Chapter 54 Rescue, Refugee Settlement

Chapter 54 Rescue, Refugee Settlement

"Mmm! Delicious!"

After swallowing a meatball, Meng Ci closed his eyes in contentment.

On such a cold day, having a hot pot meal was truly wonderful.

Meng Ci had also cooked rice on the stove, so there was no worry about going hungry.

He brought over the crispy rice at the bottom of the pot, dividing it in half, one portion for each person.

The golden-brown crispy rice made a satisfying crunching sound in their mouths.

Meng Ci once again felt gratified by his excellent cooking skills.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Creak~"

The alarm and knocking sounded simultaneously. Meng Ci and Shen Que exchanged glances, grabbed knives, and cautiously came out.

Deng Yang, accompanied by two others, grinned fawningly upon seeing Shen Que.

"Brothers, this is Li Ping."

Li Ping seemed to have already stopped breathing, her head hanging low. Deng Yang then grabbed her hair without any mercy, forcing her head up for everyone to confirm her identity.

"The person has already stopped breathing, so I brought her here for you to see."

Li Ping's entire body was battered, and her legs appeared to be broken, lying on the ground in an extremely grotesque manner.

Meng Ci nodded, "Thank you for your effort!"

"From now on, our grudges are settled. As long as you don't disturb us, we can live in peace."

"Otherwise, you know the consequences."

Deng Yang hastily nodded and then instructed the two people he brought to throw Li Ping out through a nearby window.

Soon, Li Ping's body was carried away by the floodwaters.

As soon as Deng Yang left, Zhang Mingtian and Liu Jie arrived.

When they were in conflict with Deng Yang, Zhang Mingtian and his group did not come to help. Meng Ci and Shen Que understood this.

After all, in this chaotic situation, self-preservation was the right choice.

"Brothers!"

Zhang Mingtian placed a bag in front of the iron gate.

"This is some soil I collected from the unoccupied rooms downstairs. Here's some for you!"

"And!" Zhang Mingtian frowned at Liu Jie, "Bring the stuff!"

"Ah, oh!" Liu Jie placed the cardboard box he was holding on the ground and opened it.

"Xiao Ci, these are the flower pots I found. You can use them to grow vegetables!"

"Xiao Ci, do you need help planting?"

"Xiao Ci..."

Liu Jie wanted to say more but was interrupted by Zhang Mingtian.

"Well, brothers, we'll take our leave now!"

Meng Ci watched Liu Jie's back, thinking that three enemies—Li Shanyang, Zhang Lu, and Li Xiaoya—were already dead, leaving only Liu Jie.

This guy had been acting strangely lately, saying things that didn't make sense.

It was best to deal with him quickly to avoid further trouble.

Moving the soil and flower pots inside, Meng Ci sighed, realizing how foolish he had been sometimes.

Others knew where to find flower pots, yet he had gone outside to dig up soil!

And after digging for so long, he hadn't collected nearly as much as they had.

It was truly regrettable.

Meng Ci refused Shen Que's offer to help and moved the flower pots and soil to the balcony.

On the balcony, besides two flower pots for growing vegetables, there was also an iron basin burning coal.

Although the temperature had dropped in recent days, Meng Ci hadn't used the fire for warmth, knowing that the coming blizzard would be far more dangerous.

The temperature plummeted overnight from above zero to minus twenty degrees, catching many off guard and causing them to die in their sleep.

However, the smell of coal was too strong, so Meng Ci had found a method online: burn some coal outside first to dissipate the smell before placing it in a sealed iron bucket to extinguish it. This way, when using it later, the smell would be reduced.

Meng Ci found an iron basin, put some soil underneath, and placed the burning coal on the balcony.

Coincidentally, the balcony had planted vegetables, and the burning coal helped the seeds germinate better, achieving two goals at once.

Meng Ci arranged the flower pots around the iron basin, filled them with soil, watered them, and planted the seeds.

Meng Ci kept some soil to try it out in the space.

He picked a few leaves and closed the door tightly between the balcony and the living room before coming in to feed the little rabbit.

The female rabbit's belly was already quite large; it was unknown when she would give birth.

After going to the room with the equipment and running for half an hour, Meng Ci practiced boxing for a while as Shen Que had taught him. He then brought the soil into the space to plant vegetables, took a hot shower, and came out.

After saving for a few days, Meng Ci had already accumulated twenty hours.

The next day, Meng Ci was woken up by the sound of horns and people's exclamations.

"Attention, residents, attention."

"The refugee settlement has been built. The refugee settlement has been built. Those who wish to go should pack their belongings and leave in one hour."

"Those who do not want to go can register here to receive food. The government army will not deliver food again after this."

Hearing this, Meng Ci sat up abruptly from his bed.

What? A refugee settlement?

This further confirmed his suspicion that there were others who had been reborn in this world.

Meng Ci definitely could not go; if his space were discovered, he would be in an irreparable situation.

Whether these people left or not did not matter much to Meng Ci, so he turned over and checked the time on his phone.

It was exactly the fiftieth day of the apocalypse, and the rainstorm would continue for another thirty days.

On the eightieth day of the apocalypse, the rain would pause for a day. Just as people felt excited about the break, acid rain would quietly fall.

The nearly ten days of acid rain would cause many houses to corrode and collapse.

But the buildings at Jin Shang Jia Yuan were very sturdy and withstood both the heavy rain and the acid rain.

So staying here was safe.

Meng Ci suddenly thought of Shen Que next door and wondered if he would leave.

Ah, forget it!

If he leaves, so be it!

It would be better if he left. Then the seventeenth floor would be all his, and he could eat as much as he wanted without worrying about being discovered.

However, Meng Ci was no longer sleepy and got up.

He cooked a pot of porridge, made two flaky pastries, and stir-fried some shredded potatoes.

After eating, Meng Ci squatted on the balcony, loosening the soil in the flower pots while watching below.

Very few people were lining up for food; most residents were carrying their luggage and hurrying toward the boats.

"Squeak~"

The alarm outside sounded again. Meng Ci shook the dirt off his hands, grabbed a tissue to clean them, and then opened the door.

Outside the metal gate was Zhang Mingtian, with a large bag on the ground.

"Brother, are you going to the refugee settlement?"

Meng Ci shook his head. "No."

"Group living means fixed meal times, which I definitely can't get used to, so I won't go."

Zhang Mingtian nodded. "Brother is capable and can survive anywhere."

Then he lifted the bag from behind him.

"Brother, our families are all planning to go to the settlement. These are some things we don't need anymore. If you find them useful, feel free to take them."

Meng Ci opened the door and brought the items inside. "Thank you."

"There will be many people at the refugee settlement, so there might be a lot of issues. You still need to pay attention to safety."

Zhang Mingtian nodded.