Outside the Safe City, there was not a soul to be seen.
However, even within the city, few people ventured out, mostly staying indoors, afraid to leave.
This snowstorm had been falling for dozens of hours, starting the day before yesterday and continuing until today.
Ice and snow hung from the eaves; they had sealed their windows tightly, but the cold seemed to be everywhere, seeping into the rooms through every crack.
Safe City, 19th Building, 2nd floor.
Mr. Wang shivered uncontrollably, trembling.
Before entering the Safe City, he had brought in half a truckload of supplies. Although Captain Tao had confiscated half of it at the entrance, the remaining food was more than enough for him to eat for several months, just by himself.
Yesterday, he had exchanged some food at a local trading market for some charcoal for heating, but he had been using it sparingly.
Although it was said that the Patrol Team managed disputes within the Safe City, such incidents still occurred frequently.
Because many times, when some people ran out of food and didn't want to go out to search again, they would simply resort to snatch , even if it meant dying a full ghost.
Mr. Wang hadn't brought much food to exchange; he was afraid of being targeted.
"Damn it, hurry up and go find something to burn! I'm freezing to death!"
Suddenly, a man's furious roar came from downstairs, followed by a series of desperate pleas for mercy.
Clang!
Something was smashed to the ground, the sound of it breaking.
Zzzzz~
He heard the sound of a door opening downstairs.
Mr. Wang thought for a moment, took two steps towards the window, and saw a heavily dressed figure emerge from downstairs. Although the clothes were thick, the surface seemed to be torn by something, with cotton flying everywhere.
This figure paused at the doorway, then suddenly turned back to look at the home he had just left. Amidst the swirling snow, extreme hatred was revealed in his eyes.
With disheveled hair, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, and resentful eyes, he sent shivers down one's spine.
Mr. Wang watched this woman quietly through the window.
Since his second day after arriving in this building, such quarrels, no, not quarrels, but rather one-sided abuse and beatings, had occurred frequently downstairs.
Mr. Wang didn't want to interfere, and he couldn't.
He was on his second day in this building at the time and was not yet very familiar with the situation here. So, although he saw and heard about this matter and felt very annoyed, he couldn't do anything for the time being.
The beating and cursing from downstairs continued until midnight a few nights ago, severely affecting his sleep.
"Sigh," Mr. Wang sighed softly. No matter the era, there would always be men who beat their wives.
In the wind and snow, the woman slowly turned her head, stood blankly for a while, and then walked forward along the roadside.
Mr. Wang saw that the woman really did walk outside and shook his head. He hadn't been outside to look, but he had quickly returned after a short walk. Staying outdoors for a long time in this kind of weather was a dead end.
So he didn't dare to run out of the Safe City; he just looked around inside the Safe City.
A few days ago, the Safe City had organized some people to cut down trees in the surrounding forests to use as fuel. All the plants within a few kilometers around had been cut down.
And later on.
Originally, this Safe City also had some trees, like those roadside trees, but they had basically all been cut down. Now the Safe City gates were tightly shut, and no one was willing to go out again.
Moreover, the rule in this Safe City was that if you went out, you would have to pay a certain protection fee upon re-entry.
Whether you paid in food or anything else, you had to give a portion to them.
These past few days have been extremely cold. Some people went out to search for burnable fuel, then returned and handed over a large portion.
Some people also went out and never returned.
Mr. Wang swallowed, feeling his throat very dry. His lips were chapped. Mr. Wang remembered that he hadn't drunk water for a long time.
He walked towards the balcony, wanting to open the balcony window.
Creak, creak, creak!
The window made a sound that grated on one's teeth.
The window was frozen, stuck to the aluminum alloy. Mr. Wang pushed hard, only managing to open a gap of just 6 centimeters.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
Snowflakes from outside the window constantly drifted in, and the snow on the windowsill was very thick.
White, crystal-clear snowflakes; if one saw them for the first time, they would feel surprised and find them beautiful.
But if you see snowflakes in consistently cold weather, it only brings a sense of despair.
Mr. Wang grabbed a handful of snowflakes with his right hand and then put them into a small pot.
He pressed down the snowflakes, then grabbed a few more handfuls until the small pot was packed full.
Creak, creak, creak~
Mr. Wang placed the small pot on the ground, then used both hands to forcefully close the window.
The window had to be closed, and not just the window. Every tiny crack in the house had to be blocked as much as possible, to prevent the slightly warm air indoors from being blown away by the outside air.
But even so, no matter how tightly sealed, there would always be gaps in the house.
Mr. Wang carried the small pot towards the smallest room in the house. This room faced north and south, so it could still get sunlight during the day.
Because the space was small, heat was also easier to retain.
Mr. Wang kept all his food in this room, so the room looked a bit crowded.
On his bed, there was an iron plate in the center. At this moment, there was a small piece of candle on the iron plate, along with some fine wood shavings and some old cotton batting.
Crack~
Mr. Wang used Huo Shi to light some cotton batting, then put a small piece of charcoal inside.
A small blue flame flickered.
Mr. Wang hung the small pot above the small flame.
After doing all this, Mr. Wang wrapped the cold quilt around himself, trying to get as close as possible to the small flame.
Mr. Wang was actually doing quite well at the moment; at least he still had some fuel and enough food to last him three months.
Amidst the crackling flames, the snow in the small pot also began to melt.
Meanwhile, in the Safe City, there were thousands of people.
More than eighty percent of them were currently huddled in their quilts, shivering.
Some had already become cold corpses, staring blankly, lips purple, lying on the bed awaiting death, while others died of hunger.
This blizzard brought too much suffering to humanity.
This blizzard made people who were hungry, starving, and cold lose hope of living.
Mr. Wang waited for the snow water to slowly melt, feeling much warmer.
But a small piece of charcoal couldn't last that long. Seeing it about to go out, Mr. Wang gritted his teeth, lit that small piece of candle, and continued burning it.
As time passed, the water temperature in the small pot slowly rose. Mr. Wang searched through his food but couldn't find the noodles he wanted; there was only bread, but the bread was also frozen as hard as a rock.
He threw the bread directly into the pot and waited for it to soften.
After a while, the bread softened.
Mr. Wang quickly snuffed out the candle and placed it aside. He gently swept the ashes from the iron plate off the bed, then spread the blanket over it, and half-lay down where the fire had just been.
