Apocalypse Rebirth: 3000 million won at the beginning

Chapter 2231 Beneath the Ice Mist
Headquarters Base of Dazhangshu.

Inner city.

Central Villa District.

Villa No. 1.

Inside the sunroom on the third floor, radiators radiated heat, and humidifiers sprayed out rich water vapor.

The temperature and humidity in the room are maintained at the most comfortable level for the human body.

Li Yu and Yu Tong sat on the sofa in the sunroom. Yu Tong's belly was already very big, and she was about to give birth.

Li Yu touched Yu Tong's belly, lowered his head and gently pressed his ear to her belly to listen to the sounds inside.

It's a very strange feeling.

"You've heard it hundreds of times, haven't you gotten tired of it yet?" Yu Tong said with a smile.

Li Yu chuckled, "I never get tired of it. How could I get tired of it?"

Yu Tong looked at the snow falling outside the window; across the window was a bamboo forest.

The bamboo forest was covered in snow, giving it a somewhat desolate appearance.

Seeing the look in Yu Tong's eyes, Li Yu immediately understood what she was thinking. He took Yu Tong's hand and said softly and gently:

"Once this natural disaster is over, I'll take you out for a walk. You can go wherever you want, even to other branch bases."

Pregnant women are often prone to melancholy and sadness.

Li Yu instantly noticed Yu Tong's desire to go out and get some fresh air.

She said with some surprise:

"I want to go horseback riding on the grasslands, and it would be even better if I went in spring or summer. Just thinking about galloping across the grasslands, with the wind blowing through the grass and cattle and sheep in sight, makes me happy."

Li Yu nodded with a look of doting affection:
“Great! There are vast grasslands in the Zhangye agricultural and pastoral base in the Northwest, tens of thousands of acres of which are enough for you to play on. I’ll take you there after this natural disaster is over.”

"Okay." Yu Tong gently buried her head in Li Yu's chest, her face full of happiness.

Li Yu held Yu Tong in his arms, watching the animal world playing on the screen opposite him, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Two days later.

Li Tie led the combat squadron and the helicopter squadron out again.

This time, they were going to an iron mine in the southern district of Ganzhou City, 50 kilometers away from the headquarters.

The clearing of the Vajra zombie horde from the Tieshanlong iron mine was quite effective.

According to observers on the wall, after several days of observation, the number of King Kong zombies outside the headquarters base has decreased by 15% year-on-year, and the rate of increase of King Kong zombies has also slowed down.

This means that as they deal with the zombies on the iron mine, the replenishment rate of the King Kong zombies will also decrease.

In this way, their consumption of tungsten carbide alloy bullets will be further reduced.

To address the shortage of tungsten carbide alloy bullets, they adopted a two-pronged approach.

The first is adventure, mining tungsten ore in Xunwu Tungsten Mine.

The second solution is to eliminate the zombies that create the problem by eradicating the root cause of the King Kong zombie mothers surrounding the base.

Taking a two-pronged approach has proven very effective so far.

The first batch of mined tungsten ore has been transported to the headquarters.

This batch of tungsten ore can produce an additional 5000 million tungsten steel alloy bullets for Dazhangshu.

The sea fog has lasted for two and a half months, and now it has spread to the westernmost base of the Dazhangshu forces, the Yumen Oilfield base.

To ensure the normal operation of the base, each sub-base adopted the method of using rain-inducing bombs.

With the increased use of rain-inducing grenades and the continued drop in temperature, heavy snow fell at these sub-bases.

But snow is much better than being in thick fog.

At temperatures of minus four or five degrees Celsius, sea fog is actually ice fog or freezing fog.

Because in this kind of icy fog, the humidity is extremely high, heat is conducted faster, but the cold wind is also bone-chilling.

The air inside the fog is close to 100% humid, and the moisture will directly take away the body's heat, making it damp and cold, which is actually equivalent to a magical attack.

This is also because, before the apocalypse, even though the actual temperature in the north was lower, some northerners couldn't stand the coldness of the men when they came to the south, because the cold in the south was like a magical attack, penetrating everywhere.

In an icy fog environment, water droplets freeze instantly upon contact. Within seconds, eyelashes, hair, masks, and even clothes will condense into white frost.

Even the cold air you breathe can chill your lungs.

Therefore, using rain-inducing grenades to bring snow serves several purposes, including ensuring visibility within the base so that people can work normally and maintain the base's operation.

Also, the snowy environment is much more comfortable than being in the ice fog.

The camphor tree base amidst heavy snow.

Outside the wall.

The thick snow, trampled by the zombie horde, became increasingly compacted. After more than a month of snowfall, the snow outside the base was two to three meters thick.

This is relatively compacted snow; if it were loose, soft snow, the depth could probably double.

Li Tie and his team even needed to use snowplows to clear the ice before they could get out.

The train tracks, because trains pass by every two days, breaking through the ice on the tracks, are about two meters lower than the snow on both sides.

On the fence.

A combatant is wearing a thermal combat uniform, complete with earmuffs, a face mask, and gloves.

Even so, he was still so cold that he kept breathing out cold air.

boom!
He raised his gun and fired at a Vajra zombie below, but the bullet deviated and struck the Vajra zombie in the chest.

"Damn it, I didn't win again. This weather is so cold, how did it get so cold!" he couldn't help but complain.

A teammate nearby reminded him:

"Why don't you go back to the watchtower and warm up first? You've fired five shots and haven't killed a single zombie. The team leader is going to yell at you later."

The soldier who had just fired glanced at his team leader not far away, a look of worry on his face.

"Okay, you cover for me, I'll go back to the watchtower for a while."

After saying that, he ran quickly towards the watchtower.

The movable switch below continued to move back and forth, splitting the ice blocks that had fallen from the wall into two pieces.

With the sea fog having lasted for more than two months, the temperature has continued to drop, from two or three degrees to minus five degrees.

The drop in temperature also significantly reduced their accuracy in hitting zombies.

However, the Vajra zombies below were not affected by the drop in temperature at all and continued to move freely.

Beneath this layer of ice and snow, several meters thick, lie more than a dozen tunnels that connect the Great Camphor Tree Base with the surrounding twelve fortified strongholds.

On the ice and snow, the King Kong zombie roared as it walked towards the wall.

Beneath the snow and ice, wheelbarrows carrying residents of the Great Camphor Tree travel between the fortified city and the headquarters base.

They were less than ten meters apart, yet they didn't disturb each other.

The tunnel zombies and sonic resonance zombies that appeared before have continued to appear in recent days, but with the help of the array infrasound detection system developed by the big camphor tree, these zombies have nowhere to hide.

White steam billowed from the base's boiler room.

Waterworks.

The water source for the headquarters base comes from Changgang Reservoir, which is 20 kilometers away.

Because the water channels and pipes are buried deep underground, the underground is relatively insulated from the surface, and the water is constantly flowing, so the water can still be transported to the headquarters base normally.

The water was frozen into ice crystals, making it thick and viscous.

The boiler room in Dazhangshu will heat the water treated by the waterworks and deliver it to the residential buildings in the base.

Inside the boiler room.

It was unbearably hot and humid. Xie Dongshan, who had joined Dazhangshu six months ago, was shirtless at the moment, shoveling coal into the boiler, one shovel at a time.

His forehead and upper body were covered in sweat, illuminated by the glow of the burning furnace.

The white towel around her neck had also turned black.

After shoveling a few times, he stopped.

"Brother Xu, bring me my water bottle." He wiped his sweat with a towel, and the sweat on his forehead ran into his eyes, making him feel a little stinging.

Upon hearing Xie Dongshan's shout, Xu Qiang, a boiler room worker nearby, stuck his shovel into the coal pile.

He tossed the kettle off the crossbeam behind him.

Xie Dongshan took the kettle and quickly unscrewed the lid.

He gulped down several large mouthfuls in a row.

The veins on his neck were bulging, and he looked extremely thirsty.

"I'm so thirsty! Damn, this boiler room is so hot."

Seeing him drink water, Xu Qiang also felt thirsty. Looking around, there was nowhere to sit, so he simply sat on the coal pile, opened his water bottle, and drank.

Both of them had large 2L water bottles, but they had to refill them every time they came to the boiler room.

It's because the temperature inside is too high, the work intensity is too high, and you're constantly sweating. If you don't drink more water, you'll easily become dehydrated.

Xu Qiang, with a full beard, turned his head to look at Xie Dongshan's muscles and laughed:

"Dongshan, you used to be in poor health, but after working in the boiler room for two months, your physical condition has improved a lot."

Xie Dongshan wiped his eyelids with a towel and replied, panting heavily:
"This boiler room is too hot. I wish I could find another job."

"Come on!" Xu Qiang waved his hand and said, "It's good enough to have a job, especially a stable one. At least we're working for the government and can get two points a day. Let's be content!"

Xie Dongshan asked, "Where are Erpang and Aunt Lai Di? I heard last time that Aunt Lai Di quit her job. Have they found work yet?"

Xu Qiang nodded and said:
“They all work at Dingsheng Bath Center. Erpang is in charge of tidying up the bath towels for customers, and Aunt Lai Di does the cleaning there.”

"Although it's a bit tiring, it's much better than before. We have food and shelter."

Xie Dongshan was ambitious, but he didn't have a good opportunity to demonstrate his abilities.

Simply put, the headquarters base in Dazhangshu has a large number of people, including many talented individuals.

Someone like him, whose abilities are neither high nor low, and who has no connections here, has a low chance of getting ahead.

Tread-tap-

Just then, footsteps came from the corridor outside.

The two quickly got up and skillfully picked up shovels to shovel coal into the furnace.

Supervisor Xiao peeked at the two men from outside the corridor, and after seeing that they weren't slacking off, he left without saying a word.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, the two exchanged a glance and smiled bitterly.

Supervisor Xiao frequently came to check on them, as if he was afraid they would slack off.

"This Manager Xiao, he has a bit of power, but he acts all high and mighty, it's really something." Xie Dongshan glanced in the direction of the corridor and said in a low voice.

Xu Qiang cracked his neck, glanced at the corridor, and whispered a reminder:
"Dongshan, don't talk nonsense, just get back to work."

"Oh." Xie Dongshan, as if venting his anger, forcefully shoveled up some coal and threw it into the furnace.

After working continuously for twelve hours in the boiler room.

The two men, carrying empty kettles and looking exhausted, walked out of the boiler room and swiped their cards at the time clock.

"Hey, you're off work?" Old Sun, the security guard at the gate, greeted the two of them.

Xu Qiang smiled and nodded to Lao Sun:

"Yes, Uncle Sun, are you working the night shift today?"

Old Sun, who was inside the guard booth, opened the window and tossed a cigarette to each of the two men.

"Try it, it's a gift from my son. You two young men should wear more clothes. It's so hot in the boiler room, and it's so cold outside. Wearing so little, you'll easily catch a cold."

Xu Qiang hurriedly took the cigarette, looked down and examined it closely. He saw a few small words printed on the cigarette holder: Big Camphor Tree.

hiss!
He looked at Old Sun with a bit of flattery; this thing was quite rare.

This is not one of those corn silk cigarettes, but rather tobacco that is supposedly grown in small batches on plantations outside the city.

This type of cigarette is not available in the entire camphor tree market; it is only available to the government and is one of the benefits distributed to its internal members.

He never expected that Old Sun would smoke such good cigarettes.

Most importantly, Old Sun was actually willing to give them such good cigarettes.

Xu Qiang sniffed the cigarette, appreciating its rich tobacco aroma, and exclaimed to Old Sun:
"Uncle Sun, your son is really something! He saved such good cigarettes for you. You're really living a life of luxury."

Old Sun couldn't stop smiling as he listened to the praise of his son.
“Let me tell you, my son works in the military. He's the one who got me this security guard job.”

"I only like you two guys in the whole boiler factory. Your supervisor Xiao always tries to curry favor with me, but I can't be bothered to pay him any attention."

"Thank you, Uncle Sun." Xie Dongshan quickly expressed his gratitude upon hearing this.

There were rumors before that Old Sun had connections, otherwise he wouldn't be able to work as a security guard at the boiler factory at his age.

The boiler factory is located in the buffer city, where the security is very good. There's usually nothing to do, so being a security guard here is practically like retiring.

Many people want to work as security guards here, but most people can't get in.

Even so, Old Sun was still forced to come here.

Based on the cigarette Old Sun was smoking and the implication of his words, his son works in the military.
Perhaps this old man Sun could be the one to change his fate.

Thinking of this, Xie Dongshan approached the security booth with an eager expression and asked in a casual tone:

"Uncle Sun, you must be an old man from the big camphor tree, right?"

When this was mentioned, Old Sun's expression became even more proud.

"Of course, if you think about it, I've been with the Big Camphor Tree for almost eight years now."

"I know that guy, Supervisor Yu, who's in charge of security checks inside the outer city wall. We even had dinner together before."

"And Train Conductor Xiao from the transportation department, I know him too, we're buddies."

"Years ago, the commander-in-chief even chatted with me and shook my hand!"

Old Sun was spitting as he spoke, his face full of pride, boasting about how many impressive people he knew.

Xu Qiang and Xie Dongshan listened, occasionally praising him.

After praising him, Old Sun got even more excited.

They even pulled the two into the security booth to continue talking to them.

But Xu Qiang and his companion had been busy all day and were now cold, hungry, and sleepy, so they really didn't want to continue chatting.

He could only say:

"Uncle Sun, we just got off work and we're really hungry. We'll chat with you another day. We feel sticky and uncomfortable all over."

Old Sun glanced at the two of them with lingering interest, "Alright, let's talk again later."

Xie Dongshan didn't want to leave yet; in his view, this was a rare opportunity to build a closer relationship.

But Xu Qiang signaled to him with his eyes that he had to leave.

This old man Sun is not so simple. Although he likes to boast, he only mentioned that his son works in the military. When they asked for details, he didn't say a word about which department or position his son held.

Moreover, if one is too eager for quick success and shows too much desire to build relationships, it may easily arouse Old Sun's suspicion.

"Goodbye, Uncle Sun." Xu Qiang pulled Xie Dongshan along and waved to Old Sun.

Old Sun said with a smile:

"Some other time, come find me another time."