Chapter 30: Venturing Out

The temperature plummeted to over minus thirty degrees Celsius. A City, located in the central-northern region, usually experienced winter lows of only around minus ten degrees. This extreme drop was unbearable for its residents, who had never faced such frigid conditions.

What was worse was that the temperature was still falling. Though the decline wouldn’t be as drastic and sudden as the first day, it would gradually drop until it reached minus fifty degrees.

The torrential global downpours had destroyed most power grids. Now, with the extreme cold setting in, any hope of repairing them was gone. Without electricity for heating, people had no choice but to resort to the most primitive method—burning firewood to stay warm.

To combat the cold, people dismantled anything burnable in their homes, piling it up in one place to fuel fires.

Their residential complex had excellent landscaping. In fact, the greenery had been one of its selling points. But now, any tree not entirely encased in ice had become a contested resource. In just a few days, several bloody fights had broken out, leaving the community in a state of fear and unrest.

None of this, however, concerned Shu Xin and her group. They planned to head out in search of supplies while also using the opportunity to acclimate to the harsh environment. Bringing back some materials would also help divert suspicion.

Even though the four of them were bundled up tightly, they couldn’t help but shiver the moment they stepped outside the building.

Shu Xin instinctively pulled her down jacket tighter around her body. Thankfully, she had heating pads stuck to her inner layers—without them, enduring minus forty degrees would have been impossible.

“Hiss—so damn cold!” Bu Tianwen exaggeratedly shuddered.

“Let’s go. Our destination isn’t exactly close, so hurry up and change your shoes,” Yan Mo interrupted his antics without mercy.

“Mm.”

They quickly found a wind-sheltered corner and swapped into ice skates they carried in hand. Once Yan Mo confirmed the direction, Shu Xin and the others swiftly followed.

The ground was covered in thick, smooth ice, making ice skates the ideal choice—not only convenient but also inconspicuous.

Ordinary shoes were too risky. No matter how careful one was, walking on ice meant inevitable falls. If someone fell while carrying precious supplies, it would be an open invitation for lurking scavengers to snatch them away. Resisting could lead to a brutal beating. In such cases, it was better to hand over the supplies and avoid injury—a wise person knew when to adapt.

Their destination today was a commercial office building that housed several high-tech, agricultural, and pharmaceutical companies—all key targets for their supply run.

In the apocalyptic world, the only true safety was having complete control over one’s fate. Eventually, they would have to establish their own base. Thanks to Shu Xin’s spatial dimension, they could skip the early construction phase and focus directly on killing zombies and collecting crystal cores.

But a base meant more than just the four of them. As their numbers grew, food would become a major concern. Even though Shu Xin’s space contained a massive stockpile of supplies, they weren’t infinite. True sustainability lay in self-sufficiency.

After nearly half an hour of skating, they finally arrived. The high-end office building was located away from the city center, with few residential areas nearby. Most people searching for supplies prioritized malls and supermarkets for food, meaning the office had likely remained untouched.

Finding a secluded corner, Mu Qimai pulled a set of tools from her bag. In near silence, she expertly dismantled an entire section of the reinforced glass window.

Shu Xin watched in quiet amazement. Judging by Mu Qimai’s proficiency, it was clear she had done this kind of thing many times before. She couldn’t help but wonder—just what kind of shady business had Mu Qimai and her boyfriend been involved in? Could it be…

Thwack!

“Ow! Why did you hit me?!” Shu Xin clutched her forehead, glaring at Yan Mo with an expression full of grievance.

“What nonsense are you imagining now? Silent window-breaking was part of our training. It’s for emergency situations—so we can escape quickly without alerting others. It has nothing to do with whatever wild ideas you’re cooking up.”

Yan Mo knew her expressions all too well. The moment her eyes flickered with thought, he could tell she was fantasizing about something ridiculous again.

“Oh, I see.” Shu Xin rubbed her forehead and turned away, only to turn back again almost instantly. “But are you sure nothing like what I was thinking ever happened?”

“No!”

“Oh~ alright then.”

Shu Xin’s disappointed tone carried a trace of regret.

While Mu Qimai was busy opening the window, the others weren’t idle either. They switched their shoes and, under the cover of Yan Mo’s space manipulation ability, discreetly stored their skates away and retrieved their pre-prepared backpacks.

Each of them carried a black backpack. Shu Xin and Yan Mo formed one team, while Bu Tianwen and Mu Qimai formed the other. Splitting up would make their search more efficient.

If Bu Tianwen and Mu Qimai found anything too large to carry, they would mark its location for Yan Mo and Shu Xin to retrieve later.

The supplies in Shu Xin’s space had barely been depleted—most of the consumption had been ready-to-eat food. Before leaving, she had specifically visited her storage area to restock everything. There was something oddly therapeutic about methodically replenishing supplies—Shu Xin found herself genuinely enjoying the process.

She had even set aside a dedicated section in her space just for today’s loot.

Shu Xin and Yan Mo focused on searching the top ten floors. The eleventh to thirteenth floors belonged to a high-tech agricultural company that had won awards last year for developing innovative crop strains.

These strains were drought-resistant, cold-tolerant, pest-resistant, and capable of thriving in poor soil while maintaining high yields. This year marked the first official batch for large-scale production, and the company’s warehouse still held a substantial reserve of seeds. Shu Xin didn’t hesitate—she took them all.

Along with the seeds, she also collected relevant research materials, books, data-storing computers, and experimental equipment. Nothing was left behind.

With these resources, future research would be much easier. All they needed now was to find a willing “lab rat” to handle the work.