As more and more teams joined, and even individuals came in, every corner and passageway in the base was thoroughly searched within three days.
All sorts of dark things hidden away from the sun were unearthed.
Looking at the various corpses laid out on the ground, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
Who could have imagined that so many things would be hidden in places we thought were the safest, even right under our noses?
Seeing these dangers lurking right under their noses, everyone became even more vigilant.
It seems they won't stop until they completely overturn the base.
After three busy days, Yu Yanbin and his team finally got a break.
As soon as Cheng Shaolin returned to the villa, he went to find Li Xiao. He was relieved to see Li Xiao nestled peacefully on the mat by the fire.
"Xiaoxiao."
"Hey, you guys are back. Bro—".
"You're back. How are you all?" Cheng Shaolin sat down next to Li Xiao. Actually, he saw her every day, but it felt like it had been a long time since they had last met when they were apart for a while.
Li Xiao hugged Cheng Shaolin's head and gave him a big smile.
"We're so comfortable. It's so warm."
Cheng Shaolin beamed, "That's good."
Seeing them casually displaying their affection, those who know better try to avoid them.
"Oh, I'm hungry, but I'm full from eating dog food," Tian Tian sighed, rubbing her stomach.
Her words made everyone laugh.
"Then don't look." Shao Jie rolled his eyes. He was already used to it, so what else was there to say?
"Get out of my way." Tian Tian puffed out her cheeks, thinking, "Don't I know? Why do I need him to tell me?"
Shao Jie, feeling awkward, touched his nose and turned to the side.
Their antics amused Li Xiao.
"Are you done for today?"
Li Xiao asked.
"Okay, that's all done for today. We don't need to go tomorrow. Let other people go to the other places; they can earn points that way."
"Oh, that's good."
Knowing this, Li Xiao stopped asking.
Everyone looked tired after a long day. Even though you don't have to walk, skiing is still very tiring.
"Then let's have something good to eat today to treat you."
"Really? Xiaoxiao, I want to eat hot pot." Tian Tian seemed to have stopped being angry. Who has time to be angry when there's delicious food?
"Hot pot? What do you guys think?" Li Xiao had no problem with eating hot pot, but she didn't know if it was allowed.
Everyone looked at Yu Yanbin with expectant eyes. Yu Yanbin also really wanted to, and he waved his hand.
"Close the door."
"Okay, sure."
Shao Jie was quick; he rushed to the door to check if it was closed properly.
"Okay, I've already checked."
"Xiaoxiao, what are we having for dinner today?" Tian Tian squatted down next to Li Xiao and asked softly.
“It’s delicious.”
Tian Tian's eyes sparkled, unable to bear hearing the words "delicious."
My mouth watered just hearing about it.
"Mmm, what is it?" Looking at her blinking big eyes with such eagerness, Li Xiao found it very funny.
But she wasn't trying to tease her; she sat up and started putting things on the low table next to her.
First, there's the hot pot itself, then the hot pot base, both spicy and non-spicy options are available.
Next came the various side dishes.
There are various frozen beef and lamb cuts available, waiting to be cut.
The seafood includes all kinds of fish, shrimp, and shellfish, all lively and ready to be cleaned.
There are also various green vegetables suitable for cooking, such as garland chrysanthemum, bok choy, spinach, Chinese cabbage, radish, and potato.
The table was piled high with food, so much so that it couldn't be stacked up any further.
Everyone rushed forward, each looking for something to do.
In an instant, everything on the table disappeared, and one person began cleaning up, carrying one item at a time.
Seeing that there was nothing for her to do, Li Xiao went to her spatial storage and pulled out some things she could use for hot pot, such as cold drinks and beer.
Now that we don't have to go on missions, it's okay to have a drink.
Looking at the things laid out on the table, Li Xiao smiled happily.
I found some more mushrooms in my spatial storage; mushrooms are a perfect match for hot pot.
I got a little bit of shiitake mushrooms, seafood mushrooms, and oyster mushrooms. They looked so fresh and delicious.
Li Xiao broke it open, cleaned it, and then put it in a basin.
Everyone worked quickly and had already cleared most of the vegetables. Li Xiao went over to help pick the greens.
Vegetables are a bit of a hassle to prepare, but they are an essential ingredient for hot pot.
All the ingredients were prepared and placed on the low table next to it.
I set up the hot pot; since I couldn't use an electric one, I used a gas one. That worked fine, and it was quite convenient.
Watching the distinct red and white broths in the hot pot, bubbling and steaming.
"Alright, you can add the vegetables now."
After a few chopsticks, meat and various vegetables were placed on both sides.
"We still have to eat hot pot in winter. It doesn't feel like winter without eating hot pot."
Each person had a bottle of beer in front of them, with more for the men and only one for the women.
"Yes, eating hot pot is still the best thing to do in winter."
Zheng Yongnian echoed Tian Tian's words, agreeing wholeheartedly.
Everyone was enjoying their hot pot meal, completely forgetting the freezing wind and snow outside.
"The base should be cleared out now, right? There's no danger there?" Li Xiao asked, stuffing a slice of meat into his mouth and chewing it a few times.
Cheng Shaolin scooped out the cooked meat slices and potatoes for her while answering her.
"Hmm, there shouldn't be any more."
Zheng Yongnian and Li Xiao did not go out; he listened with great interest, just like Li Xiao.
"That's good, at least there's no threat inside the base."
"Hmm, hopefully so. However, I've heard some people say that many of the casualties were caused by attacks from mutated animals."
"What? Many people are dead?"
Zheng Yongnian was very surprised. There were not many survivors to begin with, and after experiencing the scorching heat and rain, and now the cold winter, the number of people who could survive was getting smaller and smaller.
The city now has only about 300,000 people. In a city that used to have tens of millions of people, less than 4 million survived at the beginning of the apocalypse.
The elderly, women, and children were the ones who died the most initially.
Most of the survivors were young adults, after all, they had the best physical condition.
Of the mere 4 million people, less than 1 million survived after experiencing various natural and man-made disasters.
Of those less than one million people, more than a third have now been lost as winter approaches, leaving only less than 300,000 survivors.
300,000 seems like a lot, but who knows how many will actually survive in the end?
Having already witnessed the cruelest truths, no one felt particularly sad.
Because what should have been painful, has already been experienced countless times, and we've long since become numb to it.
"Over a hundred people have died in just a few days. They were mostly ordinary people."
Zheng Yongnian immediately lost his appetite and put down his chopsticks.
It's getting harder and harder for ordinary people to live.
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