NOVPUBChapter 87: Chapter 87: Expanding the Area
Chapter 87 -87: Expanding the Area
The two of them looked at the boxes; the sections that contained gold had all disappeared, but the strings of red coral were still intact.
At that moment, they noticed the same phenomenon on the antique shelf; wherever there had been gold, it had vanished.
You win some, you lose some; there was really no helping it—the Space was a veritable gold-devouring beast.
They then opened the other boxes, which contained antique objects and calligraphy and paintings.
However, the three safes in front of them, two large and one small, couldn’t be opened.
As it was, without professional skills, they simply couldn’t be cracked, so they decided not to bother and left them there, to be dealt with later.
After all, if there was gold inside, it would be absorbed by the Space anyway. If not gold, other contents wouldn’t be of much use; they were likely contracts or property deeds, which in the apocalypse were even less useful than toilet paper.
Having tidied up, the two came out, took baths, and went to sleep peacefully.
The next day, they still didn’t venture out during daylight; the sun made it far too easy to lose one’s life.
However, they didn’t cover the windows completely during the day, letting sunlight into the room to avoid becoming ill from constantly being in the dark.
It was only at night that they went out again; since they planned to drive, they left a bit later to avoid the peak times when others in their community went out.
They headed straight for the car, ensuring no one was around, then drove off toward the suburbs, since the city’s supplies had long been scavenged. Today, Feng Zhekai and his wife stayed behind to watch over the base camp, and the rest went out.
In the suburbs, some areas previously blocked by heavy snowfall still had the potential for good finds.
As they drove a certain distance, another car passed by them, but neither party stopped—it seemed both wanted to avoid trouble. Of course, in unknown circumstances, ensuring one’s own safety was paramount.
Gu Pan and the others originally planned to go to a nearby clothing factory, but seeing a car heading there, they thought that such nearby factories were most likely already searched. They decided that it was wasteful to expand their search little by little, losing valuable opportunities to find good resources. After discussing, they decided to go directly to a chemical plant 200 kilometers from the city center. The pollution meant it couldn’t be located within the city and also deterred average people, but Gu Pan and her team had gas masks and protective suits in their backpacks, so they were prepared for this kind of place.
They carried these supplies as a precaution against unexpected events—a lesson from Gu Pan’s past life. Having extra protection in the face of strange occurrences was always better; nobody would gamble with their life.
After driving for more than two hours, they arrived at the factory, which was pitch-black; the emergency lights had long since run out of power.
Gu Pan still suggested that she and Lu Ruisheng go scout the area. There were foldable bicycles in the car, and the two rode out on them—the bicycles had been taken from the Space earlier that day, supposedly from the basement of Gu Pan’s house, but no one pondered the story too deeply.
After entering, they circled the factory to ensure it was deserted before returning to the entrance.
It took them an hour to complete the round due to the vast size of the factory, but since there were no people inside, they were less tense.
Factories like this typically operated on three shifts, but it was presumed that this one had shut down before the blizzard, explaining the lack of personnel. There might have been a night watchman, but one or two individuals without wilderness survival skills would struggle to survive in such conditions. For instance, someone trying to dig a snow tunnel from the duty room to the canteen could easily get lost without guidance—it was not surprising that no one remained.
After coming out, they conveyed the situation to their team, and everyone got into the vehicles to enter the factory area.
Although they were certain no one was inside, they still remained vigilant. Cheng Yang drove, and the others were armed and ready.
First, they headed to the canteen, which Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng had noted earlier. Most large factories have canteens, so if it hadn’t been searched, there would be a significant amount of food.
Cheng Lang stood guard at the door while the rest went in.
No one had been to the canteen; however, it smelled awful inside—as the thaw set in, the meat and vegetables had rotted. Although much of it had been eaten by rats, traces and the stench of decay lingered. Thankfully, after the extreme heat, the red-eyed mutants—the bane of their existence—had died off, a relief, especially to the women, as those creatures were truly stomach-turning.
The walls of the canteen bore water stains, yet they were not too high, about knee-level—the canteen was situated on the higher ground within the factory.
Gu Pan and her group donned their gas masks and protective clothing and ventured further into the canteen.
With its numerous windows and plenty of tables and chairs, the place could have seated thousands before the apocalypse.
They found nothing of value in the dining area, so they proceeded to the kitchen. Though the gas masks blocked the smell, the disarray alone was enough to suggest rodent invasion and rot, down to the hanging cured meats and dried vegetables that had been gnawed on.
Just when they thought there was no reward to be had, Chen Shaonan exclaimed excitedly, “A vacuum grain silo, an actual vacuum grain silo!”
Everyone rushed over, waiting for Chen Shaonan’s explanation as they faced a metallic conical container.
Chen Shaonan quickly explained, “This is a large household grain storage silo, used by some rural areas in humid regions or by factory canteens to prevent dampness, insects, and rodents, ensuring longer, better storage of grain. My uncle has one in his food processing plant; I even helped him buy it, so I know what it is.”
Although the others didn’t fully understand, they grasped that there was food stored here, quite well-sealed, and probably safe to consume.
Anxious, Cheng Yang asked, “Teacher Chen, how do we open it?”
After examining it, Chen Shaonan opened a safety valve, took out a bag, placed it under an outlet, and then unlocked several latches. Rice began to pour out from the outlet.
Everyone was ecstatic; the rice was clean and obviously uncontaminated.
After collecting a bagful, Chen Shaonan quickly closed the latches, “There’s so much here, how will we take it back? And where do we even store it at home?”
This problema caused some concern, but they couldn’t leave the grain behind, as it could be looted by others at any time. 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Gu Pan said, “We have bags in the car; we should take it all.”
Lu Ruisheng added, “Indeed, what we have in hand is truly ours.”
Everyone agreed and went out to get nylon silk bags, packing the rice and then moving it to the vehicles.
They filled a total of sixty-eight bags, each about fifty kilos. Typical supermarket rice comes in five or ten-kilo bags, so these being around fifty kilos, sixty-eight bags amounted to nearly three thousand five hundred kilos.
