Now that the temperature had risen, Zhang Qiu also wanted to go out a bit farther and try his luck.

Maybe he could find a convenient walking stick for Old Man Cai.

So they quickly agreed that in a few days, when the fat guy was on leave, they would go out together, and Old Man Cai would stay home.

That night, another strange thing happened.

At the door of Yu Xifeng’s house, a plant actually sprouted.

That touch of spring brought surprise and delight, and many people gathered around to look.

No one dared to pick it.

Many even traveled across districts just to see it.

Although according to the old calendar it was already autumn,

after enduring such a long, harsh winter, everyone yearned for spring.

Its symbolic meaning was more inspiring than the plant itself.

Zhang Qiu circled around it twice: “How could it sprout in this environment?”

Had it mutated?

Judging by the leaves and buds, it looked ordinary.

The more Zhang Qiu looked, the more confused he became.

The next day, that briefly blossomed bud withered.

Yu Xifeng didn’t understand plants, but when he saw that dull gray-yellow, he felt uneasy.

It embodied the hope of survivors, yet it withered so quickly.

Zhang Qiu didn’t sleep well that night.

He seemed to dream of many things—fragmented, chaotic pieces.

But when he opened his eyes, it was as if all those memories had been erased completely.

Only that pang of anxiety remained.

Zhang Qiu felt a strong unease but couldn’t find the reason.

He sat in the dark for a long time, looked at Old Man Cai sleeping peacefully nearby, then shifted his gaze toward the tent inside.

His heartbeat slowly steadied.

People in the house gradually moved out, and soon it was District 2’s turn.

Those who moved out within three days could receive about four jin of dried meat and two packs of insect-powder biscuits from the authorities.

Sister Yun and the fat guy had moved back.

Before leaving, the fat guy nervously approached, “Sis, do you really have… you know, that?”

Yu Xifeng looked up blankly, seeing the fat guy’s constipated expression.

“You mean that?”

Yu Xifeng: “Which one?”

The fat guy panicked: “You said you have condoms—can I trade with you?”

…

Before Zhang Qiu left, he tidied up Yu Xifeng’s room inside and out; the place looked brand new.

Yu Xifeng also returned Zhang Qiu’s tent to him.

The ground surface temperature’s lowest point had risen to minus twenty-five degrees.

Still climbing.

Yu Xifeng was ready to leave the underground shelter.

Wang Anmin had looked for her, and Zheng Weiyang might have already become suspicious of her.

This was a Damocles’ sword hanging over her head, ready to fall at any moment.

The outside temperature was still low but no longer deadly.

Sister Yun had the fat guy, and Old Man Cai could continue to depend on Zhang Qiu this lifetime.

Fate brings people together and then separates them; she was not used to goodbyes.

So be it.

Tomorrow, she would go to the surface, check the big items at the fat guy’s place, and then wouldn’t need to return to the underground shelter.

Now, she was the only one left in the house.

Suddenly, the door was kicked open, falling with a loud bang.

Yu Xifeng was startled, sprang up, and gripped her Tang Dao tightly.

The patrol team surrounded Yu Xifeng’s house.

Zheng Weiyang smiled gently at Yu Xifeng, “Miss Yu, sorry for the sudden visit.”

Yu Xifeng’s face turned cold as frost.

“The troublesome person has finally been transferred, so I can have a proper chat with you,” Zheng Weiyang said. “Don’t worry, Miss Yu, valuable people will be safe wherever they go.”

Someone came in to inspect the house inside and out.

They disarmed Yu Xifeng and searched her.

Yu Xifeng’s face was full of shock and anger.

But her mind was calm.

Zheng Weiyang was just an ordinary man, but he was surrounded by too many people both in front and behind.

Yu Xifeng couldn’t break through the human shield to control him in a short time.

Fine, she would meet Zheng Weiyang first.

“Miss Yu, don’t be nervous. I’m just a bit confused and want to ask you for an explanation.”

“What if I don’t want to?” Yu Xifeng said.

“The underground shelter is too crowded now; the staff can only squeeze seven or eight people into one room. But don’t worry, Miss Yu, I will always keep a place for you here.”

That meant soft detention.

“You’re committing a crime!” Yu Xifeng shouted.

Even after inspecting the whole house and disarming her, Zheng Weiyang was still fully armed.

He was unusually cautious.

Zheng Weiyang patiently explained, “This is power.”

“What do you want to know?” Yu Xifeng bore it silently.

Yu Xifeng originally thought Zheng Weiyang would try to investigate Zheng Chengfan’s cause of death through her.

But instead, Zheng Weiyang asked, “Miss Yu, I want to know, where did your RV go?”

She did not answer.

But refusal was already a flaw.

“I want to make a deal with you: all the grain in my factory in exchange for an explanation,” Zheng Weiyang said. “I thought this was a fair trade.”

Yu Xifeng was silent.

At this point,

denial was useless against someone like Zheng Weiyang.

Pretending would only seem pretentious.

Was this the step she had to take?

Yu Xifeng focused her mind on the gun in the space, her hands folded at her abdomen, her expression calm with a slight smile. “Do you really want to know?”

She only had one moment.

The instant the gun was in her hand,

the scene before her blurred.

Yu Xifeng tilted her head, ruling out dizziness from Zheng Weiyang’s shocked expression.

Dust began to fall from above with a rustling sound.

A large chunk of ceiling crashed down with a bang onto the table in front of Yu Xifeng and Zheng Weiyang.

Zheng Weiyang’s pupils constricted.

An earthquake!

Zheng Weiyang stood up, lost his balance, lunged forward, and fell hard.

Yu Xifeng quickly got up and, as everyone stabilized, she was the first to run toward the door.

Then, she turned.

A gunshot.

Zheng Weiyang’s secretary rushed over.

That single shot fired, Yu Xifeng immediately withdrew and ran out without looking back.

This was underground, and with an unknown earthquake magnitude, the place could collapse anytime.

She couldn’t even return to the space.

If she came out next time, she would still return to the same place.

If she was buried underground immediately, her situation would only get worse.

Yu Xifeng ran a long distance, and no one from Zheng Weiyang’s room had come chasing after her yet.

Looks like he wasn’t dead.

Yu Xifeng felt a little regretful.

Then she could only hope that Zheng Cheng succeeded in being buried in this earthquake.

With a rumbling sound, the load-bearing wall beside Yu Xifeng collapsed.

She had to get to the surface.

Emergency exit, emergency exit— which direction?