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The ice rain was pounding down, sending a chill through everyone present.
Everyone is originally hopeful for a bountiful harvest by the end of December to alleviate the food shortage, now all hope seemed shattered, unsure of how to survive the next three months.
“In our four seasons camp, rain seldom falls, how could ice rain suddenly come?” Qin Wan found it unbelievable.
Lu Liu replied, “Is it because the weather changes, causing the ice rain? It’s like another wave of doomsday has arrived.”
Qin Wan was speechless.
Yun Shan gazed outside, curious about how long this ice rainstorm would last.
After waiting for over an hour, the weather finally cleared, and no more icerain fell from the sky.
Yet, the estate was in ruins. Sheds had collapsed, several bamboo houses had caved in, crops were destroyed, and the outer stone wall was damaged in several places.
Seeing this, Yun Shan rolled up his sleeves and took the lead, “Don’t stand there, come and help.”
***
“My Lord…” You Yi looked worriedly at Lu Ming.
Just now, when the ice rainstorm came suddenly, it threatened to collapse the large shed. The Lord acted swiftly to protect a large expanse of crops.
Not only that, he shielded the people around him to prevent them from being injured by the ice rain.
Lu Ming gazed at the distant ruins and said solemnly, “The disaster is severe, not only are crops damaged, but houses have collapsed, and residents will be injured. Immediately dispatch more manpower for rescue.”
“Yes, sir,” You Yi acknowledged.
***
“It seems like the storm has stopped.” There had been no sound of icestones hitting the ground for a while. Doctor Xia opened the cellar door and ventured out to investigate.
Gao Ling, observing the surroundings, was momentarily speechless.
This was a cellar, and it appeared quite clean, regardless of how long it had been there.
The interior was well-lit, with good ventilation, and stocked with plenty of rice, cured meat, and flour. With all this stock, Doctor Xia alone could survive for at least four to five months.
“It’s safe now, you can come out,” Doctor Xia said.
“Coming, coming,” Gao Ling replied, using both hands and feet to climb out of the cellar.
Doctor Xia casually closed the door.
Only then did Gao Ling notice that the cellar door was hidden under the floor, quite secret. Without prior knowledge, it would have been difficult to detect.
“The ice rainstorm disaster seems severe,” Doctor Xia remarked, gazing at the several large holes in the residential roofs, her expression grave. “If we hadn’t hidden in the cellar and had been in the house, a single hit could have caused serious injury.”
“Yes, it’s fortunate we had the cellar.” Gao Ling recalled the perilous experience and felt a pang of unease.
After a brief silence, Doctor Xia spoke in a low voice, “Can you keep the cellar a secret?”
The ice rainstorm had come too suddenly.
At that moment, she hadn’t thought of anything else, she had just pulled Gao Ling away and took refuge in the cellar together.
When the disaster was over, Doctor Xia suddenly realized how inappropriate her actions had been. What if the other person had malicious intentions…
Unaware of the deep conflict within the NPC staff, Gao Ling responded seriously, “Of course, it must be kept secret! The world is dangerous, there are so many bad people, what if a thief gets wind of it!”
Doctor Xia chuckled, “Thank you.”
***
In the Pay-to-Win game group, a chorus of complaints filled the chat.
“Perplexed: My teammates usually told me to log off inside the house, I found it annoying and refused to comply. Then today, as soon as I logged in, ‘bam’, an icestone hit my chest. ‘Bam’, another hit my foot. ‘Bam’, one on my head, and that was it… aargh, I’m more wronged than Dou E!!”
“Zero: This game is truly set in an apocalyptic background, where people die at the drop of a hat.”
“Outrageous: I’ve played so many games, but ‘Doomsday Camp’ is the most capricious! They didn’t even give a heads-up before this disaster, players had zero psychological preparation!”
“Routine: Not the first time, the bandit activities wait until players are killed by bandits before the official announcement is made.”
“Shapeshifter: Seeing the icestones falling from the sky, I shivered, my hand speed soared, and I logged off in the nick of time, finally saving my life.”
“Class Hero: I was in the tent area, with over twenty NPC guards holding up a barrier to protect the workers. What does this mean? It means working is the most promising! Only through work can one become exceptional!”
“Distressed: Almost all the crops in the fields were destroyed, food prices skyrocketed, becoming ten times higher than before. However, the amount of food one can purchase further decreased, now only two pounds per person per week. Can this broken game be played?! Do they want to drive players to death??”
“Daily dilemma: …I’ve decided to return to the game in April next year.”
***
The extent of the damage and the area affected was so vast that it was impossible to repair it all in one day.
After busying herself for a while, Yun Shan suddenly stopped her work and gathered the wolfhounds and falcon group.
“What’s going on?” Lu Liu asked.
“Got some business to attend to.” Yun Shan replied simply.
“I’ll come too,” Lu Liu immediately declared.
Considering the current chaos outside, Yun Shan agreed.
She left thirty wolfhounds to guard the estate and took the rest with her.
Lu Liu stayed close, following her all the way.
The white and red falcons circled in the sky, occasionally emitting their calls to guide the wolfhounds forward.
After observing for a moment, Lu Liu remarked, “The ice rain that just fell must have killed some magical beasts. Are you planning to take advantage and scavenge?”
Yun Shan replied, “Of course, why not?”
After all, it’s all meat!
She couldn’t eat it all, so she could either give it away or trade it.
Lu Liu thought to himself: Just after a natural disaster, most people are still immersed in grief. What kind of mind is this, thinking about going out to scavenge magical beasts?
It was silent all around, only the howls of the wolfhounds and the calls of the falcons could be heard.
Watching the wolfhounds running here and there, retrieving the corpses of one-star, two-star, and three-star magical beasts, piling them into small mountains, Yun Shan couldn’t help but furrow her brow, “The harvest is less than expected.”
Lu Liu replied: “Maybe there’s more than one smart person around here.”
Someone else was just as quick-witted as her?
“Well, it’s scavenged anyway.” Yun Shan shrugged it off.
***
The next day, online.
A system prompt appeared, “Bandit Suppression Event concluded.”
“From December 16th to December 31st, a ‘Disaster Relief Event’ will be held server-wide. Players donating food will earn contribution points. During the event, contribution points can be exchanged for valuable rewards.”
“Each donation of 1 pound of rice earns 2 contribution points.”
“Each donation of 1 pound of meat earns 3 contribution points.”
Registration code = 10,000 contribution points (redeemable 20 times).
“This implies that the wilderness is now safe, and players can freely enter and leave the camp to hunt magical beasts.” Yun Shan pondered.
***
Mission Hall.
After the natural disaster, new recruitment notices emerged.
【Construction Worker】
Work Location: Residential Area.
Job Description: House maintenance.
Salary: 50g of mixed grain bun/hour, paid daily, accommodation provided.
【Sanitation Worker】
Work Location: Streets.
Job Description: Icestones cleanup.
Salary: 40g of mixed grain bun/hour, paid daily, accommodation provided.
【Farmer】
Work Location: Farmland.
Job Description: Clearing crops, sowing.
Salary: 40g of mixed grain bun/hour, paid daily, accommodation provided.
【Hunter】
Work Location: Wilderness.
Job Description: Follow orders, participate in NPC team hunting.
Requirement: Three stars.
Salary: 80g of mixed grain bun/hour, paid daily, accommodation provided.
…
Chu Jiu arrived at the mission hall, intending to switch jobs. However, as his eyes scanned the options, he inexplicably felt that all the available options were low-paying labor positions.
When he caught sight of the “Hunter” job, he was almost moved to tears and quickly signed up.
“Having a high level does have its benefits,” Chu Jiu sighed from the depths of his heart.
***
“Resident Wen Qingping has provided a large amount of ore to the Blue Cedar Camp and sent people to assist in weapon forging in exchange for advanced elixirs, successfully advancing to four stars.”
“Realm Traveler Ming once provided a batch of high-quality two-star/three-star wolfhound cubs to the Blue Cedar Camp, exchanging them for four three-star bodyguards to ensure his safety.”
“Resident Li Xueling delivers a batch of food to the Blue Cedar Camp every six months, selling at a high price and earning substantial profits.”
…
After reporting each item, Zuo Xin continued, “In this ice rain disaster, Wen Qingping unfortunately got injured, with a fractured right leg. Due to late detection, the treatment wasn’t timely, and it has already resulted in lingering problems.”
“Ming had an even worse time. He was hit directly in a heavily affected area. Not only did four three-star bodyguards die, but he himself also couldn’t escape unharmed.”
“Resident Li Xueling has many household staff, with insufficient food reserves, and encountered the ice rainstorm disaster. Recently, she’s been selling off her properties at a high price to buy food.”
Lu Ming asked, “What’s the response from the Blue Cedar Camp?”
Zuo Xin replied, “I heard they’ve also been affected and can’t spare the resources to rescue the informants hiding in the Red Maple Camp for now.”
In the early days of the apocalypse, hundreds of survivor bases emerged in various locations. Subsequently, these bases were either assimilated or overrun by wilderness demonic beasts, leading to the destruction of many.
In July 2204, the Red Maple Camp was established.
Conflicts between the camps persisted until the Red Maple Camp became the sole surviving base within a hundred miles.
The Blue Cedar Camp was quite distant, and previously they had no conflicts. But who made them reach out too far?
This time was a rare opportunity, and Lu Ming decided to directly deal with opponents and traitors altogether.
“The Blue Cedar Camp’s appetites have grown. Keep a close eye on their movements. Report immediately if you find anything,” Lu Ming instructed.
Zuo Xin nodded solemnly in response.
***
Yun Shan intended to sell half of the magical beast meat she had collected, but later discovered that several wolfhounds were pregnant and needed more meat for nourishment. This immediately made her dismiss the idea of selling.
“I’ve been preparing special meals for the pregnant wolfhounds these days. When cooking, be sure to pay attention to nutrition,” Yun Shan reminded.
What kind of food was more nutritious?
Meat!
Magical beast meat!
High-star magical beast meat!
So, over the next few days, Qin Wan and Chef Meng found various ways to prepare delicious meals for the pregnant wolfhounds.
Steamed meat with rice flour, the meat enveloped by a layer of rice flour, chewy and fragrant, crispy and delightful, incredibly tasty.
Twice-cooked pork, with a shiny red color, savory and slightly spicy. Not only did it not spoil the appetite, it was even more appetizing.
Braised pork rice, a combination of pork belly, pickled vegetables, eggs, and rice. The pork belly was fatty but not greasy, with a rich texture. The pickled vegetables were crisp and delicious, the eggs and rice drenched in broth, rich in aroma. Just mixing the meat soup with the rice filled an entire bowl.
Due to the excellent communal meals every day, other wolfhounds, enticed by the good food, also wanted to have offspring, but unfortunately, they hadn’t found suitable partners yet…
Chef Meng looked on with amusement, “There’s a food shortage outside, and it’s not easy to fill one’s stomach. But all of you, thinking about eating meat every day, eating so much meat.”
The wolfhounds were not at all discouraged. Instead, several times a day, they enthusiastically hovered around the pregnant wolfhounds.
Even if they couldn’t have a feast, just smelling the aroma was good enough.
Most importantly, being a magical beast requires aspirations!
A magical beast that isn’t fond of meat isn’t a good magical beast!
Dahei was nearby, head down, embodying the very essence of “ignorance is bliss.”