Chapter 102

Shu Fu was speechless but knew she still had to complete the task.

Moreover, this was a basic task requiring 20% progress. Judging by the time for clocking in, it seemed urgent.

The original service desk for the Wei Rescue Station was located inside the First Clinic, but it had been destroyed yesterday. She had to first find out where the new service desk had been set up and then hurry there.

Yao Ruoyun, upon hearing that Shu Fu was going to the new service desk, naturally wanted to go with her. She was still worried about her parents and wanted to check if the signal had been restored in Wei, or if there were any other ways to contact Zhicheng, even if it was just to pass along a message that she was still alive.

Additionally, since she had been rescued while unconscious and brought to Wei, she hadn’t yet collected her supply pack. The only thing she received yesterday was a cold-weather kit. She still needed to go to the service desk to pick up her supply pack containing food and water.

Shu Fu also didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone here. She was about to take a lock chain from her backpack to lock the iron fence outside the teahouse when she suddenly remembered something after hearing Yao Ruoyun’s mention of the signal. She asked, “Do your parents have a phone?”

“I’m not sure. They had bought a new old-fashioned phone, but when the accident happened, I don’t know if it got lost again like the last time.”

“Do you remember the phone number?”

“I can remember it.”

Shu Fu nodded, took out a somewhat bulky phone from her backpack, and handed it over. “It’s a satellite phone. Try calling your parents.”

Yao Ruoyun: …!!

**

The new service desk for the rescue station was set up in another building along the road from the First Clinic.

This had previously been a resting place for Wei’s military personnel and rescue team members, originally a small hotel. Now, with fewer people staying, there was space available, so the service desk was set up in the lobby on the first floor. Even the counter, sofa, and chairs were already available. A quick rearrangement, and they could start working.

The hotel’s door wasn’t large, and there was a thick cotton curtain hanging to block the cold wind and snow outside. Inside, there was a square foyer, and to enter the corridor, one had to turn. The foyer currently had a diesel drum with burning firewood in it, and many people who had just entered from outside gathered around it to warm up.

On the side, two team members were verifying the information that had been registered earlier on a tablet, checking their backpacks before allowing them in.

After passing through the foyer, Yao Ruoyun leaned close to Shu Fu and whispered, “They’re much stricter now. Probably because of the attack.”

Shu Fu nodded.

There were also two diesel drums burning firewood in the corridor and lobby, the wood mainly consisting of broken table and chair legs. There were more people in the lobby than Shu Fu had expected. Those who had returned from the mountain road this morning and other survivors who had been staying at the clinic seemed to have gathered here.

Everyone was here because of the freezing rain and heavy snow blocking the roads. They all knew about the previous bombing attack, that the heating had been cut off, and some supply packs had been lost. The network was also down.

Originally, they thought that as long as the vehicles were fine, the evacuation could continue, and they could hold on for a few more days. But now, the two vehicles that had gone out earlier hadn’t returned, and the only remaining large vehicle in Wei was broken down. Besides that, there were only some jeeps and small vehicles, which couldn’t carry many people. Now, they had to rely on another passing team to rescue the remaining people, and they all panicked.

Some people came to ask about the situation, wanting to know if the evacuation could still happen in the next few days, if the large vehicles that had left a few days ago could return to Wei on time, when the heating would be restored, and if they couldn’t leave for now, whether more cold-weather supplies and food could be distributed.

During this time, some well-informed people knew that part of the passing team was resting here in this building. They started asking around, hoping to see if they could catch a ride with them to leave. They heard that one vehicle was a military off-road vehicle and another was a wheeled armored personnel carrier, both of which could operate in extreme environments…

However, the second floor of the hotel was where the rescue team members stayed, and it contained their personal belongings. Naturally, these survivors couldn’t go up there freely. There was a fence at the stairwell, and someone was guarding it.

Those well-informed people couldn’t go up, but they didn’t want to leave, so they squatted by the side and waited.

In the lobby and the nearby hallway, by the doors of the rooms on the first floor, people were crowded everywhere. It was noisy with voices.

After Shu Fu and Yao Ruoyun entered, they realized that there was no way to get to the service desk, not even to the sofa area. They could only wait in the outer circle for now. However, Yao Ruoyun had already gotten through to her parents’ old phone and was able to talk to them, reassuring them she was safe. So, she wasn’t in a rush and could wait a little longer.

After about half an hour, the crowd hadn’t thinned out, and more people walked in from the hallway outside.

These people, like those who entered the clinic building earlier in the morning, looked miserable, frozen, with ice shards on their hair and shoes. They were holding or carrying their bags, and they were the survivors from the bus that had been trapped on the mountain road last night.

They had just been brought back. After a bit of a conflict with their rescuers halfway, the armored personnel carrier had stopped at the county border, and they were forced off the vehicle. They had to walk all the way through the entire county.

A little while ago, they had arrived at the clinic building but found no one there. It was only after a long search that they finally found this place. Now, seeing the rescue personnel by the service desk, they began to complain, with their heads held high, saying that the military personnel had unfairly mistreated civilians. They had been abandoned in the cold snow for no reason, blah blah blah…

The rescue personnel had already been worried that picking people up might affect the mission of that team, and they had been anxious all morning. Now, hearing that the survivors had even started arguing with them, it was giving them a headache. They told them to be quiet, but the survivors were unwilling to listen, continuing to rant and complain.

“So what if they’re on a mission? Isn’t the mission to rescue people? We’re civilians too. How does rescuing us affect their mission?” A middle-aged man spoke up. He hadn’t been wearing much to begin with, and since it hadn’t rained or gotten cold when he boarded the vehicle yesterday, he had walked all the way to the county border, slipping twice along the way. Not only were his pants and shoes soaked, but his head had been injured as well. Now, his anger was evident, and he felt justified in his complaints.

“Yeah, no matter what, how can they treat ordinary people like this, especially that team leader? He’s the worst, so fierce and scary! We’ve been frozen on the mountain all night, our hands and feet are numb, and now they leave us at the county border and just walk in themselves. Isn’t that bullying us and settling personal scores?”

“Bullying and settling personal scores?” A clear female voice came from the stairwell nearby. The group turned to see a fully equipped rescue team member standing at the top of the stairs. She had apparently been about to come down, but stopped when she heard the commotion.

She was tall and appeared a bit weary from the long journey. Maybe it was because of this fatigue, but her expression was somewhat indifferent.

She was holding a walkie-talkie, and behind her were four or five other team members, all dressed in the same uniforms and gear. One of them, a tall man, had stopped as well, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, watching the conversation with a smile.

He looked quite handsome, and though he was smiling, his smile made the complaining survivors uncomfortable. It didn’t seem like a polite smile; rather, it felt like he was enjoying the drama.

“Yes, it’s about settling personal scores. I’m not talking nonsense…” The man with the head injury suddenly weakened his tone but still stubbornly pressed on, his forehead bleeding. “It’s snowing so heavily outside, the ground is covered with ice. They could have driven the car in, but they deliberately left us at the county border. How is that not personal revenge?”

The newly arrived survivors hadn’t fully grasped the situation yet, so they didn’t notice anything strange. However, the other survivors immediately recognized the difference. They quickly quieted down and subtly stepped back, not wanting to get involved in the conflict.

It was clear that the newly arrived group had mistaken the six people on the stairs for Wei’s original military personnel. They had only seen the group that had gone to pick them up from the mountain road and didn’t know there were actually two vehicles.

Due to knowing how many people were trapped on the mountain road, the off-road vehicle hadn’t gone; only the armored personnel carrier had been sent. The carrier could carry more than a dozen people, so it was sufficient to rescue everyone.

So, they were unaware that part of the rescue team had stayed behind in Wei, including their team leader and other members who had been waiting on the second floor for their return. Now, the survivors had publicly complained and were immediately questioned, but they hadn’t reacted at all.

Some survivors felt irritated at the foolishness of the group. They thought these people were too dumb. Even if they hadn’t noticed the atmosphere around them, they should have figured it out just by looking at the other team members’ clothing and gear!

The rescue team was all wearing uniform field jackets for cold weather, with helmets, gloves, thermal vests, and boots. It was clear they were not part of Wei’s regular military personnel.

Moreover, each member of this team looked different from the regular military members. Whether male or female, they all carried a hard, smoky aura, and several of them looked displeased. Just by looking at them, it felt impossible to approach.

“So—” The female team member spoke again, “What exactly do you mean by personal revenge?”

Her question struck a nerve. The man with the injured forehead immediately fell silent. The others with him, realizing that they couldn’t back down, hurriedly exchanged glances, signaling each other.

Someone else then spoke up, but none of them managed to address the core issue. Finally, another person, who had been silent until now, couldn’t hold back.

She was the one who had gotten the last available seat on the vehicle. That day, she had seen the rescue personnel ask the person in front of her if they wanted the seat, and she had thought she was unlucky for arriving too late. But in the end, that person gave up their spot and happily embraced someone else.

The seat was then given to her, and she felt quite lucky. But then, to her surprise, it started freezing rain halfway through the journey. She didn’t dare to walk in the freezing rain at night, thinking the rescue team would be back soon. But by morning, no one had come.

She had thought she was going to be stuck in the wilderness for good, so when she finally saw the armored vehicle appear, she was overwhelmed with relief.

She had been rescued, and she knew she had no reason to complain. However, she had hoped that by following the others, they might be able to get some extra supplies from the rescue team as compensation for the ordeal.

If she hadn’t come, she might have missed out on the supplies. After everything that had happened, she had been forced off the bus and had to walk in the freezing snow from the county border to here. If she were the only one missing out on supplies, it would be a huge loss.

But now, she was afraid that if the group kept arguing like this, they wouldn’t get any supplies at all.

She hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke up: “Sigh, actually, the sudden freezing rain yesterday wasn’t really our fault. This is a disaster, and people are dying everywhere. It’s tough for everyone… I’m also in pain. The bus ran out of fuel in the middle of the night, we couldn’t use the air conditioning, and outside it was freezing rain. Those of us who stayed in the bus almost froze to death, we didn’t know how we made it through the night…”

She thought since they were all women, maybe showing some weakness would help her gain some ground.

But the female team member on the stairs was unaffected by her words. She merely raised an eyebrow and directly addressed the key point: “So— you almost froze to death? So now, who actually froze to death?”

As soon as she asked that, the group that had been talking nonstop immediately fell silent.

The atmosphere in the hotel lobby became awkward, and the first ones to notice something was off were the group of survivors who had been sent back earlier in the morning. They had been trying to stay out of the way, hiding at the back of the crowd. But now, they craned their necks and quickly figured out what was happening.

“1, 2, 3… 6? How come there are only six people?” If there were six people, they could barely squeeze into the military off-road vehicle. The back section of the vehicle had been modified, with the original single seats replaced by double-facing rows.

However, when the Wei team members who had accompanied them on the return trip counted, they had confirmed that there were still nine people trapped in the mountain road bus.

That’s why the armored vehicle was sent to rescue them, because the off-road vehicle couldn’t fit everyone, but the armored vehicle could bring back all nine people.

So, where were the other three people?

The rescue team members by the service desk also noticed the odd expressions on the survivors’ faces. They had originally wanted to stop them from talking nonsense, but now, realizing something was wrong, they immediately stepped in to ask questions. The survivors, however, suddenly became quiet, like clams that couldn’t be pried open.

“Say something! Didn’t you have a lot to say earlier?” The more the rescue team members pressed, the quieter the group became.

But they soon didn’t need to ask anymore. The team member who had been responsible for the survivors’ transfer came downstairs. He had been resting upstairs after spending the night looking for farms and keeping watch. Upon hearing the commotion, he quickly came down, checked the list of people who had boarded the bus, and compared it with the group that had returned earlier. He quickly confirmed that three people were missing.

One person had fallen unconscious due to injury, but the back seat of the bus had been modified to accommodate a fixed bed. Since she had already booked a seat, she had been carried onto the bus.

The second missing person was paralyzed, and was accompanied by his teenage son.

These three people, who should have been rescued along with the others, hadn’t returned.

“Where are they?” The rescue team member asked urgently. The paralyzed father and his son had family in Xizhou Province, but due to the reversed traffic restrictions, they couldn’t come. However, they had been waiting for the reunion.

When the group heard the rescue team member clearly describe the features and information of the three missing individuals, they fell even quieter. They exchanged glances with one another, feeling the sharp gazes of the others around them. It made them uncomfortable, and their hearts began to race. They wanted nothing more than to disappear from the scene immediately.

The man with the head injury couldn’t take the stares any longer. Finally, he shouted, “What’s going on? Why are you staring at us? What are you asking about? It’s like you’re blaming us for killing them! What does it have to do with us?” He shouted, looking at the rescue team member. “Why didn’t you stay with us yesterday? It’s your responsibility as rescue team members. We… we’re all victims here!”

“Hey—”

“You—”

“Shut up!”

The others in his group tried to stop him, but it was too late. Once the words were out, there was no taking them back. He seemed even angrier as he continued, “It wasn’t even minus tens of degrees! Who knows what happened to them? They were sitting right next to the window… If they died, it was because they froze to death! Who can we blame for that? You made us carry them onto the bus and sit with their bodies, are you out of your mind? Acting like it’s our responsibility! We just didn’t notice, who hasn’t seen death? We almost died last night too!”

The more he spoke, the louder the gasps of shock became in the lobby. What shocked everyone wasn’t that someone had died in their bus, but his attitude at that moment.

The female team member on the stairs narrowed her eyes coldly: “So, is this how you spoke in front of our team leader?”

The tall male team member beside her scoffed, “I knew it. If you can provoke our team leader to the point where he throws you off the bus at the county border, you’ve definitely crossed a line.” If they had gotten angry because they ignored the people on the bus, their team leader wouldn’t have let them board in the first place.

Hearing the words “our team leader,” the group was stunned. After all this time, had they made the mistake of targeting the wrong person? Had they just walked right into a trap?

At that moment, the other survivors in the lobby also understood.

In the face of natural disasters and human tragedy, many people die every day. But those who were on the same bus should have made more effort. One person was unconscious, another paralyzed, and a child was with them. At the very least, when the temperature dropped and the bus had no air conditioning, they could have checked on them, moved them around, or covered them with extra blankets. Maybe the outcome would have been different.

Negligence can be forgiven, after all, in an apocalyptic world, it’s unreasonable to expect everyone to have empathy. But it’s different when everyone else froze to death, and this person is here speaking disrespectfully, showing no regard for the deceased. No wonder the team leader threw him off the bus. He must have reached his breaking point.

Furthermore, from the perspective of the other survivors in the hotel lobby, how exactly the events of last night transpired is still up for investigation.

The words are being spoken by the survivors, but who knows if what they’re saying is the truth or not? It was indeed very cold last night, with freezing rain turning into heavy snow. Although they were trapped on the mountain road, at least they were still inside the bus.

Even if the temperature on the mountain road dropped to minus ten degrees, it wouldn’t have been enough to freeze someone to death overnight, would it?

And those who froze to death were either unconscious, paralyzed and unable to move, or, in one case, a minor child. The more they thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.

What if these six people had taken the warm clothes of the three weaker individuals to keep warm, or there had been some conflict…?

Once speculation started, it couldn’t be stopped. The six people now felt like they were being watched with sharp eyes from all directions. They no longer cared about filing complaints or asking for resources; they just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

But the situation had already caught attention and sparked controversy. The rescue team couldn’t let them off so easily. They immediately insisted on figuring out what had happened last night and said they had to take them away temporarily, hoping they would cooperate.

The rescue team members were armed, and their serious expressions made it clear they wanted cooperation. The six people had no choice but to comply. They were immediately taken to a room in the hotel’s corridor on the first floor, separated to prevent them from colluding.

At this point, the six people realized they were in serious trouble. The problem was that, during the coldest part of the night, they had indeed gone through all the luggage on the bus— including that of the three missing people.

They had been so cold that they felt they were about to die, and they just wanted to find as many warm clothes as they could. The six of them even argued and shoved each other in their desperation. As for whether the three people were hurt or knocked unconscious in the chaos, no one could be sure…

The first two to complain now regretted it deeply. If they had known, they wouldn’t have said anything. They should have just pretended to be pitiful and asked for some supplies. The people in the armored vehicle hadn’t followed them, and if they hadn’t spoken up, no one would have known what had happened last night. Unfortunately, now it was too late to regret.

---

In the lobby, the female team member on the stairs picked up her walkie-talkie and said, “Come out now,” before leading her team downstairs.

As they passed the service desk, she informed the rescue team that the three bodies and their belongings had been brought back, and asked them to send someone to move them once the vehicle arrived.

The rescue team members paused for a moment, then quickly agreed.

After briefing them on this matter, the team continued walking toward the exit, clearly preparing to leave Wei.

The group of people who had been waiting nearby to hitch a ride immediately approached and stated their intentions: “Hello, we heard you’re heading to Jiang City…”

To them, the team seemed difficult to approach, but they believed the members were soft-hearted. They had already helped people by returning them and even drove back to the mountain road to pick up others.

They had inquired and found that the team wasn’t large, and the two vehicles weren’t full. If they were sincere, the team should take them with them. They were heading to another county over 300 kilometers away. While this would require a detour, it was only a few dozen kilometers more, and they believed the team wouldn’t refuse.

However, their confident approach was met with a direct refusal.

“Sorry, it’s not on our way.”

“But we’re not asking you to make a special detour for us. Jiang City is in the same general direction…” The person didn’t expect them to turn a deaf ear and continue walking straight out. He quickly became anxious, “You detoured before to bring people back, and even went to the mountain to pick up others— you even brought back the bodies! Why can’t you help us now? I know you’re on an important mission, but the mountain road is completely blocked by ice and snow. Only your vehicles can make it through; all other vehicles are stuck. Protecting civilians is part of your responsibility…”

The female team leader stopped and glanced at him: “Don’t assume or moralize. All of us in this team are veterans. This is a private trip, not a mission. We have no obligation to help you.”

Her tone remained indifferent, but her hand instinctively reached for her waist, where her gun was holstered. It seemed that if the person didn’t step aside, she wouldn’t hesitate to act.

Outside the crowd, Yao Ruoyun leaned toward Shu Fu and whispered, “That female team leader is really cool!”

Shu Fu smiled, “She’s always been like that.”

“…She looks a bit familiar though.”

Shu Fu: …

She quietly took Yao Ruoyun’s hand and led her out of the lobby, waiting by the entrance. She guessed the group would be coming out soon.

Sure enough, even though she hadn’t drawn her gun, the moment the man saw her glance and the warning in her eyes, he was immediately intimidated. He quickly stepped aside, not daring to engage further.

The others in the lobby who had been crowding around also stepped aside, clearing the way to the corridor and entrance.

The female team leader hurried toward the door, but as soon as she stepped outside, she turned around, looking at a young woman standing nearby. Her expression shifted from cold indifference to surprise: “…Xiao, Xiao Fu?”

Shu Fu’s gaze shifted away from the flashing white light bar above the other person’s head, and she smiled at her, saying, “Long time no see, Sister Liu Shuang!”

Then she smiled at the tall man standing next to Liu Shuang, “Long time no see, Han Lan!”

The man smiled back at her, “Han what Lan? Little girl, call me ‘bro’!”

Yao Ruoyun: ??