Chapter 64, Chapter 20: The Female Supporting Character in an Apocalyptic Novel
The soldiers stared wide-eyed, some not quite understanding what he meant.
A century has passed since before the apocalypse.
These soldiers had never experienced the civilized society described in the records.
They were born in the underground city, and their experiences have always followed the same pattern as those in the underground city.
In their view, Xu Qingzhou and Yu Wanwan restored the ground and established urban order there, so he was naturally the master of the ground.
But he said the ground wasn't his.
Hei San, however, assumed they were unwilling and couldn't help but sigh.
"I'm telling you, you're soldiers, you have weapons. The poison gas on the ground has been mostly eliminated, you can survive anywhere. Why do you have to come into our city?"
Having followed Xu Qingzhou and Yu Wanwan for so long, and living the life of an ordinary person for so long, Hei San is slowly changing.
Back when he was the black market boss, he would never have said such a thing.
The soldiers finally realized what was happening, knelt down in front of the city gate, offered their gratitude and apologies, picked up their weapons, and left together to settle down in other places.
Those with families took their weapons and turned back to the dungeon.
They want to go back and bring their families over!
With their departure, the news spread throughout the underground city.
Those who remained in the underground city went from initial disbelief to complete conviction, and then poured into the surface like madmen.
More and more people are leaving the underground city and moving to live on the surface.
In just one month, only Zhao Kun and Mr. Wang's people remained in the entire underground city, stubbornly resisting and vying for control of the underground city.
Five years later.
A group of ragged people walked on a clean and tidy street.
Looking at the numerous shops lining the street, the pedestrians dressed neatly with happy smiles on their faces, yet their eyes held a sense of bewilderment and regret.
Some people stood in front of the steamed bun shop, their eyes wide with the aroma, constantly swallowing their saliva.
The boss glanced at them, took a bag, filled it with some buns, and asked the waiter to take them over.
"You just came out of the dungeon after receiving the news, right?"
The man paused, unsure of what to say, and could only nod with a stiff face.
The waiter looked at him with pity and regret and stuffed a bag of buns into his hands.
"These are for you to eat. You just need to register your information at the service center and you'll be able to get a house and settle down. If you want to farm, you'll also need to apply at the service center and wait for approval. The government will give you a living allowance for the first month, but starting from the second month, you'll have to earn your own money!"
The waiter was clearly not new to encountering refugees who had just come from the underground city, and he explained to them in great detail how they now lived on the surface.
"See that over there? That tallest building is the service center!"
The man held the steaming hot buns, remained silent for a long time, and finally managed a hoarse "Thank you."
"We're all survivors, it's only right that we help each other!"
After the waiter left, the man stood there for a while before leading the group behind him toward the tallest building.
Someone stepped forward, lowered their voice, and spoke with some concern.
"commander……"
This man is Zhao Kun.
Later, the news of the ground being restored was confirmed, but he still couldn't let go of the power he had finally obtained and refused to leave Area A.
He and Mr. Wang fought on the ground for three years before they finally broke through the protective shield of Zone E, killed the person who betrayed him, and took over Zone E.
Thanks to the presence of the E-zone purifying moss, the underground city remains oxygen-rich.
But everyone else had left, and only the people who were still with him remained.
How could a mere hundred or so people possibly maintain the operation of such a large underground city?
He finally got the entire underground city, but so what?
In the following two years, another batch of those hundred or so people left, and eventually only the dozen or so remain today.
With no enemies to fight and no power to manipulate him, Zhao Kun gradually came to his senses.
Looking back, I have no idea what he was striving for all his life.
I have no idea how he went from being a commander with great power to this position.
In the end, he led the last dozen or so people onto the ground.
Zhao Kun shook his head.
"Don't call me Commander anymore. That title probably isn't a good thing on the ground."
The adjutant paused for a moment.
"Yes, sir, but sir, our identities have been registered... Will Xu Qingzhou make things difficult for us?"
Zhao Kun also fell silent.
After a long while, he took a bite of a steamed bun. The taste was even more delicious than what he had eaten in the underground city, leaving him with a mix of emotions.
"Then we'll make up an identity. If we get caught, we can just move to another place. The country is so big, can Xu Qingzhou keep catching us forever?"
He casually tossed the remaining buns to his adjutant, telling him to take them and distribute them, then strode forward with his head held high and chest out.
Xu Qingzhou really didn't have time to pay attention to him.
The world is so big, there can't possibly be only a few survivors in the dungeon.
In various corners of the world, there are many other similar underground shelters.
Over the past decade, they have built one small oasis city after another, starting from the original ruins.
Then, the protective shield was gradually expanded outwards.
After ten years, not to mention the whole world, at least the area where their country is located has regained clean and fresh air.
The only remaining danger is those mutated creatures.
Once humans can breathe independently and technology begins to get back on track, eliminating these mutated creatures will only be a matter of time.
More and more people who had been hiding in the shelters came out and reintegrated into the ground.
As the recognized highest authority on the ground, Xu Qingzhou was so busy settling and managing these people and carrying out infrastructure construction and economic recovery for the country that he was so overwhelmed that he couldn't even remember which way his own door opened. How could he have time to care about Mr. Zhao Kun and Mr. Wang?
At first, Lord Su and the Dean were able to help him share some of the burden.
However, when they were in the underground city, Lord Su was already over ninety years old.
After they moved to the surface, they probably saw hope for humanity and found their only granddaughter, finally putting an end to the heavy burden on his heart.
He passed away peacefully a year after moving to the surface.
The dean was not much younger than Lord Su, so Xu Qingzhou dared not trouble the old man and could only do everything himself.
Fortunately, as more and more people emerged, more and more talented individuals joined, which greatly reduced his burden.
As for Yu Wanwan?
She'll help him when she's in a good mood, but most of the time she's too lazy to care.
Xu Qingzhou didn't dare say anything to her, and even had to coax her.
The end times are global, not just in one country.
In this life, Xu Qingzhou was busy until his death and never had a moment of leisure.
When he gets old, he also thinks about retiring and enjoying his retirement.
But that group of people acted like madmen, crying and begging him not to step down.
He could understand the people who had been following him since Sector E, but he really couldn't understand why those people who came out of other underground shelters were joining in the fun.
It was at this moment that he finally understood why Yu Wanwan had been avoiding those researchers so much.
When this group of people gets going, it's truly terrifying.
Unfortunately, he didn't have Yu Wanwan's ability to slip away so easily and hide so well that no one could find a trace of her.
They were still forced to work until they died.
On his deathbed, he felt no reluctance whatsoever, only the relief of finally being able to rest.
Yu Wanwan sat by his bedside and chuckled softly, which made the old man with gray hair look over with a mournful expression.
She blinked, straightened her expression, and pretended that she hadn't done anything.
Xu Qingzhou was too exhausted to argue with her anymore, so he laboriously raised his hand and placed it on the back of her hand.
"Xiaoman, have you been happy in your life?"
Yu Wanwan tilted her head.
She is now a little old lady, but the wrinkles on her face do not affect her beauty and temperament at all, and she can still easily attract Xu Qingzhou's attention.
"Of course, after all, I'm not the one who's worked myself to death!"
"..."
Xu Qingzhou couldn't catch his breath and was literally driven to death by her anger.
"..."
Looking at Xu Qingzhou, who had breathed his last, Yu Wanwan's eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment.
She subconsciously reached out to pull at his translucent soul.
That "divine soul" dissipated upon contact, leaving nothing behind but a fragment of her own divine soul.
Staring at the shards in her hand, Yu Wanwan remained silent for a long time, still unable to believe it.
"He...could he really have been angered to death by me?"
It seems that's indeed the case.
If Daoguo had hands, he would really want to cover his face and cry.
What kind of mess is this?!
Knowing full well that the male lead is incapacitated, she still tries to anger him like this!
Wanwan is no human being!
Yu Wanwan clenched her fist, carefully putting away the fragments, then looked away, feeling inexplicably guilty.
"Well, his lifespan was already up, so it shouldn't... have any impact, right?"
Since Heaven hasn't acted, it seems there's no impact.
Yu Wanwan finally breathed a long sigh of relief and waved her hand hastily.
"That's good, that's good! Run! If we don't run, I'll be the next one to be caught and forced to work!"
[...]
Okay.
A hundred years later.
A group of students, drenched by their teacher, walked through the underground city, curiously looking around.
The teacher, holding a small megaphone, slowly explained things from the front.
“Back then, the power struggle in Underground City 1 was severe, the government was almost completely sidelined, warlords and tycoons colluded, and the people were living in misery. It was the first chairman, Xu Qingzhou, who, together with his wife Su Man, went to the surface and brought back the Pure Breath Moss. They successfully cultivated and propagated it, leading District E to independence, which created an opportunity to end that chaos.”
They stopped in a small courtyard enclosed by wooden planks, and the teacher carefully pushed open the wooden door, which had been repaired countless times.
"This is the former residence of Chairman Xu and his wife, Ms. Su, in the underground city. Be careful and don't damage anything inside!"
"good!"
The courtyard retains a rustic charm, yet it is bursting with the vitality of spring.
The most eye-catching thing is the grape trellis in the yard, which is bearing bunches of purple fruit.
Suddenly, a student ran up to the teacher, his face showing curiosity and confusion.
"Teacher, the textbook says that the first Silver Guard was established by Chairman Xu, but why are there always rumors online that it was actually Ms. Su who trained them?"
Her question immediately attracted the attention of the other students, who then gathered around.
The teacher sighed. Every year, students ask this question, and she's gotten used to it.
"Because the Silver Guard's badge is engraved entirely with the character 'Manchu'!"
"But doesn't the character '满' (mǎn) represent perfection and fulfillment?"
"No, it's because when Ms. Su was still working at the research institute, she was injured and lost her memory due to a scheme by the warlord in Area A. She met Chairman Xu, who was making a living selling oxygen in Area E. At that time, Ms. Su did not remember her identity or her name. She only vaguely remembered that her name had the pronunciation of 'man'. From then on, Chairman Xu always called her 'Xiao Man'."
"Wow! Why aren't these in the textbook?"
The teacher patted the child's head and smiled tolerantly.
"These are all recorded in extracurricular books. If you are interested, go to the library to look up the history of that period."
The children nodded in agreement.
"If only Chairman Xu and Ms. Su could see the ground like this!"
The teacher looked up at the faint light falling at the end of the passageway.
Those weren't large lights hanging in the underground city, but natural light reflected from the ground.
"Perhaps they are watching, after all, every root of the Pure Breath Moss still remembers their names!"
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