CHAPTER 70: CHAPTER 70: SURVIVORS IN THE WILD

After discovering the oxygen problem, Chen Xin initially wanted to return to his shelter. However, after resting for a bit and feeling somewhat recovered, Chen Xin hesitated but still proceeded towards his intended goal.

On one hand, the oxygen problem was not yet severe. Although there were symptoms of oxygen deficiency, it wasn’t much different from high-altitude sickness caused by thin air in high-altitude areas.

Moreover, after carefully feeling it, Chen Xin found that the burden was merely making his breathing a bit rapid and slightly gasping. As long as he didn’t walk too quickly, he could still endure the current state.

Since there wouldn’t be a major problem, Chen Xin didn’t want to waste the hard-earned opportunity to search for resources. After all, the "Fatty Happy Water" he found before gave him great encouragement, making him more eager and hopeful to find more resources in the supermarket he targeted.

However, when Chen Xin walked through the dark streets amidst the rain to the vicinity of the supermarket, he suddenly stopped, hid behind a corner, and clutched the Sakura Cutter at his waist.

There was light coming from the entrance of the supermarket ahead!

Chen Xin hurriedly took out binoculars from the tactical pocket on his body and looked carefully, discovering that the flickering light looked like a flame, with human silhouettes moving.

This unexpectedly surprised him.

Although the supermarket in front was a semi-underground building, it wasn’t converted into a shelter before the disaster because its size was too small to accommodate many people.

There were also no other shelters planned by the municipal government nearby, as the surrounding community areas, which didn’t have a large population, were all relocated to shelters in the city for centralized placement.

Logically, no one should appear here.

Could they be people searching for resources?

Chen Xin dismissed this guess.

If they were people searching for resources, there would be no need to make a fire; they would simply need flashlights to search for resources.

Although they might light a torch to save on flashlight use, that would lead to moving flames,

unlike now, where despite flickering, the light source’s position was very stable.

Could they be survivors who haven’t entered a shelter?

This possibility was significant.

Although the country did everything possible to get people into shelters before the disaster, not everyone was doomed.

Individuals like Chen Yu and Mo Qingyan, who built their own shelters, were rare in Flame Country.

Most of the people who remained outside the shelters didn’t survive the first waves of impact and disaster caused by the meteorite fall. Yet, some survived and have been staying in the wild.

Qin Lan’s special police force and the city police had the duty of searching for survivors and relocating them to shelters.

In the city, many underground structures were actually capable of withstanding the disasters brought by the first wave of impact.

Underground parking lots in the community, underground supermarkets, basements, and even some strongly structured large buildings could act as shelters against the first wave of impact and the ensuing disasters.

If one found such a shelter before the disaster arrived and stored enough supplies, surviving was not hard.

So, were there now survivors who lived through the disaster inside that supermarket?

Chen Xin didn’t know, but he didn’t want to risk contacting them.

Compared to survivors who could promptly enter the national shelters, these wild survivors lived under much harsher conditions.

Though the living conditions in national shelters might be crowded and require work, safety and food were at least guaranteed.

However, wild survivors weren’t so lucky.

They might find a place that could be considered relatively safe as their shelter, but in such an environment now, obtaining food was extremely difficult.

Pre-disaster food reserves might sustain them for three to five months, but it wouldn’t be a long-term solution.

The lack of drinking water, in particular, would force them to take risks and go out to find all possible collectibles.

In such circumstances, seeing Chen Xin, a well-equipped person, show up might trigger greed in some.

Though Chen Xin had both a knife and a gun, he preferred not to stir up trouble unnecessarily and therefore chose not to get involved.

Remembering the place, Chen Xin decided not to proceed further. Instead, he took out his pistol, held it in his hand, and slowly retreated before quickly turning around to leave.

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Back at his shelter, Chen Xin put down his backpack, took off his protective suit and the mask on his face, and then sat on the sofa in the living room.

Previously, outside, Chen Xin had felt breathless and a bit unable to catch his breath, but once back at the shelter, his state improved a lot.

Benefiting from the greenhouse, where plants could still photosynthesize with the help of supplementary light, the oxygen level in the shelter was noticeably higher than outside.

After adjusting his condition, putting the gun and Sakura Cutter back in the weapon cabinet, he began to take stock of his gains this time.

Before reaching the potentially survivor-occupied supermarket, Chen Xin searched through one street, six small supermarkets, and about eight or nine other shops, finding some usable items.

One of the stores dealt in hardware, where there were over a dozen steel pipes and more than twenty small valves, the biggest haul from his trip.

Besides that, there were only various odds and ends, including a screwdriver burnt to just the metal parts and a box of files that survived though its plastic box had melted.

They were items that might come in handy but whose use was not quite apparent for now.

Thus, Chen Xin only gathered and organized the found items, covering them up without bringing them back.

He planned to drive over again the next day to transport everything back at once.

Regarding food, Chen Xin did not find anything as it seemed to have been thoroughly scavenged, leaving only the crate of "Happy Water" and half a crate of beer that he found.

The two bars of soap found with the "Happy Water" and beer had already been placed in the bathroom by Chen Xin since such daily necessities were now very hard to come by, making any restock a pleasant surprise.

After sorting the supplies, Chen Xin pondered for a moment before contacting Mo Qingyan via radio.

"Hey, what’s up? Why are you contacting me today?" Mo Qingyan was puzzled by Chen Xin’s sudden call.

"Dragon Lady, do you still have plants capable of photosynthesis in your shelter?" Chen Xin didn’t bother with Mo Qingyan’s question but instead asked about her plants without context.

Though a bit perplexed by Chen Xin’s question, Mo Qingyan still answered him: "Plants? Photosynthesis? Well, I do have a green plant box made long ago in my bedroom. Why are you suddenly asking this?"