Super Gene Hunting Ground

Chapter 166: Chapter 166: The Secret of the Urban District (Three More Updates)

Gu Bo curiously looked at the white liquor next to Yang Xiao, took a small sip, and it was so spicy that he stuck out his tongue.

Xia Luo and Zhou Qiang and others only stayed for half an hour before taking their leave.

”Yang Xiao, our family is still waiting for us to return home for the New Year’s feast. That’s all for today. Tomorrow is the first day of the new year; come to Xianan University, and I’ll reserve two bottles of liquor for you. We won’t return until we’re drunk!”

Yang Xiao suddenly felt a pang in his heart. Home? In Xia Luo’s heart, the people of Xianan University had become his family. In his own heart, wasn’t this cave everyone’s home, and everyone here his family?

Thus, he nodded,

”Alright!”

After sending Xia Luo and the others away, everyone continued to feast joyously in the cave.

Gu Bo and his assistant were curious and interested in the wolf meat, fish, white rice, oil cakes, and steamed buns. The two ate heartily and then, patting their bellies, bid farewell to return home.

This New Year’s feast lasted two hours, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves, making this the most delightful gathering since the apocalypse began.

After the meal, Xu Nanqiang started the diesel generator early, connecting it to the light boards; the dimly lit cave suddenly brightened up.

Everyone cheered.

”Let me make it clear first, folks, this diesel is limited; the power will be turned off at midnight.”

”Xu Nanqiang, you’re being too stingy, on such a grand festival, can’t you supply the power for a bit longer?”

”Sure, you can go to the fuel depot tomorrow to fetch some diesel. Right now, the temperature is low, and the diesel in the depot has frozen solid; you can’t even suction it out with a straw. What we have is reserved for emergencies; if it weren’t for the New Year, we wouldn’t even have it for an hour.”

”If you’ve got time to argue about this, why not hurry up and charge your phone, and let me watch a Sora Aoi movie.”

”Ha ha,,,”

A few days before the New Year, Xu Nanqiang had arranged for the logistics team to wear Snow Wolf Armor and cut down many large trees from the nearby mountains, and Yang Xiao and others, when free, would also chop some large trees from the mountainside.

The entire Biyun Mountain is covered with forests, so firewood was plentiful.

Xu Nanqiang had someone stoke the geothermal fire on the floor of the cave, making the entire cave very warm.

Yang Xiao remembered the tradition of staying up on New Year’s Eve in his rural hometown during childhood – they would burn a fire at home, and the whole family would gather around it, chatting and snacking; thus, he started a large bonfire near the entrance of the cave.

Being near the entrance, there was no concern about running out of oxygen.

Once the bonfire was lit, Xiao Zhe, Zhao Qiang, Huang Wen, Qin Yu, Deng Xiao, Chen Fei, Feifei, Chen Lu, and others all gathered around.

Therefore, someone else simply started another large bonfire at another entrance of the cave, attracting many people as well.

Yang Xiao and others gathered around the bonfire, chatting about everything under the sun. On days like these, everyone was afraid that stopping would bring back memories of their families and parents.

These deep-seated emotions hidden in their bones could not be concealed; there would always be someone quietly missing their family, longing for their parents and relatives.

Since there was electricity, many of the dozen mobile phones in the cave became a rare diversion for most people, with dozens huddling around a single phone, watching those movies and TV shows they had watched countless times before.

One fellow’s phone card had over 100GB, and he had downloaded over a hundred movies, TV shows, and songs, making him a hot favorite among the crowd.

Huang Wen brought out dozens of boxes of snacks she had brought back from Star City last time, distributing a little to everyone, as a festive treat.

Xu Nanqiang’s dumplings also came out of the pot around ten o’clock in the evening. Everyone was just getting hungry again; being able to eat the piping hot dumplings meant the New Year was well celebrated.

Everyone was lively again for a while. Around midnight, many people grew sleepy and gradually went to bed. Because there were no fireworks, no festival gala, and no countdown, everyone lacked the enthusiasm for timing the New Year.

”Goodnight, wishing you a Happy New Year, and may all go well with you!”

Qin Yu told this to Yang Xiao before leaving, handing him something wrapped in red paper.

Yang Xiao was somewhat flattered. After all, Qin Yu was the belle of Kongming Academy.

”Hehe, still getting a gift? But, I haven’t prepared any New Year’s money.”

Yang Xiao laughed.

Qin Yu smiled, turned around, and caught up with Huang Wen and Deng Xiao ahead.

Yang Xiao opened up the red paper which wrapped a golden star, engraved with the words ”Good Luck.”

This thing looked somewhat familiar, like a decoration Qin Yu used to wear around her neck before the apocalypse, probably a gold ornament.

There weren’t many people around Yang Xiao, only Long Yongjun was still with him, keeping the fire going and staying up to usher the new year, most of the others had gone to sleep.

”Boss, I’m really envious of you, still receiving New Year’s gifts. Let me see, what is it?”

Yang Xiao slipped the star into his pocket and laughed:

”How come I heard Feifei just gave you a jacket made from Snow Wolf fur yesterday, isn’t that a gift?”

”That?”

Long Yongjun scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

”Alright, let’s sit for a bit then we’ll also go to sleep too, draw in the surrounding firewood, be careful with the flames!”

”Alright.”

Long Yongjun picked up a branch and gathered the burnt branches around them.

The two of them tidied up a bit and then went to sleep as well.

....

On the holiday, across the icy river, people from three Genetic Store zones in the urban area jointly organized a squad of 50 individuals. These people had relatively high levels of genetic evolution, most of them had already reached the Primordial Gene Primary Stage and possessed various Beast Soul Skills.

They were dressed in Snow Wolf Armor purchased from the Genetic Store, braving the severe cold and quietly heading to Shahe Town, a small suburban town twenty kilometers away.

Their target was to loot Snow Wolf Armor from Shahe Town.

The leader was called Xie Jun, who had just graduated from the academy before the apocalypse and joined the military. He was precisely 22 years old this year.

That night of the apocalypse, he happened to be on duty in the guard booth in front of the Armed Department, witnessing the entire city turning into ruins.

Fortunately, he was on duty in the booth, narrowly escaping disaster.

Those who escaped disaster with him included five new recruits assigned to the Armed Department, all university graduates.

Out of the twenty-plus new recruits from the Armed Department, only they 6 survived.

The next day, they began aiding the wounded and assisting injured survivors in nearby residential buildings, but slowly realized the situation was completely different from what they expected; the city had massive casualties and there was no sign of external rescue or aid.

The only lucky break was, in the city center, there were malls, supermarkets, shopping centers everywhere—food was plentiful.

Gradually, they discovered their own special mutant abilities, and later, seven days after the great disaster, when mutated creatures attacked them, Xie Jun and his peers relied on their strong physiques and combat skills, trained in the military academy, to easily deal with the mutated creatures attacking them.

Additionally, they possessed special combat weapons—guns.

Seven days after the great disaster, the most prevalent mutated creatures in the urban area were rats. These rats, which once roamed unrestrictedly in the sewers, residential areas, and garbage heaps, had become huge after mutation—over a meter tall and three to four meters long with powerful attacks.

Xie Jun and his team found a large number of weapons and ammunition in the collapsed storage of the Armed Department. Using these firearms, they had the upper hand in the early battles against the mutated rats during the disaster, which allowed for their rapid development.