69 Supply Station - Day 2
◎Go to the 'door'◎
"I have a bag of chocolates here, Uncle Zhao, please help distribute it to everyone. I also have some apples and rakes, each person can get two." Yan Lan doesn't like to eat apples on weekdays, so this fruit always has the largest stock.
Upon hearing this, Old Man Zhao gratefully accepted the chocolate and apple. He knew that these young people were living well in that world, and these should not be a big burden for them.
Shi Yuanyuan was about to hand over the bag of fragrant Cantonese-style snacks in his hand, but Old Man Li gently pushed it back. He smiled kindly and said, "These snacks are limited in quantity. You young people can keep them for yourselves. For us old people and children, porridge and steamed buns are enough."
Shi Yuanyuan looked around at the people around him. There were at least 20 people including the elderly and children, which was definitely not enough to share.
He could only laugh awkwardly and scratched his head embarrassedly: "Okay then, I'll listen to you."
Ji Zhou also took out two large bottles of milk from his backpack and handed them to Old Man Zhao: "Uncle Zhao, please share this milk with the children. They are growing and need more nutrition."
These are little kids under 10 years old, at the age of growing up, but now they are eating bland porridge and cold steamed buns, which looks really pitiful.
Old man Zhao took the milk, his eyes slightly reddened, and he thanked the man repeatedly.
The children's originally monotonous breakfast became richer due to the generosity of Yan Lan and others. Each of them not only got a large cup of fragrant milk, but also a piece of sweet chocolate and two sweet apples.
They sat together, the small iron bowls filled with the taste of happiness, the children drank with relish, even the old people who were used to being frugal on weekdays carefully tasted the pomelo in their hands, their faces filled with satisfaction and joy.
In this heartwarming scene, a group of little kids, led by an older boy, happily came to Yan Lan and her group. Yan Lan remembered that the boy leading the group was called Xiao Ming.
Their faces were filled with innocent smiles, and they loudly expressed their gratitude to them: "Thank you, brothers and sisters!"
Seeing this group of cute and well-behaved children, Yan Lan couldn't help but step forward and touch their soft heads: "You're welcome."
Standing in front of her was a little girl about five years old, staring at Yan Lan with her big black eyes.
Yan Lan noticed that she hesitated several times, so she smiled and asked, "Do you have anything to say to your sister?"
After receiving the nod, the little girl's smile became even brighter, and her clear voice was especially sweet: "Could you please help me pass on a message to my parents in that world, telling them that Xiaoyi misses them very much?"
Before he finished speaking, the other kids gathered around excitedly, all shouting, "I want one too! I want one too!"
The news of their arrival spread quickly on the world channel, and even children knew about it.
A group of little kids were making a lot of noise, attracting the attention of the elderly people who were eating quietly behind them.
They put down their bowls and chopsticks and hurried over. Some of them frantically grabbed the excited children, with a somewhat apologetic and embarrassed smile on their faces: "I'm sorry, the children are ignorant and their words are not controlled."
Yan Lan looked at the disappointed faces of the children, and her heart softened. She smiled and shook her head, saying gently, "It's okay. We can try asking in the group. However, whether it will work or not is uncertain."
Ji Zhou also quickly agreed: "Yes, it's not a big deal, we are happy to help."
After hearing this, several elderly people looked at each other hesitantly. Finally, it was Old Man Zhao who spoke up: "Then I'll trouble you. The children are ignorant and I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."
After saying that, he patted Ji Zhou and Shi Yuanyuan's shoulders gratefully, and pulled the children back to their seats to continue eating.
In just five minutes, everyone finished their meal, even the little kids who were only a few years old.
On the one hand, Yan Lan was shocked by their speed, but on the other hand, she felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
These elderly people, who should have been enjoying the company of their grandchildren and the happiness of family, now have to face this sudden challenge of survival; and those children, who should have been growing up carefree under the care of their parents, now have to bear the pressure of life in advance and lose the happy childhood that originally belonged to them.
All of this stems from that inexplicable game, which is like an invisible net that completely disrupts the trajectory of everyone's life.
After breakfast, the group got ready and prepared to head to the nearest "gate".
Because one of the children in the team was unwell, he had to stay in the underground shelter to be taken care of by his grandmother who was over 70 years old. At the same time, in order to ensure the safety of the shelter, several members had to stay behind. In the end, the team of 20 people, including 8 children, set out on the journey.
Among the eight children, Xiao Ming, who had gone there yesterday, was there today. He walked at the front of the team with a proud and confident look, followed by a group of friends.
"Stand in line and don't fall behind."
"Grit your teeth, persevere and you will get there."
He was like a little leader, paying attention to the condition of each little kid as he walked.
Seeing Yan Lan staring at Xiao Ming, Old Man Zhao took the initiative to explain, "He is Old Li's grandson. The child is smart and often helps adults with things. He will be 10 years old in a few months."
At the end of his speech, Old Man Zhao sighed. Although Xiao Ming was not his grandson, he was still a well-behaved child he had lived with for several months, so it was inevitable that he would be reluctant to let him go.
Turning ten years old means being teleported to their survival game. Yan Lan couldn't help but look at Uncle Li beside her. He was carrying a hand-sewn cloth bag. Although he had a serious face and didn't smile, his eyes revealed a bit of worry from time to time.
Although their underground resting place is close to the suburbs, the journey to the "gate" is not easy. There is no means of transportation, so they can only rely on their feet. The road is bumpy and they also need to be careful of various rocks.
For the entire two-hour journey, the eight children were surprisingly quiet, without a single complaint or fuss. Even the youngest, a five-year-old, gritted his teeth and silently followed the group.
At 8 o'clock in the morning, we finally arrived at our destination and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
As soon as Mr. Li and Mr. Zhao arrived at their destination, they rushed towards the glowing door.
All the 'doors' in the world are connected, and the number of tasks is limited. Those tasks that are both simple and well-paid are always particularly popular. In order to compete for these good tasks, many people do not hesitate to get up early in the morning, for fear that if they are one step late, they will only be able to pick up what others have left.
Yan Lan and others stood behind the two old men, watching them quietly as they skillfully turned the door handle and their fingers swiped across one task after another on the pop-up interface.
After a moment, Elder Li and Elder Zhao stopped what they were doing and turned to face the crowd, their faces filled with satisfied smiles. "Haha, we're lucky today! The mission we've chosen is to pick dragon fruit!"
“Wow! That’s amazing!”
"It's a lot easier now."
Hearing the good news, everyone cheered.
Seeing this, Yan Lan felt curious, but couldn't help but be happy with everyone else, and took the opportunity to ask the two old men about the ins and outs of this.
Mr. Zhao stood sideways, clearing a path for his teammates. His eyes narrowed into slits, a warm smile playing on his lips. "Picking fruit? It's easy work, and the points are good. There's a special fruit planting base in the game, where the fruit grows densely, so picking is easy. Even little kids can help."
"Then what task is considered difficult?" Yan Lan asked curiously.
Hearing this, Mr. Zhao stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and then said, "The hardest tasks are naturally mining, road construction, and carrying stones. These jobs are not only physically demanding, but also low in work points. Our old bones would crackle after a day of work~"
Yan Lan nodded thoughtfully after hearing this.
At this time, the others had already walked into the 'door' leading to the orchard one by one.
Mr. Zhao turned his gaze to the three young men in front of him and invited them, "Let's go in together."
After passing through the 'gate', they immediately arrived at the entrance of the orchard.
There were all sorts of tools on display, including backpacks, sickles, carts, and bamboo rakes. Everyone gathered around and selected the right tool based on their needs and physical strength.
Yan Lan looked around and saw that Xiao Ming and the other children were excitedly choosing the smallest backpack, while most of the adults chose the medium-sized backpack.
She glanced at the many tools and chose the largest backpack to carry on her shoulder. Seeing this, Ji Zhou and Shi Yuanyuan followed her without hesitation and picked up the largest backpack.
Everything was ready. Elder Li stood in front of the team and announced in a loud voice: "Everyone, listen carefully. Remember the rules of the game. You can only pick the fruit and not eat it. Especially adults, please keep an eye on your children. If anyone eats it, all your hard work for the whole morning will be in vain!"
"receive!"
Everyone responded in unison, the sickles in their hands gleaming. Even the five-year-old child had a stern face and looked extremely serious. It seemed that this kind of propaganda had been done more than once and everyone remembered it.
The task is calculated according to the weight of the dragon fruit picked by each person. The more you work, the more you earn. Time is tight and every second counts. After giving a few simple instructions, Mr. Li led everyone into the orchard.
To be honest, the environment here is much better than the game world of Yan Lan and the others. There is no bad weather and no sudden dangers. As long as you work hard, you will get work points.
To be honest, the game still has a bit of conscience and did not teleport these vulnerable groups to them, otherwise they would not be able to survive the first ice and snow map.
As soon as they entered the orchard, everyone consciously divided into several small teams and dispersed.
Yan Lan and the other two followed Mr. Li, Mr. Zhao, and Mr. Li's grandson Xiao Ming.
The dragon fruit trees were laden with ripe, bright red fruits, extremely tempting. But everyone remembered the rules and only picked them but did not eat them.
Although Xiao Ming is young, he works very hard. Because he is short, he only picks the fruits from the lower part of the tree. His movements are very skillful. He holds a plump dragon fruit with both hands, twists his head hard like killing a chicken, and the dragon fruit snaps.
Yan Lan was amazed by what she saw.
Soon, the backpacks of several people were full. They held the shoulder straps with both hands and walked towards the automatic collection machine on the side.
"It's very simple. Just aim at the machine's inlet and pour it in. The system will automatically record your harvest." Mr. Li demonstrated as he poured the fruit from his backpack into the machine's trumpet-shaped opening. At the same time, his eyes were fixed on the changes on the game panel. "Look, one more work point."
Xiao Ming's backpack is small, and this basket is only worth 0.5 work points. But only a few dozen minutes have passed, and he can earn more than ten work points in a day.
Yan Lan followed suit and poured all the dragon fruits in the basket into the strange machine.
Her heart was beating rapidly, her eyes fixed on the game panel. The sound of gold coins falling into the bag was heard, and then her personal balance immediately increased by 2 units.
It turns out that the survival game can recognize the tasks issued by the "Gate", which means that there is some kind of mysterious connection between the real world and the virtual survival game, and even that they share a set of complex setting mechanisms.
The key to space that brought her here is the bridge and key connecting the two worlds.
The biggest problem was that she was the only one who possessed the Space Key. It was impossible for everyone who wanted to reach reality to go through her. That would be exhausting for her. Furthermore, the amount of work points consumed each time the Space Key was activated was extremely large, which was a heavy burden for her.
Don't worry, there should be a way.
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