NOVPUBChapter 106: Chapter 106: Advice
Chapter 106 -106: Advice
Gu Pan could tell from the girl’s movements that she was not versed in martial arts. Even though she lived in the Inner Circle, not everyone there practiced martial arts or archery, so this girl’s ability to survive was even weaker.
For such people, although Gu Pan sympathized, she couldn’t possibly take them in. All she could offer were a few words of her own survival philosophy, “It’s the apocalypse now. Those of you in the Inner Circle are very lucky. I’ve had friends who are no longer with us. I’m not capable of protecting everyone. In the apocalypse, everyone must find their own way to survive. In fact, the only rule of survival is to make oneself strong. Relying on others isn’t a sustainable solution.”
It was the harsh truth, surviving the apocalypse meant one had to be strong. Like Dong Mingyue, who became a leader on her own, or like the couple Guo Gang who were skilled, or even like Shi Liang who became a second-hand dealer—everyone needed some capability to adapt to these times to survive. How else could one rely on others?
Even if Gu Pan wanted to guide her and tell her the truth, there was no path she could point out. For someone with no survival skills, even if they did survive, it would merely be a precarious existence. They would be clinging to life day by day.
The girl wiped her tears and left dejectedly, dragging her suitcase behind her.
Watching the girl leave, Cheng Yang felt a bit of pity and sighed, “There’s nothing I can do, it’s the apocalypse now.”
Gu Pan also sighed deeply, “Yes, it’s the apocalypse. There’s no one who can save everyone; we can only rely on ourselves.”
Lu Ruisheng placed his hand on Gu Pan’s shoulder and gently patted it, telling her not to think too much.
At this moment, Chen Shaonan and his wife, and Feng Zhekai and his wife arrived. Chen Lang had just gone back to his parents, but now they all returned together, asking what had happened.
Gu Pan invited everyone inside and once seated around the conference table, she said, “Yesterday, someone came to our house wanting to give this girl to us… well, not as our daughter, but as a concubine for Lu Ruisheng. We sent them away, didn’t make much of it at the time, but today someone again tried to get close to Cheng Yang. I think more people will try to attach themselves to us in the future, so we must all be prepared and not give anyone a chance to exploit us.”
When Duan Shumei heard Gu Pan mentioning that people were offering women to them, to make Lu Ruisheng take another, she was truly surprised, “No way, what kind of thinking is that?”
Chen Shaonan said, “What kind of thinking? The apocalypse is less principled than ancient times. In ancient times, there were laws, but what about in the apocalypse?”
Lu Ruisheng nodded, “That’s why we need to protect ourselves now and aim for a base. A place without rules isn’t suitable for us to live.”
Feng Zhekai added, “Indeed, we should keep an eye on broadcasts and not miss any.”
Chen Lang said, “I listen to them every day.”
Cheng Yang sighed with relief, “I thought I was the only one troubled. It’s scary to know that you guys have gone through this already.”
Chen Lang said, “I won’t leave you alone again. If I’d been there just now, you wouldn’t have been so scared.”
Cheng Yang asked disapprovingly, “Could you really fight a woman?”
Chen Lang shook his head, “Not really, but it’s not exactly that I can’t either.” He was a bit confused.
Gu Pan looked at the two and said, “You two must be careful about people using seductive tricks on you. Young people are easily deceived.”
Chen Lang replied, “I’m still young.”
Lu Ruisheng said, “In ancient times, you’d be married by your age. What’s not possible in the apocalypse? Be cautious.”
Chen Shaonan nodded in agreement, “Right, right. I hadn’t thought much about it before, but now Chen Lang also needs to be careful.”
Lu Xuerong laughed, “Look at us, we’ve become quite the prizes now.”
Chen Lang proudly said, “This is exactly the strength you were talking about. Having strength is what helps you survive better in the apocalypse.”
Gu Pan said, “Chen Lang is right. We’ve been quite tired these past days. So, let’s have dinner here tonight. I’ll go home and prepare, and we’ll have hot pot tonight.”
“Hot pot?” Everyone looked at Gu Pan in surprise. There was no meat or vegetables available, so how could they eat?
Gu Pan smiled and said, “The vegetables I grow at home aren’t doing great, but they’re alive and edible. As for the meat, last night Ruisheng and I got a piece from the black market, and Squad Leader Fang gave us some rabbit legs. I’ll also make some meatballs and add my all-purpose seasoning. Anyway, we’ll manage a meal. We’ll start dinner here in two hours; I’ll head home now to prepare the ingredients.”
Hearing Gu Pan speak, any panic Cheng Yang had vanished, leaving only joy, “Great, then let’s get ready for hot pot!”
Chen Lang was ecstatic, “It’s the flavor I’ve been dreaming of.”
Chen Shaonan and the others were also very happy, as they still had options available that others might not even have, like getting a meal.
Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng returned home, harvested almost all the vegetables there, and then took some more from the Space, mixing them in.
Then, they soaked some mushrooms and took out a piece of meat from the Space. Naturally, they couldn’t just take out fresh meat rolls, but since this type of meat was sold in the black market, fetching it wasn’t so conspicuous.
They thinly sliced the meat, then took the two rabbit legs given by Squad Leader Fang, chopped them into fillings, added some chicken, mixed everything into a minced meat, then added flour and spices. They made this into meatballs first, to make it easier to drop into the pot later.
Then, they took out fried tofu skins and other things—they didn’t run out of ingredients.
Gu Pan made more than one type of meatball; they had dried shrimp and fish, so she also made shrimp and fish balls.
After everything was prepared, Gu Pan announced over the walkie-talkie that it was ready, asking Cheng Yang and Chen Lang to come over and help carry the ingredients.
Since Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng used water from the Space for cooking the meal—as mountain spring water could be unpolluted but they were still not completely trusting—it was safer to use water from the Space.
Thus, she mixed everything together for the soup base beforehand, placed it in a basin, and had Cheng Yang and the others come over to fetch it.
The condiments were packed in bags from before the apocalypse, ready to be transported directly.
The vegetables were washed clean, the meatballs were cooked, and everything was neat and tidy, packed in disposable lunch boxes.
Cheng Yang and Chen Lang buzzed around like busy bees, cheerfully carrying things back and forth.
For the sake of enjoying the hot pot heartily, Chen Shaonan also brought over a small generator and a fan. Given it was rare to have hot pot, sparing a bit of electricity wasn’t a bother—they still had some gasoline and diesel left.
At this time, having a fan to cool them while eating hot pot was probably a luxury only they could afford, as generators were scarce and fuel was a precious commodity.
Plus, even if others had generators, it wasn’t guaranteed they’d work continuously, and not many people could fix them.
This was also why Gu Pan initially agreed to ally with the people across the hall—having a doctor and neighbors were part of her plan. The only surprise was Cheng Yang, but he had his merits: he wasn’t a burden, he was compliant, and he had a clear mind.
Another point, his computer skills were excellent. If there came a time when computers and phones could be used again, he could fix any issues, although it wasn’t something they needed at the moment, it would be useful later.
In the apocalypse, they really couldn’t afford to keep anyone who wasn’t contributing. Like Cheng Yang now, if his profession wasn’t needed, he was busily practicing throwing, martial sparring, and playing darts—every person looking to survive well in the apocalypse was doing their best.
