
There are five seats in the front of the pickup truck. In the front are the driver and the investigator, and in the back sit Gao Pu, a female deputy captain, and Qiao Qiao, from left to right.
"Set off!"
Following Gao Pu's order, the convoy started slowly, and the snowplows were used to pile the snow on both sides, clearing a path in the vast sea of snow for the people walking behind.
In order to take into account ordinary people on foot, the convoy did not move fast, and it took the lead to clear the way to block some of the wind and snow for the people behind.
In order to save gasoline, the air conditioner was not turned on in the car and everyone held a heating pad in their hands.
The girl sitting in the middle greeted with a smile, "Hello, Miss Qiao, my name is Guo Jia, and I'm the deputy captain of Team 3."
Qiao Qiao: "Hello."
Guo Jia asked curiously, "Are you the card drawer?"
"Yes."
Guo Jia asked: "I heard that card drawers have a doomsday card draw system, which can draw things that don't exist in the real world. Is that true?"
Qiao Qiao nodded.
"Wow."
The Federation and the Special Administration Bureau are two different departments. If it weren't for this cooperation, they would never meet each other. It was the first time that a real card drawer appeared in front of her, so she naturally had many questions.
"I heard that card drawers are divided into different levels?"
"One of my colleagues saw a card drawer using a bow and arrow, and the arrows never missed their target, hitting the target from a hundred meters away. Are the card draw items really that magical?"
"I heard that many plants and animals out there have mutated and have superpowers, just like what is described in novels. Have you seen it?"
"Okay, Guo Jia, ask fewer questions." Although Gao Pu tried to stop her verbally, he was very curious in his heart and was looking forward to Qiao Qiao's reply.
Qiao Qiao had already guessed this phenomenon. After the Doomsday Card Drawing System is officially launched, everyone will have it. There is no need to hide it.
"Well, the cards are divided into N-level, R-level, SR-level and SSR-level..."
The others pricked up their ears and listened.
At first, the journey was smooth. Although the blizzard kept hitting the windows, the convoy maintained a steady speed.
Five hours later, Gao Pu saw that some people had fallen behind. There was a hillside not far away, so he ordered the troops to rest on the spot.
"Everyone, take a rest for half an hour!"
Several soldiers got off the car with wood and lit two fires.
At this time, the crowd was exhausted, their bodies were covered with ice and snow, and their eyebrows were frosted.
Everyone rushed over to try to make a little more fire, threw their backpacks on the ground as a cushion, and ate compressed biscuits with ice and snow.
The drinking water had already frozen into ice cubes and could not be thawed in a short time. However, there were a few people with relatively wealthy families who had already poured the water into high-end thermos cups and were drinking it in small sips.
After drinking, I closed the door immediately for fear that the cold air would enter.
The people in the other trucks did not get out. Although there was no heating, the car was windproof after all.
The soldiers in the rear vehicle also ate compressed biscuits, but there was a small stove in the middle of the vehicle, where they placed the kettle to keep it warm, so they could also drink hot water.
The people sitting in the front row had relatively better food, with two steamed buns and a bag of pickled mustard tubers each.
Guo Jia held the pickled mustard and asked, "Do you want some?"
Qiao Qiao smiled and shook her head, "Thank you, I don't need it."
He felt embarrassed to eat too well in front of other people, so he took out an iron lunch box from the system backpack, which contained one meat and two vegetables: shredded potatoes, scrambled eggs, and shredded pork with chili peppers.
Although the box lunch was not very good for Qiao Qiao, the steaming food was already a delicacy in the eyes of others.
The driver looked at him enviously, "Great, I want to be a card drawer too."
Qiao Qiao just smiled and said nothing.
Suddenly I remembered the bloodstains I saw before I set out, "Did anything happen in the shelter just now?"
Gao Pu looked at Qiao Qiao's meal and took a bite of the steamed bun imagining the taste. "Someone is causing trouble, so we killed a chicken to scare the monkey."
Guo Jia explained: "Before, the shelter had been providing free supplies, so some people took it for granted and wanted to gather a crowd to cause trouble. Unfortunately, the situation is special now, and in wartime, soldiers can kill people on the spot depending on the situation."
"Oh." Qiao Qiao didn't say anything and buried her head in eating.
Perhaps God finally began to have mercy on mankind, and when we set out again, the snowstorm that had lasted for nearly half a month finally stopped.
"Wow!"
Excited voices erupted from the crowd.
The convoy continued to move forward without encountering any accidents along the way.
Finally, at six o'clock in the afternoon, when the sun was about to set completely, we arrived at our destination: the mine!
The mine had been prepared in advance, with two small shelters built outside.
This group of people are about to spend some time here.
Qiao Qiao said goodbye to them, "Then I will go back."
Guo Jia shook hands with Gao Pu and said, "Okay, be careful on your way."
Jojo put on his skis and protective gear and was about to leave when someone called him.
"Jojo!"
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